Springfield-Greene
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JOSEPH STUDLEY. A few years ago it was predicted by a learned man who should have a good knowledge of conditions as they exist, that under the present system of farming the time was not far distant when the wheat lands would become exhausted of their fertility and the population of the world would want for bread, and this through the thriftless farming of what was once the richest of soils. If everyone farmed with as much caution and pains as Joseph Studley, of Brookline township, Greene county, such conditions as referred to above would not exist; for Mr. Studley has tilled the same farm over three decades and it is just as productive today as it was the first crop he raised on it.
Mr. Studley was born near Chard, England, December 22 1836, and there he grew to manhood and attended school, and there, in 1859, he married Ann Vincent, whose father was a native of France. She was born in England, reared and educated there. She proved to be an excellent helpmeet, and when she was called to her eternal rest on March 7, 1912, her loss was distinctly felt in her neighborhood, for she was a woman of lofty character, a sympathetic and helpful neighbor, always ready to wait on the sick and the suffering and to extend a helping hand to the needy. She was a devout Christian, and her piety is reflected in the lives of her children, of whom she was justly proud.
Mr. Studley remained in his native land until 1870, when he emigrated with his family to the United States and located near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Before leaving the old country he had followed the trade of Hurdle maker, and after coming to the New World he engaged in the carpenter's trade for a short time, then took up the occupation of mining, working in the anthracite mines around Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, continuing in this work until about 1882, when, longing for the freedom of a western farmer, he moved to Greene county, Missouri and rented a farm the first year, then bought one hundred acres, lying a half mile south of the village of Brookline, in section 3, Brookline township, on which he has since resided and where he has made a comfortable living and has a cozy home. He is now seventy-eight years old but still looks after his farm in a general way.
Mr. Studley is the father of eleven children; the following living: Lydia married H. B. McDonald, of Plainsville, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth married Dan Jones and they live in Columbus, Kansas; Jane married John Potter, agent for the Frisco railroad at Brookline; Hester married John McCarty, of Junction City, Ohio; Thomas lives in Springfield; Leah married Jess Keller, of Dallas county, Missouri; Joseph lives in Brookline. He also has about twenty grandchildren and about ten great-grandchildren living.
[1903-1904]
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