Individual Details

In the 1880 census, James Winkler and his family were living in Saline County, Missouri, where James was a ferryman. From family letters this writer has, James ran a ferry in Chariton County, Missouri, on the Missouri River. We know he was running it as early as 1876 and also that it was beside a mill called Bradley's Mill. Also from letters it is known that James hauled "boat gunnel" on the river. Gunnel is planking used for the top of the sides of a wooden vessel.
On February 26, 1876, as verified by family letters and court documents, when James was hauling boat gunnel, he left his teenage nephew Jim Garrett in charge of the ferry. This boy was the son of James' oldest sister Charity. The man who ran the next-door mill came down to the ferry to confront Jim Garrett. The mill man objected to Jim seeing his sister-in-law. After a heated argument, Jim Garrett pulled a gun and shot the mill man who died the next day. Young Jim Garrett claimed it was in self-defense, but he was sentenced to 15 years in Missouri State Prison for this crime. After several years served, Jim was pardoned by the Govenor. However, Jim went on to commit another murder in 1917, that of his Aunt Sarah Campbell (listed above), sister of James W. Winkler. For this crime, Jim Garrett spent the rest of his life in prison.
In 1883, when James Winkler's daughter Susie was born, her birth record shows James' occupation at that time was Saloon Keeper. In the 1900 census, James was a grain dealer living in the village of Dalton in Chariton County, Missouri. In the 1910 census of Keytesville, Chariton County, Missouri, when James was 68 years old, his occupation on the census reads "own income."
In the January 1920 census of Moberly, Randolph County, Missouri, James was 74 with no occupation. Wife Rebecca was 69, and their 43-year-old son Tillie, who was then divorced, was living with them and working as a bridge builder for the railroad.
James died in February 1920 in Moberly and is buried at Oakland Cemetery. Wife Rebecca died in 1939 and is buried in the same location.
- Written by Blytha (Dennis) Ellis

Birth	9 Oct 1844	Schuyler County, Missouri
Death	25 Feb 1920	Moberly, Randolph County, Missouri
Marriage		Rebecca Florence Mullinix

Spouse	Rebecca Florence Mullinix (1847 - 1939)
Child	James T Winkler (1875 - 1950)

Father	Henry Winkler (1819 - 1877)
Mother	Orvella "Arvalee" Asbell (1818 - 1877)
Sibling	Charity A. Winkler (1840 - )
Sibling	Henry H. Winkler (1842 - 1861)
Sibling	John T. Winkler (1846 - )
Sibling	Louisa Winkler (1850 - 1931)
Sibling	Sarah Winkler (1850 - 1917)
Sibling	Martha J. Winkler (1853 - )
Sibling	Margaret S. Winkler (1856 - )
Sibling	Mary C. "Mollie" Winkler (1858 - )
Sibling	Nancy S. Winkler (1859 - )
Sibling	Lydia Suminna Winkler (1863 - 1948)