Bray Family History

Among the earlier settlers in the area northeast of Iberia was a man named Larkin Osborne. He entered some acreage in the early 1840s and had it recorded at the land office on 1 July 1845. Larkin and his wife, Delila, sold most of their land in 1848 to Meshac Rowden, a native of Henry County, Virginia.

​​Meshac must have lived somewhere in the general area of this property because when he died, about 1853, he was the first person buried in old Brays Cemetery which is located on a hillside to the east of the mill.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The heirs of Meshac Rowden were: WILLIAM R. ROWDEN, JOHN ROWDEN, & ELLETHA ROWDEN-JOHNSTON.

William Rowden and his wife, Abigail (Renfrow) and Elletha (Rowden) Johnston and husband, Joseph, sold their share of the inheritance to brother, John Rowden in 1853. The next year, John/Jack Rowden erected a water mill on the site which was used for grinding and crushing different grains. It has been said that John Rowden sold the mill to a Mr. Wheeler in 1860, before the Civil War, and it was operated by two German immigrants named Goodman/Gudeman and Lampe. For awhile it was called Wheeler's Mill. I could find no transfer of land from Rowden to Wheeler in the courthouse records,but did find a deed, dated 8 Oct 1864 from John and Martha Jane Rowden (who were living in Crawford County, MO) to Thomas A. Bray of Maries County, MO. Thomas and his wife, Mahala, had a large family of nine children and they owned the woolen mill and dye plant at the small Gasconade river town called Pay Down.

Thomas Bray hired Joe Slawson of Maries County to run the Miller County mill during the Civil War years and later, it was operated by Josh Stephens. Joseph/Joe Slawson may have been the same man who came to Miller County and settled in the Alder Springs community. He was a son of Joseph Arnold Slawson, a native of North Carolina. Earlier the Slawsons were in Jasper County, MO before moving to central Missouri.

About 1877, Mr. Bray hired Albert Arendall to run the mill and the Arendall family moved from Pay Down (Maries Co.) to Miller County. It was at this time that "Brays Mill" became known as a permanent location and has remained so all these years; the name suggested by Al Arendall.

In 1889, a roller mill was built near the water mill. This is the same four-storied building standing today. The roller mill accomodated folks from all over Miller County and the neighboring counties of Maries, Osage, Pulaski and perhaps others as well.

Albert and Helen (Goforth) Arendall continued to manage and operate the Brays Mill for a good many years. Albert was assisted at times by his son, Allen, and a son-in-law, Charles Smith. Sometime in the early years of the 1900s, Thomas Bray died and his wife, Mahala and their children, sold all their interests in the mill to Albert and Helen Arendall.

In 1912, Albert sold the mill to Arch and Charley Helton and they ran it for awhile, but later sold it back to Albert Arendall. The Arendalls finally gave up the operation of the mill in 1919 and sold the land to their grandchildren---Guy, Mabel, and Laura Smith. In 1922, the Smith girls sold the land to Guy and in 1929, Guy decided to construct an ice plant at the Brays Mill site. By 1931, it was ready to be used and ice production began on a large scale....deliveries of 1500 pounds per day were transported to Iberia and surrounding area. Unfortunately, the popular electric refrigerator replaced this ice-making business and is just another long-ago memory of a lost profession.

Today, Brays Mill stands in the same spot. Her old wooden wheel no longer turns, but she stands so majestic in a beautiful valley surrounded by ancient hills that whisper a haunting melody as the winds blow. ​You can almost hear the 'hustle and bustle' of a by-gone day with the water wheel turning and creaking in the sunlight.

​​It is worth a drive through this land that is so rich in heritage and history.....it has been the home of the Handley family since about 1990. It has been beautifully rennovated--the old water wheel has been enclosed behind  glass  and   the  outside walls covered with aluminum siding. It is a comfortable home and an asset to ​​the countryside of the Big Tavern Valley in the Big Richwoods of eastern Miller County.

Source: http://whos-right5.wixsite.com/windowtothepast/brays-mill