Below is the 50th Wedding Anniversary article. As it is read, the interview was related to the reporter by Mr. Wiggins.
CARTHAGE EVENING PRESS
May 6, 1941
NOTABLE EVENT FOR MR. AND MRS. P. N. WIGGINS
Widely Known Carthage Couple Prominent in City's Activities, Both Cultural and Business
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. P. N. Wiggins, widely known Carthage couple.
They are spending the day quietly at their home at the corner of Seventh and Grant streets, without formally celebrating the event, although it was originally planned that they should go to Houston, Texas where their son, Clarence A. Wiggins, resides and be the guests of honor at a gathering at which the other two sons, P. N. Wiggins,jr of Dallas and Raymond Wiggins of LaFayette, LA. and the families of all three should be present. But this plan had to be abandoned a few days ago when Mr. Wiggins developed a severe attack of lumbago, from which however, he is now recovering.
The Texas trip is merely postponed, it is explained, and it will be taken in the near future, though the anniversary celebration originally planned in connection with it will, of course, have to be abandoned.
Wedded in Colorado
The marriage ceremony, performed 50 years ago today, took place at the ranch home of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, six miles north of Pueblo, CO., the officiating clergyman being the late Rev. Mr. Lee, of Pueblo. Mr. and Mrs. Steinmetz were former Carthage residents, the latter being a sister of the bride.
Mrs. Wiggins' maiden name was Miss Clara Phillis and she came to Carthage from New Brighton, Pennsylvania in 1887, going to the Grand Avenue home of her sister, Mrs. Steinmetz, who as Miss Mary Phillis had been a teacher in the Carthage schools.
Their brother, T. W. Phillis, was also a Carthage resident at that time, being employed in the office of the McDaniel Milling Company. Later he operated for a number of years a laundry here. Both Mrs. Steinmetz and T. W. Phillis are now deceased.
Mrs. Wiggins a Singer
Miss Clara Phillis was an accomplished soprano singer and she recalls that a few days after her arrival here she sang at the first commencement exercises of the Carthage Collegiate Institute, newly founded and housed in a 2 story addition at the rear of the First Presbyterian church, a frame structure then located on Grant Street about opposite the Wiggins home . Miss Phillis thereafter took a prominent part in the musical activities of the city, later becoming director of the choir of the First Methodist church, a position she held for many years.
P. N. Wiggins was born September 30, 1860 at Altona, IL., so is 81 years of age. Mrs. Wiggins was born November 24, 1869 in Wayne county, Missouri and is 72.
Carthage Resident 72 Years
P. N. Wiggins came to Carthage from Circleville, OH., arriving here in May, 1869. He has thus been a resident of Carthage 72 years and has long been an active figure in the business life of the city.
After the young couple's marriage at the Pueblo ranch they took a wedding trip in Colorado and returned to Carthage 10 days later, taking up their residence in the house at the corner of Miller street and Garrison ave, later known at the Rev. A. J. Van Wagner home. They had lived at various places in Carthage after that and bought and rebuilt their present home at the corner of Seventh and Grant Streets in 1929.
They have three sons, all successful young business men, whose names and places of residence are given above.
Mr. Wiggins is in excellent health and vigor for one of his years. Mrs. Wiggins was the victim of a fall several years ago in which her hip was broken, and as the injury has not entirely healed, she is somewhat handicapped in getting about since the accident but she is steadily improving and looks forward to much better use of herself.
Trip of Wiggins Family to Carthage
Mr. Wiggins tells a stirring story of the trip of his father's family to Missouri.
"My parents, Thomas and Mary Wiggins, made up their minds early in the year 1869 to leave Ohio," said Mr. Wiggins. "Times were hard, food supplies of all kinds were high in price and hard to obtain. During one whole year we had but one sack of white flour, the rest of the time we had only corn meal from which to make bread. My parents were determined to join the throngs going west to grow up with the country.
"It was at that time no small job to make such a move, you may be sure. With the older children, John, Henry and Mandy and John's wife Anna, my father, then 49 years of age, set out for Cincinnati with his household good and a team of horses, which he loaded on an Ohio River steamboat bound for St. Louis via Cairo and then up the Mississippi River.
"Mother and the four younger children, Marinda, Tom, and myself and Louisa remained behind for the time being.
Two Weeks Steamboat Trip
"My father and the four children were on the steamboat two weeks before reaching St. Louis, where the party, their horses and household goods were transferred to a Missouri Pacific train for Sedalia, then the western terminus of the road.
"My father had not yet made up his mind to exactly what part of Missouri he was going and when he got to Sedalia he found there were two popular objective of the throng of immigrants--Westport, now the site of Kansas City, and Jasper county. My father decided on the part of the state which he believed would have the more favorable climate, and so after outfitting his party with a covered wagon they set out for Carthage, camping out and preparing their meals as they made the various stages of the trip. There were almost no roads and the trip was necessarily slow, occupying some four or five days. He arrived here in march, 1869, more than 72 years ago.
Two Months in Finding Home
"It was almost two months before my father found a house in which he could put his family. The house he located was on Lyon street, next door south of the present home of Mrs. Etta Betts, then the residence of her father, G. B. McMerrick.
"I recall that about that time Mrs. Betts, then Miss Etta McMerrick, a very pretty girl, was awarded the prize for being the prettiest girl in Carthage - a verdict that was generally approved. But Berry Blair, an early day Carthage colored man and father of the late Col. Fred Blair, proposed an amendment to the decision, that it be made to read "the prettiest white girl' in Carthage, which amendment was accepted by the judges with considerable merriment.
"By that time my father was ready for mother and the rest of the children to join him, and so mother and the four of us went by train to Sedalia, where father met us with the covered wagon to bring us on the Carthage.
Moved to Home Facing Park
"After living for about a year in the Lyon street house we moved to a house belonging to a man named Polly at the corner of Maple and Chestnut streets, a part of the present site of the Knell Mortuary property.
"What we now call Central Park was then a cemetery and I remember witnessing numerous burials there. the present giant oaks in the park were then small trees, and I remember distinctly seeing them covered with ice and bent to the ground in a winter sleet storm the next winter after our arrival.
"In 1872, three years after we landed in Carthage, my father bought five acres from A. B. Parkell at what is now the intersection of Garrison avenue and Wiggins street, agreeing to pay him $100 an acre for it.
"Joplin had then just been established and there was a lead and zinc mining boom on. My father planted the ground in vegetables and found a ready market in Joplin for the products of his garden. When he got this piece of ground paid for by selling vegetables at five cents a bunch, he bought another five acres on the other side of Garrison Avenue, paying Jesse Thacker another $500 for that. It was low ground and subject to overflows in times of high water, but the soil was rich and productive and that was why my father wanted it.
Street Named for Him
"When Centennial avenue was opened in 1876 my father chose the name centennial because of the centennial exposition held that year in Philadelphia commemorating the first 100 years of the country's existence.
A little later when Wiggins street was opened, W. B. Myers, then mayor, insisted that it be named Wiggins street after my father.
"The original Wiggins home is a part of the rebuilt residence at the corner of Wiggins and Garrison, now the home of Claude Adair. The houses in that immediate neighborhood were mostly built on lots sold by my father when he opened up part of his residence tract as a city addition.
"Of the Wiggins family of 10 people who came here from Ohio in 1869, only my sister, Mandy (Mrs. Piatt Carnahan) and myself survive. The rest have all passed on.
First Job in a Grocery
"I got my first job through a fortunate circumstance. I had had my eye on the J. J. Wells, grocery store [then on east side of square] for some time. It was then known as the Wells & Harris store and I continually hung around it in the hope that something in my favor would turn up.
"One day Col. J. W. Campbell, who then operated the St. Charles Hotel on the site of what is now the Reynolds hardware store [northeast corner, 3rd & Main streets], came to J. J. Wells looking for chickens and using profanity freely as was his custom. He wanted chicken and he wanted them right now. Mr. Wells had said they would be sent over, but that did not satisfy the swearing colonel - and there was where I saw my chance. I offered to deliver the chickens and immediately carried the entire coop full across the square to the hotel.
"Mr. Wells was rather appreciative and when I got back I struck him for a job. After a short talk he put me to work. That was on July 2, 1878, when I was 18 years old and then and there I was launched in the grocery business.
Wholesaling Developed
"The Wells store was at that time on the east side of the square and a little later was moved to the south side, adjoining the Griswold grocery, on the site of the present Karbe store. Just a little while after that the store was moved to the present site of the College Pharmacy, where J. J. Wells held forth for many years, getting into wholesaling as well as continuing the retail business. We expanded by renting the room south of us, now occupied by the Western Auto store, cutting an arch between the two rooms, after first having bought out Pool & Hobbs, who had a grocery store there.
"My first job was delivering groceries, using a 1 horse wagon with a short bed. I later became a full fledged clerk and salesman and finally a member of the firm.
"In 1888 we sold the retail business to Walter Wells, a brother of J. J., who remained on the Fourth and Main corner, and we erected the 3-story wholesale house on South Main Street, the firm name being in the mean time changed to the Wells & Wiggins Grocery Company.
"I remained in the firm till 1906 when I sold my interest to J. J. Wells and his associates.
"I immediately formed a partnership with Fon Johnson of Joplin in the brokerage business and we operated extensively for many years. Mr. Johnson, who now lives in Colorado, is still in that line.
"As brokers we sold supplies in every principal city in the United States. During the world war days we dealt extensively in such staples as rice and beans, having at one time more than 200 cars of rice in storage in New York City.
"All of the jobbers doing business in southwest Missouri when I began only one, so far as I know, is still living. That is Ed Nix, formerly of Joplin who now resides in St. Louis.
Remodeled Many Homes
In the twenties Mr. Wiggins, who had unusual ability in rebuilding and transforming run down homes, began buying Carthage properties which needed rehabilitation and for many years gave his entire attention to rebuilding them.
Mr. Wiggins does not know exactly how many Carthage homes he has rebuilt but he has been able to count more than 200. In this work he has done the community a real service.
Mr. Wiggins has been a man of great energy and enterprise and has been active in every effort for the city's advancement.
Having seen Carthage grow from an insignificant village to its present proportions, he has an affection for the city which is genuine and deep rooted. Mrs. Wiggins shares the same sentiments, although her residence here has been only about two-thirds that of her husband.
The both love Carthage, and they have hundreds of friends in Carthage who love them and will join in the numerous felicitations pouring in upon them in connection with today's notable event.
___________
~ Notes by Bill Boggess: now the rest of the story . . . .
~ Wiggins retired as vice-president from what was once, one of the two wholesale grocery supply companies in Carthage, the other being Griswold company, having once partnered with Walter S and John J Wells, in the Wells-Wiggins company, who around 1892 built the building located north side of the Methodist church, west side of 600 block south Main street. Wells' brother-in-law, L. Frank Woodward became a partner when Wiggins sold out. The Platt-Porter company bought Wells-Woodard company in 1911, then the L H Beck Casket company occupied the old 1892 quarters in 1920 when Platt-Porter moved to their new building at northwest corner of 6th & Main, across street west from the Y M C A, then they bought their competition, Griswold company in 1930. Walter S Wells left in 1931 when Cherry Griggs, husband of the bosses daughter, started as salesman. Later the Carthage Evening Press company moved to the empty Platt-Porter building at 6th & Main from their location on west 4th street.
•✿•*•✿•*•✿•
Father was Thomas Phillis and Mother Martha J. Phillis
Her father was co-owner of Phillis & Seavers Steam Laundry in Carthage, MO. (circa 1891)
The death certificate can be viewed at Missouri Digital Archives/death certificates online website.
informant son Phillis/Peter of Dallas, Texas. She was encrypted in Oak Crest Abbey Mausoleum in Park Cemetery at/Peter Carthage under the direction of Knell Mortuary.
CARTHAGE PRESS
November 19, 1954
MRS. P. N. WIGGINS DIES
END COMES AT 12:55 THIS MORNING AT HOME
Pioneer Resident, Nearly 85, Long In Failing Health -
Services Tomorrow
Mrs. Clara Phillis Wiggins, widow of P. N. Wiggins, long a business and civic leader in Carthage died at 12:55 this morning in the Wiggins' home at 615 Grant.
Mrs. Wiggins would have been 85 November 24 and she had made Carthage her home 67 years.
For several years she had been in declining health and recently her condition took a pronounced turn for the worse. However, there was no indication the end was so near.
Two of her sons, P. N. Wiggins, jr of Dallas, TX. and Raymond E. of Houston, TX and their wives have been with her several days.
Clarence Wiggins, third son, is ill at his home in Houston, TX. and he and Mrs. Wiggins were unable to be at the bedside and will be unable to be here for the services.
Clara Phillis Wiggins was born November 24, 1869 in Wayne county, Missouri. She came to Carthage in 1872 from New Brighton, PA., going to the home of her sister, Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, corner Grand and Thirteenth, now the residence of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Guinn. Mrs. Steinmetz, who has Miss Mary Phillis, had been a teacher in the Carthage schools. Their brother, T. W. Phillis, also was a Carthage resident at that time and was employed in the office of the McDaniel Milling Company, now the property of National Biscuit Company. Later T. W. Phillis was in the laundry business here.
A Talented Soprano
Miss Clara Phillis was a talented soprano and she often recalled that a few days after her arrival she sang at the first commencement exercises of old College Collegiate Institute. The college, newly founded, was housed in a 2-story addition at the rear of the First Presbyterian church, a frame structure then located on Grant street a short distance south and on the opposite side of the street from the residence where she passed away early today.
A new college building later was built on the present site of the Mark Twain school on South Main and operated there for many years before it went out of existence many years ago.
The then Miss Phillis took a prominent part in musical activities in Carthage and later became director of the choir of the First Methodist church, a position she held many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins celebrated their golden wedding May 6, 1941. They were married at the home of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, who at the time were living on a ranch six miles north of Pueblo, Colorado. After a 10-day wedding trip they returned to Carthage and took up their residence in property at the corner of Garrison and Miller. They lived in various properties after that until 1929 when Mr. Wiggins purchased the property on Grant, where death came to Mrs. Wiggins today.
In his business endeavors, P. N. Wiggins always had the cooperation and assistance of Mrs. Wiggins. Mr. Wiggins died April 26, 1949.
Both were devoted to Carthage and in her passing another link between the Carthage of yesteryear and today is removed.
Note: the remainder of the newspaper article about Mrs. Wiggins' death repeated what was in the article of their 50th Wedding Anniversary written above, all relating to her husband.
CARTHAGE EVENING PRESS
May 6, 1941
NOTABLE EVENT FOR MR. AND MRS. P. N. WIGGINS
Widely Known Carthage Couple Prominent in City's Activities, Both Cultural and Business
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. P. N. Wiggins, widely known Carthage couple.
They are spending the day quietly at their home at the corner of Seventh and Grant streets, without formally celebrating the event, although it was originally planned that they should go to Houston, Texas where their son, Clarence A. Wiggins, resides and be the guests of honor at a gathering at which the other two sons, P. N. Wiggins,jr of Dallas and Raymond Wiggins of LaFayette, LA. and the families of all three should be present. But this plan had to be abandoned a few days ago when Mr. Wiggins developed a severe attack of lumbago, from which however, he is now recovering.
The Texas trip is merely postponed, it is explained, and it will be taken in the near future, though the anniversary celebration originally planned in connection with it will, of course, have to be abandoned.
Wedded in Colorado
The marriage ceremony, performed 50 years ago today, took place at the ranch home of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, six miles north of Pueblo, CO., the officiating clergyman being the late Rev. Mr. Lee, of Pueblo. Mr. and Mrs. Steinmetz were former Carthage residents, the latter being a sister of the bride.
Mrs. Wiggins' maiden name was Miss Clara Phillis and she came to Carthage from New Brighton, Pennsylvania in 1887, going to the Grand Avenue home of her sister, Mrs. Steinmetz, who as Miss Mary Phillis had been a teacher in the Carthage schools.
Their brother, T. W. Phillis, was also a Carthage resident at that time, being employed in the office of the McDaniel Milling Company. Later he operated for a number of years a laundry here. Both Mrs. Steinmetz and T. W. Phillis are now deceased.
Mrs. Wiggins a Singer
Miss Clara Phillis was an accomplished soprano singer and she recalls that a few days after her arrival here she sang at the first commencement exercises of the Carthage Collegiate Institute, newly founded and housed in a 2 story addition at the rear of the First Presbyterian church, a frame structure then located on Grant Street about opposite the Wiggins home . Miss Phillis thereafter took a prominent part in the musical activities of the city, later becoming director of the choir of the First Methodist church, a position she held for many years.
P. N. Wiggins was born September 30, 1860 at Altona, IL., so is 81 years of age. Mrs. Wiggins was born November 24, 1869 in Wayne county, Missouri and is 72.
Carthage Resident 72 Years
P. N. Wiggins came to Carthage from Circleville, OH., arriving here in May, 1869. He has thus been a resident of Carthage 72 years and has long been an active figure in the business life of the city.
After the young couple's marriage at the Pueblo ranch they took a wedding trip in Colorado and returned to Carthage 10 days later, taking up their residence in the house at the corner of Miller street and Garrison ave, later known at the Rev. A. J. Van Wagner home. They had lived at various places in Carthage after that and bought and rebuilt their present home at the corner of Seventh and Grant Streets in 1929.
They have three sons, all successful young business men, whose names and places of residence are given above.
Mr. Wiggins is in excellent health and vigor for one of his years. Mrs. Wiggins was the victim of a fall several years ago in which her hip was broken, and as the injury has not entirely healed, she is somewhat handicapped in getting about since the accident but she is steadily improving and looks forward to much better use of herself.
Trip of Wiggins Family to Carthage
Mr. Wiggins tells a stirring story of the trip of his father's family to Missouri.
"My parents, Thomas and Mary Wiggins, made up their minds early in the year 1869 to leave Ohio," said Mr. Wiggins. "Times were hard, food supplies of all kinds were high in price and hard to obtain. During one whole year we had but one sack of white flour, the rest of the time we had only corn meal from which to make bread. My parents were determined to join the throngs going west to grow up with the country.
"It was at that time no small job to make such a move, you may be sure. With the older children, John, Henry and Mandy and John's wife Anna, my father, then 49 years of age, set out for Cincinnati with his household good and a team of horses, which he loaded on an Ohio River steamboat bound for St. Louis via Cairo and then up the Mississippi River.
"Mother and the four younger children, Marinda, Tom, and myself and Louisa remained behind for the time being.
Two Weeks Steamboat Trip
"My father and the four children were on the steamboat two weeks before reaching St. Louis, where the party, their horses and household goods were transferred to a Missouri Pacific train for Sedalia, then the western terminus of the road.
"My father had not yet made up his mind to exactly what part of Missouri he was going and when he got to Sedalia he found there were two popular objective of the throng of immigrants--Westport, now the site of Kansas City, and Jasper county. My father decided on the part of the state which he believed would have the more favorable climate, and so after outfitting his party with a covered wagon they set out for Carthage, camping out and preparing their meals as they made the various stages of the trip. There were almost no roads and the trip was necessarily slow, occupying some four or five days. He arrived here in march, 1869, more than 72 years ago.
Two Months in Finding Home
"It was almost two months before my father found a house in which he could put his family. The house he located was on Lyon street, next door south of the present home of Mrs. Etta Betts, then the residence of her father, G. B. McMerrick.
"I recall that about that time Mrs. Betts, then Miss Etta McMerrick, a very pretty girl, was awarded the prize for being the prettiest girl in Carthage - a verdict that was generally approved. But Berry Blair, an early day Carthage colored man and father of the late Col. Fred Blair, proposed an amendment to the decision, that it be made to read "the prettiest white girl' in Carthage, which amendment was accepted by the judges with considerable merriment.
"By that time my father was ready for mother and the rest of the children to join him, and so mother and the four of us went by train to Sedalia, where father met us with the covered wagon to bring us on the Carthage.
Moved to Home Facing Park
"After living for about a year in the Lyon street house we moved to a house belonging to a man named Polly at the corner of Maple and Chestnut streets, a part of the present site of the Knell Mortuary property.
"What we now call Central Park was then a cemetery and I remember witnessing numerous burials there. the present giant oaks in the park were then small trees, and I remember distinctly seeing them covered with ice and bent to the ground in a winter sleet storm the next winter after our arrival.
"In 1872, three years after we landed in Carthage, my father bought five acres from A. B. Parkell at what is now the intersection of Garrison avenue and Wiggins street, agreeing to pay him $100 an acre for it.
"Joplin had then just been established and there was a lead and zinc mining boom on. My father planted the ground in vegetables and found a ready market in Joplin for the products of his garden. When he got this piece of ground paid for by selling vegetables at five cents a bunch, he bought another five acres on the other side of Garrison Avenue, paying Jesse Thacker another $500 for that. It was low ground and subject to overflows in times of high water, but the soil was rich and productive and that was why my father wanted it.
Street Named for Him
"When Centennial avenue was opened in 1876 my father chose the name centennial because of the centennial exposition held that year in Philadelphia commemorating the first 100 years of the country's existence.
A little later when Wiggins street was opened, W. B. Myers, then mayor, insisted that it be named Wiggins street after my father.
"The original Wiggins home is a part of the rebuilt residence at the corner of Wiggins and Garrison, now the home of Claude Adair. The houses in that immediate neighborhood were mostly built on lots sold by my father when he opened up part of his residence tract as a city addition.
"Of the Wiggins family of 10 people who came here from Ohio in 1869, only my sister, Mandy (Mrs. Piatt Carnahan) and myself survive. The rest have all passed on.
First Job in a Grocery
"I got my first job through a fortunate circumstance. I had had my eye on the J. J. Wells, grocery store [then on east side of square] for some time. It was then known as the Wells & Harris store and I continually hung around it in the hope that something in my favor would turn up.
"One day Col. J. W. Campbell, who then operated the St. Charles Hotel on the site of what is now the Reynolds hardware store [northeast corner, 3rd & Main streets], came to J. J. Wells looking for chickens and using profanity freely as was his custom. He wanted chicken and he wanted them right now. Mr. Wells had said they would be sent over, but that did not satisfy the swearing colonel - and there was where I saw my chance. I offered to deliver the chickens and immediately carried the entire coop full across the square to the hotel.
"Mr. Wells was rather appreciative and when I got back I struck him for a job. After a short talk he put me to work. That was on July 2, 1878, when I was 18 years old and then and there I was launched in the grocery business.
Wholesaling Developed
"The Wells store was at that time on the east side of the square and a little later was moved to the south side, adjoining the Griswold grocery, on the site of the present Karbe store. Just a little while after that the store was moved to the present site of the College Pharmacy, where J. J. Wells held forth for many years, getting into wholesaling as well as continuing the retail business. We expanded by renting the room south of us, now occupied by the Western Auto store, cutting an arch between the two rooms, after first having bought out Pool & Hobbs, who had a grocery store there.
"My first job was delivering groceries, using a 1 horse wagon with a short bed. I later became a full fledged clerk and salesman and finally a member of the firm.
"In 1888 we sold the retail business to Walter Wells, a brother of J. J., who remained on the Fourth and Main corner, and we erected the 3-story wholesale house on South Main Street, the firm name being in the mean time changed to the Wells & Wiggins Grocery Company.
"I remained in the firm till 1906 when I sold my interest to J. J. Wells and his associates.
"I immediately formed a partnership with Fon Johnson of Joplin in the brokerage business and we operated extensively for many years. Mr. Johnson, who now lives in Colorado, is still in that line.
"As brokers we sold supplies in every principal city in the United States. During the world war days we dealt extensively in such staples as rice and beans, having at one time more than 200 cars of rice in storage in New York City.
"All of the jobbers doing business in southwest Missouri when I began only one, so far as I know, is still living. That is Ed Nix, formerly of Joplin who now resides in St. Louis.
Remodeled Many Homes
In the twenties Mr. Wiggins, who had unusual ability in rebuilding and transforming run down homes, began buying Carthage properties which needed rehabilitation and for many years gave his entire attention to rebuilding them.
Mr. Wiggins does not know exactly how many Carthage homes he has rebuilt but he has been able to count more than 200. In this work he has done the community a real service.
Mr. Wiggins has been a man of great energy and enterprise and has been active in every effort for the city's advancement.
Having seen Carthage grow from an insignificant village to its present proportions, he has an affection for the city which is genuine and deep rooted. Mrs. Wiggins shares the same sentiments, although her residence here has been only about two-thirds that of her husband.
The both love Carthage, and they have hundreds of friends in Carthage who love them and will join in the numerous felicitations pouring in upon them in connection with today's notable event.
___________
~ Notes by Bill Boggess: now the rest of the story . . . .
~ Wiggins retired as vice-president from what was once, one of the two wholesale grocery supply companies in Carthage, the other being Griswold company, having once partnered with Walter S and John J Wells, in the Wells-Wiggins company, who around 1892 built the building located north side of the Methodist church, west side of 600 block south Main street. Wells' brother-in-law, L. Frank Woodward became a partner when Wiggins sold out. The Platt-Porter company bought Wells-Woodard company in 1911, then the L H Beck Casket company occupied the old 1892 quarters in 1920 when Platt-Porter moved to their new building at northwest corner of 6th & Main, across street west from the Y M C A, then they bought their competition, Griswold company in 1930. Walter S Wells left in 1931 when Cherry Griggs, husband of the bosses daughter, started as salesman. Later the Carthage Evening Press company moved to the empty Platt-Porter building at 6th & Main from their location on west 4th street.
•✿•*•✿•*•✿•
Father was Thomas Phillis and Mother Martha J. Phillis
Her father was co-owner of Phillis & Seavers Steam Laundry in Carthage, MO. (circa 1891)
The death certificate can be viewed at Missouri Digital Archives/death certificates online website.
informant son Phillis/Peter of Dallas, Texas. She was encrypted in Oak Crest Abbey Mausoleum in Park Cemetery at/Peter Carthage under the direction of Knell Mortuary.
CARTHAGE PRESS
November 19, 1954
MRS. P. N. WIGGINS DIES
END COMES AT 12:55 THIS MORNING AT HOME
Pioneer Resident, Nearly 85, Long In Failing Health -
Services Tomorrow
Mrs. Clara Phillis Wiggins, widow of P. N. Wiggins, long a business and civic leader in Carthage died at 12:55 this morning in the Wiggins' home at 615 Grant.
Mrs. Wiggins would have been 85 November 24 and she had made Carthage her home 67 years.
For several years she had been in declining health and recently her condition took a pronounced turn for the worse. However, there was no indication the end was so near.
Two of her sons, P. N. Wiggins, jr of Dallas, TX. and Raymond E. of Houston, TX and their wives have been with her several days.
Clarence Wiggins, third son, is ill at his home in Houston, TX. and he and Mrs. Wiggins were unable to be at the bedside and will be unable to be here for the services.
Clara Phillis Wiggins was born November 24, 1869 in Wayne county, Missouri. She came to Carthage in 1872 from New Brighton, PA., going to the home of her sister, Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, corner Grand and Thirteenth, now the residence of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Guinn. Mrs. Steinmetz, who has Miss Mary Phillis, had been a teacher in the Carthage schools. Their brother, T. W. Phillis, also was a Carthage resident at that time and was employed in the office of the McDaniel Milling Company, now the property of National Biscuit Company. Later T. W. Phillis was in the laundry business here.
A Talented Soprano
Miss Clara Phillis was a talented soprano and she often recalled that a few days after her arrival she sang at the first commencement exercises of old College Collegiate Institute. The college, newly founded, was housed in a 2-story addition at the rear of the First Presbyterian church, a frame structure then located on Grant street a short distance south and on the opposite side of the street from the residence where she passed away early today.
A new college building later was built on the present site of the Mark Twain school on South Main and operated there for many years before it went out of existence many years ago.
The then Miss Phillis took a prominent part in musical activities in Carthage and later became director of the choir of the First Methodist church, a position she held many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins celebrated their golden wedding May 6, 1941. They were married at the home of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, who at the time were living on a ranch six miles north of Pueblo, Colorado. After a 10-day wedding trip they returned to Carthage and took up their residence in property at the corner of Garrison and Miller. They lived in various properties after that until 1929 when Mr. Wiggins purchased the property on Grant, where death came to Mrs. Wiggins today.
In his business endeavors, P. N. Wiggins always had the cooperation and assistance of Mrs. Wiggins. Mr. Wiggins died April 26, 1949.
Both were devoted to Carthage and in her passing another link between the Carthage of yesteryear and today is removed.
Note: the remainder of the newspaper article about Mrs. Wiggins' death repeated what was in the article of their 50th Wedding Anniversary written above, all relating to her husband.
Below is the 50th Wedding Anniversary article. As it is read, the interview was related to the reporter by Mr. Wiggins.
CARTHAGE EVENING PRESS
May 6, 1941
NOTABLE EVENT FOR MR. AND MRS. P. N. WIGGINS
Widely Known Carthage Couple Prominent in City's Activities, Both Cultural and Business
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. P. N. Wiggins, widely known Carthage couple.
They are spending the day quietly at their home at the corner of Seventh and Grant streets, without formally celebrating the event, although it was originally planned that they should go to Houston, Texas where their son, Clarence A. Wiggins, resides and be the guests of honor at a gathering at which the other two sons, P. N. Wiggins,jr of Dallas and Raymond Wiggins of LaFayette, LA. and the families of all three should be present. But this plan had to be abandoned a few days ago when Mr. Wiggins developed a severe attack of lumbago, from which however, he is now recovering.
The Texas trip is merely postponed, it is explained, and it will be taken in the near future, though the anniversary celebration originally planned in connection with it will, of course, have to be abandoned.
Wedded in Colorado
The marriage ceremony, performed 50 years ago today, took place at the ranch home of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, six miles north of Pueblo, CO., the officiating clergyman being the late Rev. Mr. Lee, of Pueblo. Mr. and Mrs. Steinmetz were former Carthage residents, the latter being a sister of the bride.
Mrs. Wiggins' maiden name was Miss Clara Phillis and she came to Carthage from New Brighton, Pennsylvania in 1887, going to the Grand Avenue home of her sister, Mrs. Steinmetz, who as Miss Mary Phillis had been a teacher in the Carthage schools.
Their brother, T. W. Phillis, was also a Carthage resident at that time, being employed in the office of the McDaniel Milling Company. Later he operated for a number of years a laundry here. Both Mrs. Steinmetz and T. W. Phillis are now deceased.
Mrs. Wiggins a Singer
Miss Clara Phillis was an accomplished soprano singer and she recalls that a few days after her arrival here she sang at the first commencement exercises of the Carthage Collegiate Institute, newly founded and housed in a 2 story addition at the rear of the First Presbyterian church, a frame structure then located on Grant Street about opposite the Wiggins home . Miss Phillis thereafter took a prominent part in the musical activities of the city, later becoming director of the choir of the First Methodist church, a position she held for many years.
P. N. Wiggins was born September 30, 1860 at Altona, IL., so is 81 years of age. Mrs. Wiggins was born November 24, 1869 in Wayne county, Missouri and is 72.
Carthage Resident 72 Years
P. N. Wiggins came to Carthage from Circleville, OH., arriving here in May, 1869. He has thus been a resident of Carthage 72 years and has long been an active figure in the business life of the city.
After the young couple's marriage at the Pueblo ranch they took a wedding trip in Colorado and returned to Carthage 10 days later, taking up their residence in the house at the corner of Miller street and Garrison ave, later known at the Rev. A. J. Van Wagner home. They had lived at various places in Carthage after that and bought and rebuilt their present home at the corner of Seventh and Grant Streets in 1929.
They have three sons, all successful young business men, whose names and places of residence are given above.
Mr. Wiggins is in excellent health and vigor for one of his years. Mrs. Wiggins was the victim of a fall several years ago in which her hip was broken, and as the injury has not entirely healed, she is somewhat handicapped in getting about since the accident but she is steadily improving and looks forward to much better use of herself.
Trip of Wiggins Family to Carthage
Mr. Wiggins tells a stirring story of the trip of his father's family to Missouri.
"My parents, Thomas and Mary Wiggins, made up their minds early in the year 1869 to leave Ohio," said Mr. Wiggins. "Times were hard, food supplies of all kinds were high in price and hard to obtain. During one whole year we had but one sack of white flour, the rest of the time we had only corn meal from which to make bread. My parents were determined to join the throngs going west to grow up with the country.
"It was at that time no small job to make such a move, you may be sure. With the older children, John, Henry and Mandy and John's wife Anna, my father, then 49 years of age, set out for Cincinnati with his household good and a team of horses, which he loaded on an Ohio River steamboat bound for St. Louis via Cairo and then up the Mississippi River.
"Mother and the four younger children, Marinda, Tom, and myself and Louisa remained behind for the time being.
Two Weeks Steamboat Trip
"My father and the four children were on the steamboat two weeks before reaching St. Louis, where the party, their horses and household goods were transferred to a Missouri Pacific train for Sedalia, then the western terminus of the road.
"My father had not yet made up his mind to exactly what part of Missouri he was going and when he got to Sedalia he found there were two popular objective of the throng of immigrants--Westport, now the site of Kansas City, and Jasper county. My father decided on the part of the state which he believed would have the more favorable climate, and so after outfitting his party with a covered wagon they set out for Carthage, camping out and preparing their meals as they made the various stages of the trip. There were almost no roads and the trip was necessarily slow, occupying some four or five days. He arrived here in march, 1869, more than 72 years ago.
Two Months in Finding Home
"It was almost two months before my father found a house in which he could put his family. The house he located was on Lyon street, next door south of the present home of Mrs. Etta Betts, then the residence of her father, G. B. McMerrick.
"I recall that about that time Mrs. Betts, then Miss Etta McMerrick, a very pretty girl, was awarded the prize for being the prettiest girl in Carthage - a verdict that was generally approved. But Berry Blair, an early day Carthage colored man and father of the late Col. Fred Blair, proposed an amendment to the decision, that it be made to read "the prettiest white girl' in Carthage, which amendment was accepted by the judges with considerable merriment.
"By that time my father was ready for mother and the rest of the children to join him, and so mother and the four of us went by train to Sedalia, where father met us with the covered wagon to bring us on the Carthage.
Moved to Home Facing Park
"After living for about a year in the Lyon street house we moved to a house belonging to a man named Polly at the corner of Maple and Chestnut streets, a part of the present site of the Knell Mortuary property.
"What we now call Central Park was then a cemetery and I remember witnessing numerous burials there. the present giant oaks in the park were then small trees, and I remember distinctly seeing them covered with ice and bent to the ground in a winter sleet storm the next winter after our arrival.
"In 1872, three years after we landed in Carthage, my father bought five acres from A. B. Parkell at what is now the intersection of Garrison avenue and Wiggins street, agreeing to pay him $100 an acre for it.
"Joplin had then just been established and there was a lead and zinc mining boom on. My father planted the ground in vegetables and found a ready market in Joplin for the products of his garden. When he got this piece of ground paid for by selling vegetables at five cents a bunch, he bought another five acres on the other side of Garrison Avenue, paying Jesse Thacker another $500 for that. It was low ground and subject to overflows in times of high water, but the soil was rich and productive and that was why my father wanted it.
Street Named for Him
"When Centennial avenue was opened in 1876 my father chose the name centennial because of the centennial exposition held that year in Philadelphia commemorating the first 100 years of the country's existence.
A little later when Wiggins street was opened, W. B. Myers, then mayor, insisted that it be named Wiggins street after my father.
"The original Wiggins home is a part of the rebuilt residence at the corner of Wiggins and Garrison, now the home of Claude Adair. The houses in that immediate neighborhood were mostly built on lots sold by my father when he opened up part of his residence tract as a city addition.
"Of the Wiggins family of 10 people who came here from Ohio in 1869, only my sister, Mandy (Mrs. Piatt Carnahan) and myself survive. The rest have all passed on.
First Job in a Grocery
"I got my first job through a fortunate circumstance. I had had my eye on the J. J. Wells, grocery store [then on east side of square] for some time. It was then known as the Wells & Harris store and I continually hung around it in the hope that something in my favor would turn up.
"One day Col. J. W. Campbell, who then operated the St. Charles Hotel on the site of what is now the Reynolds hardware store [northeast corner, 3rd & Main streets], came to J. J. Wells looking for chickens and using profanity freely as was his custom. He wanted chicken and he wanted them right now. Mr. Wells had said they would be sent over, but that did not satisfy the swearing colonel - and there was where I saw my chance. I offered to deliver the chickens and immediately carried the entire coop full across the square to the hotel.
"Mr. Wells was rather appreciative and when I got back I struck him for a job. After a short talk he put me to work. That was on July 2, 1878, when I was 18 years old and then and there I was launched in the grocery business.
Wholesaling Developed
"The Wells store was at that time on the east side of the square and a little later was moved to the south side, adjoining the Griswold grocery, on the site of the present Karbe store. Just a little while after that the store was moved to the present site of the College Pharmacy, where J. J. Wells held forth for many years, getting into wholesaling as well as continuing the retail business. We expanded by renting the room south of us, now occupied by the Western Auto store, cutting an arch between the two rooms, after first having bought out Pool & Hobbs, who had a grocery store there.
"My first job was delivering groceries, using a 1 horse wagon with a short bed. I later became a full fledged clerk and salesman and finally a member of the firm.
"In 1888 we sold the retail business to Walter Wells, a brother of J. J., who remained on the Fourth and Main corner, and we erected the 3-story wholesale house on South Main Street, the firm name being in the mean time changed to the Wells & Wiggins Grocery Company.
"I remained in the firm till 1906 when I sold my interest to J. J. Wells and his associates.
"I immediately formed a partnership with Fon Johnson of Joplin in the brokerage business and we operated extensively for many years. Mr. Johnson, who now lives in Colorado, is still in that line.
"As brokers we sold supplies in every principal city in the United States. During the world war days we dealt extensively in such staples as rice and beans, having at one time more than 200 cars of rice in storage in New York City.
"All of the jobbers doing business in southwest Missouri when I began only one, so far as I know, is still living. That is Ed Nix, formerly of Joplin who now resides in St. Louis.
Remodeled Many Homes
In the twenties Mr. Wiggins, who had unusual ability in rebuilding and transforming run down homes, began buying Carthage properties which needed rehabilitation and for many years gave his entire attention to rebuilding them.
Mr. Wiggins does not know exactly how many Carthage homes he has rebuilt but he has been able to count more than 200. In this work he has done the community a real service.
Mr. Wiggins has been a man of great energy and enterprise and has been active in every effort for the city's advancement.
Having seen Carthage grow from an insignificant village to its present proportions, he has an affection for the city which is genuine and deep rooted. Mrs. Wiggins shares the same sentiments, although her residence here has been only about two-thirds that of her husband.
The both love Carthage, and they have hundreds of friends in Carthage who love them and will join in the numerous felicitations pouring in upon them in connection with today's notable event.
___________
~ Notes by Bill Boggess: now the rest of the story . . . .
~ Wiggins retired as vice-president from what was once, one of the two wholesale grocery supply companies in Carthage, the other being Griswold company, having once partnered with Walter S and John J Wells, in the Wells-Wiggins company, who around 1892 built the building located north side of the Methodist church, west side of 600 block south Main street. Wells' brother-in-law, L. Frank Woodward became a partner when Wiggins sold out. The Platt-Porter company bought Wells-Woodard company in 1911, then the L H Beck Casket company occupied the old 1892 quarters in 1920 when Platt-Porter moved to their new building at northwest corner of 6th & Main, across street west from the Y M C A, then they bought their competition, Griswold company in 1930. Walter S Wells left in 1931 when Cherry Griggs, husband of the bosses daughter, started as salesman. Later the Carthage Evening Press company moved to the empty Platt-Porter building at 6th & Main from their location on west 4th street.
•✿•*•✿•*•✿•
Father was Thomas Phillis and Mother Martha J. Phillis
Her father was co-owner of Phillis & Seavers Steam Laundry in Carthage, MO. (circa 1891)
The death certificate can be viewed at Missouri Digital Archives/death certificates online website.
informant son Phillis/Peter of Dallas, Texas. She was encrypted in Oak Crest Abbey Mausoleum in Park Cemetery at/Peter Carthage under the direction of Knell Mortuary.
CARTHAGE PRESS
November 19, 1954
MRS. P. N. WIGGINS DIES
END COMES AT 12:55 THIS MORNING AT HOME
Pioneer Resident, Nearly 85, Long In Failing Health -
Services Tomorrow
Mrs. Clara Phillis Wiggins, widow of P. N. Wiggins, long a business and civic leader in Carthage died at 12:55 this morning in the Wiggins' home at 615 Grant.
Mrs. Wiggins would have been 85 November 24 and she had made Carthage her home 67 years.
For several years she had been in declining health and recently her condition took a pronounced turn for the worse. However, there was no indication the end was so near.
Two of her sons, P. N. Wiggins, jr of Dallas, TX. and Raymond E. of Houston, TX and their wives have been with her several days.
Clarence Wiggins, third son, is ill at his home in Houston, TX. and he and Mrs. Wiggins were unable to be at the bedside and will be unable to be here for the services.
Clara Phillis Wiggins was born November 24, 1869 in Wayne county, Missouri. She came to Carthage in 1872 from New Brighton, PA., going to the home of her sister, Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, corner Grand and Thirteenth, now the residence of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Guinn. Mrs. Steinmetz, who has Miss Mary Phillis, had been a teacher in the Carthage schools. Their brother, T. W. Phillis, also was a Carthage resident at that time and was employed in the office of the McDaniel Milling Company, now the property of National Biscuit Company. Later T. W. Phillis was in the laundry business here.
A Talented Soprano
Miss Clara Phillis was a talented soprano and she often recalled that a few days after her arrival she sang at the first commencement exercises of old College Collegiate Institute. The college, newly founded, was housed in a 2-story addition at the rear of the First Presbyterian church, a frame structure then located on Grant street a short distance south and on the opposite side of the street from the residence where she passed away early today.
A new college building later was built on the present site of the Mark Twain school on South Main and operated there for many years before it went out of existence many years ago.
The then Miss Phillis took a prominent part in musical activities in Carthage and later became director of the choir of the First Methodist church, a position she held many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins celebrated their golden wedding May 6, 1941. They were married at the home of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, who at the time were living on a ranch six miles north of Pueblo, Colorado. After a 10-day wedding trip they returned to Carthage and took up their residence in property at the corner of Garrison and Miller. They lived in various properties after that until 1929 when Mr. Wiggins purchased the property on Grant, where death came to Mrs. Wiggins today.
In his business endeavors, P. N. Wiggins always had the cooperation and assistance of Mrs. Wiggins. Mr. Wiggins died April 26, 1949.
Both were devoted to Carthage and in her passing another link between the Carthage of yesteryear and today is removed.
Note: the remainder of the newspaper article about Mrs. Wiggins' death repeated what was in the article of their 50th Wedding Anniversary written above, all relating to her husband.
CARTHAGE EVENING PRESS
May 6, 1941
NOTABLE EVENT FOR MR. AND MRS. P. N. WIGGINS
Widely Known Carthage Couple Prominent in City's Activities, Both Cultural and Business
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. P. N. Wiggins, widely known Carthage couple.
They are spending the day quietly at their home at the corner of Seventh and Grant streets, without formally celebrating the event, although it was originally planned that they should go to Houston, Texas where their son, Clarence A. Wiggins, resides and be the guests of honor at a gathering at which the other two sons, P. N. Wiggins,jr of Dallas and Raymond Wiggins of LaFayette, LA. and the families of all three should be present. But this plan had to be abandoned a few days ago when Mr. Wiggins developed a severe attack of lumbago, from which however, he is now recovering.
The Texas trip is merely postponed, it is explained, and it will be taken in the near future, though the anniversary celebration originally planned in connection with it will, of course, have to be abandoned.
Wedded in Colorado
The marriage ceremony, performed 50 years ago today, took place at the ranch home of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, six miles north of Pueblo, CO., the officiating clergyman being the late Rev. Mr. Lee, of Pueblo. Mr. and Mrs. Steinmetz were former Carthage residents, the latter being a sister of the bride.
Mrs. Wiggins' maiden name was Miss Clara Phillis and she came to Carthage from New Brighton, Pennsylvania in 1887, going to the Grand Avenue home of her sister, Mrs. Steinmetz, who as Miss Mary Phillis had been a teacher in the Carthage schools.
Their brother, T. W. Phillis, was also a Carthage resident at that time, being employed in the office of the McDaniel Milling Company. Later he operated for a number of years a laundry here. Both Mrs. Steinmetz and T. W. Phillis are now deceased.
Mrs. Wiggins a Singer
Miss Clara Phillis was an accomplished soprano singer and she recalls that a few days after her arrival here she sang at the first commencement exercises of the Carthage Collegiate Institute, newly founded and housed in a 2 story addition at the rear of the First Presbyterian church, a frame structure then located on Grant Street about opposite the Wiggins home . Miss Phillis thereafter took a prominent part in the musical activities of the city, later becoming director of the choir of the First Methodist church, a position she held for many years.
P. N. Wiggins was born September 30, 1860 at Altona, IL., so is 81 years of age. Mrs. Wiggins was born November 24, 1869 in Wayne county, Missouri and is 72.
Carthage Resident 72 Years
P. N. Wiggins came to Carthage from Circleville, OH., arriving here in May, 1869. He has thus been a resident of Carthage 72 years and has long been an active figure in the business life of the city.
After the young couple's marriage at the Pueblo ranch they took a wedding trip in Colorado and returned to Carthage 10 days later, taking up their residence in the house at the corner of Miller street and Garrison ave, later known at the Rev. A. J. Van Wagner home. They had lived at various places in Carthage after that and bought and rebuilt their present home at the corner of Seventh and Grant Streets in 1929.
They have three sons, all successful young business men, whose names and places of residence are given above.
Mr. Wiggins is in excellent health and vigor for one of his years. Mrs. Wiggins was the victim of a fall several years ago in which her hip was broken, and as the injury has not entirely healed, she is somewhat handicapped in getting about since the accident but she is steadily improving and looks forward to much better use of herself.
Trip of Wiggins Family to Carthage
Mr. Wiggins tells a stirring story of the trip of his father's family to Missouri.
"My parents, Thomas and Mary Wiggins, made up their minds early in the year 1869 to leave Ohio," said Mr. Wiggins. "Times were hard, food supplies of all kinds were high in price and hard to obtain. During one whole year we had but one sack of white flour, the rest of the time we had only corn meal from which to make bread. My parents were determined to join the throngs going west to grow up with the country.
"It was at that time no small job to make such a move, you may be sure. With the older children, John, Henry and Mandy and John's wife Anna, my father, then 49 years of age, set out for Cincinnati with his household good and a team of horses, which he loaded on an Ohio River steamboat bound for St. Louis via Cairo and then up the Mississippi River.
"Mother and the four younger children, Marinda, Tom, and myself and Louisa remained behind for the time being.
Two Weeks Steamboat Trip
"My father and the four children were on the steamboat two weeks before reaching St. Louis, where the party, their horses and household goods were transferred to a Missouri Pacific train for Sedalia, then the western terminus of the road.
"My father had not yet made up his mind to exactly what part of Missouri he was going and when he got to Sedalia he found there were two popular objective of the throng of immigrants--Westport, now the site of Kansas City, and Jasper county. My father decided on the part of the state which he believed would have the more favorable climate, and so after outfitting his party with a covered wagon they set out for Carthage, camping out and preparing their meals as they made the various stages of the trip. There were almost no roads and the trip was necessarily slow, occupying some four or five days. He arrived here in march, 1869, more than 72 years ago.
Two Months in Finding Home
"It was almost two months before my father found a house in which he could put his family. The house he located was on Lyon street, next door south of the present home of Mrs. Etta Betts, then the residence of her father, G. B. McMerrick.
"I recall that about that time Mrs. Betts, then Miss Etta McMerrick, a very pretty girl, was awarded the prize for being the prettiest girl in Carthage - a verdict that was generally approved. But Berry Blair, an early day Carthage colored man and father of the late Col. Fred Blair, proposed an amendment to the decision, that it be made to read "the prettiest white girl' in Carthage, which amendment was accepted by the judges with considerable merriment.
"By that time my father was ready for mother and the rest of the children to join him, and so mother and the four of us went by train to Sedalia, where father met us with the covered wagon to bring us on the Carthage.
Moved to Home Facing Park
"After living for about a year in the Lyon street house we moved to a house belonging to a man named Polly at the corner of Maple and Chestnut streets, a part of the present site of the Knell Mortuary property.
"What we now call Central Park was then a cemetery and I remember witnessing numerous burials there. the present giant oaks in the park were then small trees, and I remember distinctly seeing them covered with ice and bent to the ground in a winter sleet storm the next winter after our arrival.
"In 1872, three years after we landed in Carthage, my father bought five acres from A. B. Parkell at what is now the intersection of Garrison avenue and Wiggins street, agreeing to pay him $100 an acre for it.
"Joplin had then just been established and there was a lead and zinc mining boom on. My father planted the ground in vegetables and found a ready market in Joplin for the products of his garden. When he got this piece of ground paid for by selling vegetables at five cents a bunch, he bought another five acres on the other side of Garrison Avenue, paying Jesse Thacker another $500 for that. It was low ground and subject to overflows in times of high water, but the soil was rich and productive and that was why my father wanted it.
Street Named for Him
"When Centennial avenue was opened in 1876 my father chose the name centennial because of the centennial exposition held that year in Philadelphia commemorating the first 100 years of the country's existence.
A little later when Wiggins street was opened, W. B. Myers, then mayor, insisted that it be named Wiggins street after my father.
"The original Wiggins home is a part of the rebuilt residence at the corner of Wiggins and Garrison, now the home of Claude Adair. The houses in that immediate neighborhood were mostly built on lots sold by my father when he opened up part of his residence tract as a city addition.
"Of the Wiggins family of 10 people who came here from Ohio in 1869, only my sister, Mandy (Mrs. Piatt Carnahan) and myself survive. The rest have all passed on.
First Job in a Grocery
"I got my first job through a fortunate circumstance. I had had my eye on the J. J. Wells, grocery store [then on east side of square] for some time. It was then known as the Wells & Harris store and I continually hung around it in the hope that something in my favor would turn up.
"One day Col. J. W. Campbell, who then operated the St. Charles Hotel on the site of what is now the Reynolds hardware store [northeast corner, 3rd & Main streets], came to J. J. Wells looking for chickens and using profanity freely as was his custom. He wanted chicken and he wanted them right now. Mr. Wells had said they would be sent over, but that did not satisfy the swearing colonel - and there was where I saw my chance. I offered to deliver the chickens and immediately carried the entire coop full across the square to the hotel.
"Mr. Wells was rather appreciative and when I got back I struck him for a job. After a short talk he put me to work. That was on July 2, 1878, when I was 18 years old and then and there I was launched in the grocery business.
Wholesaling Developed
"The Wells store was at that time on the east side of the square and a little later was moved to the south side, adjoining the Griswold grocery, on the site of the present Karbe store. Just a little while after that the store was moved to the present site of the College Pharmacy, where J. J. Wells held forth for many years, getting into wholesaling as well as continuing the retail business. We expanded by renting the room south of us, now occupied by the Western Auto store, cutting an arch between the two rooms, after first having bought out Pool & Hobbs, who had a grocery store there.
"My first job was delivering groceries, using a 1 horse wagon with a short bed. I later became a full fledged clerk and salesman and finally a member of the firm.
"In 1888 we sold the retail business to Walter Wells, a brother of J. J., who remained on the Fourth and Main corner, and we erected the 3-story wholesale house on South Main Street, the firm name being in the mean time changed to the Wells & Wiggins Grocery Company.
"I remained in the firm till 1906 when I sold my interest to J. J. Wells and his associates.
"I immediately formed a partnership with Fon Johnson of Joplin in the brokerage business and we operated extensively for many years. Mr. Johnson, who now lives in Colorado, is still in that line.
"As brokers we sold supplies in every principal city in the United States. During the world war days we dealt extensively in such staples as rice and beans, having at one time more than 200 cars of rice in storage in New York City.
"All of the jobbers doing business in southwest Missouri when I began only one, so far as I know, is still living. That is Ed Nix, formerly of Joplin who now resides in St. Louis.
Remodeled Many Homes
In the twenties Mr. Wiggins, who had unusual ability in rebuilding and transforming run down homes, began buying Carthage properties which needed rehabilitation and for many years gave his entire attention to rebuilding them.
Mr. Wiggins does not know exactly how many Carthage homes he has rebuilt but he has been able to count more than 200. In this work he has done the community a real service.
Mr. Wiggins has been a man of great energy and enterprise and has been active in every effort for the city's advancement.
Having seen Carthage grow from an insignificant village to its present proportions, he has an affection for the city which is genuine and deep rooted. Mrs. Wiggins shares the same sentiments, although her residence here has been only about two-thirds that of her husband.
The both love Carthage, and they have hundreds of friends in Carthage who love them and will join in the numerous felicitations pouring in upon them in connection with today's notable event.
___________
~ Notes by Bill Boggess: now the rest of the story . . . .
~ Wiggins retired as vice-president from what was once, one of the two wholesale grocery supply companies in Carthage, the other being Griswold company, having once partnered with Walter S and John J Wells, in the Wells-Wiggins company, who around 1892 built the building located north side of the Methodist church, west side of 600 block south Main street. Wells' brother-in-law, L. Frank Woodward became a partner when Wiggins sold out. The Platt-Porter company bought Wells-Woodard company in 1911, then the L H Beck Casket company occupied the old 1892 quarters in 1920 when Platt-Porter moved to their new building at northwest corner of 6th & Main, across street west from the Y M C A, then they bought their competition, Griswold company in 1930. Walter S Wells left in 1931 when Cherry Griggs, husband of the bosses daughter, started as salesman. Later the Carthage Evening Press company moved to the empty Platt-Porter building at 6th & Main from their location on west 4th street.
•✿•*•✿•*•✿•
Father was Thomas Phillis and Mother Martha J. Phillis
Her father was co-owner of Phillis & Seavers Steam Laundry in Carthage, MO. (circa 1891)
The death certificate can be viewed at Missouri Digital Archives/death certificates online website.
informant son Phillis/Peter of Dallas, Texas. She was encrypted in Oak Crest Abbey Mausoleum in Park Cemetery at/Peter Carthage under the direction of Knell Mortuary.
CARTHAGE PRESS
November 19, 1954
MRS. P. N. WIGGINS DIES
END COMES AT 12:55 THIS MORNING AT HOME
Pioneer Resident, Nearly 85, Long In Failing Health -
Services Tomorrow
Mrs. Clara Phillis Wiggins, widow of P. N. Wiggins, long a business and civic leader in Carthage died at 12:55 this morning in the Wiggins' home at 615 Grant.
Mrs. Wiggins would have been 85 November 24 and she had made Carthage her home 67 years.
For several years she had been in declining health and recently her condition took a pronounced turn for the worse. However, there was no indication the end was so near.
Two of her sons, P. N. Wiggins, jr of Dallas, TX. and Raymond E. of Houston, TX and their wives have been with her several days.
Clarence Wiggins, third son, is ill at his home in Houston, TX. and he and Mrs. Wiggins were unable to be at the bedside and will be unable to be here for the services.
Clara Phillis Wiggins was born November 24, 1869 in Wayne county, Missouri. She came to Carthage in 1872 from New Brighton, PA., going to the home of her sister, Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, corner Grand and Thirteenth, now the residence of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Guinn. Mrs. Steinmetz, who has Miss Mary Phillis, had been a teacher in the Carthage schools. Their brother, T. W. Phillis, also was a Carthage resident at that time and was employed in the office of the McDaniel Milling Company, now the property of National Biscuit Company. Later T. W. Phillis was in the laundry business here.
A Talented Soprano
Miss Clara Phillis was a talented soprano and she often recalled that a few days after her arrival she sang at the first commencement exercises of old College Collegiate Institute. The college, newly founded, was housed in a 2-story addition at the rear of the First Presbyterian church, a frame structure then located on Grant street a short distance south and on the opposite side of the street from the residence where she passed away early today.
A new college building later was built on the present site of the Mark Twain school on South Main and operated there for many years before it went out of existence many years ago.
The then Miss Phillis took a prominent part in musical activities in Carthage and later became director of the choir of the First Methodist church, a position she held many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins celebrated their golden wedding May 6, 1941. They were married at the home of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Steinmetz, who at the time were living on a ranch six miles north of Pueblo, Colorado. After a 10-day wedding trip they returned to Carthage and took up their residence in property at the corner of Garrison and Miller. They lived in various properties after that until 1929 when Mr. Wiggins purchased the property on Grant, where death came to Mrs. Wiggins today.
In his business endeavors, P. N. Wiggins always had the cooperation and assistance of Mrs. Wiggins. Mr. Wiggins died April 26, 1949.
Both were devoted to Carthage and in her passing another link between the Carthage of yesteryear and today is removed.
Note: the remainder of the newspaper article about Mrs. Wiggins' death repeated what was in the article of their 50th Wedding Anniversary written above, all relating to her husband.
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