From Farm Fields to Store Counters: The Life of William “Allen” Short

William “Allen” Short and his wife, Edna Finke Short, are pictured in this early twentieth-century portrait. A native of High Point, Short worked as a store clerk and farmer before later employment in California, Missouri. He died in 1932, just days short of his 44th birthday, and is buried in Enloe Cemetery among generations of his family. Courtesy of Beverly Tising Meyer

The story of William Allen Short, who was known throughout his life as “Allen, is one rooted in rural Missouri and shaped by family, faith and hard work. Though his life was cut short at the age of 43, his experiences reflected those of many who lived and labored in Moniteau County during a time of transition in the early twentieth century.

Born on April 17, 1888, in the High Point community of Moniteau County, Allen Short was the next-to-youngest of eight children born to William Haywood Short and his wife, Margaret. He descended from a family whose presence in central Missouri dated back to the earliest days of settlement, including a grandfather who had been among the pioneers to establish themselves in the Russellville area.

Raised on his parents’ farm, Short grew up in a world predominantly defined by agriculture. Like many children of his era, he balanced his education with the daily demands of farm life. His schooling took place within a system that had evolved alongside the community itself.

A history compiled for High Point’s sesquicentennial noted, “Thus, the first schoolhouse in High Point was established in 1845.”

As the town grew, so too did its facilities.

“In February of 1876, the following bid announcement appeared in the California Democrat: ‘Bids for the building of a new frame school house in High Point, Moniteau Co., Mo. will be received by the undersigned at High Point. Signed J.F. Tising, Clerk.’ A new two-room frame schoolhouse was constructed that same year.”

It was likely within this very schoolhouse that Allen Short and his siblings received their early education, a setting that reflected the community’s commitment to learning and progress. Faith also played a central role in his upbringing.

“At the age of 16, Mr. Short joined the High Point Baptist Church,” reported the California Democrat on March 31, 1932. His membership marked an important step into adulthood and underscored the importance of church life in rural Missouri communities.

As he entered early adulthood, Short stepped beyond the farm and into the center of High Point’s commercial life. For four years, he worked as a clerk in the well-known J.F. Tising store, an establishment that served as a lifeline for the surrounding rural population. Farmers and families traveled from miles around to purchase goods, conduct business and exchange news.

On October 4, 1913, Allen Short married Edna Finke, and together they began building a life rooted in the traditions of the area. Their son, Lewis E. Short, was born in 1917 and would later preserve elements of his father’s story for future generations.

Reflecting on his father’s early years, Lewis wrote in the Moniteau County, Missouri History book published in 1980, “As a young man, my father worked at J.F. Tising’s store in High Point and then after he was married, he became a farmer.”

Following their marriage, Allen and Edna embraced agricultural life, farming in the High Point area. Additionally, they lived for a time in the Olean area just across the Miller County line. Lewis later recalled, “The house where I live was built in 1904 by Mrs. Deborah Payne. My parents purchased the farm from Mrs. Rob Hill in 1924 at which time we moved back to Moniteau County.”

Yet the demands of farming, combined with concerns about Allen Short’s health, eventually led the family to make a difficult transition.

“Owing to my father’s health, we moved to California, Missouri, in 1926 where he was employed at the late T.G. Erhardt store until his death in 1932,” Lewis noted.

A contemporary newspaper account further documented this shift. The California Democrat reported on March 31, 1932, “He began work at the Ehrhardt store on March 28, 1927…”

The business, which was known as the T.G. Ehrhardt Mercantile Company, was one of the established commercial enterprises in California, Missouri, serving residents of the county seat and surrounding countryside. The building that once housed the T.G. Ehrhardt Mercantile Company later became home to the Wood Place Public Library.

For Allen Short, the move to California represented a return to mercantile work, a role he had first experienced as a young man. Though his time there would be relatively brief, it reflected his adaptability and his continued connection to the economic life of Moniteau County.

The final chapter of his life came all too soon. According to his death certificate, Allen Short died on March 30, 1932, from lobar pneumonia, just 18 days before his 44th birthday. In the early twentieth century, pneumonia was one of the most feared and deadly illnesses, particularly in rural areas where access to advanced medical care was limited. Before the widespread use of antibiotics, otherwise healthy individuals could succumb quickly. 

Allen Short was laid to rest in Enloe Cemetery in Moniteau County, a site long associated with his family. Many members of the Short family are buried there, including his grandfather, one of the early pioneers to settle in the Russellville area.

From his birth in High Point to his work in both High Point and California, and finally to his burial in Enloe Cemetery, Allen Short’s life remained firmly rooted in Moniteau County. In later years, his son, Lewis, expressed a sentiment that closely reflected that enduring connection to place.

Writing in the Moniteau County, Missouri History book published in 1980, he noted, “There may be better places to live than Moniteau County but I have seen so many places that looked worse. I hope to spend the rest of my life in the area where I was born and raised.”

While written decades after his father’s death, the statement captures a perspective shaped by generations of experience in the same community and one that Short himself lived from beginning to end.

Jeremy P. Ämick is author of the historical compilations “Moments on the Moreau” and “Beyond the Moreau.”