|
Owen Redick O'Bryan, a
well known and successful attorney of Mob-
erly and a veteran of the
World War, is a native of Randolph county and
a member of one of the
pioneer families of this section of Missouri. Mr.
O'Bryan was born in a one
room log cabin, three miles southwest of Hunts-
ville, Mo., on the old
O'Bryan homestead in Salt Spring township. He is
the son of James T. and
Jennie Lee (Bagby) O'Bryan.
James T. O'Bryan was
born in Chariton County, Mo. in 1860 and re-
moved to Randolph
County with his parents who settled in Salt Spring
township when he was
three years old. He was a son of Redick O'Bryan
who was born in Kentucky
in 1820. Redick O'Bryan was prominent in
the early day affairs of
Randolph County and served as justice of the
peace of Salt Spring
township for many years. He was a deacon in the
Mt. Salem Baptist church.
He died Dec. 25, 1893 and his remains are
buried in the O'Bryan
cemetery which is located on the old O'Bryan place.
James T. O'Bryan was
well educated, having graduated from Mt.
Pleasant College in the
class of 1881. He followed farming in Silver Creek
township from 1892 until
1902, and for six years of the time was justice
of the peace of that
township. He was solicitor for the Farmers Mutual
Insurance Company and
after moving to Huntsville in 1902, devoted him-
self to the interest of that
company. In 1906, he was a candidate for
nomination for the office
of probate judge of Randolph County but was
defeated by the narrow
margin of 28 votes. he stood high in the com
munity and had a wide
acquaintance in Randolph County. He died Nov.
15, 1907, and his remains
are buried in the Huntsville cemetery. James
T. O'Bryan was married to
Jennie Lee Bagby, Dec. 29, 1887. She was
born in Moniteau
township, Randolph County, above five miles northwest
of Higbee, and was a
daughter of Owen H. and Maria (Yager) Bagby who
were pioneer settlers of
Silver Creek township. Jennie Lee (Bagby)
O'Bryan was one of ten
children born to her parents, the others being as
follow: Thomas J., William
H., deceased; Zebulon P., Mrs. Mary Jackson,
deceased; Mrs. Korine
Shipp, deceased; James W., Warsaw, Mo.; Benjamin
F. and Walter H. The
Bagby family was one of the very early pioneer
families of central
Missouri. Owen H. Bagby was born in Kentucky and
came to Missouri with his
parents who settled near Roanoke, Silver Creek
township in 1827. He was
a son of John Bagby. Maria (Yager) Bagby,
wife of Owen H. Bagby,
was born at Hampton Roads, Va. and came here
with her parents at an early
day and settled on the place where Thomas J.
Bagby now lives. To John
T. O'Bryan and wife were born the following
children: Owen Redick,
the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Lee O'Con-
ner, Huntsville, Mo. and
Zebulon D., known as "Jack" of Huntsville Mo.
Redick O'Bryan,
grandfather of Owen Redick O'Bryan, of this review,
was three times married
and to his first marriage. were born the follow-
ing children: Rev. William
F., deceased; Mrs. Flora Bradley, Yates, Mo.,
and Mrs. Adaline
Randecker, of Booneville, Mo. After the death of his
first wife, he married Mary
Dennis who was the seventh of 19 children
of Harrison Dennis and the
following children were born to that marriage:
Cornelia O'Bryan,
deceased; James T. O'Bryan, deceased and Matie
O'Bryan, deceased. To
Redick O'Bryan's third marriage with Mrs. Eliza
Dameron who was the
mother of two children by her former marriage,
William H. Dameron,
deceased and Mrs. Julia D, Minor of St. Louis, were
born the following
children: John, deceased; Minnie, married Hon. Wil-
Liam T. Heathman, a
former representativefrom Randolph County; Milton
S. O'Bryan, manager of
the Harlan Tobacco Store, Moberly.
Owen Redick O'Bryan,
the subject of this sketch was born June 12,
1890 and attended the
White school district in Silver Creek township until
he was 12 years old when
he entered the Huntsville grade school and was
graduated. Later, he took a
course in the Moberly Commercial College
and was graduated in
1908. He then entered the employ of the Wabash
Railroad Company and the
Express Company and one year later entered
the Kansas City School of
Law and also served a clerkship in Kansas City
law offices and was
admitted to the bar to practice in the state courts June
2. 1913, and admitted to
the Federal courts May 19, 1914. Shortly after-
wards, he made the race
for the nomination for prosecuting attorney of
Randolph County against
Jerry M. Jeifries and F. E. Murrell. He carried
every township in the
county outside of Moberky, except Cairo, and was
defeated by eight votes. In
1916, he made a second race for the nomina-
tion of prosecuting
attorney and during that campaign he made the promise
that if the United States
should become involved in the World War he
would enlist. He had an
opportunity to make his word good and he did,
enlisting at Sedalia, Mo.,
May 13, 1917 and resigned his position as claim
agent for the M. K. and T.
railroad in order to enlist. After enlisting, he
was sent to Jefferson
Barracks, Missouri and assigned to the 16th Infantry
and from there entrained
to El Paso, Texas, but was ordered overseas be-
fore reaching his
destination. He was reassigned to Company A, 34th
Infantry and after a brief
period of training at Port Bliss he was detailed
to district headquarters in
July, 1917. Later he was given a furlough and
returned home and on
Oct. 4, 1917 he addressed the Old Settlers Reunion
and on October 7th he
argued a case in the Kansas Court of Appeals, being
the first lawyer to appear
before that court in uniform. December 13th
he was transferred as
battalion sergeant to headquarters of third division
Camp Greene, Charlotte,
N. C. He left Charlotte, March 7, 1918 and
arrived at Camp Merritt
the next day and embarked at Hoboken, N. J. on
an old Austrian steamer
which had been renamed "Martha Washington".
He was then regimental
sergeant major and commander of the guard every
other day. At 12 o'clock
On April 4th in the Bay of Biscay the convoy
was attacked by German
submarines and a running fight between the sub-
marines and the United
States chasers and convoys took place until the
submarines were
destroyed. The American fleet landed at Bordeaux.
France, on April 4th. The
third division then went into training quarters
at Chateau Villian, 16 miles
south of Chaumont, the A. E. F. Headquarters.
On May 27th, the division
was entrained under secret orders for the front
lines and arrived at the
Maine where they occupied 22 kilometers of front
line to Ballon Woods on
the left and extending to Charteves Sector which
was being pressed by a
minor German offensive which extended from
Soissons to Reims. On
July 14th the Germans launched their last
offensive which continued
for four days and gained an entrance south of
the river. On July 20th the
United States army started an offensive and
drove the Germans back
to the Vesle River, The third division was re-
lieved August 14th and
transferred to a recoupment area. This division-
lost 60 per cent of their
men in the above engagement. Later they were
ordered to the St. Mihiel
salient, Sept. 5, 1918, and arrived in support of
the 89th division. Sept. 13,
Mr. O'Bryan was transferred to the 89th
division headquarters
which was relieved Oct. 6th and on Oct. 11th took
a position in the Argonne
Forest. After 30 days of hard fighting they
were on the Meuse River,
Nov. 11th when the armistice was signed. They
then crossed Belgium and
Luxemburg on the heels of the retreating Ger-
man army. They remained
there until May 13, 1918 when they entrained
at Erodorf, Germany, for
Brest, Fiance and embarked for America by way
of Plymouth, England and
reached port at New York. Mr. O'Bryan was
discharged at Camp
Funston, Ran. June 13, 1919.
Mr. O'Bryan engaged in
the practice of his profession after return-
ing to Moberly and has a
good practice. He is a capable young attorney
and has a wide
acquaintance in Moberly and Randolph County and stands
high in the community. In
addition to his general practice he is also
assistant prosecuting
attorney of Randolph County.
Mr. O'Bryan is a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
the Knights of Pythias, the
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and holds
membership in the first
Baptist church at El Paso, Texas. |