Murphysburg story
Dr. John W. and Frances Board Barson
John and Frances Barson Medical Office
710 West 2nd Street | circa 1920 | Commercial Design
In 1919, Dr. John William Barson and his wife, Frances Sarah Board Barson, moved into a house at 202 S. Sergeant Avenue which was built around 1902 for Adam and Dora Scott. In 1920, Dr. Barson had this two-story red brick building built on the lot between the house and the alley to serve as his medical office. His career is full of documented incidents and undocumented rumors.
BIOGRAPHIES
John Barson was born on December 15, 1862 in Salt Lake City, Utah to parents born in England. After his father died when John was only two years old, he moved to Yorkshire, England with his mother and they lived with maternal relatives for four years. When mother and son returned to the United States they resided in Pittsburg, Kansas.
John married Frances on April 9, 1884 in Oronogo. After teaching for 14 years in public schools, he decided on a career in medicine and entered the University of Louisville, graduating in 1898. Following graduation, he returned to Oronogo to practice medicine as a physician and surgeon. He served as surgeon-in-chief for several mining corporations. He also was one of the first in the Joplin area to use radium in the treatment of cancer. Dr. Barson prided himself on being a fine singer and often had groups of musicians in his home to sing and play different instruments. Dr. Barson died on March 15, 1939 at 202 S. Sergeant from chronic heart and kidney disease. He is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Webb City, Missouri.
Frances Sarah Board Barson (aka Fannie and Sarah) was born on September 22, 1864 in Richmond, Missouri. After her education in Oronogo, she taught singing for several years. Coincidentally, her father was also a doctor. She was considered a member of a pioneer Jasper County family who settled in Oronogo. Frances and John were married in 1884 in Oronogo. Frances frequently worked late into the night with her husband taking care of injured men from the mines in Oronogo and surrounding districts. Frances died on November 12, 1950, also at her house at 202 S. Sergeant, and is buried at Mount Hope. Frances and John had four daughters: Bessie (1886-1972); Hazel Ann (1888-1932); Tirzah (1892-1973); and Ruth (1895-1895).
Tirzah married Dr. Samuel Snider of Kansas City at the house in 1919. The rooms in the house were decorated with a symphony of soft pink tulle, ferns, and pink roses. The windows, chandeliers, and stairway were heavily draped with asparagus ferns.
Bessie married Arthur Growdon (aka Growden) (1880-1919) in 1910. Dr. Growdon was also a well-known physician and surgeon in Oronogo and practiced with Dr. Barson extensively. Arthur died a premature death at the age of 38 following an illness of typhoid-pneumonia. After becoming a widow, Bessie and her two young sons moved in with her parents at 202 S. Sergeant. The family tradition continued with both sons and two grandsons becoming doctors! Bessie lived at (or owned) the main house and this office building continually until a new owner, Jack King, purchased both structures in 1972, thus ending 50 years of Barson family residency.
Dr. Barson’s Medical Practice — the Good, the Bad, the Rumors!
. . . The Good
In 1926, Joplin’s new Memorial Hall was the site of the Joplin Health and Welfare Association annual baby clinic. More than 100 infants were registered, weighed, measured and given a thorough physical examination. Volunteers were from St. John’s Hospital, Freeman Hospital, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, area doctors and of course Dr. Barson.
Also in 1926, the U.S. Census Bureau reminded Missouri parents of the importance of registering their newborn babies. While registration in Joplin was nearly 100%, in many parts of the state it was neglected. Dr. Barson was named as one of the many “registrars” for Jasper County.
He also participated in a 1927 St. John’s Hospital free clinic by performing minor operations including “removal of tonsils, cataracts and adenoids, correction of eye troubles and treatment of other ailments of a minor nature.”
Dr. Barson was a member of the American Medical Association, Missouri Medical Society, the Jasper County Medical Society, the Southern Medical Association, and he was on staff at Freeman Hospital and St. John’s Hospital. He also served as president of the Freeman Hospital staff.
. . . The Bad
In early August of 1924, the Joplin Globe printed several reports that Dr. Barson was charged with manslaughter for a “fatal, criminal operation.” Mrs. Flossie Busby (a wife and mother of three children) died from blood poisoning days after claiming to receive a medical abortion (see sidebar) by Dr. Barson at his office. Dr. Barson’s defense claimed that Mrs. Busby performed the procedure herself. The autopsy indicated the operation had been crudely performed by an “unskilled hand.” A local druggist testified that he sold her medicine and instruments (see sidebar) a few weeks prior to her death. In mid-August, the case was dismissed and Dr. Barson was exonerated by Justice E. H. Cullison who declared him innocent.
Troubles continue for Dr. Barson in February 1925. The Joplin Globe reported, “A suit to regain possession of $450 ($8,617 in 2026 dollars) worth of diamonds alleged to be unlawfully held by Dr. J. W. Barson, was filed in circuit court yesterday against the physician by E. Rose and Louise Blond, doing business as the Gray Jewelry Company.” Based on a March 1925 Joplin Globe news article, it is possible that Barson purchased the diamonds unwittingly from James B. Adams who acquired them fraudulently from Rose. Rose gave Adams diamonds to sell (as a bailee), but Adams kept the money he obtained by selling them.
Controversy continued to surround Dr. Barson in February of 1926 after delivering Violet Stoneking’s baby girl in a 2:30 am home birth. Violet did not want to keep the baby, so her husband, Elmer, asked Dr. Barson to find an adoptive home for the newborn. However, shortly after the baby was removed by Dr. Barson and Mrs. Cora Schulte, Elmer asked for the baby to be returned to them, despite his wife’s wishes. Dr. Barson and Cora had left the baby wrapped in a blanket on the front porch of Bert and Margaret Brown’s house at 2602 S. Kentucky Avenue. It is unknown why Barson and Cora decided on this particular home or if either of them knew the Browns. When the Browns found the baby between 7 and 8:00 pm, juvenile authorities were alerted which took custody of the baby. Dr. Barson, the parents, and Mrs. Schulte, were arrested and criminally charged with a misdemeanor in the abandonment of the newborn and in failure to obtain proper papers from a juvenile court before placing a baby in a home. Dr. Barson and Cora paid a $750 bond ($14,500 in 2026 dollars), but the Stonekings were unable to provide a bond. All four pleaded not guilty.
In April, Dr. Barson and Cora were fined $50 each ($946 in 2026 dollars) with no prison time to be served.
On a side note, another child, a two-year-old son, was taken from the Stonekings in 1925 after the mother had been accused of neglecting it.
. . . The Rumors
This building was also referred to as a “woman’s clinic” where it was believed abortions were performed for “soiled doves.” In 1924, medical/elective abortions were illegal in almost all states and territories, but during the Depression Era doctors could see why women wouldn’t want a child, and many would perform abortions anyway. In the 1920s and through the 1930s, many cities had physicians who specialized in abortions, and other doctors would refer patients to them “off book.” – Source: Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health; magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu – Brief History Abortion in the US
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SIDEBAR
The medicine or drugs purchased by Mrs. Stoneking could have been herbal abortifacient plants that were believed to cause a spontaneous abortion. One brand, which was a hoax and highly dangerous, was Chichester’s English Red Cross Diamond Brand “Pennyroyal Pills” sold by a Philadelphia drug company. It was advertised to “promote menstruation” meaning it would expel a fetus or disrupt a pregnancy. Pills retailed for $2 ($39 in 2026 dollars) or more. It was made from the pennyroyal plant which is a fast-growing, creeping perennial herb with spearmint scent and lilac flowers. It is a traditional folk remedy for digestive issues, pain relief, and insect repellent. Small doses lead to nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and dizziness, while larger amounts could cause multiorgan failure and death.
“Female Beans” for Women were advertised by Wheeler & Leffen Drug Co. at 510 Main Street often next to Pennyroyal Pills advertisements. Female Beans contained Ergot, Tansy, and Pennyroyal.
Historic Murphysburg Preservation found above mentioned medicines advertised in Joplin newspapers between 1904 and 1907. The pills were marketed in the early 20th century.
The Instruments Mrs. Stoneking might have purchased through the druggist could have been
- a “pessaries,” which was a tampon-like device soaked in a solution to induce abortion
- a “urinary catheter” that irritates the womb and forces a miscarriage
- a “dilation and curettage (D&C) set”
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SIDEBAR
The relationship between Cora Schulte, Dr. Barson and the Stonekings is unknown. She was born Cora G. Brown in 1876 and died two years after the Stoneking incident. She was married several times and upon her death was married to George W. Stewart. Cora was the manager of at least two boarding houses in Joplin: 302 ½ S. Main Street; and “Cut Rate Rooming House” at 114 S. Main Street. Cora attended meetings of the Fox Sisters Club, which was a group of believers in spiritualism—but that is a deep dive story for another day!
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ARCHITECTURE
This two-story garage and dwelling/office has a concrete foundation, brick cladding, and a flat roof. A two-story flat-roof porch and balcony span the east elevation. An overhead door and a single pedestrian door with a historic wood transom access the resource on the north elevation. The second story of this elevation has a band of three windows, flanked on each side by a single window. All windows are historic multi-light-over-one double-hung wood windows.