Book focuses on history of Briarwood Manor in Cape

Lorimier, Ramsay, Houck and Juden are names synonymous with Cape Girardeau’s early history, and those are names Carl Armstrong focused on in his latest book, “Briarwood’s Window on Cape Girardeau’s Regional History.”

Armstrong has written other books, including “Elmwood’s 1,000 Year Dalhousie Castle Legacy,” and this book is an extension of that work in a sense, he said.

When renovating their house, Armstrong and his wife, Connie, discovered a log cabin built inside the walls.

After some investigating, they found the cabin was built in 1795 by Andrew Ramsay. Ramsay’s sister, Rebecca, was married to Alexander Giboney and was instrumental in the founding of Elmwood Manor in 1797, Armstrong said.

Briarwood Manor also is connected to Elmwood. Briarwood was built by Louis Houck and given to his daughter, Irma, on her marriage to Charles Juden in 1901.

A barn door is used for the walk-in closet on the second floor of the Briarwood Manor at 1172 Wolf Lane in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

“In the Briarwood book, one of the things that I’ve tried to bring out is the history of Cape is very interesting,” Armstrong said.

“In the book, I called it the American pioneer district portal,” he added, referring to the three houses involved: his house built around the Ramsay log cabin, Elmwood Manor and Briarwood.

Armstrong, a retired chemical engineer, said he had to go where the work was during his career and spent a lot of time in Texas. His sister, Bonnie Ludwig, kept sending him information about the house they grew up in, where Armstrong and his wife now live.

“Over the years, she kept sending me articles and this and that, and I thought it was interesting, but what am I going to do about it? I’m down in Texas. But when we retired, we came back and had to deal with the history.”

Armstrong said once he got into the history, it was like a ball of yarn, starting with his house, then discovering the connection between Andrew Ramsay and Rebecca Ramsay Giboney.

A view of the Briarwood Manor at 1172 Wolf Lane in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

After writing the Elmwood book, Armstrong said, he got to learning a little more about the Briarwood estate, and that developed into the book he wrote with Boyd and Leslie Sievers.

Leslie Sievers said she originally wasn’t as excited about the property as her husband was, “but I do like remodeling, and it’s been fun,” she said.

“The house has a lot of history to it, being connected to Elmwood Castle,” Sievers said.

Sievers said she and her husband wanted to keep the character of the house in line with its history.

The walls were canary yellow at one point, she said, and they softened the look with a lighter gray paint that felt more mellow, she said.

A view of the kitchen of the Briarwood Manor at 1172 Wolf Lane in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

Briarwood sits on 4.3 acres, Sievers said, and it contains 5,500 square feet.

Sievers said they didn’t take down walls or hire a contractor to do the work.

But they built a sliding door using barn wood they salvaged from a dilapidated barn on the property, she said.

Sievers said they are selling the property because though she loves the history, “it is a lot of house.”

Sievers said she’s done some research into the history of the house, curious after Armstrong came to her while researching his books.

“[Charles and Irma Juden] lived in the house until 1911,” Sievers said.

According to her research, Irma died when she was about 34 or 35 while giving birth in the house. Sievers said she believes Charles Juden remarried, because there’s evidence the house passed into the hands of other Judens as well.

Sievers said Frank Nickell, a retired history professor at Southeast Missouri State University, gave her a lot of information about the history of the home.

“There’s just so much,” Sievers said.

Armstrong’s book is available online at Amazon.com, b&n.com or at the Cape River Heritage Museum, 538 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau.

More information about Armstrong’s research is at 1795logcabin.com.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630