Accordion of Henley - Leonard Sullens’ music echoed from rural Miller County to radio listeners across North America

Leonard Francis Sullens poses with the accordion that made him a familiar figure throughout the Henley and Etterville communities. A lifelong farmer, Sullens began playing at age fourteen and later performed on Jefferson City's W.O.S. radio station and St. Louis radio broadcasts. Remembered for composing "My Dream Waltz" and entertaining neighbors at countless community gatherings, Sullens left behind a musical legacy that endured long after the final notes of his accordion faded from rural Missouri. Courtesy of Anna Mae Whittle

On a February afternoon in 1928, friends and neighbors gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Henley to celebrate the eighty-third birthday of Nancy Henley. As the guests visited and shared fellowship, music filled the home.

Reporting on the occasion, the Eldon Advertiser noted, "A number of friends and neighbors gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Henley, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 1928, in honor of his mother, Mrs. Nancy Henley ... 83rd birthday." The newspaper added, "The afternoon was spent listening to the music furnished by L.F. Sullens, with his accordion, Thomas Russell, with his fiddle, and Mrs. J.W. Berkey, at the piano."

For those in attendance, it was likely just another enjoyable community gathering. Nearly a century later, however, the account offers a glimpse into the life of Leonard Francis Sullens, a Miller County farmer whose accordion music became woven into the fabric of local rural life.

Born on Nov. 16, 1865, in Miller County, Sullens was the son of Rev. Alexander Sullens, whom his obituary described as a man who "was a minister in the Christian church for many years." The values instilled by his father remained with him throughout his life. According to the Miller County Autogram on March 19, 1942, Leonard "early in life gave his heart to the Savior and followed his example in Christian principles and church attendance."

While farming came to occupy much of his daily life, music would become one of his defining passions. His obituary recalled that he "has played since he was 14 years old," suggesting he first picked up the accordion around 1879. What began as a youthful interest eventually developed into a lifelong pursuit that brought enjoyment to many.

The social life of rural Miller County during the early twentieth century often centered around gatherings where neighbors provided their own entertainment. Anna Mae Whittle, longtime Henley historian and author of Henley, Missouri: Yesteryear and Today, preserved memories of those occasions.

"Back in 1920 and 1930 tent shows came to Henley," she wrote. "There were Chautauquas with actors, musicians and entertainment of all kinds." She added, “They had music parties where several musicians would gather at first one house then another," she recalled. "Uncle Jim Henley's home was a very popular place to gather for Aunt Cora Henley played the piano, my grandfather Leonard Sullens on the accordion, Elton Craig on violin, and Fritz Hager on the guitar."

Whittle also noted that Sullens played accordion over Jefferson City's W.O.S. radio station in 1924. Founded just two years earlier, W.O.S. was among Missouri's earliest broadcasting stations and later became associated with today's KWOS. Leonard's obituary further stated that he broadcast "over WOS and St. Louis radio stations many times."

Newspaper accounts suggest those broadcasts reached audiences far beyond Missouri. On Sept. 25, 1924, the Miller County Autogram-Sentinel published a remarkable headline: "Leonard Sullens' Accordion Heard in London, England."

According to the article, Sullens and fellow musician Fritz Hager had recently broadcast from Jefferson City, and among the responses received were messages from "London, England," a steamer sailing on Lake Superior and a passenger train in the Dominion of Canada. The article added, "They will broadcast again from Jefferson City this winter."

For a farmer from rural Miller County, such recognition represented a remarkable achievement during the infancy of radio broadcasting.

One of Sullens' most enduring musical legacies was a composition called My Dream Waltz. According to Anna Mae Whittle, the tune originated under unusual circumstances.

"Leonard Sullens was experiencing a high fever with the flu," she wrote. "The melody kept running through his mind, over and over until he got out of bed and played the tune on his accordion. This is the creation he named 'My Dream Waltz.'"

Yet Leonard's life was not defined solely by music. It was also marked by repeated personal tragedy. In 1889, he married Mary Templeton. The couple had two daughters before Mary's death in 1895. At only twenty-nine years old, Leonard found himself raising two young children alone. Two years later, he married Emma Florence Agee. Together they welcomed a daughter and two sons. Once again, tragedy struck. Emma died in 1905, leaving Leonard widowed for a second time.

In 1907, he married Maggie Findlay and began a third chapter of family life. The Findlay family became closely intertwined with the Sullens household. In 1936, Maggie's brother, William Findlay, died at Leonard's home following an illness of approximately one month, reflecting the close family bonds common in rural Missouri communities.

However, one of the most heartbreaking losses came in 1918 with the death of a 19-year-old son. The Eldon Advertiser reported on May 23 of that year, "A message came Sunday that Sidney Sullens of this place was accidentally killed by a Rock Island train at Addington, Oklahoma. He was a member of the Woodman Lodge at this place and a member of the Yeoman Lodge at Eldon."

Having already buried two wives, the death of a son added another chapter to a life that had already known considerable sorrow.

As if family losses were not enough, Leonard also faced public adversity. On May 3, 1924, the Jefferson City Post-Tribune reported on a preliminary hearing involving Sullens after an altercation with Delmar Harrison of Spring Garden.

The newspaper stated that Sullens was "charged with having assaulted Delmar Harrison of Spring Garden." However, the article also presented Sullens' explanation, reporting that he was "charged with forcing his attentions on Mrs. Sullens' niece, and Mr. Sullens claims he was protecting the girl."

According to the newspaper, Harrison "was injured with two grains of shot in the left wrist." The article noted that a large crowd attended the hearing and that numerous witnesses testified. Sullens was later acquitted of the charges.

Despite the highly publicized case, community memories preserved in later years focused not on the courtroom proceedings but on the musician whose accordion entertained neighbors throughout the region.

When Leonard Francis Sullens died on March 15, 1942, his obituary offered a fitting summary of his legacy. 

"Mr. Sullens will long be remembered for his beautiful music which he played on the accordion, playing often for hours entertaining himself and those about him. He has played since he was 14 years old, in later years broadcasting over WOS and St. Louis radio stations many times."

The obituary noted that he died from pulmonary tuberculosis, then one of the nation's most feared diseases and a leading cause of death before the widespread use of antibiotics. He was seventy-six years old. Following funeral services, Leonard was buried in Spring Garden Cemetery in rural Miller County, where generations of the Sullens, Findlay and related families had been laid to rest.  

These days, few outside the area remember Leonard Francis Sullens. Yet the memories preserved in local newspapers, family histories and community recollections reveal a man who endured hardship, remained devoted to his faith and family, and enriched the lives of countless neighbors through music.

In the years after the final notes of his accordion faded from the parlors and farmhouses of Henley and Etterville, the memory of the man who played them continues to resonate. More than eighty years after his death, Leonard Sullens remains a link to the time when the soundtrack of rural Missouri came not from a recording or a speaker, but from the hands of a neighbor with an accordion.
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Jeremy P. Ämick is author of the historical compilations “Moments on the Moreau” and “Beyond the Moreau.”