Burkeys and Rosinskys early occupants of 3240 St. Mary’s

The two-story frame house at 3240 St. Mary’s Ave., is believed to have been first owned by Frederick C. and Elizabeth P. Gannaway Burkey in 1911. It later would serve as home to Harrison and Lillian H. White for nearly 60 years. Spring 2023 photo by Mary Lou Montgomery

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

Elizabeth (Lizzie) P. Gannaway was the last surviving member of a family that was well known and respected in Hannibal, Mo, during the later part of the 19th Century. Both of her parents, William R. Gannaway (born 1841) and Emma Catherine Johnson Gannaway (born 1841) passed in 1898, and were buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery beside Lizzie’s only siblings, Mary Brent Gannaway (1867-1895) and William Collins Gannaway (1869-1870).

Lizzie, age 27 and as yet unmarried, faced her future alone.

But not for long.

Lizzie was united in marriage with Frederick C. Burkey on April 17, 1900, at Paris, Mo., which was the hometown of her father. Burkey was a dry goods clerk for Sonnenberg & Meyer, 120 N. Main, in Hannibal. The couple set up housekeeping at 618 Center St., the home she shared with her parents before their respective deaths five years prior.

Fred C. Burkey never owned his own business, but during his lifetime, he was well known about Hannibal’s business community. For most of his career, he was a salesman for the well remembered Sonnenberg’s department store, located first at 120 N. Main; later expanding to 118-120 N. Main; and ultimately 118-122 N. Main, the same space that today encompasses the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum.

The Burkeys relocated several times during the first decade of their married life. In 1911, they were settled into a newly constructed house at 2620 St. Mary’s Avenue, soon to be renumbered 3240.

The Burkeys occupied the home, along with their domestic, Miss Minnie Ahler.

But not for long.

By 1914, Mr. and Mrs. Barney Rosinsky had set up housekeeping at the same address, and the Burkeys had relocated to a duplex at 2823 Hubbard.

Barney Rosinsky, born in Russia in 1882, was operating a dry goods business in Hannibal by 1909, at 125 N. Main. By 1914, he had moved his business to the east side of the street, 200-202 N. Main.

He had come to Hannibal from Atoka County, Indian Territory, and that’s where he returned when he left Hannibal, circa 1917.

In 1917, Barney and Edna Rosinsky sold the St. Mary’s Avenue property back to Elizabeth G. (Lizzie) Burkey. The property is located in block 6, S.O. Osterout’s Subdivision of the Bradley Tract, 60x232 feet in the SW corner of the block.

In 1918, the Burkeys were once again occupying the St. Mary’s Avenue property, along with their daughter, Katherine, born in 1906, and son, William F. Burkey, (1911-1973).

But not for long.

Two years later, the property was sold to Harrison and Lillian H. White. Harrison White (1888-1980) was a 31-year-old attorney working in partnership with Charles E. Rendlen, their office at 118 1/2 Broadway.

Harrison and Lillian continued to live in this house for nearly 60 years, until Harrison’s death in 1979. Mrs. White died in 1982, at a nursing home in Kansas City.

Today, the 112-year-old home is owned and occupied by Ronald E. and Dorothy K. Green.

Spanish American War

On May 27, 1898, Fred Burkey was among the young men from Marion County who were mustered into service for duty in the Spanish American War.

A full regiment was considered to be 106 officers and men, but when Company F, Fourth Regiment of Missouri Volunteers left Hannibal, there were but 80 men, many of whom were high school or college graduates, members of the National Guards.

The March 1, 1939, edition of the Marion County Standard explained what happened next:

“The company went from from Hannibal to Jefferson Barracks, at St. Louis, where the men were mustered into the regular army. From there the company went to Camp Algae in Virginia, from where Fred C. Burkey was sent back to Missouri to recruit the company up to war strength. He enrolled 26 men and returned to camp with them.

“Later the company was sent to Camp Meade for final training before sailing for service in Cuba but the Spanish forces at Santiago surrendered just as Company F was preparing to leave for active war service. The company was mustered out on Feb. 10, 1899, at Camp Weatherill, S.C.”

Members of Company F met for a reunion in 1939 at the Mark Twain Hotel in Hannibal, hosted by Capt. Louis Loeser of Chicago.

Present were Fred C. Burkey, William H. Loetterle, L.R. Bulkley, Harry Bridgford, Milton G. Jackson, J.D. Clark, Newman Knights and Ayres Robinson, all of Hannibal; Miller W. Sprague and Oney Crane, of Palmyra; and Paul Clark, of Saverton.

DAR

Mrs. Fred C. Burkey was state treasurer of the Missouri Daughters of the American Revolution from 1923 to 1926, and was affiliated with this organization for much of her life.

Deaths

Elizabeth Gannaway Burkey died Sept. 14, 1937, age 66.

Fred Burkey, died March 13, 1953. They are buried together at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Hannibal.

Barney Rosinsky, son of David and Toby Esther Rosinsky, was born in 1883 in Russia; immigration year 1886; Barney died Feb. 4, 1960, in Dallas.

Edna Rosinsky died in 1956. She and her husband are buried at Sheath Israel Memorial Park in Dallas.

St. Mary’s Avenue property featured in stories by Mary Lou Montgomery. 1) Osterhout; 2) Burkey/Rosinsky/White; 3) Wm. Pound; 4) Drs. Bull; 5) Earl Shepherd; 6) Mefford/Brown/Rupp; 7) Wilson/Henneberger; 8) A.D. Stowell. This plat map is traced from the website Integrity, Marion, County, Mo., GIS Services, in conjunction with the Marion County Assessor’s office. Illustration by Mary Lou Montgomery. Stories archived at www.maryloumontgomery.com

Mary Lou Montgomery retired as editor of the Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on Amazon.com by this author include but are not limited to: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri," "The Historic Murphy House, Hannibal, Mo., Circa 1870,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’ and the newest book, “Oakwood: West of Hannibal.” Montgomery can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com