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JOHN SCHEPERLE, millwright, farmer and
carpenter, second son and sixth of nine children born to Johann (George)
and Anna (Katharina) Koenig Schepperle. He was born October 30, 1844,
Plieningen, Wuerttemberg; died January 18, 1927, Millbrook, Missouri. In
June, 1847, at the age of just over 2½ years, he left Plieningen
with his parents, one brother, and three sisters. After arriving in Wayne
County, Ohio, they settled on a farm near Smithville. Later the family
moved a few miles south to Springville (exact date not known). He
attended the public schools of Ohio until about 16 years of age, then
began working at a millwright trade; and after having mastered it, he
followed that occupation for three years, probably with his brother-in-law Henry Michel, who owned and operated a mill in
Springville, Ohio, also near Millbrook, Ohio. He then went to Michigan
and, after considerable moving about, came to Missouri in 1867 and began
working in Jefferson City and throughout Cole County, making a stay for
three or four months near Tipton. He was the first family member to come
to Missouri to explore the land opportunities that the family had
learned about back in Ohio. (Source: Carl Snyder, Sr., Conneaut, Ohio,
grandson of Catherine Scheperle Michel).
On February 18, 1870, he was married to Anna (Barbara)
Kirchner at Zion Lutheran Church, Cole County, Missouri, by the Rev.
Carl Thurow. She was the daughter of John W. Kirchner, who owned and
operated a mill at the Millbrook site. Barbara was born on February 12,
1846, in Bavaria. She died May 13, 1938, at Millbrook. Both are buried
at St. John's Cemetery, Stringtown. Her parents settled briefly in
Franklin, Lee County, Iowa, where family members had settled previously.
Later the family moved to Millbrook, Missouri. Soon after the marriage,
John bought half interest in the mill from his father-in-law, John
Kirchner. They enlarged the mill and operated it for several years. One
night it caught fire and burned to the ground. It was thought to have
been arson but was never proven. The loss was estimated at $7,000. In
1876 another mill was erected by the partners at a cost $12,000. It was
built of brick and stone and had a metallic roof. The building was 30 x
45 feet, with an engine room addition of 44 x 22 feet. The new mill had
a capacity of fifty barrels per day. They ran ten concentrated
centrifugal rollers and one steam roller for feed and meal. There was
also a carding machine. It also included a woolen mill and a saw mill and
was known as the Centennial Mill.
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At this time land was being acquired by the St.
Louis-Jefferson City-Kansas Railway for a branch line from Jefferson
City to Russelville. John was anxious to see the spur come through the
little settlement he had named Millbrook, (probably named after
Millbrook, Ohio); but when surveyors appeared, Mrs. Margaret (Rockelman)
Kirchner, his mother-in-law, owner of much of the land about Millbrook,
ordered them off her land. In order not to cause family trouble, he asked
the route to be changed; and the line was built through Lohman, then
known as Stringtown. In 1875 he purchased
the fine valley farm of 108 acres in Millbrook from his mother-in-law. John
Scheperle operated his mill and farm for many years with the assistance
of his son, and his older daughters helped with the woolen mill. He
saw a need for a blacksmith in the thriving community; so he hired Peter
Engelbrecht and set up a shop. He then saw a need for a general store
and built one across the road from the Centennial Mill. Mr. Engelbrecht,
who had married the oldest daughter Louise, gave up the blacksmith shop
and managed the store. Frank Glover became Millbrook's blacksmith. John
was also quite active in politics, and in 1885 was elected county
assessor and reelected for an additional term. The two terms were
1886-1890. In 1906 the Centennial Mill of
Millbrook was dismantled and moved to Lohman by John and his son John
J., where it was operated by the son John J. and John Weber for many
years. John was a member of the first board
of directors when the Farmers Bank of Lohman was incorporated in 1909,
capital stock of $12,000 with 120 shares of $100 each. John
Scheperle and his wife Barbara were active members of St. John's
(Stringtown) Lutheran Church. He was the architect and builder of the
present church building which was completed in 1905. From:
Palmer William Nicholas Scheperle
History of the Scheperle (Schepperle) Family of America
Jefferson City, Missouri, 1982 |
