Person:Gertrude Osborn (1)

Obituary: Mrs. Gertrude O'Brien Dies Sunday Morning Mrs. Gertrude O'Brien died at her home in the east part of the city early last Sunday morning, following a long illness. She was laid to rest in the New Hope cemetery Sunday afternoon, the funderal being conducted by Rev. Pillow, pastor of a Baptist church at Poplar Bluff.

Mrs. O'Brien is survived by her husband, Charles O'Brien, one son, Morgan O'Brien of Emmett, Idaho; one daughter Miss Ellen O'Brien of this city; her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Osborn of Poplar Bluff, and one sister, Mrs. Harry Bagwill of Doniphan.

Purman This small village is a few miles north of Currentview on N Highway. In the late 19th century John Blake Bell put up a two-story store in which the upstairs was a lodge and community center. He named the village after an enderly resident of the area. The store held a post office from 1901 to 1913. Bell was the first postmaster and when he sold the store in 1908 to Sam Osborn, Sam became the postmaster. Bell was Sam’s brother-in-law and uncle to Gertrude. Dry goods, groceries, shoes, hardware, farm supplies—anything the rural families might need. Sam, his wife Inez and two daughters lived across the road in a big white house to the north of the store. Sunday afternoons brought the neighbors from miles around to the field across from the store for a baseball game. Around 1917-1918 about 25 new families from Kentucky moved into the area. This is probably when the Carricos sold (need to check Ripley County Land Records). The flu epidemic of 1918-1920 hit families living in this area hard.

Osborn motto on their coat of arms is: "Peace in War"