This is my dad, Elmo James West, Sr. 
He
was born December 3, 1903 in Kansas City, MO. He passed away
October 12, 2001 in Independence, MO. He married Ellen Meredith
O'Bryan/O'Brien on September 13, 1924 in Kansas City, Kansas. When this
picture was taken he was seventeen years old. Click on the picture to
see a larger version of it. Use your "back" button to
return to this page.
To view a short video clip of
Dad taken in 1995 CLICK HERE.
I've also found a really short little clip of him taken in 1962 by my
father-in-law. CLICK HERE
to view that clip.
Dad's mother, Florence McDowell West, died when he was only about
six. He had some pretty vivid memories of his mother. Both
he and his brother, Sterling West, had a deep affection for her.
He remembered that she raised chickens and took the kids berry
picking. She took him in a buggy to services at Mt. Tabor Church
in Odessa, Lafayette County, Missouri. Many of his memories were
of her illness and death. 
The
doctor who came to care for her gave the kids their first ride in an
automobile. After their mother's death, Dad's sister, Maurine,
went to live with Aunt Gertie. Elmo and Sterling stayed with their
dad, James Ephrim West. While on the farm in Odessa, they were near
their uncles, Ed West, Herb West, and Bob Anderson, who was married to
their Aunt Anna. They attended school at both Oakland and Weaver schools
in Lafayette County and enjoyed growing up with both West and McDowell
cousins. Eventually, Grandpa married Ruth Moore, who he met while
working at a local apple orchard, and they moved to Independence,
Missouri. They had two daughters, Lydia Ann and Viola May.
Dad's grandfather, Henry C. West, also died when Dad was
very young. 
He had no memory of him at all except that he heard that he
"once shot a man off his horse". An interesting family rumor,
but no one has any idea what that rumor may have been about. Henry
C. West was married to Julia Pool, daughter of Ephraim Pool/Poole and
Julia Hogan Pool/Poole, who died giving birth to their daughter.
Although Dad had lot's of Pool cousins in Lafayette County, he
apparently had little or no contact with them. The Pools came from
Elk Creek, Grayson County, Virginia to Missouri in about 1833 and began
farming in Mayview Missouri. A descendant of the Pool family still
farms the original farm.
linda@lfthompson.com
