Eleventh Generation

1226. George Leroy LESSLY¹¹⁷ was born on 24 August 1898 in Missouri.^325,412 He died on 2 June 1937 in Randoloph County, Missouri.⁴¹³ He was buried in Old Higbee Cemetery, Higbee, Missouri.⁴¹² In the 1900 census for Randolph County, MO, George appears as a member of his paternal grandfather's household. His date of birth is given as August 1898, his age as 1 and his birthplace as Missouri. The birthplace of both parents is also listed as Missouri.

Friday, 29 Feb 1924, Vol 37 No 45--Misses Delphia, Addie and Orphia Lessly visited their brother, Roy, and family at Clark last week.

Taken from obituary for George Leroy "Roy" Lessly

HIGBEE MAN DIES OF MINE INJURIES

Roy Lessley, 38, Falls From Top of Coal Car at No. 11

Injuries sustained yesterday afternoon while he was at work at Moniteau Coal Company's mine No. 11 proved fatal early this morning for Roy Lessley, 38-year-old Higbee mine surface worker.

Lessley was brought to the McCormick hospital here from the mine near Higbee for treatment and he died at 4:30 o'clock this morning.

He sustained internal injuries when he was flung from the top of a hopper coal car, on which he was operating a brake, by the impact of other cars being switched against it. He was working overtime when the fatal mishap occured.

The body was taken to Higbee this morning, and funeral services at Higbee may be held Friday.

Mr. Lessley is survived by his wife, a son, Roy Allen Lessley; his mother, Mrs. May Lessley; two sisters and a brother, Miss Delphia Lessley; Miss Orpha Lessley and Carl Lessley all of Higbee. Another sister, Mrs. Anna Maude Horn, lives in Moberly.

Notes from James A. Lessly
I can remember my dad mentioning Roy Lessly getting killed at the Nbr 11 mine. Whenever we visited Higbee
in the 1930s & 1940s, you could see the tipple and slag heaps next to it, either looking north from town or east
from my grandpa's farm. This mine started about the time my dad was born and was about a half mile north of
Higbee. They paid my grand dad for mineral rights, for the coal under his land, but they never came close to
getting to that particular coal. About 1938, my dad & I went up to the mine & he saw someone he knew, working
there. They let us go down into the mine, about 165'. We had to stay in the area by the shaft, since they said
the work area (coal face) was about a mile away and there is no room for visitors there. It was very wet
down there. That was an old mine, so they had mules to pull the small cars of coal along the track laid
through the main tunnels of the mine. Since explosive gas was not a problem in Missouri mines, the miners
used carbide lamps for illumination. This was a metal device (about the size of a small jar of mustard) that
contained a compartment for carbide pellets, and another compartment for water. As the water slowly dripped on
to the carbide, a gas came off which was directed to the front of the lamp, where it could be lit to make a
bright flame in front of a reflector. Miners all wore these lamps on their miner's caps. You had to be a
little careful, but there wasn't too much to easily catch on fire down in the mine; also it was quite cheap
to operate, better than batteries. Even the lead mule of each team had a carbide lamp on its harness.

My dad also mentioned someone that was the company spy at the mine. Don't know if that was Roy or any other
relative. I do know that in later years the miners took over ownership of the mine. Then, Uncle George said,
they had the problem of too many chiefs and not enough Indians. During the war, around 1943 perhaps, the mine
became uneconomical to operate, so it went out of business. In 1965, after we moved out here, we visited
Uncle George & Aunt Clara on Memorial Day and George & I went over to where the mine had been. The tipple was
long gone, as well as the slag heaps also. I could see where they had been, so could tell where the tipple
would have been and the shaft under it. The area of the shaft had been fenced off, but the sides had long since
caved in and weeds were growing in this area. So it was all gone in about 20 years. I remember one time my dad
& I went up on the tipple structure to where the shakers were. Whenever a car of coal came up there on the cage
(elevator) it would automatically dump on to a scale, which had to be weighed very fast. There would also be
a slip of paper on the car from the miner who had filled it. In this way the man running the scales could give
him proper credit. Real piece work! I think the miners also got something for slag, but perhaps less than for
coal. The coal was shaken on tilted shakers, which were like a giant sieve. Small holes first for small pieces
of coal, dropping over a hopper car, larger holes later for bigger pieces of coal to drop into another hopper
car on the track adjacent to the first hopper car. So much now for the mining business.

George Leroy LESSLY and Elizabeth RATHERFORD were married on 22 May 1922 in Gorin, MO. Friday, 2 June 1922, Vol 36, No 7--LESSLY-RATHERFORD--Mr. Roy Lessly and Miss Elizabeth Ratherford were united in marriage at the home of the bride in Gorin, Mo., last Saturday, Mr. Lessly returning home and his bride going to Kirksville where she will attend the summer course in the Teacher's Training School. The bride is well known here, having taught in our school last year, and where she will teach the coming term, and has made many warm friends during her short residence here. Mr. Lessly is the son of Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Lessly and is one of our most popular and reliable young men.
The NEWS joins others in congratulations and best wishes. Elizabeth RATHERFORD¹¹⁷ was born on 25 August 1897.^394,412 She died on 5 February 1991 in Randoloph County, Missouri.³⁹⁴ She was buried in Old Higbee Cemetery, Higbee, Missouri.⁴¹² [Brøderbund Family Archive #110, Vol. 1, Ed. 3, Social Security Records: U.S., SS Death Benefit Records, Surnames Beginning with L, Date of Import: May 31, 1997, Internal Ref. #1.111.3.125913.105]

Individual: Lessly, Elizabeth
Birth date: Aug 25, 1897
Death date: Feb 5, 1991
Social Security #: 487-50-1880
Last residence: 24078
State of issue: MO

Carole,
I did not know that Roy Lessly's full name was George Leroy. His
gravestone in the Higbee City Cemetery just says Roy Lessly. His wife
Elizabeth was like a grandmother to me. She taught school in Novinger,
Missouri and lived in Kirksville for many years (very short distance
between Novinger and Kirksville). She and my grandmother Maude Lessly
were very good friends. Elizabeth, being the good school teacher that she
was, always gave me books to read as gifts, and she was also a very good
seamstress, as evidenced by the beautiful, frilly dresses that she made for
me when I was a little girl.

Chris Lessly

Friday, 21 July 1922, Vol 36, No 14--NEW SCHOOL TEACHER--At a meeting of the
school board Thursday of last week, Joseph Robertson, a student in Central College,

Fayette, the past year, was elected to take the place of Mrs. Roy Lessly, one of our teachers last year, and who had been re-employed for the coming year, on the understanding, we learn, that she was not to marry during the term of school, the employment of married lady teachers being against the policy of the board. While Mr. Robertson, who will teach mathematics and science and will have charge of athletics, has had no teaching experience, we learn, he impressed the board as a born teacher, and all are confident he will prove the very man needed. Prospects are very flattering, we are pleased to state, for the very best school we have ever had, and for a decided increase in the number of non-resident pupils, whose tuition will be a decided help.

George Leroy LESSLY and Elizabeth RATHERFORD had the following children:

+1564

i.

Roy Allen LESSLY.