James Calvin Brinkerhoff

James Calvin Brinkerhoff was born 29 Oct 1880 in Seward, Seward, Nebraska. He married Flora Ellen Dain on 5 July 1906 in Muncie, Delaware, Indiana. He died 13 July 1946 in St. Louis, Missouri. Flora Ellen Dain was born 18 Jan 1885 in Edgar, Illinois and died 10 Dec 1977 in Provo, Utah. Sarah's parents were George Kasson Dain and Hannah Orilla Sutton. James Calvin and Flora had 4 children.


James Calvin Brinkerhoff was born on the 29th of October 1880 in Seward, Seward, Nebraska. His father James worked as a mill wright in the foundry business. James Calvin had 5 siblings. He was married to Flora Ellen Dain on the fifth of July 1906 in Muncie, Delaware, Indiana.
In 1918, three years after the birth of my grandfather James Marcus Brinkerhoff, James Calvin and his wife Flora Ellen moved to St. Louis Missouri. They lived in a cold-water “flat” with an outside toilet. Flora had to heat the water to wash the clothes and for James Marcus to take baths in a copper boiler. James Calvin worked for Warner Gear Co. in Muncie, Indiana before the move, and now was employed making Marmon cars. Later, James Calvin, worked in maintenance for United Drug Co., predecessor of Rexall Drug.
James Calvin was a Spanish American War Veteran and belonged to the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars Organization. When the troops came back from World War I in 1919, James Calvin took his son James Marcus to see the parade of returning troops.
In 1921, tragedy struck the family of James Calvin. His daughter Myra Lucille contracted typhoid fever and died soon after. James was heartbroken because Lucille had been “the apple in his eye.”
James Calvin and Flora Ellen had converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints while in Indiana. After the move to Missouri, the Brinkerhoff family attended the then tiny St. Louis branch. The Church was held in a rented German gymnasium. Flora’s brother Moses Dain and his wife Anna and their children attended also, along with Flora’s sister Nettie. Nettie’s husband, Everett Pearson, was not a member, but their children attended off and on.
In the early 1920s the Brinkerhoffs and the Pearsons rented an old mansion, which became known in the family as ‘The House on the Hill.” It was situated on a hill above a large abandoned quarry overlooking Broadway Ave. and the Mississippi River.
James Calvin’s children, Wayne and James Marcus would often play down by the quarry and swim in the river. Often the two boys would be close to drowning because neither knew how to swim.
Years later, the Church bought a small building from a defunct congregation at 5195 Maple Ave. The Brinkerhoff family attended church at this building for many years to come. James Calvin served as branch president for a total of 16 years. Because of James’ calling he often met with mission presidents and general authorities. Heber J. Grant once met with James and the small St. Louis branch and told stories about his youth. He shared with them his creed, “That which you persist in doing, eventually becomes easy, no that the nature of the thing has changed, but your ability to do has increased.”
Around 1926 the Brinkerhoffs moved to the Forest Park area and lived there until 1927. On September 29, 1927 a tornado struck the St. Louis area, stopping all public transportation. The kids were in school and James Calvin had to walk 8 miles home from work. Flora Ellen was shopping downtown and had to walk 6 miles to get home. The family’s second floor flat was missing it’s roof, shards of glass were everywhere and all the clothes had been sucked out of the closets.
James Calvin passed away on the 13th of July 1946 in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. He died of prostate cancer. He was being seen at the Veteran’s hospital because he was a veteran of the Spanish-American war. He was wounded in action when he was shot in the “buttocks!”


Children:
Madge Brinkerhoff: Born 13 Aug 1907 in Gaston, Delaware, Indiana; Died 21 Feb 1984 in Sacramento, California
Myra Lucille Brinkerhoff: Born 1 Mar 1909 in Terre Haute, Delaware, Indiana; Died 26 Aug 1922 in St. Louis, Missouri
***James Marcus Brinkerhoff: Born 8 May 1915 in Muncie, Delware, Indiana; Died 19 Jun 1988 in Provo, Utah
Howard Wayne Brinkerhoff: Born 2 Dec 1916 in Muncie, Indiana; Died 10 Aug 1968 in Cleveland, Ohio