Qass Book COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT GENERAL HISTORY n OF SHELBY COUNTY MISSOURI CHICAGO HENRY TAYLOR & COMPANY 1911 HENRY TAYLOR, JR. W. H. BINGHAM COPYRIGHT 15111 BY HENBY TAYLOR & COMPANY ©aA283708 FOREWORD History is the essence of iuminierable biographies. — CarhjJc The invasion and conquest of a wilderness ; the wresting of a vast domain of hill and valley, forest and prairie, from its nomadic and unproductive savage deni- zens; its transformation into an empire rich in all the elements of modern civiliza- tion, — basking in the smiles of pastoral abundance, resounding with the noise of fruitful industry, busy with a mighty volume of multiform and far-reaching com- merce, and bright with the luster of high mental, moral and spiritual life — the home of an enterprising, progressive, all-daring people, as they founded and have built it, is tlie theme of this volume. Its pages teem with biographies of many of the progressive men of Shelby county — 'those who laid the foundations of its greatness and those who have Iniilt and are building on the superstructure — and is adorned with portraits of numbers of them. It also gives a compreliensive survey of the numerous industries and lines of productive energy which distinguish the people of the county at the present time and those in which they were engaged in all past periods since the settlement of the region began. And so far as past history and present conditions disclose it, the work indicates the trend of the county's activities and the goal ■(\-hich they aim to reach. How trite, oft-told and well-worn seems the story herein briefly chronicled! And yet how full of suggestiveness, interest and incitement is it all ! It opens impressively to view the mighty field for earnest endeavor and successful striving there is in the boundless realm of opportunity that is called "The Great American Eepublic," and has been aptly pronounced "The last great charity of God to the human race." It emphasizes anew the value of courage, self-reliance, industry, devotion to diity and firm and sturdy manhood and womanhood. The story might well be taken as that of Man himself in his contest with Nature on a gigantic theater of action. Poetry sparkles. Heroism glows. Comedy gambols. Tragedy darkens in its texture, and the golden thread of sentiment runs brightly through its woof. It is, in all essentials, an epitome of American history, too. Wide gulfs of time and space are compassed in its range and made as naught. Since the morning hymn and the evening anthem first rose in hope from its primeval solitudes, distant countries have become near neighbors, the Atlantic has been reduced to a narrow frith across which the Old World and the New shake hands ; the Pacific has been bound to it with hoops of steel, and our own East and West have been brought so close together that they look into each other's windows. The life herein sketched began with the goose quill ; it continues with the type- writer; it came in under the tallow dip; it goes forward under the electric light; iii iv rOEEWOED it dwelt at first by well and springhouse; it now abides with cold storage, artificial ice and liquid air; it has quit the stage coach for the palace car, the sail boat for the ocean greyhound, the post rider for the telegraph and telephone, the saddle horse and the gig for the automobile. And now, condemning all more solid and sub- stantial elements of intercommunication, it even dares make the atmosphere its medium in wireless telegraphy and aerial navigation. In all this vast development and progress Shelby county has borne no childish, but a soldier's, part, and it is the aim of this work to preserve in a permanent form the record which proves that fact. The special thanks of the publishers are due and are warmly tendered to Mr. and Mrs. H. J. Simmons, of Clarence, for their masterful preparation of the general history of the county which enriches the volume ; to Jlr. Vernon L. Drain, of Shelbyville, for his excellent chapter on the "Bethel Colony'' and his sketch of the Shelby County Eailroad; to ^Ir. W. 0. L. Jewett for the chapter on "Shelbina"; to Eev. John H. AVood for as^sistanec on the history of the churches in the county; to Gen. J. "William Towson for help in reviewing portions of the work, and to many other persons whose aid is highly appreciated but who are too numerous to be men- tioned specifically by name. AVithout the valuable and judicious assistance of all these persons, those who are named and those who are not, it would have been impossible to comjjile a history of the completeness and high character this one is believed to have. The book is now submitted to the judgment of the public with no other voice to proclaim its worth save that of its ow-n inherent merits, whatever they may be. The Publishers. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Page Discovery and Early Settlements — Log Cabin Days — Settlers of 1833 — A Sur- veying Party — Cholera Epidemics — The First Election — A Postoffice and Store Installed — Shelby County Formed and Organized and Some Events Which Followed — Indians — Wild Animals and Game — The Pioneer Wed- dings — Pioneer Ministers — First Settlements Made in Timber — Pioneers, Pioneer Homes and Comforts — Agricultural Implements — Fishing 1 CHAPTER II. Early History — The Name — Important Dates of Public Notices — Important Proceedings 1836 County Court — First Circuit Court — The First Attorney Fisticuff in County Court — Miscellaneous News from Early Court Dock- ets — The First Shelby County Election — August Election, 1836 — August Election, 1838— August Election, 1839 21 CHAPTER III. List of 1835 Settlers — Naming of the Streams — First Coroner's Inquest — A Lost Man — "New York" Shelby County — The New Courthouse — Pioneer Mills— The First Roads— "Bee Trails"— Settlers in Shelby, 1837— The First Bridge — The First Homicide 29 CHAPTER IV. Crops in Early Forties — Chinch Bug Year — The Sixteenth Section — German Settlement — Change of County Line — Mail Facilities Improved — A Few Things that Interested the Settlers — Civilization's Sure Advance — Sec- ond Homicide in the County — The First County Conviction — Jefferson Shelton — Jonathan Michael — George Liggett — Miss Aleina Upton — Stock Raising and Shipping — First Jail — California Emigrants — Elections, 1840 — Presidential Election — August Election, 1844 39 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER V. Page Heterogeneous — Election of 1852 — Political Campaign of 1856 — Presidential Election, 1856— The "Know Nothings"— Election of 1858— Slavery Days— 1860 Presidential Campaign — The Situation in 1860 — Stirring Times After the Election — Incendiary Talk 52 CHAPTER VI. The County's War Record — The Mormon War — The Iowa War — The War of 1861 — Governor Jackson Refuses to Respond — The Hunnewell Meeting — The Flag Raising Period — The First Federal Troops — First Union Com- pany Organized — Salt River Bridge Burned — Join Green's Company — Green Takes Shell)ina — Report of Colonel N. G. Williams, Third Iowa Infantry — What the Kansas Officers Said — Second Burning of Salt River Bridge — Shelby County Confederate Troops — Movement of Union Forces — General Grant in Shelby — Secession of Missouri — County Court Meeting — Changes in Coimty Officials 64 CHAPTER VII. Missouri State Militia Organize — Bushwhacking in the County — The Bush- whacking Near Walkersville — Stockade Built Around Courthouse — "Spe- cial Order No. 30" — Several Changes in Positions — John L. Owen Killed — Shelby County Men Executed— The 1862 Election 84 CHAPTER VIII. Many Join Porter's Command — Federals Hold the County — Bill Anderson Visits Shelby— Fifty-one Killed at Ceutralia, Missouri— The 1864 Election 92 CHAPTER IX. Ousting the Officers — Murders and Homicides — Murder of George Queary — "The Dale-Phelps Tragedy" — Bruce Green Kills Calvin Wai-ren — A Negro Murder Case — The Robber Johnson- — The Great Benjamin Will Case — The Will — Indicting Rebel Preachers — Registration of Voters — News From Headquarters — The War is Over — The Drake Constitution — After the War — Robbery of the County Treasury — Politics and Election of 1870— Registration in 1870— Census" of 1880— Flood of 1876 102 CONTENTS vii CHAPTER X. Page The Agricultural Society of Shelby County — The Shelby County Agricultural and Mechanical Association — The Shelbina Fair Association — Local Op- tion and Temperance — Transjjortation Facilities — The Hannibal & St. Joe Eailroad— The Building of the Shelby County Railway— The First Elec- tric Railroad — Chief Pursuits and Surplus Products 119 CHAPTER XI. Government Surveys — Original Townships — County and Township Systems — Organization of Townships — Municipal Townships of Shelby County — Tiger Fork Township — Salt River Township — Clay Township — Taylor Township — Bethel Township — Jefferson Township — Black Creek Town- ship — North River Township — Lentner Township 136 CHAPTER Xn. Newspapers of Shelby County — The Shelbyville Spectator — The Shelby County Weekly — The Shelby County Herald — The Shelby County Times —The Shelbyville Guard— The Shelbina Gazette— The Shelbina Index and Torchlight — The Shelbina Democrat — First Paper in Clarence — The Clar- ence Courier — The Clarence Republican — The Hunnewell Enterprise — The Hunnewell Echo — The Enterprise Resumes Publication — The Hunnewell Bee— The Bethel Sun— The Missouri Sun 148 CHAPTER XIII. Some Shelby County Murders and Suicides — William Switzer Murdered in 1864 ■ — Pat McCarty Assassinated — The Buford Tragedy — Murder of Nicholas Brandt — Judge Joseph Hunolt Assassinated — A Leonard Tragedy — Shel- bina Mayor Dies Suddenly^M. Lloj^d Cheuvront Shot — Suicide at Clar- ence — The Stacy Murder and Suicide 155 CHAPTER XIV. Shelby County — Census of Shelby County — Clarence — Shelbyville — Shelbina — Hunnewell — The Temple of Justice — Courthouse Burned — Three Clarence Fires — Shelby County Congressman 162 viii COXTENTS CHAPTER XV. Page Schools, Colleges and Churches — Shelbina Collegiate Institute — Shelbina Pub- lic School — The Macon District Academy at Clarence — College at Leonard — The Independent Holiness School at Clarence 178 PORTRAIT INDEX B Mc Page , Page Biirckhardt, John G 518 McBride, Elias A., and wife 556 ' Burnett, Alexander 583 ^ McCully, Dr. John M 433 ' c M Christine John A., and wife. . 500 ^^^^^^^^ Theodore P 309 ' Churchwll Francis M., and wife 510 ^^^^^. j^^^,^ ^ 548 ' Cooper, J. T 235 - Crawford, George W 487 ' D Moore, John H., and wife 433 ^ Morgan, David 373 . Morgan, John E 396 i^ N 479 Dimmitt, Dr. Pliilip 199 Dimmitt, Frank 371 Dimmitt, Lee 440 Noll, Melchior. . . Dimmitt, Prince 319' Drain, Vernon L 337 '^ p F Parsons, S. G 379^ I, Phillips, Eugene C 456 Forman, Thomas W 449 ^ Pickett, Hedgeman, and wife 464 Freeland, Arthur L 605 ^ Pollard, Dr. Henry M 406 ' Funk, Henry S 526 G E Garrison, Thomas E 503 ^eed, Thomas W. P 363 Greenfield, Geo. W 494 ^eid, ^\llllam A 206 H Hawker, Wm. M., and wife 534 Hirrlinger, William A 565 Holliday, James L 573 Howell," William 600 S Selsor, Hiram, and wife 541 Siielton, Hon. N. M 387^ Simmons, Hon. H. Jeane 414 Simmons, Mrs. H. J 416 Hughes, William A 345 "■ Stribling, James 253 Humphrey, Sen. Geo. W 355'' T Jewett, Hon. W. 0. L. 368 Towson, Gen. J. William 315 W Lasley, Charles H 328 Will, Henry • 4*2 Lloyd, Hon. James T 281 Wood, Eev. J. H 243 Lvell, J E 300 "^ Woodward, Cravton 610 IX INDEX OF VIEWS Page Tlie Old Mill at Walkersville (Facing) 34 "^ The Old Colony Church at Bethel 173 Type of Block Hoxise Erected on Salt River 72 ' Eesidence of John A. Christine 593 Home of Dr. William Keil at Bethel 176 GENERAL INDEX A Page Adams, Judge Newton 257 Alexander, Edward P 640 AUgaier, James F 313 Arnold, Henry 507 Ayerg, Mort. D 430 B Bailey, John T 229 Bailey, Tilmon A 256 Bair," Harry C 360 Bair, Samuel J 361 . Baker, Wesley 461 Baker, Sanford 571 Baker, James R 651 Baker, Isaac N 645 Bank of Lentner 305 Barker, Charles S 259 Barker, James S 470 Barton, John S 442 Bauer, John G 377 Bayliss, Dr. W. M 393 Bean, Thomas A 420 Bethards, Kim 555 Blackford, James G 480 Bodwell, Forrest G 589 Bonnel, Henry H 629 Bostwick, William H 653 Bower, John C 359 Bower, August 363 Bower, David 364 Bower, Carl E 365 Bower, Theodore L 366 Bower, Walter C 374 Browne, Sidney H., Jr 459 Brown, John 475 Buckman, Martin S 427 Bue, John H 604 Burckhardt, John G 518 Burckhardt. John F 316 Burnett, Alexander 582 C Cadwell, Eugene M 338 Callison, Elisha A 339 2iii Page Calvert, Cecilius C 611 Capp, Eobert E 611 Carmichael, Robert L 560 Carroll, Hansford S 498 Carson, Dr. William 335 Chinn, John S 513 Christine, John A 590 Churchwell, Francis M 510 Citizens' Bank of Clarence 391 Citizens' Bank of Shelby ville 322 Clarence Savings Bank 387 Claussen, William 516 Cockrum. Joseph F 640 Coe, Edward M 553 Collier, Richard 317 Collins, Hiram 234 Commercial Bank of Shelbina 292 Connaway, J. Polk 467 Cooper, Alonzo 333 Cooper, Jolm T 225 Cotton. William J 613 Cox, ilatthew M 288 Cox, Charles T 289 Craigmyle, Ferd 529 Crawford, George W 487 Crow, James F 425 D Dale, John D 334 Dale, Francis M 647 Damrell, Edwin M 340 Damrell, Theodore B 561 Daniel, Dr. Joseph A 212 Davis, John T 453 Davis, Dr. Eli C 270 Dempsey, Hugh 469 Dempsey, Mark 484 Dimmit't, Frank 271 Dimmitt, Walter A 350 Dimmitt, Dr. Philip 199 Dimmitt, Lee 440 Dimmitt, Prince 310 Dimmitt, Marvin 627 Douglass, Hardin 313 Drain, Vernon L 337 XIT GENERAL INDEX Page Drennan, Henry C 630 Duncan, William L 489 Dunlap, Andrew B 26.5 Dunlap, Robert H 286 Dunn, Preston, B., Sr 568 E Eaton, Harrison 307 Eaton, Henry M 311 Echternacht,' Justus F 656 Edelen, James 3-18 Edwards, John D 667 Ertel, John 485 P Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Hun- newell 261 Farmers' Bank of Emden 60n Farmers' Bank of Leonard 635 Farr, Fred'k M 343 Farr, Dr. Geo. E 344 Farrell, Judge Rufus 410 Feelv, Theodore W 550 Feely, Silas M 551 Feely, Charles R 552 Forman, Thomas W 44!1 Forman, John 592 Fox. William S 473 Freeland, Arthur L 605 Freeman, James M 335 Frye, Edwin A 267 Frve, John W 331 Funk. Henry S 526 G Gable. Jacob 657 Gamble, William 443 Garner, Charles B 504 Garner, George B 602 Garrison. Thomas E 503 Gerard, Edward N. Jr., M. D 634 Gibson, William T 547 Gillaspy, John A 597 (JillaspV, Richard W 603 Gillaspy, William L 579 Gillispio, William H 219 Gilman. George T 422 Glahn, Christian P 583 Glahn, Henry F 664 Goodwin, Richard D 609 Gorby, Samuel 648 Gose, John T 221 Grant, George C 249 Page Graves, Charles A 454 Greenfield, Geo. W 494 Griswold, Alonzo L 413 Gunby, William K 668 H Hall, Geo. W 577 Hammond, Dr. Harry B 528 Hamilton, James A 413 Hamrick, Wm. L 384 Hardy, Jesse T 246 Harrison, James F 314 Hart, William T 670 Harvey, George W 663 Hawker, Wm. M 534 Hawkins. James W 637 Heinze, Theodore 505 Herron. William B 368 Hershey, Michael 638 Hewitt, John J 330 Hickman, Charles A 291 Hickman. Joseph H 393 Hickman, Jesse H 395 Hiles, James J 501 Hirrlinger. William F 421 Ilirrlinger, William A 565 Holliday, James L 573 Holliday, James M 563 Hollyman, John J 615 Hoofer, Jacob 594 Howe, James W 455 Howell. William 600 Huggins, Albert F 208 Hughes. William A 345 Humphrey, Sen. Geo. W 355 J Jackson, Robt. T 351 Jacobs, John W 404 Jacobs. William L 403 Janes, William P 276 Janes, Rov 299 Janes. Thomas 301 Jarrell, Jonathan 538 .Tarrell, James Wesley 539 Jewett, Hon. W. 0. L 368 Johnston. Lafayette J ''--. r.'> 599 Jones, Wade H 304 .Ionian. Arthur E 476 .bmlan. William A 476 K Keith. John T 43G Keller, Peter 531 GENERAL INDEX XV Page Keller, Philip, Jr 533 Kelso, John L 515 Kemp, Luther 587 Kesner, W. J 643 Kimbley, F. M 632 Krauter, Valentine 537 Lair, John W 278 Laslev, Cliarlcs H 328 Lewis, Minns H 401 Lewis, Aaron 401 Libbv, Harrv J 223 Lloyd, Hon. James T 281 Llovd. Oliver Jerre 635 Lowman. John B 490 Lownian, Samson B 491 Lyell, J. E 300 Lyell, Dr. Thomas W '211 Mc McAtee, James A 280 McBride, Elias A 556 McCnlly, John M., M. D 423 M Mas^riider, Willis J 445 Mannel, Theodore P 309 Martin, Charles Boggs 341 Maupin, Hon. Rice G 235 Maupin, William A 323 Maupin, Marion M 439 Maupin, John Henry 646 Mears, Samuel H 660 Melson, James H 305 Merrin, Jacob H 548 Miles, John S 338 Miller, Henrv G 558 Million, Burrell 395 Mitchell, Thomas D 478 Moore, George W 520 Moore, John H 433 Moran, Judge James F 572 Morgan, J. R 396 Morgan, David 373 Morgan. William W 203 Morgan, David, Jr 203 Morgan, James H 204 N Neuschafer, John 533 Noll, Melchior 479 Nothnagol, Valentine 519 Page Oaks, Milton P 639 O'Bryan, J. L 311 O'Brvan, George W 447 O'Daniel, John A 273 O'Donnell, Richard 433 Old Bank of Shelbina 363 Oliver, Andrew J 636 Orr, James C 653 Osburn, Morris 576 Parsons, S. G 379 Peoples, John 585 Peoples, William Z. T ' 635 Perry, Judge John T 333 Perry, Benjamin F 531 Perry, Oliver Commodore 650 Peterman, Lewis J 418 Phipps, William H 514 Phillips, Eugene C 456 Pickett, Hedgeman 464 Pollard. Dr. Henry M 406 Powell, Hugo 450 Prange, Harry H 546 Priest, Thomas E 524 Priest, John C 500 Pritchard, Walter M 385 Puckctt. Thomas L 237 Q Quigley, John L. 499 R Ragsdale, James E 236 Rtith.fen, Henry 511 Rathjen. Harman 536 Raines, William C . . . . .' 631 Ray, Elmer B 620 Reardon, Peter J 398 Reed, Thomas W. P 362 Reid, William A 206 Rice, Thomas J 318 Rickev, John C 390 Ridge, Joseph R 232 Ridings, Joseph L -108 IJoff, George 244 RofF, Thomas 355 Roy, Dr. James E 393 Rutter, Michael E 446 XVI GENEEAL INDEX S Page Sass. James 509 Schofield, Frank L 368 Sflnvada, Henry 662 Schwieters, Charles X 428 Selsor, Hiram 541 Shale, John B 397 Shain, Edward C 381 Shelblna National Bank 234 Shelbv Coiint\' State Bank of Clarence 383 Slielton, Judge Nat. M 387 Simmons, Hon. H. Jeane 414 Siiigletiin, Jacob H 581 Singleton, Judge A. E 327 Singleton, Benjamin H 330 Smith, Dr. Jacob D 210 Smith, Andrew J 284 Smith, J. Sidner 417 Smith, James A 492 Smith, Lewis 596 Snider, Peter A 460 Snider, Henry F 463 Snider, Marion F 465 Spalding, James A 296 Sparks, John F 434 Spencer, James A 458 Speyerer, Frederick G 481 Stalcup, William 641 Stalcup, George W 482 Steinluu-h, William 357 Steinliach, Albert W 358 Stewart, George E 535 Slover, Lewis Cass 666 Stribling, James 253 Swearingen, William T 248 Swift, Byron L 466 Swinney, Emmett D 619 Tarbet, James H 543 Taylor, Eobert Edgar 557 Page Taylor, Reuben Lee 643 Teachenor, Monroe 617 Terrill, Eugene M 341 Terrill, John M 346 The Shelbyville Bank 570 The Hunnewell Bank 263 ThiehofF, William B 264 Threlkeld, Silas 251 Tolle, John D 371 Towson, Gen. J. William 215 Turner, Wm. R 353 Turner, James William 378 Turner, James W 616 V Van Osdol, Luke 575 Vanskike, James H 542 Vaughn, Albert L 262 Van Vacter. Benjamin F 586 Von Thum, Henrv 531 Von Thum, Jolm'G 545 W Warren, William H 201 Wav, John 437 AVerr, John H 506 AAHieeler, Julian A 274 Wheeler, Lanius L 654 Wliitbv, Marvin 622 White', Stephen A. D 659 Wiggins, John 488 Wi'li; Henry 472 Williams, Newton E 231 Willis, H. T., M. D 239 Wilson, Rev. James Jolly 607 Wood, Rev. J. H 243 Wood, Dr. A. G 302 Wood. John M 566 Wood, Hugh W 451 Woodward, Crayton 610 Wright, George A 431 Zicgler, AVm. T 375 Z HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY CHAPTER I. Discovery and Early Settlements — Log Cabin Days — Settlers of 1833 — A Sur- veying Party — Cholera Epidemics — The First Election — A Postoffice and Store Installed — Shelby County Formed and Organized and Some Events Which Followed — Indians — Wild Anim.als and Game — The Pioneer Wed- dings — Pioneer Ministers — First Settlements Made in Timber — Pioneers, Pioneer Homes and Comforts — Agricultural Implements — Fishing. DISCOVERY" AND EARLY SETTLEMENT. Ever since the daj- that Lot aud Abram divided- aud the former chose for him- self all the plain of Jordan, which was fertile and well watered, and Abram journeyed in the opposite direction, hath the son of man been looking for fertile plains, rich valleys and ever-flowing streams of pure water. Indeed, through- out all ages hath man endured hardships of every description and denied himself all the joys of societj' in order that he might find broader acres of more fertile land and an abundance of water. This desire burning in the breasts of strong men is what prompted them to turn their faces westward from the coasts of the Atlantic and seek new homes in the in- terior of the then wild and uncultivated portion of the United States bordering the great Mississippi river. Many were the men who traveled from Virginia and the Atlantic sea-coast states westward into the bluegrass sections of Kentucky and Tennessee and from thence followed the course of the setting sun across the Father of Waters into Missouri — all seeking fertile soil and fountains of living water where the toil of their hands would yield greater return. Thus it was that Missouri was placed upon the map and became inhabited by men and women of noble blood, and thus it was that Shelli}' county liecame a part of this glorious and imperial commonwealth. There is a dilference of opinion among former history writers of Shelby coimty as to whether or not the county was ever a part of Marion county. In this con- nection Judge James C. Hale, in writing the iiistorical sketch contained in the atlas published by Edwards Brothers in 1878, says : "We know that some of our respected old citizens hold to the belief that Shelby was once a part of Marion, but this view, HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY however, cannot be a correct one, for in 1826 Marion count}^ was taken from Ealls by legislative act and its boundary lines fixed. The western boundary of Marion was fixed where it remains today, on a range line between ranges 8 and 9, and in 1831 Monroe county was organ- ized from Ralls, with its northern boun- dary line fixed within two miles of where it remains today, still leaving all the territory between Marion, Monroe and the Iowa line unorganized: so we con- clude that Shelby was until its organi- zation as a distinct and separate county a part of Ralls. Under the old terri- torial organization, citizens of unorgan- ized territory may have been required to pay taxes at the nearest county seat ; of this we cannot speak authoritatively, because the records and books at our command furnish us no certain informa- tion on the subject. "In the early organization of this state into counties, the object of the legislature seems to have been to make as many counties as the population of the county would permit. And this may have been the reason for restricting Marion to its present limits. Be this as it may, however, we cannot agree that Shelby was ever a part of Marion after the organization of Marion into a county. ' ' From information at our command, and from as thorough an investigation as it is possible for us to make, we can agree with the judge in part only. The territory embraced in Shelby was not included by the legislative enact- ment creating Marion county in 1826, as Judge Hale says; but what was later and is now Shelby county was, as the records of Marion county show, attached to Marion, at some date, for military, civil and judicial purposes. In this con- nection, however, we will begin at the beginning and bring the history down from the discovery of the country to the organization of the county. The title to the soil of Missouri, including Shelby county, was, of course, primarily vested in the original occupants who inhabited the country prior to its discovery by the whites, or civilized nations. The aborigines, or Indians, being savages, possessed but few rights that civilized nations considered themselves bound to respect; so, therefore, when the white men found this country in the hands of the savages, they claimed it by right of discovery. The discoverer of Missouri was Fernando De Soto, in 1541. De Soto was a Spaniard. He came as far north as New Madrid countj' and then moved west across the Ozark mountains. De Soto died in the spring of 1542 and was buried in the Mississippi river. The Spanish, however, were not the first to settle Missouri. The French pushed westward, and in 1682 La Salle formally took possession of the whole countrj' in the name of Louis XIY and called the country Louisiana, in honor of the reigning king of France. Spain acquired all the territory west of the Mississippi by the treaty of 1763. The territory was, however, ceded back to France in 1800. The country remained in the possession of the French until April 30, 1803. This is the date of the memorable "Louisiana Purchase." The contract was made by Livingston and Monroe for the United States, and Napo- leon for France. The signing of the contract took ]ilace May 2, 1803, and was ratified by the United States senate, HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 3 October 17tli of the same year. The eou- sideratioii for this vast amount of land was fifteen million dollars, one-fourth of which was remitted on accoimt of dam- age done to the trade of the Ohio country after Louisiana had l)een transferred from Spain to France. (For further information on the subject, see "Early History," Chapter II.) LOG CABIN DAYS. It is impossible to state definitely, without chance of error, who really was the first settler of Shelby county as its territory is now limited. In the primi- tive days of 1812 came a party of hunts- men from Kentucky. Edward Whaley, Aaron Foreman and three others entered the county from the west, hailing from Boone's Lick country, on the Missouri river, en route to the Mississippi. Hunt- ing for the head of Salt river, they be- came lost on North river, instead, and followed it to its mouth. They explored this country in a degree, but finally set- tled in Marion and Ralls county. Even before these came hunters and trappers wandering along Salt river, then called Auhaha, or Oahaha, finding the forest desolate unless they found the red man in his primeval home. As far as statistics bear witness, there were no permanent settlements until or previous to the year 1830. In 1831, log cabin days opened up in this country. A Mr. Norton crossed over from Monroe county in the spring of that year and built a cabin on Black creek, right on the bluff (section 33 — 57 — 9). In com- pany with a hireling he brought a drove of hogs to feed on the wild mast, which thrived luxuriantly in tliat early day. He left the attendant to care for the swine and he returned. His name can- not be learned, but it is probable that he had such a lovely time he forgot his name, if he ever had one. Close by his caliin he had a large hog-pen in which he had to shelter his stock at night to kee]) it from the wolves, which were in large numbers and very treacherous, sometimes attacking stock by day as well as night ; so the keeper also had to keep a close watch by day. He remained a year, and his cabin was later used by David Smallwood. In the fall of 1831, Maj. Obadiah Dickerson came over from Marion county and built "a cabin on the north side of Salt river (about the center of section 17 — 57 — 10), near where the present road from Shelbina to Shelby- ville crosses that stream. The year following he returned and brought his family to his new home. It is a popular opinion of statistics as thej^ can be gath- ered that Mr. Dickerson was the first bona fide white settler of Shelby county. John Thomas was another early settler of the county — the latter days of 1831 or the early spring of 1832, on a claim on Clear creek, where afterwards Miller's mill was built (section 18—58—9). Old Jack Thomas, as he was familiarly known, used to say that he was the first settler of Shelby county "that far up," meaning north, and that his house was the picket post of civilization when it was first l)uilt. A few hunters straggled along after Jack Thomas, but they prob- ably were not ])ermanent settlers, as nothing definite can be learned of them. In the fall of 1832 a cabin was built by Russell Moss (section 28—57—9) three miles northwest of Hunnewell. He came from Monroe countv and moved his HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY family from that locality in 1833. The Mosses were Kentuckians, and Mr. Moss was well versed in pioneer history and was of assistance to history writers. SETTLEKS OF 1833. Henry Sannders came to Shelby in the early spring of 1833 and settled one-half mile northeast of Lakenan (on section 6 — 56 — 9), and to the south of him his brothers, Albert and Addison, settled. Samuel Buckner came in early spring and settled a mile and one-half north of Lakenan, west of Salt river (section 31 — 57 — 9). Mr. Buckner was a bachelor of a well-known Buckner family of Ken- tucky, and controlled a number of slaves. He was a man of education and intel- lectual qualitications, generous and hospitable, but morally dissolute. Hon. William J. Holliday came to Shelby in May, 1833. He settled on Black creek, on the southwest (sec- tion 6 — 57 — 9). In the year 1876, Mr. Holliday wrote a series of interesting and valuable sketches of the early set- tlers which were published in the Shelby- ville Herald. The sketches were very valuable, and reliable infomiation was gained therefrom for the history of Shelby county. The sketches only went up to the Civil war, but as Mr. Holliday was a gentleman of intellectual attain- ment, and his mind clear and memory keen, his work was considered authentic and invaluable. According to Mr. Holli- day there were, to the spring of 1833, only twenty-six families living within the present limits of Shelby county, and these for the most part were located in the neighborhood of Oak Dale, in the southeastern ])art of the county, in the I)resent Jackson township. Others settled as follows: Thomas Holman lived on section 17, two miles south of Oak Dale ; Eussell W. Moss and Robert Duncan were still farther south, section 28; William B. Broughton was on section 5 and his home was called Oak Dale; George Pai'ker was on the north- west ciuarter of section 8, on Douglas's branch, and near by on the same section was Abraham Vandiver; Thomas T. Clements had built a cabin on the south part of section 21, near the present Hardy's school-house, four miles south- east of Oak Dale; Cyrus A. Saunders lived on section 9, nearly two miles southeast of Oak Dale; Levi Dyer lived on congress lands, west of Black creek, in this township and range. Then west of Oak Dale and nearly south of Shelbyville lived the following, in congressional township 57, range 10: Angus McDonald Holliday, located two miles west of Oak Dale, on Black creek (section 1); Thomas H. Bounds built a cabin on the west bank of Salt river, at the mouth of a creek and near a tine spring (northeast corner east one-half, section 23), about three and one-half miles northeast of the present site of Shelbina; and Samuel Balls lived near Angus i\IcDonald Holliday, live miles southeast of Shelbyville, in the northeast corner (section 1). John Eaton and George Eaton located north of Salt river, east of the road from Shelbina to Shellm'ille, on section 9. West of the Eatons a mile or two lived George and James Anderson, north of Salt river (section 8) ; on the north of Salt river, on the tirst fanii north of "long bridge," on the Shelbina-Shelby- ville road (section 17), was Maj. Obadiah Dickerson's cabin home. A little farther HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY up the river ou the same side, uorth of the present site of Walkersville, lived Peter Eoff and Nieliohis AVatkins, ou section 7. South of Watkins, nearer Walkersville, and on section 18 lived "King" Eaton (E. K. Eaton). South of Eaton lived James Blackford, on sec- tion ID. James Swartz lived about six miles northeast of Shelby ville, on North river, below where the road crosses the stream (section 12 — 58 — 10). Elijah Pepper lived about tive miles west of Shelbyville. John Thomas lived north of Oak Dale, on Clear creek (sec- tion 18). On this site Miller's mill was later built. Hon. William Holliday said in 1876 only six of these pioneer settlers were living: James Anderson, James Blackford, Nicholas Watkins, George Eaton, Cyrus H. Saunders, and W. H. Holliday. CHOLERA EPmEMICS. Everyone who has heard of the pio- neer days of Shelby county connects the year of 1833 with the cholera epidemic which ravaged the country, and tlfe early settlers were poorly provided to cope with so destructive a disease. It broke out June 3, 1833, at Palmyra, Mo., which was then a town of some six hundred inhabitants, and 105 persons died from the fatal malady. Palmyra was closely connected with Shelby at this time, and many fled to the rural districts for safety. Young William P. Matson, a stepson of Maj. Obadiah Dickerson, was in Palmyra when the cholera broke out. He started for the country, and when he reached the home of Angus McDonald Holliday on Black creek he found the stream was so high he could not ford it. and here he remained for the night, dur- ing which he was taken violently ill and died in great agony on the following morning. At his burial, his liost, Mr. Holliday, was taken violently ill and died on the following morning. The country was in a restless condition for some weeks. News of the fatalities of the infected districts was spread abroad, and fugi- tives from these districts sought refuge with their fi-iends. There was no etfort to quarantine against nor exjiel those in their midst. Fortunately, there were no other deaths, and by the middle of July the dread disease had disappeared. But the death of William P. Matson, June, 1833, was the first death on record in Shelby county. The country was new and things were yet in a disorganized state, but there remains no authenticated record previous. A SUKVEYING PARTY. R. T. Holliday, a United States deputy surveyor, began a survey for the govern- ment in August, 1833, of ranges 11, 12 and 13, the districts to the west of where the principal settlements had been made. It began at the southeast corner of sec- tion 36 — 59 — 11. They surveyed and sectionized the ranges northward about sixty miles, to township 68, completing the work in the winter of 1834-35. Soon this new district commenced to flU up and improve. Addison Lair tells the story that it was during tliis survey, while they were at work on range 10, there occurred the famous "star shower" of November, 1833, and so frightened were they that all stopped work. HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY THE FIRST ELECTION. The first election ever held within what later was Shelby county was held in August, 1834. At this election Maj. Obadiah Dickerson and S. W. B. Carnegj- were elected to the legislature, defeating the two Johns — John ^McAfee and John Anderson. In Maj- of the same year Shelby county and some additional terri- tory was formed by the county court of Marion county into Black Creek town- ship, and it was, of course, a big com- pliment to have one of her citizens elected to this exalted position so soon after her creation. Major Dickerson was a well-infonned man and a man of wide acquaintance in his day. He was the real founder of the city of Palmyra, Mo., and was the town's first postmaster and one of the county-seat commissioners. In regard to the major's career as postmaster of Palmyra, an early history of Marion county contains the following interesting story: "The town (Palmyra) grew rather rapidly and in 1820 had 150 inhabitants. Those interested made efforts to increase the number of settlers, and in 1821 the first postoflfice was established, the mail coming, when it did come, from St. Louis, on horseback, by way of New London. "Maj. Obadiah Dickerson was the first postmaster. He kept the office in his hat a great i^ortion of the time. Being fre- quently absent from home, in the woods hunting, or attending some public gath- ering of the settlers, the few letters constituting 'the mail' were deposited under the lining of his huge bell-crown hat, often made a receptacle for jiapers, documents, handkerchiefs, etc., by gentle- men of the older times. Asked why he carried the office about with him in this way, the old major replied: 'So that if I meet a man who has a letter belonging to him I can give it to him, sir ! I meet more men when I travel about than come to the office when I stay at home.' " On one occasion a man from a frontier settlement came to Palmyra for the mail for himself and neighbors. Both post- office and postmaster were away from home. Going in pursuit, as it were, he found them over on North river. Major Dickerson looked over the contents of his office, selected half a dozen letters for the settler and his neighbors, and then, handing him two more, said: "Take these along with you and see if they belong to anyone out in your settlement. They have been here two weeks and no owner has called for them yet. I don't know any such men, and I don't want to be bothered with fliem any longer." As the mail at the Palmyra postoffice increased, the major petitioned the de- partment for a new and larger hat. In 1829, on account of the accession of General Jackson to the presidency, ]\rajor Dickerson, who was an Adams man, was removed, and ^laj. Benjamin Mear-s was appointed postmaster at Palmyra. THE FIRST PERMAXEXT SETTLER. It is claimed by some, and perhaps is true, that Maj. Obadiah Dickerson was the first permanent settler in the terri- tory afterwards organized into Shelby countj'. He settled in 1880 in sections 16 and 17, township 57, range 10, northeast of AValkersville, on the north side of Salt river. As stated before, he came from Palmyra, Marion county, which village he founded about ten years pre- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY vious to his settlement in Shelby. He originallj' came from Kentucky and ar- rived in Missouri about 1816 or 1817, landing at Louisiana, Pike coimty, Mis- souri. He assisted in the organization of Pike county and also the city of Louisiana. In April, 1819, the first cir- cuit court ever held in Pike was held in the Major's residence. Mrs. Dickerson died here in 1820 and the Major moved on north and westward to Palmyra. Here he resided until 1830, at which time he moved over into the territory of Shelby. He was a member of the Missouri legislature in 1835 and assisted in the organization of the county. A POSTOFFICE AND STORE INSTALLED. It was during the cholera epidemic at Palmyra the supply and postoffice for the new dstrict were cut oft", and out of this experience the settlers realized a need of conveniences nearer at hand. These settlers had to go to Palmyra for gro- ceries, mail, and all the necessai'ies of life, — a distance of twenty-five miles and return. Breadstuffs were ground at Gatewood's and Massie's mills, a little north and west of Palmyra. During the winter of 1833-34, William B. Broughton brought on a small stock of general mer- chandise and opened a store in his house. His stock, though small, contained the necessaries of jirimitive life. That winter he secured a numerously signed petition asking for the establishment of a post- ofSce. This ijetition was graciously re- ceived at Washington and an office estab- lished at Mr. Bi'oughton's residence and called Oak Dale, the name that pioneer town bears to this day. This was the first postoffice in the county, and Mr. Broughton was the first postmaster. Mails came in from Palmvra once a week, and on that day the settlers met for social intercourse as well as busi- ness. The first store and the first post- office was a great step in their onward stride, in the life of these pioneer heroes, and many a long fifty-mile drive did it save them, so meager was their equip- ment for travel. His everyday life in the wilds of the new country to which he had come to make himself rich was such a monoto- nous round from day to day that indeed he had little to communicate to his friends of the South and East. Postage was very high, and if the early settlers received or sent two or three letters per family in a year they were indeed to be congratulated. Their usual way of send- ing or receiving tidings from their friends, and the news of the great world, from which they seemed almost entirely remote, was usually by the settler who journeyed back to his old home or by the mouth of the stranger coming in. His wants were few, and were, generally speaking, supplied by his rod and his gun, the latter being his indispensable weapon of defense. SHELBY COUNTY FORMED AND ORGANIZED, AND SOME EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED. During 1833-34: immigration came on rapidly. The inconvenience of being so remote from the county seat. Palmyra, and a hope of inducing a more rapid settlement, prompted the pioneers to take steps necessary to organize their settlements into a new county, which was done in 1835 (see early history). The year 1835 was as deeply impressed on the minds of the pioneer settlers as the "cold year" as for the year of county organization. The winter was a long one 8 HISTOKY OF SHELBi' COUXTY and uncommonly severe. The new set- tlers were little prepared for extreme weather, and suffering was common throughout the newly settled districts. During February hap]iened the day long designated as "cold Friday." The spring was late, cold and wet. About the 12th or 13th of May came a hea\^ freeze, freezing the ground to the dejith of two feet. Buds on the fruit trees and bushes were swollen and all killed. Even some of the young forest trees were killed. Crops were resown and late. The cold spring was followed later on by an early, cold fall. September 16th there was a heavy frost and freeze, damaging the late corn, vegetables and fruits. Much sickness followed, and it seemed the life of the early settler was a continuous hardship. The summer of 1835, cholera again broke out in Palmyra. A panic ensued among its inhaliitants. and many fled to this county for safety. Some of the fugitives built extemporaneous cabins along the streams or near the springs, and camped until all danger had passed. Though the settlers were held continu- ously in dread of the dire disease, there were no cases in this county. Except during the "off" year, crops were miraculous during pioneer days, thus inviting immigration. Mr. Holliday said wheat was certain and would some- times yield iifty bushels ])er acre. Corn and oats were good return, while hemp was a good and valuable crop. No grain insect molested the country until after the year 1840, and then insects made their a])pearance by degrees. All kinds of stock flourished well, grazing in the open until June, when tlie overgrowth would cover up the young, fresh grass; but the settlers would burn off a large tract and the stock for miles aroimd would congregate and feed on the fresh, tender blades, which made quick growth. It was the best way to keep the cattle corralled in the early days. Cattle died in large numbers from bloody murrain. Mr. Holliday says in the early days tliere were no oats, clover nor bluegrass, and neither were there any pokeweed, pursley nor jimson weed. Neither were there any fruit trees except in the wild state, but every immigrant brought on his supply. July 4, 1836, was a memorable date as the first glorious Fourth in our county. About two hundred persons met at the spring on Clear creek, five miles east and a little north of Shelliyville (sec- tion 18 — 58 — 9), where Miller's mill was built and located a short distance west of M. Dimmitt's rabbit farm. A grand barbecue and free dinner was served, and a patriotic good time was the order of the day. The occasion was pronounced a success. The following year, 1837, the Fourth was celebrated south of Shell)yville, on the banks of Salt river, at Carnegy's spring; and so the glorious Fourth became an established celebration in Shelby county. However, at this cele- bration some of the more hilarious visited some of Shelb^-^'ille's groceries, which at this early day had learned to sell "fiery water," and a general dis- turbance ensued. In the autumn of 1838, Shelbyville held its first agricultural fair, and the contest for ])remiums offered was a warm one. A good premium was offered to the farmer raising the largest amount on an acre of land. The story goes that HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Charles Smith, Judge William Gooeh and Col. William Lewis each put in a sealed oath of ninety-five bushels per acre. Other farmers x^i'oved they had raised more than fifty bushels i)er acre. The fair continued only a few seasons. In January, 1838, Mr. John Dunn in the lead asked the county court for the organization of a school district of con- gi'essional township 58, range 11, under the name of Van Buren. It was done and itrejiarations were begam for the first public school. INDIANS. Very few Indians were ever seen in the county after its first settlement. Oc- casionally a hunting party, or stragg-lers, passed through. 1839 a band camped near Hager's Grove ^md caused some alarm. The old-timers can make your hair stand on end as they begin to tell of the Pottawatomie war, but it all turns to a false alarm and a huge joke. It occurred at the time the government had ordered the Indians to "move on" from Iowa to the southwest. A party of about sixty friendly Pottawatomie redskins, consist- ing of men, women and chihlreu, jtassed through the western part of our county enroute, causing widespread alarm. Some of the Indians, as was their custom while traveling, had climbed into a corn- field and were helping themselves to corn and pumpkins. Nothing was known of their presence in the country until they were discovered helping themselves to what they wanted. Wonderful had been the tales that had gone fortli of the sav- agery of the redskin, and the merciless tortures which they inflicted upon their prisoners. Their cunning and craftiness and their shooting from ambush had reached the pioneers before they turned their faces toward the setting sun, and now came to their minds all the warnings they had received to steer clear of the murderous, torturing redskin, and the settlement was thrown into a wild panic. They pictured an Indian war at hand and were totally unprepared. Alarm messengers were sent throughout the country, bidding all to rejjair to a certain formidable log house for safety. Other messengers were hastened to Shelbjn^ille and Pal- myra for re-enforcements and here and there for simple artillery and such weapons as the settlers possessed. And the story goes (and is vouched for) that the messenger reached Shelbyville with his eyes bulging, his hair like porcupine quills and his steed all afoam. The town was aroused to the indignities the Potta- watomie were about to inflict upon his fellowman, and a company was organ- ized during the evening and arrange- ments made to await the volunteers from Palmyra, unless the crj' of distress was heard in the meantime. Pickets were stationed out and the impromptu com- pany was ready to start at the sound of trumjiet. W. O. Peake was the messen- ger to give Palmyra the alarm and he played his ])art well. He rejiorted the Indians ravaging the western part of Shelby county, that the inhabitants were fleeing from their homes, and unless they were squelched at once a great amount of havoc would ensue and the country de- vastated and depopulated. A word was sufficient. A common sjmijiathy per- meated the breast of every pioneer set- tler and Palmyra flew to arms. In an hour a goodly company was organized, 10 HISTOIJY OF SHELBY TOUXTY bearing sword and musket, and was on way to rescue from the red savage those who had befriended tliose who fled to them during the dire cholera scourge. The company carried with them the dragoon swords and otlier arms General Benja- min Means had preserved from the Black Hawk war. Gen. David Willoek gave the orders. John H. Curd was their captain. After marching all night the company volunteers reached Shelbyville at 8 :30 the following morning. Here they found a goodly re-enforcement. So it goes that they ate and drank, then drank again until the companies called each other names, were first hot, then cold, till the drinks had lost effect and then they shook hands and made friends. Late in the day the companies started out to lick the Indians. Tliat night they camped on Payton's branch and continued their march on the following morning. But they were soon apprised of the fact that the Indians had been gone some two days and were by that hour some fifty miles away. On investigation, they found the Indians had taken captive some "yaller" pumpkins, their ponies had "cabbaged" some "yaller" corn and they had killed a wild hog, but they had molested neither man, woman nor child, but in turn were bequeathing to white man their earthly possession, nature's forest, and all her beauty and freedom. The companies right about and homeward turned their faces. The Palmyra company parted with the other volunteers, with sad mem- ories of imaginary insults and abuses whicU occasioned black eyes, some bloody noses and a few "peeled" faces. The Shelby County ^filitary Comjiany dis- banded, but not without first voting their thanks to the Palmyra volunteers "for the assistance they rendered us and the entertainment they furnished us." The Shelby settlers soon returned to their cabin homes, but many funny stories are still afloat which revert back to Shelby's Indian war. One story which the second generation of the old-timers have never lost sight of is of old Uncle Malaehi AVood. He lolaced his wife and child on one horse while he hurriedly mounted another and struck a "trot" for refuge. He was on the fastest steed and always kept in the lead of his loved ones. Mrs. "Wood was not an adept at horsemanship, and in trying to come up to her husband lost her grasp on her darling. In an hysterical manner she cried out: "Oh, stop, Mal- aehi, do stop ! I have dropped my baby ! Do stop, and help me save it!" AVithout curbing his speed or turning his head he shouted back, "Never mind the baby- Let's save the old folks. More babies can be had. ' ' Another goes that John B. Lewis lived in a sparsely settled country down near the present site of AValkersville. Mr. Lewis was, for that day, a man of wealth. He brought with him when he came three thousand dollars in gold, which he kept hid about his possessions. A son of John Pay ton galloped along the high- way calling out: "Indians! Indians! fly for your lives." The Lewises were thoroughly aroused to the sense of ap- pending danger. He hurriedly set Mrs. Lewis and three little children on one horse and started them to the soutli to the Aloore settlement, Airs. Lewis bare- headed and the children clothed just as the alarm had found them. Air. Lewis hurriedly buried his wealth and hurried to the south afoot. The Aloores had a HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 11 good, stroug house and it refuged three or four neighboriug families for a couple of days. The home was long after known as Fort Moore. The whites had misinterpreted the queer actions of the Indians, knowing little of their superstitions. It seems the Indians had lost one of their number and several more were sick. They be- lieved tliat an evil spirit had infested their band. To kill and banish the evil spirit the Indians had slain a dog, sus- pended it in the air and formed a circle with arrows stuck in ground, all point- ing inward toward the body. When the settlers saw this, and the raid on their corn and pumpkin patch, they inferred it betokened death to them and posses- sion of their lands and property. WILD ANIMALS AND GAME. The sports and means of recreation were not so varied among the early set- tlers as at present, but they were more exhilarating and more gratifying than the sports of today. Ilimters nowadays would be too eager to find within a reasonable proximity of their home the favorable opportunity en- joyed by the early settlers, deeming it a rare pleasure to spend a vacation on the watercourse or the wild prairies at hand in those days. And the early settler en- joj'ed it, too, for he had few other sports. He loved his dog and his gun and he found wild game of almost every species found now in our wild western prairies. The woods were full of wild game and were a paradise for hunters. Although the Indians had lived and hunted much here, the saying goes that "wild man and wild beast thrive together," and so as the red man's ranks had been thinning. the wild beast had been increasing at an alarming degree to the safety of the set- tlers, and he killed not only for pleasure but for his safetj'. Bears, panthers and wolves abounded. The western and northwestern portion of the county was their principal retreat, because hunters from Monroe county had driven them in that direction. Bears were abundant in the northeastern portion in 1835-36. They were numerously killed in Tiger Fork and the fierce panther also existed here in large numbers. Manj' an early settler, as he sat by his hearth, with his family about him, felt his blood run cold as the piercing scream of the prowling panther was borne on the night wind, which whistled through the crevices of his lonely cabin. They were frequentlj' encountered, and many of them slain by hunters. Wildcats and catamounts also Ijrowled through the forest and were a menace to mankind. The early settler must always have his gun at hand, and he was in constant fear when away from his home for his loved one's safety, for the wild animals could often be shot from their cabins. As late as 1841, two large black bears passed Dunn's school house, west of Shell)\'ville, on Black creek, going west- ward. They caused great alarm among the children. Near Vienna, Macon county, which was only twelve miles distant, bears were quite numerous at that late date. A large bear was killed near Stice's mill. Bethel, 1840. The winter of 1835 some enormous ani- mals were killed. John Winnegan, a man of small stature, but who loved to hunt, lived near where the Bethel to Ne- . vada road crosses the Tiger fork. He killed two very large panthers that win- 12 HIST0I5Y OF SHELBY COUXTY ter near liis home. The neighborhood settlers called them tigers and christened the stream on which they were killed Tiger fork of North river, which name it has since borne. As for wolves, the county teemed with them. There were at least three varie- ties, the large black, the gray and the coyote or prairie wolf. The first two named made great depredations on the early settlers' flocks and herds, and it was difficut to raise sheep and hogs be- cause of their inroads. Sometimes in a single night a wliole herd of sheep or lit- ter of pigs would fall the prey of those vicious animals. As a rule, all stock would be penned at night within a high fence enclosure, the only way to feel any safety. They would snatch up a pig and off with it. However, the hogs often showed fight and sometimes was able to protect their young and drive away the marauders. In 1841 John B. Lewis was enroute southwest of Shelbyville for his home and was startled to hear what he thought was a person in distress. He hastened to render assistance, thinking perhaps some one had been assailed and waylaid, but found on nearing the spot whence came the cry that it was only the scream of a panther. In 1840 Kindred Feltz, with some as- sistance, killed a panther in the northern part of tlie county that measured nine feet. In 1845 after the county was compara- tively well settled, while riding throiigh the timber west of Shell)yville, Robert McAfee was attacked by a pack of gray wolves. The animals chased him, snap- ping and biting his legs and injuring his horse considerably. Deer, turkey, ducks, geese and various other choice game could be had for the killing of it. One could go out and kill his venison steak for breakfast if he sO' desired. Wild turkey and squirrels were too abundant to be worthy of mention. Fur animals existed in large numbers, such as otter, bear, muskrat, raccoon, mink, wildcat, beaver, wolf, fox and pan- ther. The early settlers tell of seeing several herds of deer in a distance of four miles. Numerous are the stories of the chase, hunting expeditions and adventures with the wild beast of the forest, which would be sufficient to interest the readers, but they would not be historic in their na- ture, only sufficient in detail to impress the reader with the condition of affairs during the early day of the settlers. Serpents everywhere abounded and of such enormous proportions that but for the abundance of testimony the stories seem almost incredible. Quail, rabbit and grouse were scarce. Another profitable recreation for the old settler was the hunting of bee trees. The forests along the water course were prolific. They were found on Salt river and all her tributaries and, in fact, along all the rivers in this and adjoining coun- ties. During the late summer, many hunters would go into cam]) for days at a time for the purpose of securing wild honey, which was very almndant and rich and commanded a good ])rice in tlio home market. Ti-ai>])ing wolves ])ecame a very ])rofit- able pastime after the state offered a re- ward for wolf scalps. The wolf became so daring was the reason of the boimty. At niij:ht thev would make the forest ring HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 13 witli their liarks, and if clogs ventured out to drive them away they would lie driven hack by the wolves chasing them to the very cabin door. No, nmsic was cheap to the pioneers. They could be lulled to sleep any night by the screeching of the panther and the howling of the wolf, and deer was daily seen trooping over the wild prai- ries, a dozen or more in the drove, and it is said 'twas a pretty sight often seen when half a hundred or moi-e were graz- ing together. THE PIONEER WEDDINGS. The jiioueer wedding of the earh' period was not the display of elegance and planning as tlie wedding of the twen- tieth century. The fine points of display and finish were not at their command, and the tastes of the pioneers were plain and unselfish, hence no pomp nor display of paraphernalia was worth the while to consider. In those days there were few ■"store clothes," unless it was that lirought in by the emigrant as he came in, but their clothes were for the most jtart homesinm. The material was prin- cipally cotton or flax and wool. The women wore linsey, cotton and buckskin and the men the same with some jeans jidded. A bridal outfit did not include a linen shower and a handkerchief and hosiery shower, a crystal nor a miscellaneous shower. Her toilet was plain, inexpen- sive and but little more than she other- wise would possess. It was all sufficient, it was sensible and in harmony with the manners and circumstances of the day, and she was just as sweet, as at^'able and as unselfi.sh as the bride of our day. And the groom, in his jeans or homespun linen trousers, his linsey shirt, Jiis jeans coat and his coonskin cap, was just as gallant, as kind and no more domineering than the groom, all diamond besparkling, of today. Though the weddings did not bear the pomp and display, were not such brilliant society events, the union was as fortunate and felicitous and the event as joyous as of modern days. There was always a wedding and it was for their friends. All the neighbors had an invi- tation and all ever accepted most gra- ciously. There was all sorts of fun and merry making during the day. You were not invited to come in hat and gloves, to keep them on. It was a day's outing. Foot- racing, wrestling, shooting matches and any other diversion was the order of the day and dancing extended far into the morning hours. True, some of tlie giiests came barefoot and the dancing hall was sometimes of the variety which had sjilit puncheons substituted for the wax floor, from wliieh the slivers had not been smoothed away, but the hardened sole of the foot was scarcely penetrable by an ordinary sliver. And then the wedding- feast is worthy the consideration of man. There were venison steaks and delicious roasts — pig, turkey, grouse and mutton ; there was corn pone with wild honey and delicious home-made maple syru]i. and always the good old Missouri and Ken- tucky whiskey, pure and unadulterated, such as "we'uns" never sip. The ban- quet was all cooked in the old "Pilgrim mothers' " style, toothsome and savory to a degree. And no newspaper, to which the family must cater, that the wedding may be chronicled as elegant to a degree, the bride the most beautiful and accom- 14 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY plislied and the groom as possessing the most sterling qualities. Only the neigh- borhood to tell it abroad and express their good will. And the dear little babies that came to brighten the lonely hours, to bring sunshine and mvisie and mirth into the densest forest, the home of the bear, tJie wolf and the panther. True, their lay- ette was not as superb and as white and silky as today, but the babies were just as good, just as strong, as bright, as happy and as welcome as the twentieth century babe. Yes, it was cuddled by its mother, not in a little outfit bought at a large department store, but she did weave the very material and was pains- taking in the making thereof, while the proud father lulled it to sleep in a cradle fashioned by his own hand, with sea- soned hickory bows for rockers. Within this little trough are laid some folds of homespun, or some soft, hatcheled but unspun flax, as soft as down, and into this little nest is cuddled the innocent lit- tle darling. We have resurrected some of the ear- liest marriage dates. Doubtless the first marriage in Shelby county, after its or- ganization, was Bradford Hunsucker and Miss Dicy Stice. The ceremony was per- formed by Esquire Abraham Vandiver, at the residence of Peter Stice, the father of the bride, near the present site of Bethel. The date of the marriage, as duly recorded, was April 30, 1835. The next was William S. Townsend and Ede- na A. Mills, May 10, 1835, Esquire Wil- liam J.Holliday officiating. November 12, 1835, Gilbert Edmonds and Minerva J. Vandiver, also Tandy Gooch and Susan Duncan, Rev. Richard Sharp officiating on both occasions. February 18, 1856, Charles Kilgore and Catherine Coch- rane, Esquire Abraham Vandiver ofiB- ciating; February 28, 1836, Samuel S. Matson and Mary Creel, Rev. Richard Slmrp officiating; March 31, 1836, AVil- liam Holliday and Elizabeth Vandiver, Rev. Sharp officiating; April 7, 1836, Fautley Rhodes and Sarah Stice, Rev. Sharp officiating; May 24, 1836, James Shaw and Eliza Beavens, Judge A. E. Wood officiating; October 20, 1836, Ben- jamin F. Firman and Sarah Rookwood, Rev. Henry Louthan officiating; Novem- l)er 17, 1836, Baptist Hardy and Martha Davidson, Richard Sharp officiating; De- cember 1, 1836, James Rhodes and Mary Musgrove, Rev. Sharp officiating. PIONEER MINISTERS. The lot of early settlers was accompa- nied by many hardships, but the lot of a minister on the frontier would be harder still if he tried to subsist on the income directly from his calling, but every new country and clime needs a minister and his shadow follows close upon the foot- print of the earliest settlers. They labor without money and without l)rice. If he atteiiijits to board, his liabil- ities will exceed his assets, and so he turns to the practical side of life and he toils as does his neigh])or. In that day there existed no fund to support minis- ters on the frontiers, but he felt his call, he knew his duty and he dodged it not be- cause it was hemmed in with hardships and strivings, with disappointments and with danger. They went to the front, they gained their substance as did their neighbor by their rifle and by their daily toil in the field and in the forest. The frontier preacher was an expert with the rifle, as was his laity. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 15 Religious service was held in a neigh- bor's cabin. Notice of the service was promptly and widely circulated, and the people generally attended for protection and to secure game going and coming. The secret of a good attendance was two- fold — some attended worshipping their creator in all their simplicity, and others went for the social side of the occasion. Here they told of their hunts, the latest news from everywhere, who was going back home and who had come, bearing some message from their loved ones at home. In the fall of 1837, there was not a church nor school house in the county. The Methodists held a camp meeting during the season about a mile north of Oak Dale (N. W. 32—58—9.) A circuit had been established connect- ing with the southeastern portion of the county. Rev. Richard Sharp, a local preacher, who lived at Sharpsburg, Ma- rion county, frequently preached in this county. Rev. Henry Louthan, a Baptist, settled in this county at an early day, and sketches say he labored at his call- ing. Rev. Jeremiah Taylor, another Bap- tist, who lived in Marion, preached in this county prior to 1840, and other pio- neer preachers are mentioned in town- ship history. FIRST SETTLEMENTS MADE IN TIMBER. The early settlers always chose the timbered land as a necessity and con- venience. The emigrants almost inva- riably came from Kentucky and Tennes- see, some from New York, indirectly. These states in their primitive days were almost covered with forests, and the set- tlers there chose timber lands, cleared otf what they wanted to cultivate and al- ways reserved a portion which they called the woods, and "the woods" was the most important jjart of the farm, and wholly indispensable. AVhen he came to Missouri, one drawback was the bleak prairies, and so he always hunted out the wooded district. Living without the for- est, with the pioneer, was like living with- out his gun — it was a prime requisite. Then he must have a house to live in, rails for his fencing, wood for his fuel. In that day there was no railway to haul his fuel, no coal mine within reach or sight, and so we may little wonder at the prime importance of timber in that age. Along the various water courses which flowed across the country, on either side was a belt of timber. At certain places, usually near the outlets of the tributa- ries, the timber belt widened, forming a grove, and at these groves the settle- ments were usually made. Here started up the machinery which turned a wilder- ness, teeming with its wild animals, into macadamized streets and highways, planting here and there a seat of learn- ing, or a candle on the hillside which lighteth all about it. PIONEERS. The early pioneers of our country were too busy making history to stop to pre- serve it. Practically speaking, the early years of the county, her cornerstone and her foundations, were most important to her future welfare. However, historic events were naturally slow, the life of the pioneers simple and uneventful. The experience of one settler differed little from that of his neighbor. Nearly all of them were poor, and those who brought with them some riches faced about the same inconveniences and hard- 16 HlSTOIiY OF SHELBY COUNTY ships as his neighbor, and stood g-ener- ally on the same footing. It was a time of self-reliance and bravery, persevering toil, of privations endured through faith of a "good time coming." It is common to indulge in flattering adulations in chronicling the lives of early settlers. Their virtues are extolled immoderately, their vices seldom hinted at, but we must remember that they were human and humanity is not all grace nor all virtue. It is both strong and weak, sometimes one and both at the same time, and so it follows that our forerunners were men and women with all the virtues and graces and all the vices and frailties that you find in the human race in any comnumity. They may have been stronger in ways than their descendants, perchance they may even have had more weaknesses. They were hosi)itable and generous, yet they would (some of them) swear, get drunk and fight. Do not their successors do even so? Good works were wrought, good deeds rendered, but there existed also cheating at a "hoss swap" and betting on the cock fight. There was diligence and per- severance, but there was also laziness and shiftlessness, there was good and bad, and if they were poor they were rec- ompensed by being free from the burden of pride and vanity, free from the anx- iety and solicitude which always accom- panies the possession of wealth. Though they had few neighbors, they were in love and fellowship with those they had. Envy, eovetousness and strife had not crept in to mar their free intercourse. A common interest and common sympathy bound as one family. There was no aris- tocracy, no caste. In this one ])oint they towered above the present generation. though aristocracy, generally speaking, is comparatively foreign in our count}'. Our people today are plain, as was the simi)le frontier life of the pioneer, and in all, good and bad, the life of the frontier in 1835 was about as good and as bad as the inhabitants of 1911. The log cabin l>eople dressed plain, fed on humble fare, but they lived comfortably, happily, abundantly and justly. Many a pioneer declared the ha]^]nest days of his life was when he lived in his log cabin home, when eveiy man was on an equality, when aris- tocratic feeling was not tolerated, when what one had they all had. And they must have meant it, every word, for many a pioneer, when this county became ])retty well settled, moved on west, to live again the pioneer life their few re- maining years. They were men of activ- ity and energy, or they would never have faced the ills and hardships of frontier life, and when their forms were bent with the storms they had faced, they still yearned for "other worlds to conquer," and they again turned their face toward the setting sun. PIONEER HOMES AND COMFORTS. The first buildings in the county were a cross between the "hoop cabins" and Indian bark huts. As soon as there were enough men in the county to raise a log cabin, they were in style. "While the cabins were homely, yet they could be made comfortable. A window with glass was a rarity and signified an aristocracy which few could afford. The}' often built a window open- ing and covered it with greased paper, which let in some light, but often there was nothing over the opening, letting in the air and light, but more often the crev- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 17 ices between the logs without chiukiug or daubing was more than sufficient for both light and air. The doors were fastened with old-fash- ioned wooden latches, and for all man- kind passing that way "the latch-string hung out — thence the origination of the old-time hospitality and the saying "the latch-string hangs outward." It is no- ticeable the reverence with which the pio- neer always speaks of those log cabin homes, and it causes one to feel that it is indeed doul>tful if palaces even sheltered happier hearts and more gladsome days than the log cabin homes. They were dif- ferent, yea! a description may enlighten us on many points, and a very good one of the average log cabin, landmarks of other days, follows. This home was to be occupied by a bride and groom : "The logs were round, with notched corners put together, ribbed by poles and sheeted up with boards split from a tree. A puncheon floor, which was split trees, not smoothed down, was then laid ; a hole was then cut in one end and a stick chim- ney run up. A window two feet square is cut in one end, without any covering. A clapboard door is made with the old-time latch-string. The cabin is then daubed with mud and is ready for occupancy. ' ' A "one-leg" bed is moved in by the young people. It was made by cutting a stick the proper lengtli, boring holes at one end one and half inches in diameter at right angles, and the same sized holes corresponding with those in the logs of the cabin, the length and breadth desired for the bed, in whicli are inserted poles. Upon these poles the clapboards are laid or linn bark is woven back and forth from pole to i)ole. Upon this foundation the bed is laid. A cook stove was out of the question, but in lieu of a cook stove the cooking was done in pots and skillets on or about the fireplace. These fireplaces were usu- ally built in chimneys composed of mud and sticks or undressed stone, if any was near at hand. And meals thus prepared were both good and healthful. The out- door life called for a substantial diet, and it is said that dyspepsia was unheard of in that day. Before mills had been supplied or were near at hand, the early settlers used what was called hominy blocks for hominy and meal. To make these the eai'ly settlers selected a tree about two feet in diameter and felled it to the ground. If a cross- cut saw was in the neighborhood, the end was sawed off smooth, if not, it was smoothed down as best they could with sharp axes, then four or five feet was sawed or cut off square. When this was finished it was raised on end and a hol- low cut in the end. This was done with an ax — sometimes a small one used. This done, a fire was built in it and watched carefully till the jagged edges were burned away. When completed, it some- what resembled a druggist's mortar. Then a crusher was necessary. It was made from a suitable piece of timber, with an iron wedge attached, the large end down. This completed the hominy crusher and one usually accommodated the neighbors for miles about. And so with hominy, honey, majile syrup, vegetables and all kinds of game, they could readily satisfy inner man. Every settler had his truck patch, where he raised potatoes, corn and some vegetables, and if enough corn was raised johnny cake and maple syru]i was always api)etizing. 18 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY The first farms were always oiiened up in the timber. This was cut down and utilized for cabins, fencing, and what , they did not need was rolled together and burned. The saplings and stumps were grubbed up and then plowing be- gun. Some farmers used a plow made from the fork of a tree, some a wooden mold-board with sometimes an iron point. The land in the bottoms was very mel- low and almost anything would answer for a plow there. Corn was the principal crop. There was little wheat. Flax stood among the first crops and was one of the necessi- ties. The seed was rarely sold, but the l)ark was used to make linsey and family linen. Nearly every family had their flax and their sheep for clothing sup- plies for the family. The style of dress was in keeping with the style of living. When the women could procure enough calico to make a cap for their head, they were important and hapi)y, or we would say today, very swell, and she who possessed a dress made entirely of store goods was the envy of all her sisters. They usually went barefoot in summer and in inclem- ent weather they wore on their feet shoes made of home-tanned leather. It is said when pioneer woman came into posses- sion of the first calfskin shoes she was very painstaking to preserve them, and when she was going to a wedding or cluirch on state occasions, she would walk barefoot vmtil almost there and then don her pretty shoes. Very often, 'tis said, the pioneer wore knee breeclies on other tlian state occa- sions. Buckskin was a favorite for pan- taloons, but even buckskin had its draw- backs. It would shrink, and so the pio- neer could go out in his long buckskin trousers, but if he got wet or had to wade a stream, his trousers would begin to climb up until they would reach his knees. On the following day, after they were dry, he would take them out and tie one end to the logs in his house and pull from the other end until he thought them all sufficient, and his buckskins were fully as good as new. The settlers manufactured and raised nearly everything they used. Once es- tablished, they had their own meat, milk and butter, ^"ery little coffee, tea or sugar entered into their menus. High livers had coffee possibly Sunday morn- ing for breakfast. Cattle, sheep and hogs lived on the wild mast, and as there was no market for these, they kept an abun- dance in the smoke house. There were few tools and vessels and articles for the household were hewn out of timber, and the family were just as content in their use as the family of to- day, with the multiplied modern con- veniences. Coffee, sugar and tea were high, and they used very little, some fam- ilies using none, while a cow would only bring about $10, a horse $25, a good hog $1.25; wheat, when they had it, 25c per bushel ; honey 20c per gallon and venison hams 25c each, and split rails 25c per hundred. They had to get economy down to the fine point, if anything was hid away in a savings bank for a rainy da5\ In the remote settlements, the neighbors depended on one another for help, and necessarily so. A house raising would start all the neighbors for a dozen or more miles around, and a new settler was always welcomed and a source of curios- ity. The host first cut his logs, hauled HlSTOltY OF SHELBY COUXTY 19 them to his claim, where he was to biiiki Lis home, and theu sent out his announce- ment of a house-raising- and date. It did not take long to put up a cabin, as they came from near and far, and the neigh- bor who did not come, when he had heard of it, gave real offense. As a rule, there was a jug of whiskey on hand, which, of course, was a requirement to steady the nerves. After the raising, s'ome kind of sport usually followed, which off-bal- anced all the hard licks they had been putting in, and such was the simple fron- tier life of the early pioneers. AGEICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. For the special benefit of the youth of our county, an interesting comparison might be drawn between the modern con- veniences which make the life of our farmer boy a comparatively easy one, and the almost total absence of conve- niences of the early day. We will give a short description of the implements and accommodations possessed by the pio- neers as handed down to the present gen- eration. And yet the possession of all our conveniences does not silence the voice of complaint, indeed it seems that it fans it to a more consuming flame, for now we are never satisfied, while in "ye olden times" there was little complaint and much real appreciation. The only plows to till the stumpy soil that they at first had was what they styled "bull plows. ' ' The moldboards were generally of wood, but sometimes they were half wood and remaining part of iron. The farmer who possessed one of the last named had a prize and was looked upon as an aristocrat. But these old "bull plows" did the service, and they must share the honor with our pioneer forefathers of first turning the sod in old Shelby, as well as in many other counties of the state. The amount of money spent by the average farmer these days would have kei)t a whole neighborhood of pioneer fathers in farming implements for a life- time. He spent little money in such ' ' ex- travagances," because he had a small income, and could he have obtained our modern, easy riding plows, etc., they were not adapted to the pioneer farming requirements. The "bull plow" was probably better adapted to the stumpy, new land than a sulky plow would have been, and the old-fashioned wheat cradle did better work than would a modern harvester under their circumstances. The ]>rairie was seldom utilized till after the pioneer days, but that portion of the country whicli was the hardest to culti- vate after it was ready appealed to the pioneers. It is well for the country that siich was the case, for tlie present gener- ation, spoiled to the conveniences of the day, would hardly have cleared dense forests and been patient to the slow and trying performances of the old-time relics of pioneer days. FISHING. All the streams of water abounded in the finny tribe and a large supply of these could be procured on short notice at little expense and labor. There were the philanthropic settlers, who improved the fishing advantages of the country, and would never tire of relating stories of the delicious viands which the streams yielded. Sometimes camping parties, with their paraphernalia repaired to some lucrative spot — perhaps at a great distance. There, as one family, they 20 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY would eat, driuk and make merry. There was no danger of being ordered off or ar- rested for trespassing. One of the shadowy circumstances of a pioneer's life was that of being lonely. The solitude of the primeval forest, with its shadows often deep, hiding the wild beast and perchance a crafty red man, al- ways oppressed them, and how gladsome were these days of pleasure gatherings and how real and how unfeigned their true joy and fellowship, one with an- other. CHAPTER n. Eably History — The Name — Important Dates or Public Notices — Important Proceedings 1836 County Court — First Circuit Court — The First Attorney Fisticuff in County Court — Miscellaneous News from Early Court Dockets — The First Shelby- County Election — August Election, 1836 — August Election, 1838 — August Election, 1839. EARLY history. October 1, 1812, Governor Clark issued a proclaroation by wbieh St. Charles county was organized and this Shelby county became a part thereof. Decem- ber 14, 1818, Pike county was organized and it was included in the borders there- of. November 16, 1820, Ralls county was created and Shelby was included. Then Marion count}' organized December 23, 1826, and this territory was "attached to the said county of Marion for all mili- tary, civil and judicial purposes," leav- ing the seat of justice far from the early settlements. From 1831 to 1834 the pres- ent territory, known as Shelby county, was virtually a part of Warren township, Marion county. But in May, 1834, the Marion county court made the following order : "It is ordered that all that portion of territory formerly included in Warren township lying west of the range line dividing ranges Nos. 8 and 9; also all that portion of territory lying west of the boundary line of Marion county which by law remains attached to said county, shall compose a municipal town- ship, to be called and known as 'Black Creek Township,' and it is further or- dered that the clerk of this court shall transmit to the office of the secretary of state a description of said township." Elections in Black Creek township were to be held at the house of William B. Broughton. The first judges of elec- tion were Thomas H. Clements, Richard Gartrell and George Parker. The first justice of the peace was Thomas J. Bounds; the first constable, Julius C. Gartrell. In November, 1834, Marion coimty court formed out of Black Creek a new township, called North River, by the or- der which follows: "All territory bounded on the north by the Lewis county line, east by the range line between ranges 8 and 9, and south by a line drawn from a point in the western boundary of Warren township on the dividing ridge between the waters of Black Creek and North Two Rivers, to the western boundary of the county, is hereby created into a new municipal township, to be called North River Town- ship. ' ' The first justices of peace for this township were Alexander Buford and Abraham Vandiver; constable, Oliver H. Latimore. Thev held no elections until 21 22 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY tlie township was detached from Marion county. This part of the country grew very fast, the land was inviting and, as it took on proportion, the settlers, realizing that the seat of justice at Marion was too remote, and a demand for a newly organ- ized county, with justice at hand, became a popular idea, and in accordance, Jan- uary '2, 1835, their petition was granted and the legislature granted the county of Slielby. Following is the act to organize the county of Shelby : "Be it enacted by the General Assem- bly of the State of ^lissouri, as follows: "1. The territory boimded as follows: Beginning at the southeast corner of townshii) 57, of range 9 west, thence west with the line between townships 56 and 57, to the range line between ranges 12 and IH; thence north with the last men- tioned range line to the line between townships 59 and 60, thence with the last mentioned line, east to the range line be- tween ranges 8 and 9 ; thence south with the last mentioned range line to the place of beginning, shall be a distinct county, called Shelby county. "2. EliasKincheloe, of Marion county; James Day, of Lewis county, and Joseph Hardy, of Ealls county, are appointed commissioners for selecting the seat of justice for said county of Shelby; and they are vested with all the ]iowers granted to commissioners under the law entitled 'An act to provide for organiz- ing counties hereafter established,' ap- proved January the fourteenth, one thou- sand eight hundred and twenty-tive,' and said commissioners shall select the place for the county seat of said county, within three miles of the geogi'aphical center of said county. "3. The courts to be held in said county shall be held at the hou.se of Mr. Broughton until the county court shall fix on a temporary seat of justice for said county. "4. The county courts for said county of Shelby shall be held on the tirst ]Mon- days in January, April, July and Octo- ber. "5. The said county of Shelby shall be attached to and form a i^art of the twelfth senatorial district, and shall, in conjunction with the counties of Marion and Lewis, elect one senator at the gen- eral election in the year eighteen Imu- dred and thirty-six. "6. The governor is authorized and required to appoint and commission three persons, residents of said county, as judges of the county court thereof, and one person, also resident of said county, sheriff thereof, who, when so ap- pointed and commissioned, shall have full i)Ower and authority to act as such in their respective offices, under the ex- isting laws, until the next general elec- tion to be held in said county. "January 2, 1835." (See Territorial Laws, :\ro., 1835, ^^ol. 2, p. 426.) THE NAME. A great dramatist says there is noth- ing in a name, and yet in the face of the assertion all mankind is curious about a name, and it, generally si)eaking, indi- cates a great deal. It intimates at least the character of the people who settle the country. Names sometimes fall by accident, sometimes association and again in honor. "Whether it be a wise or unwise policy, the naming of counties after statesmen or generals, the legisla- ture certainly adhered to the i)ractice to that extent that three-fourths of the HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 23 counties of our state were christened after men more or less distinguished in the history of our country, and it so fol- lows iu the naming of Shelby county. The county was named iu honor of General and ex-Gov. Isaac Shelby, Ken- tucky's first governor (1792), who was again honored in 1812 aud 1816. The commissioners to select the seat of justice were Eiias Kincheloe, of Ma- rion; James Day, of Lewis; Joseph Hardy, of Ralls. The governor, Daniel Dunklin, was au- thorized to appoint three county judges and a sherilT "to serve till the next gen- eral election." The act provided that the courts of the coimty should be "held at the house of Mr. Broughton until the county court shall fix on a temporary seat of justice." The county courts were ordered to be held on the first Mondays in January, April, July aud October. The county was made a part of the 12th senatorial district, Marion and Lewis being the rest of the district. FIRST COUNTY COURT. The first session of Shelby county court convened at the home of William B. Broughton (Mr. Broughton referred to in the legislative act), on Thursday, April 9, 1835. The following justices were present : James Foley, Thomas H. Clements and Adolphus E. Wood, who were appointees of the governor. Mr. Broughton lived at Oak Dale, Jackson township (sections — 57 — 9). By the or- der of court, James Foley was made pre- siding judge, Thomas J. Bounds, clerk, and Russell W. Moss, assessor. There being no further business court ad- journed for a week. I'hey reconvened April 17, all the judges being present. John H. Milton, ai)pointee to the office of sheriff, was present and took the oath of office. Sam- uel J. Parker was appointed constable of Black Creek township, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of J. C. Gar- trell. John II. Milton, appointee to sheriff, failed to give bond, and the May term of court recommended to the governor that Robert Dvmcan be appointed in his place. At a special term of court May 18, 1835, Robert Duncan was ai)])ointed elizor until he could be commissioned sheriff'. At this special term the first roads were duly established : A road running from the county line between Shelby aud Monroe counties, at the termination of the Florida road, to intersect a road passing W. B. Broughton 's at his resi- dence. A road from Broughton 's "to where the 'Bee road' crosses Black Creek." A road from "the large branch nearly a mile east of George Anderson's house, to the range line between ranges Nos. 10 and 11"; but, on the remonstrance of Anderson and others, the order estab- lishing this road was rescinded. Previous to the above acts, there were no highways in the county worthy the name. The Bee roads (commonly known) were the only highways running north and south. The first justices of court were all men that ranked high as gentlemen of intelligence and experience. A. E. Wood was a New Yorker and set- tled at Oak Dale. He was a brother of the Hon. Fernando Wood and Ben Wood, of New York City, the former an honor- able politician and statesman, the latter 24 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY a congressman, newspaper publisher and capitalist. Judge Foley located two miles east of Bethel, hailing from Ken- tucky. He died at Shelbyville before the Civil war. Judge Clements also hailed from the Blue Grass country. He lived near Oak Dale and died in 1850. IMPORTANT DATES OF PUBLIC NOTICE. It was "W. B. Broughton's residence that was christened Oak Dale, in the spring of 1834, to establish the first post- office of the county, and Mr. Broughton was made its postmaster. Mr. Brough- ton got his first pointers of Mr. Obadiah Dickerson, who was the expert of the Palmyra postoffice in her early days. In the winter of 1834, Mr. Broughton real- ized the necessity of a store for the needs of the settlers thereabout and opened up a small general merchandise store in the room of the postoffice. In June, 18.3.5, Broughton and Holli- day received license "to retail merchan- dise for the period of one year" at the same place. In August, 1835, AV. B. Broughton was appointed treasurer and Robert Duncan collector. The county tax levy the first year of its existence was 12i/-> cents on the $100. Poll tax, 371/^ cents. Collector Duncan, in December, reported the delinquent tax to be $2.60, due from the following per- sons : Levi Dyer, 75 cents ; William D. B. Hill, $1.00; Michael Lee, 85 cents. In the absence of any official record on the subject, some idea of the amount tax- able property in the county this year may be gleaned from the fact that Rus- sell "W. ^loss received for his services as county assessor the pittance of $12.75. In November of the same year, a road was opened from the county line, near what was known as Lyle's mill, on North Fabius, in Marion county, to Peter Stice's place. Bethel, Shelby county, giv- ing the settlers in the eastern and north- eastern borders of the count)' "a nearer cut" to mill. In December, 1835. the plat of the seat of justice, which had been prepared by T. J. Bounds, was submitted and adopted by the County court, and the seat named Shelbyville. T. J. Bounds was ap- pointed county seat commissioner and was ordered to plat the town into blocks and lots as soon as possible. Up to July 6, 183(i, County and Circuit court was held at the residence of W. B. Broughton, Oak Dale, but on the above date the first session was held at Shelby- ville, at Abraham Vandiver's. This house was called the "Court House" un- til the completion of the court house in December, 1838. Upon the first assembling of the County court there was no effort at changing the township division first made by Marion county authorities, but left it for years with the same municipal division, not even sanctioning the Clarion County court. IMPORTANT PROCEEDINGS 1836 COUNTY COURT. In February Broughton and Holliday secured a license to keep an inn and tav- ern at Oak Dale for one year, on pay- ment of $10. In Alay, George Parker was appointed first administrator on the estate of John G. Gillis. In June, four free mulatto children were bound as ser- vants and apprentices to Samuel Buck- ner. These were children of Mr. Buck- ner by his negro mistresses. Their names HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 25 (which always bears an interest) were Leannah, Chirinda, Maria and Theo- dorie. In June the first grocery stocks were installed in Shelbyville. James W. Eastin and Robert Duncan each secured a license to run a grocery store at $5 per annum. On the sixth of July the first term of county court that convened in Shelbyville was held at the house of Abraham Van- diver, who built the first house in Shelby- ville. During this term a road was es- tablished from Shelbyville to the Lewis county line in the direction of Fresh's mill, on the South Fabius. This mill was located about one mile southwest of the present town of Newark, Knox county. In the August term of court, William R. Ford was pronounced insane by a jury and James Ford was appointed his guardian. This was the first case of in- sanity in the limits of Shelby county. In 1836 the county expenditures were about $300 and delinquent taxes amoimted to $5.70. In November, Obadiah Diekerson was appointed superintendent of public build- ings, and preparations begun for the building of a court house. FIRST CIRCUIT COURTS. The first term of the circuit court of Shelby county held forth Thursday, No- vember 26, 1835, at the home of W. B. Broughton, Oak Dale. Hon. Priestly H. McBride, judge of the second judicial circuit, jDresided. Sheriff Robert Duncan opened court and Thomas J. Bounds acted as clerk. The following men served on the grand jury: William Moore, foreman; George Parker, George W. Gentry, William S. Chinn, Peter Stice, Bryant Cockrum, Jo- seph West, Elisha K. Eaton, Silas Boyce, James Blackford, Samuel Bell, Albert G. Smith, Josiah Bethard, Cyrus A. Saunders, Hill Shaw, John Thomas, Rob- ert Reed, Russell W. Moss, Henry Mus- grove, Ezekial Kennedy. The record re- ports ' ' twenty good and lawful men. ' ' The attorneys were present at this court, all coming from Palmyra: James L. Minor, John Heard and J. Quiun Thornton. Minor, who was appointed circuit attorney, later became secretary of state. John Ilearn became circuit at- torney shortly after and Thornton was a politician and editor, and later gained some state eminence as such. He edited papers at Palmyra and Hannibal, so the first circuit courts of our county were not lacking in legal lights. The grand jury reported they had no business before them and were duly dis- charged. The following cases were disposed of: "Graham Williams and sundry other heirs of Elisha Williams, deceased ; peti- tion for partition. Uriel Wright aiv pointed guardian ad litem for the minor heirs." "John H. Milton, assignee of Robert Reed vs. Silas Boyce ; petition and smn- mons. Motion to dismiss sustained." On the third day of the term, Elias Kincheloe, one of the county seat com- missioners, reported the action of the commissioners, and submitted the title ]^apers for the land on which the seat of justice was situated. "These papers," says the record, "were examined and pronounced good and sufficient in law to vest the title in said county." On the third day court adjourned until ' * court in course. ' ' 26 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY The total expenditures of the term yras $16,871/., as follows : To W. B. Broughton, to house rent. . .$4.00 To Robert Duncan, sheriff fees 9.50 To T. J. Bounds, clerk fees S.STV-j The July term, 18;?6, the second term, was convened at Mr. Broughton 's. Hon. Ezra Hunt was judge; A. B. Chambers, circuit attorney. The new attorneys ad- mitted to practice before the court were Thomas L. Anderson and S. "W. B. Car- negy, both of Palmyra. The third term of Circuit court was held in the house of Thomas J. Bounds, in Shelbyville, December, 1836. Ezra Hunt was judge ; A. B. Chambers (nick- named the A. B. C. politician), of Pike county, was circuit attorney; James Lear was foreman of the jury, and William Porter was admitted to the bar. The house of Ezekiel Kennedy was the "court house" at Shelbyville for the March term of court, 1837. Hon. Priestly H. McBride presided. John Heard was circuit attorney. The following new law- yers were admitted : Uriel Wright, J. R. Abernathy, P. Williams and W. R. Van Arsdall. The following term met in July at the house of Thomas 0. and H. W. Esk- ridge, in Shelbyville. The Hon. Mr. McBride was presiding judge. Heard was circuit attorney, Maj. Obadiah Dickerson was foreman of the grand jury, which found the first criminal in- dictment in the county, against Henry Meadley for grand larceny. INIeadley was arrested, but the charge was dis- missed and he brought suit against James Lair, the prosecuting witness, for damages for false imprisonment. He could mit give securitv for costs of a suit, however, and had to ask a di.smissal. No case of consequence was tried at these terms. The March term, 1838, convened at Shelbyville, and a number of indictments were brought upon the people for gam- ing. This indulgence was in the form of amusement for dull days, but authori- ties looked upon it as a dangerous prac- tice, also as a means of "stuffing" their pocketbooks and creating a little stir, and the reform movement brought to- justice for gaming: Bryant Cockrum, George Gentry, William Payne, Isaac Wooley, Elijah Owens and Robert Joiner, "for playing at loo"; Joseph Holeman and Abraham ^'andiver, "for playing seven-up"; Elijah Owens, John Ralls and Abraham Vandiver, "for playing three-up"; Wes- ley Hallibui'ton and Joseph Holeman were indicted "for permitting gaming in their house." Three of the jiarties were convicted. George Gentry was fined $2 ; Isaac Wooley $1, and William Payne $5. The others were acquitted, and 'twas said the indictments were resurrected thi-ough malice, and 'twas well proved that settlers only engaged in the game for a pastime. At this term Mathias Meadley was brought before the court as a vagrant, and James Sliaw was indicted for "sell- ing spirituous liquors to be drank in his home witnbut a license." His case was dismissed,.-. THE FIKST ATTOENEY FISTICUFF IN COUNTY COL^RT. The early lawyers were to back up their arguments if the occasion de- manded, but such an emergency did not arise in our countv until the Julv term TTrSTOKV OF SHELBY COUNTY 27 of tlie 1838 court. Samiiel T. (i lover was a young- lawyer auii)itious to make his mark, and E. G. Pratt, jealous of any inroads a young lawyer might gain over his eminence, each overzealous in his career, let their choler rise and came to blows and fought savagely until sepa- rated. Both lawyers hailed from Pal- myra. In the very i)resence of his honor, the presiding judge, AlcBride, did they l^arade their angry passion. Glover was fined $10 "for contempt of court in striking E. G. Pratt," and in turn Pratt was fined for "insulting lauguage and striking back." Then the grand jury took a whack at each of them. They were arraigned, plead guilty, and were fined $5 each. This did not cool their ardor, for Mr. Pratt was an able lawyer and I\Ir. Glover became i;)re-eminently noted throughout the state as an able, high-class jurist. He died in St. Louis in 1884. Mr. Pratt died many years previoiis in Palmyra. MISCELLANEOUS NEWS FROM EARLY COURT DOCKETS. The first term of Circuit court held in the court house was the March term, 18.39. The first foreigner naturalized in Shelby county was Ole Rierson, a native of Norway, who took out naturalization papers in the March, 18.39, term of court. November, 1839, a grand juror was fined $5 for appearing in court in a state of intoxication. In July, 1842, Lucy, a slave belonging to George Gaines, was convicted of arson. Her sentence was "thirty-nine lashes on her bare back, to be well laid on by the sheriff of said Shelby county." She was also to be banished from the state of Missouri for the term of tweutj' years. THE FIRST SHELBY COUNTY ELECTION. August, 1835, was the date of the first election held in Shelby county after its organization. There were but two or- ganized townships and two voting pre- cincts at that date. The North River township i)olls were opened at the house of Alexander Buford; Robert Joiner, William Moore and William Chinn acting as judges. The Black Creek township voting place was at the house of William B. Broughton; George Parker, A\'illiam Ilolliday and Anthony Blackford acting as judges. There were about one hundred voters in the county, and the "casting up" aggregated eighty-five votes, so the pio- neers evidently had not taken to the modern practice of stuffing the ballot box. The offices to be filled were two members of congress, one circuit and one county clerk, an assessor, and surveyor. The will of the people was also sounded ou the question of holding a state con- stitutional convention. At that date and till 1846 the representatives to congress from Missouri were elected by the voters of the state at large, and not by con- gressional districts, as is now the case. All voting was the vim voce method, practiced in Missouri until 1863. (Taken from Laws of 1863, p. 17; Statutes of 1865, p. 61.) Following is the will of the county at its first election : Congressmen— William II. Ashley, 66; James H. Birch, 45 ; George F. Strother, 30: Albert G. Harrison, 30. Clerk— Thomas J. Bounds, 44; Thos. Eskridge, 40. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY Assessor — Tbos. Holeman, 42; Abra- ham Yandiver, 41. Surveyor — William J. Holliday, 82. Convention — For, 34; against, 27. At this election nor at any other time were the party lines strictly drawn, but it seems evident that the controlling party in the county in 1835 were Whigs, or "Clay men," as General Ashley and Mr. Birch were Whigs, while Judge Harrison and General Strother were Democrats or "Jackson men." The following justices of the peace were chosen at this election: Black Creek, Montillion H. Smith and Josiah Abbott ; North Biver, Abraham Vandiver, B. F. Foreman, Samuel Coch- ran and Alexander Buford. AUGUST ELECTION, 1836. No record of the presidential election of 1836 can be resurrected in the county, and the state record was destroyed by fire in 1837. Governor — Lilburn W. Boggs (Dem.), 66; William H. Ashley (W.), 39. Lieutenant Governor — Franklin Can- non (Dem.), 59; Jones (W.), 28. Congress — Albert G. Harrison (Dem.). 77; John Miller (Dem.), 56; George F. Strother (W.), 19; James H. Birch (W.), 19; S. C. Owens (Independent), 4. State Senator — William McDaniel (Dem.), 71; William Carson (W.), 55. Kepresentative — William J. Holliday, 70; Abraham "S'^andiver, 50. Sheriff— Robert Duncan, 101. Justices County Court — Dr. E. A. Wood, 68 ; William* S. Chinn, 69 ; William B. Broughton, 6S; Anthony Blackford, 82 ; Thomas H. Clements, 77. Two were to be chosen. Assessor — Thomas Holeman, 38; Sam- uel Parker, 23; Robert Blackford, 14; Samuel Smith, 10 ; William Moffitt, 31. Coroner — Silas Boyce, 81. There were about 125 votes cast, of which about 100 were from Black Creek township. AUGUST ELECTION, 1838. Congress — Albert G. Harrison (Dem.), 152; John Miller (Dem.), 151; John Wilson (W.), 118; Beverly Allen (W.), 116. State Senator — G. M. Bower (Dem.), 157; Joshua Gentry (W.), 127. Representative — Elias K i n c h e 1 o e (Dem.), 158; James Foley (W.), 158. Sheriff— Robert Duncan, 201 ; Robert A. Moffitt, 67. Assessor — Joseph Holeman, 88 ; John J. Foster, 82 ; Robert Lair, 57. Circuit Attorney — James R. Aber- nathy, 159; S. W. B. Carnegy, 69. County Justice — William J. Holliday, 164 ; John B. Lewis, 93. AUGUST ELECTION, 1839. Assessor — William Gooch, 127; Will- iam W. Lewis, 108. Surveyor — William A. Davidson, 162; John Bishop, 74. A special election was held October 28, ] 839, to choose a member of congress to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Hon. Albert G. Harrison. The candi- dates wei-e John Jameson (Democrat) and Thornton Grimsley (Whig). Grims- ley was a St. Louis man, and the vote cast in Shelby was : Jameson, 81 ; Grims- ley, 67. CHAPTER III. List of 1835 Settlers — Naming of the Streams — First Coroner's Inquest — A Lost Man — "New York" Shelby County — The New Courthouse — Pioneer Mills — The First Roads — "Bee Trails "^Settlers in Shelby, 1837 — The First Bridge — The First Homicide. LIST op 1835 SETTLERS. The lists of early settlers wliicli have lieen preserved have varied somewhat, but as iiearl}- as can be ascertained the list of voters and heads of families which were here at the organization of the coimty or in the spring of 1835 follows in alphabetical order: Josiah Abbott, George Anderson, James Y. Anderson, Samnel Bell, James Blackford, Anthony Blackford, Isaac Blackford, Silas Boyce, Thomas J. Bounds, W. B. Broughton, Samuel Buckner, Alexander Buford, William S. Chinn, Thomas H. Clements, Bryant Cochrane, Charles Christian, AVilliam H. Davidson, Obadiah Dicker- son, Robert Duncan, Levi Dyer, George Eaton, Elisha Eaton, John Eaton, James Foley, Benjamine F. Forman, Julius C. Gartrell, Jesse Gentry, George W. Gen- try, James G. Glenn, AVilliam D. B. Hill, AVilliam J. Holliday, Thompson Holli- day, Elias L. Holliday, Thomas Hole- man, Charles A. Hollyman, Bradford Hunsucker, Julius C. Jackson, Robert Joiner, Ezekiel Kennedy, Isham Kil- gore, Charles Kilgore, Robert Lair, Addison Lair, Oliver Latimer, Michael Lee, Peter Looney, William T. Matson, J. C. Mayes, Russell W. Moss, John H. Milton, William Moore, S. W. Miller, John McAfee, Henry Musgrove, Sam- uel J. Parker, George Parker, W. H. Payne, Elijah Pepper, John Ralls, Robert Reed, Peter Roff, Hiram Rook- wood, James Shaw, Cyrus A. Saunders, Henry Saunders, James Swartz, Peter Stice, Montillion H. Smith, Hill Shaw, John Sparrow, William Si)arrow, Major Turner, William S. Townsend, John Thomas, Abraham A'andiver, Dr. Adol- phus E. Wood, Nicholas Watkins. Soon after the organization of the county, emi- grants came in and settled up faster. In the fall of 1835 and in 1836 came John Dunn, James Graham, Alexander Gillaspy, Lewis Gillaspy, Stephen Miller, James L. Peake, Samuel Bell, John Jacobs, Josejjh AVest, James Ford, Will- iam Conner, Robert R. Maffitt, William Moffett, Jesse A^anskike, Samuel M. Hewitt, Francis Leflet, Samuel S. Mat- son, Elisha Moore, J. T. Tingle, G. H. Edmonds, S. O. A'^anvactor, M. J. Priest. After the organization of the county, settlers located along the streams, and a good many who wanted to enjoy a lit- tle more civilization settled at once in Shelbyville. NAMING OF THE STREAMS The streams, for the most ])art, had been named before the real settlers located, but were renamed mostly by 29 30 HISTOIJY OF SHELBY COUNTY associatiou. Salt river was originally called Auliaha, or Oaliaba, but was re- named because of the salt springs which lay near it in Rails county. The Marion county records talk of Jake's creek, the stream which now bears the name of Black creek. It was originally called Jake's creek from the fact that about the year 1820 a trapper named Jake built a cabin on its banks and trapped and fished there for some time. The surveyors who surveyed that country called it Black creek, because of the blackness of its water when they first saw it. Tiger fork was so named be- cause John ^^'innegan killed two very large panthers on its l)auks. The set- tlers thought they were tigers and called the fork Tiger fork. There was already two Panther creeks in that part of the country, named from animals frequently seen near their territory. North river was formerly spoken of as North Two rivers and South river in Marion county as South Two rivers. These streams unite in Marion county about half a mile from the Mississippi, into which they empty farther downstream, in the east- ern part of Marion. The small streams were often named for men who first located upon them, simply as a way to designate the stream intended. Pollard's branch, in the western part of Black Creek township, was named after Elijah Pollard; Chinn's branch for W. S. Chinu; Hawkins' branch for William Hawkins; Broughton's branch for W. B. Broughton; Payton's branch for John Payton; Bell's branch for Samuel Bell; Parker's branch for George Parker; Hohnan's branch for Thomas Holman ; and others the same. Clear creek, in the southwestern part of Tiger Fork township and eastward from Shelbyville, was so named because of its \ very clear water. The stream was fed bj' springs, beautiful clear cold water. Otter creek, to west and south of Clar- ence, not only contained many otters but also beavers, the former being in large majority and the stream named therefor. Board branch was so named because it was heavily timbered, and the turning of these to boards was quite an industry and named the stream. FIRST CORONEB's INQUEST. In the summer of 1837, John Payton, a settler who lived in the western part of the county, on Payton branch, was dashed against a tree while riding horse- back and instantly killed. All that por- tion of the countj' at that time did its trading at Shelbyville, and Payton, in company with his wife and brother-in- law had been to town, trading, and Pay- ton became intoxicated. "NMien they had gotten about five miles out of Shelby- ville, east of Salt river bottom, in the direction of Clarence, Payton became unruly and wanted to return to Shelby- ville. His wife and brother-in-law pre- vailed upon him to keej) on his homeward road; and to pass it over and hurry the distance on, the brother-in-law pro- l>osed a race with Payton and he ac- cei)ted the challenge and dashed on ahead. There was a tree leaned over the river road, but a i)ath had been bro- ken around tlie tree. It was believed that Payton made his outward turn all right, but before reaching the tree the horse made a lunge in and Payton was dashed to jiieces in the presence of his wife and lirnther-iii-law. Some thought HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 31 perchance in liis intoxicated condition he swayed toward the tree and was dashed to pieces. The lirst inquest in the county was held over his body and a verdict of acci- dental death returned. The old black oak tree stood for many years and was a temperance sermon to the youth of the laud, and it was always known as Pay ton's tree. A little later there was a house-raising west of Shelbyville, and while raising a heavy log it sli])ped and instantly killed a slave named London. The slave be- longed to Capt. James Shaw. A LOST MAN. In 1839 a small colony of Norwegians wandering about the country decided to settle on the headwaters of North river. One named Peter Galena made a trip into Shelbyville and on his return there- from lost his bearings. His family be- came alarmed at his absence and a searching party was formed. They con- tinued their search for a day and a half and he was found wandering on the prairies of the northwestern portion of the county. He had been subjected to inclemency of weather, and encountered many wild animals. Together with the loss of rest, he was half dead and nearly demented from fright and terror. He was taken home to his loved ones, who were also in a tit of nervous prostration from their continued anxieties. "new YORK," SHELBY COUNTY. The fall of 18.35 was noted for the founding of New York, Shelby county, the mention of which in lier embryonic days would cause much merriment in a crowd of old pioneers. They could see a joke as quickly as our latter day saints, and perhaps we may term it unprogres- sive now, but they were not the kind that bit oiT more than they could chew. In the fall of 1835 a party of speculators, with Col. William Muldrow, of Marion county, at their head, entered about one- third of the land of this county, thou- sands of acres at a time. Large tracts were also entered in other counties. The money was furnished by capitalists from the East,— Rev. Dr. Ely, John McKee, Allen Gallagher and others, all of Penn- sylvania. Dr. Ezra Stiles Ely was a prominent minister of Philadelphia and lost in the enter]u-ise $100,000. The company fovmded the towns of West Ely, Marion College, and Philadel- phia, wlaich was named in honor of the "divine's" home burg. They sold thou- sands of dollars' worth of lots to eastern investors, many of whom were people of moderate circumstances and wished to get a start in the West. If all had come at once things would have seemed pros- ]ierous, but a few came at a time and found the cities and towns existed only on paper or in the fancy of optimistic eastern capitalists, and so returned to their h o m e s without repleting their famished conditions. In 1835 Colonel Muldrow and his asso- ciates came over into Shelby county and laid out in the northwest corner the so- called New York. It was located on sections 1, 2, ]2 and 13, in township 58, range 11. It was well platted into blocks, streets and lots, and many rare induce- ments were offered to the ])ublic. A few lots were elsewhere disposed of to gul- lible peo])le, but "nary" a house was ever built in the "city of New York." The company soon came to grief. Other HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY investments sliared as did New York, and tliey soon found the westerners were wiser "guys" than they had anticipated. However, it is only fair to ]\IuIdrow to say he was jnst forty years ahead of the times. Such investments were pecuniary investments and would have returned many fold to the investors. THE NEW COURT HOUSE. We have spoken elsewhere of the first steps taken by the county authorities toward the building of a new court house, which was at the November, 1836, term of court. The time had fully come when the settlers realized that their public welfare demanded a good building, that their work might be done properly and with dispatch. Maj. Obadiah Dickerson was appointed superintendent of public buildings and ordered to prepare and submit a plan with an estimated cost of a court house. In 18.37, at the February term of court, the County court appropriated $4,000 for the erection of a court house accord- ing to certain specifications. It was to be forty by forty feet, built of good brick, laid in cement and lime, with a stone foundation. The first story was to be fourteen feet high, the second eight and one-half feet, with good woodwork and first-class workmanship. The specifica- tions also stipulated that it was to be painted and oi'namented, but these pro- visions were later stricken out on account of the extra cost. In September, 1837, the conti'act for the brick work was let to Charles Smith for the sum of $1,870, and the wood work to AVait Barton for $2,175. Some ad- vance cash was given to each of the parties upon their giving bond for faith- ful compliance with the teiTns of the contract. The building went U]i slowly. The county was new, witli no lumber yards within its confines, and most of the material had to be obtained over- land from Palmyra and Hannibal. There was not a brick house near, and the brick was burned for the brick walls. It re- (piired more than a year to materialize the building, whereas nowadays it could be built in two months. Smith completed the brick portion in the summer of 1838, and Barton in November following. The County court records contained the fol- lowing report of Major Dickerson's : "To the Shelby County Court: "I, Obadiah Dickerson, appointed by Shelby County court su]ierintendent of the erection of the court house of said county, do certify that I have superin- tended the ]ierformance of the contract of Wait Barton made for the erection of part of said building, and that said Bar- ton has fully completed the work stipu- lated for on his contract in that behalf, and the work done by him as aforesaid is received and there is now due him the sum of $215, the painting left out. Given under my hand and seal this 9th day of November. A. D. 1838. " (L. S.) Obadiah Dickerson, "Supt. Public Buildings." The brick of which the court hou.se was constructed was made and burned near town, on the premises of Josiah Bethards. A j^ai't of the lumber was sawed at what was known as Gay's mill, on North river, in Clarion county, near the ])resent site on which Ebeneezer church now stands (section 18 — 58 — 8). And when at last it was completed all HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 33 the county "rejoiced as cue man," for although very few of the average citi- zens ever sued, or hoped to be sued, yet as the one great conservator of peace, the final arbiter in individual or neigh- borhood wrangles, the court is distin- guished above every other institution of the laud, and not only the court docket but the iilace of convening court is a place of interest to the public-spirited man. Not only so, but the court house was the first public building of conse- quence, and its uses were general instead of special. Judicial, educational, relig- ious and social purposes kept the latch- string on the outside day and night. It was in that day a public building, and in many of the first court houses school was taught, the gospel power fully preached, and justice meted out to man- kind. Here the many travelers often found rest, and the money invested in these old .plain buildings brought larger returns than the thousands and millions which are now tied up in the stately piles of brick and stone and granite of more recent date. To these old court houses of the pio- neer days came the ministers of the gospel, of the different faiths, each tell- ing the simple story of love which touched the heart and brought the sin- ner to repentance. Here our fathers and mothers sang with undying fervor the good old songs of Zion. Here the little children drank from their teachers' lips the principles of the three Rs. The settlers gathered here to discuss their own affairs and to learn from the visitors the news from the outside world lying so remote to the south and east. It was a center to wliich all classes of people went for the purpose of business, loafing, gossiping, exchanging of ideas and news. PIONEER MILLS. Notwithstanding some of the early settlers were ambitious, energetic mill- wrights in building mills at a few of the many favored spots for mills, which abounded in this county, nevertheless, going to mill in those days, when there were no roads, no bridges, no railways, and ill conveniences for travel, was no small undertaking where so many dan- ger, treacherous, unknown streams, often swollen beyond their banks, were to be encountered, and storms and wild beasts to contend with. But even under such circumstances, the hardy pioneer left comfort and danger in the back- ground and, facing weather and streams, succeeded in his undertaking. At other times the streams and high waters forced him to a retreat until a more favorable season, and he was at the mercy of his good neighbors^yes, those were the days when "what is mine is thine." Many stories are afloat with regard to the danger, hardship and peril of being forced to go to mill under adverse circumstances, a long distance, which threatened life and limb; but the hardy, valiant heroes of the early days faced many a hardship in their efforts to civil- ize and establish a higher standard of life. There was the early day when there was not a worked highway in the county, the settlers were far apart, and mills and trading points were in the dis- tance, with primitive modes of travel. The jiioneers of Shelby county were not so badly off as some of their com- peers in other counties, who for a long- time were compelled to depend on the 34 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY hominy block and hand mill. Hand mills came in with the new settlers, and water mills soon followed them. At the November (1835) term of court Peter Stice asked for a writ of quod damnum in order that there might be determined the propriety of building a water mill on North river (section 33 — 59 — 10), the present site of the town of Bethel. Stice built and fur- nished this mill in 1836, but it was not a success. Aboiit this time Asa and Silas Boyce began a mill on Salt river, three and one-half miles southeast of Shelbyville (S. E. N. W. 10—57—10). The mill was completed by Anthony Blackford, Nehemiah Redding and oth- ers, and this was a well-known insti- tution throughout the county for years. John Gay, of Marion county, was its well-known and popular millwright, and it enjoyed a large patronage. The next mill was built by William J. Holliday in 1837 and was located on Black creek, on the west half of the northeast corner of section (27 — 58 — 10), about two and one-half miles southeast of Shelbyville. Mr. Holliday obtained his permit in March, 1837. At the same date, T. P. Lair, William H. Claggett and others made application and re- ceived a permit, and a mill was built on the South Fabius, where the Newark road crosses that stream (N.W. S. E. 11 — 59 — 9), which operated for a while. Mr. Holliday states that the tirst mill in Shelb}^ county was built on Black creek (section 6 — 57 — 9) near Oak Dale by Julius A. Jackson, in 1835. It was a saw and grist combiuatiou and was of inestimable value to the people for some eight or ten years, when it was destroyed by fire. Some early settlers claim, however, that this mill was not built till the year 1837 or 1838. In the fall of 1837 Julius A. Jackson commenced a mill known as Button's mill, on the north fork of Salt river, three miles southeast of Hager's Grove and ten miles southwest of Shelbj'ville (N.E. .35—58—12), but before complet- ing it the dam was washed out. In the spring of 1838 Hill Shaw erected a mill on Black creek, in the southeastern part of the county (N.E. S. E. 29 — 57 — 9), two miles north and east of the present site of Lakenan. In July, 1838, leave was granted Adam and Michael Heckart to build a mill on the north fork of Salt river, five miles southwest of Shelby- ville and about three and one-half miles north of where Lentner now stands (N.E. 4 — 57 — 11); but it is not remembered that this mill was erver built, as no trace of it can be found at the present time. The Heckarts ran a horse mill for some time in this neighborhood, and later Heckart and Stayer operated the Walker mill at Walker sville. In the spring of 1 839 Samuel Buckner built a mill on North river some two miles below Bethel (N.E. 3—58—10). In the year 1838 Edwin G. and War- ren Pratt built a mill in the northeastern part of the county, on the Little Fabius, near the Knox county line. The year of 1839 Mr. Williams, of ]\rarion county, contemplated a mill on the eighty-acre tract on which the mill at Walkersville now stands, but he died before his work was accomplished. Tlie land was sold by the administrator, and David 0. Walker and George AV. Barker H W O r o 1—1 f r r w ?o <; I— ( r r w HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 35 purchased it and built the mill, iu 1840, at the present site of Walkersville, which was named after Mr. Walker. Before the erection of these mills, which dotted the county, settlers were forced to go the long ti'ip to Gatewood's and Massies' mills, near Palmyra, and even to Hickman's mill, at Florida, for their grinding. The most of our home mills, however, were only the ordinarj' "corn crackers," and neither ground nor bolted wheat; but the corn mills stayed the farmers till a more convenient season, and so were a source of great accommodation. THE FIRST EOADS "bEE TRAILS." At the session of the 1836-1837 legis- lature that body attached to Shelby county, for military and civil purposes, all the territory of ranges 11 and 12 of township 60, — the present territory of Knox county. At that session a road was also established from Paris, Monroe county, to the mouth of the Des Moines river, by way of Shelbyville. The road opened up as far as Shelb}'\'ille the same year. Up to this time the only roads running north were the so-called "bee roads." There were only two of these, and they were little better than trails. They ran through the eastern and cen- tral portion of the county, taking a gen- eral northerly and southerly direction, and were made by the settlers of the older southern counties, who every autumn i-esorted to this territory, hunt- ing wild honey. "We have elaborated on this topic previously, and will only add that the woods abounded with bee trees and every year the honey hunters took home tons of the delicious sweet. "Wher- ever a trail crossed a ford it was called a "bee ford," and thus there was "Bee- ford" of "Otter creek." The Callaway hunters named one trail the Callaway trail, as it was the trail frequented by Callaway county bee hunters. It was trailing over the divide between North river and Black creek to a point about four miles north and east of Shelbyville (section 14 — 58 — 10), where it left the divide and crossed a branch in the north and west part of that section, where was located plenty of good water, and which the bee hunters made a general retreat and camping place. The branch was called Camp branch by the settlers and hunters who resorted thither. Then there was the Boone trail, the one frequented by the Boone county hunters. It crossed Salt river above AA^alkersville and Black creek southwest of Shelby- ville, and on up the bluff of prairie on which Shelbyville now stands, on north- east across the divide, joining the Calla- way trail south of North river timber, on through the timber, up the head- waters of the Fabius, on into the waters of the Des Moines, Iowa. A ferry was established in 1836 over the Salt river at "Beeford" by a Mr. Christian. The location was below War- renford, near the mouth of AVatkins's branch. It was a flat-boat navigated by poles. SETTLERS IN SHELBY, 1837. At this date (1837) the northwestern ]5ortion of the county was liut sparsely settled, as that territory was not as yet placed on the market, but other portions had been taken up from time to time until tliei-e was quite a scattering throughout the other regions. Taking 36 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY them by townships and ranges, they were recorded at that early period : TOWNSHIP 57, RANGE 9. Gabriel Davis, Harvey Eidson, Will- iam B. Broiighton, Eamey Dye, Cyrus A. Sanuders, Joel Musgrove, Eichard Gart- rell, two Mr. Hickmans, Peter Einks- ton, Eandolph Howe, Kennedy Mayes, George P. Mayes, Samuel Blackburn, George Barker, Eussell W. Moss. Font- leroy Dye, Elijah Moore, John Thomas, Henry Saunders, Hill Shaw, Eobert Duncan, Thomas J. Bounds, Joseph Hol- man, Thomas H. Clements, David Small- wood, Josiah Abbott, Julius C. Gartrell, Mrs. Desire Gooch, and a few others. TOWNSHIP 58, RANGE 9. George W. Gentry, Kindred Feltz, Oliver Latimer, Stephen Gupton, Mrs. Caroline Looney, Mrs. Temperance Gup- ton, Solomon W. Miller, William Mont- gomery, Elisha Baldwin, Edward Wilson, Henry Louthan, Eobert Lair, Addison Lair, Eobert Joiner, Anthony Minter, Alexander Buford, Charles N. Hollyman. TOWNSHIP 59, RANGE 9. Caleb Adduddle, Benjamin Jones, Mrs. Morgan, Thomas P. Lear, John Cadle, William White, Kemp N. Glass- cock, Benjamin P. Glasscock, Daniel Wolf, Benjamin Talbot, Thomas G. Turner, Perry Forsythe, Mr. Whitelock. TOWNSHIP 57, RANGE 10. Samuel Buckner, Anthony Blackford, James Blackford, Isaac Blackford, Dr. Wood, George Eaton, Jefferson Gash, Col. AVilliam Lewis, John Eaton, Charles Smith, Samuel J. Smith, Maj. Obadiah Dickerson, George Anderson, Peter Eoff, Samuel C. Smith. TOWNSHIP 58, RANGE 10. Albert G. Smith, Samuel Beal, Elijah Pepper, James Swartz, Mrs. Elizabeth Creel, Lewis H. Gillaspy, Alexander Gil- laspy, Abraham Vandiver, Moutilliou H. Smith, Joseph West, Major H. Jones, John Easton, Ezekiel Keunedj-, James C. Hawkins, Dr. Hawkins, Elijah Owens, E. L. Holliday, Mrs. Nancy HoUiday, John Lemley, Josiah Bethard, Thomas Davis. TOWNSHIP 59, RANGE 10. James Ford, John Ealls, Samuel Coch- rane, James G. Glenn, Eobert McKitchen, Peter Looney, Joseph Moss, James Tur- ner, Ferdinand Carter, John Moss, Peter Stice, John Serat, Lewis Kincaid, Elijah Hall, Hiram Eookwood, Sanford Pickett, James S. Pickett, William S. Chinn, Nathan Baker. TOWNSHIP 57, RANGE 11. David D. Walker, David Wood, Mal- colm Wood, William Wood, James Ca- rothers, William Coard, Nicholas Wat- kins, Perry B. Moore, Isaac W. Moore, Mrs. Mary Wailes, Pettyman Blizzard, James E. Barr, Lacy Morris, Stanford Drain, James Carroll, Barclay Carroll, John B. Lewis, James Parker, George Parker, Capt. B. Melson, Major Taylor, Eobert Brewington, Henry Brewington. TOWNSHIP 58, RANGE 11. John Thomas, John Dunn, Elijah Pol- lard, Philip Upton, John T. Victor, AVilliam A^ictor, Aaron B. Glasscock, Alartyn Baker, Michael See. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 37 THE FIRST BRIDGE. Not until 1839 did the first bridge span a stream in Shelby county. It was across Black creek west of Shelbyville. A peti- tion written by Elijah G. Pollard was presented to the County court. It read : We, the undersigned petitioners, are subject to m;iny inconveniences for the want of a bridge across Black creek at or near the ford on the road leading from Shelbj'ville to Holman's cabins on Salt river. We pray the County court to take into consideration the necessity •of building a bridge at the above named place, for the benefit of the settlers living west of Shelbyville. We, the under- signed, are willing to pay one-half the amount the bridge may cost, as follows : Elijah G. Pollard $10.00 John Dunn 15.00 A. B. Glasgow 10.00 Madison J. Priest 10.00 Thomas J. McAfee 10.00 John ]\IcAfee 10.00 Robert McAfee 10.00 Major H. Jones 5.00 William Gooch 1.00 So far as statistics and memory go, it is thought the county turned them down, but the settlers went right ahead and built that bridge. Two long logs were thrown across the stream for stringers, on which strong slabs were laid and pinned. On the ends of the stringers the dirt was thrown and they were securely stayed. The middle of the bridge dipped down until the water stood several feet over it, but the stringers held it firm for many years, and it was a source of pleasure to the settlers of that locality. THE FIRST HOMICIDE. The first homicide that ever occurred in the county was in the year 1839. John Bishop was shot and killed by John L. Faber in the brick tavern on the south- west corner of the public square in Shelbyville, which site of recent years has been used for a hotel. The victim of a mistaken idea, for so it proved, died against the east wall of the tavern. Faber was a bachelor and a trader of Knox county. It was said of him he would buy everything offered him that he could not trade for, and his home was a museum of rifles, shot pouches, and what not. He bought a horse of Thomas J. McAfee, in this county, which Faber claimed McAfee warranted to work, and when hitched up it would not pull a pound ; whereupon Faber said McAfee might just as well steal the money he received for the horse, and was no less thief than if he had done so. McAfee had married a stepdaughter of Maj. Obadiah Dickerson, and the major took his stepson-in-law to task, telling him in a most emphatic mannei', "If you do not properly resent this charge and these insults of Faber 's, I will disown you, sir, forever." The first time they again met it was in the above tavern, and McAfee assaulted Faber, catching him around the body. The above named Bishop was McAfee's friend and ran in and, catching McAfee around the body, tried to separate the combatants. Faber finding him in McAfee's strong grasp, drew his j^istol, passed it around his 38 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY antagonist, felt the muzzle come in con- killed him in place of McAfee. Faber tact with a body which he supposed was surrendered and was released on pre- McAfee's, and drew the trigger. The limiuary examination. He was never muzzle was against Bishop's body and indicted. CHAPTER IV. Ckops in Eakly Forties — Chinch Bug Year — The Sixteenth Section — German Settlement — Change of County Line — Mail Facilities Improved — A Few Things That Interested the Settlers — Civilization's Sure Advance — Second Homicide in the County — The First County Conviction — Jefferson Shelton — Jonathan Michael — George Liggett — Miss Alcina Upton — Stock Raising and Shipping — Fibst Jail — California Emigrants — Elections — 1840 Presidential Election August Election, 1841 — August Election, 1844. history of the county, 1840 to 1850 — crops in early forties. lu 1840 the population of the county enumerated 3,056. After the organiza- tion of the county and the building of public buildings advanced, a general in- flux resulted. The immigrants came not only from Kentucky and other states east and south, but man}' came from other counties which had been unfor- tunate in settling or thought Shelby county offered more promising induce- ments, and crept on over the line. Crops had been good, the soil seemed promising and inviting to those who were willing to toil. chinch bug year. Old settlers long referred to 1842 as chinch bug year. The spring was a late and cold one and much cold rainfall held back tlie cro])s. Then came on a scourge of chinch bugs, which drove the people to despair. The wheat and oats crop was a total failure, and the corn was so completely covered with the pest that the rows resembled long black stripes across the fields, and the year was later referred to by some as the black corn year. The years 1842-43 were "hard times" for the settlers. Many of them had but recently settled and had not become es- tablished. Money was scarce and little in circulation ; produce scare and ridicu- lously low ; and wages on the wane. The market sheet in the fall of 1842 quotes flour, best, per barrel, on St. Louis mar- ket, $2.50 gold and $3 in "city mone}^" Wheat was 45 cents per bushel, and de- clined to 35 cents. Potatoes and corn were quoted at 18 cents per bushel. Nice, well -cured hams brought 5 cents per pound. (Think of it!) Tobacco, "firsts," brought only $3.10 per hundred. Gro- ceries were proportionately cheap. Coffee, 101/^ cents per pound ; best sugar, 7 cents; molasses, 25 cents per gallon; whisky, 18 cents per gallon by the barrel, or single gallon 25 cents, or 5 cents per pint. To be sure, out of the city market prices were even lower, and in Shelby, a new county, there was little call for pro- duce, making a lower market. Shelby- ville quotations were: Pork, $1.50 per hundred; beef, $1 per hundred; corn. 39 40 HISTOPiY OF SHELBY COUNTY 62^,4 cents per barrel or 12i/> cents per bushel; bacon, 2 cents per pound. A good five-year-old steer brought a bar- gain to bring in $8. Cows sold from $6 to $8. There was no market at all for land, except the very best improved. Tlie government had a monopoly on land, re- ceiving $1.25 per acre for all land entered under the pre-emption law. THE SIXTEENTH SECTION. After the year of 1840 the sixteenth sections in the congressional townshijis came into demand, showing the develop- ment of the county, and the other sec- tions were invariably taken up first, unless this section was of superior value. Section 16 was a donation made by congress in every congi-essional district, for the encouragement and support of the common school. Whenever a major- ity of the citizens of any such township deemed it best they petitioned the County court to sell that section ; the court would make an order to that effect, the land was advertised for sale and sold to the highest bidder. Tlie pur- chaser was held for bond for the security for the principal and interest. So long as the interest was paid up he could hold the principal. In keeping with the law, the land could not be dis- posed of for less than $1.25 per acre. The interest was paid into a treasury for the support of the schools of the town- ship wherein the district lay, while the principal was retained for a perpetual school fund. The government also gave to the state, and the state to the county, all the swamp or overflow land in such coun- ties, for school purposes. The County court sold all such holdings belonging to this county for from $1.25 to $10 per acre. The sum aggregating from the- sale of swamp land and the sixteenth sections was $45,663. GERMAN SETTLEMENT. In 1845 a colony of Germans from Pennsylvania and Ohio arrived in our county and purchased lands north of Shelbyville. Previous to this settlement some few Germans had settled here and there throughout the county, but at this time the colony had planned for a settle- ment to themselves, and so laid out and established the town of Bethel, which we take up later in the history of Bethel, These progressive people also entered a considerable government land. CHANGE OF COUNTY LINES. The legislature of 1842-43 altered the boundaries of Shelbj^ county to their present lines, adding twenty-four sec- tions of township 56, range 12, which were taken from Monroe and from a four-mile projection in the soutliwest portion of the county. The eoimty in- cludes all of townships 59, 58, 57 and the two northern tiers of sections in town- ship 56, lying in ranges 9, 10 and 11 and all of townships 59, 58, 57 and 56 in range 12. MAIL FACILITIES IMPROVED. In 1844 the mail facilities were im- proved to a high degree of efficiency. Mail was daily carried in hacks and stages from Hannibal through Palmyra, Shelbyville, Blooniington and on through the count}' seats westward to St. Joe,, when not detained by high water. A daily mail and hack much improved mat- HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 41 ters, and tliej' thought they had reached a high degree of perfection. Rates of postage varied. From the beginning- of the postal system in the country to the year 18-45 there was a variance of from 6 cents to 25 cents on a half ounce, or less, according to the distance of its destination. For each addition of a half ounce, postage was added. From July 1, 1845, to July 1, 1851, the rates were 5 cents for a half ounce or less if carried less than 300 miles, and 10 cents if carried over that distance. From July, 1851, to October 1, 1883, the rate was uniformly 3 cents for any distance within the United States and less than 3,000 miles. At an early day a letter to the Pacific coast was charged double postage ; while today Ave send letters to any part of the United States, Cuba, Porto Rica, Guam, the Philippine islands, or republic of Mexico, 2 cents for each ounce or frac- tion thereof. A FEW THINGS THAT INTERESTED THE SETTLEES. In the spring of 1844 the heavy rains sent North river out of its banks. Set- tlers of the day told of its swollen con- dition, such as had never occurred before and neither has it happened since. All the water beds overflowed and the jarin- cipal passage fords could not be crossed for several days. In the year 1844 the Mississippi and Missouri overflowed and great damage was done along the bot- toms. All the streams of this county were also above bed at that date, and helped to feed the larger streams. In the year of 1844 Daniel Taylor located a tannery on Clear creek, east of Shelby- ville (section 18 — 58 — 9), below the point where Miller's mill was later located. This was a good thing for the settlers, making a convenient place to dispose of their hides ; but in a few years good tan- bark became scarce and hard to obtain, and Mr. Taylor had to throw up the business and the tannery went to de- struction. It was a well-chosen spot, with plenty of water, and, had the tan bark held out, would have been a pros- perous business for some years, or until the wild animals became scarce. It was probably the winter of 1844 Mrs. Vannoy, a widow who lived on Salt river, above Walkersville, lost three daughters by drowning in the river. One of them was playing on the ice which broke, letting her down in deep water. The other two daughters ran to her as- sistance and were drawn from the ice and all three were disowned. CIVILIZATION 's SUKB ADVANCE. During the 40 's the county made a forward march in the line of civilization. As settlers came in more numerously than before and the county became more thickly populated, the settlers yearned for a higher stage of development and commenced to take interest in the out- side world and in a measure to keep up with the march of civilization. Schools became numerous by 1848, and a public interest was manifested in their behalf. Lodges were organized. In the year of 1847 an Odd Fellows Lodge was organ- ized in Shelbyville and a Masonic Lodge was organized in the same town in 1848. Indeed at this time Shelbyville was the only real town in the county, and she was indeed a prosperous little place, with a good life and vim and was trying to 42 HISTOUY OF SHELBY COUNTY push forward with all the euergj' of a modern western town. In 1849 the county court ordered a fence built about the public square, with Tliomas J. Bounds as contractor, and during- that year Mr. William H. Van- nort jilanted the square with locust trees and some rose bushes decorated its lawn, wiucli very mucli improved the seat of justice and added a touch of the esthetic to its former j^rimitive wild appearance. The farms about the county began to take on a better air. They were under a better state of cultivation and improve- ment, and the log ca])ins commenced to fall to the background and comfortable homes were carefully jilanned and built of lumber and brick. "With the appear- ance of frame and brick homes came the onward march of more careful farming, better barns and granaries and better stock. Up to about this time the stock was comparatively wild, but easterners brought with them eastern modernism and improvements and it was a contin- ual, gradual rise from a stage wholly or quite uncivilized to that of higher civili- zation as fast as the settlers, with their primitive conveniences and unfortunate trials, which meet everyone who faces the storms of a frontier life, could bring it about. The experiments of these first men who broke the soil have been succeeded by the permanent and tasteful improve- ments of their descendants. Upon the spots where they dwelt, toiled, dared and died, are now seen the comfortal)le home, the thriving village, the school house and the coming of the gospel, and indeed all the appliances of a higher civilization are profusely strewn over the smiling acres of the new county. Organizations are wide awake and public institutions are bursting into new life everywhere over the fair land. "Culture's hand Has scattered verdure o'er the land; And smiles and fragrance rule serene, Where barren wild usuq^ed the scene." SECOND HOMICIDE IN THE COUNTV. In 1842, on Christmas day, occurred the second homicide of the county, the killing of one Daniel Thomas by Phillip Upton. The killing occurred in Taylor township, about five miles northwest of Hager's Grove, where Mr. Upton lived at that time, and his field was the scene of the tragedy. The quarrel grew out of the following circumstances: Mr. Upton was a man of about fifty-five years of age, with a large family, three or four members of which were adult daughters. It seems that Thomas had talked in a damaging manner of one of the daugh- ters, pronouncing her unchaste, with three or four paramours. Peter Greer went to Upton with the story, where- upon a bitter quarrel arose, but finally the chasm was seemingly bridged over and the families agreed to 1)6 friends. Thomas, however, had threatened Upton with personal vio- lence. He was a young man, unmar- ried, and on this Christmas day, armed himself with a pint of whiskey and a pistol, which time and again he loaded with jmiu'r wads and fired it otf, seemingly for his own entertainment or to celebrate the day. About 9 o'clock he came to the home of Jonathan Mi- chael, where another young man, Jeff Shelton, worked. Michael instructed Shelton to go over to Upton's for a gun HTSTOTIY OF SHELBY COUNTY 43 Upton had to repair for him. Shelton invited Thomas to go with him, and the two went over to Upton's liouse. Botli were told that Upton was out husking shocked corn. On their way to the field they met two of Upton's daughters, who had been down to the field with their father. A dog accompanied them, which barked furiously at the young men, and to frighten the animal Shelton shot at it with Thomas's pistol. Upton saw the young men coming and started out to meet them. He liad liis ritle with him, for he never left home without it. Pick- ing up his rifle from a shock of fodder, he leveled it at Thomas and cried out, "Now d — n you, where 's your pistol!" and fired. Thomas fell to the ground, shot through the body, and died within two hours in a pile of snow which half covered the body. Upton surrendered to officials and upon examination before a magistrate was released upon the testimony of his daughters, who swore that when their father shot Tliomas, Thomas had first leveled his jDistol at their father, but was slow to draw the trigger, which gave Up- ton, who was a practical expert, the bet- ter chance of killing. In a few months Upton removed to Adair county. THE FIRST COUNTY CONVICTION. The September term of 1843 Shelby County Circuit court, he was indicted and later arrested. This trial came off at a special term of court, which convened July 12, 1844, at Shelbyville, with Judge McBride to try him. The jury of the case was composed of Anthony Gooch, John Gullett, Albert G. Smith, James A. Sherry, Jonathan Eogers, Charles Dun- can, Samuel Blackburn, James E. Utz, Kobert K. Mayes, Thomas B. Mayes and James Davis. The prisoner was ably defended by Hon. Samuel T. Glover and Hon. J. R. Aberuathy; the circuit attbr- ney was the prosecutor. The trial lasted two days, and on the second day the jury returned a verdict of "Guilty of man- slaughter of the second degree." The jury could not agree on his sentence and the judge fixed it at three years' impris- onment. They proceeded to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, but it never came to a head. He was pardoned by Governor Edwards after serving two- thirds of his term. In the meantime the family had moved to Putnam county, to which place the old man went. In a short time, however, he became involved with his son-in-law, a man by the name of Cain. Later on, one day when Upton was working in the wood, chopjiing out a trough from the huge trunk of a tree, while his wife and daughter were washing on the river brink, Upton was bushwhacked by Cain, who stole stealthily through the brush upon him and fatally sliot him with his rifle. He was shot in the same part of the body as he had shot Thomas and lived about the same length of time be- fore death ensued. Cain fled for Cali- fornia, but at St. Joseph he and a des- ]ierado quarreled and Cain was killed. Then a mob arose and slew the des- perado, and so "the wily man shall fall as by his own hand." Some of the most important alistracts from the trial of Up- ton follow : JEFFERSON SHELTON. Was hired to work at Jonathan Michael's. On Christmas morning he 44 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY came to said Michael's house; witness had to water the horses that morning; said Thomas also had to water his own horse. Michael asked witness to go to Philij^ Upton's for a gnn which Upton had to fix ; told witness to ask Upton if the gun was fixed, if not to bring it away. Witness and Thomas went and watered the horses. Thomas told wit- ness to hasten back from Upton's and they would go together to Mr. Pore- man's; witness asked Thomas to go with him to Upton's; Thomas went with him. When they got there witness asked Mrs. Upton about the gun lock; she said that Mr. Upton was in the field, to go and see him; we walked out of the house and witness proposed to Thomas to go straight back to Michael's; but Thomas opposed it by saying they should go and see about the gun lock; witness said it was not worth while and they ought to go and take the horses back; Thomas then said if witness would go to the field where Upton was he, Thomas, would go back with witness and help drive the horses up; witness agreed to go with Thomas to the field where Upton was; as they went along from the house they met two Miss Uptons, daughters of the prisoner, riding on horseback, coming- out of the field ; "a dog that was with the girls kept barking at us"; Thomas had a pistol, with which he had been shoot- ing paper wads, and witness took the weapon and shot at the dog to scare him; "also shook my coat tail at the dog. We went on to near where Upton was; the pistol was loaded with paper and powder ; I saw it loaded ; as we went up Thomas says, 'I think Mr. Upton has a horse hitched there.' Upton came from where he was in the fields toward us, and when he was about ten or fifteen feet from us, he stooped down and picked up a gun that was lying on the ground, and then said to Thomas, 'Now, damn you, where is your pistol?' and fired"; Thomas fell and witness picked him up ; Upton came near with his gun and wit- ness thought he would strike him with it; witness put Thomas's cap under his head and went for help. Upton stepped before witness with his gun drawn ; wit- ness changed his course and Upton again got before him; witness than ran oflf to the fence. ' ' The place where Upton shot Thomas was about half way between the place we first saw him and the fence"; witness looked back after he got over the fence and saw Upton with his gun down as if reloading it. On the Sunday pre- vious to the shooting witness was at Up- ton's and Thomas was there; Thomas and Upton talked ; witness had never heard of any difference and thought they were friendly. Thomas was shot on Christmas, died of the wound in about three-quarters of an hour; the ball en- tered the left side. Cross-examined, witness said it was between 10 and 11 o'clock in the morning that they went to water the horses ; that nothing was said about Thomas's going to Upton's with him until after the horses were watered ; witness did not re- member of Thomas saying, just as they were leaving Upton's house, "Let's go up to the field and fix the d — d old ras- cal"; that he never heard Thomas threaten nor abuse Upton ; that Thomas once told him that Upton had forbidden him (Thomas) to go on his (Upton's) l)lace; that Thomas prevailed on him to HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 45 go up to where Upton was in the field; by telling him he would go back with him and help him to drive the horses up ; that the road liy which they left Upton's house forked after going a little dis- tance, one fork leading to Michael's, the other leading up in the held where Upton was; that he said to Thomas, "Hello, Thomas, where are you going?" to which Thomas said, "0, I have took the wrong road"; that Thomas then came across to the road witness was in; that they looked across the field and saw the girls they had met running up the patch to where Upton was ; that they had a little talk together and concluded to go back where Upton was; that nothing was said in the conversation about Upton; that Thomas wanted to go up there and they concluded to go ; that witness did not strike nor strike at Upton; that he did not see Thomas in the act of drawing a pistol when Upton shot him ; that he was not looking at Thomas at the time, but was looking at. Upton; that, as far as he saw, Thomas gave Upton no provocation whatever; that when witness came back to the field with help the pistol was foimd in Thomas's breast coat pocket; that he did not know whether Thomas had the pistol in his hand when shot or not ; that Thomas turned and walked five or six steps before he fell. (The witness also swore that soon after the killing he left the county and went over into Monroe; but that his leaving was not for fear of Upton, but to go to school. Afterward, however, in private conversation, he ad- mitted that the principal reason why he did leave was that he feared Upton would kill him, as he was the principal witness against him.) JONATHAN MICHAEL. On Christmas morning, 1S42, Daniel Thomas and Jefferson IShelton were at his house; the latter was hired for the yeai', with the ijrivilege to quit at the end of any month on notice; witness asked IShelton to go to Upton's and "get my gun. ' ' Shelton asked Thomas to go with him ; they were at the house before they went to water the horses; the next wit- ness saw of Thomas he was lying nearly dead in Upton's field; Thomas lived an hour or an hour and a half after witness saw him. Upton did not go off after shooting Thomas, but remained from three to four months in the coimty, then moved with his family to Macon (Adair), where he resided until arrested. Cross-examined : Immediately after Thomas's death Shelton became dejected and depressed in mind and seemed ex- ceedingly unhappy; he said that he was afraid if he stayed about there Upton would kill him, as he was the only wit- ness against him. For the defense several witnesses tes- tified to Upton's quiet, peaceable char- acter. One witness said: "He is a peace- able man until you get him roused." GEORGE LIGGETT. In September or October, just before Thomas was killed, witness had a con- versation with Thomas ; this was the first time witness had ever seen Thomas; they were passing by Upton's and wit- ness asked Thomas who lived there and Thomas said : "Old Phil Upton " ; said I would find him out soon enough; that the whole of 'em were "a d — n onery pack"; witness said, "How?" Thomas 46 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY said "every way"; Thomas asked me what would lie the consequence if he were to catch a man out and beat him nearly to death — what would be the law ; I told him I did not know the laws of the state ; told him it might be a dangerous thing to attempt ; asked him how big a man Upton was ; I said he might get the advantage of him; Thomas said he was not afraid of that and laid his hand on his breeches pocket and said, "I have something here in that case"; said he had a pistol for him: besides, Thomas said he intended to have a man by to help. Sometime after this witness told Upton what Thomas had said. MISS ALCINA UPTON. On Christmas morning, witness and her little sister had been up in the field with her father and had returned nearly to the house; as they came up nearly to the house, .Jefferson Shelton and Thomas were standing by the corner of the house talking. She heard Thomas say to Shel- ton, "Jeff, let's go up to the field and fix that d — d old rascal" ; they passed along the road with that, and she and her little sister turned and followed them; they went a little way up the road and Jeffer- son Shelton shot a pistol off at their dog that was coming down the road ; witness and her sister passed on at the forks of the road; one of the roads went by Michael's, the other passed where her father was in the field ; when Shelton and Thomas came to the forks one took the road to Michael's, then the other one started over and started toward Michael 's. "Witness swore that after she passed the forks of the road she looked back and saw Shelton and Thomas stand- ing face to face talking, and that they turned and got on a log and looked towai'd the field. When witness got up to her father her little sister was telling him what they had done and said; that her father said nothing, but turned and walked toward the men; that Shelton and Thomas came up, one on the right, the other on the left, and that Thomas had his hand on a pistol which was partly drawn from his breeches pocket; that Shelton struck at her father just as he got to his gun ; that her father picked up the gun, stepped back and shot Thomas, then turned and struck Shelton with the gun; that the gun knocked Shelton's hat off and that he picked it up and ran; then her father went to the house; wit- ness did not know why her father took his gun to the field with him; that he went to the field about 9 o'clock in the morning. Peter Greer swore that Thomas made to him the damaging statements affect- ing Miss Upton's character before re- ferred to; that he (Greer) had told Mr. Upton what Thomas had said. Mr. Greer also stated he arrested Upton at home without difficulty; that he went up late at night and found Upton lying before the fire fast asleep. Greer hailed, was invited in, and told him: "Upton, you will have to go with me." "Certainly; I will go with you anj'where," was Upton's response. Lewis Scobee testified he saw Thomas pick up a fire stick at ^lichael's once and remark, " I 'd like to get a lick at old Phil Upton's head with this, the d — d old ." Thomas also said: "I intend to devil and aggravate him until he leaves the country." HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 47 STOCK BAISIXG AXD SHIPPING. As previously stated, farming and stock raising was taking a iirominence in Shelby county in the 40 's and taking on some proportions as a business. From 1844 the fanners of the county engaged in stock raising and breeding, while oth- ers turned their attention to buying and shipping. Russell Moss and Barton W. Hall had each imported some tine breeds of hogs and others had imported the merino and other tine breeds of sheep. Henry Louthan and Parsons went into the stock business on a large scale and both raised and bought stock. Pork packers from Palmyra and Hannibal came into the county and monopolized the market and bought all the pork at their own prices. Mr. Holliday, in his history written and printed in some of the newspapers found on the old tiles, says they graded the prices so that hogs weighing 200 lbs. or more would bring in about $5; a porker weighing 198, he would be graded to bring $4.75 ; if he weighed 150 lbs., he would bring $1.50; but no matter how much over 200 lbs. of meat they got they only paid the $5, and beef was similarly graded, being about $25 per head. Mr. Holliday goes on to say that the farmers sometimes revolted against the "steal" or "starvation prices" they then termed them, under the grading system, and launched out on their own hook. Mr. J. B. Marmaduke had two very fine steers, which weighed 1,800 lbs. each, and he tried to sell them on the foot at home. The best offer he could find was $.30 per head. He vehemently refused the price and proceeded to demonstrate what he could do. He sent them to Han- nibal, had them slaughtered, packed and shipped. His agent sent him a return of his sales, which, when the accounts were balanced, left him $8 liabilities after tak- ing both of his steers in his assets. Mr. Marmaduke also shipped a heavy crop of navy beans and Mr. Vandeventer a good crop of wheat with about the same success. The wheat crop dwindled in value and importance after 1842 for some years thereafter, and then came to be looked iiyion as uncertain, yet good crops were often harvested, especially so on new lands. The price of hemp, which was a good yield, became so low that the farm- ers abandoned it for tobacco, which be- came a popular industry and always lirought a cash price, though prices varied and were sometimes low. THE FIRST JAIL. In the year of 1846 was Shelby coun- ty's first jail erected. Offenders of the law, she had many before this date, as the records show, but the county had been on a strain in the rapid inarch of improvement, that she had found plenty of places for investments, she consid- ered better made and considered it wiser and cheaiier to board out her convicts than to build and maintain a building for their accommodation, but May, 1846, marks the date for a new jail in which prisoners could be kept at home. The first prison was built on the same site as the present one, just north of the court house, on the north side of the public square. The contract was let to Russell W. Moss, and William Gooch was the commissioner. Following is the plan of the first prison house : The material was of hewed logs, twelve 48 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY inches square and eighteen feet high, with cracks between not more than one and one-half inches wide. The sleepers, or lower wall, was laid with logs the same as the top and sides, and the floor was laid with two-inch oak plank, well spiked down. There were no windows in the lower part, called "the dungeon," except holes 12x18 inches on the east, north and south sides, which were se- cured by iron grates. Then there were logs twenty feet long of the same size built around the dungeon and seven feet higher, which made a room eighteen feet square. The space between the outer and inner walls was filled with limestone broken into pieces the size of apples. There were steps to go upon the outside of the building to a door which entered the upper story; then a trap door, by means of which the dungeon was reached. The floor of the upper room was similar to the dungeon floor. The old-timers called the upper room the debtors' prison, while the lower was con- signed to criminals. The jail cost abovit $600. In sketches by Mr. Holliday is handed down the following jotting: At that time there was a law in Missouri providing that a creditor might put a debtor into prison and keep him there until the last farthing was paid, or nntil he had given up all property he owned nnder oath, when he was relieved under what is termed the "Act for the benefit of insolvent debtors." This was why we had a debtor's prison. The outside of the jail was weather-boarded and looked like a common frame house. The act, however, of abolishing the act of imprisonment for debt was abolished in Missouri when an enactment was passed by our legislature in January, 1843, setting such a law as null and void. Mr. Holliday also says: Among the first prisoners placed in our new jail were two brothers from Schuyler county, who were charged with stealing hogs. Joshua M. Ennis was sheriff at the time and his father kept the jail. He gave the prisoners their meals through the trap door. The weather was not very cold, yet they com])lained of its severity, and the jailer had a stove put in the jail for their special comfort. Several times, upon opening the trap door, he discovered the lower room full of smoke. When he inquired of the pris- oners if they were not uncomfortable on account of the smoke, they replied, "Oh, no; the smoke all rises upward, so we don't feel it down here." One morning Mr. Ennis made his regular visit to the jail with his prisoners' breakfast, but was astonished to find that the birds had flown. Further discoveries showed that they had burned a hole through the floor and wall and made their escape. They were polite enough to leave a letter di- rected to the sheriff, in which they said he had treated them well, and that they liked their boarding house, but that their business needed their immediate per- sonal attention so much that they were compelled to leave ; if, however, they had occasion to stop in town at any future time they would stop with him. The court had the house repaired and in a short time another hole was made in the same place by an escaping prisoner, when the court, finding the jail unfit for any further use, sold it and had it re- moved. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY 49 CALIFOKNIA EMIGRANTS. Doubtless the desire for gold has ever been the mainspring of all enterprise and progress from the days of the patriarchs lip to the present time, and will continue so to be to the remote ages. Generally, however, this greed has been evident in all the busy thoroughfares of thrift and industry. On some occasions, however, it has passed beyond the bounds of rea- son, and assumed the characteristics of a mania. The gold fever broke out in the latter part of 1848, when the stories commenced to float about the wonderful riches of the placer mines of California, and worked into a frenzy, not only the people of the West, but the entire re- public. The excitement grew daily, and the re- ports were repeated, exaggerated, from mouth to mouth and from settlement to settlement, until nothing was talked of but the feats of the California gold dig- gers. The papers were replete, each one picturing more graphically the details of the yellow dirt, its marvelous richness and its vast territory. The excitement ran so high that the most conservative were infected with the contagion, hurriedly left their homes and all that was dear to them to battle with the imcertainties of hunting gold. Day after day and month after month, these early settlers watched daily the papers to read their falmlous tales of the west- ern gold fields, and instead of dying out the fever rose higher and higher, and it is said, at one time, there was not an able-bodied man in Shelby county but contemplated and planned a trip for later on in the spring or summer, for even the most sober and stable minded could not repel the temptation, so hemmed in on all sides was he by the one toj)i<' and desire, and the stream of emi- grants ever passing on every side and in conditions of travel. Some of the emi- grant wagons were drawn by cows, while others footed it through, drawing a hand cart which carted their clothes and hard- lioiled eggs and corn dodgers. Only to get to California and all riches would be at their feet. It was a scene beyond description. One continuous line of wagons and footmen, from the Orient to the Occident, one continuous line and like a cantankerous tumor, drawing and pulling from every highway to the main thoroughfare, the road to California. Ho! to California! Shelby county, new as she was, was caught in the whirlwind and turned to face the hardships of the crowded frontier of the gold fields. They started out at the beginning, l)ut the main emigration commenced in 1850. Some of them made great sacrifice to olitain the necessary outfit, and most often it was a disastrous investment, for to the average, the in- vestor did not find "pay dirt" and many never succeeded in reaching home again. The suffering was great, because of the congested conditions, and some who went from here found no peace until they lay down to sleep — never to return to all that earth held near and dear to them. Some of the luckier ones made comfort- able little fortunes and were alile to re- turn to their loved ones with nuggets of gold for their hire. Among those from Shelby county who went out in 1849 were: John F. Benja- mine, J. M. Collier, "William Dunn, John Dickerson, Capt. J. A. Carothers, Dr. Mills, C. J\r. Pilcher, Benjamin Forman, 50 HISTORY OF SHELBY COITXTY "Bob" Marmadnke (slave), Calvin Pilcher, William Robinson, Charles Eackliffe, Lafayette Shoots, "Joe" Dunn (slave), William, John and Eobert ^lontgomery. Among those who listed in 1850 were Adam Heekart and Newton and Robert Dnnn. AUGUST ELECTION, 1841. Clerk of Courts — Thomas J. Bounds. 224; John Jacobs, 198. Assessor — Abraham Mattock, 163 ; Alfred Tobin, 130; Joseph C. Miller, 71 : George W. Gentry, 44. At this election there were five town- ships in the county, Black Creek, North River, Salt River, Jackson and Tiger Fork. ELECTIONS — 1840 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. At the Presidential election in 1840 a full vote was cast and in the county it was a close vote. The Van Buren or Democratic electors received 233 votes; the Harrison or Whig electors, 226; Democratic majority, 7. The political campaign this year was, perhaps, the most remarkable one in the history of the country. The greatest en- thusiasm was awakened in the Whig ranks for their candidates, General Har- rison and John Tyler — "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too" — and they swept the country against democracy. In this county about the first political enthusiasm came of this year, being held by both parties at Shel- b>'\'ille and also at Oak Dale. In 1840 there were six townships in the coimty, Black Creek, North River, Salt River, Fabius, Tiger Fork and Jackson. AUGUST ELECTION, 1844. Governor — John C. Edwards (Dem.), 245; C. H. Allen (Ind. Dem. and Whig), 173. Congressmen — (Five to be chosen). Regular Dems. or "Hards": Sterling Price, 231 ; John G. Jamison, 229 ; John S. Phelps, 229 ; James B. Bowling, 232 ; James H. Relfe, 2.34; Ind. Dems. or "Softs": L. H. Sims, 178; T. B. Hud- son, 185; Ratcliffe Boone, 186; John Thornton, 182 ; Augustus Jones, 180 ; Jo- siah Fisk, 5. At this time the Democratic party in Missouri was divided into two factions, tlie "Hards," who favored hard money or state bank money on a metallic basis and no bills less than $10. The "Softs" favored bank bills of $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, and leaned toward the Whig idea of free banking. Senator — Robert Croughton (Dem.), 221 ; Addison J. Reese (Whig), 227. Representatives — Russell W. Moss, 254; John W. Long, 249. Sheriff— Gilbert H. Edmonds, 296; William J. HoUiday, 209. County Judges— S. B. Hardy, 292; John Dunn, 229; James Foley, 222; Perry B. Moore, 175; Thomas Lane, 147; Abraham Vandiver, 145; Robert Givens, 94; Levy Brown, 87; Thomas 0. Eskridge, 57; Alexander Gillaspy, 49. Assessor — William H. Vannort elected. Coroner — James Patterson elected. C. H. Allen lived at Palmyra and was an eccentric character, with a personal- ity quite his own, and was commonly known as "Horse" Allen. He was a lawyer of noted repute, having served a term or two as circuit judge. At one time, it is told, when presiding over HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 51 court he had to contend with an attorney small in stature and of the chatterbox style, and at last he exlaimed: "I'll let you know I am not only judge of this court but a 'boss' besides, and if you don't sit down and keep your mouth shut, by I'll make you!" This year he made the race for governor on the Independent ticket against Judge Edwards, but was defeated by a ma- jority of 5,621, the vote standing: Ed- wards, 36,978 ; Allen, 31,357. At the Presidential election in 1844 the vote of the county stood for Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen (Whigs), 244; for James K. Polk and George M. Dallas (Dems.), 209. Whig majority, 35. At the Presidential election in 1848 the vote was: For Cass and Butler (Dems.), 263; for Taylor and Fillmore (Whigs), 175. Democratic majority, 88. John McAfee, Democrat, was elected to the legislature. In the legislature in 1847 Mr. McAfee in the floor discussion on the "Jackson resolutions," the member from Shelby supported the resolutions, being a strong anti-Benton man. The next year, when he was a candidate for re-election, he was defeated by John F. Benjamin, who had first returned from California. Mr. Benjamin was brought out by a faction of Democrats led by J. M. Ennis, and was both an anti-Benton man and an anti-Jackson Resolution. CHAPTER V. Heterogeneous — Election of 1852 — Political, Campaign of 1856 — Presidential Election, 1856 — The "Know Nothings" — Election of 1858 — Sla\t;ry Days — 1860 Presidential Campaign — The Situation in 1860 — Stirring Times After the Election — Incendiary Talk. heterogeneous. The Shelbyville Spectator, the first newspaper of the county, was established at Shelbyville in the spring of 1853. F. M. Daulton was its first editor and pro- prietor, later associating with him James Wolff. The office was located near the northwest corner of the north side of public square and the building burned to the ground about a year later. The winter of 1856-57 was a very se- vere one. Mr. Holliday says : "The winter of 1856-57 was the hardest winter I ever experienced. Early in Octol)er there fell a great deal of rain, after which it turned cold and the ground froze hard; an- other rain fell and another freeze followed. Such was the weather during the entire winter. Sometimes the mud was so deep that the cattle could find no place dry enough to lie down on, and there was no spot in the field to place feed for the stock, and consequently quantities of feed was wasted. The feed being expended early, the stock fared badly, especially as the grass was late in coming up the following spring, not making its appearance until about the 25th of May. Many cattle died from ex- posure and want of provender. A market was opened in Iowa for milch cows, as that state was being rajiidly settled, and during the early part of the spring mentioned some men bought up a drove of cows, destined for the Iowa market, but owing to the back- wardness of the season, they did not start until about the 10th of June, when, finding insufficient grass to maintain their herd, they were forced to stop at Salt river and remain in the bottoms, waiting for the grass to grow. They finally reached their destination in Iowa, where they realized a good price for their cattle, but having to buy feed for two months longer than they expected, the expenses took up all the profits and the speculation did not prove a success- ful one. In January, 1855, snow fell to the depth of twelve inches, followed by a high wind, which kept the snow moving for eleven days, so that breaking or mak- ing of roads was a thing impossible. The road that was tracked down during the day was so filled at night that not a trace could be found the next day. On the ])rairies the strong northwester carried the snow skimming along and deposited it in great heaps and furbelows on the soutlienst territory, while the wheat in great fields was left ex])0sed to the frigid weather which followed and left it a des- 52 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 53 olate field. In places the "beautiful" was piled up over fences and people in sleighs and sleds could take the shortest cut to their destination. May 12, 1855, there was a heavy frost, killing all the fruit, and what little wheat had withstood the winter was in heading and the frost killed the greatest part of it. The fruit and leaves on the mulberry trees were killed, the trees put forth a new growth and fruit that matured." Records show that in the summer of 1855 (and records differ on the date, some claim 1857) there was considerable agitation on the road subject, wanting a new road to Shelbiua. A petition was pre- sented to the county clerk, praying the court to change the state road from Shel- byville to Paris, its then location, and cause a new road to be made, running from Shelbyville to Walkersville, thence to Shelbiua. The court appointed three commissioners and instructed them to make a study of both roads and report statistics. After deliberation, the com- mittee reported in favor of the estab- lished route. The friends of the new road were dissatisfied and a second con- sideration was given the project. A second committee, all new members, was appointed, and the report was the same as the first. Again the Walkersville dele- gation succeeded in a new hearing before the court, a new committee was ap- pointed and the report remained un- clianged. Then matters were righted by the establishment of a county road cross- ing Salt river at Walkersville, while the old state road, established by the 1836 legislature, running from Paris to the mouth of the Des Moines river, was left at its original and present place of cross- ing, at the old Dickersou ford. In July, 1855, the contract was let for the building of the offices of clerks of the county and circuit courts, attached to the court house. J. M. Ennis was made com- missioner. The contract was let, satis- factoril}^ complied with, and in 1858 a cupola was built at a cost of $.'525. S. P. Eagle, of Shelbyville, was its builder. In the spring of 1856 there were ex- traordinary floods in the county, the wa- ter swelling to unusual heights. Salt river and North river were at their maxi- mum heights, though some lay claims North river never exceeded her 181:4 limit. In the year 1859 the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad was completed through the county. (See its history.) During the troublous times in Kansas (1854-58) regarding whether it should be admitted into the Union with or with- out slavery, a handful of our men went out under the auspices of the pro-slavery party of Missouri to help make Kansas a slave state. Not more than a dozen went and only to soon return. Thej^ were there long enough to vote, which was their sole purpose in going. In 1859 the Pike's Peak excitement carried off a number of our citizens, but for only a short stay. From Shelbyville there went forth to Congress M. H. Mar- maduke, George Gillaspy, Daniel Brant, Jenkins Bethards and a free colored man by the name of "Jim" Givens. The party started for Denver, but meeting hundreds who had been there and found only fairy tales had been told, they turned back at Cottonwood, Kansas, and returned to Home, Sweet Home. 64 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ELECTION OF 1852. Bentou was an Independent Democratic ^ ^, „ -J X- 1 1 i- 10K0 ii candidate, with J. W. Kelly, of Holt In the Presidential election 1852 the , ^ r + ^ <-i ^ ^ , . , ,, j^ ^ r,- county, for lieutenant-governor; the Democrats carried the countv tor Pierce ,,.'• ,, a- i 4. v \ *. n , ,^. ,. ,, . • , ,, "American" candidate was Robert C. and Ivmff over bcott and Graham, the „ . e r e *.*. -u -wn- x- „ ,,,, .'',.. , ■, ■ ■[ Ewmg, of Lafayette, with \\ illiam ^ew- Whie: candidates, by a good majority. , i'^ti,, 'n ,• , . „ => , , ,, , p , w X laud, of Ralls, for lieutenant-governor. Records show the vote ot but hve town- ,^ , , r, . . • i • i ^ « i i. „ ,, Colonel Benton was making his last tight ships and thev were as tollows: „ ,.,. , • , , , i • for poutical existence and he was a va- Pierce & Scott & li^nt soldier. He canvassed from town Townships— King Graham to town throughout the state. Black Creek 147 142 "^^^^ '^^ '^'^^ ^ ^^^ ^^ strong person- -D ii^ J j^QC) 25 ality and clu'rished many warm friend- Tio-er Fork 4 9 ^t^ips throughout the state, who still re- rp^l^^j. ^^ 10 main loyal to him and honor him as a Jackson 38 26 master statesman and rear marble stat- uary to his memory. 309 '^02 "^t his death, in 1858, there was gen- eral sorrow, and though during his polit- This was the last year that the Whig i^^i career some men had fought him party, as a party, put forth a Presiden- ]^^^,^ j^^^j i^^g^ ijj ]^ig fie^th they rever- sal ticket. enced his name as a great man. ,„_„ For congress there were but two can- POLITIC.AX CAMPAIGN OF lOOO. j-j j. • ii ■ T i • i tt t T didates m this district, Hon. .James J. A most intensely exciting political con- Lindley, Whig, Know Nothing, &c., and test was that of this year, especially in Hon. James S. Green, regular Demo- Missouri. Not only was it a Presiden- crat, of Lewis county. The Germans of tial year, but a gubernatorial year, and Bethel township voted solid for Benton, besides there were congressmen and The result follows: county oflBcers to elect. Only two Presi- For Governor — R. C. Ewing, 411 ; dential tickets were voted in our county, Trusten Polk, 325; Thomas H. Benton, the Democratic, headed by James Buch- 166. Congressman — J. J. Lindley, 462; anan and John C. Breckenridge, and the J. S. Green, 364. Legislature — John Native American or "Know Nothing," McAfee, 382; G. H. Edwards. 450. Sher- headed by Millard Fillmore, of New iff— J. ]\r. Ennis, 447; E. L. Holliday. York and Andrew Jackson Donelson, of 424. Treasurer — J. M. ]\Iarmaduke, 453; Tennessee. This was the year the Re- ,loe Bell, 398. publican party iirst put out a candidate, , __„ ^ . . ■ i • i.1 • i 1 PKESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 1856 THE receiving no votes in this county and ,. „ , , „ . • i.1 ii i i. KNOW NOTHINGS. but few except m the northern states. For governor there were three candi- The Presidential election of 1856 was dates. Trusten Polk was the regular one of the most exciting elections ever Democratic nominee, wi^h Hancock .lack- known in Shelby county. The contest son for lieutenant-governor ; Thomas H. was between the Democratic leaders, HIST()I!Y OF STIELBY COU.X'J'Y 55 Buchanan and Breckeuridge, and the nominees of the Native American or "Know Notliing" party, Filhuore and Donelson. The tight was an aggressive one. Enthusiastic meetings were held and a large vote was polled. The Native American or "Know Nothing" partj', since it has become extinct, deserves spe- cial mention, as it once had a strong grip on this county. It was organized sometime in the de- cade of 1830, but remained in an em- bryonic stage for years, or until 1853, the year the Whig party went overboard, the "Know Notliings" embi'aced this opportunity and forged their way to the fore ranks. In 185-1: the first lodge was organized in this county, but in 1856 they were quite umuerous. The party was an eccentric one, a secret, political order, its members oathbound, involving in the order its passwords, signs, grijjs, signals and salutes — all the parapher- nalia of the secret order. They worked secretly to accomplish all that they pub- licly professed. It carried in its mem- bership chiefly ex-Whigs, although it also made some inroads on the Democratic party. Its chief cornerstone or plank in its platform was that "Americans must rule America" or that none but native born Amei'icans and non-Catliolics can hold office and favored a radical change in the naturalization laws. It is said that the hailing salutation of the order was "Have you seen Sam!" If an- swered by the inquiry "Sam who?" the response came "Uncle Sam." Such a boost did the party have that they car- ried many counties and districts. The 1856 platform of the "Missouri Know Nothings" was: 1. That we regard the mainttenance of the union of these United States as the paramount political good. 2. A full recognition of the rights of the several states, as expressed and re- served in the Constitution, and a. careful avoidance by the general government of all interference with their rights by the legislative or executive action. 3. Obedience to the Constitution of these United States as the supreme law of the land, sacredly obligatory in all its parts and members — a strict construc- tion thereof and steadfast resistance to the spirit of innovation of its principles — avowing that in all doubtful or dis- puted points it may only be legally as- certained and expounded by the judicial powers of the United States. 4. Tliat no person should be selected for political station, whether native or foreign born, who recognizes any alle- giance or obligation to any foreign prince, potentate or power, or who re- fuses to recognize the federal or state Constitutions (each within its sphere) as paramount to all other laws or rules of political action. 5. Americans must rule America : and to this end, native born citizens should be selected for all state and federal of- fices in preference to naturalized citi- zens. 6. A change in the laws of naturaliza- tion, making a continued residence of twenty-one years an indispensable requi- site for citizenship, and excluding all paupers and persons convicted of crime from landing on our shores; but no in- terference witli the vested rights of for- eigners. 7. Persons that are born of American 56 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY parents, residing- temporarily abroad, are entitled to all the rights of native- born citizens. 8. An enforcement of the principle that no state or territory can admit oth- ers than native-born citizens to the rights of suffrage, or of holding political office, unless such persons have been nat- uralized according to the laws of the United States. 9. That congress possesses no power under the Constitution to legislate upon the subject of slavery in the states where it does or may exist, or to exclude any state from admission into the union be- cause its Constitution does or does not recognize the institution of slavery as a part of its social system and (expressly pretermitting any expression of oi)inion upon the ])ower of congress to establish or prohibt slavery in any territory), it is the sense of this meeting that congress ought not to legislate upon the suliject of slavery within the territories of the United States ; and that any interference by congress with slavery as it exists in the District of Columbia, would be a vio- lation of the spirit and intention of the compact by which the state of ■Maryland ceded the district to the United States, and a breach of the natural faith. 10. That we will abide by and main- tain the existing laws on the subject of slavery as a final and conclusive settle- ment of the subject in spirit and in sub- stance, believing this course to be the best guarantee of future ]3eace and fra- ternal amity. A full vote swelled the ticket in each party and election returns showed the "Know Nothings" in the majority in this county. The returns were: Fil- more ("Know Nothing"), 432; Buch- anan (Dem.), 37.3. The leading "Know Nothings" in the county were James Gooch, John Dunn, Leonard Dobbin, John S. Duncan, George Gaines, James Foley, Dr. J. Bell, Henry W. Sheetz, Jo- seph M. Irwin, Thomas 0. Eskridge and others. Prominent among the Demo- crats were Alex ^IcMurtry, AVilliam E. Strachan, J. M. Ennis, John McAfee, "W. J. Holliday, John F. Benjamin, John Dickerson, Perry B. Moore, Lewis Ja- cobs, Henry Louthan and J. B. Marma- duke. ELECTION OF 1858. The August election of 1858 attracted little attention in Shelby county. The state Democratic ticket and John B, Clark for congress had no opposition here, neither had Democrat J. M. Ennis for sheriff. There was some contest, however, for the legislature. The Dem- ocratic candidate was William Kichmond Strachan, who four years after became notorious throughout northeast Missouri as General McNeil's provost marshal. The Democrats swept everything and Strachan was elected by a large majority over the Whig candidate. Singleton, the Whigs losing much ground in this county as well as territory throughout the en- tire state. SLAVERY DAYS. In order to perpetuate the history of the past for the coming generations, some things are dwelt upon in these pages that the future may come in touch, actually know and feel just what the life of their forefathers was of other days. Children are educated in the day schools, but they too often are taught the foreign incidents of life. It is all in an outside world and is not brought within our own HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 57 lionie laud, coimtry and county. "What child does uot kuow that slavery actually existed in other days, but how many men, women or children know the history of slavery in our own county, and the his- tory of slavery in our own county is an integral part of the history of slavery as it existed. In the early part of the year 1860, there were 724 slaves in Shelby county, which was the maximum number ever in the county at any one time. The majority of the slaves were in the south part of the county and were employed in agricul- tural pursuits. It was transplanted here from ^"irginia and Kentucky, from whence came so many of our first set- tlers. They owned the slaves there and when they moved westward, to a new country, they knew they would have need of them and, as a rule, the slaves wanted to come along with ' ' Massa. ' ' Few were ever brought into this county and sold on speculation, as there was no profit in the business, but many were taken into the far South and they sold there for a good profit, and were trafficked in large numbers. Under some of the loose moral workings of the system of the slave ne- gro the race increased rapidly, some of the slave girls becoming mothers at four- teen years of age. The slave owners worked the slave system for profit, not for social power and supremacy alone. The slave holder then planned his slave holdings as we plan any speculation of the present day to the best possible ad- vantage of gain. They were provided with comfortable cabins (which were cheap in that day), with coarse but com- fortable clothing (the kind that would preserve health was, of course, econ- omy), with substantial food and medical attention was promptly administered when they were sick, but it was not al- ways humanity nor a big heart which prompted this attention, though often- times it was, but in lack of kindness, self- interest ijrompted the act. As a rule, the records of the county bears witness that as a rule the masters were kind, con- siderate and loyal to their holdings. Slaves were personal property and rated in a man's estate as horses and other personal possessions. To be sure, they were considered not in part with such possession, yet nevertheless they rated according to their power of increase. There was no avoiding the issue. A man had a right to the fruit of his orchard, and it justly followed the owner of a fe- male slave had a right to the offspring of his property. In some states, as Louisiana, slaves were real estate, but in Missouri they became chattels. Little or no attention was given during slavery days to the education of the slaves, but their religious teachings were not neg- lected, and they were encouraged to have prayer meetings and to institute and con- duct revivals, and especially were they drilled to a finish on the Pauline precept, "Servants, obey your masters," as one of the foremost principles and teachings of Holy Writ. In regard to the domestic relations of slaves, convenience, in a degree, was the system adopted and the regulations of that day would wholly shock jDropriety of today. Marriages were not exploits to be recorded. Indeed, most often, there was no ceremony at all, but they just "flocked together." Sometimes the husband belonged to one master and the wife to another, but in most cases the family tie was imitated and propriety 58 H18T0KY OF hiHElJiY COUNTY outwardly ol)servecl. A mau aud wife occupied a cal)iu, where they made a home and brought uj) their children after the fashion of the day. They not only did not have to provide for themselves, hut they did not have to provide for their children. That was the master's business and duty. And the husbaud was usually satisfied with one wife — one at a time at any rate. The laxity in morals in regard to the connu- bial tie which existed in the South was not practiced here. Tales and tales have been told and repeated by both sides of the slaverj' question, tales which are too depraved and licentious to bear auy but evil fruit — which have no bearing on the history of Shelby county, and we pass them up, to only remark that while some looseness of morals may have existed, yet, as a whole, the history of our county was a clean one along that line, aud often, no doubt, could the fathers of some of the mulattoes be known, they would have been traced to depraved, dis- reputable white men who were not slave holders. It became quite a common practice for a slave owner to hire out his slaves to those who had no slaves, and a good slave will l)ring in to his master $250 per annum and his keep. It was made an indictable ofl'ense for a master to ]iermit a slave to hire his own time, aud it was also an offense to deal in them unless you had a permit. Men and women could be hired alike. To give you some idea of the terms of such a deal, we copy a letter which sets forth terms: Feb. .3, 1S44. ^[y. James Alger: Sir — I beg to en- lighten vou that the woman you wish to hire belongs to me. You can have her a year for seventy dollars by clothing her as well as she gets at home — two winter dresses, one summer dress, two shifts, one blanket, two pair shoes and stock- ings, and for the child two winter dresses, two summer dresses and two shifts. You'll have to lose the time lost in sickness by the woman, and I'll pay the doctor bills. You'll have to send for and return her when her time is out. Yours truly, CHAELES LEIP. As we have stated, as a rule, the rela- tion of the slave holder to his slaves was a peaceable one. As we have unkind and harsh fathers and mothers, so we had masters more or less cruel, but as a rule the slave owners were both reasonable and just. In every municipal townshi]) there were ])atrols appointed by the county coui't, whose duty it was to patrol their respective townships a certain number of times every month and "keep tab" on the movements and aml)itions of the slaves. Slavery meant eternal vigilance. They required a continual oversight. There was ever creeping forth that ambition for freedom, whose designs had to be nii^iied in the bud. In sultordinate ones they had to be quelled, and loahng, prowling and quarreling had to be sup- ))ressed and broken up. To prevent these disorders was the business of the ])atrols. They were organized under their leaders and captains, and it was their duty to make their rounds at un- expected times and as suddenly as in his ]iower lieth. No slave was allowed off the premises of his master after 9 IIISTOIJY OF SHELBY C()i:XTY 59 o'clock at night without a written pass from his master or employer. All of- fenders were made prisoners and pun- ished. And the negroes had a pleasant lot, and perchance many of them were better off temporally and physically than to- day ; but who is there that does not prize freedom above temporal blessings ! Then they had their social pleasures, their dances, their frolics, and various assem- blages. (^orn-huskings were a diversion at which many of them gathered and laughed and chatted and husked and threw corn at each other. Then there originated a custom, after the husking- bee, to hoist the master to the shoulders of the men and carry him about the premises, singing songs improvised for the great occasion. In the Civil war there were about seventy-five enlisted colored men from this county. The great part of them enlisted in the 2d Missouri and 1st Iowa "African Descent." In 18G5, when the slaves were freed, many of them were anxious for a taste of liberty, and left their mistress and master and "set up" for themselves. Many of them had a distaste for country life and made a "bee line" for Hannibal, Palmyra and Macon. Others left the state, going where anti- slavery people lived, expecting to re- ceive therefrom much substantial sym- pathy and assistance, but few ever realized their fond ambitions. ]\[any of them got into their "noggin" that when the country freed them it would make them a donation, — and they are still looking for their "forty acres and a mule." The Civil war was a death blow to slavery. In 1862-63 hundreds of slaves left their masters. No one can imagine the change that the tui-n of the wheel wrought. Even the slaves of the Union- ists ran away. When by legislative enactment and the adoption of the thir- teenth amendment the state set all slaves free, there was a great deal of discon- tent. Men vowed they would not rent the colored people a foot of ground nor lift their hand to aid them; but time has dealt kindly with us, obliterating all that feeling, and now very few would re- store slavery to our country if they had that power. In 1860 the poimlation read : 6,565 ; slaves, 724 ; free colored. 1 2 ; grand total, 7,301. 1860 PRESroENTIAL CAMPAIGN. The 1860 presidential campaign was one that will ever be kept fresh in the minds of oncoming generations, because, for its remarkable surroundings and cliaracteristics, its history will ever be per]ietuated and kept before the minds of the people. Not only was its charac- ter affected by preceding events, but it was the pivot on which swung succeed- ing history. Among the events which preceded the election and gave color to the results, were the inflammatoiy speeches of great leaders of the Demo- cratic and Republican parties in both the North and the South ; the enactment in the various northern states of the "per- sonal liberty bills," which rendered in- oiierative in those states the fugitive slave law; exciting and printed debates in congress over the repeal of the Mis- souri Compromise; also the Kansas- Nebraska controversy, the John Brown raid on Harper's Ferry, Ya., in the fall 60 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY of 1859, and other minor details of more or less importance. The coimtry was up in arms with ex- citement, and right in the midst of the enthusiasm on came the presidential cam^jaign, which added fire to the flames already aglow. Everywhere the slavery question was the all-absorbing topic. The populace was wrought into a frenzy. The Republican party, which as yet had not received a single vote in Shelby county, had carried by a large majority the North states in the 1856 canvass and since that time added new strength to its ranks from year to year, and as there was strife in the Democratic ranks, encouraged by the gains they had con- tinually made, they fought like tigers to win their tickets. Enthusiasm had struck both parties, but the Democratic party could not unite its forces, and at the Democratic convention at Charleston, S. C, on April 2.3, after a stormy and discordant session lasting several days, the ranks remained as they were at the beginning, a divide that could not be bridged, and two sets of candidates were nominated. Stephen A. Douglas and Herchel B. Johnson were the names for president and vice president of the regu- lars, and John C. Breckinridge and Joseph Lane by the southern or states' rights division of the party. The "Constitutional Union" party was one composed of old Whigs, Know Nothings and conservatives from differ- ent parties. It nominated John Bell, of Tennessee, and Edward Everett, of :Massachusetts, on the following brief but comprehensive platform: "The Union, the Constitution and the enforce- ment of the laws." The Republicans then forged to the front with Abraham Lincoln and Hanni- bal Hamlin, declaring principally in their platform that each state had the absolute rigiit to control and manage its own domestic institutions, denying that the constitution, of its own force, carried slavery into the territories whose nor- mal condition was said to be that of freedom. Summarized, their platform declared hostility to the extension of slavery, but non-interference where it did not exist. Missouri's situation was indeed a peculiar one. She was the only neigh- boring slave state bordering on the ter- ritories of Nebraska and Kansas, and she was deeply concerned, from a selfish if not a sentimental motive. She was both ! Her people or their ancestors came largely from Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky, primitive slave-holding states, and many owned slaves or were otherwise interested in the preservation of an institution against which the Re- iniblican party had dealt a blow. From a sentimental view it was thought to be unmanly or cowardly to yield to the coer- cion or dictates of tlie northern aboli- tionists. The struggle was a memorable one. Politics were stirring. Each side fought for added strength. The canvass in the state was a spirited one. The division in the Democratic party was manifest in Missouri. The state convention nomi- nated Claiborne F. Jackson, of Saline county, for governor. The Bell and Everett party first nominated Robert Wilson, of Andrew, and on his with- drawal, Hon. S. Orr, of Green county. Then ])oliti('ians commenced to sound Afr. Jackson as to his personal views on the ])rinci)inl rjuostion over which the HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 61 states were contending, and, last bnt not least, which of the Democratic nominees did he favor. For a period of time the wily politician succeeded in eluding their strategic efforts, bnt at last thej' cor- nered him in snch a manner that he came and fairly and squarely announced him- self for Douglas because he believed him to be a regularly and fairly chosen nomi- nee of the party, but also announced himself as in utmost sympathy with some of the Breckenridge ^^rinciples, which called forth again much criticism and dissension ; and soon thereafter the Breckenridge men called a state conven- tion and nominated Hancock Jackson, of Howard, for governor, and Monroe M. Parsons, of Cole, for lieutenant- governor. Encouraged by the widening gulf in the Democratic party, the Bell and Everett party had high hopes of electing their gubernatorial candidate at the August election and then carrying the state for Bell the following November. To this end they used all possible means of widening the breach in the Democratic party to further the success of the cause they promulgated ; but their tactics were foreseen by the enemy and they made it uji to disagree on the presi- dential nominee but to support, as a whole, C. F. Jackson and Thomas C. Eeynolds at the August election, and the outcome was their election by 10,000 majority, C. F. Jackson (Douglas Dem- ocrat), 74,44G; Sample Orr (Bell and Everett), 64,583; Hancock Jackson (Breckenridge Democrat), 11,41."); J. B. (Jardenhire (Repul)lican), 6,135. The Shelby county vote was: C F. Jackson, 64; Sample Orr, 576; Hancock Jackson, 95; (fardenhire. 91 ; which was the first Republican vote ever cast in Shelby county. It was said the railroads brought into the county many Republicans, and the Germans of the county cast their votes to that faith. Nothing daunted by their defeat in August, the Bell and Everett contingent of Missouri kept up their fight for their l)residential nominee, and only fell short a few hundred votes of electing their man in the November election. The vote as recorded was; Douglas electors 58,801 Belfelectors 58,372 Breckenridge electors 31,317 Lincoln electors 17,028 Douglas majority over Bell 429 Douglas majority over Brecken- ridge 24,484 Records say that many Democrats cast their lot for Bell as the only candidate who could defeat Lincoln. In the Octo- ber elections the Republicans had car- ried Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and Lincoln's election looked almost in- evitable. Fusion tickets against the Republicans had been formed in New York, New Jersey and other eastern states, and it was predicted the Tennes- see statesman might be elected after all. The result for president in Shelby county stood: Bell, 702; Douglas, 476; Breckenridge, 293 ; Lincoln, 90. Bell re- ceived almost the Douglas and Brecken- ridge vote combined. The Republicans restored to Lincoln all the votes but one that had been cast to Gardenhire; and the Rejiublicans cannot yet compute the loss of that vote, so systematically were they organized. Some jocosely say "ho 62 HISTORY or SHELBY COUNTY died" and some contend "it died," while others contend that the official record of 1860 was surely erroneous, contending that ninety Lincoln votes were not to be found in the county of Shelby in 1860. THE SITUATION IN 1860. The troubles in Kansas and the de- bates in congress on the subject of slavery had given force to the forma- tion of a new party wholly devoted to the work of opposing the extension of slavery. It took in time the name Re- publican. In 1856 its candidate for the presidency was John C. Fremont, a son-in-law of Thomas H. Benton. He received 114 of the 296 electoral votes; hence the new party had great hopes of success as the camijaign of 1860 came on. Public feeling was hysterical. The whole country was aflame with sectional ani- mosities. The agitation for abolition had stirred the American people as nothing had ever done in the past. A mass of peoi)le in the northern states were determined to destroy slavery at any cost. Many southerners felt that the only way to preserve their own peace and property was to quietly withdraw from the Union. Others said to remain in the Union and settle their difficulties there. It does seem strange now that a civilized people, who had established and for seventy years lived under a republic of popular sovereigiity, could possibly have desired a perpetuation of slavery. But there were no meliorating circumstances. Slavery had formerly existed in all the colonies. When it became unprofitable in the North the slaves were sold to the soutlicrners, with whom it was profit- able. Many slave owners had inherited tliem from their fathers, and slaves were valuable projjerty. The average man is slow to give up valuable property with- out resistance, and it was a problem to know what to do with them if tliey were freed. Many jjersons feared the consequence if millions of ignorant people should be turned loose, penni- less, among their former masters. Beyond a doubt, slavery had been a benefit to the slaves themselves. They were taken from the savages and bar- barians of Africa, and while in slavery they had received many benefits from the habits of civilization. They had learned how to work, and tliat exalted them and made them less dangerous free- men. It had prepared them to enjoy their liberty when it should come, — a desire which was becoming a part of their being. STIEKING TIMES .4FTER THE ELECTION. As may have been expected by the returns from Shelby county, when the news of the election of Lincoln and Ham- lin were received, dissatisfaction was evident on every hand; but after the first sting was passed they settled down to abide the consequences and await the result. A number of citizens, however, avowed themselves unconditional Union men, as they had every year since 1850, as in convention they met from time to time, and these were some who voted for Bell, men wlio had voted for Doug- las, and even some of Breckenridge's constituency were found among the Unionists. However, upon the secession of South Carolina and some other south- ern states, many changed their view. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 63 Secessionists one week were Unionists the next, and vice versa ; but, above all, there fluttered a hope that civil war might be averted. Conservative men were trembling for the republic. There were the North and the South radicals that no terms of peace would appease. They did everything within their power to rend the common- wealth in twain. The northern fanatics did not want to live in a country where one-half depended on the rearing of children for the slave market, for pros- perity; the constitution that permitted slavery was classified as an instrument of infamy, and the flag was denounced as an infamous lie. At the same time, the southern radi- cals were as pronounced in their vindic- tive accusations, claiming that they had been and were about to be trampled on by the North, and therefore they were seceders and believed in breaking up a government which they could not con- trol. The majority, however, of this county, believed that the good of ]\Iis- souri was identical with the good of other slave-holding states, but they were conservative enough to want to await the developments of the new administration before withdrawing the state from the Union. "Let us await the movements of the administration," was heard on every side; yet a goodly minority thought they could foresee the result and were in favor of secession at once. ' INCENDIAEY TALK. At Circuit court on the fourth Monday in November, 1860, the slaves belonging to the estate of George Gaines, deceased, were sold at the court house door, and during the sale there was a little Dutch- man who was about half drunk and who swore it was not right to sell negroes. Although he talked very broken, the by- standers understood enough to think he was saying something aliout the divine institution of slavery; and he was ar- rested, taken before a justice of the ]ieace, and had to give bond for his ap- pearance at the next court, or go to jail to await the action of the next grand jury at the next term of Circuit court. His was an indictable offense under the statutes of Missouri, which said that if any person should say anything in the hearing of a negro calculated to make him rebellious or insubordinate, such person, on conviction, should be sent to the penitentiary for a term of not less than five years. The Dutchman gave bond for his appearance, but did not appear. If he had he would have stood a good chance for the penitentiary, for the negroes were not allowed to swear whether they heard certain remarks or not, and men were convicted on the testi- mony of prosecuting witnesses who swore they "believed the negroes heard," etc. This was the way such trials were generally managed. Holliday, "Sketches." CHAPTER VI. The Col'xty's War Eecord — The Moemox AVae — The Iowa "\Vae — Shelby Fig- ures IX Mexicax "War — The "War of 1861 — Governor Jackson Refuses to Respond — The Hunnewell IMeeting — The Flag-Raising Period— The First Federal Troops — First Union Company Organized— Salt River Bridge Burned — Join Green's Company — Green Takes Shelbina — Report of Col. N. G. "Williams, Third Iowa Infantry — "What the Kansas Officers Said — Second Burning of Salt River Bridge — Shelby'^ County- Confederate Troops — Movement of Union Forces — General Grant in Shelby — Secession of Missouri — County Court Meetings — Changes in County* Officials. the county's war record. The citizenship of Shelby county, be it said to their ci'edit, are and always have been a peaceable and law-abiding people. They, ho^Vever, are not cowards, and whenever a call has been made for volunteers to defend our nation's honor, Shelby has willing-ly responded with her just proportion. The people, however, are the peaceable kind, and prefer to live the simple life around the home fire- side rather than to shoulder a rifle and march to war. "Were all nations like Shelby county the time would soon come when, as Isaiah said nearly three thou- sand years ago, "they shall beat their swords into ])lows]iares and their svears into pruning hooks : Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." The ]ieople of Shelby county, however, participated to some extent in four wars. the mormon W.iR. The followers of Joseph Smith, who claimed to have received from an angel a new bible (1827) at Palmyra, X. Y., had found their way into Missouri and had settled in the western part of the state. The people clamored for their expulsion, and in 1838 and 1839 consider- able skirmishing took place in Caldwell and Carrol counties between the militia of Missouri and the disciples of Joseph. It was to uphold the honor of the state that Capt. S. S. Matson, in the early part of the year 1839, was sent with a company of Shelby county volunteers to the field of battle. The company got only as far as Keytesville, Chariton county, and then disbanded and returned home, without so much as the smell of iwwder on their coats. the IOWA war. Missourians located along tlie liorder of Iowa had for years been in a dispute with their Iowa neighbors over the boun- dary line between the two states. At times the contention took on a serious phase. The people of Iowa and Alissouri became revengeful and unfriendly, and 64 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 65 from 1837 to 1845 there were numerous small but sometimes quite serious en- gagements between the two contending sections. To aid their ]\Iissouri neigh- bors a company of infantry was organ- ized in about the year 1840 in Shelby and sent to the front. The matter was, however, settled by the Supreme court of the United States, and the infantry, like Captain Matson's company, turned around and marched right home again, without the stain of blood upon their hands. SHELBY FIGURES IN THE MEXICAN WAR. Wlien a company was organized in July, 1846, at Palmyra, to reinforce Col. Sterling Price's 2d Missoui-i Mounted Infantry, with Gen. David Willock as ca]itain, Shelby furnished some valiant volunteers. On arriving at Port Leaven- worth; Colonel Price's regiment was foimd full, and four additional compa- nies that were present, including the company from Marion, were formed into an extra battalion, to be attached to the regiment. Willock was elected lieutenant- colonel and Anson Smith succeeded him as captain of Company I, of Marion. Samuel Shepard later succeeded Smith. Of Company I, 2d Missouri Volunteers, "VV i 1 1 c k ' s Extra Battalion, Shelby county, furnished : James A. Carothers, first lieutenant (dead), and privates William H. Brown, George W. Barker, J. Calvin Carothers, Robert Clark (died in service at Las Vegas, February 22, 1847), James R. Creel, Thomas S. Dunbar, Peter P. Davis, James Parker, W. R. Strachan, General McNeal (provost marshal). The company left Palmyra, July 20. 1846, arrived at Fort Leavenworth in due time, and was mustered into service August 20. Arrived at Santa Fe in October, in which section they spent their term of service. Some of our members joined the assault on El Moro, Janu- ary 25, 1847, and were also in our Indian fight on the Seneca river, February 1, 1847. The principal service rendered, how- ever, was guard and garrison duty at Las Vegas, Santa Fe and Taos, and in grazing camps. In the fall of 1847 the company was mustered out at Leaven- worth and returned home October 10-12. The company marched from Mexico to Leavenworth, thence to Palmyra, most of those from Shelby stopping at home en route. THE WAE OF 1861. The twenty-first general assembly of the state of Missouri met at Jefferson City on December 31, 1860. The Shelby county representative, Hon. John Mc- Afee, played a jirominent part in the proceedings of this assembly. Mr. Mc- Afee was chosen speaker of the house as a Democrat of the extreme pro- slavery wing of the party. He received seventy-seven votes to forty-three for Marcus Boyd of Greene county, a Bell- Everett man, and four for Thomas L. Price, of Cole county, a Douglas-Dunn man, and one for John Hyer, of Dent county. This was a great honor for Shelby county and also to her illustrious representative, who was chosen to this high position at so critical a period in the history of the state. The message sent to the legislature by the retiring governor, Hon. Robert M. Stewart, was mild and conservative on the slavery and secession proposition. To show how 66 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY conservative he was, we give tlie follow- ing extract from his message: "The people of Missouri ought not to be fright- ened from their propriety by the past unfriendly relation of the North, nor dragooned into secession by the re- stricted legislation of the extreme South." The inaugural message of Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson was not so con- servative. He held that the interests and destiny of the slave-holding states were the same; that the state was in favor of remaining in the Union as long as there was any hope of maintaining the guarantees of the constitution, but that in the event of a failure to reconcile the differences which then threatened the disruption of the Union, it would be the duty of the state "to stand by the South," and that he was utterly op- posed to the doctrine of coercion in any event. Governor Jackson concluded his message by recommending that a state convention be called "in order that the will of the people may be ascertained and effectuated." The legislature on January 17th passed a bill in accordance with Gov- ernor Jackson's recommendation, calling a convention and appointing the follow- ing February 18th as the day of the election of delegates, and February 28th as the day that the convention should convene. The bill also provided that there should be three delegates from each senatorial district, so that in the aggregate the convention was composed of three times as many delegates as there were state senators. Restrictions and limitations were, however, placed ujion the authority granted to this body of men, so that no act, ordinance or resolution passed by them should become valid until ratified by a majority of the qualified voters of the state voting upon the question. It therefore became impossible for Missouri to secede from the Union with- out a vote of a majority of her qualified voters. Hon. Charles H.. Hardin, of the Boone-Callaway district, was the author of this part of the resolutions. Mr. Hardin was afterwards elected governor. At that time, as now, Shelby county was comprised in the district with Adair and Macon counties, which was then the seventh district. Each county was al- lowed to name a candidate on the uncon- ditional Union ticket. The three can- didates were John D. Foster, of Adair; Frederick Eowland, of Macon, and Joseph M. Irwin, of Shelby. G. W. Hillias, a young lawyer of Shelbyville, was selected as the conditional Union candidate. He was to vote for secession on certain conditions that might possibly arise. Mr. Hillias later, or on March 7, 1861, established the Shelby County Weekly, a newspaper which he published at Shelbyville. Irwin and his two run- ning mates were elected by a large majority, and on the very day that Jef- ferson Davis was inaugurated president of the Confederacy. Shelby voted nearly three to one for the unconditional Union candidates. Sterling Price, of Chariton county, was chosen president of the con- vention that assembled at Jefferson City, February 28, 1861. Mr. Price was later a distinguished general in the Confed- erate army. After being in session for two days, the convention adjourned to meet in St. Louis on the 4tli of iMarch following, the day that Abraham Lin- coln became ]>resident. TTei-e it con- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Gr tinned in session until Marcli 22d, at which time an adjournment was taken until the third Monday in December, un- less called together prior to that date by a call of a majority of a committee of seven. Of the ninety-nine members of this convention, fifty-three were na- tives of Virginia or Kentucky, three were Germans, and one an Irishman. Thir- teen were from the North. On the 9th day of March the committee on federal relations, through its chairman, Hon. Hamilton R. Gamble, of St. Louis, made a report declaring that secession by Mis- souri was "certainly not demanded." The report further said, ' ' The true posi- tion for Missouri to assume is that of a state whose interests are bound up in the maintenance of the Union, and whose kind feelings and strong sympathies are with the people of the southern states, with whom we are connected by the ties of friendship and blood." There were only five or six votes in opposition to the resolution. Throughout the proceedings of the convention Mr. Irwin was a radical Union man. He did not figure prominently in the debates during these strenuous days, but his votes were all cast on the side of the radical Union men. He cast his vote for the test oaths, and on July — , 186.3, (the day the convention adjourned sine die.) he voted for the ordinance emanci- pating the slaves, to take effect July 4, 1876, and providing for the payment to every loyal owner of the sum of $300 for every slave so emancipated. It was now war — war and rumors of war. The people of Shelby county were as intensely agitated over the matter as a people could possible be. The only topic of conversation was war. A large part of the population of the county sym- pathized with the South and freely and openly gave expression to their feelings, while the Union side likewise had many friends and defenders. War was not only freely discussed, but many actually prepared for it, while others declared in conservative tones that Missouri had done nothing to bring on a war, and would do nothing to help it along should one break out. They would say, "We are neither secessionists nor abolition- ists, and we are neither fanatics nor fire-eaters." The Union men and the secessionists, however, began to hold secret meetings. Friendly they remained as they met each other in the everyday walks of life ; but the smell of powder was being wafted by every breeze that crossed the county, and in the dim distance the clank of arms and the muffled beat of the drum could be heard. While the meetings were supposed to be secret, they were known to both sides. The deliberations, how- ever, were intended to be kept strictly within the breast of each attendant. Both sides began to prepare for war, in case of an emerency, while each side hoijed for peace. They resolved that if come it must they would have their pow- der dry and their affairs in a condition that they might loyally give their time and service to the cause they believed to be right and just. It matters little now which side was on the right and which side was in error, one thing can be said to the credit of both sides : no men were ever more sincere, more in earnest, and more honest in o]nnion. The citizens of the surrounding coun- ties were also busy. Lewis, Knox, Adair and Clark, to the liorth, had declared in 68 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY numerous public meetings for the Union. Monroe, to the south, favored the Crit- tenden compromise, while Marion, to the east, favored openly the cause of seces- sion. The citizenship of the county was nervous, feverish and excited during the winter of 1861. The Union sentiment seemed to predominate, yet the seces- sionists were bold and demonstrative, and on March 16 many attended the Con- federate flag-raising at Emerson, Marion county, and later the same event at Pal- myra. This fired their souls with enthu- siasm and filled their hearts with sym- pathy for their southern kinsmen. Many, yes, perhaps nine-tenths of their number, were connected with the South by strong cords of kinship, of birth, and other self- interests. Hon. G. Watts Hillias, who had been defeated as delegate to the state convention on the conditional Union ticket, now edited the Shelby County Weekly, at Shelbyville, and while in fact he was a secessionist, he was mild and in tone for the Union, with many "ifs" and provisos. G0\^EN0R JACKSON REFUSES TO RESPOND. On the 12th day of April, 1861, when Fort Sumter was fired on by the Con- federates, there was great excitement throughout the whole country, which was participated in by even the peaceable citizens of Shelby. President Lincoln immediately issued a proclamation call- ing for seventy-five thousand volunteers, but Governor Jackson refused to resjiond to the call or requisition on Missouri. This news rapidly spread over Missouri, and many openly declared in favor of secession, while others stood steadfastly by the Union. Governor Jackson issued a call on the 22d of April for an extra session of the legislature, as he said in the call, "for the purpose of enacting such laws and adopting such measures as may be deemed necessary and proper for the more perfect organization and equip- ment of the militia of the state, and to raise money enough and such other means as may be required to place the state in proper attitude for defense." This extraordinary session of the legis- lature lasted only twelve days, from May 12th to May 23d inclusive. The speaker of the house, Hon. John McAfee, of Shelby county, stood by the governor on all his measures. He zealously supported the governor's war bills, known as Jack- son's military bill, and all the measures adopted against the federal government. THE HUNNEWELL MEETING. A public meeting had been called to take place at Hunnewell on the 13th day of April. It so happened that this meet- ing followed the firing on Fort Sumter. Both sides were to be represented, and the cord of excitement was drawn to its utmost tension. The meeting was held and G. Watts Hillias represented the secessionists and Esquire Samuel B. Hardy, of Jackson township, espoused the cause of the Unionists. Al McAfee, who died only a few years ago at his home in Clarence, and who was a strong southern sympathizer, attended the meeting. It seems Mr. McAfee was somewhat disappointed in the way Hil- lias had presented the cause of the South, and he (McAfee) gave vent to his feelings, in an article published in the Weekly the following issue of the paper. To give the readers of this his- tory some idea of the feeling that HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 69 existed in those days, no less on the one side than on the other, we reproduce Mr. McAfee's letter: ' ' I attended the meeting at Hunnewell on Saturday last, and propose to give your readers a few items. In vain we have looked for a peaceful solution of our national trouble. War has begun and the time is at hand when every man should speak boldly and fearlessly his sentiment. Men cannot longer hide their real opinions under high-sounding and once loved and much cherished names. It is the high duty of every man to speak and act for whichever side he deems right. I am a southerner in the full sense of the word. I am proud of the name, and therefore neither afraid nor ashamed to make the avowal. All my feelings are with the South. I believe they have truth, justice and right on their side, and, such being the case, a justice-loving God will aid them in their glorious struggle for independence. "I attended that meeting to hear Hil- lias make a speech. I wanted to hear a secession speech, right out, but I was mistaken. He is a secessionist on cer- tain conditions. The young man, in a clear, forceful manner, presented the position he occupied in the recent can- vass. He was not for immediate seces- sion — wanted a fair and honorable com- ]iromise, but, failing in this, was in favor of ^Missouri uniting her destiny with the South. We understood in this section that lio was an immediate secessionist, and that his opponent occupied precisely the position which I find Hillias occu- pied. Hence your readers can reason- ably account for the heavy vote given for the so-called Union ticket. We are not .sub- missionists by any means. He gave the black Republicans some lovely blows. He closed his speech, which was able and eloquent, with some just and cutting re- marks in regard to the proceedings of our state convention. He spoke thus of the majority. What a horrible imposi- tion this convention affair is ! "Judge S. B. Hardy arose to reply; said he had been requested so to do by some of the leading men of the party in this section. The judge began by com- plimenting Abe Lincoln. Said that Lin- coln had done all that man could do for the welfare of his country; that the black Republican party had already given the South more than they asked and seemed somewhat displeased at Hil- lias because he was hard on the black Republicans. Said he must not judge the black Republicans too hard — must give the devil his due. The judge, in his anxiety to relieve the black Republican party from any censure, was willing to make Judge Douglas a black Republican. Now, I have no fondness for some of Judge Douglas's views, yet, if he can preach black Republican doctrine with a more hearty will than did Judge Hardy, he is too black for me. "I venture the assertion that Giddings himself does not more warmly support Abe Lincoln than did Judge Hardy, and yet he would feel himself insulted if I were to call him a black Republican. For shame, Judge; you and those who act with you — who sustain Lincoln and preach the same doctrines of his party — do have the moral courage to come out at once and say you are black Repub- licans ! It would be more manly. In fact, we would respect you all more. AVlay 70 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY seek to hide under the name of Union, unless you all intend to form a new party composed of black Eepublican principles and adopt the name of Union the better to deceive the masses? It is a good name, for you are all 'unconditional Union men' — submissionists in the true and full sense of the word. Southern men tvith northern principles don't suit this climate. There is no excuse for men to act thus. The Union of our fathers is dead. Black Bepublicans killed it. "We who loved it, and attested that by following its light, now deeplj' mourn over it. We would gather up the bro- ken fragments and, placing them as they have been placed by our noble brethren of the South, would assist to guard those glorious particles forever. "The question for Missourians to settle is whether they will unite their destiny to a white man's southern con- federacy or with the negro confederacy of the North. Again, Judge, as you were the representative of your party, of course they endorse your views, and you said you were opposed to those seceded states being acknowledged inde]iendent by the government at Washington; hence you are in favor of coercion. That was a manly confession of yours. But I had understood your party had backed down from that position. 'Tis the same that your brethren of the North occupy. They are all in favor of coer- cion. The war has begun. When the judge closed, a glorious shout went up for the young champion of constitutional rights, and the way he poured hot shot into the .judge and his black Republican allies would do the soul of an honest man good. "Now, I imdertake to say that the people of this township do not endorse any such sentiment as Judge Hardy uttei-ed on Saturday last; nor do they endorse the policy jDursued by a majority in the convention. The men are brave and intelligent; they loved the Union wliile it was one, but they are not base submissionists. Therefore it is useless for men under the garb of the Union to attempt to hide their love for black Republicanism. A. McAfee. "Jackson Township, April 16, 1861." THE FLAG-RAISING PERIOD. The Union sympathizers and the seces- sionists both began to stir them.selves. The Confedei'ates, however, were the most active, and began to show their loyalty to the cause they advocated by hoisting secession flags. These emblems were identical with the one used by the Confederate States. The first Confed- erate flag that was raised in Shelby county was the one that stood in William Baker's door-yard, at the place now called Cherry Box. The land on which the flag stood is now owned by J. G. Detwiler. Quite a crowd of southern sympathizers gathered at the jDole- raising, and Capt. William H. Rawlings made a violent secession speech. In INIay a similar flag was raised on the south side of the court house square, near the entrance to the court house, in Shelby- ville. This was a great day for the southern cause in Shelby county. Nu- merous speakers were invited, but the only ones to respond were Hon. James S. Green, for whom J. M. Ennis drove in a buggy to Canton, Lewis county, and Ed- ward McCabe, of Palmyra. Green was HIST01?Y OF SHELBY COUNTY 71 one of Missouri's greatest orators, and in 1857 was elected to the United States senate to serve from 1857 to 1861, and was defeated for re-election by the legis- lature in 1861 because he was a seces- sionist. However, he received seventy- six votes on one ballot, which was witliin three votes of a majority. Green made a brilliant speech, which was very bitter on the Union men. During the course of his speech, and addressing himself to any federals who might be present, he said: "If you win the day we will leave the state ; if we win, you shall leave." This statement was vigorously applauded by the secessionists present. The speaking was held in the court house. The flag was made by the seces- sion ladies of the town and afterwards divided and made into dresses by the ladies to prevent its capture by the federal troops. From this time on the Confederate flag waved over many homes in different parts of the county. The Union men did not hoist any flags, but were busy just the same. They effected an organization at Miller's mill, in the eastern part of the county, and in Shelbyville, Ben McCoy, a brother-in- law to William and Abe Kemper, was occasionally drilling a company of Union volunteers. Union men were numerous in and around Bethel, and we might add that this is the only township in Shelby county that has given a Republican majority since the war period. Griffin Frost, a brother to the late Frost, who edited the Clarence Courier, and who died only recently and was buried in Edina, Mo., was at this time editing the Shelby County Weekly and was told by the Unionists that his room was preferable to his companj". He took the hint and abandoned the office, going to Marion county. THE FIEST FEDERAL TROOPS. The date on which the first federal troops actually set foot on Shelby county soil was Jime 13, 1861. The 2d Iowa Infantry, under command of Col. Samuel Curtis, came down the Mississippi river from Keokuk, Iowa, and landed at Han- nibal. There they took the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad for St. Joe. At Hunne- well some citizens were fired upon by these troops and two persons were taken prisoners. No one was injured, however, and the troops passed on to St. Joseph. A number of Shelby county Union men went to St. Joseph at this time to enlist in the service. About this time there was an attempt made to organize a bat- talion of cavalry, with W. R. Strachan as major, and a company was organized at Shelbina by Captain Hughes. By this time the Shelby countians who had gone to St. Joseph had enlisted in the Old Missouri 13th Infantry (afterwards the 25th). They were captured a little later at Lexington, Mo., while serving under Mulligan. The war cloud had now risen to its zenith in the sky, and sentiment was intense. The Monroe City fight happened July 10th of this year, and about the same time a detachment of the 16th Illinois came out from Macon City to William Baker's place and cut down the secession flag-pole that had been raised there. The neighborhood was badly scared, but be- yond cutting the pole down the troops were not disposed to make any military 72 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY demonstrations. These troops camped on Salt river at the old Ray's bridge west of Cherry Box. riBST UNION COMPANY OEGANIZED. A Union meeting was held at Miller's mill, six miles east of Shelbyville, in Tiger Fork township, the latter part of July, 1861. The orators of the occasion were John M. Glover, of Lewis county, and John L. Taylor, of Knox. There were a large number of Union men present, but very few who sympathized with the Confederate cause. Hon. John McAfee, speaker of the house, however, attended, and was severely criticized and censured by Glover in the latter's speech for his (McAfee's) course in the legis- lature. After the speaking, McAfee and Glover engaged in a controversy, and McAfee called Glover a liar. Quick as a flash the Lewis countian assaulted the speaker. Quite an exciting time fol- lowed, but neither of the combatants was severely injured. At this meeting the Shelby County Home Guards were organized, with Joseph H. Forman as captain; Robert Eaton and Solomon Miller, lieutenants ; Oliver Whitney, first orderly sergeant; George Lear, second orderly. This was an independent company and served as infanti'y. This company possibly had existed irregularly since some time in May, but did not enter the United States service formally until July 2.3d. It was mus- tered in at Shelbina on the above day by United States Marshal William R. Strachan. This company was authorized by Gen. G. A. Hurlbut and continued under his jurisdiction until August 23d, at which time it was disbanded. Guarding the railroad and the govern- ment's goods at Hannibal and doing a little scouting and camp duty were the services rendered the government by this company. The men were armed with muskets sent them from Hannibal, and upon being mustered out a majority enlisted in other regiments. SALT RIVER BRIDGE BURNED. The Missouri State Guards, a com- pany of secession troops from Ralls county, under Capt. Daniel B. West, under direction of Dr. Foster, of Hanni- bal, set fire to and bui-ned the Salt River railroad bridge on July 10, 1861. The bridge was located two miles west of Hunnewell. The troops were assisted by some of the residents of the neighbor- hood, who furnished turpentine to hasten the burning. Five cars were burned at Hannibal the same day, and Foster or- dered the depot burned, but was per- suaded to countermand the order by citizens of the town. At the time the bridge was burned the fight was on at Monroe City, and the federals were greatly hindered in the transportation of supplies and troops. The bridge was soon rebuilt by Hurl- but 's troops. The sti'ucture was made only temporary for a time. Some Illi- nois troops soon after constructed a block-house near the bridge, and a strong guard was kept for some time. Brig.- Gen. John Pope was assigned by the federal authorities to the North ^Missouri command. He made headquarters part of the time at Hunnewell and Shelbina. Brigadier-General Hurlbut was also an active federal officer along the Hanni- bal & St. Joe railroad, and spent some of his time in Shelby county. W O w r o n X o c en W m w n i-j m c o z > r H < w '^^ Hi ..JM,J^„„^.,.,„^J4J^,„^„y^ # » ^S HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY 73 JOIN GREEN S COMPANY. In July of 1861 quite a number of Shelbj' county boys who had decided to enlist and die if need be for the cause they believed to be just, left the county and joined the Confederate ranks. They enlisted under Col. Martin E. Green, who was then at Sugar Camp ford, on the Fabius, near Monticello, in Lewis county. Colonel Green soon left Lewis county and concentrated his forces, about 1,000 men, near Marshall's mill, about six miles northwest of Palmyra. AMiile located here. Green sent a com- pany into this county to arrest some L'nion men at Shelbyville. The company was commanded by J. L. Owen, of Marion county. They remained in Shelbyville an hour or so and then re- turned to camp, being unable to find their men. A few days later, Frisbie McCul- lough, commanding a company of Con- federates, called at the residence of Capt. Joseph Freeman, just east of Shelby^'ille, and took the captain and a hired man named Gwinn prisoners. At another time McCullough visited Shelbyville and took Col. John F. Ben- jamin prisoner. The latter was held for some time and was well guarded all the time. He was taken into Knox and Lewis counties. Green also made a trip to Bethel at one time, but here he did not disturb anybody more than to levy small contributions in the way of supplies. In September, Mr. Green broke camp at Marshall's mill and went south to join General Price's army. He crossed the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad near ^lonroe City and passed across Monroe county, going through Florida and Paris. The next noteworthy movement of trooi)s in Shelby county took place in September, when General Hurlbut, com- manding 500 troops of the 3d Iowa. Col. David Moore's Northeast Missouri Regi- ment, and Colonel Smith, of the 16th Illinois, united their forces at Bethel to attack Green, whom they supposed to be at Philadelphia, in Marion county. With their 1,200 men, of whom 400 were mounted, and their four pieces of field artillery, and 150 Knox and Adair County Home Guards, they began their march on Green, but on arriving at Phil- adelphia they learned of his movement to the south. Hurlbut now sent Moore and Smith with their men on to Palmyra, and with the 3d Iowa and about 120 sick men he started to Shelbina. He reached Shelby- ville at near noon, and remained for din- ner, after which the march to Shelbina continued. Three of the Union soldiers set out on foot, without leave, to go from Shelby- ville to Shelbina, while the main portion of the army was vi.siting at the county seat. They had covered about half the distance, and were walking down the direct road between the two cities, when they were fired upon by Confederate sympathizers who had concealed them- selves behind some large oak trees about half a mile north of the Salt river crossing. One of the men was killed instantly, another wounded, and the third escaped unharmed. He was found a mile or so east of the scene and was taken by J. C. Hale on horseback to the command, which they met on the high prairie about two miles out of Shelby- ville. The dead comrade was taken by 74 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY the company to Slielbina and buried. The two that survived were severely cen- sured by their commander for leaving the company without permission. The parties that did the shooting were, it is said, nine in number, and among that nmnber were Eay Moss, John Jacobs, Bert Hightower, John Evans and a Mr. Freeman. They had their horses tied near by, and intended, no doubt, to tire upon the whole company as they passed by; but the three strag- glers drew their fire before the full com- pany got there. They made their escape on horseback. Moss afterwards became a captain in the Missouri State Guards under General Price. He served six months in this capacity and was then mustered out and immediately re-enlisted in the regular Confederate army. On October 4, 1862, he was killed at Corinth, Miss., having his head torn off by a grape shot. Jacobs also enlisted in the regular Confederate service and became a captain. He became famous as a fighter. After the war he settled at Louisiana and died in about 1880. At seven o'clock that evening Hurlbut reached Shelbina, but could not wire for transportation on account of a fierce wind and hail storm. He therefore went into camp. The next day the company received transportation and left about noon for Brookfield. During this time Moore and Smith had remained at Palmyra, but on the 4th of September set out after Green. They, however, left 400 men behind to guard the city, who on the 6th, under the command of General Pope and ac- com]ianied by Col. John M. Glover and about fifty men of his cavalry, which was organized in northeast Missouri, set out for the main army of the Federals. GREEN TAKES SHELBINA. General Pope, who was now located at Brookfield, had three companies of the 3d Iowa Infantry under Col. N. G. Williams, and a company of the Linn County Home Guards from Brookfield, to Palmyra, to open the road and then to go to Paris, Monroe county, to take possession of the specie and funds in the bank there, fearing the Confederates would get hold of it. On August 31st they left Brookfield, and arrived at Pal- myra the day following. Here they found they had to go to Hannibal in order that their engine might be turned around. "^JNTiile at Hannibal they were joined by the 2d Kansas Eegiment, which had fought at "Wilson's creek and had come up from St. Louis on a boat on their way home to be mustered out. The Kansas boys gladly joined the men under Colonel Williams and set out with them for Paris. Colonel Williams had a few more than 600 men, which in- cluded the Linn County ^Mounted Home Guards under Loring and a large por- tion of the 3d Iowa under Lieutenant- Colonel Scott. Sunday, September 1st, the Federals arrived in Shelbina and that evening set out for Paris. They arrived there Monday morning, after an all-night march. The fimds had been removed by the cashier of the bank, and could not be obtained. So on the fol- lowing morning the troops started to return to Shelbina. Colonel Green, who was then at Florida, had mustered his forces and determined to take the Fed- erals. AVilliams and his men reached HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 75 Shelbina by hard and tiresome marching and by considerable dodging and shift- ing from one direction to another in order to avoid Green. They arrived in Shelbina after dark and soon learned that General Hnrlbnt had left the town that day for Brookfield. The Union men realized they were in a close place, with only 620 men, and Green close on their heels with something like 1,500 Vnen. On Wednesday, Septemlier 4th, it conld be seen that Green had them surrounded and wo^ild soon accomplish his aim. so the Federals barricaded the streets and concluded to put up the best defense pos- sible and to make their get-away as soon as an opportunity presented itself. They were relived, however, about 11 o'clock by a train arriving from Brooktield. It was sent by General Hurlbut to take the company back to Brooktield. Wednesday at noon Colonel Green sent Colonel Wil- liams a note which gave the Federals thirty minutes to remove the women and children and to surrender. The order was obeyed as far as removing the women and children was requested, but no further. The note was not even an- swered. Green had obtained a good po- sition just southeast of the town and out of range of the Federal musket and opened tire with his two pieces of artil- lery, which belonged to Captain Kneis- ley's Palmyra battery. One was a six and the other a nine pounder. Nearly every shot was well pointed and fell somewhere near the center of the town near the depot square. Here it was that Captain McClure, of the Second Kansas, lost a foot. Two balls went through the old hotel building and the marksmanship was so accurate that only two balls went astrav. They were found out north of town next day. Green's men were out of musket range and, of course, the Fed- erals could not fight back, unless they could get in closer range. This they did not want, so the Kansas troops took the train. The whole company then boarded the train, except the Linn County Mounted Home Guards. They got out of town by proceeding under cover of train — keeping the train between them and the artillery until they were a mile or so west of town. The Confederates then advanced and took the town. Their tro- phies of war were some knapsacks, four mules and a wagon and some gims. The Confederates now numbered fully 2,500 men. They had been reinforced by some Marion, Ralls and Monroe county guards under Col. Theodore Brace. The report of the battle by Colonel Williams fol- lows: REPORT OF COL. N. G. WILLIAMS, THIRD IOWA INFANTRY. In obedience to your order, I respect- fully submit the following statement of facts connected with the Paris expedi- tion and the reasons why I retired from Shelbina : Late Friday evening (August 30th), I received a telegraphic dispatch from General Pope to take my effective com- mand, together with Loring's cavalry, proceed to Palmyra, open the road, and then go to Paris and take the specie and funds in the bank and send it to St. Louis. Early Saturday morning I started from Brookfield to execute the order. I arrived in Palmyra about noon, was there informed by the railroad em- l^loyees that we would have to go to Hannibal in order to turn the engine west, they telling me it would be impos- 76 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY sible to back the train. As a further rea- son for going to Hannibal there was $150,000 specie on board and from in- structions I feared it would be in some danger of being seized by the rebels. I arrived in Hannibal and while feeding my men the 2nd Kansas regiment ar- rived per boat, enroute for Kansas to recruit. I immediately invited them to join me in the Paris expedition, as I had learned on my down trip that it would be unsafe with my force (320 men) to go into Monroe county. They consented, and we started Sunday morning. Ar- rived at Shelbina about noon. I jDressed into service some wagons to carry provisions and sick men, and started for Paris about 8 o'clock in the evening. My entire force consisted of about 620 men, viz: 520 infantry and 100 cavalry. I arrived in Paris at daylight Monday morning, September 2nd. I immediately proceeded to the bank in company with M. Cassel, Esq. (agent to receive money). We called the directors together. They informed us that the cashier had taken the money to a safe place, and that they did not know where he or the money was. "We waited during the day, thinking that they would get the money. In the after- noon I learned that the whole country was rising in arms against us. About 5 o'clock I gave the order to prepare for our return march, but a termendous storm coming up I countermanded the order and resolved to stay in Paris over night. I quartered my men in the Court house and vacant buildings. About mid- night we received an alarm and turned out under arms and remained so during the night. Started on our return at day- break. In the meantime I had learned that Green and his forces had got past Gen- eral Hurlbut and that he had prepared an ambush for me on the straight road to Shelbina. I determined to take the road to Clinton, making a detour of ten miles. Every step of the way I found evidence that the whole people were in arms. I arrived, however, in Shelbina at night, having escaped the ambush, Init had one man wounded (sujiposedly mortal) by the enemy's pickets. "When I arrived in Shelbina I found no communication east or west, also learned that General Hurl- but had left that day for Brookfield. During the night had two alarms. In the morning and after the enemy had shown himself in force, a train arrived from the west and brought word that an- other train was coming to take my com- mand away. In the meantime the enerdy was gathering in still greater force, so that I could make out about 3,000 men. About noon I received a note from the rebel commander, giving me thirty min- utes to move the women and children and to surrender. I ordered the women to leave but made no reply to Green. I bar- ricaded the streets and prepared to re- sist the enemy. After a short time the enemy opened on us with two pieces of artillery, one nine and one six pounder (reported to me to be brass by an es- caped prisoner). Their battery was planted a full mile off. I am satisfied that at this time the enemy numbered fully 3,000. With my glass I could dis- cover a strong force under cover of tim- ber to support their artillery. I offered to lead the men out on the plain and of- fer the enemy battle. Major Cloud, of the Second Kansas, objected. I did not insist, as I thought the opposing force too great. HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 77 During the firing I discovered tlie ene- my some two miles in the west tearing up tlie track. I immediately ordered one company on the train to run up to them, which was done, and the enemy driven from that point. I observed also a force in the east tearing up the track and started a train that way, but the train came back, as the enemy opened iipon it with their artillerj'. The officer in com- mand reported to me that he supposed the engine and train of more value than a little piece of track. I told him he did right. The enemy fired well. Almost every shot was well pointed, either striking the building or falling in the square. Cap- tain McClure, of the Second Kansas, had his foot shot off. After receiving some thirty shots, the officers of the Second Kansas held a meeting, and sent Major Cloud to me, demanding that I should withdraw the men, saying that tliey had been in one Springfield fight and did not wish to be in another (meaning fighting against such odds), and also that if I would withdraw and get artillery they would come back with me. He further stated that his men were discontented and supposed they were going home and did not like being brought on the expedi- tion; that he, to encourage them, had held out the inducement to them that the money in the bank was to pay them off with; that they only considered them- selves in the light of volunteers, etc. I still further resisted, and declared I would not mention the subject of retreat- ing to my men, as I had been to them and told them we could hold the place; but finally they insisted so strongly, and fearing there might be a stampede, I consented to call the officers together. When they met, I said to them I had nothing further to say. After they had decided it to be expedient to retire I told them to wait oi'ders. I delayed giving orders any further than to tell them to go to their companies and prepare to move. After a few minutes I saw the Kansas men starting for the cars. They filled the first ti'ain and started. I jumped on the engine and ordered the engineer to move slow, so that the cav- alry could keep up with him on the right flank (the enemy was on the south). I then jumped off and started back for my own men (280), but they, seeing the Kan- sas men off, had got on the second train and started before I got back. In the confusion the Iowa men left some of their coats and knapsacks in the quar- ters. They did not know at the time we were retiring from the enemy. There was also one transijortation wagon and four mules left, all of which might have l)een brought off had they waited for orders. It is proper for me to state that I had l)ut one captain with me at the time and he had been quite sick for several days, and was unfit for duty at the time, but he turned out and rendered me valuable assistance. I was extremely short for officers. I had sent three home sick. I then moved the trains to Hudson and re- ported to you in person. Very respect- fully, your obedient servant, N. G. Williams, Colonel Third Iowa. Brig.-Gen. G. A. Hurlbut, U. S. A. WHAT THE KANSAS OFFICERS SAID. In their report of the Shelbina affair to Brig.-Gen. S. A. Hurlbut, Lieut.-Col. Charles W. Blair and Major W. F. Cloud rs HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY said: "It is perhaps proper for me to state foiTually to you a fact or two rela- tive to the evacuation of Shelbina on yes- terday. The enemy numbered, as near as we could ascertain, about 3,000 men, and we had only 600 efficient men. We drove them several times and held our position until the enemy bi-ought to bear upon us two pieces of artillery, one six and one nine pounder. AVe having no ar- tillery and not being able to reach them otherwise, but being compelled to sit be- hind barricades and receive discharges of artillery, which would inevitably have destroyed the command, I, after consul- tation with Major Cloud and the ofBcers of the Second Kansas, insisted upon the men being withdrawn until we could be reinforced by artillery, which we under- stood was at Brookfield. Colonel Wil- liams was averse to the withdrawal, Ijut we insisted that it should be done and he tinally yielded a reluctant and unwilling assent; and as we had volunteered to serve in the Paris expedition, he was in courtesy compelled to pay some atten- tion to our wishes in the matter and con- sequently he at last yielded." SECOND BUKNING OF SALT RIVER BRmOE. After the departure of the Federal troops Colonel Green took posession of Shelliina and his men remained there several hours. Late that evening the Confederates burned the railroad bridge across Salt river. They also visited Hun- newell and caused some slight damage about the depot. Colonel Blanton, of Monroe county, was in command of the company that Green sent around west of town to tear up the railroad track, and which was made to retreat by the company sent out on the train by Colonel Williams. Colonel Blan- ton received a shot in the mouth ; another man in his company lost his horse. Green abandoned Shelbina that night, but a few men returned and burned some freight cars that stood on the side track. Hunnewell was now made the base of what was expected to be important mili- tary movements. And the people of the county saw something of the real pomp of war. A brigadier-general and his staff took charge of affairs and directed matters from this town. Then Briga- dier-General Pope was sent here to move on Green and to totally annihilate the latter, who was then stationed at Flor- ida, in Monroe county. But General Fremont withheld his orders for Pope to move on Green until the latter had crossed the Missouri river at Glasgow and was on his way to join Price at Lex- ington. Captain Forman and the other Shelby countians who had formerly been taken prisoners, were released near Mar- shall, after being duly paroled not to take up arms until they were exchanged. Brigadier-General Pope left Hunne- well on September 8 and pushed forward to where Green had been near Florida. Here he found only a few of the rear guard and a portion of their outfit, which were captured. Only two shots were fired and only one man wounded. The cavalry set out to locate Green, but re- turned later and announced that the Confederates must be over fifty miles away. General Pope returned to Hunne- well. SHELBY COX:XTY CONFEDERATE TROOPS. Following the success of the Confeder- ates at Blue Run July 21, and Wilson creek August 10, the secessionists be- HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 79 came active and many set out to join the Confederate army. Some went to join the General Price Home Guards in south- western Missouri, others went to Colonel Green in Lewis county. There was no regular company organized in the county, but those who had the war fever left the county either singly or in squads and joined themselves to the Confeder- ate army, either with Colonel Green or General Price. A small company was or- ganized near Huunewell, however, about the first of August, which was not a reg- ular organization. They were never mus- tered into service and were composed of men from the three counties of Marion, Monroe and Shelby. The company was commanded by Capt. Thomas Stacy, who lived on a farm near Hunnewell, in Shel- by county. August 8th, Stacy's company made a raid on Palmyra, which was then unoc- cupied and secured some provisions, arms and took two citizens prisoners. August 16th the company fired on a train near Hunnewell. The Sixteenth Illinois were on the train and two of the Union men were bady wounded. MOVEMENT OF UNION FORCES. About the first of August, Captain Forman received orders fi'om General HurHmt to take his comjiany of Shelby County Home Guards and search certain houses in Shelbyville for military stores. Ten members of the Sixteenth Illinois, who were stationed at Shelbina, volun- teered to go with Captain Forman. They reached Shelbyville early in the morning and searched the store of J. B. Marmaduke, but found no military stores. They, however, arrested the vil- lage gunsmith, Fred Boettcher, whom they charged with repairing guns for some Confederates. Boettcher was taken from Shelbyville to Slielbina and then sent to St. Louis. The Forman Home Guards while in Shelbyville also cut down the secession flag pole. As stated previously, Hon. John Mc- Afee was an extreme Southern sympa- thizer and ag-itator. He was accused of being one of the three men in north Mis- souri who did more than a thousand oth- ers to bring about hostilities. The other two were Senator James S. Green, of Lewis county, and Thomas L. Anderson, of Palmyra. It is also notable, how- ever, that when the cannon began to belch forth their deadly missiles of war, these three men remained at home. The story is told on Mr. McAfee that at one time during the progress of the hostili- ties that General Hurlbut offered Mc- Afee a complete outfit, including horse, saddle and bridle and safe conduct out of his lines, if he would enlist in Green's army. McAfee had been arrested by the Sixteenth Illinois on August 6th. The company came from Macon over to Shel- byville and after placing Mr. McAfee un- der arrest took him to Macon and kept him a prisoner for some time. He was treated severely by the Fed- erals because of his pronounced South- ern tendencies, and because he had been so prominent and active in secession matters. It is said General Hurlbut caused him to do hard labor in the ex- treme August sunshine, such as digging privies for the soldiers. After keeping him in Macon for a time, he was sent to Palmyra, and General Hurlbut ordered him tied upon the cab of the engine to k 80 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY keep the Confederates from firing upon the train. The order, however, was not executed. The engineer refused to run the train if the soldiers executed the order. GENEEAI, GRANT IN SHELBY. It was now a settled fact that Missouri soil would be stained with the blood of man by the cruel hand of war, and the Federal government deemed it of the greatest importance to keep the Hanni- bal & St. Joseph railroad intact. The road was needed to transport troops and provisions and munitions of war over, also in the transmission of messages it was of the utmost benefit. It was there- fore of very great importance that the road should be carefully guarded. To accomplish this the government plainly realized they must send more men to the county. Accordingly Gen. U. S. Grant, commanding the Twenty-first Illinois In- fantry, and Col. John M. Palmer, com- manding the Fourteenth Illinois, were sent to relieve Colonel Smith at Monroe City. In about a week they were sent on to Hunnewell and to the Salt river bridge, which had been burned only a short time before and which they were to guard during the reconstruction thereof. It thus appears that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, later one of the great- est captains in the Union army and after- ward twice President of the United States, began his illustrious military careei- in Shelby county. While located at Salt river bridge. General Grant erected a block house, which stood to his memory until a few years ago. He was ordered to proceed agaist Tom Harris, who was conducting a recruiting station at Florida. On his arrival there he found that Harris and his recruits had scattered. General Grant turned around and marched back to his post at Salt river. In relation to the Grant stay in Shelby county, Edgar AVhite, of Macon, recently contributed an article to some eastern papers. We use it here by per- mission : Shelbina, Mo. — "Say, do you know I lost the opportunity of a lifetime?" queried a frosty-haired citizen of this town to a group of the oldest inhabitants sitting on the benches in the railroad park. "I might have had chairs and ta- bles and ])ipes and things worth hun- dreds — yes, thousands of dollars, by now. AVhen the bushwhackers began raising Hades up and down the old Hannibal & St. Joe until nobody wanted to travel, the government sent a rather short, stout man up here to look after things. He only had a handful of men, and was so quiet and easy going that nobody thought he amounted to shucks. We never took much stock in him till we be- gan to notice that he wouldn't let his soldiers rob our hen houses and take our horses. If any of the men took anything all we had to do was to make a roar to that quiet, stolid looking fellow and he'd say a few short words to somebody and we'd get it back with an apology. That quiet fellow, who generally wore a cigar in his mouth, was a St. Louis woodseller, Col. U. S. Grant by name." "What's that got to do with gilding your furniture?" asked one of the 0. I. fraternity. "Oh, I forgot; when we found he was a pretty decent sort of a Yankee, and wasn't out hei'e to raid us, my wife told HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 81 me to invite him over to supper one night. And he'd a come, too, if I had asked him. Wish I had now. "Let me tell you," the narrator went on, "that man Grant soon had more friends in these parts than anybody. Of course, we were all for the Johnnie Rebs, but we respected the square fellows on the other side. Grant knew which way our feelings were, and he never talked politics or got into any controversies. He and his men protected the raih'oad at the big bridge and made the bushwhack- ers afraid to light there. That's all the duty he had then. Lots of our people went out to his camp on the river and be- came acquainted with him. He talked to them about fishing and hunting and woodcraft and the thousand and one homely little occupations that lie nearest the countrjTnan's life. But I noticed that he would a good deal rather listen than talk. He seemed to be gifted that way, and he would remember everything you told him that was worth remember- ing. "On each side of us were Union com- manders who at that time were talked about considerably as being fierce and warlike. One was in charge of a large force at Palmyra and the other in charge of the Department of Northern Missouri at Macon. Sometime during the war each of these commanders ordered mili- tary executions of ten men in their re- spective jurisdictions. I'll bet under the same circumstances Grant wouldn't have done anything like that. Here within the length of sixty miles three men were making history in their own peculiar way, two of them by a rigorous enforce- ment of the military law and the other by a quiet, unostentatious attention to duty. Of the three the quiet man is the only one whose name ever got into the histories. "When Colonel Grant first came to these parts most of the Southern men hiked out. Grant heard of that and he sent couriers out after them, telling them to come back home and extending a cor- dial invitation to come to his camp and get acquainted. Those who accepted the invitation were astonished at the plain soldier's hospitality and evident good will. He talked to them in his easy, bus- iness like way, explained the difference between a soldier and a marauder and said that when his men required feed for their horses or provisions for themselves orders would be issued and the govern- ment would pay for the supplies. He said the fact that we were Southern sym- pathizers wouldn't make any difference with him so long as we didn't come at him with guns. We all thought it was a pity that such a man should be a Yankee, and a citizen asked him one day how he could fight to free the 'niggers,' being in all other respects so much of a gentle- man. I never heard Colonel Grant's an- swer, but several people about here did, and they quote him this way : " 'This war is not to free the niggers; if I thought it was I'd take my men and join the South.' "You may be sure that didn't lessen his popularity any in this neck o' the woods. We considered Colonel Grant a pretty good 'rebel' from that time on, and looked with confidence to his lining up alongside of Bob Lee before the war was over. Well, he did line up alongside of Lee, but not the way we had hoped he would. "It was while Colonel Grant was mak- 82 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ing his headquarters hereabouts that he was ordered to hunt up and attack Colonel Tom Harris and his Confederate soldiers, who were becoming somewhat audacious. Harris was then much bet- ter known than Grant. He had been en- gaged in a nmnber of lively skirmishes and was said to be a hard and swift fighter. Grant knew all this, and I no- tice in reading some sketches about him since the war that he was just a liit un- easy about the outcome of the expected encoimter. Nevertheless, he led his men bravely enough in the direction of Har- ris's camp. The Union force halted be- fore ascending the hill, while muskets and ammunition were examined, bayo- nets fixed and prayers said by the devout ones. Then the order came to march. The big hill was surmounted, revealing a naked plain and a hastily abandoned camp. Harris and his warriors skedad- dled. "'I'll admit I was suffering from stage fright when we went up that hill,' said Colonel Grant, 'but it never oc- curred to me till then that Harris might be bothered with the same disease.' "That gave rise to Grant's oft-re- peated expression that 'When going into battle I try to remember that the enemy might be as much afraid of me as I am of him.' "After Colonel Grant left here I read of many mean things said about him by his enemies, but I din't take much stock in 'em. He never said mean things al)out other loeople, and that kind of a man don't need any defending." Shelby county, then, has the distinc- tion of being the field in which General Grant began his military career, which was the stepping stone to the Presidency. General Grant in after years wrote a letter concerning his stay in Shelby county, of which the following is a copy : Long Branch, N. J., August 3, 1884. — Dear Sir — In July, 1861, I was ordered with my regiment, the Twenty-first Illi- nois Infantry, to North Missouri to re- lieve Colonel Smith, of the Sixteenth, who was reported surrounded on the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad. On my ar- rival at Quincy I found that the regiment ( ?) had scattered and fled. I then went with my regiment to the junction of the road from (^)uincy with the one from Hannibal, where I remained for a few days, until relieved by Colonel Turchin with another Illinois regiment. From here I was ordered to guard the work- men engaged in rebuilding the Salt river bridge. Colonel Palmer was there with his regiment at the same time. "When the work was near completion I was or- dered to move against Thomas Harris, who was reported to have a regiment or battalion encamped near Florida, Mo. T marched there, some twenty-five miles from Salt river, but found on arrival that he had disbanded about the time I started. On my return I was ordered to Mexico, Mo., by rail. Very truly yours, "U. S.' GR.4NT. SECESSIOX OF MISSOURI. This important event in the history of Missouri occurred on the 28th day of Oc- tober, 1861. The session of the legisla- ture, known as "Claib Jackson's legisla- ture," was held in a hall in Neosha, com- mencing Octolier 26th, and on the 28th an ordinance of secession was passed by HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 83 both houses. There were in this famous assembly of Missouri statesmen at the time of secession only thirty-nine mem- bers of the house and ten members of the senate. Charles H. Hardin was a mem- ber of the senate and was the only mem- ber of that body to vote "no." He was afterward governor of the state. Kepre- sentative Shambaugh, of DeKalb county, was the only one of the thirty-nine mem- bers of the house to vote " no. " Accord- ing to the constitution of the state a quorum was required to transact busi- ness. This would have necessitated the attendance of seventeen members of the house. The ordinance passed by the Jackson legislature was, however, ap- proved by the Confederate congress at Richmond, Virginia, and Missouri was considered by those who sympathized with the South as annexed to the South- ern Confederacy. Shelby county troops were from this time on considered Confederates, and of these the county had jjerhaps about 300 in the field. They were mostly with Green and Price. The Third battalion of infantry, under Green, was commanded by Lieut.-Col. S. A. Rawlings, of Shelby county, and Capt. Oliver Sparks com- manded Company A. COUNTY COURT MEETING CHANGES IN COUNTY OFFICIALS. The county court of Shelby coimty had not held a session from October, 1861, until in May, 1862, at which time the court was called together by public no- tice. Of the three county judges who had been elected only one attended (Judge Daniel Taylor). The other two, James Pickett and Perry B. Moore, were turned out of office charged with being disloyal. The governor appointed in their places Samuel Houston and Robert Lair. John Dickerson had also been elected sheriff, and upon refusing to take the "Gamble Oath" was suspended, and E. L. Holliday appointed Elizar sheriff. Mr. Holliday served until October, at which time J. H. Forman was appointed by the governor, and in November he was elected to the office by a unanimous vote. J. J. Foster was also suspended as justice of the peace in Salt River town- ship and Daniel H. Givens in Jackson township shared a similar fate. H. H. Weatherby was appointed in Foster's place and James Jameson in the place of Givens. The assessor's office was also made vacant on account of M. J. Priest being declared disloyal. Leonard Dobyns was appointed to fill the vacancy. CHAPTER Vn. Missouri State Militia Organize — Bushwhacking in the County — The Bush- whacking Near Walkersville — Stockade Built Around Court House — "Spe- cial Order No. 30" — Several Changes in Positions — John L. Owen Killed — Shelby County Men Executed — The 1862 Election. MISSOURI STATE MILITIA ORGANIZE. The war department of the govern- ment gave Governor Gamble authority sometime in December, 1861, to organize the Missouri state militia, which was for the defense of the state and not to be or- dered out of the state unless on the mis- sion of defending the state. Those who joined this organization were to be paid by the United States government, subsisted, transported, clothed and armed. They were to assist and co-operate with the Federal troops whenever and wherever they possibly eould. Two months later, or in February, 1862, Col. H. S. Lipscomb commenced the organization of a company of cav- alry. It was designated as the Eleventh Cavalry, Missouri State Militia. The organization was completed in May fol- lowing. The regiment was officered as follows : H. S. Lipscomb, colonel ; A. L. Gilstrap, lieutenant-colonel ; John B. Rogers, J. B. Dodson and John F. Ben- jamin, majors. The regiment existed until September, or four months, then it was consolidated with the Second Mis- souri State Militia. John McNeil was colonel of the new organization and John F. Benjamin was made lieutenant- colonel. The Eleventh Cavalry, Missouri State Militia, was made up mostly of Shelby county men. The officers of the Eleventh were: John F. Benjamin, captain from February 10, 1862, until June 3, 1862. At that date James M. Collier was made captain, Mr. Benjamin having, on May 6th, been promoted to a major. Mr. Col- lier resigned on August 6th, and on Au- gust 18th, A. G. Priest was made cap- tain. W. J. Holliday was the first lieu- tenant and John Donahue second lieuten- ant. Later Company I, Second Cavaliy, Missouri State Militia, was organized. A. G. Priest was made captain of this regiment, in which capacity he served for nearly a year, from August 13, 1862, until July 28, 1863, at which date he re- signed. Alex R. Graham took his place and was commissioned captain August 11, 1863, and resigned November 3rd of the same year, serving in this capacity for only about three months. He was succeeded by James A. Ewing, who took rank from November 25, 1863, and was later commissioned captain Company B, Seventeenth Missouri Cavalry Volun- teers. W. J. Holliday was first lieutenant of the regiment from F,l)ruary 10, 1862, 84 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 85 until June 13, 1863, at which time he re- sigTiecl. His successor was James A. Ewing, who took rank from August 11, 1863, and who, on the 25th of November following, was promoted to captain. Rob- ert C. Cavert then became first lieuten- ant and served in that capacity until mustered out at the close of term, on February 25, 1865. John Donahue was commissioned second lieutenant at the organization of the regiment and served from February 10, 1862, until October 7, 1863, at which time he resigned. The commissary sergeant was John S. Dun- can, whose younger son, Charles B. Dun- can, was bugler of the company. When the regiments were consolidated Com- i:)any H was mustered out. The officers of this company while it existed were J. "W. Lampkin, captain; Cyrus S. Brown and John C. Carothers, lieutenants. These companies did little except scout- ing throughout Shelby and adjoining counties. They were in the Porter raid and were considered quite efficient in their services generally. / BUSHWHACKING IN THE COUNTY. In relation to bushwhacking in the county the history of 1884 has the follow- ing to say : "Upon the first blush of spring in the year of 1862, military operations in northeast Missouri began to assume a more sanguinary character. The Con- federate bushwhackers were early on the warpath. Near Colony, in Knox county, about the 25th of March, thej'^ waylaid se'^'en or eight meml^ers of the state mili- tia from Medina, fired upon and killed two and dangerously wounded two more. As another party of militia were return- ing from the burial of the two men killed they were fired on, presumably by the same bushwhackers, and three more were killed. Sometime about the lOtli of March, James M. Preston, a Union man, living near Monroe City, was taken from his home one night by Capt. Tom Stacy and his band of Confederate partisan rangers, or bushwhackers, and mur- dered. The killing was done in Shelby county, near Stacy's camp, or headquar- ters, on Black creek or North river. Stacy afterward said that Preston had been "carrying water on both shoul- ders' ' ; that he pretended to be a Confed- erate when in the presence of the bush- whackers and that when Federal troops came along he was a stanch Unionist and informed on certain Southern men and had them arrested. Stacy tried Preston after a fashion, found him guilty of play- ing the spy on him and his band, and shot him forthwith. The body was never recovered. It was said to have been sunk in Salt river with large stones tied to it. Preston left a wife and family in distressed circumstances. His murder aroused the greatest indignation among the Unionists, who vowed that, as the Confederates had inaugurated that sort of warfare, they should have their fill of it before the war was over. Tom Stacy's band numbered at this time perhaps twenty members, but its strength varied from a dozen to fifty. It kept Shelby county in quite a furor at times and greatly disturbed the western jiart of Marion on various occasions. "When any of the members wanted a horse, a gun, a blanket, or any other article, they did not hesitate to take it wherever they found it — no matter whether its owner was a Un- ionist or a Confederate s\Tnpathizer. All was fish that came to their net. 86 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY THE BUSHWHACKING NEAR WALiKEESVILLE. On Wednesday, April 2, of this year (1862), Col. H. S. Lipscomb, of the Elev- enth M. S. M., and a Captain AVilmont, with an escort of thirteen men of the same regiment in charge of a wagon load of supplies, started from Shelbina to Shelliyville. Taking the road via Walk- ersville, on Salt river, about a mile be- low that little hamlet, Tom Stacy, with sixteen of his band, bushwhacked the party, killing two militia men named Long and Thomas Herbst and a promi- nent and worthy citizen of the county named Lilburn Hale. The latter gentle- man lived three miles southeast of Shel- by\nlle. That morning he had gone to Shelbina to mail a letter to his son, J. C. Hale, then in Pike county, and now prominent attorney of Shelbyville. Re- turning on horseback he was overtaken by the military a quarter of a mile from the scene of shooting and was riding along with Colonel Lipscomb when the murderous volley was fired. Long and Herbst were residents of this county also and both left families. All the men were shot in the head. It was wondered at that not at least a dozen men were killed. The firing was done at point blank range. In a short time Colonel Lipscomb and some of the others of the escoi-t came galloping into Shelbyville and gave the alarm. There was the greatest indigna- tion among the militiamen and the Union citizens. Mr. Hale was generally re- spected, and his murder incensed the people as much as the killing of the sol- diers. The troops in town consisted of the Eleventh M. S. M., who sprang at once to arms. Lieut. John Donahue, at the head of twenty-five men of Company A, started immediately in pursuit of the bushwhackers, who, it was conjectured, had set off immediately after the shoot- ing for their rendezvous, in the south- eastern part of the county. Lieutenant Holliday, with a consider- able force, went at once to where the shooting was done. Holliday 's squad, under Sergeant Engles, started on the direct trail of Stacy and his men. The trail was easily followed, as the ground was very muddy, but Stacy tried to throw otf the force which he knew was on his track by riding into and through the current of the river where he could. But Engles and his men kept on the trail, eager as panthers and true as l)lood- hounds. About the middle of the after- noon Lieutenant Donahue came upon the bushwhackers at a point on Black creek, at the Kincheloe bridge, ten miles from AValkersville. They were north or north- east and the Federals were going east. The former had just crossed the bridge. With a yell the militiamen dashed upon the bushwhackers and the latter fled, scattering in every direction, some tak- ing to the thickets, others swimming Black creek, which was near by, and still others fleeing straight away. The bush- whackers were completely routed. Two of their number were killed outright, one was drowned in Black creek and another was ])adly wounded and never was heard from again. Tom Stacy was so hard ])ressed that he was forced to abandon his horse, saddle bags, coat, hat, sword and double barreled shotgun. Some ar- ticles in his possession, particularly the sword, a beaver cap and some trappings, were identified as having belonged to Russell W. Moss, Esq., near whose resi- dence, northwest of Himnewell, in the Black creek timber, Stacy and his band HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 87 had their camp. The two dead men were found to be William Carnahan and James Bradley, both citizens of this county. Bill Carnahan lived at Walkers- ville and left a wife and children. It is said he had eaten many a meal at Mr. Hale's table, and knew that gentleman well. Bradley lived in the northwestern part of this county. The killing was in this wise: Jim Bradley, like Absalom, rode upon a mule. In the rush of the retreat he was either thrown or jumped off "and the mule that was under him went away." Bradley then threw away his fine double-barreled shotgun and started to run. Sergeant John S. Dun- can (afterwards postmaster at Shelby- ville) was upon him in an instant. Bradley stopped, threw up his hands and called out, "Don't shoot; I give up; I haven't done nothing," etc., all very rapidlj' and excitedly. Duncan said, "Well, I can't shoot an unarmed man," and lowered his gun. But Bradley started to go back for his gun and Duncan said, "Don't run." And just then Private Tom Hillaber, who lived in the northeastern part of the county, came up and without a word lev- eled his Austrian rifle and fired, the ball striking Bradley (ten feet away) in the breast, killing him instantly. The body was not bayoneted, as has been reported. Bill Carnahan was shot out of his sad- dle farther down the creek. The man drowned in Black creek was wounded just as he entered the water. Tom Stacy leaped from his horse and took to a tree. He carried with him a short rifle and an Indian fight took place between him and Lieutenant Donahue. The latter fired twice and missed. Tom saved his fire for close quarters. Private James Watkins reinforced Donahue and then Stacy re- treated, saving his life by his fleetness and knowledge of woodcraft. The mili- tiamen beat up the woods and brush for some time, but failed to find any more of the guerrillas, and soon after gathered up the corpses of the men they killed, put them in the wagon, "pressed" for the occasion, and started for Shelbyville. Not a man among the Federals were in- jured in the least. Indeed, the bush- whackers fired but two or three shots. Meanwhile a tragic scene was being enacted at Shelbyville. There was the most intense indignation in the town over the killing of Long, Herbst and Mr. Hale. Capt. John S. Ben- jamin was almost beside himself with rage and excitement. He had a room of Confederate prisoners in the sheriff's office upstairs in the court house. The most of these, if not all of them, had not been regularly enlisted and mustered into the Confederate ser- vice as regular soldiers, but were more partisan rangers. Benjamin declared he would shoot three of these men in- stanter in retaliation for the three Un- ionists killed that day. Among these prisoners was one Roland Harvy (alias "Jones" or "Maj." Jones), of Clark county. A few days before this he had been captured near Elliottsville, on Salt river, in Monroe county, by a scouting party of the Eleventh M. S. M., led by Benjamin himself. Harvy was a lieu- tenant of a band of Confederate parti- sans, of which Marion Marmaduke, of this county, was captain. Captain Ben- jamin selected Harvy as the first victim. He was an elderly man and, it is be- lieved, was a reputable citizen. But now he was given a hard fate and a short 88 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY shrift. It is said that the guard opened the door of the prison room and pulled out Harvy as a fancier thrusts his hand into a ooop and pulls out a chicken. He was hurried downstairs, taken out into the stockade, southeast corner of the yard, and tied to one of the palisades with a new rope before he realized what was being done. He seemed to think the proceedings were intended merely to frighten him. In two minutes a tile of soldiers was before him and he was look- ing into the muzzles of six Austrian rifles. The command "Fire!" was given, there was a crash of the guns, and in an instant the unfortunate man was a corpse. He could not fall to the ground, for he was lashed to the palisade, but his limbs gave way and his head dropped on his breast, while his body hung lim]) and twisted. By Benjamin's order the body was taken down by some Confederate sjTupathizers and carried into an old log building in the rear of J. B. Marma- duke's store, on the southwest corner of the square. Here it was prepared for burial and interred by the same class of citizens in the Shelbyville cemetery, where its ashes yet lie. Another pris- oner captured at the same time with Harvy was John AVesley Sigler, a young man of Shelbyville. He had a close call. Benjamin selected him for the next vic- tim from among the now terror-stricken prisoners huddled together in the sher- iff's office ; but now more rational minded men inter))oscd and better councils pre- vailed. It was urged that it would be better to wait and see what the result of Donahue's and Holliday's scout would be — maybe they would exterminate the band that had done the murderous work. "Wait and see. This was done, and soon came Donahue bearing in a wagon the corpses of Carnahan and Bradley, and these were tumbled into the room where Harvy lay, all ghastly and gory. Then Benjamin's wrath was mollified and no one else was shot. STOCKADE BUILT ABOUND COUBT HOUSE. Company C, under Captain Block, and Company F, commanded by Captain Call, parts of Glover's regiment, were stationed at Shelbyville during the win- ter of 1861 and '62. They were quar- tered in the court house. Around the court house was erected a strong stock- ade, by direction of Capt. John F. Ben- jamin. The stockade was built of heavy oak posts, set firmly in the ground, hav- ing the top ends sharpened. The posts were about fifteen feet high. Small holes were made for the use of the defenders, and imder the conditions a small num- ber of men could have withstood the at- tack of several times their number. Many Union sympathizers enlisted during the winter. Glover was now stationed at Edina. He vigorously enforced the Halleck- Schofield orders to extend no mercy to bushwhackers, and sent his troop fre- quently into Shelby and adjoining coun- ties. "special order no. 30." A few days after Colonel Glover reached Edina he sent a message to Cap- tain Benjamin at Shelbyville which was headed "Special Order No. 30." The order read as follows: "In everj^ case within your reach where the rebels take a dollar's worth of property of any kind from a Union man or family, do you take at least twice as much in value from rebels in the vicinity ( f i-oni ]iarties who HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 89 I took the goods if you can identify them) and hold it as security for the return of the property, and hold it until the rob- bery is made good. You will forthwith levy an assessment and collect it from the wealthy secessionists in the vicinity sufficient to comfortably support the families of the members of the M. S. M. who were killed by the rebels, and see that they are comfortably supported by this means imtil further orders." After two days' time had elapsed after receiving the famous ' ' Special Order No. 30," Captain Benjamin received a list of sixty-five names of men in different parts of the county and a letter that read as follows: Edina, April 10, 1862. Captain Benjamin: Sir — I send you a list of names marked (A), who did the killing of mili- tia in this (Knox) county. The others are members of a bushwhacking com- pany in this and other counties. Give a list of the names to your commissioned officers with instructions to hold all such if arrested. Keep their names as secret as i^ossible. I do not want them to know they are suspected, or we shall not be able to catch them. You have two of them, I am told (the Feltz). Hold them safely. We have five or six of them, and on yesterday we killed one of the mur- derers, William Musgrove. These men are scattered all over the country. You will be as active as possible and charge your men to be cautious. These men are frequently to be found in the vicinity of Magruder's, on Black creek. These fel- lows are in the habit of crossing Salt river, southeast of your town, on a bridge on an unfrequented road. You will do well to give it some attention. My instructions are not to bring in these fel- lows if they can be induced to run, and if the men are instructed they can make them run. Yours respectfully, J. M. Glover. SEVERAL, CHANGES IN POSITIONS. In June of 1862 there were several changes ordered among the Union forces in northeast Missouri. On the 4th of June Colonel Glover was sent to south Missouri and Col. John McNeil, Second Cavalry, M. S. M., was given charge of the northeast Missouri troops, with headquarters at Palmyra. Major John F. Benjamin was appointed commander at Palmyra and M. A. Stearnes was as- sistant adjutant-general. The changes were made in compliance with an order from General Schofield. Nearly all of McNeil's men followed him to Palmyra. Captain Lipscomb was assigned to Ma- con City and the Third M. S. M. was sent to Eolla. JOHN L. OWEN KILLED. Major Owen lived near Monroe City, and had been a major in the Confederate Missouri State Guards under General Price. He had participated in the Mon- roe City battle, in which the Confeder- ates burned the depot and destroyed con- siderable property. He returned home from service in December, 1861, but found an indictment hanging over him for treason and consequently could not come in and surrender. He therefore continued to hide out. On the 8th of June, 1862, a scouting ]iarty of the Eleventh M. S. M., under Ca]itain Lair, found Major Owen early in the morning hiding under some brush near his residence. Captain Collier and 90 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY the Shelby county company took him 23risoner, and after assuring his wife they would conduct him safely to Pal- myra, they started off, and when onh' half a mile from his home they sat him upon a log against a rail fence and fired eight 54-caliber bullets through his body. The two captains (Collier and Lair) jus- tified themselves on the ground that they were enfoi"cing General Schofield's "Or- der No. 18," which enjoined the utmost vigilance in hunting down and destroy- ing all marauders and bushwhackers, whom the order said "when caught in arms or engaged in unlawful warfare, were to be shot down on the spot." The action of Lair and Collier was approved by the Unionists generally, but was a fire brand among the Southern sympathizers, and, in fact, many Union men denounced the act as a murder. The Federal su- perior officers, however, approved the act. Some now say that Owen was un- armed and did not come within the pur- view of Schofield's order. Others say he was armed and that his blanket and re- volver were found close l)e.side him. It is, howevei', too late in the day to argue the ease, and after giving the facts as nearly correct as it is possible to gather them, we leave the matter to the readers for their own solution. SHELBY COUNTY MEN EXECXTTED. Gen. Lewis Merrill, who was in charge of the Federal troops at Macon, on Se])- tember 26, 1862, executed ten ])risoners at Macon. These men had all been with Porter and were accused of violating paroles. Two of these men were Shelby county citizens. Tliey were Frank E. Drake and Edward Riggs. Another Shelby county citizen was sentenced to be shot at the same time, but he made his escape from the prison. His name was James Gentry, who lived for many years in Shelby after the bloody scenes of the war and who died in Shelbyville only a few j'ears ago. Capt. Tom Sidener, who lived in Mon- roe county a few miles south of Shel- bina, had been with General Porter, but after the Kirksville battle, in which Por- ter suffered severely, and the disband- ment of the Porter company, Sidener de- cided to quit the service and accordingly returned to his home in Monroe county. He feared, however, to remain there and decided, as did many others of the Por- ter men, to seek refuge in Illinois. He therefore disguised himself in ladies' ap- parel and, in company of a lady cousin and a sister and his brother, Jackson, set out in an open carriage to drive to Can- ton, where they intended to cross the Mississipi)i into Illinois. They passed through Shelbyville October 1, 1862, and one of Benjamin's men recognized the ladies and Jack Sidener and informed Benjamin that they had passed through the town with a load of provisions, wiiieh were thought to he for supplies for Tom and the Confederates. Colonel Benja- min ordered pursuit and the carriage and its occupants were soon brought back to Shelbyville. Captain Sidener was careless in getting out of the car- riage and gave himself away by disclos- ing his boots that he wore instead of lady's shoes. lie was stripped of his dress and lionnet and placed in the hands of the Benjamin forces. They kept him a few days at the hotel and then he was sent to Palmyra and was one of the ten men executed at the famous "Palmyra massacre," by General McNeil. The re- HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 91 maining occupants of the spring wagon were held for a few days and then re- leased. The executions were, of course, the most hlood-stirring events of the war; but next perhaps to these was the burning of dwelling houses. Of these latter depredations Shelby county had three of more than ordinary notice. One was the burning of the Robert Joiner house and barn in Tiger Fork township ; the other, the home of Carter Baker and John Maupin's home in Jefferson town- ship. The Joiner home was tired by a detail under Lieut. "\V. J. Holliday, who was sent out to do the work by McNeil and Merrill. They accused Joiner of "keeping a rendezvous for guerrillas and murderers." Lieutenant Holliday executed the order at noon September 5th. Mr. Joiner was in prison at Shelby- ville. His three sons were in the Confed- erate army, as was also one son-in-law, Harry Latimer, who was later captured and executed. Mr. Cochrane, a son-in- law, was the only man on the place, and his wife was seriously ill and was carried out of the house on a cot, whereon she was lying. The family lived with their neighbors for awhile, but soon after Mr. Joiner returned to his home, having been released. His health had been im- paired and his spirits broken and he died the next spring. The home of Carter Baker, who had been with Porter, was burned by Com- pany I, commanded by Capt. A. G. Priest, who was sent to Jefferson town- ship to burn, as the militia termed them, ' ' bushwhackers ' nests. ' ' Mr. Baker had been with Porter and was at home, wounded. He was in bed at the time of the burning of his house and was carried out into the yard on a couch. THE 18G2 ELECTION. During the war courts were held regu- larly from this time on, and elections held under the authority of the Gfamble administration. No one was allowed to vote, however, who would not submit to the Gamble oath : ' ' To support the United States government and the Gam- ble provisional government against all enemies, domestic and foreign." This, of course, disqualified many voters in the county. Johu B. Clark, Sr., had been ex- pelled from Congress for participating in the rebellion. The candidates to suc- ceed him were W. A. Hall, of Randolph county, and N. P. Green, of Marion. The pei'manent oi', in fact, the only issue, was emancipation in Missouri. Green represented the emancipation side and Hall the anti-emancipationists. The former carried the county by a vote of 598 to 279. For state senator A. L. Gilstrap, the emancipationists, carried the county over Fred Rowland by a vote of 523 to 199. W. R. Strachan was elected representative over J. M. Collier by 482 to 248. Samuel Huston elected county judge without ojiposition. He re- ceived 359 votes. C. K. Cotton, treas- urer over Benjamin Grogg by 363 to 242. The entire emancipation ticket was elected. Hall, while failing to carry Shelby county, was elected to Congress by a good majority in the district. W. R. Strachan was provost marshal of north- east Missouri, and attained notoriety in connection with the Palmvra massacre. CHAPTER VIII. Many Join Porter's Command — Federals Hold the County — Bill Anderson Visits Shelby — Fifty-one Killed at Centralia, Missouri — The 1864 Election. many join porter's command. Col. Joseph C. Porter, whose home was in Lewis county, near Newark, was about the only Confederate leader now engaged in northeast Missouri. Porter had seen considerable service, having been a lieutenant colonel of Green's Mis- souri State Guards, and had participated in the battles at Athens, Shelbina, Lex- ington, Pea Eidge and elsewhere. He was a brave soldier and man of courage, and did not deserve the term of guer- rilla as ajiplied to him by many of the Federalists. In the spring of 1862 he was sent to northeast Missouri by Gen- eral Pice for recruits and succeeded in enlisting hundreds from Shelby county. Capt. Tom Stacy joined Porter and accompanied him on his trip through northeast Missouri. He was mortally wounded in the battle of Pierce's Mill, near Memphis, on July 18th. He was shot through the bowels and died several days after the battle. His family lived in Shelby county at this time. About this time, or perhaps a little later, a com]iany of eighty men was raised in the western part of the county, near Hager's Grove, by Capt. J. Q. A. Clements, who started out to do actual service for the Confederacy. The com- pany was raised in less than twenty-four hours and set out to join Porter. They rendezvoused at Snowder's bridge, which was then known as Snowder's ford, and crossed the railroad bridge east of Clar- ence and joined Porter at Paris. A large number of Shelby countians also joined the Confederate troops by enlisting under Captain Head, a Monroe county man. Porter once more touched Shelby county soil in crossing from Paris to New Market with a thousand men. He passed between Monroe City and Hunne- well, and was receiving recruits by the hundreds. Capt. J. Q. A. Clements was killed in battle at Newark, which took place July 31, 1862. He was shot through the brain and died instantly. After his death Capt. Samuel S. Patton took com- mand of the company from the western ])art of the county, which was now with Porter. Lieut. Tom "West, of the same company, also had his leg crushed by a rainie ball in the same battle and died a few days later, after having had his leg amputated. In this same battle two Shelby county men were also killed who were with Captain Head's Monroe county company. The two killed were Anderson Tobin, who lived in the south- west part of the county and who was shot through the head, and a Mr. Kester- son, who lived near AValkersville. He was shot through the body. 92 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 93 Leaving Porter now, we find that Colonel McNeil had left Palmyra and moved his men to Hunuewell in order that he might watch Porter and inter- cept him when he should attempt to cross the railroad at his old crossing near that town. After reaching this point, McNeil heard of Porter's moves in Monroe conntj' and set out for Paris, having heard that Porter had occupied that towm. On reaching Paris, however, he found his man had departed and, going- north, had crossed the road which he had intended to guard. McNeil hastened back to Hunnewell. The colonel felt rather humiliated and set out to run Captain Porter down or kill his horses and men in the attempt. McNeil pur- sued northward, crossing Shelby county. At Bethel he was reinforced by Col. John F. Benjamin with a detachment of the 11th M. S. M., who left a small garri- son to defend the town. McNeil was also strengthened by the addition of Mayne's Company B of the 3d Iowa Cav- alry, Leonard's and Garth's companies of the 9th M. S. M. and Merrill's Horse and two brass pieces of artillery of Robb's 3d Lidiana Battery, sent up from Jefferson City under Colonel Armington. Porter was pursued to Kirksville, where perhaps was fought the most memorable battle of north Missouri. Porter arrived in the city on August 6th with the Fed- erals close upon his heels. The result of this battle is known to all. Porter was completely routed. Among the Shelby county Confederates killed were Timothy Hayes and John Eichardson, of Patton's company. The battle of Kirks- ville took place on Wednesday, and the day following a number of the Confed- erate prisoners were tried and convicted of breaking their oath not to take up arms against the Union, and for viola- tions of their parols, and were sentenced to be shot. The order was executed and the following Shelby county Confederate prisoners were shot: James Christian, David Wood, Jesse Wood and Bennett Hayden. These four unfortunate Con- federates all lived in the southwest part of the county. Christian lived east of Clarence. David and Jesse Wood lived west of Shelbina, and Hayden lived near the present site of Lentner. All were married except David AVood. After the Kirksville battle Colonel McNeil moved over to Old Bloomington, Macon county, and from there to Shelbyville and then to his old stand at Hunnewell. Porter had also found his way back to Monroe county with some 150 men, who were again reported to McNeil as occupying Paris. The Federal commander again resolved to march against him, and ac- cordingly set out for the Monroe county seat with all of his available force, some 800 men. On the day before. Majors Rogers and Dodson with three compa- nies of the 11th M. S. M. set out for Shelbyville to join McNeil. They re- inforced him on Wednesday, September 10th, and on the same day they set out from Hunnewell for Paris. Porter had, however, again gone north and was in Lewis and northern Marion county, and on Friday, September 12th, with only 400 men, captured Palmyra and held it for two hours. They canned away a Union citizen named Andrew Alsman, whom they killed and for whose life two of Porter's men later paid a forfeit, con- stituting what is known as the Palmyra massacre. The night after the capture of Pal- 94 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY myra, Company A of the 11th M. S. M., stationed at Shelbyville, set out to inter- cept Porter. They went to the eastex-n part of the county. It is said that the two companies camped within a mile of each other, each being wholly uncon- scious of the presence of the other. After l^ursuing Porter's men for some days. Colonel McNeil with his company came to Bragg 's school-house, in the north- east part of the county, and Colonel Mc- Neil spent Sunday at Judge S. I. Bragg 's and left the next day for Pal- myra. Two Shelby county Confederates were captured near Bragg 's school- house by McNeil. They were John Holmes and Henry Latimer. They were taken into Bragg 's meadow and shot. Kemp Glasscock was also taken pris- oner while out hunting cows, but was released. John Lear, another of Por- ter's men, was shot near the Bragg resi- dence. The Federals lost two men. They were a man named Scanlon and Corporal Stephens. Both were from Knox county. Porter now decided to leave Shelby county on his way to the South. He captured and paroled Captain Bishop near Hunnewell. Colonel Porter was wounded at Hartville, Mo., but made his way into Arkansas. He died at Bates- ville. Ark., February 18, 1863. FEDERALS HOLD THE COUNTY. The Missouri State Militia held Shelby county during the year of 1863 and noth- ing of importance happened in the county during that year. Colonel Porter had gone south and was in Arkansas during the early part of the year. Porter and Gen. John S. ]\rarmaduke united at Marshfield and after the Springfield bat- tle retreated into Arkansas. At Hart- ville, in Wright county, they encountered a considerable force of Federal troops, which they defeated. The Confederate loss, however, was heavy. Colonel Por- ter was mortally wounded in this battle, which took place January 11, 1863. Colonel Porter followed the army into Arkansas and died at Batesville, Feb- ruary 18th. During the year of 1863 Shelby county was securely in the possession of the B^edera] authorities. The M. S. M. held Shelbyville and Shel])ina continuously and guarded the railroad bridge near Lakenan. They at intervals sent de- tachments to Clarence and Hunnewell. In the spring of the year. Companies I and L of the 2d M. S. M., composed of Shelby countians mostly, were sent to assist the Federals in southeast Mis- souri, where there was much more fight- ing than in their own counties. On April 26th they took part in the Cape Girar- deau battle and assisted in repulsing an attack on that city made by Gen. John S. Marmaduke. At the close of the year of 1863 Shelby county had 504 men in the regular militia service of the United States. The rec- ords in the adjutant general's office show that of this number there was one Shelby county men in the 25th Infantry, one in the 26th, four in the 30th, forty-five in the 3d Cavalry, one in the 7tli Cavalry, thirty-four in the lltli Cavalry, 182 in the 2d Cavalry, and 236 in the llth Cav- alry before consideration. In regiments from other states there were thirty-six men from Shelby, and there were at least sixty men from Shelby who belonged to these regiments, whose names were un- reported, thus bringing the number of troops furnished the Union by Shelby HTSTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 95 eoimtj' up to 600 at the close of the year 1863. There were luindreds also from Shelby county who joined the enrolled militia. BILL ANDERSON VISITS SHELBY. By far the most exciting period during the Civil war in Shelby county was in 1862, during Porter's and Stacy's ac- tivities. Indeed, war matters became quite dull in the county during the year of 1863, except Federal forage and scout- ing parties, who helped themselves to corn, horses, and relieved chicken roosts and many a smoke-house of a deliciously cured piece of ham or side meat. In 1864, however, war affairs began to enliven the county again. Along the latter part of July, 1864, Col. Bill Anderson, of Centralia fame, and one of the most desperate fighters and boldest men on the southern side, paid Sliel))y county a visit. Many thrilling incidents took j^lace during the year in Shelby, but none so rapidly and thrilling as the Anderson visit. The twenty-three men under Anderson (called liy some the Confederate guerrilla) in July of 1864 crossed the Missouri river, coming north at Waverlj^ in Carroll county. They shot several Union soldiers here and pro- ceeded into Eandolph county, the home of the chief of the company. At Hunts- ville over $30,000 was taken from the county treasury and the citizens of the town. After this haul they pressed east- ward through Moberly and entered Mon- roe, and, crossing this county, came to Shelbina. Anderson and his thirty-four trained riders and expert shots (he had added eleven men to his company) reached Shelbina on July 27tli early in the morning. They entered from the south by the Paris road, and were dressed in blue uniforms, so that the citizens were used to seeing the blue suits. The dismount was made at the park just south of the dejiot, and the first man Anderson spoke to was banker Taylor, who he commanded to hold his (Anderson's) hoi-se. Taylor accepted the invitation after glancing into the muzzle of Bill's six-shooter. Anderson's men set out in squads of two or three and took captive many of the male citi- zens who chanced to be upon the streets. These prisoners were "lined up" and relieved of all valuables. It is related by some of the old-timers that when one of Anderson's men called on Charley King, then a well-dressed young man, King threw them a dollar. The man asked if that was all he had, and on being assured that it was he tossed it back to King. No question was asked as to whether the victim was a Union- ist or Confederate, all met the same fate. After this they began a systematic ]ilunder of the business part of the town. The stores were entered, and after emptying the money drawers they took whatever they wanted in the way of clothes, boots, shoes, silks, dry goods and jewelry. Bolts of fancy dress goods were taken for saddle blankets, and laces and riljbons were taken, with which the hats and clothing of the men were deco- rated and the manes and tails of the horses were elaboratelj^ festooned. The Anderson men, while relieving the citizens of their cash and the merchants of both cash and merchandise, did not harm a hair upon the head of a single person. Several, however, would, more 96 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY than likely, have preferred to have lost all their hair and kept what they were relieved of. Those who lost heaviest were "\V. A. Reid, who was relieved of $550 in cash and over $1,000 in merchandise. He kicked $500 under the counter and covered it with rubbish and saved it. J. W. Ford, the city druggist, was loser $157 in cash and quite an amount of goods. The turpentine and oil used in the burning of the depot and cars and the Salt river bridge were taken from his store. There was also some tobacco in the cars that were burned, but the owners, Sparks, Hill & Co., were allowed to re- move it. After it had been removed the Anderson men helped themselves to a liberal supply. The stores of S. G. Lewis and List & Taylor were looted. Anderson's visit lasted only about four hours, but they were exciting hours to the citizens of the town. After setting fire to the depot and the cars on the track, the thirty-four men disappeared as rapidly as they entered. They mounted their steeds and left town, going east. The town was all excitement. Some citizens even wanted to organize a jiosse and pursue; others thought it best to let them go. The advice of the latter, which perhaps was the wisest, was accepted, and Anderson and his men were allowed to go on their way un- molested. At Lakenan the station building was fired, and then the bridge was made for and soon was in flames. Here the band dismounted and put out pickets to the east and south. They left as soon as they thought the destruction of the bridge was assured, and rode south. Thev took dinner with Mr. Saunders just south of the bridge, and here one of the men killed one of his comrades in a quarrel over a watch that had been taken at Shelbina. Saunders was forced to bury the body. Only one end of the bridge was burned, as citizens collected and put the fire out. "Cabe" Wood had a peculiar experience at this time. He received two severe kickings over the affair. He was at work trying to put out the fire before the Anderson men had all departed, where- upon one of the men kicked him off the grade. The next day the militia came up from Hannibal and one of the soldiers asked AVood why he did not put out the fire, and kicked him off the grade again for not extinguishing the flames. It was "be damned if you do and be damned if you don't" with Wood. The Hannibal militia arrived the next day, under Col. J. T. K. Hayward. They consisted of a portion of the 38th regi- ment enrolled militia, known as the Rail- road Brigade. From the bridges they marched to Lakenan on foot. A few under Meredith went out to John Henry Saunder's home, where Anderson's men had taken dinner the day before, and demanded Saunder's gun. The latter could not find it, as a nephew had misplaced it the day before ; whereupon one of the militiamen struck Mr. Saunders a severe blow over the head with the butt of his musket. The blow knocked him senseless. The bridge over Salt river and the depots at Shelbina and Lakenan were soon rebuilt. Trains ran regularly. The merchants at Shelbina restocked and in the course of time recovered from the shock. They, however, learned a lesson. That was to keep money and valuables HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 97 out of sight as much as possible during war times. Anderson declared he would like mighty well to go over to Shelbyville and shoot up the militia, but he learned the town was well fortified behind a stockade, and more than likely it was well he did not go. It would not have been as easy picking as Shelbina, at any rate. After leaving Shelby, Anderson returned to Howard county. FIFTY-ONE KILLED AT CENTEALIA, MO. The Centralia massacre, as it has been called ever since the dreadful event took place, happened on September 27, 1864. The only object we have in referring to this event in the history of the Civil war is the fact that Company G, 39th Missouri Infantry, which was annihi- lated, all being killed except three, were nearly all from Shelby county. The names of these Union soldiers who lost their lives at Centralia, accord- ing to the adjutant-general's office, are as follows: Sergeants David N. Dunn, John Donahoe, William Lair, George W. Miller; corporals Leander P. Burt, James S. Gunby, AVilliam Lear, David Riggs, L. D. Sherwood, Jacob R. Wexler ; privates George "W. Adams, Charles M. Jenkins, Charles Bishop, William Knep- per, Samuel Bell, Anthony Labus, Philip • Christian, Louis F. Marquette, William Christian, Charles Master son, Oscar Collier, John Moore, John J. Christine, John C. Montgomery, Horner ]\L Dun- bar, William A. Ross, AVilliam Drennan, Robert E. Spires, Sylvester H. Dean, J. G. Sellers, James S. Edwards, Edward Strachan, Eleasor Evans, James Stal- cup, Robert P. Elston, William T. Smith, William G. Floor, Peter T. Simmernon, James Forsythe, James W. Trussell, Robert Greenfield, George W. Van Os- dall, W^illiam P. Golary, Jasper N. Vaden, Henry T. Gooch, A. M. Vandiver, Joseph S. Glahn, Jonathan Webdell, John W. Hardin, William T. Whitelock and Elijah Hall. Only three of the bodies were returned to the county for burial. They were the remains of Louis Marquette, David N. Dunn and William Lair, whose bodies were identified by James C. Hale at Sturgeon the following day and sent home for interment. Mr. Hale went to Sturgeon for the purpose of identifying the bodies and had the remains shi])ped home to relatives. The other unfortunate Union soldiers who met death at this time were buried in a trench by the citi- zens of Centralia. B. F. Dunn and other citizens of Shelby county made a trip to Centralia for the purpose of identify- ing others and bringing home the re- mains, but they were unable to recognize any of them and left them buried in the trench. In 1873 the remains were all taken up and removed to the National Cemetery at Jefferson City. It would not be proper in writing a history of Shelby county to pass this incident without a brief review of the manner in which these fifty-one men met so horrible a death and how these Shelby county Federal troops came to be identi- fied with the incident. The horril)le affair took place just two months after the raid of Bill Anderson upon Shelbina. Much had been the talk on this affair, and the Unionists of the county were somewhat anxious to get after Anderson and his noted followers. As usual, many feared him ; others pro- 98 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COFXTY fessed to he auxious to engage liiiii in battle. Now was the opportunity. Word had been sent to the county that Anderson had crossed the North Mis- souri railroad (now the Wabash) at a point near Moberly. He was thought to be headed northeast, and the people began to prepare for an attack, or rather to defend themselves. The Confederates were commanded by Maj. John Thrail- kill and were divided into squads and companies. These squads or companies, which varied in number, were com- manded by George Todd, Bill Anderson, Dave Poole, Tom Todd and Si Gordon. Tom Todd was a Baptist preacher. The Confederates numbered about 400. George Todd was the man who planned all movements, and the daring Bill An- derson was relied upon to execute all plans. Ater crossing the North Mis- souri, as stated, the Confederates learned that Paris was strongly forti- fied by Union soldiers, and they there- fore resolved to turn south and join Price, who was known to be in southern Missouri. They therefore recrossed the railroad just three miles east of Cen- tra lia and went into camp on the farm of Major Singleton, in the edge of the timber some three miles east of Cen- tralia. Bill Anderson with some seventy- five or a hundred men was sent into Centralia on the morning of September 27th by Todd to do some reconnoitering. It was found there was a Federal detachment at Sturgeon and another at Columbia, only sixteen miles away. Be- fore departing, Anderson set fire to the depot, burned some freight cars on the sidetrack, and looted a passenger train that was passing through. On this train were twenty-two Federal soldiers, chief- ly from the 1st Iowa Cavalry, on their way home after being furloughed and discharged. These soldiers were taken from the train and all executed except one, Sergt. Tom Goodman, who was spared by the express order of Ander- son ; why, no one knows to this day. An old German who chanced to be on the train, and who unfortunately for himself wore a blue blouse uniform, was executed alongside the unfortunate sol- diers. After the execution Anderson and his men returned to camp and re] sorted. The 39th Missouri, under Col. E. A. Kutzner, a regiment which had seen per- haps thirty days' service, mostly camp service, was stationed at Paris. They were armed with Enfield mu.skets and bayonets and were inexperienced and poorly mounted. As soon as the news reached them that the Confederates had crossed the rail- road and were headed towards them, Maj. A. V. E. Johnson with the detach- ments of Company A, G and H set out to meet them and engage them in battle. Johnson had, officers and all, about 200 men. Company G, from Shelby county, was commanded by Lieuts. Thomas Jaynes and Isaiah Gill. The captain of this company, William Glover, was sick at his home in Shelbyville. Lieut. Thomas Jaynes is still living at Hunnewell, and is one of the three men who made the hairbreadth escape from Anderson's men. Company IT, from Lewis and Marion counties, was connnanded by Capt. Adam Theis, who died only a couple of years ago, and who was for many years and up to the time of his death grand treasurer of the Grand HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 99 Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of Missouri. Compauy A, from Adair county, was commanded by Capt. James A. Smith. The men, as stated, were poorly armed and still more poorly mounted. They rode upon mules, mares and plow horses. In fact, any kind of an animal that could be pressed into service from the citizens for the occasion. Johnson was soon upon a warm trail and followed the Con- federates to where they had crossed the railroad the day before. Here they saw the smoke from the Imrning depot in Centralia and marched up to the town, of then some twenty-tive houses. Here they heard the story of what Bill Ander- son had done, which set their blood to boiling. Johnson reached Centralia about three o'clock in the afternoon of Se]itember 27th, and after listening to the story of Anderson's raid that morn- ing, in company with Dr. A. G. Sneed, a citizen of Centralia, repaired to the loft or garret of the town hotel to gain as good a view as possible of the Con- federates under Todd, Anderson and others. They had not been long in the garret until they saw a squad of Ander- son's men galloping pell mell toward the city. Johnson, followed by Sneed, has- tened down to inform his men and to prepare to withstand the attack of the Confederates. He informed his men of what he had beheld with his own eyes. He also warned them of the peril in front of them and told them of the des- ]ierate foe they were about to encounter ; but his men wore eager to measure steel with Anderson, and, after detaching Captain Theis with his comj^any of thirty-six Marion and Lewis county sol- diers to guard the town, he mounted and led his 110 men to the front, or, as it might be said, into the very jaws of death. The Confederates did not come into Centralia, as was expected, but wheeled about and dashed across the prairie in full view of the Federals returning to their cover, crossing a fallow field to the southeast, on the farm of one by the name of Captain Fullenwider. The Con- federates had laid a trap for Johnson, and he with his 110 men were soon within the jaws of the trap. Johnson mounted and gave his men orders to follow. He rode south into the field and then turned to the east to face the enemy. Here he stood with 110 men between the setting sun and 400 of the bravest and most skilled marksmen of the time. Here he halted, dismounted and detailed every fourth man to hold horses. The remain- der advanced on foot until within some- thing like thirty rods of Anderson's men, who had retired to the edge of the woods. Behind Anderson's company were Poole's men, and behind the fallow cornfield was a ravine densely filled with underbrush. Johnson could not see the position of the enemy. Thrailkill occu- pied a position on the north with Gordon and Tom Todd ; on the south was George Todd, in the center was Bill Anderson, and to his rear was Poole. Johnson could see only Anderson and Poole. After the Federals has dismounted and marched down the slope of the field toward their foes, Johnson, who re- mained mounted, halted his men and advanced alone some twenty yards. Here he halted and for a few moments sat motionless upon his steed. The trap had been set, the prey had entered, and all 100 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY that was left now to be done was to spring the trigger. As planned when George Todd had arranged his men, he lifted his hat to Anderson, which was the signal to charge the enemy. No sooner was Todd's hat in the air than Anderson led his men up the hill before the enemy. The dash which carried death to so many Federals was made with one foot in the stirrup and the body swinging to the side of the horse. The Confederates were going up a hill, so the volley fired by Johnson's men passed over them without a single shot taking effect. Not so, however, with Anderson's shots. His men were the best-trained pistol-shots in America, and perhai)s in the world, and as they dashed toward the enemy a Federal fell at nearly every crack of the pistol, until not a one re- mained of those who had left their horses and marclied with Johnson toward the timber. Following Anderson up the hill came Todd, Thrailkill, Gordon and Poole. In a moment — in less time than it takes to relate the story — the sad event in the field of battle had closed. Johnson had led his men into the trap over the protests and advice of the citi- zens of Centralia, and every man, ex- cepting three, who had followed him out of Centralia lay dead or dying upon the , withered September grass of Boone county. Major Johnson fired three shots from his revolver and fell dead from his horse, being shot through the head. Cap- tain Smith, of the Adair county com- pany, was killed, and the only three to escape were Lieutenants Jaynes, Gill and Moore, who were mounted. Ander- son and Poole went on for the fourth men detailed to hold the horses, and had soon annihilated the entire number. They still kept on and swept into Cen- tralia, where thej^ completed the mission of destruction by completely routing the men who were left by Captain Theis to guard the town. Those who remained in Theis 's company set out for Sturgeon, but fifteen lost their lives in trying to escape. It is said Johnson left Paris with 147 men, of whom but 23 escaped. Com- pany A from Adair county, lost 56 men ; Company G, from Shelliy, 51 ; and Com- pany H, 15. The remains of Colonel Johnson were sent to Marion county and buried near his home. Frank James was with Anderson in the Centralia massacre, as it is termed, and told the writer the story as written above as near as we can remember. The figures and names of the Federals, of course, were obtained from the adjutant- general 's office. THE 1864 ELECTION. Abraham Lincoln carried Shelby county for president in 1864 by 150 majority over MeClellan. The vote was Lincoln 366, MeClellan 216. At this election John F. Benjamin, of Shelbina, was elected to congress on the Eepublican ticket. He was the first man ever elected to congress from the countj% and was re- elected at two successive elections, serv- ing three terms. He served in congress from 1865 to 1871. The honor of fur- nishing a congressman was not again conferred ujjon Shelby county until 1896, twenty-five years later, when Richard P. Giles was elected, but died before he was inducted into office. Mr. Giles was a great favorite in the countv, which HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 101 stood by him loyally in three successive campaigns for the nomination, and there was universal grief and sadness over his untimely death just as he realized the ambition of his life. As a successor to this distinguished son of Shelby county, James T. Lloyd, the present incumbent, was selected by the Democi'ats and was re-elected by a large majority. A fuller account of the lives and incidents to the election of each will appear later, in the political history of the county. CHAPTER IX. Ousting the Officers — Mukdees and Homicides — Murder of George Queaby — "The Dale-Phelps Tragedy" — Bruce Green Kills Calvin Warren — A Negro Murder Case — The Eobber Johnson — The Great Benjamin "Will Case — The Will — Indicting Eebel Preachers — Registration of Voters — News From Headquarters — The War Is Over — The Drake Constitution — After the War — Robbery of the County Treasury — Politics and Election of 1870 — Registration in 1870 — Census of 1880 — Flood of 1876. ousting the officers. The convention on March 17, 1865, passed an ordinance vacating the offices of the judges of the Supreme court and of all the Circuit courts and all the county offices. It was to take effect May 1st, and was never submitted to the people. It gave the governor power to fill all these offices by appointment. The terms of many of the officers who had been elected by the people had not expired; notably, the supreme judges, who had been elected for a term of six years, and some of whom had served only eighteen months. The reason as- signed for the removal was that only loyal men should be in office. They found no little trouble in store when it came to enforcing the ordinance. The American people have always l)een quick to resent any interference by a legislative body with the judiciary, especially so when it partakes of partisan politics, and the "ousting business" was no exception to the rule ; but his excellency Governor Fletcher proceeded to fill the offices the ordinance vacated and to place therein some of his political friends. In this county the appointments were: W. J. HoUidav. countv dork, vice T. 0. Eskridge, removed ; John S. Duncan, cir- cuit clerk, vice W. L. Cliipley, removed; James Bell, treasurer, vice C. K. Cotton, removed. County Court Justice Samuel Huston gave way to Lewis F. Carothers. The other officials remained. In this judicial circuit John I. Camp- bell was appointed judge in the room of Hon. Gilchrist Poi'ter. All the new appointees were radical Republicans. Office-holding in those days was a biased affair, and a Democrat need not aspire to any such pinnacle, and Shelby county submitted to the inevi- table; but some of the supreme judges in St. Louis were not so easily passed out. Judges Bay and Dryden claimed the law was not vested with the proper authority, was unconstitutional, and they refused to vacate. Governor Fletcher ordered the police to arrest them and eject them from the court. It was done and they were taken before a criminal court of St. Louis and fined for disturbing the peace. murders and homicides. But four homicides occurred in this county during its early history, and, comparatively sjieakiiig, it has been a 102 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 103 county free of ti'agedies. It has ever been a home-loving-, law-abiding people. MURDER OF GEORGE QUEARY. September i, 1873, George Queary, a colored barber, was shot and killed by George Ashby, colored. The shot dis- emboweled the victim. He relocated the dismembered organs and held them in place with one hand, clinging to the lamp post with the other, until shortly he fell to the pavement and was carried home and died that night. The trial brought out the evidence that they had quarreled a couple of hours previously. Queary had gotten the better of Ashby, who left him, vowing vengeance. It also came out that Queary had a "self-protector" and had called to the ci'owd to "get out of the way" before Ashby fired. In his trial at Shelbyville, May, 1875, Ashby was found guilty of murder in the second degree and sentenced to twenty years in the penitentiary. He was defended by Jewett & Hale, able lawyers assigned him by the court. THE DALE-PHELPS TRAGEDY. On the night of the 1st of May, 1875, there was a most desperate affray in Clarence, resulting in the death of one man and the serious wounding of two others. John and Jonah Phelps, brothers, were two young men who lived on a farm six miles south of Clarence, whither they had moved from Roanoke, Howard county. Their cousin, James Phelps, lived on a farm adjoining town. In Mr. Dale's restaurant some men had eaten some oysters and had fallen on the floor in a drunken sleep. John Pl^elps was teasing them. Mr. Dale's son, John D. Dale, then a ])oy fifteen years of age, was attending the restau- rant, and remonstrated with Phelps. James Phelps came in and said to young Dale, "What is it your d — d business!" In a short quarrel that resulted Phelps struck the boy and knocked him down and the two clinched. The boy's father sought to interfere, but John Phelps caught and held him. Jonah caught up a chair and used it when and where he could. Jim Phelps and John Dale were on the floor, and Phelps was stabbing and cutting the boy fearfully. He made eight severe wounds. Jonah Phelps struck at Dale with a poker, but missed him and the blow fell upon Jim Phelps, stunning him. Young Dale then sprang up, all bleeding from his stab wounds, and ran behind the counter and secured a revolver. Jim Phelps recovered and again advanced, when Dale shot him through the upper portion of the body from side to side. He staggered to near the door and fell dead. As he was walk- ing off. Dale again fired, or the pistol was accidentally discharged, and wound- ed him in the heel. At the first crack of the pistol John Phelps released old man Dale and started towards young- John, who fired and shot him fairly through the body, the ball passing through one lung. Jonah ran away and escaped unhurt. Young Dale was arrested while lying in bed suffering from his numerous wounds, and upon preliminary examina- tion was bound over. He was indicted soon after and at the November term following (1875) he was tried on a charge of murder. Prosecuting Attor- ney Dobyns made most strenuous efforts 104 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY to convict him, going, as some thought, bej'ond his duty in his zeal; but the jury acquitted him without leaving their seats. Indeed, they announced that they were ready to render a verdict as soon as the evidence in the prosecution was in and before that of the defense had been introduced. John Phelps recovered from his severe wound. -lolm Dale grew to manhood here and is the present clerk of Shelby county. It is perhaps just to say that it is universally considered that there was not the least element of crime in what he did. Indeed, there are many who think that for a fifteen-year-old boy he ex- hibited remarkable courage and proved himself a hero instead of a criminal, and that he should nevei^have been indicted or even arrested. — Shelby County His- tory, 1884. BEUCE GREEN I\JLLS C.iLVIN WARREN. In the summer of 1880 a fatal stab- bing occurred at Lakenan. Calvin War- ren and a young man, Bruce Green, had been to Shelbyville with a load of pot- tery, which they disposed of, and re- turning by way of Shelbina, on the road home, being intoxicated, they quarreled over a trivial matter. After reaching Lakenan the quarrel was renewed, and Warren, who was the aggressor, made an assault upon Green, who stabbed him so badly he died in a few hours. Green was indicted in October, 1880, and gave bond for .$1,000. At the A]n\\ term, 1881, he was tried at Shelbyville and acquitted. It was a trial that ex- cited the interest of the whole country. Prosecuting Attorney R. P. Giles made a strenuous effort to convict, two of Warren's sisters, who attended the trial and were ladies of wealth, offering to pay well any additional counsel needed, but the prosecutor refused aid. The prisoner was ably defended In- his uncle, Hon. J. G. Blair, of Lewis county. Blair was a distinguished pleader, and it is said his speech in behalf of his nephew was marked for its eloquence, its force, and its tenderness. Green was acquitted and went home with his uncle to make his home permanently. A NEGRO MURDER C.\SE. In 1881 Shelbina had a murder, when a negress was killed by some colored men. It seems that some negroes were at enmity with a negro man who was the recipient of too many favors of a negress, an inmate of the house where the shooting was done. On the night of the murder, five negro men — Baily Lafoe, William Wilson, George Buckner, Ben Heathman and Oscar Brown — visited the house where they supposed the enemy was, with the avowed purpose of "doing him up." They attacked the house, and the negress started up from her bed and started to another room, when the assail- lants, seeing her through the window, thought it their man and shot and killed her. They were all arrested. Brown turned state's evidence. At the October term of Circuit court, 1881, George Buckner and AVilliam Wilson were convicted of murder in the second degree and given a sentence of eleven years for Buckner and ten years for Wilson. At the following April term a nolle qurosequi was en- tered in each of the other cases, and Heathman, Lafoe and Brown were dis- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY 105 charged. It was said that Brown fired the fatal shot. THE ROBBER " JOHNSON." J. B. Johnson figured in the county's historj' of 1882 as the most daring and dangerous robber that had ever trod the fertile soil of Shelby county. Tt hap- pened that on the night of June 16, 1882, B. F. Smith, a popular proprietor of the City hotel in Shelbyville, was robbed of half a hundred by a guest who regis- tered as "J. B. Salmon" but later said he was "J. B. Johnson." He was a pedestrian, entering Shelbyville by the eastern road, and talked fluently with his host at the City hotel, representing himself to be a carpenter, and that he had been working in Lewis county and was en route to his home in St. Joseph. He was of gentlemanly address and agreeable in his demeanor, and there was nothing to betray his "outre" im- pression, on a casual acquaintance, but after a more scrutinizing survey one might otherwise interpret his cold, glit- tering eyes, his hard, cruel mouth, which would have a tendency to make one judge him as he was, — one of the most cunning, treacherous criminals of the country, daring beyond limit. Another alias used by him was Henry Clark. Whether he ever had a home or not could never be ascertained. The rob- bery occurred about as follows : Smith's guest asked his host for change for a $20 bill and early retired to his room. On the following morning about two o'clock Smith was awakened by his wife, who directed his attention to the robber, standing at the foot of their bed. with a di'awn revolver, de- manding of his host to arise and yield up his monej', or his life was at his mercy. Mr. Smith forthwith arose and delivered over to the man the contents of his purse, which contained in the neighborhood of $50. At the request of the intruder he then accompanied him to the hotel office, delivered to him his grip, and then the robber thoughtfully and courteously bade him adieu and stepped out into the night, to the music of the thunderstorm then prevailing. With the coming of dawn the county turned out in hot pursuit after the rob- ber, who was apprehended near the town of Clarence. Deputy Sheriff Charles Ennis first discovered him, and a party from Clarence, headed by the marshal and J. D. Dale, captured him a mile east of town. The Clarence officials had been notified of his whereabouts by Deputy Sheriff Ennis, who was aboard an east- bound train and recognized the robber walking along the road. He was cap- tured by main force, refusing, in the face of the well-armed and threatening depu- tation, to throw up his arms, deliver his weapon or make a surrender. When in the grasp of the officers he proceeded to become notorious. On the evening of the same day he was under guard in the second story of the hotel at Clarence, when "Johnson" ]>roceeded to auction off to the highest bidder the hat he wore, which he claimed belonged to the renowned Jesse James. Having attracted all the men from the street, he attempted to escape by making a sudden spring through an open window to the street below. He, however, was unfortunate enough to break a leg, and so was easily recaptured. At a preliminary trial Johnson was ])ound over and sent to tiie Palmyra jail 106 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY for safe keeping. It was here, before his broken limb was well knitted, that he headed and urged his fellow inmates on to an outbreak, making a brutal assault on the young man who carried his food, and whom he beat almost into a lifeless state before a rescue was made. On October 13, 1882, he was arraigned in the County Circuit court and plead guilty to robbery. The distinguished Judge Redd sentenced him to twelve years at hard labor in the penitentiary. Within the walls of the state peniten- tiary the daredevil was not cowed. He headed a revolt of some of its most har- dened criminals. With his own hand he fired the walls of the penitentiary, cut the hose to head off the quenching of the flames, and struck down every guard that came his way. The casualty from this desperate act cost the state $150,000 worth of property. For this act he was sentenced to a dark cell, which only made a demon out of a sullen spirit, and, un- provoked, he attacked his cell-keeper, whom he beat to insensibility. The his- tory concerning the man during his incarceration is to be found on the rec- ords at the IMissouri state penitentiary, given us through the kindness of Mr. Roach, secretary of state, as follows: "J. B. Johnson was received for in- carceration from Shelbj- county, October 15, 1882, having been convicted of bur- glary and larceny. His sentence was for twelve years. At the December term, 1884, of the Cole County Circuit court said Johnson was convicted of arson and attem])t to 1)reak prison. His punish- ment for this charge was assessed at imprisonment in the penitentiary for a lonn of twelve years from October 13, 1894. He was an inmate of the prison at the time he committed the crimes of arson and attempt to break prison. In the latter part of 1900 the prison physi- cian certified to the governor that the said Johnson was confined in the prison hosi)ital, was afflicted with consumption, that he was suffering from an incnral)lo disease, and that further confinement would greatly endanger and shorten his life. Upon this certificate the prison inspectors recommended the pardon of Johnson, and accordingly a pardon was issued to him December 4, 1900, upon condition that he immediately leave the state and never return. Thus endeth this chapter on Johnson, so far as the records in this department disclose. ' ' Cornelius Roach, "Secretary of State." THE GREAT BENJAMIN WILL CASE. An incident that stirred the county of Shelby as well as the adjoining counties, and indeed all the states, in the 70s, was the great Benjamin will case. Mr. Ben- jamin has received much mention else- where, as he was a prominent pioneer in the early history of the county. From the "Hi.story of Shelby County" of 1SS4 we publish the narrative account in its entirety : In April, 1878, a suit was begun in the Shelbj' County Circuit court to set aside a will made, or alleged to have been made, by Hon. John F. Benjamin, of this county, a few hours before his death, March"8, 1877. This was and is a "celebrated case" in the annals of northeast Missouri juris- ])ru(lence, and will bear something of detailed mention and elaboration. Mr. Benjamin was a native of Xew HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 107 York, born in 1817. He came to Shelby county at an early day — before 1846 — and settled at Shelbjville. He was an attorney of more than ordinary ability, and was possessed of great shrewdness, sagacity, and a^itness for money-making. He improved every opportunit.y to add legitimately to bis property, and in time became possessed of a considerable for- tune, estimated at about $75,000. It is said that he made something of a start in California during the flush times of 1849-51. He was himself a "forty- niner." During the Civil war Mr. Benjamin was an ardent Unionist and early en- tered the Federal service. Some of bis services are noted elsewhere. He rose from a captaincy to a brigadier general- ship of the Missouri militia. In 1864 he was elected to congress as a radical Re- publican, and re - elected in 1866 - 68, serving three terms as a member of the thirty-ninth, fortieth and forty-first con- gresses. In 1872 be was again a candi- date, but was defeated by Col. John M. Glover, the Democratic nominee. After the war Mr. Benjamin removed from Shelbyville to Shelbina, where be built a handsome and comfortable resi- dence costing over $15,000. After being defeated for congress be repaired to "Washington and, in the fall of 1874, en- gaged in banking with one Otis Bigelow, the firm being known as Bigelow & Benjamin. General Benjamin bad long been mar- ried, but was childless. While in Wash- ington as congressman be formed the acquaintance of some ladies named Welsh. One, Miss Minnie Welsh, be took under his patronage and assisted financiallv and in manv other ways. Upon her marriage to a gentleman named Hammond he assumed a pro- tectorate over her sister, Guy H., a beautiful and winsome young lady, but capricious and guiltj^ of certain breaches of propriety and offenses against good morals. Married to a Mr. Allen, she eloped from him at Los Angeles, Cal., and in male attire concealed herself in the stateroom of her paramour on board a vessel bound for San Francisco. She was apprehended and the elopement frustrated. In Washington and elsewhere General Benjamin introduced Guy Allen as his adopted daughter, and she called him "papa." She made at least one trip to Shelby- ville with him, and accompanied him elsewhere on many occasions. It cannot be questioned that the general, old and mature as he was, was very much at- tached to if not infatuated with the fascinating lady. Her enemies allege that bis relations with her were illicit, as had been those be formerly main- tained with her sisters. It does not seem that Mrs. Benjamin recognized Guy as her daughter, or approved of her inti- macy and familiarity with General Benjamin. She and others had been informed that Mrs. Allen was a Wash- ington city adventuress, pretty' and engaging, but wily and wicked. In April, 1876, while at Shelbina, Benjamin made a will, which was wit- nessed by W. A. Reid, Daniel Taylor and other citizens of the county. By the provisions of this will Guy Allen was to receive a specific legacy of the gen- eral's military clothing and equipments, his private silver plate, and his dia- monds. She was also to receive the 108 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY income from the proceeds of the invest- ment of one-half of his estate remaining after certain other legacies had been paid and satisfied. The investment was to be made in United States or ^lissouri bonds, the interest on which was to be ])aid "to my adopted daughter, Guj^ H. Allen, aforesaid, during her natural life, the same to be for her sole and separate use, and neither to be jiaid to nor in any manner controlled by her husband. ' ' Also in this will the general directed that there should be erected over his grave a monument costing not more than $5,000, and on which should be in- scrilied the following: "John Forbes Benjamin ; born in Cicero, New York, Jany. 23, 1817; died at , 18—. A captain, major, lieutenant-colonel, and brigadier general in the Federal Army, and a member of the 39th, 40th, 41st Congresses." General Benjamin spent a great deal of his time in AVashington. He had rooms on D street, between Second and Third, which he occupied in connection with Mrs. Allen. Their rooms adjoined and communicated. Airs. Benjamiu re- mained at the elegant home in Shelbina. In the early winter of 1877 General Benjamin suffered from colds and neu- ralgic pains. On the first of March he was seized with a violent attack of pleuro-pneumonia. He died March 8th. At the time of his decease Airs. Allen was lying very ill in an adjoining room and was not informed of his death until ten days after it occurred. The general's body was immediately taken to an undertaker, who prepared it for shi]inient, and in charge of one George C. Rowan it was shii)ped to Shelbina and there buried. Immediately after General Benjamin's death a will was produced bearing his undoubted signature, "John Forbes Benjamin," and purporting to have been made Alarch 7, 1877, the day before his death. This paper was written by one George. Truesdale, a real estate agent of Washington, whose office was in the banking house of Bigelow & Ben- jamin, and who was well accjuainted with the general in his lifetime. He swore that the paper was written at Benjamin's dictation and signed by him as represented. There signed this l)aper as witnesses the general's attend- ing physicians, Drs. J. H. Thom])sou and G. L. Alagruder; his partner, Otis Bige- low, and Air. Truesdell ; and there was present, and witnessed the signing, the nurse, Catherine Alahoney. The fol- lowing is a copy of the will: The Will. Know all men by these presents that I, John Forbes Benjamin, of the town of Shelbina, County of Shelby, and State of Alissouri, being of soimd mind, but conscious of the fact that I have Init a few days to live, do make, ])ulilish, and declare the following to be my last will and testament, thereby revoking all wills and codicils heretofore made by me. 1st, I give and bequeath the following s])ecific legacies: — To my good friend, Charles AI. King, of Shelbina, of Alissouri, my law library and furniture, or all that portion of the same now in use by hiiu, and my gold- headed cane. I give to George C. B. Rowan, of AVashington, D. C, who has given me so much kind care during my sickness, one hundred dollars ($100). HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 109 To my beloved wife, Diana, all my property of every description owned or possessed by me in the State of Mis- souri ; also $12,000 in the District of Columbia, six per cent gold bonds. I also give her a deed of trust loan of $4,000 made to John (J. AVaters, and a note for $2,000 of William Kidge, of Shelbiua, Missouri, which I hereby direct to be forwarded to her at Shelbina, Missouri. I give and bequeath to my adopted daughter, Mrs. Guy H. Allen, wife of James M. Allen, late of Cleveland, Ohio, all my interest in the partnership of Bigelow & Benjamin, and all debts which may be owing to me by persons in the District of Columbia, and all the real estate owned by me in the District of Columbia. She is now very ill and may not sur- vive me many days, and perha]:»s not at all ; in either event, I give and bequeath the part given to her to her sister, Mrs. Minnie Hammond, of Cleveland, Mary- land, wife of Eugene Hammond, of Cumberland, Maryland. My remains after death here to be suitably but not extravagantly cared for by an undertaker and the same for- warded to Shelbina, Missouri, for such cemeterial disjiosition as may be had there. I leave it all to the discretion of my wife aforesaid. I have long professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ before me, as the Son of God. Into His liands I commit my spirit. I nominate and appoint my friend, Joshua M. Ennis, of Shelbyville, Mis- souri, the executor of this my last will and testament, so far as my property in the State of Missouri is concerned, and appoint George Truesdell to wind up my business in the District of Colum- bia, so far as will not interfere with the riglits of Otis Bigelow, my surviving partner. Subscribed by my own hand. Done in the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia, on the 7th day of :\larch, A. D. 1877. John Foebes Ben.jamin. Subscribed by us as witnesses in the ]n-esence of each other, and in the pres- ence of and at the request of the testator, who declared to us that the foregoing was his last will and testament, the testator being known to each of us to be the party signing as such. J. H. Thompson, M. D. G. L. Magktjder, M.D. Otis Bigelow. George Truesdell. About March 1, 1877, or eight days before, his death, Mr. Benjamin made what was intended evidently to be a schedule of his property. This schedule, or memorandum, which was in his own handwriting, was as follows : "Bank, $34,500; St. L., $2,000; notes, $11,440; Ridge, $2,000; Waters, $3,000; bonds, $12,000; R. E. (real estate), $2,000; int., $10; in-ofit, $50; cash, $2,450. Total, $69,750." The immediate relatives of General Benjamin — his wife, Mrs. Diana Benja- min; his brothers, George H. and Henry H. ; his sister, Mrs. Louisa Wood; and a niece, Mrs. Thurza Parks — contested this will, and in April, 1878, brought suit in the Shelby county circuit court to have it set aside and declared null and void, on the ground that it had been fraudulently ol)tainod and made; that the principal beneficiary, Mrs. Guy H. 110 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUXT\ Allen, had an undue influence over the testator, etc. It was further charged or insinuated that there had been foulest of foul play in the transaction; that a general con- spiracy had l)een entered into by the doc- tors, the nurses, Colonel Truesdell, Jen- nie Welsh, a sister of Mrs. Allen, and Mrs. Allen herself, to put General Ben- jamin out of the way, and to obtain pos- session or control of the greater portion of his valuable property. Some thought he had been drugged in his last illness; others that a will different from the one shown had been prepared by the Gen- eral's dictation, but that the one exhib- ited was substituted when it came to signing. Numerous witnesses testified as to the genuineness of the will, giving circum- stantial accounts, substantially agreeing, of its preparation and of the soundness of mind of the testator at the time of making it. It was also testified by all the witnesses who were present when General Benjamin died that at the time of his death and for some days preceding and succeeding that event, Mrs. Guy Al- len herself lay in an adjoining room un- conscious of what was occurring and had occurred to ^Ir. Benjamin. It was fur- thermore sworn to that Mr. Benjamin was not friendly disposed toward his brothers and sisters; that he had been estranged from them for years, and it was sought to establish the conclusion that this was the reason why they were excluded as beneficiaries of his will. It was furthermore sworn to that the testa- tor had i-epeatedly introduced and repre- sented Mrs. Guy Allen as his adopted daughter, and treated her openly with great affection. His first accjuaintance had begun with her during his first term in Congress, when he was a boarder in her mother's establishment. The suit was begun in April, 1878, but was not tried until a year later. The in- tervening time was spent in taking depo- sitions in AVashington and in other pro- ceedings incident to the law's delay. In April, 1879, the case was called in the circuit court at Shclbyville. Judge John T. Redd, of Palmyra, was on the bench. A strong array of lawyers from Washington and elsewhere was present, and the court room was crowded with spectators. The trial was prolonged for some days and eveiy point was hotly contested. For the i)laintiffs there were D. C. Cameron and Judge Barrow, talented and experienced attorneys from Wash- ington City; Thoma.s L. Anderson, the veteran lawyer of Palmyra, the Nestor of the northeast Missouri bar, and King & Giles, the well known accomplished practitioners of Shelbina. For the de- fendant, Guy Allen, there was A. S. Worthington, of Washington, now dis- trict attorney ; Hon. B. F. Dobyns, a most learned counsel and brilliant advo- cate of this county; Hon. Theo. Brace, an erudite judge of this circuit. P. B. Dunn, Esq., represented J. 'SI. Ennis, the executor for Missouri, and a lawyer named Barnard appeared for George Truesdell, the Washington City executor. Airs. Allen hei-self was present through- out the trial and testified as a witness, making a most favorable impression — demure and modest as a Quakeress, and shrewd and quick-witted as a queen's maid of honor. He, over whose effects the litigants were M-rangling and snarling, lay silent HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 111 in his narrow house in the Shelbiua cem- etery, and those who ought to have been mourning his memory, were quarreling over his dollars. Of what avail now was the wealth he had toiled so long and so hard for — the privations he had endured, the hard bar- gains he had made and the enemies he had created thereby"? How much had he taken with him to that city whose gates are of pearl and whose streets are paved with gold and lighted with the divine glory? Alas ! for the dross which he had striven so hard for! It had become as the spoil of the pirate — as a bone over which dogs might fight ! Far better had he done good with it while he lived, vis- ited the widow and the fatherless and those who were sick and in distress and ministered to them in their affliction. Far better had he never acquired it. After some days the jury retired, but found it impossible to agree. In Octo- ber following, the case was tried again, with the same result. The multiplicity of testimony, some of it confJicting, the weary lawyers with their endless tongues, the lengthy and learned instruc- tions of the judge, the entrancing fea- tures of the principal defendant in the case, who was ])resent on both occasions, and sat the trial through, muddled the senses and confused the opinions of our Shelby county yeomanry. Before it could be brought to trial again the ease was taken on a change of venue by consent of parties (Judge Brace, who had come to the bench, hav- ing been of counsel) to Macon county, where it yet lies undisposed of. But in the meantime a suit was begun in the District of Columbia by Mrs. Allen, now married again to a Mr. Schley, of Washington, to secure the property which she claims was bequeathed to her by her "foster father." The nisi prius courts decided in her favor, and it is un- derstood th'at their decisions now await confirmation by the Supreme Court of the United States. Upon this decision rests the ultimate fate of the case in its entirety in the courts at Macon and else- where. The property in the District of Colum- bia has already been distributed by order of the Probate court there, and Mrs. Al- len given her share or the greater part thereof. The Benjamin relatives fought the case, without success, however. The decision that finally settled the case was rendered in the Supreme Court of the United States April 15, 1886. The case was decided in favor of Mrs. Allen and the Washington executors. All op- position was then withdrawn and the will was admitted to be probated. But the fascinating and beautiful Guy, fair of feature and light of love, yet reigns as a queen. She has at least the partial enjoyment of her fortune, and is liapjiy in the possession of her new lover and husband. She speaks in teuderest tones of General Benjamin, and takes great pride in exhibiting his letters, wherein he speaks of her fondly, calling her "Bonnie," and by other terms of en- dearment. Mrs. Benjamin, the widow of the Gen- eral, did not survive him but a few months. She died in Shelbina in the summer following, and was not buried beside her husband, but in the Shelby- ville cemetery, and there is, as yet, no stone to mark her resting place, or that of her husband. On Wednesday, June 12, 1889, the 112 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY body of Gen. John F. Benjamin was dis- interred at Shelbina and interred the same day at Sbelbyville under the aus- pices of tlie Grand Army of the Eepublie. INDICTING "rebel" PREACHERS. The Drake Constitution, section 9, ar- ticle II, compelled preachers, teachers, lawyers, etc., to take the test oath, and this brought a protest from all over the country, from all denominations, Protest- ant and Catholic, but the authorities pro- ceeded to "make good." ]\Iinisters of the gospel were arraigned all over the state, and even three Sisters of Charity were dragged into court in Cape Girar- deau county and fined for teaching with- out taking the test oath. Fourteen min- isters were indicted at a single session of Circuit court. In our own couuty we fur- nished our own integral part of history along this line. In November, 1866, the following ministers were indicted for not taking the Drake oath : Rev. Jesse Fau- I)iau, three counts ; Henry Louthan, Rob- ert Holliday, Milford Powers, "William Pulliam, Father D. P. Phelan and Revs. Robey and Brown. The indictments against the preachers were found sepa- rately and charged each with having on a certain date "at the county of Shelby aforesaid, more than sixty days after the 4th of July, 1865, unlawfully, feloniously, etc., etc.. 'jireacbed' without first having taken, sul)scribed and filed * * * the oath of loyalty," which said preach- ing was "contrary to the form of the constitution in such case made and ])ro- vided, and against the peace and dignity of the state." The preachers were ar- rested, but their trial awaited the deci- sion of a case before the United States Supi-eme court. The case was that of Rev. J. A. Cummings, of Louisiana, a Catholic priest, who was convicted in the Circuit court for teaching and preaching in the Circuit court without taking the oath. There was no proof he had been disloyal, but he simi)ly refused to take the oath. He was convicted, sentenced to a fine of five hundred dollars and to be sent to jail till the fine was paid. He ap- pealed to the Supreme court of the state. It upheld the lower court. He appealed to the United States Supreme court and it set the test oath aside as contrary to the nation's constitution. That court declared it to be an ex post facto law. It said no state was per- mitted to enact a law which punished men for offenses committed before the law was passed. That quashed the Drake oath law, and when the decision was made in favor of the preachers and the teachers, the in- dictments all over the state were never called up and never heard of again and Shelby county preachers went on their way in their mission of love. . REGISTRATION OF VOTERS. The convention agreed to submit their Constitution to the jieople for endorse- ment, but to be sure it would not be re- jected, they passed an "ordinance" de- claring that no one should vote for nor against the Constitution who would not first take the Drake oath. In order to make sure that none took it falsely, a system of registration of voters was l)rovided for. The registering officer was given the power to pass ui)ou the (lualification of all persons to vote, and if he deemed any of tlieiu could not truth- fully take this oath he refused to enter their names upon the poll books. Yet HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY 113 after this extreme precaution, the elec- tion polled on June G, 1865, a majority for the Constitution of 1,800, out of a total vote of 85,000. In this county the boai'd of registrars prepared a list of cpiestions, which were submitted to every applicant for registration. The ques- tions were printed in a book and oppo- site blanks for answers, one book for each township, and the applicants be- came a matter of record. SPECIAL, INCmENTS IN THE HISTOKY OF THE COUNTY 1865 TO 1884. Spring opened up unusually early, the song of the bluebird was heard in the land, but the weather was cold and damp and delayed the sowing of the seed. The farmer was so glad to return to his every-day routine life he began his plow- ing as early as the weather would per- mit, although not quite sure was he as yet, that he would be left at home to reaj), but there seemed to predominate a hush throughout the land that seemed to whis]jer of rest and home. News that could be ascertained from the chief seats of war and the signs of the times indi- cated that the war was over, yet all these signs had been misleading before, and so they entertained yet a fear that again they were all deceived. Planting in the county continued up through May and the first of June, but the season re- mained a favorable one, and crops were of an extraordinary yield. Everything was abundant and ]irices remained steady and good. NEWS FROM HEADQUARTERS. Al)out the first days of April news was spread broadcast that General Lee's I army in Virgina was in bad shape, and this intelligence was followed up on April 9, just four years, lacking three days, after the Confederates cajitured Fort Sumter, by the surrender of Gen- eral Lee to General Grant at Appo- mattox. But a few days previously Eich- mond had been occupied by the Federal troops, and when this intelligence was received there was the wildest enthu- siasm among the Unionists of this county. Even many of the Confederate sympa- thizers were not sorry to again be in the land of peace, even though the terms were far from their liking. But the hearts of the Southerners knew no rejoicing. They were ready to fight to the bitter end for the cause which they promulgated. It was now self-evi- dent that they had taken poor stock in the Confederacy. It was now sure de- feat for those who followed the Stars and Bars. The Confederates became reconciled and awaited the inevitable with resignation to the end. THE WAR IS OVER. And the breathless waiting for news was not in vain. A quick succession of events brought the war to a close. A few days after Lee surrendered to Grant, Gen. Joe Johnston's army surrendered to General Sherman, and then followed May 13, Kirby Smith's trans-Mississippi army, except a portion of Shelby's bri- gade and some other Confederate Mis- sourians, some five hundred, went on to Mexico. Soon Confederate soldiers be- gan to return to their Missouri homes. Many lived here and others passed on through to their homes. In most instances the vanquished sol- dier was allowed to return to his home in 114 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY peace, but in a few instances they were buffeted and taunted by the men in blue, an insult to the name soldier, which car- ries even with it the characteristic of In-avery. The Confederate soldier had fought a good tight, had openly acknowl- edged defeat, philosophically accepted his situation and had gone to his work, hoping to mend his fragmentary for- tunes. Not all were permitted to return to his dear ones at the dear old home- stead, for many a soldier in gray lay upon the battlefield, his life a ransom to redeem the cause he honored, while his loved ones at home were bowed and broken because he never returned. THE "dEAKe" constitution. On the 18th of April the state conven- tion, by a vote of 38 to 14, formed an en- tirely new constitution of the state, which was to be presented to the voters for adoption June 6th. It was called the Drake constitution, from the fact that Charles Drake, the vice-president of the convention, was its leading spirit, and from this fact and the extreme severity of the code, it has been called the "Dra- conian code," in comparison to the laws of Draco of Greece, which affixed the penalty of death alike to petty thefts and nmrder, saying in explanation that death was not too severe for small offenses and lie knew of no greater jiunishment for murder. The circumstances which led to the framing of the new constitution, the Dra- conian law, was the fact that the conven- tion went further, prescribing a "test oath," which declared that no person should vote nor hold office who had ever engaged in hostilities or given aid, or comfort, countenance or support to persons engaged in hostilities against the government of the United States, or had given letters, goods or information to its enemies, etc. It went on to say any person who had done any of these things or any other thing like them, could not vote, teach in any public or pri- vate school, practice law, preach the gos- pel, solemnize marriage, etc., unless such person had first taken the "test oath." All citizens attempting to teach or preach without .oaths were to be fined not less than $500 or committed to pri.son not less than sis months, or both, and if a person falsely took it, he was to be imprisoned in the penitentiary for l)erjury. The "test oath" is said to have dis- franchised at least one-third of the peo- ple till 1872, and it is said would have disfranchised another third had they ad- hered strictly to the requirements. The canvass which followed was a bit- ter one. Although the war was practi- cally over, all the Confederate armies had surrendered, yet a few guerrillas and bushwhackers continued their exist- ence in this state to the detriment of peace and safety to the sections they in- fested. Bands of military were kept in the field to hold the guerrillas in check and administer punishment for any dis- order, and a spirit of unrest prevailed, and the provisions of the new constitu- tion and the restrictions connected there- with, the embittered feeling which hos- tilities had caused, all bred ill will and was not calculatedlto restore an era of good feeling. Hundreds of taxpayers, many of them old and honored citizens, were denied the privilege of the l)allot in the decision of the great contest before the state, the HISTOEY OP SHELBY COUNTY 115 making of an organic law, to affect and govern them and their children. On the other hand the friends of the new constitution maintained that citizens who, by overt or covert acts, had at- tempted to destroy the government, who had, liy lighting against the Federal gov- ernment, "committed treason," or in deeds, words or sympathy, given en- couragement to those who had, were not and coiald not be proper recijaients of the ballot. They further alleged had the Confederate armies succeeded and Mis- souri become one of the Confederate states, then the Unionist would have con- sidered himself fortunate had he been allowed the privilege of living in the state. That he would not have been al- lowed to vote, etc., etc. Even in our own county, threats are said to be on record, such as a speech of Senator Green's at Shelbj^ville in 1861, in which he said in speaking to the Union men, "If you win, we will leave; if kc win, you shall leave." The whole state cast the following vote, which shows how the vote was cut down. Total vote cast at the election adopting constitution, 85,478; for, 43,- 670 ; against, 41,808 ; majority for, 1,862. The Shelby county vote stood : For, 282 ; against, 164. Small wonder the ex-Confederates hated with a liitterness the Drake consti- tution, but happily the bitterness of strife is ])assing on down the march of time and the Union is walking, as it were, hand in hand, seeking the welfare of our free land. AFTER THE WAR. When war was a thing of history and the excitement was a thing of the past, the people again took up their regular avocations, the county made rapid prog- ress in her development, increasing her population at a rapid rate, making val- uable business acquisitions and perma- nent business improvements. Immigra- tion was livelier than before in the coun- ty's history, and took up large tracts for homes, building thereon houses that were an improvement over the average home of the past. Much new land was opened up and the older tracts were improved. The war had left the county badly in debt, had interfered with its business in a general way, so that all public im- provement had closed, but as soon as these debts were gotten out of the way, public improvements were again fore- most and the public highway was im- proved. Roads were built, bridges con- structed, etc., as soon as the county could jjrovide the means. On July 15, 1871, a contract was let for the first bridge that crossed Salt river between Shelbina and Shelbj-ville, at the old Dickerson ford. The contract price was $5,373.75, but the bridge with its ap- proaches cost $10,007. The work was completed in December, 1871. In 1871 the tirst iron bridge of the county spanned the South Fabius, in the northeastern part of the county. It was built by Bishop & Eaton at a cost of $2,800. " ROBBERY OF THE COUNTY TREASURY. Shelby county had not survived the de- ]iletion of its treasury by war, when on November 20, 1868, the county treasury was looted of $10,000 by burglars. The treasury was a safe the county bought in 1857, and set in a vault, built for the pur- pose, in the county clerk's office. It was 116 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY supposed, of course, to be secure and was the county's only "safety bank." The burglars had made their entrance into the county clerk's office by the north window. The doors were pried open with levers and steel wedges and pries made for the purpose. The safe was thoroughly overhauled and every coin taken that was in her possession. The robbery was first known when County Clerk W. J. Holliday reached his office on the following morning, and caused no small stir in the little burg. The bank contained in money : 1 $1,000 1 3 $500 $100 7 $50 301 $20 63 $10 80 $5 16 19 13 $10 $5 $3 national bank note. . . national bank note . . . national bank notes . . (or greenback) national bank notes . . (or greenback) national bank notes . . (or greenback) national bank notes . . (or greenback) national bank notes . . (or greenback) Union military bonds Union military bonds Union military bonds $1,000 500 300 . 350 . 6,020 630 . 400 , 160 95 39 Total $9,494 Of this sum $1,290 had been received from the tax on licenses, $3,224 belonged to the state revenue fund, and $4,980 to the state interest fund. In addition to the simi of public money in the safe. Clerk Holliday had some funds of his own, and a considerable sum belonged to the enrolled militia, having not yet been disbursed, making a total of $10,000. Only a few days, previous the county collector, J. :M. Collier, had taken $30,000 to Quincy for safe keeping, which would have afforded the robbers some extra l)in money had they come while it was in the safe. The collector made a full and legal investigation of the case, in which the county attorney, M. J. Manville, rep- resented the county. The result was the imblic officials were exonerated from all censure and blame and the implication of no one. Two men from Quincy, strangers, were unfortunate enough to be sojourning in the city at the time. The citizens became suspicious of them, took them into cus- tody and made a desperate effort to im- plicate them, even going so far as to take them to the country to lynch them, but they averred their innocence so fervently that they were released. The real thieves were never appre- hended. No tools were found till a year later, when some drills and wedges and a few iron and steel pries were discov- ered in a fence corner in a meadow south of town and north of Black creek. It was supposed they were the tools that cracked the Shelby county safe. POLITICS AND ELECTION OF 1870. The January legislature of 1870 agreed to submit to the voters an amend- ment to the constitution abolishing the test oath and restoring the ballot to former Confederates, Southei-n sympa- thizers and all other male citizens, and relieving them of other proscriptivo pen- alties. The slaves and their descendants had already been granted this privilege in 1867. The people were to vote on the new amendment in November, 1870. A very warm and earnest campaign pre- ceded the vote; indeed, the Presidential HISTOBY OF SHELBY COUNTY 117 yea.rs did not eclipse it. The Republican party disagreed as to what should be done to the large number of disfran- chised citizens. Many hoped to post- pone it. These were called Radical Re- IDublicans, but an equal number believed in a removal of all political disabilities at once. These were termed Liberal Repub- licans. The Radicals were led by Charles D. Drake, and maintained the extreme and iron-clad policy, and the Liberals, headed by Gratz Brown and Carl Schurz, contended for a more magnanimous pol- icy for those who had by word or deed held complicitly with the rebellion. The Radicals in convention at Jeffer- son City, nominated Joseph W. McClurg for re-election for governor. The Liber- als withdrew and adopted a platform and nominated Gratz Brown for governor. The Democrats declined to nominate a ticket and supported the Liberal Repub- lican ticket. There was a growing sen- timent among the people that the war was over, that the time for iron-clad oaths was past. Taxation without representation was growing more unpopular every day, that since negroes, who formerly were slaves, was now allowed the ballot, their mas- ters shrould not be denied its jirivilege. That public sentiment, both within and out of the borders of the state, was mak- ing largely against the condition of af- fairs as tyrannical and unjust. Owing to the test oath associated with the Drake constitution, very few Demo- crats ever reached the polls and there- fore had little power in the direction of pu))lic affairs. As was natural, few Con- federates or their sympathizers were Re- publicans. Their disfranchisement had embittered them against the author of their condition, and they cast lots with the Democrats, whether or not they were of that faith before the war. With the Confederates at their right hand and a split in the Republican ranks it was ap- parent, once the disfranchising clause was removed, the Democratic party would speedily come into power. In Shelby county politics were hum- ming. The old Democratic war-horses, who for so long had been a prodigal out in the cold, pricked up their ears and scrambled forward to win out. The party managers held the reins well under con- trol. A combination ticket between the Democrats and the Liberals was ar- ranged and shrewd politics was played to make sure the overthrow of the Radicals. REGISTRATION IN 1870. Salt River 308 Jackson 178 Clay 184 Jefferson 93 Taylor 87 Black Creek 263 Bethel , 183 Tiger Fork 107 Total ..1,403 The election in the county was a mixed triumph for Liberals and Democrats. Governor— McC/m/-^, 600 ; Brown, 637. Congress — J. T. K. Hay ward, 594; J. G. Blair, 635. Representative — Shorts, 571 ; Shafer, 653. Circuit Clerk — Leounrd Dobbins, 616; Duncan, 591. 118 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY County Clerk — E. A. Graves, 661; J. S. Preston, 542. SheriE— William A. Poillon, 534; S. F. Dunn, 677. Note. — Straight Republicans in italic. On the amendments the vote stood: For, 881 ; against, 242. In the state they were adopted by more than 100,000 majority. Brown defeated McClurg by 41,038. The year 1870 is memorable in history as having been the year when the Radi- cals allowed both the "niggers and rebels" to vote in Missouri. CENSUS or 1880. The population of Shelby county in 1880 was: Whites, 13,089; colored, 935. Total, 14,024. TOWNSHIP ENUMERATION. Bethel 1,343 Black Creek, including Shelbyville 2,074 Clay, including Clarence 1,761 Jackson, including Hunnewell .... 2,057 Jefferson 1,548 Salt River, including Shelbina 2,866 Taylor 1,212 Tiger Fork 1,163 TOWNS. Shelbina . . . .1,289 Clarence 570 Shelbyville . . 619 Hunnewell .... 424 1860, 1870, 1880 compaeed. Whites 6,565 9,540 13,089 Colored 736 571 935 Total 7,301 10,111 14,024 FLOOD OF 1876. The summer of 1876 is known in Shelby county as the "high water era." It was a cool spring and in the "good old summer time" came a remarkable rainfall that raised some of the streams of the county to their maximum height. Salt river was swollen beyond that of any past date, to even the pioneers, who remembered well the floods of 1844, 1851 and 1856. It was literally from bank to bank at many locations. At the long bridge, over the old Dickerson ford, on the Shelbina-Shelbyville road, the water skimmed over the bridge and obscured its approaches. On the northern ex- tremity was washed a huge boulder of granite in the road. To the east side of the road was a large black oak tree with the high water mark of 1876 nailed on it. CHAPTEE X. The Agricultural, Society of Shelby County — The Shelby County Agricul- tural and Mechanical Association — The Shelbina Pair Association — Local Option and Temperance — Transportation Facilities — The Hannibal and St. Joe Railroad — The Building of the Shelby County Railway — The First Electric Railroad — Chief Pursuits and Surplus Products. THE agricultural SOCIETY OF SHELBY COUNTY. Shelby county deserves the distinction of being the first county in north Mis- souri to organize and maintain an agri- cultural association or county fair. This event in the history of the county took place in 18.39. In 1837 the Missouri leg- islature passed an act for the promotion of agriculture and the encouraging of the formation of agricultural societies. Two years later some farmers and citizens of Shelbyville held a meeting and organized the society. The records of this meeting were preserved and were kept on file in the court house. The following is a copy of the original record : "Shelbyville, 22d February, 1839. At a meeting begun and held in the court house in the town of Shelbyville for the purpose of forming an agricultural so- ciety, Capt. S. S. Matson being called to the chair and William Moore appointed secretary pro tem. On motion, B. W. Hall stated the object of the meeting. Question being put by the president "Whether the society be formed," de- cided in the affirmative by 25 — no one op- posing. The meeting being organized, they proceeded to the election of officers for the present year : Samuel S. Matson, president; William Vannort, secretary, and James M. Eider, treasurer. On mo- tion, John Dunn and William Gooch be managers from Black Creek township. On motion, B. W^. Hall and Thomas B. Rookwood be managers from North Eiver township. On motion, $2.50 be the amount of each subscriber. On motion, it was agreed that there be an additional manager in each township. Eobert Dun- can be appointed manager in Jackson township, Thomas J. Bounds for Black Creek and Thomas 0. Eskridge for North Eiver township. ' ' It was agreed that the proceedings of this meeting be pul)lished in some public journal. "It was agreed that the society be called ' The Agricultural Society of Shel- by County.' "It was motioned and agreed that the annual meeting of this society be held on the first day of our March term 1840. It was agreed that William Moore assist B. W. Hall and Thomas J. Bounds to draft the constitution. It was moved and agreed that the subscription money be paid on the first of August. It was 119 120 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY agreed that this society meet on the first Monday of our next Circuit court for the purpose of adopting or rejecting the l)y- laws. On motion, this meeting adjourned until first Monday in March next, 1838. "AVm. Moore, S. S. Matson, ' ' Secretary. President Pro Tem. ' ' The names of the members of this as- sociation were as follows: J. M. Eider, B. W. Hall, J. Foley, William Gooch, Montillian H. Smith, S. S. Matson, John Dunn, James Graham, 0. H. Perry, Da- vid 0. Walker, Thomas A. McAfee, 0. Dickerson, Abram Matlock, Robert Dun- can, Charles Smith, Elijah I. Pollard, Thomas 0. Eskridge, Thomas B. Rook- wood, William A. Davidson, William Moore, John Davis, C. B. Shepard, John W. Long, Elias Kincheloe, Lawrence Turner, James C. Hawkins, Milton Hood, Thomas J. Bounds, Robert Blackford, AVilliam H. Vannort, William S. Chinn, J. B. Marmaduke, Frederick Rook, George Anderson, John Hayes, Samuel B. Hardy, Russell W. Moss. A record of the constitution of this so- ciety was not preserved, but the follow- ing is a copy of the by-laws : BY-LAWS OF THE SHELBY COUNTY AGRICUL- TURAL SOCIETY. Article 1. Any person may become a member of this society on application to the secretary. Article 2. Each member shall pay to the treasurer the sum of $2.50 on or be- fore the first of August. Article 3. None other than a member of this society shall be permitted to con- tend for a ])remium. Article 4. All members intending to exhibit stock shall enter the names, pedi- grees and age, as near as possible, with the secretary before the exhibition com- mences, on or ])efore 10 o'clock of that day. Article 5. No member shall be per- mitted to contend with any other than an article belonging to him or some other member of the society. Article 6. The following persons are appointed judges to award premiums and certificates for the year 1839: (Names omitted.) Article 7. Premiums shall he conferred on the following: 1 — Best stallion, $6; second best, cer- tificate. 2 — Best suckling colt, $6; sec- ond best, certificate. 3 — Best three-year- old colt, $6 ; second best, certificate. 4 — Best yearling colt, $6; second best, cer- tificate. 5 — Best bull, $6; second best, certificate. 6 — Best cow, $6 ; second best, certificate. 7- — Best boar, $6; second best, certificate. 8 — Best sow, $6 ; second best, certificate. 9 — Best four pigs (amended), $6; second best, certificate. 10 — Best six sheep, $6; second best, cer- tificate. 11 — Best yoke of oxen, $6; sec- ond best, certificate. 12 — Best 5 acres of corn, $6; second best, certificate. 13 — Best five acres of wheat, $6 ; second best, certificate. 14 — Best five acres of timo- thy, $6; second best, certificate. 15 — Best yield from one bushel of ])otatoes, $6 ; second best, certificate. 16 — Best five yards of jeans, $3. 17 — Best five yards of linen, $3. 18 — Best five yards of flan- nel, $3. Article 9. Each member contending for a i)remium on any of the above articles, if on live stock, to furnish his manner of breeding, rearing and fattening and all other matters calculated to throw light on the subject. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 121 Article 10. The successful competitor for each species of grain to give his method of cultivation and kind of soil; also the kind of seed. Article 11. Those on domestic manu- factures the whole method of preparing and manufacturing the same. No meeting was held in March, as was intended, but in June a meeting was held and tlie following record preserved: Shelbyville, June 8, 1839. Society met according to adjournment. William Gooch, Thomas J. Bounds, Thomas 0. Eskridge, B. AV. Hale, Thomas B. Rookwood and R. P. Black- ford, a majority of the managers present. The society jiroceeded to business. On motion, resolved that any person wishing to become a member shall have the op- portunity of now having his name en- rolled. On motion of John W. Long, re- solved, that no member of this society shall be ai)])oiuted as a judge. On motion, resolved, that Samuel Blackburn, George Eaton and Hiram Rookwood be appointed judges to judge horses and cattle. On motion, resolved, that Anthony Minter, S. E. Lay and William Connor be appointed to judge hogs and sheep. On motion of John W. Long, resolved, that the articles of wheat, corn, timothy and potatoes shall not be entitled to a liremium ; decided that they shall. On motion of W. B. Hall "that stal- lions shall be excluded"; decided they shall not. On motion, resolved, that the three last judges be apjwiuted to judge wheat, corn, timothy and potatoes, as follows: John Jacobs, James C. Agnew and W. J. Holliday. On motion, resolved, that the ninth, tenth and eleventh articles be adopted. On motion of J. W. Long, resolved, that no one article shall be entitled to more than three premiums. On motion, resolved, that the pre- miums be ijaid in silverware with the initials engraved on the same. On motion of R. W. Moss, resolved, that the two best pigs shall be entitled to a premium, and the article in the by-laws naming the four best is hereby repealed. On motion, resolved, that the liest calf be entitled to a premium. On motion, resolved, that no pig shall be exhibited over the age of six months. On motion, resolved, that the greatest (plant it j^ of potatoes raised from one- eighth acre of ground shall be entitled to a ]iremium, and the fifteenth article of the liy-laws is hereby repealed. On motion, resolved, that the exhibi- tion be held on the last Tuesday in Octo- ber next (1839). On motion, resolved, that the secretary inform the judges of their appointment by letter. On motion, resolved, that any member failing to pay on or before the time speci- fied shall pay the sum of one dollar. The association held its meeting in Shelbyville on the appointed day, and it was an event of much moment and was liberally patronized. Premiiuns were awarded as follows: Best stallion. Major 0. Dickerson's "Sir Harrison"; second best, J. B. Lewis's "Bertrand." Best three-year-old colt, Nicholas Watkins; second best, John Dunn. Best mare, O. Dickerson ; second best, Dr. J. W. Long. Best yearling colt, 0. Dickerson. Best bull. Dr. J. W. Long's "Gustavus"; second best, Wil- 122 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY liam McMurray. Best boar, B. "W. Hall's "Thomas H. Benton" ; second best, Bus- sell W. Moss 's ' ' Duff. ' ' Best sow. Dr. J. W. Long's "Queene." Best pigs, Wil- liam Moore; second best, Hiram Book- wood. Best five acres of wheat (125% bu.), Hiram Kookwood. Best five yards jeans, Mrs. J. "VV. Long; second best, Mrs. Eskridge. The association's existence was brief. Only two sessions were ever held. The awards were unsatisfactory, many came to the meetings and got drunk and fights were frequent. The best members with- drew after the 1841 exhibition. THE SHELBY COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL ASSOCIATION. On July 7, 1868, a second venture was made in the organization and mainte- nance of a fair association. On that date the Shelby County Agricultural and Me- chanical Association was organized by the election of the following ofiScers: President, G. G. Muldrow; vice-presi- dent, J. C. Duncan; secretary, P. B. Dunn ; treasurer, W. B. Cotton. The di- rectors of the association were: 0. T. Terrill, Robert J. Taylor, Samuel Dar- rah, T. AV. Sheetz, James Cheuoweth, J. M. Ennis, John T. Cooper, Joseph H. Foreman and "William Ridge. The grounds of the association were located one mile south of Shelbyville and were purchased of A. M. aud D. A. Brant and comprised at first forty acres, for which the association iiaid $600. The purchase was made July 18, 1868. On December 6, 1869, the association sold back the east half of tlie o-rouud to D. A. Brant for $250, leaving twenty acres as the prop- erty of the association. The first fair held on these grounds was in the fall of 1869. The jiurpose of the association, as stated by one of the officials, was "to pro- mote agriculture and husbandry purely and simply. ' ' Premiums were offered on the agricultural products of the county, as well as on the horticultural products and domestic science, together with the products of the loom and needle. To en- courage breeding and raising of better stock, liberal premiums were paid on the different classes of horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. The association prospered for many years and was the annual event of the county. The last officers of the as- sociation were: President, J. M. Collier; vice-president. Judge Joseph Hunolt; treasurer, S. Van Vaughn; secretary, L. A. Haj'ward; chief marshal, Milt Baker; ring marshals, John Ellis and Barney Moore ; field marshal, Dan McNeil ; ticket agent, Thomas Gentry; gatekeeper, James Baker. The directors were John T. Frederick, A. AV. Muldrow, J. M. Freeman, J. M. Gentry, AV. A. Hughes, AV. D. Gardner, AV. A^aughn, B. F. Fry, T. AV. Sheetz. The association held its last meeting in the fall of 1883. The association suspended operations on the above year on account of the or- ganization of the county association at Shelbina. The grounds at Shelbina were much larger and contained the good race course and were located on the railroad, which made them more accessible and in- viting to the general public, and as the county could not maintain two associa- tions, the Shelbyville association was discontinued. THE SHELBINA FAIR ASSOCIATION. In 188], the citizens of Shelbina pur- chased a tract of land consisting of acres of Dr. J. H. Ford, for which they HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 123 paid $3,500, and which was located one- half mile north of the city. The association was organized on March 18, 1881, and the following officers were elected : President, J. H. Fox ; vice- president, Daniel Taylor; secretary, E. C. Dickerson; treasurer, C. H. Lasley. The tUrectors were J. M. Ennis, I. N. Bonta, C. W. Hanger, J. T. Frederick, J. H. Gooch, J. H. Ford, S. G. Parsons, J. E. Eidge and G. W. Greenwell. The as- sociation has been successful and is one of the most popular annual events in the county. Each year the exhibitions are large and interesting. The improve- ments on the grounds are large and equal to those of any similar association in the State. The buildings consist of two large amphitheatres, band stand and di- rectors' office, one dining hall, several large stock pavilions and numerous barns and stalls for live stock. The Fair Association has been a great stimulus to the live stock industry of Shelby county and today Shelby county ranks as one of the foremost counties in the State in the live stock industry. Here annually are assembled the pick of the county in all the different species of domestic animals, from the proud roos- ter to the hybrid animal, which is the pride of all Missouri. Financially the fair has been a success, owing to its splendid management and the patriotism of the inhabitants of the county. The annual receipts of the asso- ciation now total about $4,500. The as- sociation annually distributes in premi- ums about $4,000. The admission fee is 35 cents for a single admission or $1 for a season ticket. The association holds a four days' meeting each year, generally the latter part of August, and Thursday is always considered the "big day." The record on gate receipts was made Thurs- day, August 25, 1907, at which time $1,750 was taken in at the gates above the season ticket admission. The present officers of the association, elected in 1910, are : President, J. Thornton Keith; vice-president, E. W. Worland; secretary, W. H. Gillespie; treasurer, Frank Dimmitt. The associ- ation is out of debt and is jilanning for some permanent improvements in the way of erection and repairing of amphi- theatres, stalls for stock and new pavil- ions for live stock exhibits. LOCAIi OPTION AND TEMPERANCE. r ■ ■ Shelby county was one of the first counties in the state to adopt local op- tion. There has not been a saloon in the county since 1SS7. The last license granted in the county was to F. A. Des- sert. The license was dated February 1, 1886. Mr. Dessert conducted a saloon in Shelbina. The county records show that C. D. Vine was granted a license on January 5, 1885. He was the next to the last man to operate a saloon according to law in Shelbina. On the same date (Jan- uary 5, 1885) the records shows that a license was granted to Dale & Hogan, who were the last parties to run a sa- loon in Clarence. Louis Dickerson was the last i>erson to own a saloon in Shelby- ville, and the last time the court granted him a license was on February 20, 1887. The first local option election held in the county was on November 5, 1887. There were only eight townships in the county then and four of these went "wet" and four went "dry" The local option, however, had a majority of 267 in the total. The townships that went 124 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY for local option were as follows: Clay, for 247, against local option 30; Taylor, 101 for to 66 against; Black Creek, 258 for to 71 against ; Salt Eiver, 303 for to 236 against. The townships voting against the proposition were as follows : Tiger Fork, for local option 22, against local option 89; Jefferson, for 78, against 122; Bethel, for 87, against 124; Jackson, for 135 to 176 against. The total vote for local ojition was 1,231. The total vote against local option was 964. This was a hig victory for the "drys." There was no further agita- tion of the question until in 1900, at which time some of those residing in the county, who favored saloons, thought the local option question could be de- feated. Accordingly the proper peti- tions were prepared and presented to the county court. The court called an election for June 10, 1901. At this elec- tion the vote was overwhelming in favor of local option. The figures were 1,823 against the sale of intoxicating liquors to 932. This was a "dry victory of 991 majority, nearly two to one, and the question has never been raised since. The county was, however, not so strong in favor of state-wide prohibition. At the general election held on November 8, 1910, at which time the prohibition question was submitted to the voters of the state, the county of Shelby only reg- istered up 305 majority for state-wide ])rohibition. During the period of twenty-three years in which Shelby county has been under local option there has, of course, been some violation of the law. The violators have been frequently punished, yet it is seemingly imiiossil)le to stop the sale altogether. The residents are perfectly satisfied with the law and it is likely it will be many a day before an effort will be made to repeal the law again. TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES — THE HANNI- BAL & ST. JOSEPH RAILROAD. It was twenty-two years after the cre- ation of Shelby countj' until the first railroad was built. 'What was known as the Hannibal & St. Joseph, now part of the great Burlington system, was com- pleted across the county in 1857. The initial steps to building the road were taken in 1846 at Hannibal in the office of no less a person than that of "Mark Twain's" father, John M. Clemens, Esq. The president of the enterprise was Hon. Z. G. Draper, and R. F. Lakenan was made secretary. At first it was contem- plated to run the new road through the county seats, which would have been a line connecting Palmyra, Shelbyville, Bloomington, Linneus, Chillicothe and Gallatin, then into St. Joseph. This plan was, however, defeated by the local jealousies and controversies which sprang up between the towns near the proposed line that were unfortunately not county seats. This feeling between the towns prevented the building of the road for some few years. The people along the proposed line, of course, fa- vored it, as did also the newspapers lo- cated in these towns. The people and newspapers of the towns close to the contemplated line were active in their o]iposition to the proposed enterprise. The newspapers of St. Joseph were strongly supporting the proposition, and on November 6, 1846, the Gazette in an article favoring the building of the road said: "We suggest the projn-iety of a HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 125 railroad from St. Joseph to some point on the Mississippi, either St. Louis, Hannibal or Quincy." The people of Hannibal wanted the road to start from their town, the people of St. Joseph were interested in having the road reach their town from some point on the Mis- sissippi. It was certain that St. Josepli would be the terminus, but not so certain which town on the east would be the starting point. It was therefore up to the peoi)le of Hannibal to keep their eyes open or some other town might ca]3- ture the prize. The people of Hannibal were successful in forming an alliance with Hon. Robert M. Stewart, of St. Joseph, who was elected to the state sen- ate and who promised to work for the procurement of a charter making Han- nibal the initial and St. Joseph the ter- minal point. The charter for the new road was granted by the state legislature in 1847. The author of the charter was Hon. R. P. Lakenan, who was the strong- est worker for the enterprise. The principal supporters of the enter- prise in the legislature were Hon. R. M. Stewart, James Craig and J. B. Gar- denshire, of St. Joseph, and Carter Wells and John Taylor, of Marion. As soon as the charter was granted .subscriptions were started along the line. Public meetings were held and all phases of the subject wei'e discussed. The largest meeting, perhaps, in point of attendance and in importance was the one held in Chillicothe, June 2, 1847. Hundreds of delegates wore present and nearly every county along the line was represented. The meeting was presided over 1iy Governor Austin King, of Ray county; the vice-presidents of the meet- ing were Dr. John Cravens, of Daviess county, and Alex McMurtry, of Shell )y. The secretaries were H. D. LaCassitt, of Marion, and C. J. Hughes, of Caldwell. For some two or three years interest lagged and it was not until 1850 that anj^ further move of importance was under- taken. In fact, some supporters of the proposition along the line gave up and advocated the abandoning of the enter- prise. In 1850, however, the lire within the breasts of the people along the line began to burn again, new directors were selected to take the place of those who had grown lukewarm. Each county was re-canvassed and subscriptions solicited. The people became enthusiastic for the enteriDrise and those who announced as candidates for congress and for the leg- islature were made to promise support to the cause whenever and wherever opportunity presented itself. At the 1851 session of the Missouri state legislature, in February, the state's credit was granted to tlie erection of the road to the amount of a million and half dollars. The grant was made on the con- dition that the company expend a like amount in installments of $50,000. The county of Marion put up $100,000, Han- nibal $50,000, and in July of 1851 Shelby county promised $25,000, conditioned that the road should run through Shel- byville and locate a depot there. The people of the county had voted in favor of the proposition at a special election held on March 10 of the same year. On motion of R. M. Stewart, who was then agent of the road, and who was after- wards governor of the state, the bonds were ordered issued ujjon condition that the county should receive stock in the enterprise to the amount of the bonds issued. The bonds were issued for 126 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY twenty years and were to bear 10 per cent interest. The company made the first two calls for this money in October of 1852. The calls were each for 5 per cent of the sub- scription, or $2,500. The iirogram was, however, changed before another call was made and the railroad in July, 1854, returned these bonds to the county can- celled, and no others were issued. This agreement was reached by the county giving the company a release from all liabilities arising out of the subscription and the road released the county from its liabilities. The county also granted the railroad the right of way across all county roads and streams. The agent for the county for the return of the bonds was Hon. John McAfee. On De- cember 10, 1855, the legislature of the state extended its credit to the road to the extent of another million and half dollars. The new bonds were to run thirty years and bear not to exceed 7 per cent interest. The state was to hold a first mortgage upon the road for this extension of credit. The building of the road was now assured and work begam in earnest. It was planned by Duff & Co. to begin work at both ends, but work at the St. Joseph end did not begin until 1857. The track from Hannibal to Palmyra was finished in June of 1856 and on the lOtli of that month cars were run be- tween Hannibal and Palmyra. Work was pushed as fast as possible and soon the road reached IMonroe City, and in 1857 was completed across Shelby coun- ty. The road enters the county on the east just a quarter of a mile south of the Monroe county line. The first town it sti-ikes in the county is Hunnewell. The track then bears north of west and leaves the county just six miles north of the entering point. The main track of the road within the county is 24 73/100 miles, and over half as much side tracks. Stations were established and are still maintained at Hunnewell, Lakenan, Shelbina, Lentner and Clarence. The ceremony of breaking sod was pulled off in Hannibal on November 3, 1851. A large and enthusiastic crowd assembled, and many distinguished per- sons from different parts of the state attended. Among the number were E. M. Stewart, who turned the first spade- ful of dirt, and who was afterwards governor. Also Hon. J. H. Lucas and Hon. L. M. Kennett. The speech of the day was made by Hon. J. B. Crickett, of "st. Louis. In 1851 the board of di- rectors memorialized congress for a large grant of land to aid in the construc- tion of the road. R. M. Stewart and R. F. Lakenan visited Washington in 1852 to secure favorable action of congress upon this all important proiwsition. In 1852 congress passed an act giving alternate sections of land to the state of j\Iissouri in trust for the benefit of the railroad from Hannibal to St. Joseph. The state then turned the lands over to the Hannibal & St. Joe Railroad Com- pany. This grant carried over 600,000 acres of Missouri's best lands into the hands of the railroad company and it was then a sure thing the road would be built. In 1852 a contract was made with Duff & Leamon, of New York, to build the line. The contract was to build over the "northern route" through Shelby- ville in this county. On March 10, 1853, the directors met in Glasgow and decided to follow the "southern route," or the HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 12: present route. The contract was then re-let to John Dnft" & Co. to build the line at $23,000 per mile. The chief engineer in locating the line was Maj. James M. Bucklin. The north- ern route came uy) Black Creek to Shel- byville aud then crossed the creek and passed west to Bloomington, Macon county. The survey was made in 1851. The county of Shelby, be it said to her honor, has never issued bonds to build a railroad except as previously stated. The road was secured without a burden- some bond issue aud outside of a few private subscriptions and the right of way grauts the road cost the county posi- tively not a cent. It is quite probable, as has been often asserted, that the Hannibal & St. Joseph could have been made to run on the "northern route" if the people and the authorities along the line had been a little more liberal in the matter of sub- scriptions. That route was more expen- sive than the "southern route" — much more so. The citizens and the county courts were asked to make up the differ- ence, according to the estimates of the engineers. They uniformly refused, in some instances, for the reason, avowing that they "didn't want any railroad run- ning through their neighborhood, scaring the stock and killing men, women and children, besides setting the woods and fields afire." In other cases, as in Linn county, prominent men objected to the building of the road because it would furnish superior facilities for the slaves to run off and escape. "Certain citizens of this county made desperate efforts to have the road lo- cated through Shelbyville, but they could not induce enough of their friends to join them. Too many were indifferent, many thought the road would come anyhow, and those who worked so hard gave up in despair. So Shelbyville was 'left out in the cold,' and Shelbina was created to become the leading town of the county." (History Shelby County of 1884.) The Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad was completed in 1859. The first through passenger train came out of St. Jose})h February 13, 1859. The engi- neer's name was E. Slep]iy. Ben Colt was conductor. George Thompson was the first engineer to pull a train into St. Joseph. The construction work was completed l)y J. M. Ford aud others in- stead of the first contractors, John Duff &Co. Over six hundred guests sat at a ban- quet in St. Joseph on February 22, 1859, to celebrate the completion of the great enterprise. "The mingling the waters of the Atlantic, the Lakes, the Missis- slp]ii and the Missouri" was performed by Mayor Broaddus Thompson. There was great enthusiasm and joy displayed over the completion of the first road to cross the state of Missouri. The great Burlington system, as it is now known, has done much to develo]i the northern part of Missouri, and espe- cially Shelby county. The county is now one of the largest exporting counties of live stock, poultry and grain, and de- pends entirely upon this system for transportation facilities. The road at first charged 5 cents per mile and some- times more for passenger traffic, and has always enjoyed a liberal patronage and is considered one of the best and safest lines to travel over in the west, or in the United States. The passenger ac- 138 IIISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY eommodations are also of the very best. There are ten passenger trains daily, besides two local freight trains that carry j^assengers, and the whistle of the freight train bearing the great loads of grain and live stock from the west to the east, and the products of the shop and factory from the east to the west is almost constantly upon the breezes of the north ^lissouri jirairies through which the road runs. A person can now take a train at any railroad point in the countj^ at nearlj* any time of day, and land in Kansas City in less than five hours, and the trip to St. Louis, about 180 miles from the farthest point in the county, is made in about the same space of time. Hanni- lial and <,}nincy are reached in about two hours from the farthest point in the county. The road now charges 2i/o cents per mile for passenger travel and furnishes the best equipment and most comfortal)le accommodations. THE BUILDING OF THE SHELBY COUNTY RAH^WAY. (By V. L. Drain.) It is with much reluctance that I have undertaken the task of writing the his- tory of the Shelby County Railway. Having been more or less intimately as- sociated with the enterprise from its in- ception to the present time, the ])rompt- ings of modesty .suggested that it could be more ])ro]>er]y written by the pen of another. However, at the request of the compiler of this volume, who it seems, could not induce anyone else to contrib- ute it, T will endeavor to furnish an im- partial sketch of this important achieve- ment. It is not easy to determine with pre- cision just what act or what influence was the determining factor in the build- ing of this limited but important traffic line; neither is it a .small task to ascer- tain just at what hour it was made sure of completion. Indeed, to those upon whose shoulders rested the burden of its building there seemed no relief from the responsibility until after months of suc- cessful operation it was sold to the pres- ent owners, who are the successors of the original shareholders of the corpora- tion. Nevertheless, it is safe to assert that conditions and circumstances made necessaiy and possible the building of this railway. As necessity is the mother of invention, so is it the parent of oppor- tunity. The increasing freight and passenger traffic between Shelbyville and the adja- cent territory and Shelbina could not be properly served by the primitive meth- ods of transportation, and the bad con- ditions of the dirt roads was a serious handicap to the develo])nient of Shelby county and also a fearful inconvenience to the citizens. It was also appai'ent to persons of ordinary vision that sooner or later the vast rich territory lying between the Wabash railroad on the west and the Mississippi river on the east, would be traversed by a railway line rimning north and south and that any portion of this line so occupied would some day con- stitute a part of a great traffic line. And the time is drawing near when this will be accomplished either by the extension of the Shelby County Railway or by its absor]ition into a larger system which will serve the splendid region which is still largely unoccupied. HISTOnY OF SPIELBY COUNTY 129 Of course local couditions made such au enterprise to be exceediugly desired. Shelbyville was a county seat and the center of a fine farming region. It was a town whose citizenship represented a great deal of wealth and enterprise. To such people the isolation was growing intolerable. Situated eight miles from Shelbina, which was the nearest point on the Burlington railroad, they felt that they were enegaged in an unequal striiggle. On the other hand, the general public were clamoring for better conditions. Year by year the public road between these two towns was getting in worse condition, and there was slight hope of improvement with the tremendous traffic upon it. Shelbina was favorably sit- uated ni)on a great railway system, yet its people were connected in interest with the country to the north, and many of its progressive citizens desired a bet- ter method of transportation ; hence the time had come wheu such a proposition would meet a general response in its favor. Doubtless the time would have come much sooner had it not been for the local prejudices which from time immemorial had dominated a part of the inhabitants of each town. It is historical that many in Shelbyville had watched the growth of their sister city with a jealous fear that some day the county seat would be moved from one town to the other, and that Shelbyville with its classic past would be left throneless and desolate amid her sorrows. And there were times when such plans were seriously attempt- ed, and on one occasion the matter was before the Missouri legislature in the shape of a bill to establish a court of common pleas at Shelbina. There was a battle royal at Jefferson City between the representatives of the two towns, but it ended happily without scars. It is likewise true that this jealousy caused intemperate and unwise action on the jjart of some of the Shelbyville citizens. The feasibility of a railway between the two towns was often under considera- tion and was favored by many, but there was always a minority and sometimes a majority who favored building to some other point than Shellnna. How unwise and impracticable this was can be readily discerned now. The details of this fam- ily quarrel are not absolutely necessary in this narrative, but it will serve to show that there is a more excellent way for communities as well as individuals than the thorny path of jealousy and strife. It is easy to contemplate it now that it is ended. In fact, it had ended long prior to the completion of this en- terprise. Each community had learned that the other was magnanimous, and that the best interests of each was in- volved in the common welfare of all. The forging of the bands of steel was the result of this common understanding, as it would have been impossible for either town to have completed this enterprise without the aid of the other. Perhaps the first tangible step toward the building of this railway was taken during the month of July, 1906, when at the suggestion of Joseph F. Doyle, al- ways the dominant figure in this project, there was i^repared a form of subscrip- tion whereby the persons signing same agreed to take a certain number of shares of stock in the event that a cor- poration should be formed for the pur- pose of building this railway within a 130 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY specified time. There was also a form prepared to he signed by persons who l)referred to make a contribution in cash rather than to subscribe for stock. At the time when these were prepared there were present in addition to Mr. Doyle, Mr. E. M. O'Bryen and the writer, and all three signed the agreement to take stock in the enterprise, the amounts s])e- cified by the three aggregating the sum of $5,000. AVith this as a beginning the work of securing prospective stockholders and cash conti-ilnitors was pushed with much vigor. Under the direction of Mr. Doyle at Shelbyville and Mr. W. C. Clark at Shelbina the scheme was brought into shape so that by September 1st of the same year a little more than $100,000 was subscribed by ]iarties interested. And while the major part of the work in the earlier stages was done by Messrs. Doyle and Clark, the progress of the matter was facilitated by the interest and response of many jmblic-spirited citizens in both towns and also by sev- eral progressive farmers in the vicinities of Shelbyville and Bethel. One of these, M. S. Smith, was a member of the board of directors from the time of the charter until the sale of the property to Tjouis B. Houck, as hereafter narrated, and was unfailing in his devotion and loy- alty. Another was "William H. McMas- tei-, who died soon after the completion of the road, satisfied that he had con- tributed something toward the better- ment of the ])eo])le among whom ho had spent an honorable life. "When success was thus assured the matter was brought into regular and legal shajie at a meeting of the agreed stockholders held in the courthouse at Shelbyville on September 10, 1906, when the articles of incorporation were signed and a permanent organization efl'eeted. Soon thereafter the Shelby County Rail- way Company was chartered by the sec- retary of state and begun its career among the railway corporations of Mis- souri. AV. C. Clark, W. C. Blackburn, A'ictor M. Reid, M. S. Smith, Joseph F. Doyle, E. AI. O'Bryen, L. G. Schofield, A\'. W. ]\litchell and the writer consti- tuted the first board of directors and at the first meeting of this body, held on September 12, 1906, "W. C. Blackburn was chosen as president. M. S. Smith was elected vice-president, L. G. Scho- field secretary and treasurer, and \^ictor M. Reid assistant secretary. On November 5th following the or- ganization of the board of directors, the condemnation proceedings by which the right of way was acquired was instituted in the Circuit court, and on November 29th the petition then on file was pre- sented to Judge Nat. M. Shelton at Ma- con, Mo., when Judge John Byrimi, of Lentner, Ed. C. Shain, of Clarence, and R. D. Goodwin, of Emdeu, were aj)- pointed as commissioners to assess the damage sustained by the various parties over whose land the railway had been located, and with whom no settlement had been effected. It is just to say that several ])arties whose land was thus taken either donated it or agreed to re- ceive such compensation as the company had offei'ed to pay. The actual construction of the road began at once and was prosecuted throughout the year 1907. In the earlier stages of this venture the skies were bright and many projihesied that it would be comjilete by midsummer, but HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 131 as obstacles were encountered one after another, the difficulties of railway build- ing became apparent. AVith the gloomy skies of autumn many prophets of dis- aster came upon the scene and it was freely predicted that the scheme would fail entirely. It was at this point, however, tliat the constructive ability of some of the spon- sors of this project was made known. There were those among its iiromoters who proved themselves able to cope with difficulties and to bring success out of wliat seemed like certain defeat. It is not the purpose of this narrative to make comparisons or to celebrate the prowess of any of these. There are none, how- ever, but that will accord to Joseph F. Doyle a proper share of credit for his courageous and efficient work in the com- pletion of this undertaking. Having sold his newspaper interests at Shelbyville, he was requested by the officers and oth- ers interested to assist in the work of completion, so that the road would be in operation by December 30, 1907. It was necessary that this result he had, as sev- eral thousand dollars had been pledged in bonus subscriptions and all these were made payable in the event that the road be constructed and in operation by this date. Owing to unforeseen difficulties the work had lagged during the summer so that in the early autumn it was seen that it would require unusual effort to coni])lete it in the time desired. But the hel]) of ^Ir. Doyle was secured at the critical moment and he proved conclu- sively that opportunity and necessity are large factors in the development of men. His energy and executive ability ]n'oduced mai'vellous results. He with President Blackburn were unremitting in pushing matters and they were aided by public-spirited men who admired the pluck and constancy of those in charge, so that after many trials and privations the last spike was driven, and on Decem- ber 28, 1907, the first passenger train steamed from Shelbina to Shelbyville, and the Shelby County Eailway took its place among the common carriers of the state. Since that time a majority of the origi- nal stockholders have sold their shares to Louis B. Houck, of Cape Girardeau, and it is now being successfully operated by the corporation, in which he holds a controlling interest. It is to be hoped that it will soon form a part of a north and south railwaj^, which is needed by this section of the state. It is worthy of note that Charles B. Ford, who was chosen as conductor and traffic manager at the beginning, is still in the same position, where he has earned a reputation for efficiency and integrity that is much to his credit. William C. Blackburn, the faithful and conscientious l^resident of the company, perhaps con- tributed more than he intended in vital energy. His death has occurred since the completion of the road and the anx- iety incident to such an undertaking- doubtless impaired his 'Strength and hastened the time of his departure. Some day he with the others who bore the weight and strain of this achieve- ment will receive the candid approval of those who appreciate the efforts of men who dared to solve the problems of our complex civilization. A great thinker has said that he who causes two blades of grass to grow where only one for- merly grew is a benefactor to his race. Grasping the idea behind this sentence 132 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY and applying it to the work of those who improve the conditions of humanity by the hibor of hands or brain, it is just to say that their works shall follow them and that they shall receive the reward of men who tried. Veenon L. Deain. the north missouri inteeueban. For many months the people of north- east Missouri have been familiar with an intei'esting- drawing which has been posted extensively in ])ub]ie places. This drawing, the work of J. E. Sayler, a school teacher of Macon county, gives a "birdseye" view of the district, showing- all the principal towns and railroads and particularly The Hannibal & North Mis- souri Railroad, which is duly chartered and at this writing is in course of con- struction l)etweeu Palmyra, in Marion county, and La Plata, in Macon county. This road will touch some of the finest farming and grazing land in Missouri, and serve a large scope of country now remote from any railroad. There is an interesting historical fea- ture in connection with this noteworthy enterprise. William Muldrow, one of the early citizens of north Missouri, is said to be the character from which "Mark Twain" conceived his "Colonel Sellers," who stalks so triumphantly through the pages of ' ' The Gilded Age. ' ' Those who have read the l)ook in the long ago will recall the always optimistic and far- reaching Colonel Sellers, although they may have forgotten all else between its covers. Not only did "Mark Twain" find in Major ^luldrow rich material for his noted book, but Charles Dickens uses him as "General Scodder," the smooth- tongued sponsor for "Eden," in "Mar- tin Clmzzlewitt." Muldrow was the pioneer land boomer and promoter of this section. His only misfortune was that he was about half a centurj' ahead of his time. Now his great dreams have and are working out. He it was who saw the virgin possibilities of a great transcontinental railroad system, linking the two oceans, and it is said his Missouri survey was along the identical lines now under construction by the In- terurban people. To Muldrow belongs the credit of having invented a plow that was so satisfactory as a prairie breaker that it was generally adopted by the earlj" day farmers who had to go against the then stubborn prairie soil of north- ern Missouri. This plow, when drawn by several yoke of oxen, would turn up an immense amount of sod. It left a broad, clean furrow that could be distin- guished for a long ways. Many of the Missouri patriarchs tell it as a solemn fact that Muldrow drove a plow of this character along the trail of his proposed railroad from Palmyra through "Phila- delphia," "New York" and westward, and they insist that it wa& as practical a "survey" as could have been made by a corpse of skilled engineers with a wagon load of instrimients. "Marion City," Muldrow 's future great town on the Mississippi, was six miles east of Palmyra. He succeeded in interesting a number of wealthy capital- ists, and the place built rapidly. It was there Charles Dickens found his scene for "Eden," doubtless giving it that name because of the wonderfully fasci- nating advertising liy IMuldrow and his fellow townsite boomers. The original name of the place was "Green's Land- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 133 ing." Muldrow evinced good judgment in the change of name, and but for the disastrous flood that swept it away Marion City might have been today the town of Marion countj'. Following ]\Iarion City came "Phila- delphia," in Marion county, and "New York," in Shelby, names chosen with an eye to the future possibilities. Marion College was established at "Philadel- lihia" and it became quite a thriving ]jlace. Muldrow was called a dreamer, a vis- ionary, a man of impractical ideas, but liistory has shown that his energy was in the right direction. His dreams are working out. The state is tilled with fine schools and colleges; factories are springing up and railroads invading all sections. The Interurban will work out his most important dream, and prove that he was traveling on the solid ground of expediency when he as " Colonel Sell- ers" was illustrating to his wife Polly the way the road would run, using combs, inkstands, salt cellars and other homely articles of household necessity to fix the towns in her mind. The North Missouri Interurban will be a monument to the enterprising farmers and business men throughout the terri- tory it will serve. Henry Funk, who op- erates the Farm of the Big Meadows on Salt river, and some men of his kind, saw the urgent need of a first-class rail- road for the producer between the Bur- lington's main line and the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City Eailroad. The original purpose was to acquire the short line between Shelbina and Shelby vi He and to extend it to Leonard or Cherry Box, and further. After investigation it was found that ])Ian was not feasible. In the meantime a campaign of educa- tion had been going on; farmers were interestedly discussing the matter; all wanted a railroad ; had to have one. The question was how? Mr. Funk, who had met a number of similar situations in states east of Missouri, took the stump and began his campaign of education. His plan now was to construct a line from the Mississippi river to some im- portant point in the interior of the state. It was while talking with the farmers and old citizens about Palmyra and east of there he learned of Promoter Mul- drow 's railroad scheme. Investigation convinced him the "survey" was a good one; that it struck a country literally flowing with the good things of earth, and many places admirably adapted for the establishment of thrifty towns. So he rolled up his sleeves and went out among the people, just as he had done in other states where they needed a quick and sure means of transportation for passengers, produce and live stock. He inaugurated a campaigii like Governor Bob Stewart did over fifty years ago when the question of building the Han- nibal & St. Joe road was up. There was opposition to Mr. Funk's enterprise, just as there was to Bob Stewart's. But the organizer of the Interurban was persist- ent. He didn't know what it meant to be discouraged. Of course it was a big un- dertaking. A large ninnlier of peoi^le over a wide area had to be met, and talked into friendliness for his plan. "While all wanted a railroad they were not all agreed as to how to get it. It was ]\rr. Funk's mission to unite them on a method — to enthuse them for the l)lau. Some thought at first he had po- litical asjiirations; that there was some- 134 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUXTY thing behind his persistent talk of rail- road, railroad, always railroad. By and by they became convinced that he wasn't going to give — that a road was going to be built. Here and there whole com- munities fell in line, eager to help along the work. There was a showing made that satisfied the people a road would be built, that it would tap virgin soil for operation and become a paying enter- prise from the start. When the plan began to assume shape Mr. Funk was assisted by Captain F. W. Latimer, an experienced promoter of Illinois. The two men have been con- stantly over the district, working un- ceasingly. The company received abso- lutely free right-of-way and yard sites in many places. Where discouraging con- ditions first existed, the glad hand is now extended. Some twenty organiza- tions were formed and a generous sum of money has been subscribed. The amount was attractive enough to induce the large M. C. Connors & Co. Construc- tion Company, of Chicago, to close a contract for grading from Palmyra to Philadelphia, fourteen miles. Other blocks of contracts have been let as far as Bethel, and at this writing over half of the yardage work is completed be- tween Palmyra and the last named town. Ties have been bought and scattered along the track ; steel rails have been con- tracted, and work is being ])ushed just as hard as weather conditions will permit. The name of Hannibal appears in the charter, but it is not at all certain the road will go there. The support prom- ised by that town did not materialize as strongly as was hoped. RecpU'sts have been made that there be no further effort to dispose of stock .there. As this is being written word comes from Quincy that the business men there are showing considerable interest in the enterprise, and that they will make a strong effort to have the line run there direct from Palmyra. The plan includes the large and thriving city of Kii-ksville as the western terminal. "With these two pros- l^erous and growing cities as starting points, and a rich agricultural and stock raising coimtry to traverse, the Inter- urban will begin life under most aus- picious circumstances. The road will be of standard gauge and operate regular freight and passen- ger trains. Electricity will be the motive power. Trains will be run for the ac- commodation of the people. That means they will make frequent stops, and there will be several trains daily each way. The men in charge of the road have recently submitted a report to the Com- mercial Association of Palmyra. This shows the amount of money paid out in gross on construction, and the sum paid by the citizens of Palmyra, Philadelphia and Bethel : Total money actually paid by Hanni- bal & Northern ^lissouri Railroad Com- pany up to December 28, 1910, for con- struction only: For work between Palmyra Jc. and Philadelphia, Mo". . ..$26,606.44 For work between Philadel- phia and Bethel, Mo 15,454.05 Total $42,050.49 Note. — This includes engineers and material, but is exclusive of all other expenses, such as railroad fare, office HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 135 exjienses (rent, stenographer, stamps, supplies, etc.), livery, hotel bills and all other incidental expense. Total money actually paid to Hannibal & Northern Missouri Railroad Company by citizens as below designed — up to and including- December 28, 1910 : Citizens of Palmyra, Mo $ 1,477.75 Citizens of Philadelphia 7,570.00 Citizens of Bethel Mo 12,700.00 Total $21,747.75 Balance in favor of Railroad Company, construction on]y.$20,.302.74 CHIEF PURSUITS AND SURPLUS PRODUCTS. Shelby county, generally speaking, is an agricultural and live stock county. The principal crops raised in the county are corn, wheat, oats, timothy and clover. Yet the county produces some alfalfa and other varieties of small grain. The county is well adapted for grazing and the soil i3roduces blue grass that equals,- if not surpasses, the famous blue grass of Kentucky. The chief live stock prod- ucts are horses, mules, cattle, hogs, sheep, goats and poultry of all kinds. There are 514 square miles of land sur- face, which equals 328,960 acres. Of this amount of land 250,000 acres are sub- ject to plow. The farms average 120 acres and are actually worth $16,000,000. Shelby county exports large quantities of grain and immense shipments of live stock annually, besides other farm prod- ucts. And in order that the reader may have some idea of the value of these products, we quote from the labor com- missioner's report of the state the fol- lowing figures : In 1902 the aggregate value of all com- modities, computed at prevailing prices, and which represented the county's sur- plus products, amounted to $922,535. The county excelled all others in the state in the shipment of timothy seed that year. In 1903 the value of all commodities exported amounted to the vast sum of .$1,432,654.26. In 1904 the total value of exports amounted to $1,796,298.11, an increase of $363,643.85 over the value of the sur- ])lus products shipped from the countj' during the year 1903. In 1905 the value of all products ex- ported amounted to $1,916,298.11, being an increase of $120,347.78 over the amount received in 1904. 1906 showed an aggregrate value of all commodities of $2,709,151. In 1907 the value of exports from the county was $2,734,062, which was a ban- ner year. In 1908 there was a slight falling off, the total value amounting to $2,564,006. But the county has steadily increased her ex])orts since that time until today she stands in the front rank of the agri- cultural counties of the entire state. CHAPTER XI. Government Sueveys — Original Townships — County and Township Systems — Organization of Townships — Municipal Townships of Shelby County — Tigeb Fork Township — Salt River Township — Clay Township — Taylor Township — Bethel Township — Jefferson Township — Black Creek Township — North River Township — Lentner Township. government surveys. Xo person can intelligently know the history of a country without a definite and clear understanding as to its geog- raphy and in order to have a clear and correct idea of the geography of Shelby county, in defining different localities and locations of land, we will insert the plan of government surveys as given in Mr. E. 0. Hickman's property map of Jackson county, Missouri. Previous to the formation of our present govern- ment the eastern portion of Xorth Amer- ica consisted of a number of British colonies, the territory of which was granted in large tracts to British noble- men. By treaty of 1783 these tracts were acknowledged as valid by the colo- nies. After the Revolutionary War, when these colonies were acknowledged as independent states, all public domain within their boundaries was acknowl- edged to be the property of the colony within the bounds of which said domain was situated. "Virginia claimed all the Xorthwest- ern territory, including what is now known as Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. After a meeting of the representatives of the various states to form a Union, Virginia ceded the Northwest territory to the United States government. This took place in 1784; then all this Xorthwest territory became government land. It comprised all south of the lakes and east of the Mississippi river, and north and west of the states having definite boun- dary lines. "This territory had been known as New France, and had been ceded by France to England in 1768. In the year 1803 Napoleon Bonaparte sold to the United States all territory west of the Mississii)pi and north of Mexico, extend- ing to the Rocky mountains. "While the public domain was the property' of the colonies, it was disposed of as follows: Eacli individual caused the tract he desired to purchase to be surveyed and platted. A copy of the survey was then filed with the register of lands, when, by i)aying into the state or colonial treasurj^ an agreed price, the jmrchaser received a patent for the land. This method of disjiosing of public lands made lawsuits numerous, owing to the different surveys often including the same ground. To avoid the difficulties and effect a general measurement of tlie 136 ITI8T0KY OF SHELBY COUNTY l;jr territories, the United States adopted the present mode or system of land surveys. ' ' ORIGINAL TOWNSHIPS. Before going farther, we think it will be wise, as we later enter upon the his- tory in townships, to give some history of county and townshiji system and the government surveys, which are im- portant, as much depends in business and civil transactions ui)on county lim- its and organizations. COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP SYSTEMS. With reference to the dividing a state into county and townshi}) organizations, which, to a large degree, have the power and privilege of transacting and en- forcing their own affairs and of in a way governing themselves, under the ap- proval of and subject to the state and national government, of which they are an integral part and therefore subject thereto, we quote Hon. Elijah M. Haines, who is high authority on the subject. In "Laws of Illinois, Eelation to Township Organization," written by Mr. Haines, he says : "The county system originated in Vir- ginia, whose early settlers soon became large landed proprietors, aristocratic in feeling, living apart in almost baronical magnificence, on their own estates, and owning the laboring part of the popula- tion. Thus the materials for a town were not at hand, the voters being distributed over a groat area. "The county organization, where a few influential men managed the wliole- sale business of a community, retaining their ]ilaces almost at their pleasure. scarcely responsible at all, except in name, and permitted to conduct the county concerns as their ideas or wishes might direct, was, moreover, consonant with their recollection or traditions of tlie judicial and social dignities of the hmded aristocracy of England, in de- scent from whom the Virginia gentleman felt so much pride. In 1834 eight coun- ties were organized in Virginia, and the system extending throughout the state spread throughout all the southern states and some of the northern states, unless we except the nearly similar di- vision into 'districts' in South Carolina and that into 'parishes' in Louisiana, from the French laws. "Illinois, which, with its vast addi- tional territory, became a county- of Vir- ginia, on its conquest by Gen. George Rogers Clark, retained the county or- ganization, which was formerly extended over the state by the constitution of 1818 and continued in exclusive use until the constitution of 1848. Under this system, as in other states adopting it, much local business was transacted by the local commissioners in each county, who con- stituted a county court, with quarterly sessions. "During the period ending with the constitution of 1847, a large portion of the state had become filled up with a population of New England birth or character, daily growing more and more compact and dissatisfied with the com- paratively arbitrary and inefficient county system. It was maintained by the people that the heavily poimlated districts would always control the elec- tion of the commissioners to the disad- vantage of the more thinly poinilated 138 IllSTOKY OF SHELBY COUXTY sections — in short, that under tlic sj'stem 'equal and exact justice' to all jiarts of the county could not be secured. "The township system had its origin in Massachusetts and dates back to 1635. "The first legal enactment concerning the system provided that, whereas, 'par- ticular townships have many things which concern only themselves and the ordering of their own affairs, and dis- posing of business of their own town,' therefore the 'freemen of every town- ship,' or a majority part of them, shall only have power to dispose of their own lands and woods, with all the appur- tenances of said town, to grant lots, and to make such orders as may concern the well ordering of their own town, not repugnant to the laws and orders estab- lished by the general court.' "They might also," says Mr. Haines, "impose fines of not more than twenty shillings and 'choose their own par- ticular ofiScers, as constables, surveyors for the highway, and the like.' "Evidently this enactment relieved the general court of a mass of municipal details without any danger to the power of that body in controlling general meas- ures of public policy. "Probably, also, a demand from the free men of the towns was felt for the control of their own homo concerns. "The New England colonies were first governed by a general court or legisla- ture, composed of a governor and a small council, which court consisted of the most influential inhabitants, and pos- sessed and exercised both legislative and judicial iiower, which was limited only bv the wisdom of the holders. "They made laws, ordered their exe- cution by officers, tried and decided civil and criminal causes, enacted all manner of municipal regulations, and, in fact, did all the public business of the colony." Like organizations for the incorpora- tion of towns were made in the first con- stitution of Connecticut, ado])ted in 1639, and the plan of township organiza- tion became popular and practiced throughout New England, as experience proved it economical, efficient and adapt- able to all the requirements of a free and intelligent people, and as immigrants moved westward they carried their popu- lar plans of organization with them and it became the adoption of the western states. Thus we find that the wise plan of county and township organization had been thoroughly tested long before there was a need of its adoption in Missouri or Shelby county, but as new country was opened up and the easterners moved westward across the mighty river and formed thick settlements along its west- ern bank, the territory and state, the county and township organizations fol- lowed each other in quick succession, more or less improved, according to the needs and demands of the poi)uiation, until they have arrived at an efficient state. In the settlement of the territory of Missouri the legislature commenced by organizing coimties along the Missis- sippi river. As the new counties were formed, they were made to inehide vmder legal juris- diction the countiy bordering on the west, and were required to allow the actual settlers electoi-al privileges, and IIISTOIJY OF SHELBY COUNTY 139 equal shares in the county government were allowed those who lived in its geographical limitations. The counties first organized along the eastern borders of the state were for a time given jurisdiction over the land bordering on the west, until they were sufficiently settled to support their own organizations. MUNICIPAl, TOWNSHIPS OF SHELBY COUNTY. The municipal townships at present constituted had their metes and bounds fixed l)y the May term of County court, 1868. Jackson Township. Beginning at the southeast corner of Shelby county; thence north on the county line to the section line dividing- sections 24 and 25, townshiii 58, range 9 ; thence west to the range line dividing ranges 9 and 10; thence south to the township line dividing townships 57 and 58, in range 10; thence west to the sec- tion line dividing sections 2 and 3, in township 57, range 10; thence south to the county line between the counties of Monroe and Shelby; thence east to the southeast corner of Shelby couutj'. At the November term of the county court, 1882, the boundaries of Jackson were changed so as to exclude all the ter- ritory lying west of range No. 9, which is also west of Salt river, and attaching the same to Salt River township. The west- ern boundary therefore begins on the range line between ranges No. 9 and 10, at the southwestern boundary of the county ; thence up Salt river to the sec- tion line between sections 14 and 15, township 57, range 10; thence north to Black Creek townshi)). The range line between ranges 9 and 10 is half a mile west of Lakenau. (Note change made in 1897 under North Eiver township.) Tiger Fork Township. Beginnirtg at the point on the county line between Marion and Shelby county on the section line dividing sections 24 and 25, township 58, range 9; thence north to the northeast corner of Shelby county; thence west on the county line to the township lincj, dividing township 59, range 10, and township 59 range 9; thence south to the section line dividing- sections 19 and 30, township 58, range 9; thence east to the beginning. (Note change made in 1897 under North River township.) Salt River Toivnship. Beginning on the county line, on the line between sections 10 and 11, in town- ship 56, range 10; thence north to the northeast corner of section 3, township 57, range 10, on the township line be- tween townships 57 and 58, range 10; thence west on the north line of town- ship 57, range 10, and township 57, range 11 ; thence south to the county line between Shelby and Monroe counties, at the point of dividing sections 8 and 9, in township 56, range 11 ; thence east on said county line to the place of begin- ning. (Note change made in November, 1882, under Jackson township. Note change made in November, 1897, under Tjentner township.) Clay TownsJpip. Beginning at the southeast corner of section 17, township 57, range 11; thence north to the township line between town- ships 57 and 58, in range 11 , to the north- 140 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY east corner section 5, township 57, range 11; thence west on the township line to the range line between ranges 11 and 12; thence north on the range line to the northeast corner section 1, township 58, range 12; thence west on township line to the county line; thence south to the southwest corner section 18, township 57, range 12; thence east to the place of be- ginning. (Note change made in 1897 under Lentner township. Taylor Toinisliip. Beginning at the northwest corner of Shelby county; thence south on the county line to the township line between townships 58 and 59, in range 12; thence east on township:) line to tlie southeast corner of section 33, township 59, range 11 ; thence north to the southeast corner of section 4, township 59, range 11, on the county line; thence west on the county line to the beginning. Bethel Township. Beginning at the southeast corner of section 36, township 59, range 10 ; thence north on the range line to the county line; thence west on the county line to the northwest corner of section 3, town- ship 59, range 11 ; thence south to the townshi]) line between township 58, range 11, and township 59, range 11, at the point between sections 33 and 34, in township 59, range 11, thence east on the township line to the place of beginning. Jefferson Toivnship. Beginning at the southwest corner of Shelby county ; thence east on the county line to the range line between ranges 11 and ]2; tlicnco north on the county line to the southeast corner of section 12, township 56, range 12 ; thence east on the county line to the southeast corner of section 8, township 56, range 11; thence north to the northeast corner of section 20, township 57, range 1 ; thence west to the count}' line at the point between sec- tions 18 and 19, townshi]) 57, range 12; thence south on the county line to the place of beginning. (Note change made in 1897 under Lentner township.) Black Creek Toivnship. Beginning at the southeast corner of section 36, township 58, range 10, on the line between township 58, range 10, and township 57, range 10; thence north on the range line between ranges 9 and 10 to the northeast corner of section 1, township 58, range 10, on the line be- tween township 58, range 10, and town- ship 59, range 10; thence west on north line of township 58, range 10, and town- ship 58, range 11, to the northwest corner of section 6, township 58, range 11 ; thence south on the range line to the southwest corner of section 31, township 58, range 11 ; thence east on the town- ship line to the place of beginning. North River Township. Beginning at the southeast corner of section 1, township 57, range 9, running- north to North river; thence following North river west to the east line of sec- tion 9, township 58, range 9; thence south to the southeast corner of section 33 — 58 — 9; thence east to the northeast cor- ner of section 3 — 58 — 9 ; thence south to the southeast corner of section 3 — 58 — 9; thence east to the place of beginning. HISTOrxY OF SHELBY COUNTY 141 Lentner Township. Lentner Township was organized in the latter '90 and hiter was enlarged. Its present boundary is as follows: Be- ginning at the southeast corner of sec- tion 10 — 57 — 11, running north to the northeast corner of section 3 — 57 — 11; thence west to the northwest corner of section 6 — 57 — 11 ; thence south to the Monroe county line. Jackson Toivnship. The first settlements in Jackson were made in the spring of 1833 by David Smallwood, Henry Saunders, Samuel Buckner and Eusseil "W. Moss on the southern border and 1)y AV. B. Brough- ton and others in the vicinity of Oak Dale. Jeremiah Eust came from Fau- quier county, Va., in 1836 and also set- tled at Oak bale. It was organized into a township in Decemlier, 1837, by Russell Moss and others, being organized out of Black Creek, petitioning such a change. Its original boundary lines were : Be- ginning at the southeast corner of the county; thence west nine miles to the middle of range 10; thence north "to the middle of the prairie between Black Creek and North river"; thence east to the Marion county line; thence south to the beginning. The first township elec- tion was held at "\V. B. Broughton's at Oak Dale, December 23, 1837, to elect two justices of peace and a constable. The judges at the election were George Parker, Samuel S. Matson and W. B. Broughton. The officers elected were AV. C. Mitchell and George Parker, justices, and Samuel B. Hardy, constal)le. Until the building of tlie Hannibal & St. Joe railroad, Jackson township had no towns, except the hamlet of Oak Dale, with her one store, her single tavern and the county seat. Lakenau was laid out on the Hannibal & St. Joe in June, 1858, by the veteran contractor, John Duff. It has a goodly location, rolling and well drained. It was christened in honor of Hon. Eobert F. Lakenan, a large land holder there- about, but who later was a prominent at- torney of Hannibal and a i^rime mover in the building of the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad. Mr. Lakenan married the daughter of Russell W. Moss. He died in Hannibal in 1883. Wlien the Civil war broke out this vil- lage boasted of a depot and several houses. In July, 1864, the station was burned by Bill Anderson and his band when they made their raid within our borders and others suffered at their hands. However, the town has survived her many storms and has continued to thrive and flourish until she can boast of a goodly number of nice cottages and homes and some stores, shops, churches and school that any rural burg may well be ]irou(l of. She boasts of fertile farm land all about her, from which she en- joys a goodly patronage. Jackson has had some coal mines which have been a convenience, but not specially profitable, the veins being rather shallow. Salt Hirer Toirnship. This is the south central township of our county and has always been promi- nent in all county affairs. It is composed of some seventy-five sections of land ly- ing to the north and south of Salt river and southward to the Monroe county 14-^ HISTOKY OF SHKl.BY COUNTY line. It comprises of timber, prairie, bottom and bluiT, stone, timber and water. Some coal veins have l)een worked, but the quality is so inferior and the quantity so meager that the yield scarcely pays. Salt river, from which stream the township derives its name, enters the township at its northwest corner and flows to the southeast through the north- ern part of the township. Along its banks is a heavily wooded strip which is being cleared only too fast. In the bottoms are fertile, rich hinds, which are being used and which yield abundantly under the new drainage process and up-to-now farming methods. These are also used for ])asturing. It was Salt River township that boasted of the first permanent settler. Major Obadiah Dickerson, who located on section 17 — 57 — 10, on the north bank of Salt river on the main Shelbina-Shel- byville road, in 1831. A year or two later, George and Peter Ruff located on section 7, north of Walkersville. In the year of 1837 came from Dela- ware Perry B. Moore, Isaac Moore and their sister,Mrs.MaryWai]es,who settled in the northwestern part of the township 57, range 11, section 10. In 1838 James Barr and John Barr, of Delaware, set- tled on section 15 ; James Carroll, of In- diana, on section 9, and John S. Duncan, of Kentucky, who had traversed or pros- pected the country in 1836, settled on the northwest quarter of section 16 in the year 1840. He was a valuable addition, as he lirought with him four large, mag- nificent horses of the blue grass blood, well harnessed, a good schooner wagon, and as these were a scarce article, they were ever in demand to break the tough sod overrun with the high prairie grass and his wagon to go to mill for the entire settlement. Mr. Duncan also had a sur- plus of money, a rare article with the early settlers. He was of a genial, hos- ])itable, ])hilanthropic disposition and a valuable asset to the country. The first school house was built on the l)resent site of Bacon Chapel. It was built of round logs, with a ])uncheon floor, a clapboard roof, windows of greased paper and benches in the rough. The first school was taught by John B. Lewis in 1838, his ])upils numbering about twenty. Some of the pupils were Isaac, John and [Mary A. AVailes, Ander- son, Cornelia and Mary Tojjin, George and Mary Lewis. In the year 1838 Dr. John Mills, hail- ing from Ohio, located in the western ])art of this townshiji and lived near the north line in section 9, township 57, range 11. He was the practitioner of a radius of twenty miles about for some years, but finally went to California. Elsewhere will be found a history of Bacon Chapel. ' It was the first church building and was built by the Methodists on the southwest quarter of the south- east quarter of section 9, township 57, range 11. It was first built in 1845. It was built of logs and the outside was covered, sides and roof, with clapboards. Old P\ather Eads could not wait till the building was completed, but conducted the initial service before the floor was laid. It was a service after the Pilgrim fathers' style, one of h'umility, loyalty and fervent in sjiirit. The building stood for twenty years and was succeeded by a splendid building in the 60 's, which l)uilding still stands as a monimient of the earlv methods of that settlement. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 143 The site of the churcli was deeded to it by George Bacon. David 0. AValker was au early settler who built the mill on section 18 — 57 — 10, which was the cornerstone for Walkers- ville, which hamlet was christened for .Air. Walker. In 1838 Adam and Michael Heckart, early settlers in the northwest, built a mill on Salt river in section 4 — 57 — 11. Other settlers in this vicinity were W. T. Coard, section 1 — 57 — 10; Dr. James Rackliffe, on the northeast quarter of section 12 — 57 — 11 ; Prettyman Blizzard, James Carothers and Michael Watkins in the neighborhood of Bacon Chapel. It was about 1839 when this township was organized as a municipal township and its limits then extended to the west county line. Its present confines are de- fined on a previous page. In war this township has its history elsewhere written as the Shelbina fight in 1861 and Bill Anderson's raid in 1864. In the spring of 1862 Walkersville came in for some bushwhacking liy Tom Stacy's Confederate band, and soldiers Long and Herbst and citizen Lilburn Hale were killed, and Soldiers Henning, Ring and Deeuer were wounded. The soldiers were of the Eleventh Missouri State Militia. The bushwhacking of the Third Iowa soldiers, elsewhere detailed, occurred in tlie road near the old IMajor Dickerson place, then occupied by Mr. Connelly, who was an eye witness to the shooting of the bushwhackers. John Jacobs was in the door yard and had called to get water when a negro runner came up. tell- ing him that straggling soldiers were coming. The main body would have made havoc of the house and inmates had not the negro assured them they were in no manner connected with the affair. Jefferson Township. Jefferson township comprises the southwestern division, including all of township 56, range 12, which forms the panhandle district, so prominent on the map of our county. The greater portion of this township was prairie land, which has been transformed into elegant and valuable farms. The land as a whole is rich and productive and beautiful farm homes enhance the value of the improved modernized farm lands, and stock abound in her meadows. This township was not opened up by settlers until about 1840 — perhaps because of the need of a wooded district in that day and the su- perabundance of the tall prairie grass, so stubborn to till with their pioneer implements. The first locations were made on Crooked, Otter and Mud creeks. In the years 1845-46 we find on Otter creek. Esquire Barton, Joel Million, John Hendricks, Henry Spires, Henry Smock, Madison Reynolds, Joseph Reynolds, Thomas Dawson, Elijah Bishop, J. M. Donaldson, John Kyle. In the extreme southwest corner was Slielton Lowry on Mud creek, and on Crooked creek were Enoch K. Miller, Ed Tansil, William Bush, John Dimgan, Henry Kidwell, V. Godfrey, Daniel Thrasher, H. Shoemaker, Samuel Stal- cup, William Stalcup, Senior, and Wil- liam Stalcup, Junior. Immigration was more rapid with the building of the Hannibal tS: St. Joseph railroad, but not ^mtil after the war did real improvements liegiu rapidly. During the war this township was 144 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY overrun liy troops of both armies, as we have recorded elsewhere, aud its citizens on .both the Union and the Confederate sides were maltreated and miu'dered. A Union man named Fifer was mur- dered b}' the Confederates, as was also an earlj' pioneer by the name of Henry Spires, who was cruelly put to death and his body left to be later discovered by his friends. Later came on the Putnam county militia, noted for its cruelties, and put to death Confederates Wilson, Butler and Phillips. Phillips was a father-in- law of Fifer. Mrs. Fifer, during the days of anxiety as to the outcome of the war, mourned the loss of a husband and a father and doubtless her sympathies were not in the war, as one side had stolen from her her father, the other had ruthlessly struck down her life compan- ion. In the spring- of 1862, the Black Hawk Cavalry, of Macon, strolled down into Mud Creek district aud encountered the Confederates encamped there, in which one Confederate gave uj) his life. Clay Township. Major Taylor built the rirst cabin in Clay townshi]i on section 6 — 57 — 11, in the southeastern iiart of the township, iu the year 1835. Mr. Taylor's cabin was built on the southern edge of Salt river l)ottom a mile from the stream itself. Major was merely his given name and had no military bearing. He emigrated from Kentucky. In 1839, James Parker, of Delaware, settled on section 8 — 57 — 11, and Isaac Tobin, a Virginian, was near by. In 1836 John Lewis settled on the north- west quarter of the same section, and iu 1839, Captain Melson, a Kentuckian. lo- cated some four miles west of Lewis. It was at the home of Mr. Lewis the first class of the Methodist church was formed, on the northwest corner of sec- tion 8—57—11, in the fall of 1837. Here originated the Bacon Chapel church, Mr. Lewis and wife were the leaders. Others there were Stanford Drain and wife, Mrs. Margaret Moore, ]\Irs. Mary Parker, Mrs. Wailes and Mrs. Jane Parker, the wife of James Parker. It was in 1837 that Rev. James Pryor, of Ohio, held jtrotracted services at the home of Mr. Lewis. It was claimed he was the first Methodist preacher ever in Shelby. The township was organized in 1845, when the county was Whig, aud was named in honor of Henry Clay, whom his followers hailed as "gallant Harry of the West." Much of the land was in the hands of speculators for years, and little cultivation was done thereabout until after the Civil war. The little city of Clarence is here lo- cated, but is elsewhere fully mentioned. Here lies also Hager's Grove, section 15 — 58 — 12 on Salt river. We also give it space elsewhere, but early history says tills site was ]iurchased of William P. Norton, of Ralls county, I)y Jobn Hager, hence the name. For awhile it had only a blacksmith shop, but in the sjiring of 1857 Joseph and William Walker, ]^r. Pile and William P. Casey, emigrants from Iowa, bought a steam sawmill and ])ut it iu o])eration at Hager's Grove. A Mr. Spauldiug ran a blacksmith shop at the same time. Later Thomas J. Blackburn estab- lished a small grocery store in a log house. His stock of trade, as it is told, was a small amount of cheese and crack- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 1-15 ers, a small parcel of staples and a bar- rel of whiskey. Dr. Pile aud "William Walker died in a short time, and in Au- gust, 1859, G. L. and B. F. Smith bought Blackburn's stock and opened up a much improved and enlarged stock in Dr. Pile's two-story frame house. The Smith brothers had the village platted by County Surveyor Gray, and in 1859 a postoffice was established with B. F. Smith as postmaster. The Smith Brothers held forth until 1861, when Morris Osborn joined part- nership with B. F. Smith, who survived until 1863, when war hard times came on and the goods was closed out at auc- tion. In 1866, John Patton and L. E. Irwin opened up a store and since that year it has always been a thriving trad- ing point. The old saw mill has been burned several times, but some of the original machinery is intact. Previous to the Civil war George Jones bought an interest in the old mill and added thereto a grist mill and dis- tillerj'. These were under the super- vision of the Jones brothers aud their father, John Jones, until during the war. During the life of the distillery, it is said the Grove was quite "brawlish." The mill has frequently changed hands. In 1873 an excellent church building was erected by the Christian denomina- tion, which still stands aud has a strong membership. Lentner is situated in the northeast corner of section 29 — 57 — 11, immediate- ly on the line between Clay and Salt river township, on the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad. The road at Lentner di- vides the townships, the westward being in Clay and to the east of Salt river. The depot is in Clay. This town was pre- viously called Crooked Creek, but later was uamed Lentner by John L. Lathrop, of Chicago, a large land holder in this township. Taylor Township. Taylor township was so named in honor of President Taylor. It com- prises the northwest portion of the town- ship and all of township 59, range 12, and the west half of township 59, range 11. The land here for the most part is good soil and the central part is of ex- cellent prairie. In the eastern portion we find timbered land. In the western jiortion Salt river runs almost due north and south and along this stream the laud is somewhat broken. About the year 1837 Lewis, Alexander and Robert Gillaspy settled in Taylor, locating on Black Creek, in the south- east portion. About the same time, Mr. Steed located on section 29 — 59 — 11, nearly two miles east of Leonard, and Mr. Buckalew located in the western portion, a mile or more east of Salt river, on section 28—59—11, in 1839. Am- brose Perry also was a pioneer in this quarter. Thomas G. Poage moved from Paris, Monroe county, to section 18 — 59 — 12, in October, 1839. He was located in the northwestern portion, near the Macon line, and in a short time moved over into Macon. In those early days there lived in that quarter Samuel Vandiver, on Salt river, section 8. Griffeth D. Shel- ton lived on the bluff, in section 29, at the edge of Salt river bottom. Phil Up- ton, the murderer of Daniel Thomas, in section 28, a mile to the east of Shelton; Robert Nickell, a Virginian, to the west 146 HISTUIIY OF SHELBY LOUXTY of Salt river, ou section 18, near Xickell ford, year ISJiO. Robert Xickell did not sojourn long. One of his children choked to death on a piece of saucer, and the Nickell's longed for their old Virginian home and friends in the hour of their bereavement and soon sold out and re- turned to their native soil. Griffeth Shelton was a cooper and worked his trade for the benefit of his neighbors. He made buckets, tubs, churns from the cedar brought up from Ralls county, found in the Salt river hills. He was also a great hunter and killed scores of deer in the early days. In the spring of 1842 Benjamin F. Fore- man came up from Ralls county and bought Mr. Buckalew's farm, on the southwest quarter of section 21 — 59 — 12. Then there was Edwin Brensley, an En- glishman, on the northeast quarter of section 20, and he had as a neighbor Cyrus Saunders. Daniel Michaels lived to the center of section 28. William Mills lived in the northwest corner of the county. He it was that killed a man named Watson at Mills's own home by knocking him over the head with a dou- ble-barreled shotgun. He was acquitted on the ground of self-defense. Mills was a member of Glover's Third Missouri Cavalry and died in the Federal army. In the early setttlement days of Tay- lor the pioneers often had to go to Flor- ida, Mouroe county, to mill, as this coun- ty had not at that day a good established mill. In the year 1846 Benjamin Fore- man liought a liorse mill — a sweep mill — from a nuin by the name of Hargis, in the south part of the county and, moving it up on his farm, he run it a number of years. The settlers flocked here for miles about, each furnishing liis own team to do his work. A small yoke of steers at- tached furnished motive power for about three bushels an hour, but with his two good teams hitched thereto it would turn out about five bushels per hour. It ground both corn and wheat; the flour, however, had to be bolted by hand, liut though the system was a slow one, it made as good bread as the up-to-now machinery. Each customer was served in his turn, and some days the mill was so thronged the customers were delayed to the wee hours of morning. The toll rate was one-eighth of the grist. There was an abundance of game in this town.ship in her early days, it abounding along the river banks— bear, wolves and deer in great number. Bear creek was so named by hunters who killed a large bear of the black variety at the mouth of Bear river while hunt- ing. Judge Samuel Huston taught a school just over the line in Macon county in 1841, and most of the children in that northwest corner were placed imder his tutorage. Jack Griffin taught another school close by. In 1840 religious services were held at the home of Thomas Poage. At that day the Old School Baptists were in the ma- jority. Two of the old veterans of this denomination were James Ratliffe and Ben Davis. Near the same time old Dr. Shultz of the Christian church was an active man in the cause he espoused. The first physicians who ]iracticed in this township were Dr. Long, of Sliolby- ville; Dr. Mills, of Bacon Chapel, and Dr. Edmunds. For years Shelbyville was their nearest jwstoffice, and for years Thouuis G. Poage was the dissemi- nator of news and intelligence, he taking HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 147 the ouly newspapers thereabouts np to about 1845. Mr. Poage took the St. Louis Republican and Boone's Lick Democrat, and although these sheets would be about two weeks old before they would reach their destination, yet his house was considered headquarters for intelli- gence and news from the outside world, and Poage himself was a king bee. The first bridge over Salt river in this quarter was built by Benjamin Foreman in the spring of 1849 at the Ray ford. The flooring lumber was whip-sawed. The same year, John Swinney crippled himself by letting a chisel fall on his knee while building the Rollins bridge over Salt river. The hamlet of Leonard was formerly named Millersburg, by Adolphus Mil- ler, who built a mill there after the war. Its site is located on the northwest quar- ter of section 80 — 59 — 11, on Black creek. There are some ten or twelve stores, a bank and a postoffice. Cherry Box is also located in Taylor, a postoffice in the northwest portion of the township. The ])lace boasts of a gen- eral store, blacksmith shop, church and a good school and town hall. CHAPTER XII. Newspapers of Shelby County — The Shelbyville Spectator — The Shelby County "Weekly — The Shelby County Herald — The Shelby County Times — The SHELBY\aLLE Guard — The Shelbina Gazette — The Shelbina Index and Torchlight — The Shelbina Democrat — First Paper in Clarence — The Clarence Courier — The Clarence Repitblican — The Hunnewell Enter- prise — The Hunnewell Echo — The Enterprise Resumes Publication — The Hunnewell Bee — The Bethel Sun — The Missouri Sun. the shelbyville spectator. The first mail to make a newspaper venture in Shelby county was F. M. Daulton. He was editor, proprietor, publisher and "devil" all at one and the same time. The paper bore the name of The Shelbj-ville Spectator, and was published at the county seat. The ma- terial for the equipment of the plant was moved to Shell)yville from Old Bloom- ington, Macon county. The Spectator saluted the public in Shelby county in the early spring of 1853. It was Whig in politics, and in size and make-up was a six-column folio, or a four-page paper, of six columns to the page. Mr. Daulton had about 400 subscribers to his weekly periodical, and some of his advertisers were Thomas Applebury, McAfee & Dickerson, Cotton Bros, and James Mar- maduke. The office was located on the northwest corner of the square in a small frame building. In 1854 the pub- lisher formed a ])artnership witli James "Wolff, who bought tile material of the Hannibal Journal and added it to the Spectator equipment. The new ))ro- prietors had just got started in good shape when the entire office except a few cases of type were destroyed bj" fire. Enterprising and charitable citizens then made up money for the relief of the pub- lishers and Mr. Daulton went to St. Louis and purchased the material for reinstating the plant. The new plant was located in a small brick building on the northeast corner of the square be- longing to Mr. B. F. Dunn. Daulton soon after sold his interest to a school teacher by the name of James Carty, who soon died. Mr. "Wolff ran the paper only a short time thereafter until he died. The publication then fell into the hands of a man by the name of N. C. Sperry, who changed the name of the paper'to "The Star of the Prairie." The "Star," however, soon flickered out. The publisher was a worthless, shiftless sort of a fellow and finally left town without notifying his creditors of the time of his (lo])artuve or his destination. He left many unjjaid bills and but a few friends. The material was then moved to Mexico, :\io. ]\lr. Daulton. Uu' founder, moved to 148 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 149 Gainesville, Ai'k., and for years jnib- lisbed a Democratic paper there. THE SHELBY COUNTY WEEKLY. In a short time after the ' ' Star of the Prairie" had faded from the newspaper skies, two men formed a partnership and started the publication of the "Shelby County Weekly." These men were Grif- fin Frost, a practical printer from Mex- ico, Mo., and Hon. G. Watts Hillias, a young lawyer of Shelbyville. The former was publisher, the latter editor of the new publication. The first paper published by this firm was issued on March 7, 1861. The office was located over Gooch's grocery store in Shelbyville. The material for the equipment of the plant was purchased in St. Louis in the fall of 1860, atid was transjiorted to Han- nil)al by boat. The river froze up before the steamer arrived at Hannibal and the publication was delayed until the next sjiring. Mr. Frost's brother, John, who later published the Quincy Daily News, and then the Clarence Courier, was the chief compositor on the ]3aper. A boy by the name of Henry De Jarnett was what was then termed the office "devil." The paper was a red-hot secession sheet and enjoyed a liberal advertising patronage and had about 500 subscrib- ers. The motto was : ' * Free as the Wind, Pure and Firm as the Voice of Nature, the Press Should Be." The pa]ier, however, did not survive long. It came into existence at a ])erilous time, about the outbreak of the Civil war. The firing of the first shot at Sum- ter was told in this publication, and the editors were such strong secessionists that in June of 1862 a few representa- tives of the Union Home Guards visited Mr. Frost and told him if he did not sus- pend the publication of his "treasonable sheet" they would stop it for him. He thereupon closed up the office and went to Marion county, and soon after entered in the Southern army under Martin E. Green. Mr. Frost was captain of the Marion county company. He saw four years' service, two of which were spent in a Federal prison. After the war he published a volume entitled "Prison Life and Recollections." He then went to Edina and established the Edina Dem- ocrat, and died only a few years ago. The "Weekly" office was locked up for a time. During the war Union soldiers threw most of the material into the street and the remainder was shipped to Mary- ville, Missouri. THE SHELBY COUNTY HEEALD. In 1871 W. L. Willard & Bro. pur- chased a part of the Shafer-York plant at Shelbina and moved the outfit to Shel- bj^ille. Colonel York took the remain- der to Independence, Kansas, where he conducted a paper for several years. The Willards changed the politics again, making the paper Greenback. The pa- per was first Democratic, then Republi- can, later Greenback, again Repubhcan, then back to its mother jjolitics, or Dem- ocratic. Jime 15, 1881, the plant was sold to F. M. Springsteen and H. B. Da- vis, Mr. Willai'd going to Edina and founded a Greenback publication. The new partnershiji guided the doctrines of The Herald jointly until March, 1883, when Springsteen retired. Mr. Davis continued the publication until January of 1888, at which time Prof. W. R. Holli- 150 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY day purchased the plant and turned it politically from a Greenback to a Eepub- licau organ. The paper preached the doctrine of Eepublieauism for about one year and a half, until June, 1889, when it went into the hands of Joseph Doyle, who, although nominally making- the pa- per Democratic, ran the paper as a strictly local newspaper and paid very little attention to politics. As a local pa- per, the Herald has from its founda- tion been what might be called the official county paper. It gives the County court jn-oceedings regularly, as well as the Probate court dockets and devotes much space to Circuit court matters. Mr. Doyle guided the destinies of the Her- ald until August, 1905. He then sold to C. L. Enuis, who stayed in control im- til the fall of 1905, when Mr. Doyle again became editor. The pa]ier continued un- der Mr. Doyle's control this time until October, 1907. Mr. Doyle then sold to Ennis brothers, Carl and Joshua, two sons of the former editor, who conducted the paper until February, 1910. Mr. Doyle then came into control for the third time and remained the owner and editor until November, 1910. The paper then went into the hands of C. E. Wailes, the present efficient owner. THE SHELBY COUNTY TIMES. J. R. Horn, the founder of the Hun- newell Echo, concluded he wanted a larger field and that instead of being simply an echo he wanted to be the "big noise." He therefore moved his plant from Hunnewell to the county seat and on February 1, 1881, he sent out the first issue of the Shelby County Times, an eight-column Democratic paper. THE SHELBYVTLLE GUARD. E. D. Tingle founded this publication at the county seat in May, 1892, but soon sold to J. T. Welsh, who in September, 1893, sold a half interest to B. F. Glahu. In April, 1893, E. P. Dunn purchased the plant and continued as editor and owner until May, 1898, at which time he failed and made an assignment. Perry Clag- gett, who held the mortgage, was made the assignee, and in the same month sold the plant to E. J. Spencer, who remained in charge for only a short time, and in June sold the property to W. A. Dim- mitt. Mr. Dimmitt held the property until January, 1902, when he sold to Starrett & Hayward. These men con- tinued the publication until November, 1902, when they sold back to W. A. Dim- mitt. The latter continued publication until fire destroyed the building and the plant. The plant was a total loss, as the owner had no insurance, and besides the loss of material lost all his book and sub- scription accoimts. SHELBIXA GAZETTE. The first issue of the Shelbina Ga- zette was sent out on January 10. 186(5. This was the first paper published in Shelbina. The full name of this pub- lication was "The Weekly Gazette." The founder and i)ublisher was an Illinoisan by the name of J. D. Moudy, a conserva- tive Democrat. The Gazette was a seven-column folio. The office was on Center street in the Goodman block. In April, 1866, just four months after the founding of the publication, Mr. Moudy sold out to his foreman, E. D. Hoselton. Mr. Hoselton HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUXTY 151 oouducted the paper single handed until in the fall, when he sold a half interest to J. S. Bates, who soon sold to Frank M. Daulton, the original newspaper man of Shelby county. Later Daulton became sole owner, but soon after sold the entire plant to Colonel Shafer and A. M. York, who turned the paper into a Republican pub- lication. At this time the name of the paper was also changed to "The Shelby County Herald." THE SHELBINA INDEX AND TORCHLIGHT. Yv'illiam N. Bumbarger and H. P. Mc- Eoberts were the founders of this publi- cation and the first edition of volume number one came from the press July 13, 1881. In January, 1882, Simpson bought out McRoberts, and a year later N. H. Downing became the sole proprie- tor and editor. Dr. J. M. McCully be- came half owner on March 1, 1884, and Jul}" 1st following the firm became Mc- Cully & Christie, C. W. Christie buying Downing 's interest. In 1885, Dr. Mc- Cully sold his interest to his partner. The latter failed in a few months and the property again went into the hands of Dr. McCully. In the fall of 1885 Mc- Cully sold the property to William Ma- son, who chan^'ed the name of the paper to "The Shelbina Torchlight." Mr. Ma- son died in about a year and the publi- cation was resumed by his sons, Harry and George, until January, 1889, at which time the ownership passed into the hands of A. L. Roe and Prof. E. L. Cooley. In April, 1891, Roe purchased his partner's interest and became sole proprietor. In August 189.3, the Torch- light again changed hands, this time go- ing into the possession of Naeter & Has- kins. The new owners were young and ambitious and printed a good paper full of local news. They remained in charge until November, 1897, when they trans- ferred the ownership to Rev. W. W. Mc- Murry. In December, 1900, Mr. Mc- Murry sold to Cleek & AVilliams. This firm lasted until September, 1902. Mr. Williams then bought his partner's in- terest and became the sole proprietor. Mr. Williams sold a half interest to J. E. Thrasher, and in May, 1904, the publica- tion was sold to P. B. Dunn, Jr. Mr. Dunn conducted the paper until March, 1907, at which time he sold out to C. J. Colburn. Mr. Colburn remained as edi- tor until May, 1908, when he sold a half interest to N. E. Williams, and in De- cember following Mr. Williams became the sole owner again and is the present owner and editor. Mr. Williams is a man of good judgment and an able writer. He is a pronounced prohiliition- ist and always stands for the clean and honest achniuistration of public affairs. THE SHELBINA DEMOCRAT. On April 1, 1869, E. D. Hoseltou, former owner and editor of the Shelbina Gazette, establislied The Shelbina Demo- crat. This publication was an all home print, seven-column folio, or four page paper. In 1870 Col. S. A. Rawlings became a partner in the publication of the paper. The latter was a Virginian and came to Shelby county in 1848. He died Septem- ber 28, 1875. During the Civil war Colonel Rawlings served on the Confed- erate side and organized and com- manded the Third Battalion of Infantiy, Harris Division, Missouri State Guards. After the death of Colonel Rawlings 152 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Judge James C. Hale assumed editorial charge of the jiaper and remained at the heku until in May, 1881, when the pres- ent owner, Col. W. .L. Jewett became a partner with Mr. Hoselton. Mr. Jew- ett at this time was a young lawyer of more than ordinary ability and had dis- tinguished himself as a public speaker and campaigner. He was a determined, aggressive editor, just the kind the times demanded, and he soon established a reputation as a writer. The firm of Ho- selton & Jewett remained in control of the paper until November 4, 1891, when the senior partner, Mr. Hoselton, sold his interest to J. AV. Cox, a brother-in- law of Mr. Jewett 's. This finn contin- ued to publish the Democrat until July 31, 1901, at which time Mr. Jewett pur- chased the interest of his partner, Mr. Cox. Colonel Jewett has been the sole owner and editor since the above date. Hon. "\V. 0. L. Jewett is today the father of the newspaper fraternity of Shelby count}'. Although advancing in years, he is recognized as one of the most force- ful writers in the State. He is a fearless defender of what he believes to be right and is generally on the right side of all questions. He takes great pride in pro- moting the city in which he lives and is also patriotic to his county and state. The Democrat, under Colonel Jewett, takes the lead on all public spirited ques- tions. The agitation for a new court house was started b^' the Democrat. as was also the electric light proposition at Shelbina, as well as many other smaller and less important enterprises. The "Democrat" is now taking the lead on the water works proposition and it is only a question of a few months until the venerable editor will behold the fruits of his labors in that direction. The Democrat is democratic in jiolitics, is- sued Wednesday of each week and to- day is a home-print, six column quarto. The pajjer is printed on a cylinder press, run by a gasoline engine. The type is set by a Junior Mergenthaler. The pa- per is up-to-date in every respect, and 'Slv. Jewett has proven to the community that the pen is mightier than the sword from the fact that he has made the Democrat so strong a factor in the development of Shelby county and northeast Missouri. In December, 1910, Mr. Jewett leased the jiaper to his two sons, H. H. and E. AV. Jewett, who took charge January 1, 1911. This ended the newspaper career of one of the pioneer newspaper men of the state. FIRST PAPER IX CLARENCE. A man by the name of Steel was the first adventurer in the newspa^ier busi- ness in Clarence. This daring act was committed in 1877, and his product of the press was called "The Clarence Tribune." The paper was at first printed in Macon City, but later moved to Clarence and located over the post- office. The policy of the paper was neu- tral in politics. Mr. Steel conducted the paper about two years and then aban- doned the field. THE CLARENCE COLTIIER. The second adventurer in the news- paper field in Clarence was W. M. Brad- ley, who founded "The Clarence Cou- rier" in February, 1881. The founder conducted the paper for the space of a little over a year, and in May, 1882, sold to "\V. D. Powell, who remained as the editor and owner until August, 188-4, PIISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 153 at which date he sold the plant to John L. Frost, who had been in the newspaper business in Quinej', and N. H. Downing, formerly of the "Shelbina Index," who soon after sold to Frost and moved to California. Mr. Frost was a good newspaper man, but died No- vember 22, 1888, and the establish- ment was sold to S. E. Lloyd and J. E. Asbury in January, 1889. The latter did not remain in the partnership long. Mr. Lloyd continued with the pub- lication, however, until July of 189-t. The present owner, H. J. Simmons, and G. L. Frost then bought the plant. This partnership lasted less than a year, and Mr. Simmons then became the sole owner and editor. In 1898 W. M. Pritchard purchased a half interest in the paper and a cylinder press was installed. This firm continued the business until June, 1900, at which time Simmons again be- came the sole owner and leased a half interest to his brother-in-law, Edward B. Grant. The paper was issued under the firm name of Simmons & Grant. The ownership has not changed since Sim- mons bought out Pritchard, but at Mr. Grant's death in July, 1910, a half inter- est was leased to Enoch W. Eagland, and the paper is now being published by the firm of Simmons & Eagland. The paper is issued Wednesdays of each week and is an all home print, six-col- umn quarto. It is Democratic in politics and has at all times labored for the im- provement and advancement of the city, county and state. THE CLARENCE REPUBLICAN. At the present time this is the only Eepubiican paper i)ublished in the countv. Its existence dates back to 1889, October 2ud. O. P. Devin was the founder, but soon turned the office over to V. V. Peters, who conducted the paper until August, 1891, when George B. Klingenbeil became the publisher. The latter held the editorial chair only a few months and relinquished the manage- ment to A. L. Jordan, who remained at the desk until November, 1893, when he turned the plant over to E. T. Jones, a young lawyer who lived in the city. Jones held control until May, 189-t. James S. Watkins then became the edi- tor and continued the publication until 1895, when E. N. Shanks, the present owner, took charge. Newland Shanks conducted the paper a few months in 1904, but soon turned the paper back to his father. In 1895 Mr. Shanks changed the name of the publication to the "Farmer's Favorite" and in 1896 sus- pended publication. He, however, re- sumed publication again in 1897 and the paper is now being published by Shanks & Son, the junior member of the firm ])eing E. Elma Shanks. In 1910 the pol- icy of the paper was changed to an inde- pendent Eepubiican. The jjaper is a six- column quarto, patent inside, and is pro- gressive and a good local paper. THE HUNNEWELL ENTERPRISE. The newspaper fever struck Hunne- well in 1882. That year Thos. Irons es- tablished the "Hunnewell Enterprise." The fever soon subsided and on January 10, 1883, the "Enterprise" suspended publication. THE HUNNEWELL ECHO. J. E. Horn established the second pa- per in Hunnewell. He called it the "Hunnewell Echo," which was Demo- 15i HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY cratic in politics. Mr. Horn published the paper in Hunnewell until January, 1884, when he moved it to Shelby ville. THE ENTERPRISE RESUMES PUBLICATION. Thomas Irons resumed publication of the "Enterprise" again in December, 1885, but only lasted a few months and again suspended. THE HUNNEWELL BEE. In September a fourth venture was made in the newspaper business at Hun- newell. This time it was by Eld. J. T. Craig, who turned the "Bee" loose on the inhabitants of this village Septem- ber 10, 1890. He later sold to J. J. Heif- ner and returned to the pulpit. Mr. Heifner conducted the paper until 1893, when he sold to Albert Blackburn, who changed the name of the paper to "the HUNNEWELL GRAPHIC." In March, 1894, the "Graphic" passed into the hands of 0. P. Sturm, who re- mained in charge until August. 1895. Sturm then moved to Malta Bend, Mo., and engaged in teaching school. He turned the paper over to his brother. George W. Sturm. In May, 1896, the plant was sold to J. H. Orr. Mr. Orr sold a half interest in a few weeks to E. J. Spencer, and in July, 1896, bought his partner's interest back. In Septem- ber, 1897, the pi'esent owner, A. B. Dun- lap, became the editor and owner, and has greatlj' improved the paper, which has been such a strong factor in the de- velopment and advancement of the city. The pajjer is independent in politics. THE BETHEL SUN. The above publication was launched upon the newspaper seas in the year 1896. Tlie person who first made the "Sun" shine in Bethel was C. S. Ward. He sold to Joe Miller, who soon trans- ferred the plant to S. M. Bohon, who in turn sold to W. A. Dimmitt. The plant was not a paying proposition and was discontinued in 1901. Eev. D. A. Bx'own, a Christian preach- er, and C. S. Ward, in August, 1897, started a i)aper in Leonard called the "Missouri Sun." "The Sun," however, soon went into a total eclipse and has not been seen in the newspaper skies since. CHAPTEE XIII. Some Shelby County Murders and Suicides — William Switzer Murdered in 1864 — Pat McCarty Assassinated — The Bufoed Tragedy — Murder of Nicholas Brandt — Judge Joseph Hunolt Assassinated — A Leonard Tragedy — Shel- BiNA Mayor Dies Suddenly — M. Lloyd Cheuvront Shot — Suicide at Clarence — The Stacy Murder and Suicide — Suicide at Clarence. WM. switzer murdered in 1864. Mr. William B. Switzer, a merchant of Clarence, then a village, was mur- dered by a band of robbers from Macon in the fall of 1864. It seems Mr. Switzer was custodian of some money made up by certain of the citizens to hire substi- tutes in case any of them were drafted. They made their raid one night, just a day too late, as the funds were sent to Shelbyville for safety just the day be- fore. ]\Ir. Switzer was called to the door by four men on horseback, who, when he apjjeared, demanded his money. Mr. Switzer, who had taken his revolver with him, opened fire and a volley came back in answer, one shot taking effect in his hip, severing his femoral artery, caus- ing death in a few minutes. Mr. Switzer was a respected citizen and while he never took up arms he was known as a Southern sympathizer. The robbers were Macon countians; one never was apprehended, another turned state's evi- dence, in which John Roland was said to be the one that fired the fatal shot. He was bound over, escaped and for- feited his ))ond. All were ex-Federal militiamen. pat m caety assassinated. Pat McCarty, a i)rominent citizen of Clarence, was the proj^rietor of a steam mill, which property he had purchased from its founder, Mr. Wilson. Mr. McCarty was a man of many friends and many enemies. He was a jolly, whole- souled man and one who cherished his home. On the night of October 6, 1874, Mr. McCarty was seated near a window in his sitting room, where he had been fondling his child on his knee. He had just put down his little one and taken up a newspaper when an assassin fired through the window a heavy charge of bird shot, which penetrated his body, killing him instantly. A coroner's jury was impaneled by Esquire Scates and a few days' investigation ensued, without important results. No clue was ever ob- tained as to the identity of the perpe- trator. Suspicion ran rife, much of it no doubt uujust, but as the victim of a stealthy coward was he shot down before his loved ones. the buford tragedy. On Monday, October 26, 1885, occurred one of the worst tragedies in the history 155 156 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY of Shelby couuty. Joliu Buford shot and killed his father, William Buford, and also seriously wounded his brother, AYilliam Buford. The tragedy occurred at the Buford home, near Burksville, in Tiger Fork township. The elder Buford lived only a short time after the shooting occurred. At the preliminary hearing one of the main witnesses gave the following testi- mony regarding the facts relative to the shooting: "On Sunday evening John and his father had a ciuarrel about a colt that had been kicked ; John said he had fixed up the stable and he would blow daylight through any person who would put a horse in there ; said he was going to have his rights. John and his father went to the house; soon after this John started off. His father said, 'Where are you going?' John replied, 'Wait till I see you again. I'll see you before day- light and put daylight through you and those other two d — d pups. ' ' ' The next morning witness' attention was attract- ed by his little sister pulling his coat and saying, "See there." He looked up and saw John in the door of the sitting room with a double-barrelled shotgun, which he aimed at his younger brother, Will- iam. Witness started as though to go through the door, passed under the gun and pushed it up. His father just then probably aimed' to do the same thing, ran against witness and threw him down against the bed. As he raised up the gun was discharged, taking effect in the top of his father's head and some of the shot striking witness' arm between the elbow and shoulder. The witness did not hear John speak a word while in the house. John left after the shooting and was arrested a week later at the home of 'Scjuire E. D. Wood, in Tiger Fork township. John's anxiety to hear from home led to his capture. Monday night, about 10 o'clock, he appeared at the home of 'Squire AVood, about a mile from the Buford farm, and tapped on the window to attract attention, and asked one of the young men on the in- side how his folks were getting along at home. 'Squire Wood, who was upstairs in bed, hurried downstairs and around the house, taking with him a shotgun. He raised his gun and told John to throw up his hands, which the latter did reluctantly. One of the 'Squire's sons next appeared and disarmed young Bu- ford, who was then led into the house and gaiarded until Sheriff Dun arrived and took him in charge. The ]5reliminary hearing was held in Shelbyville on November 11 of the same year, before 'Stpiire Melson. R. P. Giles represented the state and James T. Lloyd, the defendant. The defendant was committed to jail to await the action of the gr&nd jury. On Friday following he was taken to Palmyra and placed in jail for safekeeping. The Buford case came up at the April term of the Circuit court, 1886, and was set for trial at a special term to be held commencing August 1st following. The case was then tried, R. P. Giles repre- senting the state and Judge Berry and Lysander Thomjison the defendant. The verdict of the jury was that the defend- ant was guilty of murder in the second degree. The attorneys for the defend- ant filed a motion for a new trial on the ground that one member of the jury of twelve, before whom the case was tried, was too sick to proi)erly hear the evi- dence, and that one member of the forty HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 157 panel had formed and expressed an opinion. The hearing- on this motion was postponed until the October term of court, at whicli time Judge Brace heard and overruled the motion, and sentenced the defendant to thirty years in tlie penitentiary. Mr. Buford was taken to the penitentiary, where he stayed until pardoned by Governor Ste- plieus on December 25, 1897. He then returned to the county, but remained here only a short time and is at tliis date living- in the state of Washington. MUEDEE OF NICHOLAS BEANDT. The town of Shelbina was thrown into intense excitement, mingled with indig- nation and horror, on Wednesday, No- vember 16, 1887, by the report that the body of a man had been found in a well near a log cabin on the A^incent Taylor farm, six miles west of the town. It was believed that tlie remains were those of Nicholas Brandt, who had been missing and was supposed to have been mur- dered. Brandt was a hard-working, in- offensive German, and was by trade a lioop-pole shaver. It was known that the deceased had a large amount of money, mostly gold, in his possessibn. Henry Deiderich was arrested the after- noon of the same day in St. Louis and accused of the murder. Sheriff Sanders went to St. Louis after the accused and returned witli him on the following Fri- day. Two other parties were arrested in connection with the crime — a Mr. Dallhousen, wlio was placed in jail at Slielbyville, and Albert Anselman, of Lakenan, who was admitted to $500 bail. The ]n"eliminary trial was held l)efore 'Squire J. 1). Jordan in Shelbina, begin- ning Friday morning, December 9. 1887. The cases against Dallhousen and An- selman were dismissed by Prosecuting Attorney R. P. Giles and Deiderich was bound over to the grand jury. Mr. Dei- derich was brought before the bar of justice in the Circuit court on Monday, April 9, 1888, and pleaded not guilty. He was returned to the jail to await his trial, but with another prisoner by the name of McDonald broke jail tliat eve- ning and is still at large. JUDGE JOSEPH HUNOLT ASSASSINATED. Judge Hunolt was perhaps the largest land owner and one of the wealthiest citizens of the county. He owned over 2,300 acres of land northeast of Eager 's Grove and was a large feeder and raiser of stock. Mr. Hunolt was of German parentage, and was one of those honest, industrious and thrifty individuals who lead the community in which they reside. Politically the Judge was a Democrat. Religiously he was a Catholic and it was largely through his efforts and gener- osity that the little Catholic church was erected, which still stands upon the prai- rie road between Hager's Grove and Leonard. On Friday, June 4, 1886, between the hours of five and six o'clock in the after- noon, Judge Hunolt departed from Leonard on horseback for his home about four miles south of the village. He had been at Clarence the day before and had drawn $500 from the bank. On his way to the farm he passed George Hardy, whom he met in the road and talked with a short time. He passed from the road into his farm through a gap which he made for that purpose, and after replacing the fence rode on into the timber. 158 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY Sam Roberts was working on a fence about eighty rods from where tlie Judge passed through the iuclosure, aud heard three shots in rapid succession, followed by a scream as of someone in terrible distress. Andy Hilton, who lived half a mile west, also heard the reports of the firearm, but heard no outcry. As the Judge did not return to his home that night as was expected, the Hunolt family became alamied and the next morning one of the sons was sent to Leonard to learn of his father's whereabouts. Here he was informed of the time of his father's departure from Leonard and the route he took. The alarm was given and many persons joined in a search for the Judge. The place where he entered the pasture was located and his horse was traced through the timber to a small ravine. Here the horse was found tied to a tree and the remains of Judge Hunolt lying upon the ground about sixty feet away. Two lialls took effect. One entered the left side of the body and passed inward and nearly through the body, the other l)assed through the palm of one hand and into the arm. The Judge's throat was also cut, the head being nearly sev- ered from the liody. A coroner's inquest was held before 'Squire Stewart, of Leonard, and the body removed to the family residence before Prosecuting At- torney Giles and the county coroner reached the scene of the awful tragedy. Thousands of persons visited the scene of the murder on Sunday and over a thousand attended the funeral, which was lield at the Catholic church on ^Mon- day. The remains still sleep beneath the l)lue grass and in tlie little Catholic ceme- tery. A beautiful monument marks the resting ]>lace of the Judge's remains. The Hunolt family consisted of, be- sides the father and mother, two sons, Christopher and Antony, and two daugh- ters, Mrs. Annie "Worland and Mi-s. Sa- lome Ploruback, the former the wife of J. G. "Worland, of Hager's Grove, and the latter the widow of the late C. H. Hornback. After the murder of Judge Hunolt every effort was made to ferret out the mystery. The local ])eace officers were kept busy aud two Pinkerton detectives were employed. On Thursday, June 10, following the murder, the detectives thought they had sufficient evidence to justify an arrest and a warrant was sworn out by Christopher Hunolt, a brother of the murdered man, charging Joseph Glahn with committing the atro- cious crime. Thereupon Sheriff Dunn placed the accused under arrest. ^Ir. Glahn was taken before 'Squire J. D. Melson, of Shelbyville, aud on Thursday, June 17, the preliminary hearing was had and the accused was bound over to the grand jury and conmiitted to the Pal- myra jail. On Monday, October 18, 1886, the Shelby county grand jury brought in a bill against Joseph Glahn and Chris- tian Glahn, his brother, charging them with the murder of Judge Hunolt. The case against these men was called on the April docket, 1887, and on April 4 of that year the case against Christian Glahn was dismissed by the prosecuting attorney and the case of Josejih N. Glahn was granted a change of venue on the testimony of nine witnesses who stated under oath that the defendant could not get a fair trial in Shelbv countv HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 159 on account of prejudice. Judge Bacon sent the case to Monroe county and the case was docketed for a special term at Paris the following June. The trial com- menced in Paris on Monday, June 20. The state had one hundred witnesses on hand and the defense had fifty. The trial lasted five weeks and resulted in a hung jury. The jury was discharged July 23, 1887. The defendant was re- turned to the Palmyra jail. The case was set for re-trial on Novemlier 8tli following. At this trial, which lasted until December 8th, the jury found the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree. The defendant's attorneys im- meiliately filed a motion for a new trial. The motion was overruled and the at- torneys for the defendant filed a motion in arrest of judgment. The second Mon- day in February, 1888, was set for hear- ing the arguments on this motion. On Monday, February 20, 1888, the argu- ment was made and the motion over- ruled. Judge Bacon then delivered the following sentence: "The sentence of the court is that you, Joseph N. Glahn, on Friday, the sixth day of April, 1888, at the county jail of Monroe county, be- tween the hours of 9 o'clock A. M. and 5 o'clock P. M. of that day, he hanged by the neck until you are dead." A stay of execution was granted and an appeal taken to the Supreme court. ^Ir. Glahn was then returned to the Palmyra jail and on August 16, 1888, there was a jail delivery at that place. Fourteen pris- oners esca]ied out of twenty-eight con- fined, (ilalm was the only one accused of murder, yet he refused to go. At the January term of the Supreme court the case for a new trial was argued and on Wednesday, April 17, Judge Ba- con admitted Mr. Glahn to bail, fixing his bond at $7,000. The bond was ])rom])tly made and after nearly three years' coniinement the accused man was once more allowed his liberty. At the October term of the Supreme court Judge Black rendered a decision, which was concurred in by all the judges, ex- cept Judge Barclay,'reversing the lower court, and sending the case back to Mon- roe county for a new trial. The case was reversed on the ground tiiat Instruc- tion No. 7, asked by the defense, was re- fused. This instruction read as follows : "That although the jury may believe from the evidence in the case that de- fendant made threats or declarations of intentions against deceased, Joseph Ilunolt, before bis death, yet if upon a full review and consideration of all the evidence in the cause they shall conclude there is no evidence connecting defend- ant with the assault and killing of de- ceased, Joseph Hunolt, other than such threats or declarations, then they will find defendant not guilty." The long- pending case was brought up in the Mon- roe county Circuit court again on Mon- day, , 1889, and dismissed. This ends one of the darkest cha]3ters in Shelby county 's history. A LEONARD TRAGEDY. On Sunday, September 1, 1888, a farmer named Andrew Howerton, living in the northwest part of Shelby, near Leonard, shot his wife dead, the ball en- tering the head back of the left ear. He then shot himself through the head, fall- ing near his wife dead. The couple had married in F('l)ruary in the same year. 160 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Domestic infelicity was assigned as the cause, the couple liaving- separated sev- eral times. SHELBINA MAYOR DIES SUDDENLY. On Friday morning of November 10, 1890, the city of Shelbina was shocked to learn they had, during the night, been rolibed of their mayor, John D. Jordan. He had l)eeu on the street the evening before, apparently as well as ever. About 10 or 11 o'clock his wife noticed something imusual in his breathing and tried to arouse him, but failing in this she summoned a physician. A battery was used and in this manner life was prolonged until 4 o'clock Friday morn- ing. It is thought he took a large dose of laudanum, which caused his death. He had held several city offices and made an efficient mayor. He was a Mason and Odd Fellow. M. LLOYD CHEUVRONT SHOT. On Friday evening about 9 o'clock of July 22, 1897, three cracks of a pistol in the eastern part of the city, Walnut street, of Shelbina, announced to the people of that vicinity the murder of a citizen of good character, inoffensive and ])eaeeable, Mr. Cheuvront, by Tol Smock. The ladies of the Christian church were Imlding an ice cream supper in the city jiark. ^Ir. Cheuvront, who was very deaf, left liis wife at the park while he went out for a walk. It seems Mrs. Tol Smock, who was fair of face, in company with Miss Nellie Hopper, of Clarence vicinity, who was attending a teachers' institute and boarding with Mrs. Smock, had started home just ahead of Mr. Cheuvront and rushed into her home on the south side, near the east end of Wal- nut, and told her husband how Mr. Cheuvront had followed them home. Mr. Smock grabbed his pistol, rushed out and encountered Mr. Cheuvront just in front of his home, knocked him down and shot three times, the fatal shot taking effect in his bowels. Mr. Cheuvront lin- gered till seven the following morning, during which time he told his wife, two sous and friends about him, how it oc- curred and made plans for his family's future, remaining conscious to the end. Mr. Smock took change of venue and his case was tried in Macon county, Decem- ber, 1897. J. H. Whitecotton, of Paris, Mo., was leading attorney for the defense and Prosecuting Attorney Cleek had valuable assistance. A good many wit- nesses were sworn on both sides. The state sought to prove that Mr. Cheuvront was a man of unquestionable christian and moral character. The jury hung after a hard fight on both sides, four standing solidly and determinedly for conviction. The trial was taken up again at the Macon Circuit court and all the witnesses re-examined, and the de- fendant found guilty of manslaughter and punishment fixed at six months in jail and a fine of $100. The Macon Times-Democrat said this among other things concerning the verdict: "The verdict is an outrage upon this com- munity and it is just such mockery as this that disgusts the peoi)le with juries and courts and causes them to take the law into their own hands and mete out justice." SUICIDE AT CLARENCE. On Sunday morning, December 17, 1899, Mrs. George W. Chinn. wife of Hon. George W. Chinn, rejiresentative HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 161 from Shelby county to the Missouri leg- islature at that time, committed suicide by cutting her throat. The deed was committed while Mr. Chinn was at Sun- day school and life was almost extinct when he reached home. Indications were that she committed the act standing be- fore a mirror and using a common case knife. Poor health was assigned as the cause. THE STACY MUEDEE AND SUICmE. Wednesday morning, June 5, 1901, James Stacy killed his wife and their daughter, Alma, and then shot himself. Mr. Stacy lived a mile west of Clar- ence and had had charge of the pumping station at that location for many years for the railroad. It was supposed he arose early, as usual, proceeded to his work, started a fire in the boiler and then returned to his home and killed the women while they lay sleeping. The deed was committed with a heavy clock weight and each woman received the death blow over the left temple. His young son was in the house at the time, but was taken out of the bed and de- posited on a lounge while asleep. He then went downstairs, got his single-bar- reled shotgun and started out the back door, but just as he opened the door he met his married daughter and told her what he had done, went back into the house and shot himself. Those who arrived on the scene of the tragedy say that there was no indication of a struggle. The women were lying as if asleep. It was supj^osed ]\Ir. Stacy was insane when he committed the rash deed. The funeral and interment took place Thursday afternoon following and the three bodies were interred in one grave. Over a thousand people were at the cemetery to witness the burial. Mr. Stacy was a Mason in good standing and was buried with Masonic rites. SUICIDE AT CLAKENCE. , On Friday morning, July 21, 1905, at 10 A. M., the city of Clarence was thrown into a stage of excitement when tlie strange news s^jread over the city that J. Eobert Hord had committed suicide by shooting himself in a chicken house near his home. No one heard the report of the pistol, but his daughter and a neighbor were in chase for a chicken, the daughter following the chicken into the chicken house. As she threw open the door she discovered the body of her father cold in death, with a wound in his riglit temple. Mr. Hord, a month ]ire- vious, had traded about $14,000 worth of property in Clarence for a farm of 160 acres at Farber, Mo., and it was thought he lost heavily on the deal. Be- fore committing the deed he scratched with a nail u|)on a pine box the following note-: "No family trouble. Good-bye to wife and children. My trouble is more than I can bear. These lies have run me crazy. I am innocent, good-bye. Love and kisses. Meet me in heaven. Bury at Andrew chapel, cheap coffin for bod}". I want my wife, Mary, adminis- ter without bond. Brother Oddfellows, I leave them in thy care." Mr. Hord had been depressed after the above deal, but he had just returned from Moberly at ll:5f) the night previous, had made Ijlans to go to Moberly and seemed in good spirits. He carried $5,000 life in- surance, was a leader in the Presby- terian church and a ])rominent Odd Fellow. CHAPTER XIV. 9 Shelby County — Census of Shelby County — Clabence — Shelbyville — Shelbina HUNNEWELL ThE TeMPLB OF JuSTICE— COUET HoUSE BUBNED ThREE Clarence Fiees — Shelby County Congeessman. — The Bethel Colony. SHELBY county. Shelby county, Missouri, is beyond controversy one of the most desirable counties in the state in which to live and prosper. We have finely i m proved farms and farm houses; fine, richly yielding orchards, bearing a great vari- ety of fruits. Fruits of all kinds grow to perfection, of large size and sujierior flavor. There are vegetable gardens in which grow the greatest variety, quan- tity and quality. We have a good ch- mate, excellent, pure water, thus adding to the healthfulness of its people. Rivers, creeks and running springs are numerous. Our county carries no bonds or interest bearing indebtedness to swell our taxes. Our population is over four- teen thousand. We have good schools. We own .323,000 beautiful broad acres of the most richly yielding soil on earth. Our prairies are gently rolling and adapted to all kinds of grain, the soil rich and productive, yielding in rich re- turns of wheat, corn, oats, rye, blue grass, clover and timothy. Our timber abounds in ma))le, oak, walnut, hickory, elm and ash. We surpass all other coun- ties in points of excellences. In sum- mary, our location, our fertile soil, our climate and healthfulness, our schools and social advantages, all the prerequi- sites to be considered in choosing' a home land, are to be found in good old Shelby. We grow the tallest corn, the biggest pumpkins, the reddest apples, the most verthint blue gi'ass, the finest cattle, hogs, sheep ; while here flourish the pret; tiest girls, tlie handsomest men, and a par excellent and most intelligent, most law-abiding people to be found in exist- ence. We support no saloon and thus boycott all that class of humanity. AVe .".re wide-awake, peace-loving, progres- sive people, and welcome to our midst all congenial, law-abiding people. ci;Nsrs OF .-^iiklrv 1.S70. ropiilation 10.000 Shelbina 1,146 Cliiicnce 444 Shelbyville o.'iO Uunnewell COIXTY. 1 .s;)o. IflOll. 15,642 16,167 1,691 1,733 1.0.S7 1.1S4 4S6 777 427 473 I'.tlO. 1.>ed nicely in their line and also do an undertaking business. There are two jewelry stores and they are both a credit to the city. Both carry pianos in connection with their jewelry business. One harness shop, which is the oldest estal)lishment of the sort in the county, having been established over fifty years ago, and the present proprietor, Julius Kitter, .Jr., was reared at the ))ench in this store. He carries a large stock and is an expert workman. One telephone system, owned and man- aged by R. B. Parker. There are two drays, delivery wagons and a bus line — in fact, all the minor en- terprises that go with an up-to-date city. We have as good or better railroad service than any city on the Burlington. The Shelby County railway trains enter our city three times daily, and with it comes the mail, express and freight. Our hotel is a commodious brick struc- ture an|;l admirably located, with a beau- tiful lawn and large shade trees. The proprietor, J. L. Gaines, has built this hostelry up to a first-class hotel. SHELBINA. By W. 0. L. Jewett. Fifty-five years ago a strip of prairie extended nearly across the southern edge of Shelby county, from Salt river on the east to the Macon line. This prairie was covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, often six to nine feet in height. A few farms jutted out of the timber into the edge of this prairie, but it was mainly unbroken — just as Nature had made it. Railroads often, probably usually, fol- low the line of least resistance. So when the Hannibal & St. Joe was laid out, be- ing compelled by its charter to touch Pal- mj'ra, it took from there a southwest- erly course for sixteen to eighteen miles, and then boi:e slightly north of west, so as to follow the prairie and avoid the l)reaks near the streams both north and south. Its course across the county west of Salt river is nearly straight, but where it reaches the Macon line it is about four 166 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY miles north of where it crosses the east line of Shelby. During 1857 the railroad was built as far west as where Shelbina stands; a station was made on the level prairie and named Shelbina, being nearly in the cen- ter of the county east and west, and two and one-half miles from the Monroe Une. Then AValkersville, three and one-half miles to the northwest, on Salt river, was an important trading point, and Old Clinton, nine miles to the southeast, also on Salt river, was a still more imiiortant commercial center. But these, like most towns missed by a few miles, were killed by the railroad. Soon as this station was located cheap bui^iness houses were erected; first on the north side, and business began. Shel- byville, the county seat of Shelby, and Paris, the county seat of Monroe, were without railroad communications, and Shelbina became the shipping point for these towns, and for all the county north and south for more than twenty miles. With these advantages business thrived and the town grew rapidly. This was checked by the war, which liroke out in 1861. Among the early business men were Kemper Bros., R. A. Motfett, Sam- uel ITardy, John J. Foster, John I. and William Taylor, William A. Reid, George Hill, JohnMyer, S. G. Parsons, C. A. Whitehead, and then Charles Miller, Charles and IMorris Goodman, Daniel G. and Coluinl)us Minter, Huron Miller, "Clabe" True, and Newton and John Bates. Among these Henson Thomas should not be forgotten, for he was an extensive real estate owner and dealer. Several saloons to dispense intoxicants to tlie railroad builders and others were among the lirst to occui>y business lots. In the fall and winter of 1857 the Thomas hotel, a good frame structure, was erect- ed where the Waverly hotel now stands. This hotel, we are told, did a large busi- ness in the early days. The early days of this town were like those of most other western villages, not as orderly as they should be. There were many rough characters about and much drinking. Saturdays often wit- nessed a number of fights. This condi- tion continued until near the close of the war. The first religious services were held in AVilliam A. Reid's store by Elder Powell, of the Baptist church, in tbe fall of ] 858. Mr. Reid had recently come from Old Virginia, and he was a man of character and force and soon became a leader, not only in business matters, but also in building up the M. E. chui'ch South and in Salibath school work. He became the wealthiest man of the place and died in 1890 at the age of sixty-four. Religious services were held in the Thomas hotel and afterwards in ^Miller's hall on Center street. It was 1867 before any church edifice was erected, and that was built by the Southern Methodists and Baptists on the site now occupied by the Pictorium. The war cheeked the material as well as the intellectual and moral growth of the place. During the troubles school ojjportunities were few. Charles M. King and some others had given instruc- tion to the youths befoi'e the war and part of the time during the continuance of the strife. Speaking of Mr. King, who afterwards became a lawyer and leading citizen of Shelbina, recall.s an incident during Bill HISTORY OP SHELBY COUNTY 167 Anderson's raid on the town in 1864. This outlaw had the citizens lined up the better to rob them of valuables. Mr. King was always a nicely dressed gen- tleman, and when the bandits demanded his valuables and he could produce only $1, they cursed him and handed the dol- lar back. Judge Daniel Taylor had to- bacco in the depot to be shipi)ed and he approached Bill Anderson and asked the privilege of getting his tobacco out be- fore the building was tired. The bandit leveled his revolver at Taylor's face and said he believed he should shoot the d — d Yankee, but finally allowed him to get his tobacco out and then burned the depot. The Federal authorities assessed $20,000 against the people of Shelbina and vicinity to pay the damage to the railroads. The military authority acted upon the false theory that the people of the vicinity were in sympathy with the raiders and could have prevented the damage; whereas they were as much opposed to the raiders as the military authorities themselves. Father D. S. Phelau interceded with Gen. Rosecrans and he revoked the order. This was the last raid of the war. With peace in 1865 came a new period of growth, and since then improvement has been continuous, though there have been periods when the town seemed to be at a standstill. This was especially so from '73 to '78, during the hardest times this country has ever seen. Then real estate values depreciated to less than half their former price and things were stagnant. Again during the eighties there was a period of depres- sion, when business did not flourish. Whenever farm products are so de- pressed that agriculture makes small re- turns, towns like Shelbina, dependent on rural trade, do not grow rapidly. In 1866 a fire consumed the Thomas hotel and all the business houses front- ing towards the railroad, west of Center street, and these were the main ones. The fire broke out when all were asleej:) and hence nearly everything the build- ings contained were destroyed. Fam- ilies living in the second story of the building barely escaped with their lives. It was determined to rebuild in a more substantial form and the three-story Masonic block and the two business houses, both two-story, east of this, were erected in 1867. The hotel was not built until 1871 and was named the "Waverly." Again in 1874 Shelbina was visited by a destructive fire, which also came in the night, and all the west side of Center street from the bricks fronting the rail- road south were swept away; Charles Miller's furniture store, at the extreme southern end, alone remaining. As the hard times were on the country, rebuild- ing was slow; but finally that large block of Bedford stone fronts was developed. A few years after the '74 fire the east side of Center street was also laid in ashes. Both sides of Center street are now lined with solid brick buildings. In 1881 Wailnut street, east of Center street, began to develop, and it now has more brick buildings on the south side than there are on one side of any other titreet. Shelbina has been blessed with a lot i.f live, enterprising merchants, who have advertised and drawn trade from a long distance. They have made for themselves commodious ])laces, in which to display and keep their goods, and 168 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY have also kept an excellent quality and variety of articles. Most of these men have been successful in making for them- selves and the town solid and substantial growth. Some have accumulated consid- erable property. In 1867 Shelbina was incorporated as a town, and in 1878 as a city of the fourth class. Soon after it became a city the business streets were made solid with gravel. It has long been noted for its good sidewalks, first of plank and now of granitoid. For twenty years past it has also been noted for the beauty and elegance of its homes. Forty years ago it looked bleak and bare; now nearly all its streets are lined with fine, towering shade trees. About twenty years ago the people voted $5,000 for an electric light plant, and this has since been doubled and the city has a good lighting system. The people also voted for water-works and sewers, but these have not yet been made. Some years ago a Business Men's As- sociation, with William M. Hanly as president and John H. Wood as secre- tary, was organized, and through its in- fluence a brick and tile plant was located just north of the city limits, and this is building U}) a fine trade. And a canning factory at a cost of $16,000 has also been established. Recently a factory for making frames for window screens, the Starrett AVindow Screen Company, has opened, with a fine promise of large suc- cess. For twenty years our Flouring Mill Company has done an extensive business. There are also three wagon factories in the city. In 1877 Shelbina Collegiate Institute was established for the better education of the youth of the communitj', and it did a fine work until the public high school became so efficient the institute became unnecessary. Shelbina has fine educational advantages and it also has strong church organizations and elegant houses of worship. The rough element, which was strong in the early history of the place, gradually faded away, and the people of this city and vicinity stand in the first rank for intelligence and moral- ity. The community about the city is prosperous and fine farm houses and barns dot the prairie in every direction. ■No more pleasing sight is to be found in a thousand miles than right here in the city and the surrounding country. A write-up in the Democrat eight years ago among other things said: "Situated on the main line of the Bur- lington railroad, between Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City, two miles from the southern border of Shelby county, is Shelbina, the largest town in the county. It is the shipping and trading point of a rich farming country and draws its wealth from the agricultural and stock raising country about it. The city is lo- cated on gently rolling prairie land and has wide, well kept, level streets. Stran- gers who view the town for the first time remark ui)on the width of the business streets. Then they comment upon the number and beauty of the shade trees that line all the residence streets of the town. Beautiful and graceful elms have been jilanted in the grounds belonging to the railroad near the station, making two handsome, shady jiarks of what would otherwise have been a vacant tract. "In Shelbina nearly every man sits under the shade of his own vine and his HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 169 own fig tree. In other words, they own their homes. This produces a pride in the appearance of things tliat has caused Shelbina to be noted as the town of beautiful homes. No other town of its size in northeast Missouri has so many beautiful residences." Then the write-up gives an account of the lights, the schools, the orders and clubs, and the beauty of scenery, and winds up with an enumeration of what the town has, thus: "One furniture store. "Two photographers. "A telephone system. "Two clothing stores. ' ' Three livery stables. "One business college. "A population of 1,800. ' ' One electric light plant. "Twelve real estate offices. ' ' One cleaning and dyeing shop. ' ' Three hotels and five boarding houses. "Four blacksmith and repair shops. ' ' Six grocery and six dry goods stores. "Four millinery and five dressmaking shops. "The best high school in northeast Missouri. "One music and one undertaking es- tablishment. "A lOO-barrel-a-day flouring mill, and a bakery. "Splendid railroad service, ten pas- senger trains every twenty-four hours. "A splendid telephone exchange. "The l)est fair in the county. "Two cigar factories, three lumber yards, two book and notion stores, four barber shops, two meat markets, one marble shop, six drug stores, three den- tists, six churches, one laundry, one oc- eulist, six doctors and three banks." It did not SHJ, as it should, four lawyers. Shelbina is one of the few small cities that has made a substantial growth dur- ing the past ten years, and the popula- tion by the census of 1910 is 2,174. It has long been known that there was some coal north of the city, and some years since an effort was made to or- ganize a company to sink a shaft about a mile north of the place, but it fell through. It was feared the vein was too thin to pay. But in the spring of 1910 it was found in paying quantities. Jacob Kaby, who is one of the men who established" the Brick & Tile Plant, bought a farm on Salt river, just east of the Shelby County railroad, and he im- mediatelv sank a shaft and foimd six or seven feet of good coal, about half bi- tuminous and half cannel coal. He also found great quantities of valuable white clay. Some of this has been shipped to Illinois and worked up. It makes a fine quality of porcelain for bath tubs, etc. J. E. Holman and F. E. Merrill have leased the coal mine and are now raising some twenty odd tons a day. This sup- ply of coal promises many advantages to Shelbina. The Shelby County railroad, built by home capital, is a great convenience for the people of Shelbina, as well as those of Shelbyville and all this surrounding country. The Brick & Tile Plant is on the line of this road, and the coal mine also. For twenty years past Shelbina has been blessed with au intelligent and moral class of citizens, who have done much to give the city an excellent name. Its members of the bar have not only been learned and able, but men of the 170 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY highest character. It has also been blessed with skillful pln'sicians, who have sustained the reputation of this great profession. In the line of mechan- ics, as well as in that of trade and mer- chandise, this beautiful little city has been highly favored. Its two weekly newspapei's, "The Democrat" and "The Torchlight," have always stood in the front rank of local journals and have contributed their full share towards building up the city mate- rially, intellectually and morally, and have contributed largely to its reputa- tion abroad. HUNNEWELL. On August 15, 1857, Josiah Hunt, the land commissioner of the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad, platted the city of Hunne- well. It had been deeded in July of the same year by Kichard Drane and wife to John Duff, of Dedham, Mass., for the sum of $1,200, and compi-ised a tract of sixty-two and one-half acres. The town was christened Hunnewell in honor of H. Hollis Hunnewell, of Boston, who was connected with the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad, as was Mr. Duff. Early in 1857 Ste))hen Doyle built the first storehouse and was afterwards known as the Doyle, Kellogg & Co. Soon after the town ojDened Richard Durbin built a frame building, a story and a lialf, into which his family moved — the first family living in this town. A little later," Snider & Co. built the third house for a storeroom. Snider & Co. stood for Jno. Snider, W. F. Black- burn, A. L. Yancey and Jno. Maddox. The first lot deed was made out to W. F. Blackburn. In 1857, the railroad having been com- pleted to the city limits, an excursion was run from Hunnewell to Monroe City on the 4th of July. In the fall of 1857 the first hotel was established by a Mr. Ball, who moved over from Old Cliuto'n. John H. Snider was the first postmaster. The postoffice was established in 1857 in the store of Snider & Co. In 1859 a school house was erected. It was a frame build- ing located south of the track in the west- ern part of the city. The town now has a new brick building, erected about 1895, and is located north of the track in the west part of the city. Himnewell's first preacher was Rev. T. DeMoss, a Metho- dist. Services were held in the school hoixse. The town of Hunnewell is located in the southeast corner of Shelby county and is one of the oldest and most sub- stantial towns of the county. The country surrounding is splendid agricultural land and the citizenship is the old Missouri kind that believe in honesty and good morals. The town con- tains two banks, one newspaper and some splendid stoi-es and business houses. THE TEMPLE OF JUSTICE. The first courthouse erected in Shelby county was built in the years 1838 and 1839, "and in March, 1839, the first term of Circuit court was held in the new courthouse. This building served the purposes of a temple of justice and home for counly officials until it was destroyed by fire in 1891. THE COURTHOUSE BURNED. On ^fonday morning, June "29. 1891, while Sheriff W. P. Martin was cleaning u\) the courthouse yard, assisted by some HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 171 prisoners, the courthouse was discovered to be on tire. A i)ile of broken limbs and trash had been piled on the north side of the old historical building, and set on fire, and it is likelj- the building was set on fire by sparks from the rubbish. Nearly all the records were saved and tlie loss consisted chiefly of J. C. Hale's law library, some of the probate records, and some of the papers in the collector's office. On Saturday, September 5, 1891, a proijosition to issue $25,000 bonds for a new courthouse was voted on and car- ried by a vote of 1,130 to 537. At the County court meeting on February 4, 1892, the contract to erect the new court- house was awarded to Charles Force & Co., of Kansas City, Mo. The building- was to be completed by November 1, 1892, but the contractor was slow and the county officials did not get into their new quarters until July, 1893. The first term of Circuit court was held the Octo- ber following, with Judge Ellison on the bench. THE 1884 FIBE. A disastrous fire occurred in Clarence on Friday, February 15, 1884. The har- ness shop of H. M. Shal)e], El)erhard & Co.'s grocery store, E. E. Dale's restau- rant, McWilliams' grocery store, Dur- ham's shoe shop. Dr. Hill's office, Will- iam Shutter's hardware, R. P. Richard- son's clothing store. Rouse's barber shop and the postoffice were totally de- stroyed. Amoimt of loss on goods was $40,000; loss on buildings, $10,000. In- surance, $6,400. CREAMERY BURNS. The creamery owned by Jacol) Pencil burned on Thursday night, January 14, 1886. The building and fixtures cost about $4,000, on which there was $3,400 insurance. MAN AND HORSES BURNED. Monday, November 9, 1884, the livery stable owned by a Mr. Clark, in Clarence, burned to the ground. Eight head of horses were burned, as were the contents of the barn. Joseph Blytlie, a one-legged man, who was sleei^ing in the hay loft, perished in the conflagration. A SHELBY COUNTY CONGRESSMAN. May 9, 1902, the congressional com- mittee met in Kirksville and ordered a primary to select a candidate for con- gress. Primary set for August 20. Richard P. Giles carried Shelby by 1,051 over his opponent. Col. W. H. Hatch. Giles also carried Macon and Adair counties. Hatch's majority in the district was 414. The second race was still closer, in which Hatch defeated Giles for the nomination by the narrow margin of 195 votes. This time Giles carried four counties : Shelby, Adair, Knox and Schuyler. A great deal of bitterness was engendered in this contest lietween the friends of the two candidates, and that, together with the fact that 1894 was a landslide for the Republicans, was in- strumental in defeating Hatch at the general election in Novemlier. At this election Col. Hatch, who had been in con- gress for sixteen years, was defeated l)y Maj. C. N. Clark, of Hannibal, by the close plurality of 329 votes. In 1896 Mr. Giles was made the Democratic nominee for congress by acclamation at the con- gressional convention held in Canton on August 11. He defeated Clark by over 5,000 plurality, the largest plurality ever ITS HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY given to a candidate in the district up to that time. Mr. Giles, however, did not live to reaji the reward of his eti'orts, but died only two weeks after the election. The date of his death was November 17, 1896. Mr. James T. Lloyd was chosen as his successor. THE BETHEL COLONY A STORY OF COM- MUNISM IN MISSOURI. (By Vernon L. Drain.) Few of those who read the books of Bellamy and who dream of an ideal com- monwealth, where each citizen is equal to every other citizen and all are alike rich with a common fund, are aware that those ideas embodied in the maxim — "equal rights to all and special privi- leges to none" — were once actually ap- plied in the establishment and subse- quent operation of the Bethel colony, a settlement founded by honest and sturdy German emigrants on the winding shores of North river, in Shelby county, Mis- souri. Several years ago Dr. David E. McAn- ally, now deceased, then the able editor of the St. Louis Christian Advocate, in an editorial on the subject of com- munism, asserted that the Oneida com- munity in New York, the Bethel colony and its offshoot, the Aurora (Oregon) settlement, were the notable instances of the application of the theory of com- munism upon American soil. Since then several sketches have been con- tributed to metropolitan newspapers wherein various features of this enter- prise have been reviewed, and recently Mr. William G. Bek, of the University of Missouri, has written a small volume in which the details of this enterjn-ise are given with much care. Aside from these writings the fame of this singular experiment has been contined to tireside narratives as the historian of its achieve- ments seems to have been omitted from its caravan, or left behind in the long journey of its progenitors toward the valley of the Mississippi. Like many modern co-operative schemes of similar character, this was conceived and planned in the brain of a religious enthusiast, who doubtless dreamed that he was the chosen i)ower to usher in a brighter day for human kind. This is not to be wondered at, nor is it to the discredit of spiritual things. Keli- gion is the most powerful force known to man, and it stirs the best that there is in us. It makes us to grapple with life's unsolved and unsettled problems and the dreams of the devotee are an inspiration to better things for his race and kindred. The longings of the dreamer may never be realized; his efforts may be like the crying of a child in the night, and we may say that his plan came to naught. But after all, it may be a contribution to- ward the betterment of humanity, and may l)ring us nearer to that far-off event toward which we are told the whole cre- ation is moving. The world is much in- debted to its so-called impracticable men. Dr. William Keil, the founder, prophet, priest and king of this Western Utopia, was a Methodist i^reacher of German lineage, who labored among his countrymen in portions of Pennsylvania and Ohio; how long he continued in the ministry or how successful were his labors cannot be ascertained, but for some reason, presumably that of preach- ing strange doctrine, he was called to ac- count by his ecclesiastical .superiors, by it^ Ti^thC'^t C^niiCl. THE OLD COLONY CHURCH AT BETHEL i HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 173 whom he was deprived of his ministerial authority. He then formulated this com- munistic scheme, organized this society. and with his followers emigrated west- ward and founded this colony, which sur- vives its wreck so far as appearances are concerned in the present town of Bethel, where some of the quaint buildings of the earl}' colonists are still pointed out to the inquisitive traveler. These colonists secured by entry or purchase a large tract of valuable land, eleven hundred acres of which was en- closed as the common field where the in- dividuals labored under the direction of overseers appointed by Dr. Keil. A com- mon boarding-house was erected where the unmarried male members of the com- munity resided, and a common store- house was kept where the families were supplied with their alloted i)ortions of provisions, the storekeeper m a n a g i n g the accounts and supplying the necessa- ries according to the communal regula- tions. The attention of these frugal peo- ple was directed toward manufacturing, and in the palmy and prosperous days of the enterprise Bethel was a miniature Lowell ; cloth was spun from the wool of the colonj^ sheep, which roamed in vast herds over the virgin prairies, attended by the designated s h e p h e r d s, and the skins of the wild deer, which had not then d i s a p p e a r e d from our horizon, were made into hats and gloves. Perhaps the crowning work of these industrious people, from an architectual standpoint, was the erection of the col- ony church, which until recently stood in simple grandeur as a memoiy of better days. This edifice was constructed of brick and stone after the type of churclies in the fatherland. It was paved with tiling, provided with an organ loft and would accommodate a multitude. It was crowded on the Sabbath day with the colonists, who, in the zenith of their power numbered perhaps a thousand souls. The type of religion cannot well be defined or classified, as Dr. Keil was leader in all things spiritual as well as temporal. From the scant information obtainable it seems that Dr. Keil grew to manhood in Prussia where he dalibled in the mysteries of the "black art," which was evolved and practiced by the tribes which long ago peopled the dark forests of Germany. After coming to America and while living in Pennsyl- vania he came under the influence of Dr. William Nast, the founder of the Ger- man Methodist church, whose life was a great contribution to the human race. Under the ministry of this great preacher Keil professed conversion, and in the presence of Dr. Nast he burned the secret formulas of his art and renounced its practice. Later on he seems to have dif- fered with his brethren and at the time when he was deposed from the ministry he had gathered a number of adherents who followed him implicity. One of these was Carl G. Koch, a scholarly German, who soon renounced the claims of Keil and op230sed his plans by writing a book wherein he asserted that he was a mystic and a dreamer. From all account he preached a polyglot, utilitarian doctrine, and there were man.y pious souls among these colonists even though their leader held and i)reached tenets of belief that must have been a cross between the Apostle's creed and the mysteries of the ancients. He claimed to be insjured with superhuman power and the older colo- nists accpiiesced in this assumption and 174 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY rendered him the homage due a superior creature. The observance of religious ceremonies was rigidly enforced. Each Sabbath morning during services the primitive policeman or burgomaster kept the streets and public places clear of loiterers and this may in part account for the immense attendance at the fa- mous old church. East of Bethel and down the pictur- esque North river, was erected the man- sion house of Dr. Keil where he lived and dispensed the hospitality of a feudal monarch. This house with its numerous appurtenances was called "Elim." It was built by the common labor and was a part of the possessions of the colony, but was designed and used as the resi- dence of the leader or governor. A com- modious banquet hall served its purpose, and there is a tradition that Dr. Keil lived and reigned here in this Western wilderness after the fashion of the great King Solomon, the splendor of whose reign has been the dream of the ages. The general character and appearance of these colonists would fit Irving's de- scription of the founders of New Am- sterdam during the glorious reign of Sir Peter Stuj'vesant. The typical, old fash- ioned Dutchman was the dominant type. They were artisans skilled in the highest degree. Such finished craftsmen were they that their work abides to this day in monuments of wood and stone. They were practical in all things save in shar- ing the ideas of their leaders and their descendants are usually splendid citizens wherever found. The plan of perfect equality was up- permost in the minds of the greater por- tion of these sincere adventurers, and this was their dominant idea. To the end that equal rights should be accorded to each member and that the scheme of co-operation should be rigidly adhered to, many curious expedients were prac- tised. At the Christmas festivities, al- ways held at the church, it was observed that each child was remembered by Santa Clause in exactly the same way and with exactly the same portion of any given article. Two collossal Christmas trees were erected and on these were placed the gifts for the children, and the elders and the strangers within the gates were also remembered. The trees as well as the interior of the building were lavishly decorated, and the decorations and the greater portion of the presents remained during the festivities, which usually lasted for a week. The splendor of the Yule-tide lingers yet in the memory of the sui'vivors. When the close of "life's fitful fever" came to one of the inhabitants, care was taken that he should be buried in the same degree of state accorded to his comrades who had preceded him to the peaceful colony of the dead. A plain, wooden coffin, a prayer for the repose of his soul and a grave amid the shadows of Hebron, the common burial place, was the farewell to the busy worker as he ceased his toil and passed out into the quiet. The earnings of the colony were placed in the keeping of a purseholder or treas- urer, and the fund grew as the years passed by, the members having none of it and presiunptively needing none, as they were supplied from the community storehouse and forbidden to trade else- where; so that the colony existed )irin- cipally upon confidence, many of them HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 175 living for years without possessing a cent of actual cash; the redemption money was in existence however, so they exercised confidence and labored and toiled. There was doubtless much in the wild luxuriance of the middle West to inspire lofty thoughts and noble purposes ; there seems to be an ascending pathway that leads us "from nature up to nature's God." But amid it all the tempter strug- gled for mastery as he did in the origi- nal Eden, and it is not strange that at the couclusion of the dreams of the sim- ple colonists there came a rude awaken- ing. Out of this splendid sowing there came a reaping for a talented lawyer who assisted in restoring order out of chaos and who counseled them as to the division of the property at the final dis- memberment of the colony which oc- curred during the year 1879. The title to the real estate of the colony was vested in individuals who held it for the common use and benefit, as the per- sonalty was held by the community treasurer. It is a monument to the mastery of Dr. Keil that the colony pros- pered as it did. No written constitution or agreement had ever existed and the whole affair moved under the guidance of the leader. When they were bereft of his immediate presence as hereinafter related, the alTairs of the community be- came more involved and finally one of the colonists sued for the value of the services which he had rendered to the colony. It then developed that the com- munity had no legal existence as it had never been incorporated, and it was also im]>ossible to hold any one member lia])le as an individual. And then there arose many questions as to the rights of those members who had left the parent colony at Bethel and founded colonies else- where; and finally in 1877 there came the tidings of the death of Dr. Keil. Then the last page of the history of the Bethel Colony was written when the agreement for a division of the property was signed by the colonists at Bethel and also by those in Oregon who had formerly been members of the Bethel experiment. By the terms of this agreement three trustees were appointed to represent the Oregon members, and five trustees were likewise authorized to act for the Bethel members. These trustees met and agreed as to the rights of each community in the common property, and also the rights of the individuals therein. An account was taken, first, as to the amount of property lirought into the enterprise by each colo- nist when he became a member, and then the number of years of service of each ascertained. Then the common prop- erty was valued and a plan of division was formulated by which each colonist or his heirs received the amount origi- nally contributed, and also the value of his or her services as ascertained by dividing the total value of the remaining property by the total number of years contributed by the entire number of in- dividuals, and then multiplying the re- sult by the years served by each member. The actual result was that in addition to the amount originally contril)uted, each male member of the Bethel Colony re- ceived in cash the sum of $29.04 per year for his services, and the female members one-half of this sum. The plan of allot- ment was honorably carried out by these trustees without litigation, the vast prop- erty interests were allotted in severalty and the Bethel Colony passed into his- 176 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY toiy, where in spite of the liopes of its founders, it serves like the memory of the Swedish King Charles, "to point a moral, or adorn a tale." It is but just to the fame of Dr. Keil to say that he was spared the pain of wit- nessing the dissolution of his dream-like empire. The colony was founded in the year 1845, and prospered much until the de- parture of its leader in 1858, though to the student of social problems the result would seem a leveling of human hopes and aspirations rather than that trium- phant achievement which adorns so grandly the successful struggle of in- dividual life. Around the departure of the leader there is a story that almost baffles human credence, though it is a well attested fact. Dr. Keil, like Joshua of old, had sent out spies to view the realms of the dis- tant west, whither he hoped to extend the influence of his c o m m u u i s t i c project. Some had returned, while others re- mained enchanted with the marvelous scenery and enraptured with the prom- ise of the morning dawn of that won- drous empire — "Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound. Save his own dashings." Tales of the natural beauty and fer- tility of this region were borne to the ears of the leader of the colonists and around his fireside were discussed the plans and hopes of a future domain be- yond the Rockies. Under the direction of the leader, an infant colony has been formed by the prosjiectors to which was given the inspiring name of "Aurora," and though the dreams of its originators have faded like the gleam of the borealis, the town still flourishes in the State of Oregon. The vision of the Bethel colonists was broadened by this adventure and their gaze turned toward the sunset. In their rude plastered houses they thought much about the distant valley of the Wil- lamette whence came the good tidings from their brethren. It was the day of the ox team, and the journey would con- sume months of time, yet many wished to undertake it. Among others who caught the western fever was a favorite son of Dr. Keil, who dreamed fond dreams of the land of promise. After much solicitation his father consented that he might go, and he began i^reparing for his departure from the mansion house upon a journey that would span half the continent, but which seemed to him as the coming of a holiday. The flame of ambition burned with increasing fervor in his youthful blood, but there came a fateful hour in which he was seized with another fever, deadlier and more ardent than the first, which added its fire to the flame of the other, increasing rather than diminish- ing its glow. In his delirium the long cherished Avirora was more real than ever to his disordered fancy. He "bab- bled o' the green fields ;" he saw the som- ber beauty of the cascades, and could hear the surf beat on the distant sea. There may have been a i'aii- haired Ger- man girl whose beckoning liand allured him; at least he exacted a jtromise from his father that in the event of his ex- pected death he should be buried among the scenes where his mind and heart al- readv lingered. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 177 He died, and amid tlie gloom which settled over the mansion house at Elim, his father made haste to fulfill the vow to his lamented son. An emigrant train was organized among the colonists who wished to depart, the body was encased in an iron cofHu containing alcohol, placed in the front wagon of the train which was drawn by six mules, and amid the lamentations of the remaining mem- bers of the colony there was begun what is perhaps the strangest and most stu- l^endous funeral march in the history of our land. After months of weary travel over plain and moutain the tired but faithful mourners arrived at Aurora, and the father religiously fulfilled his vow to his dying child. The Bethel brethren saw their patri- arch no more ; the colony dwindled away, and the snows of many winters have lain upon the grave of the leader, who sleeps beside his son under the Oregon pines. Vernon L. Drain. CHAPTER XV. Schools, Colleges axd Chckches — Shelbixa Collegiate Ixstitcte — Shelbixa Public School — The Macos Distbict Academy at Clarence — College at Leoxabd — The Ixdepexdext Holiness School at Clarence — The Christian Chtjbch in Shelby County — The Evangelical Association. shelbina collegiate institute. The Shelbina Collegiate Institute was established May 16, 1887. at a cost of $6,000. It was a fine and commodious building for the day and well built. Dr. Leo Baeir was the first president. Dur- ing the two years he was head of the school he gave them a good start, but its prestige was increased when Prof. E. L. Ripley and wife took charge of the work. They were both intelligent, broad and cultured and two of the greatest educa- tors of the day. Prof. Fredus Peters, re- ceived the greater part of his education at this seat of learning, graduating un- der Prof. Ripley. Prof. Ripley's motto in school work was, "The mind, like the body, becomes strong by exercise." He never did for a pupil what that pupil could do for himself. The last faculty in the old college building, as a college, was president T. E. Peters; vice-presi- dent. Rev. W. W. Carhart ; preparatory department, E. R. Edwards; primary, Miss Annie McMurry; music. Miss Kate Crawford; art. Miss Orrington Jewett. Tliere was a falling off in attendance, numbering 140 the previous year. The faculty was a strong one, but the patron- age was not sufficient and the town be- gun talking a thornnsli higli school and at a meeting of her citizens in May, 1892, without a dissenting voice, the college merged into a public school. shelbina public school. The first school house was built in Shelbina in the year 1859, which build- ing remodeled and modernized stood till the year 1884. Among the early teachers was Charles M. King, later a prominent attorney of the city till the nineties, the time of his death. It was in the nine- ties that Shelbina begim to look to her public school as a chief asset for her future prominence. The year 1892, a number of her prominent citizens met with the board of education to consider the advisability of leasing the college building and establishing a high school. Everyone present, in brief talks, heartily endorsed the idea of a first-class high school. It was shown that the town had wholly outgrown the accommodations of the old building. The board of education then sought the l)est teachers, placing Prof. J. T. Vaughn as superintendent. The curriculum was overhauled to correlate with the State University. Thus estab- lished, the jieojile had only reached the beginning-. In the venr 1890-01 the old 178 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 179 building was passed upon as unsafe and was rodded. Then every windy day half the children were absent and the other half wanted to go home and was restive, until the November monthly meeting of the board of education, they voted to put it up to the jDeople to bond the city for $10,000 to erect a new building. The pro- position carried and Shelbina now boasts of one of the most modern and up-to-date buildings. Her stride of improvement has been unceasing. Her building, eom- ])leted in September, 1894, sjieaks vol- mnes for the enterprise of her people and stands as a monument to her intelligence. The town sees to it that they have ever a wide-awake board and that board in turn puts up the teachers, and she is ever on the alert for new and modern equipment. "As a seat of learning may she abide." THE MACON DISTRICT ACADEMY AT CL.4RENCE. The Macon District division of the Missouri conference decided to i^lace be- fore the people of their district a prop- osition to build an academy and asked for the towns to make sealed bids for same, the town to stand good for the amount bid. Bids were submitted from Clarence, ]\Iacon, Shelbina. Clarence be- ing the highest bidder, $13,000. W. A. Irwin (deceased), W. A. Dimmitt, Christ Hunolt (deceased), O. C. Perry and others being active co-operators in the enterprise. The work was well under headway and the corner stone was laid in the year 1888, June l."?th, under the auspices of the Masonic order, assisted by the Knight Templars. The city was an array of decoration, the Cameron band furnishing most ex- cellent music for the visitors, which num- bered several thousand. Mayor Irwin delivered the welcome address, followed by other state speakers. Rev. J. D. Vin- cil conducted the exercises and a dinner was served to the visitors. The building was of brick, well built, containing nine rooms which included a large auditorium on the first floor. The school opened in full blast with Eev. P. D. Shultz at the head, and Ms wife principal of the primary depart- ment. At her best the school had some 200 pupils. Others who were at its head from time to time and labored faithfully for its success were J. J. Pritchett, E. C. Crabb, Prof. Demaree, but it was hard to keep it up. In the year 1898, Rev. Sol Milam made the town the proposition to build a boarding house thinking it was a great draw back not to have such a place. He was to put into it the same amount as the town, the individual to receive scholarships for the amount they put up. A $6,000 boarding house was built. It was heated by hot air and had water throughout the house. It was an excellent, modern building. He had the house full the first year, but pat- ronage began to lag and he held the school just five years. H. J. Simmons bought the boarding house. In 1906, Prof. Fred L. Thompson, of Macon county, bought the college building at $2,750 and immediately sold it to the In- dejiendent Holiness church for $3,000. The fall of 1909, Simmons sold the board- ing house to the Holiness people for $5,500. COLLEGE AT LEONARD. In the year of 1890, Eev. John T. AVelsh originated the idea of a college at Leonard. The people were rurally lo- 180 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY eated in the best of farming country to be found in the county, but this re- sijlendent fact was depressed by the real- ization of its good people that their chil- dren only had the advantage of a district school. Eev. John T. Welsh, seeing the splendid values of farming in that dis- trict, thought that a superior advantage could be obtained by establishiug a col- lege at Leonard on the scholarship plan and went forth to sound the popularity of the plan. In a few hours he raised $1,000 within the radius of the hamlet itself. The building was a good, sub- stantial frame building, two stories, a large auditoriimi on the second floor and five class rooms on the first floor. The first school, under the presidency of Rev. Welsh, assisted by W. L. Shouse, received a goodly patronage, and satis- factory work and higher education re- ceived a new impetus thereabouts. The school continued some six years, during which time Rev. 0. P. Shrout, a popular man in the Christian church, had a turn at the work, but the scholarships taken in the building were running out and in- terest lagged, until finally, for lack of sufficient patronage, as is the tendency of all such schools that have dotted our county, it was a hardship to make neces- sary funds to sustain the school and the building was sold to T. P. Manuel, who in turn sold it, and finally it was torn down and the lumber was converted into the house in which Henry Stuart now lives. SHELBYVILLE SCHOOLS. Shelbyville has always been to the front in her schools. There is not a town anywhere that ranks with ShelbyviUe in her schools compared with population. Possessing the eapitol of Shelby county, she has a special civic pride in all public enterprises, and she has always taken a specially keen pride in her schools. As early as the fall of 1857 Hezekiah Ellis opened a select school in the old Metho- dist church building. He had as his able assistants R. C. Arendt and Miss Parme- lia White. In 1858 Mr. Ellis opened school in the Shelbyville Seminary. His assistants were Prof. Dodd, R. C. Arendt and Miss Draper. At the death of his father, six months later, Mr. Ellis resigned, his as- sistants finishing the term. In 1860 Mr. Ellis opened a school of his own in the Carothers block. Eev. Joseph Dines was an assistant in a seminary in 1859 ; Prof. Leonard in 1860. The early settlers at Shelbyville bitterlj' opposed public schools and fought bitterly every propo- sition to institute such a school in their midst. Such a school building was erected, however, just after the war. It was a frame building and contained four rooms. Mrs. Manville was i)rincipal for four years and she was followed by Miss Minta Foster, eight years, then a new building of brick was erected of four nice rooms, and later this Iniilding was remodeled with an addition of four rooms and the Shelbyville public school developed into a high school. This build- ing stood three blocks east of the court house. W. L. Shouse had charge of the school during its days that it was on up- ward grade, and Shel])yville today feels indebted to him for the earlj" develop- ment of her school. Professors Richard- son and Alexander also did faithful woi'k later on. Now Shelbyville ])ossesses one of the best, most modern and up-to-date buildings in this part of the country. She HISTOKY OP SHELBY COUNTY 181 has a ten-room, steam-lieated building, and her course of study is simply first- class in every respect. Professor Brown, superintendent the first four years in the new school home, and this year Professor Stanley is making- good to her people the reputation that city has always shared. Shelbyville maintains a wide-awake and ' ' push ' ' board of education. Some of the prominent lights that have done much for Shelbj'\'ille in school lines are : Judge Perry, Messrs. John Gooch, J. J. Hewitt and Walt Dimmitt. THE CLAEENCE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The Clarence schools were moved from pillar to post for a term of years. The first public school in Clarence district was built in 1866. It was a brick, con- taining three rooms, only two being used for school purposes. This school was the brick house later occupied by James A. Watkins, now the lot on which Mrs. El- vira Durham lives. A Mr. Strong started the term, but resigned and was succeeded by Dr. D. H. Matthews. The town soon found it had made a mistake in building so far from town, with no walk, and it was decided to locate a room uptown, and so the school house was shifted from place to place, as a vacant room could be obtained. For a term it held forth in a room on the first floor on the north side, then it journeyed over to a room on first floor, that was later destroyed by fire, on the lot where now stands Garrison's jew- elry store. Clarence holds one distinc- tion regarding schools that perhaps no other town on which the sun ever shown holds — that of having had at one time a saloon on the first floor and school room above. Clarence once taught the three R's in a second story with a saloon on the first floor on the lot now occupied by the "Courier" building. Clarence has had her ups and downs, but in the year 1873 the present school building was erected, with three rooms on first and three in the second storj-, built by J. H. Martin. The first teacher was Eev. Steed, who, in 1874-75, was paid $100 per month. He was followed by Professor Johnson, and later followed Miss Julia Jacobs, Mrs. Annette Merriman, then later follows Miss Brunner, Professors Marr and Highfill. Under the present management the school last year was raised from third to second grade and from second to first this year. It is on an upward grade and has an enterprising, wide- awake board of education. It might be mentioned here that a few years since, when Citizen Hoyt, who had a special in- terest in our school, bequeathed the school in trust what is known as the Hoyt fund, from which the school has been a beneficiary since. In appreciation, the board erected a monument to his memory on his grave in the city cemetery. FIRST PKrVATE SCHOOL. The first private school in Clarence was in the year '69- '70, and this school was taught in the Higbee & Brown build- ing, which was located about where the North Missouri Lumber Company now stands. It was taught by Prof. C. F. Benjamin. THE INDEPENDENT HOLINESS SCHOOL AT CLAEENCE. In the summer of 1906 the Independ- ent Holiness people, representing several states, bought the property formerly 182 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY known as the Macon District Academy for $3,000 of Prof. Fred L. Thompson, Macon countj% the same to be used as a school house and place of worship. Eev. Sam Johnson was placed at the head. Eev. Johnson had a good patronage the first year. Various teachers have labored faithfully for the good of the school. In the year 1909, after a camp-meeting of ten days' duration, a committee was ap- pointed and bought of H. J. Simmons what was known as the Boarding House, consideration $5,500, and they are labor- ing faithfully to maintain a religious school for the young people. CHURCHES OF SHELBY. It has been impossible to secure data of all the churches of Shelby county. We have labored hard to secure the history of the most important strongholds, but the inactivity of those who should be in- terested in preserving the history of their church has curtailed the work to some extent. At the very dawn of the settlement of our great county, following the wake of the earliest pioneers, came the missionary to the frontier, laboring without money and without price in his work of love. "Preachin' day" was the event of the month, and on that day whole families turned out en masse as a social and spiritual event. At that early day the distributer of the word of (iod was a manual lal)orer, preaching when and where he may, as the o])portunity of- fered, laboring as did his fellowman dur- ing the week to supply his temporal needs. The Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians were represented at the earliest day and the Christian Church followed but a little later. BAPTISTS. As early as 1835 the Baptists held ser- vices in Shelby county. Among the "earlies" came Eevs. William Fuqua, Jeremiah Taylor and M. Hurley. Though the opportunity for advanced work and attending success were meager, yet these men were just as earnest, fervent in spirit as the latter day saints. They la- bored without murmur for such volun- tarj' pay as was offered them. Shiloii Church, section 10—59—10, Bethel township, was organized the sec- ond Sunday in May, 1869, with thirty- eight members. The church has had a steady growth, its membership varying from 100 to 150 from time to time. As early as 1870, this church built a splendid $1,200 church, which has been improved from that time to date. The church was organized by Eevs. C. S. Taylor, John Easton, Nathan Ayers, George W. Eaton and E. Kaylor. MOUNT ZION CHURCH. This church, located in Tiger Fork township, on section 6 — 58 — 9, was or- ganized the fourth Sabbath in August, 1838, by Eevs. Jeremiah Taylor and M. Hurley, with fourteen white members and two colored members, and has al- ways been a loyal, consistent body of Christians. While not a strong church in numliers. varying from a half liundred to one hundred from time to time. The early day ministers were : Jeremiah Tay- lor, John Keacli, Nathan Aj'ers, Frank Smith, P. N. Haycraft, E. Kaylor, San- ford Smith, George C. Brown, C. S. Tav- lor, William Pulliam, J. P. Griffith, J. H. Eubenson. A frame church was erected HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 183 in 1856, costing $600. AV. Moffett was for years clerk of the church, being elected at the organization of that body. NORTH RIVER CHURCH Is situated in section 17, Taylor town- ship, and was organized in 1844. The early records disclose the following mem- bership : Shelton Dodd and wife, eTohn H. Garnett and wife, James Singleton and wife, Mosco Garnett and wife, C. L. Harris and wife and J. T. Garnett. In the year 1882 the church rebuilt a nice frame building, costing $1,000. Some of the officiating pastors were: John Sweeney, "William Pulliam, S. C. Good- rich, John A. Clark, James Holt and John Eaton. lobney's creek o. s. baptist church. Located in section 33 — 59 — 9, Tiger Fork township, was organized in 1835. The records disclose as its original mem- bership the names of Edmund Rutter. Elizabeth Rutter, Edward Wilson, Mary "Wilson, William ]\Ioffett, Evalina Elgin, Manly Elgin, Mary Louthan, Henry Lou- than, William and Nancy Randolph. This is what is known as the Henry Louthan Church, the man for whom it was named, because of his untiring energy and in- terest in its welfare and who preached for the congregation without charge. His love for his Master was his pay. He was succeeded after his long term of service by P. M. Turner. Their early church was a brick, valued at $1,200. This church was organized before the division of the Baptist church into the old and new school. (Further facts turn to his- tory of Tiger Fork township.) OAK ridge church. Situate in Jefferson township, some six miles southwest of Shelbina. The or- ganization was formed February 16, 1867, the following family names being- found on their earliest records : The Kid- wells, Kimble, Webdells, Thrasher, Dun- gan, Clark, Perry Wrights, Smith and Thomas. In the year 1881-82 a frame building, 36x34 feet, was constructed at a cost of $1,200. Revs. ToUe, J. G. Swin- ney, W. B. Craig, A. G. Goodrich, Wil- ford Powers and other pastors have min- istered to the spiritual need of this flock. PRAIRIE view. Situate in Jackson township, 15 — 57 — 9, and was organized February 5, 1876. The church was a consolidation of the Oak Dale, Friendship and Hunnewell churches, and its original membership numbered some fifty or sixty members. It soon grew into a strong church, and has effected much good. A building erected in 1876 cost $1,200. The Revs. Green, Terrill, Lile and Smoot have served this joeople. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF CLARENCE. The early records of the First Baptist Church of Clarence hears record it was organized October 27, 1877, with fifteen members, by J. S. Dingle, a missionary of the Bethel Association. The following officers were elected to steer its welfare : Deacons, J. W. "Veal and Washington Lostutter, and James Pollard, clerk. From the date of birth, 1877, to the year 1890, they worshipped in the Presbyte- rian church, with Rev. Dingle as their first pastor. In the year 1890 the Bap- 184 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY tists built a new home for their congre- gation, which was dedicated October 26, 1890, by Dr. William H. Williams, one of the editors of the Central Baptist, St. Louis. The church has recently been im- proved. This membership, though num- bering only seventy-live members at the present date, is one of the most loyal churches in the county. At times it has been up-hill work, but they never waver. Untiring in their efforts, they have ac- complished much good. Rev. J. A. Johns, their recent pastor, was a great worker for his Master. He has just resigned and at this writing they are without a shepherd. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCn OF SHELBINA. The very early data of the Shelbina church was destroyed, but D. G. Minter states that the church was organized about 1863, with about a dozen members. For some years they worshipped in an old frame school building. Rev. Powers being their first pastor. He preached once a month and perhaps received about $50 salary per annum. In 1865 they moved their place of worship to Miller Hall, the present site of Minter & Smith dry goods store, they numbering about fifty. In 1866-67 the Baptists and Meth- odists built conjointly a brick house, where the Pictorium now stands. Here the church flourished. They called Rev. George Roby to preach twice a month, with a salary of $300, the Missouri board paying half. Then followed Revs. Busby, Chambliss, Dingle. During the thirteen or fourteen years of joint occupancy there was no friction, each worshipping independently, a board of trustees of three from each church having charge all those years. Only D. G. Minter remains to tell their struggles and their victories. In 1881 the Baptists bought a lot and erected a beautiful $6,000 house, which was dedicated in the fall of 1881 by Dr. Poi^e Yeaman, and Rev. J. S. Dingle was recalled for part time at $100. In 1884 came Rev. 0. L. Brownson, called for all time at $700. Since that date the church has been im^jroved from time to time and several splendid ministers have served tiie congregation, among them Revs. J. R. Pentaft; J. M. P. Martin, Hunt and Scott, who served them faithfully sev- eral years. On Christmas day, 1910, Rev. Scott, beloved by all who knew him, preached his farewell sermon, and the church has called Rev. Volman, who comes highly recommended to this charge. This church at present has 250 members. PRESBYTERIAN. This church in Shelby county is at low ebb. We have many good people — the very best of this denomination — but the following is scattered here and there, and but little public ministry is held in this county. In the earlier history of the county they were more prominent. No trace can be found of records which bear evidence of this division till the year 1859, when a Presbyterian church was organized at Shelbyville. Previous to this date, even as early as 1836, came one Dr. David Nelson, of Mai'ion College, a man of eminence and imperishable mem- ory, also the prominent divine. Rev. AV. P. Cochrane, preaching the word of life to the early settlers and trying to estab- lish their doctrines on the frontier of the new country. Services were held from date to date and protracted or revival services succeeded from year to year, and HISTOltY OF SHELBY COUXTY 185 finally an organization was effected at Slielbyville. PKESBYTEKIANS AT SHELBYVILLE. This church was organized by Rev. W. P. Cochrane, July 30, 1859. The origi- nals were: Joseph M. Irwin, Esther ^'aughn, Mary Vaughn, Elizabeth Ca- rothers. Dr. Darius Day, Peter B. Light- ner and Rachel Lightner. Some of the early day pastors were: Revs. George C. Crow, A. Steed, Duncan Brown, James Lafferty, J. C. Robinson, Edward Vincent and Blaney. The church build- ing, erected in 18G0 at a cost of $3,000, is in a good state of preservation. PLEASANT PKAIRIE CHURCH. Situate in section 18 — 50 — 10 and was organized in 1866. Its records bear fact of the originals as J. A. Ewing, Rebecca Ewing, Sallie Cardwell, Eva Cardwell, Martha Cardwell, James Cardwell, Su- san Cardwell, Joseph Blackwood, Ella Finley, Nancy Finley, Israel Cannon, Mary Cannon, Mary Cardwell, Susan Bostian and W. N. Bohon. In the year 1869 a church was erected at a cost of $1,500. This was a loyal band of work- ers from the earliest date. CLAKEKCE PBESBYTEKIAN. This church was organized July 17, 1859, by J. P. Winters, with a member- ship composed of James S. Martin, Mrs. Mary Martin, J. E. Martin, Susan M. HolhTiian, James B. Ryland, Mary Ry- land and R. A. Newcomb. The pastors having served this church are J. P. Win- ters, A. Steed, 1862-1872 ; James Laffer- ty, Duncan Brown, Carson, Robinson, E. Vincent. Rev. DeBolt was a late pastor who did much in building up this church. At present the church has no services. A lot was donated by a land company and at a cost of $1,200 the church build- ing was erected in 1860, and in 1883 the church was remodeled at an expenditure of $750. CUMBERLANDS. New Providence Church, situate in the southeastern corner of Taylor township, was organized on November 10, 1859, by Rev. S. C. Davidson, with the following original membership: Nathan Byars, J. P. Killinger, Hugh Kirkwood, S. P. Dunn and wife, Jacob Killinger and wife, Glenn Killinger, Mai'garet Kirkwood, Mary Evans and James G. Byars. Revs. Robert H. Mills, John AVinn, Nicholas Langston, J. R. Lowrance and T. G. Pool. A church was erected in 1874- at a cost of $1,000, and has been improved from time to time. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. The first organization of this church effected in Shelby county was at the home of I. B. Lewis, in Salt River town- ship, in the fall of 1837, when services were held for some. In 1838 a Sunday school in the Bacon school house; in 1850 a frame church was built on land donated by George Bacon, of Hannibal, and the church was named Bacon Cliai3el. Bacon Chapel. — The present building was erected in 1870. Among the minis- ters who have served this historic church are: Revs. William Pryor, Conley, Smith, T. Ashby, Tyson Dines, Martin L. Eads, James M. Green, Jacob Sigler, James Wainwright, James B. Callaway, E. K. Miller, James Monroe, T. DeMoss, L. Bush, W. W. McMurry, G. Tanquary, 186 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUXTY A. C. Browning, T. A. Allison, M. L. Shemwell. The present pastor is H. W. Buckner. The Sunday school superin- tendent is Nathan Taylor. Shelbi/ville. — This church was organ- ized about 1839 and reorganized in 1844. The present building was erected during the pastorate of Eev. HoUiday and val- ued at $7,500. The present pastor is Eev. T. E. Moseley. J. J. Hewitt has been Sunday school superintendent for many years. The membership numbers 296. Shelbina. — The church was organized in 1858. The first meeting was held in the Thomas hotel, where the "Waverly now stands. The congregation first wor- shipped in the school house, later build- ing a church with the Baptists. In 1867 a brick church was erected, and in 1882 this was superseded by another brick structure, which in its turn has been su- perseded by the present handsome church building, which was erected in 1907, during the pastorate of Rev. W. A. Hanna, at a cost of $22,000. The present pastor is Rev. J. X. Boyd and the Sun- day school superintendent is Dr. Lyell. The church has a membership of 600 and the Sunday school 400. Among the former pastors were : Revs. "\V. "W. I\Ic- Murry, W. Bell, L. Rush. B. H. Spencer, George Warren, A. B. Culbertson, Rob- ert White. J. A. Snarr and T. H. B. Anderson. Clarence. — The first preacher to hold services in the town was Rev. D. C. Blackwell. In 1872 a class was organized by Rev. W. W. ]\IcMurry, presiding elder, the first preacher being Rev. L. Rush. Of the charter members Mrs. Mary A. Jacobs alone remains a memlier of this church. In 1877, during the i)as- torate of the Rev. W. M. Wainwright, a church building was erected, of which building committee the sole survivor is C. M. Shackelford. This church was altered and repaired during the jjastor- ate of Rev. R. M. Dameron. The present splendid building was erected at a cost of $16,500 during the pastorate of Rev. H. H. Johnson, the building committee being H. J. Simmons, A. R. Tucker, E. E. Casler and 0. C. Perry. Among the other pastors who have served this church have been Revs. A. P. Linn, W. A. Tarwater, John Holland, C. T. Mc- Anally, W. 0. Medley and John W. Kim- brell. The present membership is 240. The Sunday school superintendent is H. J. Simmons and the membership is 200. Bethany. — In the eastern jiortion of Black Creek township and was organized March 4, 1882. The charter members were: R. J. Taylor and wife, George Carmichael and wife, Lula Z. Taylor, C. E. Scott, Angle Foreman. Thomas Tin- gle and wife, Eliza Smith, J. II. Car- michael and wife, Levena Foreman, Sarah Smith, Sallie Raine, Lucia Car- michael. A frame house, costing $1,200, was completed in 1881 and dedicated in July, 1884. Among the pastors have been W. A. Toole, J. M. O'Brien, O. B. Holliday, J. J. Reed, E. J. Speer and B. F. Leake. Tlie other chuvches forming the Shel- byville circuit, which has a membership of 182, are Morris Chapel, O'Brien Chapel and Duncan Chapel. Oak Dale. — This church was organized soon after Bacon Chaiiel. The ])resent church was erected in 19()S, during the ])astorate of Rev. Smith, and is valued at al)out $;),500. The present ])astor is Rev. O. Blackburn. Among the other churches HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 18^ in Shelby county are Wesley chapel, four miles northeast of Clarence, which is served by the Clarence pastor. Lowman chapel, part of the Shelbina circuit. The total membership in the county is 2.250. FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Clarence First Methodist Episcopal church was organized in 1866 by Rev. John Gillis and Dr. N. Shumate. In the year 1881 the present brick structure was built at a cost of $3,250. Among its pastors we find Revs. John Gillis, Com- fort Ransom, G. W. "Walker, A. Chester, S. Knupj), R. Carlyon, 0. Beistle and J. A. Westernian, the present pastor. The present membership numbers 150 loyal, faithful workers. The Berean M. E. church, at Shelby- ville, was organized January 13, 1850, by Christopher J. Honts, presiding elder Hannibal district, and J. M. Chivingtou. The original members were Leonard Dobbin and wife, James W. Ganby and wife, Joseph Hitch and wife, Daniel Wood and wife, E. B. Stover and wife and John Short and wife. The first church building was erected in 1860 at a cost of $2,500. It was re- moved from the original location to its present site in 1874, repaired at consider- able cost and dedicated by Rev. N. P. Heath, of St. Louis, and rededicated by Dr. William Taylor, of India. After the organization of the M. E. Church, South, in 1846, the M. E. church had no organ- ized church in Shelby county until 1850. The most of its members were taken into the M. E. Church, South, where they re- mained until the ]\fission Conference of the M. E. church was organized bv Bish- ops James and Morris, at the request of the general conference in 1848. Shelbina M. E. church was built in 1889-90. The membership was small, and in 1905 a federation took place and the membership of this congregation for the most part united with the M. E. Church, South. The Union Grove church, where a Methodist Episcopal class is maintained, was built in 1873. The present member- ship is forty. Mt. Pleasant M. E. church was built in 1887. Present membershiiD is thirty-five. Evans Chapel M. E. church was built in 1881. Present membership is forty- five. Forest Grove M. E. church was built about 1887. Present membership is thirty-five. Epworth M. E. church was built about 1884. Present membership is thirty. Bethel M. E. church was built in 1890. Present membership is 100. CATHOLIC CHURCH. St. Rose's Catholic churcli, located at Lakenan, is the stronghold of this church in the county. It was erected by Rev. E. A. Casey in 1887.- The number of Cath- olics at present attending this church is about 250. Father Collins is the present officiating priest. St. Mary's Catholic church, situated at Shelbina, was built by Rev. James O'Reilly in the year 1879. Previous to this date quite a strong membership held services at Miller's hall. The present membership is about 160. Father Col- lins is the present pastor. St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church at Clarence was built in 1883. It is a frame building and was erected at a cost 188 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY of $2,000 and lias been well preserved. Its membership varies from 100 to 150. Father Collins is the present pastor of the church. hager's gbove catholic church. The building is located about two miles north and east of Hager's Grove and was erected in 1866, but was destroyed by fire in 1867. The church was rebuilt in 1871. There are at present about sixty members who worship here, and the pas- tor's name is Eev. Father Adjudus Budde. HTJNNEWELL CATHOLIC CHURCH. There is also a Catholic church at this place which was erected at an early date in the history of Shelby county. The building, however, became old and inad- equate to serve the purpose for which it was built, and in 1905 it was torn down and a nice, new building erected in the place of the old one. The membership is about 100, who are under the pastorate of Rev. Father Connelly, whose home is in Monroe City. HOLINESS CHURCHES OF THE COUNTY. Since the year 1908 Clarence has had Holiness camp meetings. It is the inde- pendent bi-anch of the Holiness church and was moved from Stephen's Park, Macon, at the above date. It was lo- cated here on the Independent Holiness school grounds until 1910, and next year it will be held at Macon. It is a large gathering and ministers come here from all over the United States. There is a large tabernacle tent for the services, one large tent for dining (piarters and some fifty or sixty are scat- tered about the grounds for the campers. Services begin at sunrise and close any time at night. There is great enthusiasm and many are converted. The church is making a rapid growth. As to the Holi- ness church inception in these parts, one closely connected with its growth gives the following history : "The Holiness movement from the west was inaugurated by Elder "W. B. Colt, of Illinois, in the spring of 1875. The first meetings were held in Hannibal. It was not the original intention to estab- lish another church, but simply to lift church members and others up to a higher plane of worship. When Mr. Colt left Hannibal his work in Missouri was continued by Rev. A. M. Kiergan, then pastor of the Arch Street M. E. Church, South, at Hannibal. "\Miile yet a member of the conference Mr. Kiergan conducted Holiness meetings. These were attended by members of all denominations as well as the non-elect. Complaints were poured into the conference that there was a fanatical preacher over at Hannibal who was disintegrating the churches by tell- ing the members that they were not good enough and needed finishing touches put on their religion. ' ' Mr. Kiergan pursued the even tenor of his way, all the while striving to in- crease the interest in the Holiness move. He was ably assisted by his wife, who was almost as good a talker and fully as earnest as himself. They conducted the first Holiness camp meeting west of the Mississippi river in 1877. The site of the camp was a picturesque grove west of Hannibal. The daily attendance was tre- mendous. Mr. Kiergan estimates there were frequently as many as 5,000 people on the grounds. No adequate tent could be secured, and the trees formed the only HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 189 canopy. This meeting served to put the Holiness move in the west on a firm foundation. Tlie congregations were made up of people from various remote parts of the state, as well as the neigh- boring counties. "When they returned home they began talking up the new faith and did an earnest missionary work. "It was not a great while before Mr. Kiergan found more Holiness people on his hand than he knew what to do with. Many of his converts had not united with any church and seemed disinclined to do so. The reason was they felt it would be retrogression to unite with anybody hold- ing less advanced religous ideas than those taught at the pioneer camp meet- ing. So Holiness churches, strictly inde- pendent, were established in those com- munities where there were sufficient members of the sect. Where there were no churches the meetings were held at residences. Anyone who had a mind to could do the preaching. A characteristic of the Holiness people is that nearly every man, woman and child among them can get up at a moment's notice and de- liver a good talk on the faith that is in them. All of them are in the habit of re- lating their exjieriences before large con- gregations. And they enjoy to the ut- most this part of the services. When a man feels called upon to enter the min- istry they let him go in without objection if he is sound in the doctrine and of good reputation. No examining committee worries him with fine points of ecclesias- tical law. The people among whom he has lived are suj)posed to know whether he is a fit subject or not, and if they rec- ommend him for the ministry there is no red tape between that and his ordination. The question of salary never worries a Holiness preacher, because he rarely gets one. If he goes to a community where the membership is fairly strong, he may get irregular donations of money and things to eat. If he doesn't, he goes to work at something to make a living and preaches on Sunday just as hard as if he were a high-salaried prelate." CLARENCE INDEPENDENT HOLINESS CHURCH. We have not been able to get data con- cerning the Holiness church of Shelby county, but there is located at Clarence the Independent Holiness church, whose membership worship in the college lo- cated at this place. The church is of re- cent birth and the growth has been rapid. UNION INDEPENDENT HOLINESS CHURCH. There is also an Independent Holiness church located near Otter Creek, south of Clarence. The congregation built a nice frame church house in the 80 's. It has a strong membership for a rural lo- cation, numbering about forty members. SHELBYVILLE MISSOURI HOLINESS ASSOCIA- TION. In Shelbyville is located a membership of the Missouri Holiness Association. This branch has a goodly following at this point. It was organized by Eev. O'Brien, the father of that branch. They bought the M. E. Church house there and have an earnest, loyal church. LENTNER INDEPENDENT HOLINESS CHURCH. The Lentner Independent Holiness Church is the newest one in the county. They have a neat little church house and a good membership for a young church. It has only been organized a few years. 190 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY THE MENNONITES. There is but one church of this denomi- nation in the county. It is located near Cherry Box and has been an established church there for many years. This sect of Christian people liave some very sti"ong convictions on certain things. One is they believe a Christian should not take an oath, hold ofiSce or enter military service. They also believe the New Tes- tament is the only rule of faith and that infants should not be baptized. Their local preachers are chosen by casting lots by the male members of the congrega- tion. The women distinguish themselves by wearing sunbonnets and the men by wearing smooth upper lips. Some of the families who hold to tliis faith are the Detwilers, Bisseys, Hersheys and John- sons. They are among the best people of the county. HISTORY OF CHEISTTAN CHUECH, SHELBY CO. By .J. H. Wood, Pastor Christian Church, Shelbina, Mo. The Christian church in Shelby coun- ty, Missouri, numbers a membership of about 1,700, and has seventeen organized churches as follows : Shelbyville, Shelbina, Clarence, Enterprise (Union), Maud, Leutner, Hager's Grove, Cherry Box, Leonard, Berea, Bethel, Concord, Emden, Fairview, Mt. Era, Lakenan and Hunne- well. There has for many years been a county organization of the Christian churches with a president and secretary and treasurer who co-operate with the churches in any work for the mutual good and establish churches at new points. The churches at Maud, Emden, Cherry Box, Fairview and Bethel were stjirted by the county work, and nuiny other churches have been aided and helijed in times of discouragement. J. H. "Wood, of Shelbina, has been president of the county board for eleven years. T. P. Manuel, of Clarence, is secretary, and George B. Bedwell, of Shelbina, treas- urer. Besides there are seventeen vice- presidents, one from each congregation, as follows : W. M. Hanly, A. Cooper, Dr. Ellis Roy, Carleton Smith, T. S. Baldwin, Hugo Bowling, J. P. Smith, J. H. Tarbet, Henry Kilb, Enoch Turner, Mintie Da- vis, T. S. Damrell, John Chapman, "Wil- liam Cadwell, Kenton Brown, Mr. Alex- ander, of Hager's Grove, and Mr. Turner, of Cherry Box. The first preaching in Shelby county by a minister of the Christian church was by Elder Jacob Creath, who held a meeting on Black Creek in 1888. and a church was organized in Shelbyville soon after. Slielbina. The Shelbina Christian Church was or- ganized in 1866 or 1867 by Elder T. M. Allen, of Columbia, Missouri. There had been occasional preaching before this in residences and in the public school build- ing. In 1868 the old brick church, which has served to this day, was built. Some of the early members were Thomas Mitchell, Leroy Dye, Sarah "Walker, C. H. True and wife, AV. R. Stemmons and wife, Mrs. Sue E. Hanly, Daniel Givan and wife and many others. The Shel- bina church has been served by many splendid pastors in its history — "William Featherstone, AV. G. Surber, H. P. Davis, E. C. Browning, C. B. Newnan, 0. P. Shrout, L. J. Marshall, AVilliam Roe and J. H. "V\^ood, who has been pastor of the church since 1898. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 191 The church has had its iips and downs, but has made a steady and substantial growth, now numbering 325 members, 275 of whom are local resident members and include many of the best Shelby county families. This congregation is just completing a beautiful uew church building on Center street, at the cost, complete, including furnishings and the lot on which it is built, of $20,000. The present officers of this church are : Eld- ers, W. M. Hanly, W. L. Shouse, W. S. AVood, W. S. Orr; deacons, George B. Bedwell, Charles White, James E. Rags- dale, Lee Francis, D. H. Tillett, Dr. E. :M. Mills, E. T. Givan, Harry J. Libby and Oliver J. Lloyd. W. L. Shouse is superintendent of the Bible school ; Bess Dickerson, organist ; Mrs. Mary Lyell, leader of the choir; Corinne Bragg, organist; Mrs. Kittie Francis, president of the Ladies' Aid So- ciety; E. T. Hockaday, president of the Y. P. S. C. E. Shelby ville. The Shelbyville Christian Church was organized in 1839. Some of the first 7 members were: William Gooch, Tandy Gooch, William S. Chinn, Joseph Chick, Hiram Eookwood, Warren Hall and Ze- rellda Hill. The church was reorganized in 1874, with Catherine Collier, Jane E. Black, Eliza J. West, Sallie Oaks, Sarah J. Hiter, Sarah Cariey, Jane Brauuer, Lucy S. Chinn, J. M. Collier, Maria L. Sullivan, Cordelia P. Dobyns and others. Their first church building was erected in 1844. They now have a commodious church building with modern equipment, valued at $7,000. This church is a pros- perous organization, and has a member- ship of 270 and one of the best Bible schools in the county, with W. W. Mitch- ell as superintendent. Some of the offi- cers at present are : L. G. Scofield, W. C. Chick, Magruder Pickett, John Gooch, A. Cooper, T. B. Damrell, Claud Ander- son, George Miller, Aubrey Davis and Reason Baker. Leonard. The first Christian churcli organized in Taylor township was in the house of Lewis H. Gillaspy, who moved to the townshiiD in 1838 from Shelbyville, built a log house for his family, and his home became the center of the first small band of disciples in that eommimity. Here in this home Jacob Creath and other pio- neer preachers proclaimed the simple gospel. In 1866, after the war times. Elder John P. Tandy held a meeting- three and one-half miles northwest of the present town of Leonard and orgau- ized a Christian church. Among the first members were : Lewis H. Gillaspy, John M. Alexander, William Baker, Preston Manuel, Andrew P. Mc Williams, Jasper N. McWilliams and others. November 7, 1867, a large hewn log church house was raised and was known as Antioch Church. In August, 1873, E. C. Brown- ing held a meeting of far-reaching re- sults, the whole connuunity was aroused and enlisted in the church. J. M. Chev- ront, Alexander Lorentz, Benjamin F. Smith, Dr. G. L. Smith, Samuel A. Ma- gruder, John T. Tuggle, William Gaines and many others were converted. In 1882 John T. Welch held a meeting in a hall in Leonard which was very successful and resulted in steps being taken at once for the erection of a substantial frame build- ing in the town of Leonard. This church was dedicated in 1885. The Leonard 192 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY Christian Church has probably 175 mem- bers and has been the mother of the church at Cherry Box and Berea. Clarence Christian Church. A few members of the Christian church in Clarence had occasional preaching in the early 70 's, but there was no church house or regular worship. In the year 188l' Rev. John T. Welch reor- ganized the little band into a congrega- tion and gave them regular ministerial service. For several years their services were held either in the Methodist or Presbyterian church. Some of the early officers of this church were: George W. Chinn, A. W. MeWilliams, Al Chinn, L. 8. Wright, Rufus Farrell, Sr., E. Blakey, John E. Palmer and Jacob Melson. J. T. Welch, W. G. Surber and W. P. Dor- sey were among the earliest preachers. In 1884 a new frame church was erected which supplied the wants of the congre- gation until 1908, when a new modern brick building was erected at the cost of $10,000. This church now has a member- ship of about 200, with R. B. Havener as pastor. E. C. Shain, J. T. Garnett, T. P. Manuel and T. H. Phillips are elders. William McQuary, J. R. Snodgrass, C. W. Adams, T. M. Byland, G. B. Elliso and J. A\". Stark are deacons. This church, equipped as it now is, should do a great work. Union Chrisiiaii Church. In the early 60 's Rev. John P. Tandy, an old ]iioneer Christian preacher, fre- (juently held services at a school house southwest of Clarence. In 1873 a Union church house was built by the members of the Cliristian, Bajitist and ^letli'odist churches and these organizations all wor- shipped and had services alternately and are doing so at this time. Among the first officers of the Christian church con- gregation were William Cax-ver, Donald- son, John Sage, James E. Burns and Thomas Hagan. Rev. James Wright, of Macon, was the first pastor. This con- gregation numbers about seventy-five members and has regular services. ^lany substantial farmers are among the mem- bership. This church has furnished large re-inforcements to the other congrega- tions, in the towns especially. Christian Church at Lakenan. The Lakenan Christian church was or- ganized in 1887 on Christmas daj' by H. F. Davis. S. D. Proffitt, B. E. Washburn and W. S. Orr were selected as elders, J. A. Irwine and Joseph Washburn as deacons; W. S. Orr, clerk and treasurer. This little church has been one of the most plucky and active little churches in the county for its numbers. It has given many good members by removal to other churches in the county and even in other states. J. M. Vawter, J. C. Davis, C. R. Daniel and others have been pastors of this church. The membership at present is about thirty-five. Emden Christian Church. This church was organized by W. M. Roe about ISOfi. It has some choice peo- ple in its membership and does as much for the number of members as any church in Shell)y county. R. H. Havener is the present pastor and is much be- loved by this people for his sjilendid ser- vice. Their present membership is about fifty and they have a good Bible school. A. Martin, Richard Wood, James Green, HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 193 J. M. Davis, Lee Turner, Lesley Robb and Bro. McGlothliu are the officers of this church. Hunnewell Christian Church. The Christian church had a small or- ganization, but no place of worship, as early as 1870. This was disbanded some- time in the 80 's, the members going to Mountjoy and a church north of Hunne- well. About 1890 there was a reorgani- zation and a church house was built. This organization prospered. Dr. L. W. Dallas was a tower of strength in this church for years and was ably assisted by many good workers. This congrega- tion has a membership of nearly 100 and a splendid Bible school, and is an active, aggressive body of splendid people. The present officers are: Mr. Baldrich, Jo- seph Hickman, George McClure, Dr. Furgeson, Charles Hickman, Ollie Howe and Frank Reed. Hager's Grove Christian Church. The Christian church at Hager's Grove was organized by Rev. John P. Tandy in' 18G7. Among its first officers and active members were J. M. Chinno- worth, Jonathan Peoples, John Patton and Samuel S. Patton. This old church has sent many substantial members to many other churches and has done an abiding work in Shelby county. The present membership is eighty or more. Maud Christian Church. The Christian church was built during the summer of 1896, with W. F. Miller, J. S. Daniel and P. F. Daniel as a build- ing committee and F. G. Blakey and Ed Smock as collectors. This is the only church in the county so far as we know which was built before there was an or- ganization. The church was dedicated October 25, 1896, by Rev. G. W. Buckner, who followed with a meeting and organ- ized this congregation with seventy-six members. J. S. Daniel, "Will Naylor, Ed Smock and T. H. Phillips were selected as elders and F. G. Blakey, F. M. Dale, Robert Hanger and James B. Bryan as deacons. Since that time the following- have been leaders and officers: Joe Stewart, Harve Doctor, Fred Heathmau, O. C. Davis, Charles Naylor, Ed Smock, Jr., Ed Daniel and Thomas Baldwin. This church has had as pastors and evangelists C. J. Lockhart, Simpson Ely, A. B. Elliott, J. W. Davis, C. J. Weldou, J. H. T. Stewart, J. H. Bryan, C. V. Pierce, Allen Hitch, J. H. Harris and C. W. Worden. The present membership of the church is eighty to 100. » Cherry Box Christian Church. The church at Cherry Box was built in 1897. Dr. Luther Turner was the moving spirit and gave liberally for the building. The organization drew quite a number from the Leonard Christian church. This church has had a prosper- ous history and numliers probably 150 members at the present time. Many in- fluential and substantial people are iden- tified with the work and progress of this splendid church. Berea Christian Church. This church was a daughter of the Leonard Christian church and is sit- uated in a splendid community, and has had a splendid record for good. It has suffered by removals as much as any church in the county perhaps and this 194 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY fact has discouraged them at times. They have a membership of about eighty. Bethel Christian Church. This church was organized in 1906 by Rev. Carr, following a tent meeting of several weeks. This meeting was held under the auspices of the county board. They have a good organization and a good Bible school. The church uimibers about forty members. Rev. Byron In- gold preaches for them. Henry Kelb, P. D. Shouse and others are the leaders here. They have no church house of their own, but plan to build very soon. Fairview Christian Church. This church was the result of a tent meeting held by J. H. Bryan in the sum- mer of 1898. The church was built and dedicated in 1899 by J. H. Wood, who was pastor for several years. T. S. Damrell, James Baker, A. E. Jordon, Tom Stone, B. G. Blackford, Frank Sherwood, Virgil Alexander, Chester Bethards and others have been oflBcers during the years since organization. This church has about seventy-five mem- bers, but is now without a pastor. Lentner Christian Church. This church of 100 members was or- ganized sometime in the 90 's, and a sub- stantial frame building was erected. Rev. Alfred Munyou has preached for them for a nmnber of years, and they have en- joyed quite a measure of prosperity un- der his ministi-y. Thej^ have a good Bible school and take pride in keeping a church up in good shape. Mt. Era Christian Church. This church has had a checkered his- tory. The building was first erected at Walkersville, afterwards moved to the l)resent site north of Salt river, near the Shelby County Railroad. It once had a. good membership, but removals and death has discouraged them and they now number only about twenty-five. They have no regular preaching, but have a Union Bible School during the summer. Concord Christian Church. The Concord Christian church was or- ganized December 1, 1883, in Tiger Fork township. A frame building was erected the year of the organization at a cost of $1,200. The organization was effected by Rev. J. P. Tandy. Some of the char- ter members were: L. Hunter, AVilliam Daniels, S. I. Bragg, William Peak, James DeMoss, Levi Plight, Millie Plight, Mary Bragg, Martha W. Triplett, M. Peak, Alice Browning, Caroline Dougherty, Ida Dougherty, Mary E. Wolf, Susan Melburn, E. P. Allen, Amer- ica Allen, Mahala Siminon, A. S. Rife, G. A. Rife, John McGraw, Eliza J. Bragg, Benjamin Talbott, Mary J. Pierce, Walker Pue, Ellen Siminon, Mary E. Jones, Charles Siminon, Eliza- beth Poor and F. M. Poor. This church has served splendidly in its community and today has an aggres- sive organization of about 100 members and a good Bible School. Oscar Ingold, of Canton, is pastor. Concord can be counted on in every good work in the county. HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 195 A Brief History of the Evangelical Asso- ciation in Shelby County, Missouri. The Evangelical Association o r i g i - nated through the labors of Jacob Al- bright, who was born near Pottstown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, May 1, 1759. In his thirty-second year he was soundly converted through the la- bors of Adam Riegel, an earnest minis- ter, who was not connected with any church. After his conversion he became inter- ested in the salvation of his neighbors, and five years later he tried to preach among the Germans; in barns, private residences, school houses, groves, or any place where he was able to gather a few of the people together to listen to the gospel. Those that were converted he organized into classes for spiritual over- sight. In the early history of our church it was named "The So-called Albright People." In the year 1816 the name of l| * ' Evangelical Association "was adopted. It was customary from the beginning of the organization among the iireachers and members to call themselves "This Association," or "Our Association" (Gemeinschaft), hence the adoption of the name Evangelical Association. This association is Methodistic in its doctrine and polity. It has a large pub- lishing house in Cleveland, Ohio, and a splendid college at Naperville, 111. The work of the Evangelical Associ- ation in Shelby county, Missouri, consists of three churches, namely : Zion church, situated on section 36, township 59, range 11, west; Ebenezer church, situated on section 8, township 58, range 11, west, and Leslie church, situated on section 33, township 58, range 11. These three churches, with a fourth church in Bloom- ington, Macon county, Missouri, consti- tute what is known as ' ' The Shelby Mis- sion Field" of the Evangelical church. In the year 1866, Eev. J. G. Pfeifer, a minister of the newly organized Kansas Conference of the Evangelical Associ- ation, who was living at Bloomington, Macon county, Missouri, and preaching to the Evangelical congregation of that place, commenced to preach in the home of Rev. C. Stauffer, east of Bethel, Shel- by county, Missouri, and also at the Messner school house, south of Bethel. These services were conducted in the German language, and all of the pioneer preachers of the Evangelical church in Shelby county were Germans. In a year or so these services were moved to the Short school house, two miles west of Bethel, where the first class of the Evan- gelical church in Shelby county was or- ganized by Rev. J. G. Pfeifer, February, 1868, with the following charter mem- bers : Rev. C. Stauffer, Susanna Stauffer, Phillip Christman, Mrs. P. Christman, Charles Christman, Fred Christman, Caroline Christman, Michael Fye, Mrs. M. Fye, Jacob "Wise, John Stauffer, Mrs. J. Stauffer, John C. Bower, Fred- erika Schnaufer, Henry Schnaufer, Fer- dinand Wester, Mrs. F. Wester. This class worshiped in the Short school house until the year 1870, when they hired a hall in Bethel, Missouri, and in this year our first church Sunday school in Shelby county was organized and it has been an evergreen Sunday school for forty years. In the summer of 1879 the class moved 196 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY their place of worship back to the Short school house and under the able leader- ship of Eev. C. Linge they laid the foundation for a church building- on sec- tion 36, township 59, range 11 west. This building was finished that year and formally dedicated to the worship of God in April of the following year by Rev. J. G. Pfeifer, who was at this time a presiding elder in the Kansas Confer- ence. For thirty years this church has been the center of religious activity in that community. In the Sunday school. Young People's Alliance and preaching ser\'ices this church has advocated a genuine experience in the forgiveness of sins; this to be manifested always by a righteous life. From tliis congregation have come four noted workers in our church, name- ly, Eev. "W. A. Schuttee, a former pre- siding elder in the Illinois Conference of the Evangelical Association, now the jiastor of the First Evangelical church at Naperville, 111., and Rev. Wesley Stauffer. who died April 12, 1900, at Holtou, Kan., in the fourth year of his pastorate of the Evangelical church in that city. These two noted brethren, with their wives, are a quartette of work- ers that any church would bo glad to honor. They were converted through the labors of our ministers, trained in our Sunday Schools, educated in our col- lege, and went out into the l^ord's har- vest field with the endorsement of the Zion class, and under the blessing of God became workmen that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth. This church was one of the strong countiw churches of Shelbv countv, but today it is reduced in numbers. Is its mission about finished! We hope not, but trust that it may stand for thirty years more, telling to the traveler the faith of man in an Omniijotent God. The Ehenezer Class. Rev. J. G. Pfeifer on his trips from Bloomington to Bethel, in the years of 186G to 1868, often stop])ed in the com- munity about seven miles north of where Clarence, Mo., is now situated. He was asked by the people of this neighbor- hood to christen their children and to perform other duties pertaining to his calling. The majority of the people in this community wei'e English and Rev. J. G. Pfeifer usually preached in Ger- man. There was little preaching done by him in this neighborhood. " The Rev. C. Timmer, Rev. B. Hoffman, Rev. Koepsal, Rev. Ferdinand Harder, also visited among the people in this neighborhood as they went from their home in Bloomington to preach to the Evangelical congregation at Bethel. Mo. In the years 1874 and 1875 the Rev. M. Alsbalch, who had charge of the Evangelical congregations at Blooming- ton and Bethel, preached occasionally in this neighborhood. In the year 1875 Rev. C. Stauffer had charge of the work at Bloomington and Bethel, commenced regular preaching services in the Rawson school house and organized a class with the following charter members: John Schwada, Clara Schwada, Henry Leu t cherdi ng, Lydia Leutcherding, Richard Dove, Henry Wilkie, Sophia Wilkie, S. Rawson, Mrs. R. Rawson, George Farber, Louise Farber, Rosa Farber. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 197 Some time in the year 1878 the people living in the neighborhood of the Raw- son school house oonohided to build a union church building. This church was dedicated as the "Eawson Chapel" by Eudolph l)ul)l)s, a bishop of the Evan- gelical church. This chapel was used by the various religious societies in that community, the Evangelical society hav- ing a stated time each month that the l)reacher in charge of their work was expected to preach. This building was destroyed by lire in the beginning of the year 1894. The Evangelical congregation having no place to worship, determined to build a church building of their own. Under the leadership of Rev. M. AValter the building was finished in the fall of 1894 and on November 11 of the same year it was dedicated as "The Ebenezer Church" of the Shelby Mission Field by John J. Esher, a bishop in the Evan- gelical church. A church Sunday School was organ- ized and is one of the evergreen Sunday Schools in the rural districts of Shelliy county. A glance over the list of members be- longing to this chureli during the last sixteen years reveals the names of many an earnest, quiet worker in the Lord's vineyard who received their early re- ligious training in its Sunday School, the Young People's Alliance, Women's ^lissionary Society and prayer meetings held by this Evangelical congregation. This ])lain chapel has been the birth- place of many a soul ; here they found the Pearl of (Jreat Pi-ice and conunenced a life of service for God and humanity in the chuirh militant which finally ended in the church iiiuini)hant. When it was destroyed by fire De- cember 25, 1910, the members and friends gathered around its smoking embers with tears in their eyes and sad- ness in their hearts, for it had been a veritable Bethel to many of them. They said with one accord: We must rebuild this church; we cannot let our children grow up without the influence of God's word and ministry. May God bless the new church edifice and the future con- gregations that gather within her walls as He did the old church and her con- gregations. God grant that the glory of the latter house shall be greater than that of the former house. Leslie Church. Rev. J. S. Stamm, an assistant pastor under Rev. J. B. Gresser, commenced preaching services in the Brewington school house in the spring of 1900. These services were continued that year with some success. The following j^ear Rev. J. B. Gresser took charge of work and as there was no assistant pastor that year Rev. Gresser could not devote as much time to this new appointment as it ought to have received. In 1902 Rev. W. H. Manshardt was appointed to the Shelby mission field as l^reacher in charge, but was not able to give this appointment any preaching service. However, he secured pledges from men living in that neighborhood to the amount of nearly eight hundred dol- lars for a church building in that neigh- borhood. In the spring of 190.3 Rev. I. H. TIauptfuehrer took charge of the Shelby mission field and after a successful arbor meeting held near Mrs. Eliza Van Hou- ten's faiTO in August of that vear or- 198 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ganized a class with, the following char- ter members : George Crawford, Mary Crawford, Charles Crawford, J. F. Webb, Cather- ine Webb, Eelda Webb, Eosa Shepherd, Clarence Messick, Euby Messick, L. L. AVheeler, Cora E. Wheeler, Nora Beu- lah "Wlieeler, E. Ag-nes Wheeler, Vincil Wheeler, J. B. Dehner, Katie Dehner, Mary E. Heathmaia, Mary Oneal, Nathan Gibson, MoUie Thresher, Ada Thresher, Bertha Copenhaver, Maudie Hall, Mary AA^hitby, Theodore Dove, Maria Craw- ford, Eosa Hopper. A church building was started in the fall of 1903 and dedicated by Eev. C. F. Errfmeyer, presiding elder of the Kan- sas City district, in May, 1904. The Shelby mission field built a good, substantial parsonage in the year of 1910 in the Culver addition to the city of Clarence, Mo., and is well prepared to take good care of her future pastors. PHILIP DIMMITT, M. D. BIOGRAPHICAL PHILIP DIMMITT, M. D. I The late Dr. Philip Demmitt, whose death on November 23, 1898, at the age of seventy-one years cast a shadow over all of Shelby and the adjoining counties of this state, was one of the leading- physicians and surgeons in this portion of the country, and also one of the most extensive and progressive farmers Shel- by county has ever known and one of its most prominent and influential citizens, giving close and intelligent attention to public affairs and rendering the general public excellent service in various ways besides the advantages they derived from his professional work and his farm- ing operations. Dr. Dimmitt was born in Washington county, Kentucky, on December 11, 1824, and was a son of Judge Walter B. and Louisa (Hughes) Dimmitt, also Ken- tuckians by birth, the father having been, like the son, a native of Washington county. He was, however, reared and educated at Harrodsburg, in the adjoin- ing county of Mercer, and for a time was assistant county clerk of that county, ater he returned to Washington county and served as sheriff there. In 1829 he moved his family to what is now Marion county, Missouri, arriving in this state and that portion of it before the gov- ernment surveys were made. He made i 199 a wise selection of his location and pre- empted a large body of land, "on which he carried on extensively as a planter and general farmer. He also rose to prominence and influence in local affairs, served as county judge for a number of years, and was everywhere regarded as one of the most public-spirited and rep- resentative citizens of the section of the state in which he lived. His death oc- curred in 1849, and that of his widow, whom he married in Kentucky, in 1872. The Dimmitt family was of French origin. Its progenitors in the United States came to this country at an early day and took up their residence in Mary- laud. But the spirit of adventure and desire for better conditions in life and opportunity that brought them across the Atlantic led them to leave the older and more settled part of the country and seek a new home in Kentucky when that now great and progressive state was a part of our expansive frontier, and to brave the hazards and privations of pio- neer life. The same spirit impelled the Doctor's parents to come to Missouri when it, too, was on the frontier, and repeat on its soil the performances and acliievemeuts of their forefathers on that of Kentucky. Dr. Phili]) Dimmitt, who was one of the most successful and distinguished 200 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY members of the family in the New World, began his scholastic training in the primitive comitry schools of his boy- hood and youth and completed it at Marion College. At the age of twenty- one he began the study of medicine un- der the direction of Dr. J. H. Kibby, of Palmyra, Missouri. After a sufficient preparatory course of reading he en- tered Missouri Medical College, and from that institution he was graduated in 1849. But he was not satisfied with his professional acquirements, even as a beginner, and after a practice covering a number of months he matriculated at the St. Louis Medical College, where he pursued a more extended course and from which he was graduated in 1852. During the next four years he practiced his profession at Monticello, in Lewis county. In 1856 he changed this to BoonvUle, Cooper county, where he re- mained four years. But in the meantime he visited Shelby county in 1860 and bought a farm four miles northeast of Shelby^ulle, which be- came his final home and from it as a center he conducted a very active and extensive practice for a period of four- teen years in addition to farming on a very extensive scale. At the time al- luded to the Doctor owned a number of slaves, and as he would neither sell nor hire any of them to other persons, he was obliged to keep them employed him- self and he added to his lauded estate until at one ])eriod he and his sons fanned over 1,400 acres of land, and he was one of the busiest, most extensive and most successful cattle feeders in Shelby county, and by his progressive methods one of the most valued con- tributors to raising the standard of live stock in this portion of the state. Still, large and exacting as were his farming and stock operations, they did not curtail his professional activity. He was universally considered the leading physician of Shelby county while he re- mained in active practice, which he did until he reached the age of fifty years, retiring in 1874. In that year he found- ed the Shelby County Savings Bank and became its cashier. Some years later this institution was converted into the private banking house of Cooper & Dim- mitt, and as such it continued in business and flourished many years. For data concerning this banking institution see sketch of J. T. Cooper on another page of this volume. On January .31, 1850, Dr. Dinuuitt was united in marriage with Mrs. C. F. (Agee) Henderson, the widow of Addi- son J. Henderson, and at the time of her marriage to the Doctor only twenty-two years old. They became the parents of six children, all of whom are living: Walter A., a leading farmer of this county, a sketch of whom will be found in this work; Frank, who is president of the Old Bank of Shelbina, and whose life story is also recorded in this vol- mne; Marvin, a banker in Chirence, this county; Prince, the president of The Bank of Shelbyville, an account of whose useful life adds to the interest and value of this history; Pope, who is a i-esident of the city of St. Louis ; and Lee, whose home is in Shelby county. The mother of these children died on July 6, 1893, and the father, as has been stated, on November 23, 1898. He was united in a second marriage with Mrs. HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 20\ Hattie Hillias, the ceremony being per- formed in 1897. She is still living. The Doctor's tirst wife was regarded as one of the most estimable ladies in the coun- ty. In fraternal life the Doctor was a Freemason and active in the order for a long time. Ilis religions affiliation was with the Methodist Episcopal ehnreh, South, and in its affairs he also took a zealous and serviceable part. In all the relations of life he was worthy and fully entitled to the high rank he held in tlie regard of the jieople as a man and citi- zen. In his profession he was highly cul- tivated and exhibited great practical skill. In business he was upright, con- scientious and jirogressive, and in con- nection with public affairs and the gen- eral welfare of the people he was one of the most enterprising and far-seeing, as well as one of the most helpful and in- spiring men in the community. WILLIAM H. WAEREN. The late William H. Warren, who passed the greater part of his life of sev- enty-two years in this state and much of it in Shelby county, and whose death on September 7, 1898, was universally de- ]ilored, was one of the leading and most representative citizens of the state. He was prominent in business and social cir- cles, dignified and adorned domestic life by the ]iractice of every manly virtue and took an active and heli)ful ]iart in build- ing up and improving the city of his home. ^Ir. Warren was a native of Kentucky, born in the famous county of Bourbon on July 23, 1827. He was a son of Wil- liam and Charlotte (Harrington) War- ren. Thev were born and reared in Ken- tucky. They were the parents of eight children, four of whom are living. These are : Amanda, the wife of W. P. Sidner, of Clarence, this county; Nan, the wife of James Combs, of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia ; Georgiana, the wife of S. A. Sparks, of Blackwell, Oklahoma; and Sallie, the wife of J. T. Smith, of Monroe county, Missouri. In politics the father was a Democrat and in church affiliation a Baptist. He moved to Kentucky with his parents in his childhood and to Mis- souri in his early manhood. In this state he was profitably engaged in farming and raising live stock in Monroe and Ma- rion counties until his death in 1872. AVilliam H. Warren grew to manhood on his father's farm in Monroe county and ol)tained his education in the public schools near his home. The period of his childhood and youth was one of hard- ship, ])rivation and toil, for the country in which he was reared was still wild and imdeveloped, and to bring it to jiroduc- tiveness and civilization required the energies of all who lived in it. His op- ]iortimities for schooling were therefore very limited and embraced in their scope only the rudimental l)ranches of scholas- tic training. But the i)urpose of Nature seemed to be to breed in our Western wilds a race of men rather than scholars, and fit it for conquest over the wide do- main of fertility through which the savage denizens of the plain and forest were still roaming. And in doing this she was ]3reparing the children of her seeming neglect, but real providence and care, for any duty that might subsequently de- volve ujion them. The demands of the time were for men of ca]:)acity in useful, in-actical affairs, and accordingly, after leaving school, Mr. Warren learned the 202 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY carpenter trade, and for a number of years worked at it steadily. In this wa\ he acquired a warm and serviceable in- terest in the welfare of the people which he exhibited throughout all his later oc- cupations. Soon after he reached his maturity the voice of trade was heard loudly calling for recruits in the land and he hearkened to the call. He turned his attention to extensive dealing in tobacco and followed that for a period of sixteen years. He then became a lumber merchant, and dur- ing the next fifteen years devoted his energies and broadening capacities to supplying the needs of the people in ma- terials for homes and the im})rovements they necessitated. When the hour was ripe for more extensive financial facili- ties, he became one of the founders of the Old Bank of Shelbina, with which he was connected until his death, giving it excel- lent service for a number of years as president and general director of its affairs. He served three years in the Confed- erate army during the Civil war, being under the command of General Price, and participated in a number of impor- tant and sanguinary battles, from all of which he escaped without disaster, ex- cept, of course, the hardships and priva- tions incident to the service. In ]iolitics Mr. Warren was a life-long and consistent Democrat, and although he never held or sought public office for himself, his interest in the welfare of his state and country never faltered or was abated for a day of his long and useful life. Ho belonged to the Order of Odd Fellows and was a member of the Baptist church. On October 17, 1870, he united in mar- riage with ]\Iiss Lucy Lewis, of Monroe county, in this state. They had no chil- di-en, but reared the daughter of Patrick List, of Shelbina, whom they took into their home as an adopted child when she was four years old. In 1893 she was married to Senator George W. Hum- phrey, a brief account of whose life ap- pears in this volume. Mr. Warren died on September 7, 1898, full of years and of honor. His career was creditable to the citizenship of the count}'. His life was useful among its people. His example of upright and productive manhood had produced and is still producing good results in the ac- tivities of those who followed it, and when he passed away there was universal sorrow throughout his own and the ad- joining counties. During all the years of his manhood he was a hard worker and a judicious and frugal man, and when he died he left a considerable estate for the enjoyment of his widow, who had helped him to win it. She is still living and has her home in Shelbina, where she is held in the highest esteem. She is now sixty- four years old, but still hale, vigorous and active, and she exemplifies now, in her devotion to every worthy undertak- ing for the good of those who live around her the spirit of enter]:)rise and progress which has governed her through life, in this way keeping alive, in the most prac- tical way, the memory of her esteemed husband and doing well her part as a useful member of society. WILLIAM W. MORGAN. AVilliam W. Morgan is a member of a family well known and held in the high- est esteem in Shelbina, M-here he was born on January 23, 1861. His ]-)arents HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 203 were David and Mary E. (Williams) Morgan, the latter of whom is still living and has her home with him. A sketch of the life of the father will be found else- where in this work. AVilliam grew to manhood in Shelbina and obtained his education in its schools, beginning it in the great university of the people, the district schools, and com- pleting it at the Shelbina Collegiate In- stitute. After leaving school he went into business with his father, aiding him in conducting an extensive enterprise in the manufacture of wagons and dealings in vehicles of all kinds and general farm- ing implements. He is still engaged in the same line of endeavor and doing well at the undertaking, having his brother, James H. Morgan, an account of whose life will be found elsewhere in this vol- ume, associated with him. A\nien the partnership was formed the father was living and the firm name was D. Morgan & Sons. Although the father has been dead a number of years the sons still ad- here to this name and do their trading under it. Mr. Morgan has been very successful in business and has also risen to promi- nence in the public life of the community. He served six years as city clerk of Shel- bina, giving the duties of the office care- ful attention and satisfying all classes of the people by his administration of it. In politics he is a pronounced and im- wavering Democrat, active and zealous in the service of his ]iarty and enjoying the full confidence of its leaders and also of the rank and file. His church affilia- tion is with the Baptists, and fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order. DAVID MORGAN, JR. This gentleman is a worthy follower of his well known and highly esteemed father, the late David Morgan, of Shel- bina, a brief account of whose useful life will be found elsewhere in this work. The younger David Morgan, who is the immediate subject of these paragraphs, was born at Shelbina on April 24, 1871. He grew to manliood in his father's home and was educated in the public schools of the village of his nativity and at Shel- bina Collegiate Institute. After leaving the institute he pursued a special course of business training at the Southwestern Business College of Wichita, Kansas. When he was twenty-two years of age he took up liis residence in Monroe coun- ty, this state, where for nine years he was actively and prosperously engaged in farming. He then moved to Shelbina and began operations as a real estate dealer, a line of business in which he is still engaged. He is also interested in the manufacture of concrete blocks for building, paving and other work of con- struction. In all his undertakings he has been eminently successful, rising to the first rank among the business men of Sbolbina and winning a wide and lasting popularity as a citizen. Like his father and brothers, Mr. Mor- gan adheres to the Democratic party in politics and gives it his earnest support at all times. He is a member of the Christian church and belongs to the Or- der of Knights of Pythias. On January 23, 1893, he was married to Miss Clara Pearl Sears, a native of Monroe county, in this state. They have had seven chil- dren, all of whom are living. They are 204 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Lucille Marie, Gladys Pearl, David Sears, Tbelma Xadine, Joseph "William Chilton, John Lyell and Anna Marian. The father is a very active man in behalf of the Tvelfare of the community and waraily supports every enterprise for its promotion. JAMES H. MOEGAN. Worthy son of a worthy sire, and true to the teaching and examples given him at the parental fireside, James H. Mor- gan is justly accounted one of the leading business men and best citizens of Sbel- bina. He was born in that town on Sep- tember 24, 1862, a son of the late David ^lorgan and brother of John R. Morgan, in a sketch of whom on another page of this volume a brief account of the fath- er's life is given. James H. Morgan grew to manhood and obtained his education in Shelbina, and after leaving school learned his trade as a blacksmith under the tuition of his father. In 1885 he and his brother AVilliam entered into partnership with their father under the iirm name of Da- vid ^lorgan & Sons, and together they conducted a flourishing business in manu- facturing wagons and dealing in road ve- hicles of various kinds and farming im- plements of all kinds. The sons are still carrj'ing on the business under the old firm name, and their enterprise is one of the leaders of the kind in this part of the state. Their operations are exten- sive and profitable, and they give the business their whole attention, using every means at their command to expand their trade and fully satisfy their ]iatrons. ^fr. ^Morgan takes an active and intelli- gent interest in public affairs, ardently supporting the principles and candidates of the Democratic party. He is an Odd Fellow in fraternal relations, and a ver\' active and useful man in promoting all that makes for the betterment of the commimity, or contributes to the comfort or convenience of its people. He was married in ^lonroe county on Se])tember 11, 1894, to Miss Jennie Threlkeld, who was born and reared in this state. They have two children, their sons Harold and Clarence. Their home is a center of so- cial culture and generous and grateful hospitality. AVADE HAMPTON JONES. This prominent and successful citizen and business man of Shelbina is a native of Missouri, and in several towns in the state has exemplified the lofty attributes of citizenship for which its people are noted. He was born at Humphreys, in Sullivan county, on Xovemlier 7, 1879, and is a son of Augustin and Rachel T. (Haley) Jones, both born and reared in this state. His grandfather, Gabriel Jones, was born in Virginia, and in 1831 came to Monroe county, ^lissouri, se- curing a farm near Clinton, where he was extensively engaged in farming and to- bacco growing. During the war he re- cruited a company in Sullivan county, where he moved in 1840, for the Union army, but did not enter the service him- self. He died in 1888 in Sullivan county. The father of Wade H. Jones was for three years a merchant at Humphreys, and later gave his attention to farming and raising live stock on a large scale. He is now retired from active pursuits and living in jieace and the enjoyment I i HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 205 of a high and wide spread reputation for all that is worthy and commendable in manhood and eitizeuship at Shelbina. He no longer works as he did with vigor and unceasing industry for many years, but still retains his interest in his farm and live stock industry. In 1869 he was united in marriage with Miss Rachel T. Haley, who was, like him- self, a native of Missouri. They liad .six children, five of whom are living: Gabriel, a resident of Denver, Colorado ; Charles A., who lives in Hmnphreys; AVilliam T., one of the prominent citi- zens of St. Louis; Susan A., the wife of J. H. "Wood, of Shelbina, a sketch of whose life will be found in this work, and Wade H. Although he is known to the 2ieople of the present day mainly as a man of peace and productive industry, he did not shirk what he conceived to be his duty when the political principles in which he believed were assailed with force and arms. "When the Civil war be- gan to drench this unhappy country in fraternal blood he gave practical illus- tration to his faith by enlisting in the "Union army in 1861, in Company C, 18th Missouri Volunteer Infantry and prepar- ing to offer up his life, if necessary, on the altar of his convictions. His sei'vice in the field of carnage was, however, soon ended. In the first year of the war he was so seriously injured that he was com- pelled to retire from the service and he was never thereafter able to resume his military post. He thereupon returned to his fai-m and stock breeding enterprise, and to them he devoted all the remaining years of his activity. He has been a life- long Democrat in politics, a Freemason of many years standing in fraternal life and a zealous member of the Christian church in religious affiliation. He was a gentleman of great energy and activity during his years of business enterprise and very successful in everything he un- dertook. His son, "Wade Hampton Jones, who was named in honor of the distinguished South Carolina cavalry leader in the Civil war who conducted, at Gettj^sburg, one of the most daring charges in all military history, was reared on the pa- ternal homestead and obtained his edu- cation in the public schools, at the college at Humphreys and at the University of Missouri located at Columbia. After leaving the university he entered the banking business at Humphreys, where he remained a few years in successful use of his faculties according to his bent. In 1906 he moved to Gait, in Grundy county, and became cashier of the Gait State Bank in which he had acquired an interest. A few years later he sold his interests in the bank of Gait and bought one in the Shelbina National Bank, of Shelbina, Missouri. He became at once a director of this bank and accepted the position of cashier, which he filled with great credit to himself and satisfaction to the other ofificers and the patrons of the bank until the spring of 1910. He is also treasurer of the Jones Farming Company of Humphreys, which belongs to his father. In political faith Mr. Jones is an ardent ^nd active Democrat. He has never yet sought office for himself, but has always taken a deep and helpful in- terest in the affairs of his party. In re- ligious connection he is a memlier of the Christian church and in fraternal life 206 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY a Freemason and a member of the Order of Elks. In business he is very prom- inent and has been very successful. On August 28 he was joined in mar- riage with Miss Fay Hanly, a native of Missouri, who presides over their beau- tiful home in Shelbina with a grace and dignity which makes it one of the fav- orite social resorts of the town and gives it a wide renown and excellent reputa- tion for refined and gracious hosiiitality. Mr. Jones is at this time (1911) but thirty-two years of age, and he has al- ready risen to the iirst rank in the busi- ness life of the community. He is en- ergetic, healthy, and wideawake. His alertness of vision and quickness of re- sponse leaves no opportunity unused for his advancement, and if a judgment can be predicated on his past with reference to his future, he is destined to become one of the leading and most substantial citizens of the county. All who know him look forward to a bright and useful career for him in the years to come, and all wish him success in every undertak- ing, for he is universally esteemed. He is at present engaged in wheat grow- ing near Milford, Canada, having a sec- tion of land all under cultivation. WILLIAM A. KEID. Coming to Shelbina when it was only a country railroad station on the prairie, and spending thirty-two years of his use- ful life in helping to develop its latent resources, which bis penetrating eye en- abled him to see and his business ca- pacity enabled him to use for his own advantage and that of the people who followed his lead into this locality, tlie late William A. Reid was a potent factor in pushing foi-ward the progress and im- provement of this jjortiou of the state of Missouri, and through his worth, enter- prise and public services became one of its leading and most resj^ected citizens. He has left behind him a memory that everybody reveres and a record of fruit- ful work that all classes of the people are justly proud of. The Old Dominion claims him as one of her native sons, he having been born in Rappahannock county, Virginia, on January 24-, 1829, the son of Alfred and Patsy (Rector) Reid, prosperous plant- ers of that county, and held in the high- est esteem by its people. His father was a farmer and passed his life in Virginia. He was the only son in a family of twenty-five children and he and his wife died in Fauquier county, Virginia. The educational facilities surrounding Mr. Reid in his boyhood and youth were neither extensive nor advanced. His education in books was therefore limited and confined to the rudiments of scholas- tic acquirements. At the age of fifteen years he began the battle of life for him- self as a clerk in a general store at Rec- tortown, in his native county, and there he remained until 1858, when he came to this countj' and located at what is now the city of Shelbina. Everything in the neighborhood in the way of development was but begim, but to his prophetic vision the region possessed great possi- bilities, and to bringing them into notice and service he sedulously devoted all his energies. He opened a general store in a small frame building on the north side of the railroad track, on a capital of $1,200. His beginning in business was on a small scale, and his progress for a time was slow and bv short advances. /- lBli^%V WILLIAM A. REID HISTORY OP SHELBY COUNTY 207 He had all the iucouvenieaces and diffi- culties of a new country remote from business centers and sources of supply to contend with, and these were often magnified by climatic conditions and other elements of obstruction. But the man with whom Fortune Beemed to be toying, and at times trifling, was of a heroic mold and had great ten- acity of purpose. He was also prudent and frugal, and knew how to manage his affairs so as to make every dollar of his capital and every day of his labor count to his advantage, until the time of his death, which occurred on April 29, 1890. Within three years after he opened his store and began his business career in this county, the Civil war broke out and placed the whole of this part of tiie country in a condition of great dis- turbance and uncertainty. Mr. Eeid, however, continued his business opera- tions, in spite of the difficulties and dan- gers of the situation, and kept on tri- umphing in the very face of a fate that seemed adverse to his welfare. Many times he was obliged to remove his stock and other valuables from place to place, and on one occasion took all he had to Quincy, Illinois. TMien Anderson raided the town in one of his forays Mr. Reid's store was one of the first to be plundered by the raiders, and he suf- fered heavily by their depredations. The disaster did not daunt him. He at once restocked his store and went on with his business. At various times dur- ing his mercantile operations in Shel- bina he had his brother, Oscar Eeid, George T. Hill and P. H. List associated with him, but during the greater jiart of the time he was alone in business. Throughout Ms residence in the city he always manifested the deepest and most serviceable interest in its welfare and the comfort and benefit of its people. He secured for the community its first postoffice and acted as postmaster from the opening of the office until the in- auguration of President Lincoln in 1861. In 1866 his store, along with the greater part of the town, was destroyed by fire. He immediately rebuilt his store, put- ting up a modern brick building, which was about the first erected in the place, and is still one of its most substantial brick business structures. After sixteen years of great activity and zeal in merchandising he grew tired of that line of business and sold his store in 187-1:. He then turned his attention to banking in partnership with Daniel Taylor under the firm name of Reid & Taylor. They were very successful and a few years after opening their banking- house merged the institution into a state bank. This also flourished and enjoj^ed the confidence of the whole county. This bank is now known as "The Old Bank of Shelbina", Mr. Reid being president of it at the time of his death. Mr. Reid was a careful and judicious investor as well as a wide-awake and progressive business man. He was one of the few men who in making money never accjuired a love for it for its mere possession. Nothing es- caped him in the way of a business op- portunity, but he was as free in opening his hand for benevolent and other worthy purposes as he was alert and firm in closing it on a profitable business deal. He was at all times throughout his life warmly, sincerely and ]iractically inter- ested in church work, and never with- held his help from any commendable un- 208 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY dertaking- in this line of endeavor. Tlie first religious services ever held in Shel- bina were conducted in his store, and he also originated the first Sunday school in the town and for many years served as its superintendent. The First South- ern Methodist Episcopal church in the community was indebted almost wholly to him for its existence and the edifice in which the congregation worshiped. But he was far from being sectarian in his devotion to religious institutions. He aided generously all church organi zations in the city and county, no matter what denomination they belonged to. On April 22, 1862, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Minter, a daughter of Dr. Antony and Jane (Bybe) Minter. Eight children were born of the union, five of whom are liv- ing: Jessie, now Mrs. A. R. Wherritt, of Pleasant Hill, Missouri; Lena, now Mrs. George H. Mansfield, of New Jer- sey; Margaret, still at home; Victor M., a leading business man of Shelbina ; Clifford L., engaged in business at Shel- bina. Mrs. Eeid, the mother of these chil- dren, is still living in Shelbina, where she continues, as far as possible, the church and charitable work begun by her husband, and where she enjoys the confidence, esteem and admiring regard of all the people. Her husband had the happy faculty of making his business highly successful without exciting the envy or ill will of his fellow men. And she has tlio o(|ually valuable gift of doing good witliout ostentation or having the loftiness of her motives called in question. Husband and wife are firmly enshrined in the regard and good will of the iieople as leading citizens of the city and county, and promoters of every good work in the service of their resi- dents. ALBERT F. HUGGINS. A valiant soldier during the Civil war, the marks of whose cruelty he still bears, an industrious potter for many years in Illinois and this state, and an active and successful politician, Albert F. Hug- gins, of Shelbina, has borne a faithful and serviceable part in many lines of endeavor and has won high and well de- served credit for himself in all. Yet, not- withstanding the adventures he has had, the sufferings he has undergone and the success he has won, he bears his excellent reputation modestly and claims no credit for himself beyond that of having per- formed with fidelity everj^ duty that has been assigned to him. yir. Huggins was born in Parke county, Indiana, on February 3, 1843, and is a son of David F. and Nancy J. (Clenden- ing) Huggins, the former a native of In- diana and the latter of North Carolina. The father obtained a district school edu- cation and worked at his trade as a pot- ter to the end of his life. In 1852 lie moved from Indiana to Illinois, where he remained and kept his family until 1869. In that year he came to Missouri and located in Shelby county, taking up his residence at Lakenan. In that village he built a pottery which he conducted until he was killed in 1902. He was married to Miss Nancy J. Clendening, who was born and reared in North Carolina. They had six cliildren, three of whom are living: A. F. Huggins, of Shell)ina, the immediate subject of this brief memoir; Elizabeth, the wife of C. H. Ayers, of Lakenan ; and H. D. Huggins, a prominent resident of HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 209 Shelbiua. lu politics the father was a Eepublican and iu fraternal life a Free- mason. His son, Albert F. Hug gins, was reared by the parental fireside and se- cured his education in the public schools, attending them in "Winchester, Illinois. Immediately upon leaving school he en- listed in the Union army as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Twenty- ninth Illinois Infantry, and was soon afterward at the front battling for the salvation of his country from dismem- berment. He remained in the army three years, taking part in the spectacular march of General Sherman's command from Atlanta to the sea. At the battle of Resaea, Georgia, he received a severe wound and was taken from the battle- field to the field hospital at Chattanooga. From there he was transferred soon af- terward to Nashville, and then to Louis- ville, and a little later to Jefferson Bar- racks, near St. Louis, Missouri. But wounded and suffering though he was, he was not allowed to remain at this fourth halting place. He was taken to Camp Butler at Springfield, Illinois, from there to Quiney in the same state, and then to Chicago, where he was soon afterward transferred to the invalid corps, which was the Second battalion of the Veteran Reserve corps. He remained in Chicago many months, and was there when tlie remains of President Lincoln were brought to the city in 1865, a short time before his honorable discharge from military service, and his return to the pursuits of peaceful industry. After the war he was engaged in the pottery business with his father at Whitehall, Illinois, until 1869, when the whole family moved to Missouri. For twenty years after that he was occupied in the manufacture of pottery at Lake- nan, this coimty, iu association with his father. In 1890 he was appointed post- master of Shelbiua by President Har- rison, a position to which he was again appointed by President McKinley, and which he lost during the first term of President Roosevelt because of factional difficulties in the party. But he was once more appointed in President Roosevelt's second term, and is still filling the office. Throughout the whole of his manhood ■Mr. Huggius has been a Republican in l^olitical faith and very active in the service of his party. He has at all times been a wheelhorse in the local party cam- paigns and has held many offices in county and state conventions. In fra- ternal life he is a Freemason of the Knights Templar and 32nd degree, an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias. He was married on February 2, 1870, to Miss Mary A. Ayers, of Whitehall, Illi- nois. They became the parents of four children, three of whom are living, as fol- lows: Richard, a resident of Shelbina; Allie, who lives in St. Louis ; and Eva M., who is now Mrs. Shell D. Erwin, of Le Grande, Oregon. Mr. Huggins has tlie esteem and good will of all who know him. He is re- garded as an excellent citizen, a useful factor in the development and improve- ment of the community in which he lives, and a valuable addition to any social cir- cle with which he mingles. No resident of Shelbina has a better reputation or a wider circle of admiring friends; and none is more deserving of the esteem of the people. 210 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY DR. JACOB D. SMITH. Doubly orphaned by the death of both his parents when he was but four years of age, Dr. Jacob D. Smith, of Shelbina, has largely been the architect of his own fortunes. His success in his profession proves that he has builded well and the universal esteem in which he is held establishes the fact that his life has been useful to others as well as profitable to himself. Dr. Smith was born at Hannibal, ^Mis- souri, on January 25, 1849. His parents, Colombus and Maiy Smith, were natives of Kentucky but removed to Marion county, Missouri, in about 1838 or 1839. He was reared in the home of his imcle, Daniel Harris, of Quincy, Illinois, and was given every care and attention it was possible for a child to receive. He obtained his academic training by at- tending Soule's Academy and passing one year at the Quincy College. He be- gan the study of medicine by private reading under the direction of a good physician and then attended Eush Medi- cal College in Chicago, from whicli he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1870. The doctor began his practice in Sliel- byville in September, 1871, and remained there two years. In 1873 he moved to Shelbina and formed a partnership with Dr. E. N. Gerard, which continued about three years. Since its dissolution in 1876 he has been constantly in active general practice for himself, rising steadily in the confidence and esteem of the people and his ]irofpssional In-ethren, and build- ing u]) au excellent reputation as a i)hysi- cian and as a citizen of worth and great usefulness. The life of a country physician in a new territory is necessarily one of priva- tion and self-sacrifice. He belongs wholly to the public, and his services are in con- tinual demand. The population is scat- tered and the calls cover many miles of travel eveiy day, often continuing into or even through the night. Leisure for rest, for recreation, for enjoyment, even for more advanced study in his work, is often totally denied him, or can be snatched only in fragments from more immediate and exacting claims upon his time and energies. Thus his life be- comes a continual round of toil and self- immolation on the altar of the public need and the general good of the com- munity in which he lives and operates. The experience was altogether a new one for Dr. Smith. From his childhood he had not been obliged to forego his own wishes for the comfort or welfare of others. But he accordingly accepted his daily consecration to the requirements of his fellows as a part of his destiny, and concerned himself mainly in dis- charging with fidelity and all the skill he could command the duties which were bo- fore him. This has been his habit and he has won the regard and good will of the whole county thereby. His practice is a large one and his patrons are repre- sentative in character and standing. He has also kept pace with the advance of his profession and is abreast with its latest thought and discovery. For even though a very busy man for many years, he has also been a studious one, and is well informed on all branches of his work, having taken post-graduate lee- HISTORY OP SHELBY COUNTY •^11 tures in both Chicago and New York city. Socially he is agreeable and obliging, and this is an additional equipment for suc- cess in his practice and popularity among the people. He is a member of both county and state medical societies and holds membership in the National Medi- cal Association. The doctor is local sur- geon for the Burlington railroad and en- joys a wide acquaintance in Northern Missouri. On February 20, 1873, he was married to Miss Ida M. Myers, of Palmyra, Mis- souri. The six children who have blessed and brightened their household are all living. They are: Mark H., a resident of Brookfield, ^Missouri; Madge G., the wife of B. T. AVillis, of Clarence, this state; Julia C, the widow of Dr. J. C. Settles, of Arkadelphia, Arkansas ; Bes- sie B., the wife of E. W. Jewett, of Shel- bina ; Effie D. and Jo. The doctor is a Democrat in politics, a Baptist in reli- gious faith and a Knight of Pythias in fraternal life. THOMAS W. LYELL, D. D. S. Dr. Thomas W. Lyell, who is one of the leading dentists in Northern Mis- souri, is a scion of a distinguished fam- ily. He is a son of the late Thomas P. Lyell, a prominent citizen of this county, a brief account of whose useful and in- s])iring life will be found in the bio- graphy of John R. Lyell, another son of the same household and a brother of the doctor. In his professional work and ]>rivate life the doctor worthily sustains the reputation of the family for intel- lectual supremacy, moral excellence and liigh-toned citizenship, with a progres- sive spirit that renders good service wherever the enduring welfare of the community is involved. Dr. Lyell was born in Shelby county on October 18, 1871. When he was twelve years of age the family moved to Shel- bina, and here he has ever since resided except during his absence at school. He began his academic training in the public schools of the town and the locality of his earlier home, and completed it at Central College, in Fayette, Missouri. In 1893 he began the study of dentistry, finding in it agreeable occupation for his faculties at the start and pursuing it with a diligence and interest which have never flagged. He was graduated from the Western Dental College in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1896, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Shelbina, where he is still actively en- gaged in it. The science of dentistry is a progres- sive one and requires close and continued study to keep pace with its rapid ad- vancement. Dr. Lyell has been all that the case requires in this respect and is well up in all departments of his work. He is master of the theories on which the science is based and has been de- veloped, and is also a skillful, ready and resourceful practitioner. All that is latest and best in dentistry he has liter- ally at his lingers' ends, his primary am- bitions being to give his patrons the best ]iossible returns for the money they pay him and make himself a complete and unquestioned master of his business. Although he is wedded to his profes- sional work and makes it his chief con- cern, Dr. Lyell finds time to carefully consider and actively aid in promoting 21-^ HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY the general weal of the community. He is zealous in the support of every commeud- able undertaking for the advancement and improvement of the city and county of his home, and deeply and intelligently interested in the public affairs of the state and the country. In political faith and allegiance he is a firm and faithful Democrat, giving his party and its candi- dates effective support altliough seeking none of the honors or emohunents of office for himself. Having interests in several farms in the county to the culti- vation of which he gives a share of his personal attention, he is also useful in heljiing the agricultural interests of this portion of the state to higher and better development. His social rank in the com- munity is among the highest, and his at- tention to social matters gives them tone and intensity of life, while his genial and captivating personality renders him a favorite in any cii-cles of which he is a part. His religious affiliation is with the M. E. Church South and his fraternal connection with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. On October 1, 1896, he united in mar- riage with Miss Mary Wilson, who was born and reared in this state. She pre- sides over their ]ileasant home with grace and dignity, making it a favorite resort for their hosts of friends, who find it a center of social and intellectual culture and a summer region of refined and gen- erous hospitality. JOSEPH A. DANIEL, D. D. S. Dr.' Joseph A. Daniel, who is a prom- inent dentist of Shelbina and making an excellent record and reputation in his l^rofession, is a native of this state and wholly a product of its institutions, hav- ing never lived out of it except when he was attending the dental college in pre- paration for his life work. He was born in Randolph county on September 8, 1877, and is a son of John S. and Elmyra V. (Hutton) Daniel, the former born in Kentucky in 1831 and the latter a native of Missouri. They were married in 1869 and became the parents of seven children, all of whom are living. They are : Eolla E., a resident of this county; Elizabeth, wife of A. W. Meadows, of Clarence; Edgar J., also a resident of Clarence; William 0., of Clarence, and Josephus, of Shelbina, twin brothers; Iva M., wife of Dr. Maddox, of Middle- grove, Monroe county; and Ora M., whose home is in Shelby county. When the father was eighteen years old the siren voice of California was fill- ing the world with its golden music, and he, like many another adventurous spirit, was lured by it to the distant Pacific slope, joining the hardy and hopeful band of argonauts who have passed into history as "the Forty-Niners," and whose daring journey across the track- less plains of our then unknown western world has taken its ]3lace high among the romantic and heroic episodes of all our history. The success Mr. Daniel achieved in the new eldorado has not been made a part of the record, but it was not enough to induce him to remain in the mining regions. He returned to his Ran- dolph county farm in due season and in 1884 moved to this county, where he has ever since remained and devoted his en- ergies to advanced and profitable farm- ing and stock raising on an extensive HISTORY OP SHELBY COUNTY 213 scale. He was the first man in Shelby county to handle mules in his farming operations, and through his example and success with them their use soon became general. He is not now actively engaged in farming, but is taking for the re- mainder of his days a needed and well- earned rest, living quietly amid the sub- stantial comforts of the home he has created and happy in the general regard and good will of his fellowmen. In yioli- tics he has been a life-long Democrat, active in the service of his party and firmly holditg on to its principles in spite of all new theories of government, heresies of politicians and vagaries of ])ublic sentiment. His religious connec- tion is with the sect known as the Chris- tians, with whom he has been long and faithfully affiliated. Dr. Joseph A. Daniel grew to manhood on his father's farm and was educated in the public schools of Shelby county as a preparation for higher training, and this he obtained in a two years' course at the State Normal School at Kirksville. After leaving that institution he taught school in this county two years. In 1902 he entered the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, from which he was graduated in 1905. He began practicing the same summer at Shelbina as a ]>artner of Dr. Thomas W. Lyell, and from then until now he has devoted himself wholly to his ])rofession. He has been very successful and is regarded as one of the leading dentists of this portion of Missouri. By close study and -judicious reflection he keeps in touch with all that is progres- sive and advanced in the profession, and his patrons can always rely on getting from him the best service which the science of dentistry administered by skillful practice can give. He adheres to the Democratic party in politics and be- longs to the Christian church in religious association. On June 9, 1909, he was married to Miss Anna Blakey of Boul- der, Colorado. The doctor stands well in the community and is deserving of the general esteem he enjoys among all classes of the people. JAMES F. ALLGAIEE. This prominent and influential citizen of Shelbina, who is at this time (1911) the mayor of the city, is descended from good old Pennsylvania Dutch stock, and has exemplified in his career all the sturdy and sterling qualities for business pursuits and reliable citizenship which are characteristic of the people from whom he sprimg. His g r a n d f a t h e r, George Allgaier, was born and reared in the sterling and substantial old city of Eeading, Pennsylvania, and in his early manhood moved into what was then the wilderness of Kentucky, locating near what is now the city of Georgetown in that progressive and flourishing com- monwealth. In that vicinity Mr. Allgaier 's father, Michael S. Allgaier, was born on Jan- uary 1, 1828, and there he grew to man- hood and obtained such schooling as the frontier was able to furnish to its hardy and self-rehant children; and later grad- uated from Bordstown College of Bords- town, Kentuclcy. In 1856 he did as his father had done in his early manhood, made his way into the farther "West and helped to lay the foundations of a new empire remote from the centers of popu- 214 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY lation and refinement. He came to Mis- souri and planted his hopes in Platte county, where he carried on an extensive business as a wholesale and i-etail grocer until the beginning of the Civil war in 1861. Believing firmly as he did in the sovereignty of the states, and seeing in the political conditions of the time, as thousands besides him saw, a menace to that sovereignty, the call of the South for volunteers to defend her institutions and political jjrinciples was to him a trumpet-toned command to duty, and he at once enlisted in the Confederate army in Texas. He served in the same com- mand throughout the war, his services being confined almost wholly within that state. He belonged to what was known as the army of "Minutemen," and was under command of General Joe Selby. Wlien the cause he espoused went down into everlasting defeat at Appo- mattox, and its gory banners were for- ever furled from warlike strife, he re- turned to this state and took up his resi- dence in Monroe county, where he turned his attention to farming. In 1869 he moved to Clinton county, and there until 1893 he was actively engaged in culti- vating the soil and raising live stock. He was active in the public affairs of the county, as a good citizen always is, and in course of time was elected sheriff for three terms. His political force and capacity for official duties was so well known that he was also appointed at an- other time sergeant-at-arms of the Mis- souri house of representatives. For a number of years thereafter he lived con- tentedly on his Clinton county farm and gave the general public the good service as an auctioneer throughout a wide ex- tent of the surrounding coimtry, lifting up his voice in this capacity in many counties and winning golden opinions everywhere for his excellent judgment and skill in exercising it in his public work. In 1893 he moved to the city of St. Josejah, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying on August 2, 1908. He was twice married, first to Miss Harriet M. Anderson, a native of Kentucky, whom he espoused in about 1848. They had four children. Of these only one is living, James F. Allgaier, of Shelbina, the immediate subject of this brief re- view. The father's second marriage was with Miss Amanda M. Williams and oc- curred in May, 1859. They became the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living : Albert W., of Shelby county ; Sebastian A., of Chicago; John J., of Wichita Kansas ; Eugene A., of Buchanan county, this state ; Catherine, the wife of Daniel S. O'Haron, of Richmond, Mis- souri; Mary A., the wife of Richard Rigney, of Shelbina ; and Michael Owens, of Sedalia, Missouri. In politics the father lived and died a Democrat of the old school. In religious belief and train- ing he was a Catholic. To his party and his church he was true and faithful, as he was to his family and every duty that called him to action. James F. Allgaier was born at George- town, Kentucky, on September 21, 1853. When he was three years old he was brought by his parents to this state and became a resident of Platte county. He began his education in the district schools of that county, continued it in those of Monroe county and finished it in those of Clinton county. After leav- GEN. J. WILLIAM TOWSON HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 215 ing school he worked on his father's fann until 1881, acquiring strength of body and independence of spirit in its useful labors and from his continual communion with nature, and also the self-reliance and resourcefulness which result from conditions that recjuire every man to be ready for emergencies at a moment's notice. In 1881 he moved to this county and during the next three years followed farming and raising live stock on his own account. At the end of that period he took up his residence in Shelbina, where he clerked in a dry goods store for a short time, then en- gaged in the grocery trade for awhile. He grew tired of this line of merchandis- ing and sold his business in order that he might give his attention to the drug trade. Mr. Allgaier has been active in pro- moting the welfare of the town, taking a broad view of its needs and employing all his energy to aid in providing for them. His busy brain and tireless hand have lent their force to every commend- able enterprise for improving the city and augmenting the comfort and con- venience of its people. He has shirked no duty and gone at nothing worthj' of his attention in a half-hearted way. His value as a leading citizen is highly ap- preciated, and as an evidence of this fact he was elected mayor of the city in April, 1907, and is still filling the office with great credit to himself and decided bene- fit to the community. In jiolitics he is a Democrat, in fraternal life a Modern Woodman and in religion a Catholic. In addition to his regular mercantile industry Mr. Allgaier is extensively en- gaged in feeding cattle and hogs, ship- ping large numbers of each to many dif- ferent parts of the country. He is also a stoclvholder and director of the Old Bank of Shelbina, the oldest bank in the county. On April 19, 1881, he was married to Miss Nancy E. Gaugh, a resi- dent of this county. She is an enthu- siastic second to his own generous in- tellectual hospitalitj', cordially welcom- ing and entertaining any good sugges- tion, no matter where it comes from, and seeking to make the best of it for the good of the people around her. To- gether they interest themselves in all worthy undertakings whereby the moral, mental and social agencies of the com- munity may be increased in usefulness, augmented in power and rendered more serviceable. They do not say or think this of themselves, and perhaps their modesty may be offended by having it said of them by others. But it is true, nevertheless, and worthy of being re- corded here where the makers and build- ers of the community are commended ac- cording to the disposition they have shown and the work they have done. GEN. J. WILLIAM TOWSON. The history of Maryland is glorious in peace and war. Her Old Line batal- lions confronted the scarlet uniform and glittering steel of Great Britain in the Eevolution from Bunker Hill to York- town. In the Mexican war her gallant soldiery was conspicuous in winning- some of the most spectacular victories of that short but decisive conflict. And when the clouds of civil strife burst with destructive fury over our unhappy land in 1861, the valor of her arms and brav- 216 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY ery of her sons were manifested on many a sanguinary field under both the Star Spangled Banner and the Stars and Bars. In the civic affairs of the country her statesmen have been farsighted, prudent and progressive. They stood by the Declaration of Independence with all their worldly possessions pledged to its supi)ort. It was their firm and far- seeing ijolicy that gave to the country its immense public domain. And in all other public matters they have been recorded on the side of right, justice and humanitJ^ Gen. J. William Towson, the interest- ing subject of this brief review, is a na- tive of Maryland, having been born in that state on March 2, 1839, near Will- iamsport, in Washington county. His parents were William and Louisa (Ham- me) Towson, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Virginia. The father was a merchant and then a farmer and passed the whole of his life in his native state, dying in the region hallowed by his labors in 1868. He was a son of Jacob T. Towson, who also was born and reared in ^laryland, where he was an extensive landholder and planter, and also engaged extensively in mer- chandising, and wliere he dwelt from the beginning to the end of his life. He was a gentleman of prominence and in- fluence in the state, widely known throughout its extent and highly es- teemed by all classes of its people. He was of English ancestry but thoroughly imbued with the spirit of American in- stitutions and devotedly loyal to them according to his predilections and train- ing. General Towson, the subject of this sketch, grew to manhood and was edu- cated in Maryland, completing his scho- lastic training at schools in Baltimore. He began the battle of life for himself as a clerk in a wholesale drug store, and served in this capacity until the great Civil war called to its ranks the man- hood of the country to supply two mighty armies for fraternal and sectional strife. Following his convictions he went south — purely a volunteer — willing to offer up his life on the altar of his faith in defense of them. Mr. Towson enlisted in the Confederate army, commanded by the great military chieftain, Gen. Kobert E. Lee, as a member of the renowned "Black Horse Troop" of the Fourth Virginia Cavalry. In this command he served to the end of the war, except for a period of about thirty days, when he was a prisoner, having been captured at Warrenton, Virginia, in May, 1863. The command to which he was at- tached was that of Gen. Fitz Lee, one of the great fighting divisions of the South- ern army that fought its most memor- able conflicts between Washington and Richmond, the Confederate cajntal, bat- tling also at Gettysburg, Sharpsburg and elsewhere. He personally participated in many memorable engagements, such as Brandy Station, Eaccoon Ford, Aldie, Hanover, Carlisle and the battle of Get- tysburg in Pennsylvania, the Wilder- ness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Yel- low Tavern, where the superb cavalry leader, Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, fell, Tra- villion Station, Winchestei*, the siege of Richmond by Grant, ending in the disas- trous conflict at Five Forks and the re- treat of what was left of that grand annv of Robert E. Lee, known as "The HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 217 Army of Northern Virginia." to A))po- mattox, where he surrendered it to Gen. Grant. The war over, he stayed in Vir- ginia and Maryland until March, 1866. At the time last mentioned he came to Shelbina as land agent of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. He has ever since been actively engaged in selling the lands of the railroad company and the real estate business on his own account, and has been very successful in his un- dertakings. Being a man of very ener- getic and versatile mental equi]inient, he has also given attention to other lines of business, has been president of the Com- mercial Bank, vice-president of the Old Bank of Shelbina, serving it in that ca- pacity for a number of years, and is still one of its directors. All the affairs of the community of his home have had the benefit of his close and conscientious at- tention and the benefit of his intelligence in council concerning them and his enter- prise in promoting whatever was good for the people. Politically Mr. Towson is a Democrat, and under all circumstances he has taken an active and serviceable interest in the aft'airs of his party. As one of its lead- ing members he was elected mayor of Shelbina at the first election aft6r the incorporation of the municipality. He was knowing, courageous and indepen- dent in the performance of his official duties and gave the city an excellent ad- ministration of its affairs. His religious affiliation is witli the Presbyterian church and his fraternal allegiance is given to the Masonic order. In this fra- ternity he is prominent and well known all over the state. He holds the rank of Past Master in the Blue Lodge and has ascended the mystic ladder of the craft through many of its more elevated di- visions; is a Knight Templar and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He keeps the memories of his military service alive by prominent membership in the order of United Confederate A^eterans, in which he is now commander of the eastern half of Missouri, with the rank of brigadier-general . Mr. Towson was first married in 1868 to Miss Gabie Combs, the nuptials being celebrated in Shelbina. Her life ended sadly in an accident on the railroad, April 13, 1890. His second marriage occurred October 20, 1891, and in this he became united with Miss Emma Mo- sher, who was born in Michigan. Mrs. Fowson entered the life eternal in July, 1910. They had no children of their own, but reared an adopted daughter, who is now Mrs. Clyde F. Lloyd, of Chicago. For forty-three years Mr. Towson has been a resident of Shelbina and contrib- uted to its advancement and the substan- tial comfort and enduring welfare of its people. He is highly esteemed among them, being regarded as one of the lead- ing and most representative citizens of the community, and one of its most fruit- ful factors in business, social and gen- eral life. Although he has reached the limit of human life as fixed by the sacred writer, he is still hale, vigorous and active, and continues his industrious contributions to the business progress of the community. The record of his peaceful enterprise is written in its de- velopment, and the foundation for ad- vancement that he has helped to build is such that it will be creditable to and suf- 218 HISTORY OF SHELBY COU^^TY ficient for any superstructure that may be reared upon it. Living in it during the formative part of its history, he has done well his part, and has thereby given to those who may come after him a fine example of fidelity, breadth of view and high class citizenship which is well worthy of all imitation. THOMAS J. EICE. For a full quarter of a century a resi- dent of Shelby county, and during more than a third of the tune a citizen of Shel- bina, Thomas J. Rice has contributed his full share to the growth and develop- ment of this i)ortion of the state and done well his duty as an active and in- dustrious factor for good among this people. He is a native of the state, born in Scotland county on November 7, 1858, and although portions of his life have been passed elsewhere, he has always been deeply interested in the state of his nativity and the enduring welfare of its people. Mr. Eice is of Kentucky ancestry, his grandfather, Daniel C. Rice, having been born and reared in that state and hav- ing lived there many years. He is a son of Jackson A. and Margaret (Rose- borough) Rice, the former born in Hardin county, Kentucky, where his life began on December 25, 1835, and the lat- ter in Scotland county in this state. The father accompanied his parents to ]\Iis- souri when ho was but one year old and returned with tliem to Kentucky when he was four. The family remained in Kentucky three years, and in 1845 again became residents of Missouri, locating in Scotland county, where the father conducted a flourishing business as a farmer and breeder of live stock, in which his son united with him as soon as he was old enough. In 1860 the elder Mr. Rice went to California with an older brother. He was very successful in locating good claims in Colorado, having returned that far east after a short stay in California, and returned to this "state in 1863 with money enough to buy a farm near that of his father in Scotland county. He took up his residence on this farm, but it brought him a trying existence. Not only was the country wild and unde- veloped, and therefore difficult to bring to cultivation and fruitfulness, but the state militia was exceedingly trouble- some during the Civil war. The force was out of commission and many of its members, realizing that they were not responsible to any definite authority, roamed at will and committed continual depredations on unprotected settlers. Horses and cattle were stolen and run off by them, outhouses and even dwel- lings and personal violence was some- times inflicted. The Rice family bore its troubles bravely, enduring the wrongs it suffered with fortitude if not always with patience and forbearance, and at length conditions greatly improved for it. In 1867 the family moved to Clark county and located on a farm which it occupied and operated until 1903. when the father moved to Howell county, where he now resides. He was married in 1857 to Miss Margaret Roseborough, of Scotland county, this state. They be- came the parents of one child, their son. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 219 Thomas J., who is the immediate sub- ject of this sketch. The father is au earnest Democrat in political faith and belongs to the Christian church. The mother died at the birth of our subject in 1858 and the father married a second time, his second wife being Euliama Morrill who is still living. They had three sous and three daughters. Thomas J. Eice attended the public schools in Scotland and Clark counties and also the Baptist College at Alex- andria, Missouri. Upon the completion of his education he went to Arkansas, where he remained five years, teaching school during the winter months and act- ing as private secretary for Robert Mc- Clelland, a wealthy cattle man, during the summers. At the end of the period mentioned he returned to Missouri and passed one year in Shelbina as a clerk and salesman for W. H. Dye, then one of the leading general merchants of the city. He next located on a farm near Shelbina, on which he dwelt eleven years. From that farm he moved to another near Lentner which he occupied and worked for five years. In August, 1901, he returned to Shelbina, and here he has ever since resided. He is now busily en- gaged in the real estate and fire insur- ance business, largely in behalf of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Association of Shelby county, of which he has been president since 1897. Mr. Rice's interests are numerous and valuable. He is a large landowner, a stockholder in the Old Bank of Shelbina and connected with several other enter- prises of moment in themselves and highly beneficial to the community. He was also one of the founders of the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank, which is now the Shelbina National Bank, and one of its first stockholders and directors. He is a Democrat in politics and holds membership in the Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Order of Royal Neighbors fra- ternally. He is also an active and zeal- ous church worker, being steward of the congregation to which he belongs in the Methodist Episcopal church. South. On April 30, 1885, Mr. Rice was mar- ried to Miss Ida M. Freeland, of this county. They have had five children, three of whom are living. These are: Vivian, wife of P. G. Fox, of Shelbina; and Giles G. and Freeland R., who are living at home. Margaret died in 1909. Exemplifying in their daily lives all do- mestic and social attributes, and giving to those around them examples in every relation which are worthy of all imita- tion, ]\tr. and Mrs. Rice are justly re- garded as among the best and most esti- mable citizens of the county, and are uni- versally respected and admired as such. WILLIAM H. GILLISPIE. Actively engaged in a business of uni- versal interest and value to all classes of the community, prominent in social, fraternal and church relations, and tak- ing always a good citizen's share of the burden of public affairs u]ion himself, AA'iUiam H. Gillispie, of Shelbina, is one of the leading and most serviceable men in the world of Shelby county life, and is universally esteemed as such. He was born in this state on June 24, 1875, a native of Monroe county, but comes of good old Kentuckv stock. His grand- 2-10 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY father, Angel Gillispie, was born and reared in the Bhie Grass state and in- herited from his ancestors a decided ten- dency to adventure and conquest. The same spirit that led them to leave the older and more civilized sections of the countrj^ and brave the hardships and privations, the daily toils and nightly perils of frontier life in the wilds of Ken- tucky, impelled him to turn his back upon the home of his youth, and in early man- hood become a pioneer in Missouri and hew out a pathway of progress in manly endeavor for hunself in this then unset- tled country, which was slill fraught with hazards that always lie beyond the boundaries of civilization. Accordingly he gathered his household goods about him, bringing his family to what is now Missouri when his son, John W. Gillispie, the father of William H., who is the occasion of this writing, was but a child. On the virgin soil of our present state John W. Gillispie grew to manhood and obtained the limited ex- tent of scholastic training that was then available in the wilderness. Upon reach- ing his maturity lie turned his attention to farming, and tliis proved to be his life's occupation, for he continued at it imtil his death in 1884. He was married in 1870 to Miss Alice Crow, of Monroe county, and they became the ])arents of six children, all of whom are living, and in various capacities contributing to the growth and develo])ment of the country. They are : Jacob C, who lives in Shel- bina ; Maude, the wife of R. A. Threlkeld, of Rhelliy county; Edward, who is a prominent citizen of Monroe county; William H., of Shelbina; Elsie, who is living at home; and John M., who is also one of the wideawake and progressive men that give life and interest to the business and social life of Shelbina. The father was a devoted member of the Democratic party in whose ])rinciples he saw the best theory of government under our constitution, and in religious affairs adhered to the doctrines and teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church. South. William H. Gillispie obtained his early education in the district schools of Mon- roe county and later attended a good business college at Hannibal, Missouri, from which he was graduated in 1895. When his preparation for the battle of life was completed he entered upon the struggle as a clerk for his uncle, Frank Crow, who carried on an extensive mill- ing business at Shelbina, Missouri. He then passed three years as a clerk in the employ of Messrs. Smith & Bowling, leading merchants of Shelbina. He had not yet found his proper bear- ings in business and continued in search of them. He next engaged in the real estate and abstract business in associa- tion with the present state senator from Shelbina, Hon. George W. Hmnphre^', whose life story is briefly recorded on another page of this volume. He re- mained with IMr. Humphrey until 1902, when he purchased the interest of the senator in the business and took in as new partners J. H. Wood and R. L. Thomas, the firm name being Wood, Thomas & Gillispie. This firm continued in business until 1907. In that year Mr, Wood sold his interest in the enterprise to his partners, and tiiey have since been conducting the business under the name and style of Thomas & Gillispie. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 221 At all stages of the game Mr. Gillispie lias been successful aud prosperous. He owns considerable real estate in this county, in Kansas City, and in otlier parts of the state. He is widely and favorably known as a business man of integrity and intelligence, a citizen of great public spirit and progressiveness, aud a gentleman of social culture and genial disposition and manners. He is a Democrat in politics, an Odd Fellow and a Modern Woodman of America in fraternal relations and a member of the Methodist Ejiiscopal Church South in religious affiliation. The city of Shelbina and the whole of the surrounding county are much in- debted to him for his activity and stimu- lating example in the matter of improve- ment and development, and the people al- ways expect to find him at the front in behalf of any worthy and commendable enterprise in which the welfare of the public is involved; and they are never disappointed in this respect. In addi- tion to being active in such matters, he is also far-seeing and resourceful, and his aid is always valued whether it be given in coimsel or in zealous and pro- ductive service as a worker. His citizen- ship is elevated and elevating; his ex- ample is impressive and stimulating; his fidelitj' to duty is constant and effective. No man stands higher in the regard of the people and none deserves more in the w^ay of respect and good will. JOHN T. GOSE. John T. Gose and George Gose are the sole surviving children of John S. Gose and Margaret A. Gose. They were born on what is known as the Gose farm, in Monroe county, Missouri, and one and one-half miles south of Shelbina. They lived on the farm until the death of their father in 1873, and then moved with their mother to Shelbina where they still live. Margaret A. Gose died in October, 1905. John S. Gose was born in Virginia and was a son of Levi Gose and ]\Iary Gose, nee Davis. They came to this state in the thirties and settled in Monroe county. Margaret A. Gose was a daughter of Angel Gillispie and Lucinda Gillispie, nee Spencer. Her father and mother were native Kentuckiaus and came to Monroe county soon after Missouri be- came a state. She was born on the old Gillispie place near Old Clinton, Mon- roe county, in 1834, and first married to William Lasley. C. H. Lasley, of Shelbina, is the only surviving child of this marriage. John T. Gose was two years old when the family moved to Shelbina. He at- tended the public schools and the Shel- bina Collegiate Institute, graduating in 1888. He spent one year in the mercan- tile business in Monroe City, Missouri, and then entered Central College at Fayette, Missouri, from which institu- tion he received the degree of A.B. in 1894. The following year he held a scholarship in Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Tennessee, and in 1896 this institution conferred upon him the de- gree of A. M. In the fall of 1896 he returned to Cen- tral College as professor of philosophy, but soon resigned this position to enter the ministry. He spent the next two years preaching in Keytesville, Missouri, and then resigned from the ministry to become a iiost graduate student in the 223 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY University of Chicago. From the Uni- versity of Chicago he went to Culver Military Academy as professor of Eng- lish and history. At the close of the school year he returned to Chicago and matriculated at the Illinois College of Law. This institution conferred upon him the degrees of LL.B., LL.M., and D.C.L., made him a professor iia the col- lege and chose him, with its president, as delegate to the "Universal Congress of Lawyers and Jurists," at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. In 1903 he resigned his position in the law school to return to his native state to practice law. He located in St. Louis and was engaged in the active practice of law in that city until the fall of 1906 when he returned to Shelbina where he now lives and practices his profession. On December 21, 1904, he was married to Miss Eugenie Burruss Blocker, of Marshall, Texas. They have one child — George Blocker Gose. HARRY J. LIBBY. The law is a jealous mistress and exacts the utmost devotion and fidelity from her votaries. At the same time, she is generous and bestows her bounty with unstinted hand upon her deserving worshipers. Harry J. Libby, one of the leading lawyers of Shelby county, young man as he is yet, learned of her exactions early in the study of his profession and determined to meet the requirements, if assiduous effort and close application on his part would enable him to do it. He has paid his devotions at tiie shrine of Themis with the ardor of a zealot, and the goddess of his worsliip has re- warded his constancy with imperial gen- erosity, enabling him to win high rank as a lawyer and prominence and influ- ence as a citizen. Mr. Libby was born at Laclede, Linn county, Missouri, on July 31, 1885, and is a son of Judge Oscar F. and Rebecca J. (Watson) Libby, the former a native of Minnesota and the latter of this state. The father was born in 1851 and is a member of the Pioneers' Society of his native state. He also was bred to the law and has been iu active general prac- tice from the time of his admission to the bar, except during his service as dis- trict judge, which lasted a number of years. His professional studies were carried on iu Linn county, this state, of which he became a resident in 1868. He was admitted to practice in that county, and he is still living at Laclede and still engaged in conducting a large and re- munerative practice. He is of English ancestry. The mother is also still living, and like her husband, stands high in the regard of all who have the benefit and pleasure of knowing and associating with her. Their son, Harry J. Libby, began his scholastic training in the public schools of his native town and completed it at high school in Brookfield in the same county, from which he was graduated. He read law under the direction of his distinguished father, and was admitted to the bar of his native county in 1905. He at once began practicing in associa- tion with his father at Laclede, the firm name being 0. F. & H. J. Libby. But he was ambitious of making a reputation for himself unaided by family influence, and building his professional career ac- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 223 cording to his own design. Therefore, in 1907, he started out for himself in independent practice, removing to Clar- ence for the purpose. In October of the year last mentioned he changed his resi- dence to Shelbiua, where he now enjoys a steadily inci'easing practice and is well established among the leading lawyers of the county. Mr. Libby has taken nothing for granted and left nothing to chance in his professional work. He is well grounded • in the basic principles of the law, and has also made himself master of the in- terpretations the courts have made of it. In addition, he has studiously acquired freedom and fluency in speech and alert- ness and skill in the trial of cases, so that he is both a judicious counselor and an able and resourceful advocate. He is, besides, a gentleman of high character and culture, exemplifying in his inter- course with his professional brethren and the people generally all the bland amenities of life and an exalted sense of uprightness and personal integrity. In the public affairs of the county he has manifested a helpful practical in- terest and a constant readiness to aid in promoting every worthy undertaking for the good of the people among whom his useful labors are performed. In politics he is allied with the Democratic partj^ and is one of the most resourceful and effective workers for the success of his party in all its campaigns. His frater- nal connections are with the ^Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the IModern Woodmen of America. In each of these organizations lie takes an active interest and makes himself a serviceable and valued member. On October 21, 1909, Mr. Libby was united in marriage with Miss Carrie Belle Young, a native of Linn county, Missouri, and a daughter of Eobert and Emma (Bradley) Young. Her father, who is now deceased, was one of the most prominent and successful merchants of Brooklield, and one of the most highly respected and representative citizens of the county of his home. Mr. and Mrs. Libby are zealous and energetic mem- bers of the Christian church, sincerely devoted to its welfare and progress and earnest workers in the promotion of every phase of its useful activity. In all parts of Shelby county they are es- teemed as among its leading citizens, and throughout a large extent of the sur- rounding country they are held in cordial and appreciative regard by all classes of the people. WILLIAM A. MAUPIN. Beginning life for himself as a farmer and breeder of superior strains of live stock, and forced by declining health to retire from pursuits so ardiious and exacting, William A. Maupin, of Shel- bina, has nevertheless continued to fill an imiDortant place in the community and contribute essentially to its advance- ment and the substantial welfare of its peojjle. He is an extensive dealer in real estate of his own holdings and serves the Commercial Bank of Shelbiua as a stockholder and director. Mr. Maupin was born in Monroe county, this state, on March 4, 1860. He is a scion of old Virginia families which 224 JllSTUKY OF SHELBY COUNTY dwelt on the soil and helped to promote the wealth and greatness of the Old Do- minion for generations, keeping up in their daily lives the lofty standard of its citizenship and doing all in their power to dignify and adorn its domestic and social life. Mr. Maupin's grand- father, Thomas G. Maupin, left the home of his fathers when he was in the full maturity of his manhood, and came to the wilderness west of the Mississipi^i to aid in subduing it to civilization and found a new home and shrine for the family on the far frontier. He arrived in this state in 1832 and located in Mon- roe county, where at an advanced age he died on a farm he had redeemed from the waste and made fruitful and at- tractive. His son, Wiliam H. Maupin, who was the father of "William A., was born in Virginia on May 20, 1816, and was six- teen years old when the family moved to this state. For a number of years he worked on his father's farm, helj)ing to break up the stubborn soil, and lending his assistance to the limit of liis powers in making it over into a comfortable and valuable home. In January, 1848, he was married to Miss Lizzie Maupin, who was a distant relative of the family and a native of Kentucky. The young couple settled at once on a farm of their own and began a useful and profitable career as farmei-s and live stock producer.s. They flourished in their enteri)rise, mak- ing steady gains in material substance risoner of war for several months, lan- guishing in Federal military prisons. He has also been a farmer of prominence and successful operations, and a timber contractor for one of the leading rail- road lines in this part of the country. He has met every requirement of his busy and varied life in a manly and mas- terly way and every week of his time and every faculty of his being minister to his substantial and continued advance- ment. 254 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ]\Ir. Stribling was born in Monroe county, Missouri, on October 8, 18-iO, and is a son of Taliaferro and Jane C. (Boggs) Stribling, the fonuer a native of Kentucky and the latter of Pennsyl- vania. Their marriage took place in Missouri and by it they became the par- ents of three children, all of whom are living. They are : Loui^ine, the wife of A. Damrell, of Shelbyville; James 0:. the subject of this memoir; and Loretta, the wife of AV. G. Sanders, also a resi- dent of Shelbyxdlle. The father came to Missouri in an early day and for a number of years worked at the salt works on Salt river in Ralls county. He then turned his at- tention to farming and raising live stock and adhered to these pursuits contin- uously until his death in 1844. He was a man of enterprise and progressive- ness, wai-mly interested in the progi'ess and development of the region in which he lived, and gave earnest and very help- ful attention to the welfare of the people all around him. By his course in this respect he rose to prominence and in- fluence and won the high esteem of the whole jiopulation. James O. Stribling, like most of the boys and youth of this locality of his time, obtained his education in the pub- lic schools, attending them in Florida, Missouri. At the beginning of the Civil war he enlisted in the Confederate army under Col. Theodore Brace, and entered actively into the designs of the government, which he had volunteered to help and defend. He carried the first dispatch, after going into a regular cam]), from General Harris, then holding his command in Ralls county, to Colonel Green, whose camp was in Scotland county. He took part in the battles of Monroe City, Lexington and Sugar Creek, Missouri, Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and manj- skirmishes. The service was hazardous and he was daring. This re- sulted in his capture after seven months in the field, and during the next two or three months he was confined in Federal military prisons at Clinton, Sedalia and St. Louis, Missouri. After he was mus- tered out of the service he was again taken prisoner while on his way home and again kept in confinement for some time. After his release he returned to his former home in Monroe county, this state, but only remained a short time. In 1865 he went to work for the Hanni- bal & St. Joseph Railroad Company and took up his residence at Lakenau, in this coimty. He quit the railroad service in 1869 and turned his attention to farming and raising live stock near Lakehan, conducting his operations with great en- terprise and vigor and under very flour- ishing conditions. While thus engaged he drove the first self-binding harvester ever used in Shelby county, and for a period of twenty years was one of the leading farmers and stock men in this part of the state. Tn 1889 ]\rr. Stribling sold his farming interests and moved to Clarence, where he has made his home ever since. Im- mediately after locating in Clarence he bought an interest in what was then known as the Clarence Roller Mill, and with this industrial institution he was connected for ten years. At the end of that period he sold his interest in it. During the last fifteen years he has been HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 255 actively engaged in furnishing timber for the Chicago, Burlington & Quinc}' railroad, and during this period has made a number of short stays at Tex- arkana, Texas, in the vicinity of which he has about 8,000 acres of good timber land. The greater part of the timber now supplied for the use of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy line is procured along its right of way. Mr. Striblijig also holds a considerable block of stock in the Shelby County State Bank, of Clarence. In December, 1910, he was elected president of The Clarence Sav- ings Bank, which position he is now filling. He was united in marriage with Miss Susan Dorothy Hamilton, of Monroe county, Missouri, on April 28, 1868. She is a daughter of Clement A. and Cecilia T. (Brown) Hamilton, of Clarence. Seven children have been born of the union, five of whom are living: Jane Oneta, the wife of Joseph McDonald, of Brookfield, Missouri ; Lela, the wife of T. C. Stutz, also a resident of Brook- field; Ava and Clyde C, who are living at home with their parents; and Loretta, the wife of I. C. Yates, who lives in Mon- roe City. In his political alliance Mr. Stribling is a pronounced and active Democrat, zealous and effective in the service of his party, although seeking none of its honors or emolmnents for himself. Fra- ternally he is a Knight of Pythias, and in religious faith and allegiance is con- nected with the Catholic church. He is loyal and devoted to his party, his lodge and his church, and has been faithful and serviceable in his performance of all the duties of citizenship, standing high in the esteem of all the people as one of the best and most representative men in the county. THOMAS ROFF. Having reached the age of sixty-five and retired from all active pursuits of a strenuous character, the present life of Thomas Roff, one of the esteemed citi- zens of Shelbina, might seem to be one of rest, recreation and retrospection merely, but it is not so. He is still act- ively and intelligently interested in the improvement and general welfare of the community in which he makes his home and does his part as ever to promote its good; he still reveres the county and state in which his labors have been ex- pended, to whose advancement he has materially contributed, and is at the front with others in efforts for their yet greater development and progress; he has lost nothing of his regard for the people among whom his years of pro- ductive industry were passed, and he is constant in his wish and his endeavors to enlarge their happiness and substan- tial well being. So that even if he does no longer hold the plow, or reap the har- vest, or supply the live stock market, he is, nevertheless, still one of the workers for Shelby county's benefit and is re- garded as one of its most worthy and useful citizens. Mr. Roff was liorn in the county on April 2, 1844, and is a son of the late Peter Roif, an account of whose life will be fomid in a sketch of his other son, George Roff, in this work. Following the course, of most boys in the early days of a new countrv, Thomas Roff obtained •256 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY his education in the district schools in the neighborhood of his home, and while attending them assisted in the labors of all hands on his father's farm. The times were exacting in his boyhood and youth, the necessaries of life being so difficult to get and requiring so much ef- fort, that all the luxuries were unthought of. The pioneers of this section had the wUd expanse around them to awaken from its sleep of ages and the rough face of the country to smooth before they could find comeliness in its aspect or lib- erality in its bosom. And tlie exacting conditions bore heavily on the boys as well as on the men. on the daughters of the household as well as on the mothers. Thomas Roff was obliged by circum- stances to take his place among the toil- ers and do his full share toward supply- ing the needs of the home and family, and was therefore unable to seek other means of mental culture than those im- mediately at hand. He accepted his des- tiny with cheerfulness and performed its duties with all the ability and strength he could command. So entirely did he fall in with the genius of the time and locality that when he left school, instead of turning his back upon the rough life of the frontier, he remained on his father's farm and wrought with the rest until he reached the age of twenty-eight. Then, in 1S72, his father deeded kim a portion of the land he owned, and on this the son went heartily to work for him- self. During the succeeding twenty-seven years he farmed and raised live stock in- dustriously and profitably, continuing his oj^rations until 1SS9. when he gave up active industry and sought a retired life in Shelbina. where he has ever since had his home. He is a stockholder in the Shelbina National Bank and connected with other institutions of utility and value in the city and county, and to these he still gives the required share of his attention. His political faith has ever been fixed in the Democratic party and his activity in public affairs has been devoted to its welfare. His church affiliation is with the Christian sect, and in its behalf he has long been a faithful and a zealous worker. On AprU 15. 18S1, he was mar- ried to Miss Ella Hardcastle. of this county. They have had three children, of whom their daughter Lillian is the only one now living. TILMOX A. B-ULEY. Tilmon A. Bailey is a brother of John T. Bailey, of Shelbina. in a sketch of whom, on another page of this work, will 1)e found an aceoimt of the life of their father. Tilmon O. Bailey, and the mother of the family. The subject of these para- graphs was bom in Monroe county. Mis- souri, on August 22, 1S62. He was reared on his father's farm, attending the dis- trict school in the neighborhood when he could be spared from the labor of culti- vating the homestead, and made good use of his limited opportunities in the way of scholastic acquirements. At the age of twenty he entered the Shelbina Collegiate Institute, which he attended imtil 1SS4. when he began a three years' course of study at Central College, which is located at Fayette, in this state. After completing his college course he became a teacher in the public schools of his native coimtv*. to which he rendered HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 257 excellent service during a period of twelve years. He was elected county school commissioner of that county in 1896 and held the office two years, vacat- ing it in 1898 and taking up his resi- dence at Shelbina. He brought with him into Shelby county a number of select shorthorn cattle with several jacks and jennets of a superior strain and stallions of high grade. With these he started an active industry in breeding stock, and also gave his services as a bookkeeper to the Commercial Bank of Shelbina and afterward, for a short time, to the Old Bank of the city. In 1906 he was elected cashier of tlie Fai'mers' and Merchants' Bank, as it was then called, but which, owing to a reorganization and change of management, is now known as the Shel- bina National Bank. But he did not re- main in this position long. Stock-breed- ing was more to his taste than banking, and in 1907 he retired from a business that was not entirely agreeable to him in order that he might give his whole time and attention to one that was. Since then he has been continuously and extensively engaged in raising stock, breeding con- siderable numbers of his own and han- dling many more by purchase and ex- change. In this industry his interest is ab- sorbed and to its study and development his time is given. He has become thor- oughly familiar with all the details and features of the business and is recog- nized wherever he is known as an author- ity of extensive information and entire reliability on the subject and all matters connected with it. In this connection it should be noted that he served for years as secretarv of an industrial association made up of Shelby and Monroe county shorthorn breeders, and also as manager and conductor of its sales of stock, which took place annually, the two positions being awarded to him without opposi- tion, so complete was his mastery and knowledge of the business considered. Mr. Bailey has taken considerable in- terest in the public affairs of his county, state and country. He is an ardent be- liever in the principles of the Democratic party and an earnest and effective worker in its behalf. He is also promi- nent in the fraternal life of the commu- nity as a member of the Masonic order, having served as Worshipful Master of the Lodge, High Priest of the Eoyal Arch Chapter, and Worthy Patron of the local organization of the order of the Eastern Star. He and wife hold mem- bership in the Southern Methodist church and are energetic and zealous workers. On September 1, 1892, he was married to Miss Frances Quisenberry, of Santa Fe, this state. They have had five children, three of whom are living and still imder the parental roof tree. They are Blanche, Twila and Phyllis. JUDGE NEWTON ADAMS. This venerable citizen of Shelbina, has outlived the allotted time of man, as pre- scribed by the jialmist, but he is still hale and hearty, and takes an active in- terest in all that pertains to the progress and advancement of the people among whom he has so long lived and labored. Judge Adams is a native of the "Blue Grass" state, having been born in Henry county of that state on January 1, 1823. 258 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY His parents, James and Katherine (Thornton) Adams, were natives of Ken- tucky and V i r g i n a resi^ectively, the father, like himself, being a native of Henry county, and there passed the ac- tive years of his life engaged in farming. In 1864. however, he severed the ties that bound him to his native state, and joined his children, who had preceded him to the great state of Missouri, making his home with them until his death, which occurred in Monroe county in 1874. He was twice married. His first wife, the mother of the interesting subject of the article, died in Kentucky, in 1845. Six sons and three daughters were born to them, all of whom are now dead but two sons and a daughter. The father chose for his second wife, Susan Kerlin, a widow. To them was born one son, Jo- seph W., who is now a resident of Chari- ton county, ]\Iissouri. The grandfather of Judge Adams was AYilliam Adams, a native of Ireland. He emigrated to America just prior to the revolution and settled in Pennsylvania. He was a soldier in the war of the revolu- tion, serving for nearly two years. When the colonies secured their independence, and peace was at last restored he emi- grated to Kentucky, and there passed the residue of his life. Pour of his sons saw service in the war of 1812, three of them were in the Northern campaign, and one was with General Jackson at New Orleans. One son, William, died in Canada, while in the service. Judge Newton Adams grew to man- hood among the pioneer scenes of his na- tive state, and endured many of the hard- ships and dangers incident to the settle- ment and development of that great com- monwealth. He attended the primitive schools of the day, but was early in life compelled to make his own way in the world, and began laying the foundation of his own fortune by working on nearby farms. The wages were small and thinking to better his condition, in 1850, he severed the home ties and started for Missouri, which was at that time attracting so many of the young men of that section. The trip was made by water to Hannibal, and he ar- rived there on Christmas daj" of the same year. He at once made his way inland to Monroe county, and purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres, five miles south of Shelbina. The land was unimproved, and he at once set about making a home for him- self, enduring all the hardships and pri- vations incident to the founding of a home in a new countrj'. He continued to reside on that farm until 1864, bring- ing it to a high state of protluctiveness. In that year he disposed of the land and removed to Shelbina, where he made his home until 1883, when he purchased an- other tract of land in ^lonroe county, six miles southwest of Shelbina. This land he improved and resided upon until 1889. when he disposed of it and removed to Columbia, ^fissouri, that his children might have the advantage of the excellent schools of that place. After a residence of two years in Columbia, he again returned to Shelbina. and pur- chased a farm one mile south of the city on which he lived imtil 1906, when he re- tired from all active pursuits, and is now j HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 259 passing the eveuiug of his loug aud active life in the city of Shelbiua, sur- rounded by a host of friends who respect him for the many sterling qualities of mind and heart they know him to pos- sess. "While a resident of Shelby county, Judge Adams was called upon to serve as county judge of the county, being first appointed to fill an unexpired term in 1871, and elected in the fall following to succeed himself in the same office, and in this connection it might be well to state that he was the first Democrat elected to office in Shelby county after the war. While a resident of Monroe county he filled the office of justice of the peace for a number of years, and also of county assessor for one term. In polities the judge was first a "Know Nothing," but after the death of that party he aligned himself with the Democratic party, and for many years was considered one of the leaders in Shelby county. He was married in Monroe county, March 2, 1851, to Mrs. Martha (Sparks) Heridon, who like himself is a native of Kentucky. Ten children have been born to them, seven of whom are living — Sarah, William, Lucy, Mattie, Newton T., Jane and Vinnie. In religion he and wife are members of the Presbyterian church, the judge having united with the church when he was twenty years of age. He was also one of the charter members of the church at Shelbina and an elder of the same. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic fraternity, becoming a Master Mason in 1862, and has filled the chairs of Sr., Deacon and Worshipful Master of Shel- bina Lodge, No. 228. CHARLES S. BARKER. In the productive fields of peaceful in- dustry, in military service during the great Civil war, in connection with the management of mighty utilities of every day service to the people, and again in farming for a period, and then in the employ of the national government, Charles S. Barker, of Shelbina, has been of great service to the citizens of Mis- souri and several other states. His life of sixty-five years to this time has been a very busy one fi'om the age at which he became able to work, and all his pur- suits have ministered directly aud sub- stantially to the comfort, convenience and general well-being of the public. His long and faithful devotion to duty and his excellent record in every way have brought him the continued esteem of all who know him and registered him in the regard of the people as one of the most useful and worthy citizens of this county. Mr. Barker is a native of Shelby county and was born on November 17, 1844. He is of Scotch ancestry on his father's side, his grandfather, John Bar- ker, having been born in the romantic land of Scott and Burns. In the war of 1812 he raised a company of soldiers, with his brother George as captain. He emigrated to this coimtry in early man- hood, locating in Clinton county, Penn- sylvania, where Jonathan Barker, the father of Charles, was bom on July 27, 1808. From his youth until November, 1840, he was boatman on the Susque- 260 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY hanna river. In the autumn of 1840 he came to this state and founded a new home on Salt river, in Shelby county, buying a tract of land which gave him water power for a mill. He developed his land and made it fruitful, and also built up an extensive trade at his mill, which he continued to develop until the high water of 1846 swejDt it away, follow- ing these pursuits steadily, industriously and profitably until his death on May 3, 1894. Besides Jonathan Barker, others of his immediate family were instrumental in aiding the development of the country they had chosen for a home. His brother Geoi'ge, who came to this country in 1820, was a surveyor for forty years. He also built the first mill at AValkerville, the place taking its name from Jonathan Walker, an own cousin of the father of Charles Baker, and the grandfather, Charles Smith, built the old court house in Shelbina. In November, 1842. he was married to Miss Emeline E. Smith, a resident of this county at the time but a native of Kentucky. Their offspring numbered ten and five are living, widely scattered in location and pursuits, but all exempli- fying the lessons and examples given them around the family hearth in useful avocations and contributions to the growth and development of our common country. They are: The subject of this brief review; Washington D., a resident of Gridley, California ; Mary F., now I\Irs. William Kealey, of Shelbina; Amanda, wife of Samuel E. Baker, of Shelbina; Helen N., who is married to James S. Barker and lives at Gridley, California ; and Jennie, who is Mrs. Will- iam Baird, of Spokane, Washington. The father was a ^Tiig in national politics imtil the death of the "Whig party and the formation of its vigorous and aggressive successor, the Republican party, after which he gave his allegiance to the new organization and faithfully supported it as long as he lived. He was also a de- vout and serviceable member of the Bap- tist church for a great many years. He died after nearly completing his eighty- ninth year of life on earth, and left be- hind him as a priceless heritage for his children a good name and the record of well spent years and powers, in addition to the material accumulation they had enabled him to gather. Charles S. Barker grew to manhood on his father's farm in Shelby county and obtained his education at the district school of the neighborhood, his experi- ences in these respects being like those of nearly all the children of the frontier. When the Civil war began he was but sixteen years of age, but he felt a stern call to duty in defense of the integrity of the Union, and, boy as he was, enlisted in the Federal army in a company that was soon afterward placed under the command of General John McNeil, of St. Louis, whose principal headquarters were at Cape Girardeau, in this state. The company participated in the battles of Cape Girardeau, Bloomfield and Kirksville in Missouri, and in many minor engagements. Mr. Barker escaped uninjured from the war and soon after its close became an employe of the Han- nibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company, which he served with fidelity and ability for a period of eighteen months. He then moved to Loekliaven, Pennsylvania, HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 261 to be still connected with the railway service and take an appointment in it under the Pennsylvania system, in which he was emi^loyed five years. In 1878, with, the training he had se- cured in his experience in the railway service, and his faculties broadened and brightened by work in a different section of the coimtrj^, Mr. Barker i-eturned to Missouri and during the next five j^ears devoted his energies to building bridges. He next engaged in farming for eight years on the old family homestead. In 1901 he entered the postal service Bf the United States in Shelbina and is still connected with it. He has given his sup- port loyally to the Republican party from the dawn of his manhood, for many years has found the consolations of re- ligion as an earnest worker in the Bap- tist church, of which he is a member, and has enjoyed fraternal life as a mem- ber of the Masonic order. On December 15, 1891, he was united in marriage with Miss Jennie Parrish, of Macon county, in this state. The two children that have blessed their union, their daughters Vir- ginia Frances and Ruth, still abide with them in their pleasant home iu Shelbina, which is a favorite resort of their hosts of admiring friends. FARMERS' AND MERCHANTS' BANK OF HUNNEWELL. This valued financial institution, which has been of great service to the commu- nity in which it has been operating for about two years, has already secured a hold on the public regard and confidence that assures its continued and increasing success, and promises great things for the future in the way of covenience to the people and development of the town and surrounding country, which have been greatly in need of the facilities it affords for the ijuick dispatch of busi- ness and convenience in transactions. The bank was founded in November, 1908, with a capital stock of $10,000 and the following directorate : President, Al- bert L. Vaughn ; vice president, W. B. Arnold; cashier, W. B. Herron; direct- ors, Albert L. Vaughn, W. B. Arnold, John W. Carr, Harry Duer, Ben Par- sons, Jerry Jeffries, E. A. Fiye and C. L. Landrum. Mr. Frye died in April, 1910, and he was succeeded by J. Weldon Hardesty. From the day on which its doors were opened for business it has been doing well and steadily increasing its trade, while the public appreciation of its wise management, liberal policy and manifest soundness has grown as its operations have expanded. Located, as it is, at the junction of three rich and progressive counties, and having the en- terprising people of them all to draw upon for business, the bank is bound to succeed and make its mark in the finan- cial world. It is, moreover, under the management of careful and capable men, who, in protecting and advancing tbeir own interests in connection with it, will do all in their power to promote the wel- fare of its patrons and facilitate their business operations to the fullest extent consistent with safety and good banking direction. The bank does a general bank- ing business, embracing every approved and up-to-date feature, and lays all its resources under tribute to ]irovide for the wants of the community and its people in every possible way. 262 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Albert L. Vauglin, the president of the bank and its leading business inspiration and controlling force, is conducting his new venture right among the people with whom his whole life, so far, has been passed. He was born, reared and edu- cated in ^lonroe county, and found his partner for life in Hunnewell. Those who trade with him and his bank know well, therefore, what to expect from his high character and the record of his years, which is an open book before them. His life began on his father's farm on July 31, 1870, and was passed under the family roof until he reached the age of twenty-eight. His parents were Fielding Pope and Eva (Williams) Vaughn, the former a native of Lexington county, Kentuckj% and the latter bom and reared in Platte county, Missouri. They were married on November 16, 1868, and Albert was the first born of their sis children, five of whom are living, the others being J. C. Vaughn, of Eocky Ford, Colorado; Mattie B., wife of Eugene Gardner, of Kampa, Idaho; T. B. Vaughn, of Shel- bina, and Pattie, who lives in Shelbina. In political faith and activity the father was a firm and loyal Democrat all the days of his mature life, taking a great interest in the welfare of his party and doing all he could to promote it. Fraternally he was connected with the ^lasonic order, in which he was a Knight Temjilar; and in religious affiliation he was a member of the Christian church, in whose benevolent and evangelizing work he took the share of a zealous and effective worker. The first few years of his life in this state were pa.^^sed on a farm in Platte countv, and from tliere he moved to Monroe county, where he lived until his death in 1903. His father, who also was named Fielding Pope ^"aughn, was a native of Kentucky. Albert L. Vaughn located in Himne- well on May 25, 1898. His first venture into the business life of the community was as a livery keeper and dealer in horses, a line of industry and merchan- dising he still follows in addition to his services at tlie bank. He was made pres- ident of this institution when it was founded in November, 1908, and is still rendering valued and fruitful service in that capacity, showing a film grasp of the business, a high degree of capacity for its requirements and continued fidel- ity and strict integrity in attending to it. In politics ilr. Vaughn is a staunch and unwavering Democrat ; and although he desires none of the honors or emolu- ments of public office for himself, he takes an active part in the campaigns of his party and gives its candidates ener- getic and effective support on all occa- sions. His fraternal relations are with the order of Modem Woodmen of Amer- ica and his religious connection is with the Christian church. In both organiza- tions he is zealous and productive in his work, exhibiting wisdom and prudence in counsel and productive industry in ef- fort in their behalf. He was married on November 20, 1897, to Miss Lyda Mc- Atee, of Hunnewell. Four children have brightened and sanctified their domestic altar. Of these, three are living and still surround the parental hearthstone. They are two daughters, Gladys and Althea, and one son, AHiert L.. Jr. Mr. Vaughn is in the prime of life, with all his facul- ties in full vi2;or. his energies awake and HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 263 potential, and the ambitions of his career still unsatisfied. But with the progress he has made as a standard of deduction it is safe to say that he will win the suc- cess he aims at in business, as he has al- ready won the guerdon of a high place in the good will and regard of the people among whom he lives and labors, ex- pending his efforts in their behalf as well as in furtherance of his own fortunes. OLD BANK OF SHELBINA. This fine and sterling institution, whose history runs like a veritable thread of gold through the chronicles of .Shelbiua, was founded in 1873, with a capital stock of $25,000. It was the suc- cessor of the First National Bank, which was foimded by John F. Benjamin, who conducted it for a number of years. It was then turned into a private bank and operated as such by Messrs. Eeid & Tay- lor, who had charge of it until it was re- organized as the Bank of Shelbina. Un- der this last name it was known and did a flourishing business until 1903, when a new charter was granted and "The Old Bank" was founded. In the manage- ment of its affairs William H. Warren succeeded Mr. Eeid and served as presi- dent of the Bank of Shelbina until his death in 1898. AVhen the Old Bank was organized in 1903 it started business with a capital stock of $50,000. Its officers were : Presi- dent, Frank Dimmitt; vice-president, D. G. Minter; cashier, C. K. Dickerson; as- sistant cashier, E. J. King; directors, C. H. Lasley, George AV. Humphrej^ James F. Allgaier, J. William Towson, E. E. Smith, Silas Threlkeed and Frank Dim- mitt. It has a very creditable career and has been an essential and exceed- ingly serviceable factor in the develop- ment and progress of the community, and has contributed vitally and steadily to the comfort, convenience and substan- tial welfare of the people, helping, by its liberal policy and enterprising meth- ods, all forms of public improvements and private undertakings, and it is justly esteemed as one of the leading elements of all that is good and useful in the finan- cial life of the community. THE HUNNEWELL BANK. After ten years of active and increas- ing business, in which it has fully justi- fied the hopes of its founders and met the expectations and requirements of the people who trade with it, the Hunne- well Bank can confidently claim that it deserves the high regard in which it is held in the community and the excellent reputation it has in the financial world. It was incorporated on January 18, 1889, under the name it now bears and with the following official staff and directo- rate : President, J. V. Cox ; vice presi- dent, John Bohrer ; cashier, W. F. Black- luirn; directors, the above named gen- tlemen and Thomas Irons, A. C. Balliet, who is secretarj" of the board, W. IT. Sanders and Obe Thomas. The capital Sanders and Obe Thomas. The capital stock was $25,000, having been raised to that amount from $20,000 in January of the year 1909, when a general re- organization took place. The first organization continued until January, 1892, when W. B. Thiehoff was elected a director in iihice of W. H. San- 26-1 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ders. In January, 1894, Mr. Thielioff was elected secretary of the board in place of A. C. Balliet, and filled it until September, 1909. In January, 1909. as has been stated, a general reorganization took place, resulting in the increase in the capital stock above mentioned, with the addition of a surplus of $1,230, and the election of the following officers : A. C. Balliet, president ; B. F. Broughton, vice president; Edward L. Blackburn, cashier ; and A. C. Balliet, B. F. Brough- ton, J. W. Nesbit. J. A. 'Daniel, Wesley Barker, R. H. Durett and W. B. Thiehoff. directors, the last named being secretary of the board. On February 22. 1909, Edward L. Blackburn died and J. A. O 'Daniel was chosen cashier in his place with C. P. Painter assistant cashier. In April, 1910, J. A. 'Daniel was elected president and C. P. Painter cashier. The official statement of the condition of the bank at the close of business on June 23, 1909, made under oath by the i^resident and cashier, showed total resources amounting to $93,564.47, with the sum of $(55,787.29 on deposit, subject to check or time certificates, and net undivided profits aggregating $2,777.28. The man- agement of the bank from the beginning of its career has been wise and progres- sive. Its business has been of a general character, including all ap])roved fea- tures of advanced modern banking, and as its resources and the volume of its trade have increased, its good name and sterling character have correspondingly risen among the peojile, so that it is now recognized as one of the soundest, most complete and best directed financial in- stitutions in this part of the country. "William B. Thiehoff, who is one of the leading potencies in the management of the bank and in popularizing it and spreading its influence among the people of the three counties at whose junction it is located, was born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, on September 23, 1844. His parents were Anthony B. and Cai-o- line (Kibler) Thiehoff, the former a na- tive of Germany and the latter of the same nativity as her son. The father was born in 1812 and came to the United States in 1834. He at once took up his residence in Shenandoah county, Vir- ginia, and there he wrought faithfully and profitably at his trade as a tailor until 1861, when be brought his family to Missouri and located at Hunnewell, where he was engaged in general mer- chandising until his death in August, 1892. His marriage occurred in 1837 and resulted in a family of six children, three of whom are living : John H., of Austin, Texas ; AVilliam B., of Hunnewell ; and Isabelle C, who is now the wife of R. B. Durbin, of Hunnewell. His wife died after many years of faithful service to her home and offspring, and in Septem- ber, 1862, the father married again, being united with Miss Sarah E. Spalding, a native of Kentucky. They had one child, their daughter, ^Nlary E., who is now the wife of A. C. Spaulding and lives in Hunnewell. The father was a Democrat in politics, a Catholic in religion and an Odd Fellow in fraternal life. His son, AVilliam B., began his educa- tion in the district schools of AHrginia and completed it in those of Missouri. After leaving school he followed general farm work until 1869, when he embai"ked in the furniture and undertaking busi- ness in Hunnewell. He adhered to these HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 265 lines of mereautile life uutil 1905, theu sold out his business aud moved to Han- nibal in this state. Near that city he en- gaged in farming and raising live stock, and also in dairying on a large scale. He is still conducting those enterpi-ises with success and profit for himself and greatly to the advantage of the jieople living around him and in the city of his home, ■where he has his principal market. Al- though living in Hannibal, he still serves the Hunnewell Bank faithfully and effi- ciently as the secretary of its board of directors. Always active and intelligent in working for the good of the com- munity in wliich he maintained his home, he exhibited to the people of Hannibal such superior qualifications for adminis- trative duties that they elected him mayor of the city and found they had made no mistake in their choice. He gave them a good administration of city affairs, promoting the ijrogress of the municipality and carefully guarding all its interests from neglect and spolia- tion. In his political allegiance, Mr. Thie- hoff has always been a pronounced work- ing Democrat. The candidates and struggles of his party always enlist his active aid and his services are at all times found to be effective. In fraternal life he is a prominent member of the Ma- sonic order, in which he has long been a hard and fruitful worker. He served the Hunnewell lodge of the order seven- teen years as secretary, one year as senior warden and two as worshipful master, holding it up to the highest standard of Masonic work and regularity at all times, and infusing great interest and instruction into its meetings. He was married in 1880 to Miss Sarah Etta Jones, a native of Missouri. They have had one child, their daughter Augusta L., who is now the wife of C. D. Young aud a resident of Hannibal. In all the relations of life, Mr. Thiehoff has ex- hibited an elevated and elevating citi- zenship, and in all his business ventures he has shown great capacity and energy, involving zeal tempered with prudence, and a commanding progressiveness re- strained and governed by an enlightened conservatism. He has been very success- ful and is regarded as one of the leading- business men and best citizens of the portion of the state in which he lives. ANDEEW B. DUNLAP. Descended from long lines of sturdy and productive ancestors, Andrew B. Dunlap, of Hunnewell, had shown in several fields of human endeavor that heredity has weight, exem])lifying by his own industry, capacity, sterling char- acter and success in life the strains from which he sprang and the fiber of which they were comi^osed. He has taken the qualities of his being as his capital and invested them in a career of great credit to himself and decided advantage to the community in which they have been em- ployed. Mr. Dunlap was born on August 1.3, 1874, in Hannibal, Missouri, and is a son of Robert H. and Delma C. (Smith) Dun- lap. a brief account of whose lives is published elsewhere in this work. He was brought to Himnewell by his parents in his infancy, so that practically the whole of his life has been passed in that city. He was educated in its imblic •266 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY schools, grew to manhood among its peo- ple, and learned his trade of printer in the office of its newspaper. He is there- fore almost wholly a product of the com- munity in which he now lives and labors. and the community is well pleased to have him taken as one of its most repre- sentative citizens. For several years after acquiring a mastery of the craft with which he is still allied, he worked as a journeyman printer in different places in the state, enlarging in every day experience his knowledge of his business and extend- ing his acquaintance among the jieople. acquiring extensive information of their aspirations, feelings and convictions by mingling with them in a variety of lo- calities and imder a variety of circum- stances. This experience was most val- uable as a schooling and preparation for the work that was before him and in which he is now engaged. In 1897 he purchased "The Graphic," a weekly newspaper published in Himne- well, of which he has ever since been the proprietor and editor. In conducting this paper and seeking to make it the ex- pression of the interests, the progress and the ambitions of one section of the state — the character of its people and the high purposes that animate them — he is enabled to do better work and give clearer \-iews by reason of his knowledge of other portions. And it is much to his credit that, having acquired this knowl- edge, he makes free and projier use of it to the advantage of all sections. Mr. Dunlap has a broad and compre- hensive mind of great activity which could never be satisfied or employ all its energies in one line of effort. In addi- tion to editing and publishing "The Graphic," he is also assistant cashier of the Fanners' and Merchants' Bank of Hunuewell. in which lie holds stock, and is secretary of its board of directors. With so many business interests in the city, it is inevitable that Mr. Dunlap is earnestly, actively and intelligently in- terested in its welfare, and this he has shown on all occasions and in reference to every enterprise for its advancement and improvement. He could not be what he is in business if he were not progres- sive and far-seeing, and as he is these in his own affairs, he is correspondingly progressive and far-seeing in reference to the general welfare of the community. So manifest have been liis traits in this respect that in 1906, when he was but thirty-two years old. he was elected mayor of Hunuewell. and during the three succeeding years guided the for- tunes of the city with a skillful hand and to the satisfaction of all the people, re- signing the office in the spring of 1909. Eeelected in 1910. In public affairs on a larger field Mr. Dunlap is also earnestly, actively and in- telligently interested. His county, his state and his country engage his atten- tion in the warmest manner and he does all he can to promote the general weal of each and all. He is a Republican in politics, but his patriotism is not limited by party lines. Whatever seems good to him in local or general jiolitical require- ments secures his support and advocacy. In fraternal life he is connected with two of the benevolent societies so numer- ous among men, the Independent Order HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 267 of Odd Fellows and the Modern Wood- men of America. His church affiliation is with the Southern Methodists. On December 3, 1896, ^Ir. Dunlap was imited in marriage with Miss Lizzie P. Hightower of this county. They have four children, their son, Chester Howard and their daughters, Ethel Virginia, Eva One- ta, and Andrew Lewis, who are the orna- ments and the light and life of their pleasant home. That the head of the household has been very successful in his business is a logical sequence of his natural endowments, his acquired pow- ers, and the use he has made of them. That he is popular in the community fol- lows from his warm interest in its wel- fare and his continuous efforts to pro- mote it. As an evidence of his progres- siveness it should be stated that he put up the tirst concrete building in the county. With youth, health and strength on his side, and a high ideal of citizen- ship as his inspiration, the future should have much in store for him, in business, in public life, or in both, according to his desire. EDWIN A. FEYE. (Deceased.) Like many others of our men of mold and consequence in business, industrial and public life, the late Edwin A. Frye, of Hunnewell, drew liis stature and his strength practically from the soil, grow- ing from infancy to manhood on a farm, and, as soon as he was able, taking his place among those who were performing its useful labors and getting in return strength of l)ody and independence and self-reliance of spirit. Mr. Frve was a son of Henrv B. and Permalia A. (Wilson) Frj'e, and was born in Shelby county on February 1, 1864. His grandfather, Henry Westfall Frye, was a native of Virginia before its division into two states in the lottery of civil war, living in Hardy county, in that part which is now AYest Virginia, and there the parents of Edwin A. Frye were born, reared, educated and married. The father's life began in September, 1826, and all of its maturity, excejit the last four years, as well as its boyhood and youth, was devoted to farming and rais- ing live stock. These pursuits occupied him until 1860 in his native state. In that year he yielded to a longing that had long possessed him and determined to try his fortunes in the virgin region beyond the Mississippi. He came to Mis- souri and in this state continued the operations in which he had been engaged in the state of his nativity. He took some time to look the ground over in his new location, and in 1868 bought a farm in Shelby county, and on that exerted his efforts for advancement and success until 1905. He then sold his farm and took up his residence in Hun- newell, where he has ever since been liv- ing, retired from active pursuits and looked upon as one of the most estimable citizens of the community, whose people know that he has borne well his part in the battle of life and is fully entitled to the rest he is enjoying. He was united in marriage with Miss Parmelia Wilson, and three children blessed their union. Two of them are living: Henry W., an esteemed citizen of Kansas City, Mis- souri, and Alary E., the wife of George T. Smithey, of Monroe county, this state. The father is an ardent Democrat in pol- 268 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY itics, loyally devoted to the welfare of his party, and a zealous member of the Southern Methodist church in reUgious faith. Edwin A Frj^e obtained his education in the public schools of Shelby county, ending his specific scholastic training with the course of instruction thej' af- forded. After completing that he con- tinued the assistance on his father's faiTu which he had been g'n^ing from Jiis boyhood, and then rented land which he farmed on his own account until 1896. In that year he turned his attention to another line of endeavor, engaging in the insurance business, with headquarters in Hunnewell, carrying on also operations in real estate and loans. He devoted himself to these avenues of business with success in a financial way and with grow- ing eminence and esteem among the peo- ple. He was one of the stockholders in the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank, of Hunnewell, and a member of its board of directors at the time of his death, April 29, 1910. He was ever active and intelligent in his efforts to promote the welfare of the community in which he lived. In polit- ical allegiance he was a firm and faithful Democrat, loyal to his party and as ear- nest and zealous as any in his efforts to maintain its supremacy. Fraternally he was a member of the Court of Honor, and in church affiliation was allied with the Southern Methodists. No man in the city was more highly esteemed. WILLIAM B. HEBRON. The family of which William B. Her- ron, of Hunnewell, is a scion illustrates in three generations of its life the gen- eral trend of American history from colonial times to the present day, or al- most until this period. That history has been a continual flow of the tide of emi- gration from the Atlantic toward the Pacific and a conquest of one portion of ; the wilderness after another, the sons taking up the march of advance in the wake of the setting sun where the fathers f laid it down, until the whole continent became covered, settled and subjugated to the requirements of civilization. Mr. Herron's grandfather, David Her- ron, was a native of Pennsylvania, and felt the "call of the wild" when he was a young man. He left the scenes and associations of his boyhood and youth and plimged into what was then the wil- derness of Indiana, locating in the por- tion now forming Ohio county of that great, populous and progressive state. There the father of William B. was born and reared, and he in turn took up his pilgrimage toward the Farther West when his time came for the task, moving onward with the tide of progi-ess to Mis- souri, where he passed the remainder of his days. William B. Herron was born in Dear- born county, Indiana, on January 28, 1866, and is the son of Jesse T. and Au- gusta (Lamkin) Herron, natives of In- diann, where the father's life began on July 21, 1834. The father grew to man- hood in his native state and obtained his education there. On leaving school he turned his attention to the occupation to which he had been reared, fanning and raising live stock, and in that he was en- gaged during the remainder of his resi- dence in Indiana and for a short time after his arrival in the state of Missouri HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 269 in the spring of 1868, tilling the soil of Shelby county. In 1875 he abandoned farming and turned merchant, carrying on extensively as a grocer at Clarence until 1903, when he sold his establish- ment and retired from business. He died in Clarence on October 24, 1905. He was a Republican in politics, a Freemason in fraternal life and a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church in religious con- nection, and was zealous and faithful in his duty in all. Called upon to lay down his trust at the advanced age of seventy- one, he went to his tomb respected by all who knew him and his memory is cher- ished bj^ the people among whom he lived and labored as that of one of the best citizens of the county. On March 16, 1865, he was joined in marriage with j\Iiss Augusta Lamkin, whose life, like his own, as has been stated, began in Indiana. Of the four children born to them all are living: Their first born, William B. ; Cora, the wife of E. B. Smith, of Craig, Missouri; Kate, the wife of Dr. F. L. Magoon, of St. Louis ; and Minnie, who lives in Clar- ence, this county. On the completion of his education, which was obtained in the public schools of Clarence, William B. Herron entered his father's grocery as a clerk and sales- man, in which he was employed until 1890, when he entered general merchan- dising as an employe of B. P. Eutledge, of Clarence. He remained with Mr. Rut- ledge ten years, with the exception of a few months, and devoted himself to the business of the house with such close and studious attention that he acquired a thorough knowledge of it and became so confident of his proficiency that in 1901 lie entered the lists as a general merchant himself in Hunnewell. The next year he took H. Kirkwood in as a partner, and the firm then became Her- ron & Kirkwood. They disposed of this business December 1, 1909. Mr. Herron was elected cashier of the Fanners' and Merchants' Bank on March 15, 1909. He is still rendering satisfactory service to the bank and the community in that ca- pacity and by his business acimien, per- sonal influence and enterprise in his work is greatly helping to build up the trade of the institution and enlarge and strengthen its hold on the confidence and regard of the people. Mr. Herron 's political faith is given to the Republican policies and principles in national affairs, and while he is not an extreme partisan, he acts upon his convictions by loyally supporting his party and its candidates at all times. Fraternally he is a Knight of Pythias, a Modern Woodman of America and a member of the Masonic order, being the treasurer of his lodge in the society last named. On March 25, 1884, he was mar- ried to Miss Belle Hill, a native of Shelby county, in this state, who was "reared and educated at Clarence. They have had two children, but one of whom is living, their son, Claude E., who is a resident of Hunnewell. Mr. Herron is a gentleman of fine public spirit, which he manifests by his cordial and intelligent interest in all the affairs of the commu- nity of his home and his earnest efforts to promote the welfare of the people in every waj^ He enjoys in a marked de- gree the regard and good will of all classes of the citizenship of the county. 270 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ELI C. DAVIS, M. D. All his life a resident and for more than fifty years an active physician and surgeon among the people of Missouri, and in eveiy relation and under all cir- cumstances an exemplar of all the bland amenities of social culture and natural gentility. Dr. Eli C. Davis, of Hunne- well, is justly esteemed as among the finest tj'pes of citizenship the state has to offer for the consideration and high regard of men. The best estimate of his elevated character, extensive profes- sional attainments and generous and courtly disposition is to be found among the people of this county who have dwelt with him and had the benefit of his labors for a period of half a century. Dr. Davis was born in Marion county, this state, on March 3, 1830, and is a de- scendant of old North Carolina families, which dignified and adorned the profes- sional, business and public life of that good old state for generations before the branch to which he belongs foimded a new home for the name in Kentucky, whither his grandfather, John Davis, moved in his early manhood. The Doc- tor's parents, John and Elizabeth (Dick) Davis, were born in North Carolina and reared in Kentucky, the father's life be- ginning in 1790. He farmed for a living, and while the fruits of his labors were considerable in the state of his adoption, either because they were not all he wished, or because he had inherited a love of adventure and conquest from his ancestors, he determined in 1824 to leave the region which had welcomed him into being and try his fortunes in the farther wilderness of that dav. On his arrival in this state in the year last mentioned the elder Davis located in what is now Marion county and contin- ued his farming and stock-raising opera- tions until 1856, when he became an in- valid and was forced to give up all active pursuits. He died in September, 1859, generally esteemed as a good man who was called from his earthly labors at an age when he was just prepared to enjoy the rest he had so richly earned. He was a firm believer in the principles and theo- ries of government proclaimed by the ^^l\\g party and gave that organization his earnest and effective support from the dawn of his manhood to the close of his long and useful life. His religious feelings found a suitable field for their exercise and emploj-ment in the doctrines of the Baptist church, of which he was long a member and in which he was for many years an active worker. He was married in 1811 to Miss Elizabeth Dick, a native of North Carolina. They had twelve children, of whom the Doctor is the only one now living. Dr. Davis obtained his scholastic train- ing in the district schools of Marion county, the only means available to him for such discipline, and might have been expected to tuni his attention to the oc- cupation of his father and his fore- fathers, situated as he was. But he had aspirations to a different career, and supplemented his slender academic ac- quisitions by industrious and reflective reading as a means to the end he had in view. In 1856 he entered the medical de- partment of the Iowa State University at Keokuk, and from this he was grad- uated in 1858 with the degree of M. D. He at once began the practice of his pro- FRANK DIMMITT HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 271 fessiou in Knox county, but a short time afterward located at Hunnewell, wliere he found a ripe field for his labors, and in this county he has ever since resided. He continued in active practice until 1906, when he deemed that he had earned the right to retire in obedience to the ad- monitions of advancing years. For a long time he has been an active member of the Shelby County and the Northern Missouri Medical associations and taken a prominent part in their proceedings, contributing to their deliberations all the light he could from his experience and observation and drawing unto him- self from them all the benefit his oppor- tunities allowed. On November 9, 1858, the Doctor was united in marriage with Miss Susan Day, of Marion county. They became the par- ents of thirteen children, ten of whom are living: Lily Jane, wife of Charles T. Cox, of Hunnewell ; John Thomas, a res- ident of Kansas; Jennie, wife of Dr. William T. Bell, of Stoutsville, Monroe county; Herman C; Myrta Ellen, wife of W. L. Pollard, of Montrose, Colorado ; Ida Elizabeth, wife of Fletcher Blanford, of Lebanon, Kentucky; Effie, of Lamar, Colorado; Alice, wife of S. C. McAtee, of Lamar, Colorado; Florence Dixie, of Denver, Colorado; and Susan, who is still at home. The Doctor is allied with the Demo- cratic party in national politics and has long followed its fortunes in success and defeat, at all times doing what he could to win the former, and bearing the latter with all the resignation of a philosopher and the enthusiasm of youth, which hopes for better results next time. He belongs to the Masonic order and the Odd Fellows in fraternal relations and has been prominent and zealous in be- half of the enduring welfare of both orders. In his Masonic Lodge he has served well as Worshipful Master, and in his Odd Fellows lodge has occupied every chair in succession to the highest. In his profession he has been eminent in this section of the state, and as a citizen he has always been held in the highest esteem. The nearly sixty years of his mature life have been crowded with use- fulness and its evening is full of be- nignant cheerfulness while he rests calmly under its retiring sun crowned with the laurels of a faithful perform- ance of duty and a record of achieve- ments not many men, even of his years, can surpass and but few can equal. FRANK DIMMITT. Frank Dimmitt, who is president of the "Old Bank of Shelbina," has been an important factor in connection with the industrial and business atTairs of Shelby county, which has represented his home from his boyhood days, and he stands today as one of the honored and influen- tial citizens of the county in which he has attained to success and prestige through well-directed efforts along normal lines of iiroductive enterprise. As a banker he has long been promi- nent and influential and as a citizen and man of affairs he stands exponent of the utmost loyalty anerity of the county and vil- lage in which he has maintained his home during practically his entire life thus far. He was one of the organizers and incor- porators of the Bank of Lentner, of which popular and substantial institu- tion ho continued a stockholder and di- rector, and he is the owner of thirty-five acres of land in his home village, besides a number of buildings of substantial order. He takes a deep interest in all that tends to enhance the civic and ma- terial prosperity of the community, is HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 307 essentiall.v progressive and liberal as a citizen, and, tlioug'li he has never desired the honors or emoluments of political office, he is a stalwart advocate of the principles and i)olicies of the Republican party. He is affiliated with the local or- ganizations of the Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen of America. On the 6th of January, 1887, Mr. Mel- son was united in marriage to Miss Amanda J. Livingston, who was born and reared in Shelby county, and who is a daughter of James D. Livingston, a I'epresentative farmer of this favored section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Mel- son became the parents of ten children, of whom eight are living, namely: May Pearl, who is now serving as postmis- tress at Lentner, in which office she suc- ceeded her father ; and Raymond Shelby, Claude M., Beulah, Lew, Pauline, Theo- dore Eldon, and Mark. HARRISON EATON. One of the venerable and highly hon- ored native sons of Shelby county, with whose history the family name has been identified since the early pioneer days, before the organization of the county, is now living virtually retired in the at- tractive little city of Shelbina. He has contributed his quota to the civic and in- dustrial development and progress of the coimty, as did also his honored father, and here he was long and prominently identified with farming and stock-grow- ing, in connection with which lines of industry he gained distinctive success, so that he is today able to enjoy the generous comforts and the gracious en- vironment which are the just recompense for former years of earnest toil and en- deavor. Mr. Eaton is one of the well known citizens of the county and to him is given the unreserved confidence and esteem of the community in which he has passed his entire life thus far. He is a representative of the third generation of the family in America, as his grand- father, Jacob Eaton, was a native of England, whence he came to America when a young man, becoming an early settler of Kentucky, and later coming to Missouri, where he passed the closing years of his life. Harrison Eaton was born on the home- stead farm, in what is now Salt River township, Shelby county, Missouri, on the 4th of April, 1838, and is a son of George and Rebecca (Anderson) Eaton, both of whom were born and reared in Kentucky, where their marriage was sol- emnized in the year 1829. The father was born on the 3d of May, 1803, and his death occurred in February, 1871. His wife survived him by several years. They became the parents of ten children, of whom five are living, all being resi- dents of Shelby county. Of the number the subject of this review is the eldest; George W. is a successful farmer in Salt River township ; Martha A. is the wife of Ernest Harding ; Sarah E. is the wife of William Cochran; and Nancy E. is the wife of James R. Baker. In politics the father was a staunch Democrat and both he and his wife were consistent members of the Bajitist church. George Eaton was reared and edu- cated in Kentucky and upon coming to Missouri he numbered himself among the pioneers of Shelby county, where he settled before the county had been or- 308 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ganized as such. He secured 160 acres of land aud set to himself the task of reclaiming the same to cultivation. He labored with all of energy and ambition aud was not denied a due reward, as he became one of the representative farm- ers and stock-growers of the county and here accumulated a valuable landed es- tate of about 500 acres, which he devised to his children in his will. He contin- ued to reside on his old homestead farm uutil his death, which occurred iu 1871, as has ahead}' been noted in this article. His cherished and devoted wife was sum- moned to the life eternal about 1880, and the names of both should be per- manently recorded on the roll of the hon- ored pioneers of Shelby county, to whose social and material development they contributed to the full measure of their powers and opportunities. Harrison Eaton, M^iose name initiates this sketch, was reared to maturity on the old home fai-m, and he continued to be actively associated in its work and management until he had attained to the age of thirty-two years. His educational advantages were such as were atTorded in the common schools of the locality and period, aud his discipline in this line was completed iu the village schools of Shel- byville, the county seat. He later am- ])lified his fund of scholarship and gen- eral information through ]>rivate study and well directed reading, and while a young man he was ordained to the min- istry of the Baptist church. He gave zealous and devoted service in the work of this church during a period of about twenty years, and in the meanwhile con- tinued his active identification with ag- ricultural pursuits. In 1870 he retired from the work of the ministry, aud there- after he gave his undivided attention to farming and stock-growing, iu which he is still interested, though he has lived essentially retired in the village of Shel- bina since 1895. He has about twenty- five acres of land within the limits of this attractive town, and retains the own- ership of his well improved farm of 220 acres in Shelby county, to which he gives a general supervision. He is one of the substantial men and honored citizens of his native county, and here he has ever held the unqualified confidence and high regard of all who know him. Generous and tolerant and imbued with a kindly interest in his fellow men, he has made his life count for good in all its relations, and he has been one of those earnest and loyal citizens who have witnessed and contributed to the upbuilding of the county as one of the most favored sec- tions of the state of Missouri. In poli- ties Mr. Eaton has been arrayed as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party from practically the time of its inception, and both he and his wife have been most zealous in the work of the Baptist church, in whose ministry he served with much of conse- crated zeal and devotion. When the dark cloud of civil war cast its gruesome pall over the national ho- rizon, iMr. Eaton was loyal to the cause of the Union, and he was among the first in Missouri to tender his services as a soldier in the federal ranks. In Janu- ary, 18fi], he enlisted in the com]iany commanded by Capt. John F. Benjamin, and this company became an integral part of the Missouri Volunteer Infantry. He continued in service with this com- THEODORE P. MANUEL HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 309 mand until April, 1863, when lie received his honorable discharge, by reason of physical disability. His certificate of disability was signed by Dr. Gilroay Post, who was surgeon of the federal hospital at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Mr. Eaton took part in the engagements at Kirksville and Cape (Tirardeau, was present at the capture of the famous guerilla, Joseph Shelby, and took part in many skirmishes and other minor en- gagements. He is now a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is also affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. On October 25, 1870, Mr. Eaton was united in marriage to Miss Mary Aun Stalcup, who was born and reared in Shelliy county, where her father, the late "William Stalcup, was an early settler. The three children of this union are: George W., who is a resident of Idabel, Oklahoma ; Aima M., who is the wife of Chester E. O'Neal, also of Idabel, Okla- homa; and Ethel E., who is the wife of Thomas ]\I. Wood, a successful farmer of Shelby county. THEODORE P. MANUEL. The honored president of the Citizens' Bank of Clarence is a native son of Shel- by county, a member of one of its ster- ling pioneer families and a representa- tive citizen and business man of this favored section of the state. Mr. Man- uel was born on the old homestead farm of his father, in Taylor township, this county, and the date of his nativity was January 19, 1859. His father, the late Preston flannel, was born in Kentucky on the fith of March, 1820, and was twelve years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Missouri, in 1832. Here he was reared to manhood and re- ceived such advantages as were afforded in the somewhat primitive pioneer schools, and he eventually became one of the extensive farmers and stock grow- ers and essentially influential citizens of Shelby county, where he continued to be actively identified with the great basic art of agriculture until his death, which occurred on the old homestead which was his original place of settlement, hav- ing been summoned to the life eternal on the 23d of September, 1876. He was first married to Miss Hulda McAfee, who died one year later, and his second union was with Miss Adaline McAfee, a sister of his first wife. She was born in the state of Kentucky and her parents were numbered among the worthy pio- neers of Shelby county. She was sum- moned to the life eternal on the 28th of April, 1865, and of her four children three are now living — Oscar A., who is a representative farmer of Shelby coun- ty; Theodore P., who is the immediate subject of this review, and Warren E., who is engaged in farming in this coun- ty. In December, 1868, Preston Manuel contracted a third marriage, having been then united to Mrs. Delilah J. Garnett, whose maiden name was Delilah J. Wright, and who survives him, as do also their three daughters, all of whom reside in the city of Clarence. Mary E. remains with her widowed mother, Cora B. is now Mrs. Bart Holljonan and Lula P. resides at the maternal home. In politics the father was a staunch adherent of the Democratic party, taking a loyal inter- est in public affairs and being known as a citizen of sterling character, so that he 310 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COFXTY commanded a secure place in popular confidence and esteem. He was a mem- ber of the Christian church and exem- plified his faith in his daily life. Theodore P. Manuel, whose name ini- tiates this article, secured his early edu- cational training- in the district schools of his native township and later sujj- plemented this discipline by a course of six months in Oaklawn College, at Nov- elty, Knox county, Missouri. Thereafter he put his scholastic acquirements to practical test and utilization by engaging as a teacher in the schools of his home county. He continued to follow the peda- gogic profession, teaching principally during the winter terms, for a period of five years, and in the meanwhile he did not sever his association with agricul- tural pursuits, under whose beneficent influences he had been reared. In 1883 Mr. Manuel purchased a gen- eral store at Leonard, Shelby county, where he continued in successful busi- ness for the ensuing sixteen years, in the meanwhile becoming the owner of a fine landed estate of 700 acres in Shelby county and devoting the same to general agriculture and the raising of high-grade live stock. In 1899 he disposed of his store and business at Leonard and there- after he devoted his entire attention to his farming interests until August, 1901, when he sold his live stock and removed to the city of Clarence. He still retains possession of a fine farm estate compris- ing 500 acres, and is also the owner of valuable realty in the city of Clarence. U]>on his removal to this city ^fr. Man- uel entered into partnershi]i with Rufus E. Dale, under the firm name of Dale & Manuel, and they built up an extensive business in the handling of real estate. This alliance continued until December, 190-1, when the partnership was dissolved by mutual consent. In the meanwhile Mr. Manuel had also become interested in the Clarence Limiber Company, of which he was president and manager for one year. Upon the dissolution of the partnership mentioned he purchased a considerable block of the stock of the Citizens' Bank of Clarence, of which he became cashier, retaining this position until January, 1909, when he was elected president of the institution, an office of which he is now the able and popular in- cumbent. A brief sketch concerning this substantial banking concern is given on other pages of this work. ^Ir. Manuel has ever been known as a loyal, progressive and public-spirited citizen, and he has so ordered his course as to retain the inviolable confidence and esteem of the people of the county in which his entire life thus far has been passed. In politics he gives an unquali- fied allegiance to the Democratic party, and he served as postmaster in the vil- lage of Leonard for four years, under the administration of President Cleveland. He also held the office of notary public under commission from six different gov- ernors of the state, retaining this office for a period of twenty-four years. Both he and his wife are zealous and devoted members of the Christian church, in which he has held official position contin- uously since he was seventeen years of age and in which he has served as Sun- day school superintendent for nearly a quarter of a century. On the 20th of February, 1879, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. ^Manuel to HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 311 Miss Eicliard Ella Harrison, who was born in Kentucky, whence her parents, Richard H. and Laura W. (Magruder) Harrison, removed to Missouri when she was a child, the family settling in Shelby county, where her parents passed the residue of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Manuel have one child, Mona M., who re- mains at the parental home, and who is one of the popular young women in the social life of the community. JAMES L. 'BRYAN. This enterprising and popular busi- ness man of Shelby county is proprietor of a well appointed general merchandise store in the village of Lentner and is a native son of Missouri. He is a son of George W. O 'Bryan, who is now a resi- dent of Lentner, where he is engaged in farming. James L. 'Bryan was born on the parental homestead farm, in Monroe comity, Missouri, July 12, 1883, and his educational training was secured in the district schools of Monroe and Shelby counties, Missouri, and the high school at Santa Ana, California. After leav- ing school he was associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm, near Lentner, Shelby county, and in 1907 he associated him- self with Dee Botkins in the general mer- chandise business in Lentner, the enter- prise being conducted under the firm name of Botkin & 'Bryan until July, 1908, when Mr. 'Bryan purchased his partner's interest. Since that time he has individually conducted the business, in the management of which he has brought to bear the most progressive and up-to-date methods, keeping his es- tablishment well stocked in all depart- ments and offering to his large and ap- preciative patronage the most desirable bargains, while his genial personality and strict integrity in all his dealings have gained him the unqualified confi- dence and regard of the community. He is one of the popular and successful young business men of this section, and as a citizen shows a loyal interest in all that makes for the well-being of the com- munity. In politics Mr. 'Bryan is found enlisted as a staunch supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and fraternally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. On February 9, 1908, Mr. 'Bryan was united in marriage to Miss May Robinson, daughter of Joseph Robinson, of Clarence, Shelby county, and they have a winsome little daughter, Naoma Eloise. HENRY M. EATON. Mr. Eaton is a representative of one of the sterling i^ioneer families of Shelbj' county and is himself one of its repre- sentative and honored citizens. He is now living virtually retired from active business, in the attractive little village of Lentner, and is vice-president of the Bank of Lentner. Mr. Eaton was boru on a farm in what is now Salt River township, Shelby county, Missouri, February 8, 1842, and is a son of James M. and Caroline (Tobin) Eaton, the former of whom was born in Kentucky, September 30, 1816, and the latter of whom was liorn in the state of Virginia: their marriage was solemnized in Kentucky, April 2, 1840. 312 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY James M. Eaton was reared and edu- cated in his native state and was a young man at the time of his removal to Mis- souri. He settled in Shelby county, where he secured a tract of land, prac- tically unimproved, and here he contin- ued to give his attention to farming and stock-raising until his death, which oc- curred April 16, 1853, on his old home- stead farm. He was a man of promi- nence and influence in the county in the early days, having served as county clerk and also as justice of the peace. He was a successful farmer and sterling citizen, and he was an influential factor in public affairs of a local order, having been one of the leaders in the ranks of the Democratic party in Shelby county. He enlisted for service in the Mexican war, and went to the front with a Mis- souri regiment. Both he and his wife were members of the Baptist church. She was summoned to the life eternal in 1843, at which time she was about twen- ty-five years of age. They became the parents of two children, of whom the suljject of this sketch is the younger, and Ann E. died at the age of fifty-five years. Henry M. Eaton was born and lived on the old homestead farm of which men- tion has been made, until the death of his honored father, and was a lad of about ten years at the time. He ]iassed the ensuing four years in the home of his maternal grandfather and in the meanwhile continued his school work as o])i)ortunity afforded. After leaving schoiil lie continued to be actively identi- fied with agricultural pursuits, princi- ))ally in the employ of others, for sev- eral years, and in 1862, loyal to the in- stitutions under which he had been reared, he tendered his services in de- fense of the cause of the Confederacy, enlisting in the regiment commanded by General Price and taking active part in a number of spirited .skirmishes and other minor engagements, including those at Shelbina, Silver Creek and Pea Ridge. He was mustered out and given an honorable discharge in the summer of 1863, and he then located upon a farm in Salt River township, this county, where ho engaged in fanning and stock- growing, and made a specialty of the handling of mules. In 1869 he removed to Monroe county and located in Holli- day, where he conducted a drug store and where he also had large farming in- terests. He continued liis residence in that county for a period of sixteen years, at the expiration of which he returned to Shelby county. Here he is still the owner of a fine farm of eighty acres, in Lentner township, besides a nice resi- dence ])roperty in the village of Lent- ner, where he has lived essentially re- tired since the year 1906. He was one of the incorporators of the Bank of Lentner, of which he i^ vice-president, and he has been a valued member of its board of directors from the time of its inception. Though never a seeker of public office he is aligned as a staimch advocate of the princijiles of the Demo- cratic party, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church. South. On February 12, 1867, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Eaton to Miss Eliza- beth L. ]\[itchell, who was born in Ken- tucky and who was a child at the time of her ]iaronts' removal to ^lonroe county, Missouri, where they became HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 313 pioneer settlers and where she was reared and educated. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton became the parents of seven chil- dren, and in conclusion of this brief sketch is entered record concerning the five who are living: James M. is a resi- dent of Meade county, Kansas; Charles H. is a resident of McAllister, Okla- homa ; Lillie is the wife of Peter 0. Scho- field, station agent of the Chicago & Rock Island railroad at Pleasant Hill, Mis- soui'i; Thomas T. is a successful farmer of Shelby county; and Birdie AV. is the wife of John Harris, of Guthrie, Okla- homa. HARDIN DOUGLASS. Now li\'ing retired in the village of Lakenan, Shelby county, is to be found this venerable and honored citizen, who is a member of one of the sterling pio- neer families of Missouri, which has been his home from the time of his na- tivity, and who gained definite success through his long association with the great basic art of agriculture. He has been a resident of Shelby county for nearly half a century, and has so ordered his life as to merit and receive the un- qualified confidence and regard of his fellow men. He was loyal to the cause of the Confederacy in the Civil war and served for a time as a valiant soldier in a Missouri regiment. Hardin Douglass was born in Howard county, this state, October 25, 1832, and is a son of Edward and Dysie (Green) Douglass, the former of whom was born in Tennessee and the latter in Madison county, Kentucky, where their marriage was solemnized. Edward Douglass took up his residence in Missouri in the year 1820, settling first in Boone county, whence he later removed to Howard coimty, where he became one of the pio- neers. He secured a tract of wild land and effected its reclamation, becoming one of the prosperous farmers and in- fluential citizens of that section, and con- tinuing to maintain his home on the farm until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he removed to the village of Palmyra, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred in tlie year 1876. His wife passed away in 1880, both having been zealous members of the Methodist Ejiiscopal church, South. Of their eleven children onlj^ three are now liv- ing, and of the number the subject of this sketch is the eldest; Lula is the wife of Henry Green, of Monroe county, this state; and Joel A. maintains his home in Boone county. Hardin Douglass was reared to the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the farm and was aflforded the advantages of the common schools of the pioneer days in Howard county. After attain- ing years of maturity he continued to be identified with the great basic art of agriculture and remained a resident of his native county until the climacteric period of the Civil war. In 1863 he ten- dered his aid in defense of the Confed- erate cause, enlisting as a private in Company I, Missouri Infantry, which became a part of the command of Gen- eral Clark. Mr. Douglass participated in engagements at Kansas City and Lit- tle Blue, Missouri, besides a number of skirmishes, and then proceeded with his regiment into the Indian Nation, where the regiment disbanded after he had been in service about eight months. He 314 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY returned to his home in Howard county, but in the year 1864- he removed to Shelby county. He became the owner of a good farm in Jackson township and devoted his attention to diversified ag- riculture and stock-growing until 1874, when he disposed of his farming inter- ests and took up his residence in Lake- nan, in which village he is now living. For the past few years he has lived vir- tuallj' retired from active business, and, now venerable in years, he is able to enjoy the generous rewards of former years of earnest toil and endeavor, the while he has the gratifying associations implied in the companionship of old and loyal friends and the high regard of the entire community which has so long rep- resented his home. He has ever been a stalwart advocate of the principles of the Democratic party and has taken an intelligent and loj-al interest in the is- sues and questions of the hour and in all that has tended to conserve the material and civic progress of his home county and state. Both he and his wife have long been consistent and active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. In September, 1854, Mr. Douglass was united in marriage to Miss Sarah An- drews, whose death occurred in 1869. They became the parents of five children, all of whom are living, namely: Calvin, who is a representative farmer of Shelby coimty; Rhoda, who is the wife of Peter Chapman, of ^Monroe county; Isabelle, who is the wife of Alonzo Bobbins, of Monroe county; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Charles Kobbius, of Shelby county; and IMinerva, who is the wife of John McClosky, of Monroe county. In December, 1870, Mr. Douglass con- tracted a second marriage, being then united to Miss Anna E. Andrews, of Howard county, and of their four chil- dren two are living. Flavins, who is en- gaged in farming in Shelby county, and Jason, who is a successful business man of the village of Lakenan, this county. JAMES F. HARRISON. It is most consonant that in this pub- lication be entered a brief review of the career of Mr. Harrison, who has been prominently identified with the agricul- tural industry and other productive lines of enterprise in this section of Missouri, which state has represented his home from the time of his birth, and who is not only a member of one of the old and honored families of this fine common- wealth of the Union, but is also one of the popular and influential citizens of Shelby county. He is still actively con- cerned with farming and stock-growing in this county, but maintains his home in the thriving and attractive little city of Shelbina, where he is the owner of valuable real estate, including his fine residence property. Mr. Harrison was born on the paren- tal homestead farm in Monroe county, Missoiiri, seven miles southeast of Shel- bina, April 18, 1856. His father, Fran- cis M. Harrison, was a native of Ken- tucky, where he was born June 8, 1827, and in 1830, when he was about three years of age, his parents removed from the Bluegrass state to Missouri and settled near the town of Old Clinton, Monroe county, where lie was reared to manhood and given such scholastic ad- HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 315 vantages as were offered in the some- wliat primitive common schools of the pioneer days. He continued to be con- cerned witli farming interests in Mon- roe county until 1857, when he removed to Shelby county, where he operated a good farm in Salt River township. He was a man of broad and mature judg- ment, distinctive energy and good busi- ness ability, and thus he gained a success worthy of the name, while he ever held as his own the inviolable confidence and esteem of the people of this section of the state. He was long one of the rep- resentative farmers and stock-growers of Shelby county, and he also gained a wide reputation as an auctioneer, in which capacity his services were much in requisition. In 1876 he was elected sheriff and tax collector of Shelby county, in which dual office he served for two consecutive terms, and in which his administration met with unqualified popular aj^proval. His death occurred March 9, 1908. He had the elements of character that ever beget popular trust and esteem, and no citizen of Shelby county had a wider circle of friends than did he. He was a most zealous worker in behalf of the cause of the Democratic jiarty and was recognized as one of its leaders in this section of the state. He was a charter member of the Methodist Episcojjal church, South, in Shelbina, and both he and his wife were devoted workers in the various departments of its service. In 1848 was solemnized the marriage of Francis M. Harrison to Miss Nancy M. Collins, who was born and reared in Monroe county, this state, and whose father, the late James Collins, was one of the honored pioneers of this section of the state. Mrs. Harrison survives her husband and maintains her home in the city of Shelbina. Of their seven children four are living, namely: Jo- sephine, who is the wife of Robert V. Taylor, of Marshall, Missouri; Charles J., who is a prosperous business man of Clayton, this state; James F., who is the immediate subject of this sketch; and Norah, who is the wife of Albert S. Arnold, of East St. Louis, Illinois. James F. Harrison was an infant at the time of the family removal from Monroe county to Shelby county, and he was reared to maturity on the old home- stead farm three miles northeast of Shel- bina, in Salt River township. After completing the curriculum of the district scJiools he was enabled to continue his studies in the public schools of the vil- lage of Shelbina, and after completing his school work he assisted his father in the operation and management of the home farm and also in the affairs of the office of sheriff and tax collector. Be- sides having held these offices his father also served for some time as constable of Salt River township. From his youth to the present time Mr. Harrison has given his allegiance to the great basic industries of farming and stock-grow- ing, and in this connection he has gained distinctive success and prestige, as had also his honored father, under whose able and kindly instruction he was trained in a most thorough and effective way. He is the owner of a well improved farm of 130 acres, in Salt River town- ship, and gives to the same a general personal supervision, though he has maintained his residence in Shelbina 316 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY since 1905. For five years he was suc- cessfully engaged in business as a Iniyer and shipper of grain, at Clarence, this county, and he still devotes considerable attention to this line of enterprise. Mr. Harrison clings to the political faith in which he was reared and is a staunch advocate of the generic principles for which the Democratic party ever has stood sponsor. Both he and his wife are members of the ]\Ietliodist Episcopal church. South, and he is affiliated with the Shelbina camp of the Modern Wood- men of America. On April 18, 1878, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Harrison to Miss Laura B. Penn, of Shel])yville, this county, a daughter of Rev. William Penn, who was a prominent and influential minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. Of the four children of this union, three are living — Ernest, M'ho is engaged as engineer on the Santa Pe at Marcelene, Missouri; William Penn, a farmer; and Howard, also railroading. The family is one whose members are distinctively popular in the community and the at- tractive home is a center of gracious hospitality. JOHN FREDERICK BURCKHARDT. John Frederick Burckhardt passed his boyhood and youth on the home farm and early began to assist in its work, in the meanwhile duly availing himself of the advantages of the district school of the neighborhood. Later he continued his studies in the public schools of the vil- lage of Leonard. He left school at the age of nineteen years and thereafter he continued to be identified willi the work and management of liis father's farm until 1902, when he purchased sixty acres of land in section 17 of his native town- ship and initiated independent opera- tions as a farmer and stock-grower. His early experience and consequent inti- mate knowledge of these two basic lines of industry enabled him to direct his energies with marked discrimination, and the result has been that his success has been of pronounced order. To his original tract he has added until he now has a well improved farm estate of two hundred and ten acres, of which one hun- dred and eighty acres are maintained under effective cultivation. His home- stead has excellent buildings and the able management that he gives to his farm is well shown in its general air of thrift and prosjierity. Mr. Burckhardt was reared in the faith of the Republican l)arty and has never deviated therefrom since attaining to the right of franchise. Like his jiarents he is a member of the Presbyterian church, and in the same both he and his wife are zealous workers. They have a wide circle of friends in tlieir home county and their home is one of gracious hosjntality and refined at- mosphere. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Bethel, this county. On the 19th of Ai)ril, 1902, was re- corded the marriage of John Frederick Burckhardt to Miss Minnie E. Baker, who was born in Washington county, Ohio, on the 30th of October, 1879, and who came with her parents to Shelby coimty. Missouri, when a child. She is a daughter of Leander and Su.sana (Mc- Cammon) Baker, the former of whom HISTOUY OF SHELBY COUXTY 3ir was born in Peuusylvauia and the latter in Ireland. They are now residents of Shelby county, where Mr. Baker is a suc- cessful farmer. Mr and Mrs. Burckhardt have one child, Burdett Frederick, who was born in December, 1904. RICHARD COLLIER. The subject of this sketch is one of the best known and most highly es- teemed citizens of his native county and city, and is at the present time incum- bent of the position of postmaster of Shelbyville, of which city he was for- merly mayor and in which he has held other olKces of trust, betokening the high regard of the people of the community in which practically his entire life has been passed. He is a member of one of the old and honored pioneer families of this section of the state, and thus there are many elements which render con- sistent a review of his personal career and genealogical data in this publication. Richard Collier was born in Shelby- ville, Missouri, November 25, 1849, and is a sou of James M. and Catherine B. (Gooch) Collier, both of whom were born in the state of Kentucky, whence their respective parents moved to Missouri in an early day. AVilliam Collier, grand- father of the subject of this review, was likewise a native of Kentucky, and he passed the closing years of his life in Grandy county, Missouri, where he de- veloped a farm and was a well known pioneer. James M. Collier was reared to maturity in Missouri, where he re- ceived a common-school education and where he learned iri his youth the trade of brickmason, which he followed for some time, later becoming a successful contractor in connection with his trade. Just before the inception of the Civil war he settled on a farm near Oakdale, Shelby county, where the family home was maintained for several years. He finally took up his residence in Shelby- ville, where he built up a successful con- tracting business in the erection o f lu-ick buildings and other structures, and he was among the early incumbents of the office of sheriff of Shelby county. He was one of the argonauts who made their way to California during the memorable gold excitement of 1849 and succeeding years, and he made a very successful venture in taking mules across the plains to the mining districts, where he dis- posed of the animals at a large profit. He was identified with gold mining in California about four years and was very successful in his operations. James Collier manifested unqualified loyalty to the Union at the time of the Civil war. He enlisted in 1861, in re- sponse to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers, becoming a member of a Missouri regiment and continuing in active service during practically the en- tire period of the great internecine con- flict, within which he partici]iated in a large numl)er of the im]iortant battles on the sanguinary fields of the South. He was made captain of his company, and his regiment was commanded l)y Col. B. F. Benjamin. He continued throughout life to manifest a deep in- terest in his old comrades, though for- getting the animosities engendered of the great war between the states, and he was a popular and honored member of the Grand Army of the Reiniblic. In 318 HISTOKY UF SHELBY COUXTY politics lie was aligued as a stauueh sup- porter of the cause of the Republican party from the time of its organization until his death, and he held membership also in the Masonic fraternity. He was a man of exalted integritj' of character, was a devout and zealous worker in con- nection with religious activities and was one of the pillars of the Christian church in Shelbyville, of which he was a charter member and in which he served as an elder for many years prior to his death, which occurred in the year 1899, his de- voted wife having preceded him to the life eternal by more than a decade. He was the foremost factor in connection with the founding of the church men- tioned and was active in all departments of its work. He ordered his life upon the highest plane of honor and fidelity, and held the fullest measure of popular confidence and regard. He was a suc- cessful business man and was a stock- holder of the Citizens' Bank of Shelby- ville at the time of his demise. Of his ten children, five are now living, namely: Susan, who is the wife of Henry G. Mil- ler, of Shelby county ; Sarah, who is the wife of Oliver P. Robinson, of Quincy, Illinois; Laura, who is the wife of M. E. ■McMaster, likewise of Quincy, Illinois; Richard, who is the immediate subject of this sketch; and Edwin E., who is a representative farmer of Shelby county. Richard Collier is indebted to the schools of Shelbyville for his early edu- cational discipline, and after leaving school he was associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm for two years. He then served a %artual apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, in which be became a skilled workman, and he followed the work of his trade, doing a general con- tracting business, for a period of about six years, after which he conducted a meat market in Shelbyville for about five years. Upon retiring from this line of enterprise he established himself in the furniture business in this city, con- tinuing the same imtil September, 1902, when he became a carrier on one of the rural free mail delivery routes from Shelbyville, continuing to be thus en- gaged for five years, at the expiration of which, in February, 1908, under the administration of President Roosevelt, he received his commission as postmas- ter of Shelbyville, of which office he has since continued incumbent. He has done much to improve the service of this of- fice and his administration of its affairs has met with marked popular commen- dation. Mr. Collier has long been in- fluential in public affairs of a local order and is known as a loyal and progressive citizen. He served some years as a mem- ber of the board of aldermen of Shelbj'- ville, was city treasurer for four years, and in 1896 was elected mayor, remain- ing in tenure of this chief executive of- fice of the munici]ial govei-nment for two terms. His political proclivities are in- dicated in the staimch allegiance which he accords to the Republican party, and he has been an active worker in its cause. He and his wife are zealous members of the Christian church and he is affili- ated with the Shelbyville lodge of the Indei^endent Order of Odd Fellows. On November 24, 1879, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Collier to Miss Mar- tha Bigelow, who was born in the state of Indiana and who was a child at the V "^ / / PRINCE DIMMITT HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 3V.) time of the family removal to Missouri. She is a daughter of the late AVilliam Bigelow, who was a successful farmer of Shelby county. Mr. and Mrs. Collier became the parents of nine children, all of whom are living except two, one who died at the age of thirteen years and the other an infant. Edwin W. is now a resident of Washington; Earl Sheldon is engaged in merchandising in Shelby county ; Morte maintains his home in the mining city of Anaconda, Montana ; and Gleeta, IMaude, Jeanette and Clara re- main at the parental home. PEINCE DIMMITT. The adaptability of the American mind to various pursuits and different lines of thought and action is well illustrated in the career of Prince Dimmitt, of Shelby- ville. He has been successively a farmer, business man and banker, and has been masterful in each undertaking, compell- ing Fortune to wait upon his will and minister to his triumphs by the force of his character, his business acimien and his comprehensive breadth and readiness of view. He has been quick to see and alert to seize opportunities for his ad- vancement, and has had the ability and the industry to make the most of them when he has embraced them. Mr. Uimmitt was born in Cooper coim- ty, Missouri, on July .30, 1860, and was brought to Shelby county when he was but six months old. his parents becoming residents of this county at that time. He is a son of Dr. Dimmitt, now deceased, a sketch of whose life will be found else- where in this volume. Destined for an exalted place in the financial and busi- ness circles of the county, Mr. Dimmitt grew to manhood among its people and was edxicated in the public schools of Shelbyville, completing the high school course and being graduated from the high school in that city. After leaving school he turned his at- tention to farming, although he had a leaning to business pursuits. But he lost nothing by the venture, as he applied his business instincts to his farming opera- tions and made them highly successful. Tn 1878 he entered into partnership with his older brother Frank in the manage- ment of an extensive farm, and they con- ducted its operations together until 1881. He then bought his brother's interest in the property, and from that time until 1898 farmed alone. He made his farm one of the best in the county and reaped the reward of his enterprise and industry in doing this when he came to sell the place a few months ago, receiving $112.50 an acre for it, the highest price ever paid for farm land in the part of the county in which it is located. In 1893 he was chosen vice-president of the Bank of Shelbyville, and five years later gave up farming and removed to Shelbw\'ille. where he has ever since re- sided. In 1902 he rose by the choice of the directors to the presidency of the bank, and he has ably and ]irogressively filled that position until the present time (1911). Under his vigorous and enter- prising management the institution has made great progress, adding considerably to the volume of its business and the number and consequence of its patrons. It is known as one of the soundest and best managed financial institutions in this part of the state and has a high rank 3U0 HISTOIJY OF SHELBY COUNTY in banking- circles in all parts of many neiglil)oriug- states. Conducting a general banking business embracing all the de- sirable features of present-day banking, it seeks to meet all requirements in the way of accommodation to the community and its people and aid in every way available to it in the progress and devel- opment of the coimty. And that it is succeeding in these endeavors is shown by the extent of its operations and the high regard in which it is held by all classes of the people. Mr. Dimmitt was married on March 17, 1881, to Miss Cora E. Schotield, a daughter of Ellis and Elizabeth (Bax- ter) Schofield, of Palmyra, Missouri. The seven children that have blessed their union and brightened their house- hold are all living. They are: Nora L., the wife of Wallace Quinsenberry, of Mo- berly, Missouri; Edith B., a teacher in the public schools in the state of Utah; Cora L., the wife of Robert Maupin, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Eula S., Wil- liam P. E., Prince H., Jr.. and Fannie Agee, all of whom are still members of the parental family circle. With a broad enduring interest in the welfare of the masses of the ])eople, and l)elieving firmly in their right to a con- trolling voice in the public affairs of the country, Mr. Dimmitt has been a life- long Democrat, zealous and etfective in the service of his party and holding high rank in its councils in the county. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he takes an active and serviceable interest in its affairs, being one of the trustees of the congregation to which he belongs and a teacher in its Sundav school. Well es- teemed as a man and social companion, standing high as a citizen, and exhibiting on all occasions a deep and practical in- terest in the welfare of the whole coimty and all its people, he is one of its most worthy, popular and representative men. JOHN J. HEWITT. The president of the Citizens' Bank of Shelbyville has been a resident of Shelby county from the time of his na- tivity, is a member of one of the hon- ored pioneer families of this favored section of the state, and in both busi- ness and civic affairs he has ever stood exponent of the highest type of citizen- ship, the while he has commanded to the fullest extent the high regard of the ])eople of the community which has ever represented his home. John J. Hewitt was born on the old homestead farm in Bethel t o w n sh i p, Shelby county, Missouri, February 24, 184-9, and is a son of Samuel M. and Caroline (Morgan) Hewitt, both natives of Kentucky, where the former was born in the year 1800 and the latter in 1810. The father was reared and educated in his native state, where he continued to reside until 1836, when he removed to Missouri and took up his abode in Ma- rion county. In the following year he came to Shelby county, where he secured a tract of land, upon which practically no improvements had been made, and there instituted the work of developing a farm. He became eventually one of the leading farmers of the county, where he accumulated a fine landed estate of 260 acres in Bethel township, and he con- tinued to reside on his homestead until HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 321 his death, iu 1871. He was a man of promiueuce and influence iu his commu- nity, was a staunch Democrat in his po- litical adherencj', and he was a worthy and zealous member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and his wife was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. Their marriage was sol- emnized in the state of Kentucky. Mrs. Hewitt was summoned to the life eternal in the year 1894. They became the par- ents of ten children, and concerning the seven now living the following brief data are given: Eussell is a resident of Guthrie, Oklahoma, where he is engaged in business; Samuel M. is a successful farmer of Shelby county; Luther G. is engaged in the real estate business in Shelbyville; Missouri is the wife of Jacob Curry and they reside in the east- ern part of the state of Colorado ; John J. is the immediate subject of this re- view ; Isabelle is the widow of Frank M. Magruder and maintains her home in Shelby county; and Virginia is the wife of John W. Howe, of this county. John J. Hewitt was reared on the old home farm, in whose work he early began to lend his aid, and his rudimen- tary education was secured in the coun- try schools,, after which he continued his studies in the high school of Shelbyville. He made good use of his opportunities and proved himself eligible for peda- gogic honors, as he had devoted no little time to the study of the higher branches in a private wax. He was known as a successful and popular teacher in the public schools during a jieriod of ten years, and during the last two years of this interval he was princi]inl of the vil- lage schools of Newark, Knox county, jMissouri. In 1880 Mr. Hewitt engaged iu the general merchandise business in Shelby- ville, where he built up a large and sub- stantial trade, becoming one of the lead- ing merchants of this thriving little city, where he continued operations in . this line for a period of nine years, or until 1894, when he became one of the organ- izers and incorporators of the Citizens' Bank of Shelbyville, of which he has since been president and to whose up- building his personal popularity and able services have been largely contribu- tory. A brief record concerning this well ordered and successful financial in- stitution is given on other pages of this work. Mr. Hewitt now devotes himself largely to the active supervision of the executive affairs of the bank, and he is a citizen who manifests at all times a deep and helpful interest in all measures that tend to advance the welfare and progress of his home city and county. In politics Mr. Hewitt is a staunch su]iporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and he has been called upon to serve in various positions of distinctive public trust. He was elected county school commissioner in 1890 and retained this incumbency for two years, within which he was most zealous and efficient in furthering educational interests in his jurisdiction. In 1892 he was elected county treasurer, of which office he re- mained in tenure for four years and in which he gave an admirable and ]iopular administration of the fiscal affairs of the county. He also served four years as mavor of Shellivville after a regime 322 HISTOriY OF SHELBY COUNTY marked by the strictest business meth- ods and the most progressive policies. He has been active in the work of his political party in his native county, and is well fortified in his convictions as to matters of public polity. He is afiBliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he is identified with the lodge and chapter in Shelbyville, and both he and his wife are devoted and zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church. South. In the Shelbyville church of Ibis denomina- tion he has held tJie position of Sunday- school superintendent for thirty years, and he is also actively concerned in all other departments of the church work. On May .31, 1881, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hewitt to Miss Lillian Turner, who was born and reared in Shelby comity, where her father, the late Halman Turner, was a successful farmer and honored and influential citizen. Mr. and IMrs. Hewitt have four children, namel}': Esta, who is the wife of Roy L. Dimmitt, of Birmingham, Alabama, where he is superintendent of manual training in the public schools. Mrs. Dim- mitt is a graduate of the Howard Payne College of Missouri. John Vance, who is attending the law department of Co- lumbia University of New York; Floyd, who is now attending the State Univer- sity of ^rissouri, and Cresap, who re- main at the parental home. THE CITIZENS' BANK OF SHELBYVILLE. There is no one factor that deter- mines with so much of jxtsitive emphasis the status of the business and general prosperity of a community as the extent and character of its banking institutions, and in this regard the financial interests of Shelby county are reposed in banks of ample capital and wise and conserva- tive management, as well as by the en- listment of the support of citizens of the highest character and most thoroughly representative influence. The Citizens ' Bank of S h e 1 b y v i 1 1 e holds prestige as one of the substantial and ably directed financial institutions of the county, and though its age is com- paratively represented by al)out half a decade, its effective policy and the per- sonnel of its executive coi-ps have gained to it an impi'egnable standing in the confidence and support of the commun- ity. The charter of the bank was granted in April, 1894, and it opened its doors for business on the 1st of the fol- lowing month. It is incorporated with a capital stock of $20,000 and the oi'igi- nal board of directors comprised the fol- lowing named citizens : John J. Hewitt, Alonzo Cooper, James T. Lloyd, James L. Feely, James Edelen, William A. Hughes aufl James M. Gentry. The per- sonnel of the executive corps at the ini- tiation of business was as follows : John J. Hewitt, president; James T. Lloyd, vice-president ; and William W. Mitchell, cashier. Mr. Hewitt has retained the presidency to the present time and ]\Ir. ]\ritchell served twelve years and was succeeded by James ^I. Pickett, besides being secretary of the board of directors, which now includes, besides these two officers, the following named citizens: Alonzo Cooper, who is now vice-presi- dent; John W. Frye, Theo. B. Damrell and Mrs. Nanie Terrell. HISTOHY OF SHELBY COUNTY 323 JOHN T. PERRY. Judge Perry is another of the honored citizens contributed to Shelby county by the fine old Blueg-rass state, whence have come many whose names have been prominently identified with the annals of Missouri history. Judge Perry has fol- lowed various lines of activity and has ever stood representative of the most loyal and useful citizenship. He served on the bench of the County court for six years, has held the office of county clerk for twelve years, and is at the present time (1909) representative of Shelby county in the state legislature, to which he was elected in the autumn of 1908. As a lawyer, judge, teacher in the public schools and business man he has acquit- ted himself well, and the diversity of his services bears evidence of his versatility and also stands as voucher of the trust reposed in him in the county which has represented his home for more than thirty-eight years. He is now living vir- tually retired in the city of Shelbyville. Judge Perry is a native of Anderson county, Kentucky, where he was bovu on July 22, 1850, and he is a scion of a family early founded in Virginia, the fine Old Dominion that cradled so much of our national history. In that state was born his grandfather, William Perry, who was a youth at the time of the family removal to Kentucky, with whose pioneer history the name became intimately identified. The .iudge is a son of Berry and Polly (Searcy) Perry, both of whom were born and reared in Ken- tucky, where their marriage was sol- emnized in the year 1849. The father was born on June 7, 182fi, and is still living, maintaining his home with his son Alfred on the old farmstead which he secured nearly forty years ago and which has since continued as his place of aliode. He has attained to the venerable age of nearly eighty-four years and is admirably preserved in both his mental and physical faculties, while he has the respect and esteem that have been gained by righteousness of life and that are the grateful concomitants of worthy old age. His cherished and devoted wife died in September 1898. Berry Perry de- voted practically his entire active career to the great basic industry of agricul- ture, with the allied enterprise of stock- growing. He came to Missouri in the year 1871 and purchased a farm in Jackson township, Shelby county, where he continued to be successfully engaged in general farming and stock-growing until 1895, when lie sold his farm to his son Alfred, who now operates the same. He, himself, continued to reside on the homestead, as already noted. He is an honored veteran of the Mexican war, in whicli he served in the command of Gen. Zachary Taylor, and in the company of which John H. McBrier was captain. This Kentucky regiment saw much active service and he continued with the same imtil the battle of Buena Vista, in which he was so sevei-ely woimded as to in- ea]iacitate him for further service, whereupon he was granted his honorable discharge. During the Civil war his sympathies were with the cause of tiie South. He is one of the now compara- tively few Mexican war veterans still living in Missouri. Tn politics lie has ('V(>r rendered a staunch allegiance to the Democratic pai'ty, and he has long 324 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY been a consistent member of the Baptist church, of which his wife also was a de- vout adherent. They became the i^arents of twelve children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest of the six now living: George W., now deceased, was a resident of Hunnewell, this state ; Alfred resides on the old homestead, as already stated; William is a resident of Eneho, Oldahoma; Sarah Belle is the wife of Wesley Barker, of Shelby county; Charles is now a resident of Oakdale; and Nannie G. is the wife of William F. Kincheloe, of Shelby county, Missouri. John T. Perry, the immediate subject of this review, received his educational discipline in the public schools of his na- tive county, including a course in the special school of higher academic order maintained in the Camden district. That he did not neglect the advantages thus afforded him is evidenced in the fact that he became a successful teacher, hav- ing been employed as such in the com- mon schools of his native state from 1867 until 1872, in which latter year he joined his parents in Missouri. There- after he taught in the schools of Shelby and Monroe counties at intervals until 1884, becoming one of the successful and popular ex]ionents of the pedagogic pro- fession in this section of the state. In the meanwhile he had taken up his resi- dence on a farm in the vicinity of Hun- newell, Shelby county, and he continued to be identified with agricultural pur- suits in this county for many years, hav- ing sold his farm in Jackson township in 1904. In 1880 he was elected judge of the County court, retaining this incum- bency for six years and giving an ad- mirable adiiiiiiisti'ation. Tn tiio mean- while he also taught school and gave a general supervision to his farm. In 1880) he was elected county clerk, in which office he served for three succes- sive terms, within which he did much to systematize the work of the office and bring it up to a high standard of effi- ciency. During his tenure of this po- sition he devoted careful attention to the study of law and he was admitted to the bar in 1898, after which he was engaged in the general practice of his profession in Shell-n^dlle for a period of five years, controlling a successful business and having a representative clientele. Upon his retirement from practice he engaged in the hardware business in this city in partnership with his son John 0.. with whom he was thus associated until 1906, when they sold the business. He was one of the organizers and incorporators of the Bank of Lentner, in the village of Lentner, this county, and served as its cashier for several months. In 1908 he was elected representative of Shelby county in the state legislature, and he has proved an able, conscientious and discriminating legislator. He has given loyal service in behalf of the cause of the Democratic party and is an able ex- ponent of its principles and policies. Judge Perry and his wife are zealous members of the Baptist church in their home city and he is affiliated with St. iVndrews Lodge, No. 96, Free and Ac- cepted ]\rasons, and with the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. On September 4. 1873, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Perry to Miss Eosa A. Snider, who was born and reared in Shelbv countv and who is a HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY 325 daughter of the late John S. Snider, who was a representative merchant and farmer of the coimty. To Judge and Mrs. Perry were born seven children, of whom five are living, namely: Mary M., who is the wife of Prof. Ira Eich- ardson, a member of the faculty of the Missouri State Normal School at Spring- field; IMargaret M., who remains at the parental home; John O., who is engaged in fanning at Epworth; Myrtle, who is the wife of H. G. Kellogg, of Kirksville, this state; and Clarence, who remains with his parents and is attending the public schools. JAMES :\1. FREEMAN. This well known and highly esteemed citizen of Shelb^-^'ille is a native son of Shelby county, with whose annals the name has been identified for more than three-quarters of a century, implying that the family was here founded in the pioneer days. He is known as one of the aggressive, energetic and successful business men and loyal and progressive citizens of the county, and is now en- gaged in the jewelry business in Shelby- ville, of which city he served as post- master for more than a decade. Such is his standing in the community that a work of this nature most consistently may give brief record of his career, thus paying a slight tribute to a worthy citi- zen who has contributed generously to the industrial, commercial and civic progress of his home city and county. James M. Freeman was born on the homestead farm of his parents, in Black Creek township, Shelby county, Missouri, on March 19, 18r)2, and is a son of James M. and Nannie (Blackford) Freeman, the former of whom was born in the state of Kentucky, in 1832, and the latter of whom was born in Shelby county, Missouri, in 1838, being a daughter of Hardin Blackford, an honored pioneer of this section of the state. In 1844, when James M. Freeman, Sr., was a lad of about twelve years, his parents re- moved from Kentucky to Missouri and took up their residence in Marion county, where his father secured a tract of wild land and engaged in general agricultural pursuits. About four years later, in the memorable year 1849, young James M. Freeman, who was then seventeen years of age, joined the hegira to California, whither so many ambitious and intrepid argonauts were wending their way in search of gold. Mr. Free- man made the long, tedious and perilous trip across the plains and passed four years in California, where he did a suc- cessful teaming business among the vari- ous mining camps and where he also met with no little success in his own mining operations. After his return to Mis- souri he was associated in the work and management of his father's farm, in Marion county, until the time of his mar- riage in 1854, when he removed to Shelby county and purchased a farm in Black Creek township, where he passed the residue of his long and useful life, be- coming one of the representative agri- culturists and stock-growers of the coimty and a citizen whose influence was always exerted in support of all that makes for the best in social and material affairs. He became the owner of a landed estate of 1,000 acres, and the fine old homestead bears todav unmistakable 326 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUXTY evidences of his thrift and well directed industry. He was summoned to his re- ward on May 8, 1891. His wife is still living. In 23olitics he was a staunch and intelligent supporter of the principles and policies for which the Eepuhlican party stands sponsor. During the Civil war his sympathies and support were given to the cause of the Union. Of the ten children of James M. and Nannie (Blackford) Freeman five are now liv- ing, and concerning them the following brief data are consistently incorporated for perpetuation in this sketch: John is engaged in business in the city of Spokane, Washington; Kate is the wife of John 'SI. Peacher, of Shelby county; James M. is the immediate subject of this sketch ; Thomas is a prosperous farmer of Shelby coimty; and Cora is the wife of Thomas Turner, of this county. James M. Freeman. Jr., whose name introduces this article, was reared to the study and invigorating discipline of the home faiTU, in whose work he early be- gan to lend his quota of aid, while he was also afforded the advantages of the dis- trict schools, so that he waxed strong in both mind and body, and later he was for two years a student in the Novelty High School, a well conducted institu- tion of iiigh academic order, in Knox county. After the completion of his school work he returned to the home farm, in the operation and management of which he was associated with his honored father until the death of the latter. In 1895 he removed to Shelby- ville, though he still continued to give a general supervision to the farm and dealt somewhat extensivelv in live stock. On June 6, 1896, under the administra- tion of President McKinley, ^Ir. Free- man was appointed postmaster of Shel- bj"A'iIle, and his service in this position was one marked by care, discrimination and marked executive ability. The pub- lic appreciation of his labors in the of- fice was shown in his long retention of the same, for he continued incumbent during the remainder of the administra- tion of the lamented and martyred presi- dent and also the two terms of his suc- cessor. President Eoosevelt, having re- tired from the office in Februari*. 1908. He soon afterward sold his interest in the old home farm and made a number of judicious investments in real estate in Shelbyville, where he erected a num- ber of substantial business buildings, which he still owns, together with other realty in the city. In the year of 1909 he engaged in the jewelry business in Shelln'Aille, where he now has an at- tractive and well-stocked establishment and caters to a substantial and represen- tative trade. He is essentially progres- sive and public-spirited as a citizen, has been a leader in the local ranks of the Republican party for a number of years, and he has done much to further the civic and material upbuilding and ad- vancement of his home city and native county, where he is well known and held in unequivocal confidence and esteem. He was one of the charter members of the Shelby County Eailway Company and is still a stockholder of the same. He is affiliated with the Masonic frater- nity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On April 1-t, 1886, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Freeman to Miss Ella HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 327 M. Stuart, of Slielbyville, who was bom and reared in this county, and who is a daughter of J. G. Stuart, a successful merchant of Shelbyville. ADOLPHUS E. SINGLETON. A native son of Shelby county, where he has maintoiined his home from the time of his birth, Judge Singleton has here been a prominent factor in connec- tion with industrial and business affairs and has also l)een influential in connec- tion with matters of public import. He is the owner of a fine farm estate in the county and is at the pi'esent time suc- cessfully engaged in the handling of coal, grain and feed in the thriving little city of Shelbyville, where he is associated with his brother in this important line of enterprise, under the firm name of Singleton Brothers. He has served as county judge and has ever shown a lively interest in all that has concerned the progress and prosperity of his native county and its people. As a thoroughly representative and highly esteemed citi- zen of Shelby county he is most consist- ently accorded recognition in this pub- lication. The Singleton family was early found- ed in the Old Dominion commonwealth of Virginia, that cradle of so much of our national history, and the lineage is traced back to staunch English origin. In that state was born jNIinor Singleton, who was the paternal grandfather of the subject of this review and who there passed his entire life, devoting his active career jarincipally to agricultural pur- suits, with -uliich basic line of industry the name has lieen identifiod prominently in succeeding generations. AVilliam Sin- gleton, the honored fatlier of him whose name initiates this article, was born in Virginia in the year 1818, and was there reared to maturity, receiving a common school education. In 18.34, when sixteen years of age, he came to Missouri, first taking up his a1)ode in Marion county, whence he later removed to Lewis county, where he remained until 1854, when he removed witli his family to Shelby county, where he became the owner of a large tract of land in Taylor township, and where he developed a fine farm, passing the residue of his long and i;seful life on this old homestead, which is still in the possession of the family. He was a man of exemplary character, leal and loyal in all the relations of life, zealous and earnest in the furtherance of his business affairs and successful in his well directed endeavors. He wielded much influence in his community and none could have held a more secure place in popular confidence and esteem. In politics he was a staunch adherent of the Democratic party and his religious faith was that of the Baptist church. His wife is a devoted member of the M. E. church. South. He died on January 1, 1894, at the age of seventy-five years, and his widow still remains on the old home- stead, having attained to the venerable ' age of eighty-seven years (1910) and being admirably preserved in both men- tal and physical faculties. She is one of the revered pioneer women of the county, being held in affectionate regard by all who know her. Her maiden name was Susan Vandiver and she was born in Virginia, where her marriage to Mr. Singleton was solemnized in the vear 328 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 1848. Of the eleven children of this union five are now living: Benjamin II. is associated with the subject of this .sketch in business at Shelbj"snlle; Adol- phus H. is the next in order of birth; Jacol) II. is a farmer of Shelby county; Ella is still at the old home in this county; and Carj' remains with her mother on the old home farm. Adolphus E. Singleton was reared under the beneficent influences of the home farm, to whose work he early be- gan to coutril:)ute his quota, so that he learned the lessons of practical industry while he was also availing himself of the advantages of the public schools of the locality and period. He continued to be actively and successfully identified with diversified farming and stock-growing until August, 1905, when he left the fann and took up his i-esidence in Shelbyville, where he is now engaged in business, as already noted. His elder son now oper- ates the farm on shares and thus Judge Singleton himself still continues to ex- ercise a general supervision of the fine old homestead which so long represented his abiding place and which gives evi- dence of his able and progressive man- agement, being one of the model farms of the county. The place comprises 240 acres of most productive land, all being available for cultivation, and the per- manent improvements are of excellent order, so that everything bears unmis- takable evidence of thrift and prosperity. The farm is located in Taylor township, about fourteen miles distant from Shel- byville, the county seat. In politics Judge Singleton has never wavered in his allegiance to the Demo- cratic party and he has been a zealous worker in its local ranks. He has held various minor offices of public trust and in 1898 he was elected county judge, of which position he continued incumbent for one term, or four years, and in which he gave an able and acceptable admin- istration of the affairs assigned to him for adjudication. His wife holds mem- bership in the Baptist church and they are liberal and zealous in the support of the various departments of its work. On Feln-uary 20, 1879. was solemnized the marriage of Judge Singleton to Miss Alice Magruder, who was bom and reared in Shelby county and who is a daughter of the late Thomas Gr. Ma- gruder, long a representative farmer of this county. Judge and Mrs. Singleton have four children : Walter T., who had charge of the home farm, married Miss Edna Moore and they have no children ; Susan E., Ellen M. and Benjamin A. re- main at the parental home in Shelbj^s'ille. Judge Singleton was elected mayor of Shelbj^ille in 1906, serving two years as such. CHARLES H. LASLEY. For nearly foi'ty years the subject of this brief memoir has been connected with the mercantile interests of that sec- tion of Missouri in which he now lives, and during the whole of that period he has given to the world around him a fine example of uprightness in private life and sterling integrity in business. Born, reared, educated and married in this state, and having made his excellent rec- ord among its people, whatever he is he is all Missouri's own, her product in every particular and her representative CHARLES H. LASLEY IIISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 339 in all that is worthy in manhood and ele- vated in citizenship. Mr. Lasley is a native of Monroe coun- ty, in this state, where his life began on September 17, 1853. He is a son of Wil- liam M. and Margaret A. (Gillispie) Las- ley, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. The father came to this state and located in Paris when he was but a young man. For a numlier of years he clerked for Mr. Parsons, one of the leading dry goods merchants of Paris, and after acquiring a thorough knowledge of the business started a store of his own in partnership with Marquis D. Blakey, under the firm name of Blakey & Lasley, the store being conducted at Clinton, in Monroe count}^ of this state. The establishment was engaged in gen- eral merchandising and continued in operation for a number of years. Then Mr. Lasley 's health failed and he retired to a farm in Monroe county, on which he died a few years later. His wife was Miss Margaret Gillispie before her mar- riage. She was born in Kentucky and be- came a resident of jMissouri at an early age. They became the parents of two children, one of whom, a daughter (Vir- ginia J.), has died, leaving Charles H. at this time the only survivor of his father's household. In politics the father was a pronounced and unyielding Democrat, but he was never an office seeker or de- sirous of public distinction of any kind. He lived for his home and his community, and gave his best energies at all times to promote the welfare of both. He was very successful in business and enjoyed a wide and well-founded popularity among the people. His son, Charles H. Lasley, passed his boyhood and youth on his father's farm, acquiring strength of sinew and flexi- bility of function in its exacting but vig- orous labors. Through this steady com- mimion with nature he also gained breadth of view, and like all farmers' sons who profit by the lessons of their homes, became a self-reliant and re- sourceful man. He was educated mainly in private schools, completing his aca- demic training in a more advanced insti- tution of learning at Palmyra. "When lie reached the age of seventeen he began the battle of life for himself by entering a dry goods store at Shelbina as a clerk and salesman. He remained in this store four years, giving his employer service that was entirely satisfactory, and ac- quiring a thorough knowledge of the bus- iness, for he was studious and attentive and allowed no opportunity to gain use- ful knowledge to escape him imused. In 1875 Mr. Lasley formed a partner- ship with Mr. Cotton to conduct the dry goods business under the name and style of Cotton & Laslej^ He was now fairly launched on the uncertain sea of mercan- tile life, and his career in business, engi- neered and captained by himself, was be- gun. The jiartnership with Mr. Cotton lasted six years, being dissolved in 1881. In September of that year Mr. Lasley formed a new business connection, his associate in this being Mr. Thompson, and the business which occiipied their faculties being the dry goods and cloth- ing trade. The partnership continued and the enterprise flourished until the death of Mr. Thompson in 1886. Mr. Lasley then entered into partnership with Mr. IMillion and started a store de- voted exclusively to the clothing trade, 330 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY the firm uame being Lasley & Million. In 1873 Mr. Lasley purchased Mr. Mil- lion's interest in the business and took his brother in as a partner, the firm be- ing known as that of C. H. Lasley & Bro. Three years later he bought his brother's interest and gave two of his sous a half share in the undertaking, changing the style of the house to C. H. Lasley & Co., under which name it is still doing an ex- tensive and profitable business. Mr. Lasley has been very successful in all his operations and his success is the logical result of his excellent business capacity, superior judgment and close attention to all the de- tails of what he has had in hand. He is a stockholder and director of the Old Bank of Shelbiua and is connected in a leading way with other commercial and financial enterprises. In the affairs of the community he has always taken an ardent and helpful interest, being among the foremost in all worthy proj- ects for its improvement. In political faith he is a Democrat who su])ports his party wisely and loyally without seek- ing any of its honors or emoluments for himself. On June 18, 1879, he was united in marriage with Miss Anna Downing, a native of this state. They have five chil- dren, Roy D., Henry R., Roland R., Bes- sie and "William Kenneth, all of whom are still living at home and adding brightness and charm to the parental fireside. The scion of an old Virginia family, the father has well sustained the virtues and traditions of his ancestry and exemplified on the new soil of Mis- souri the sterling manhood which has so long dignified and adorned that of the "Old Dominion." He is one of Shelbv county's best citizens and richly deserves the high esteem in which he is held by all classes of its people. BENJAMIN H. SINGLETON. The fine old state of Missouri has rep- resented the home of this well known and popular citizen of Shelby\'ille from the time of his birth and he has here found adequate opj^ortunities for the gaining of definite success. He was long identi- fied with agricultural pursuits but is now Avell established in the coal, grain and feed business in Shelb.vville as junior member of the firm of Singleton Broth- ers, in which his associate is his brother. Judge Adolphus Singleton, of whom in- dividual mention is made on other pages of this work, together with adequate data concerning the family history, so that further reference to the same is not demanded in the present article. Benjamin H. Singleton was born in Marion county, Missouri, February 6, 1850, and when he was but four years of ago his parents removed to Shelby county, where he was reared to maturity on the home farm and where he had such educational advantages as were afforded by the common schools of the locality and period. He eventually initiated his independent career as a farmer and stock-grower and became the owner of a valuable farm of 240 acres in Monroe county, where he continued to be en- gaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of excellent grades of live stock from 1881 until 190(), in which latter year he sold his farm and removed to Shelby- ville, where he has since been engaged in successful business with his brother. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 331 as has already been noted in tliis con-' text. He is a progressive business man and public-spirited citizen, is a staunch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, is a charter member of the lo- cal organization of the Court of Honor, and his wife is a member of the Baptist church. On January 29, 1879, Mr. Singleton was imited in marriage to Miss Florida Fields, who was born in Kentucky, and who was a child at the time of her par- ents' removal to Missouri. Her father, Henry H. Fields, settled in Monroe county, this state, where he passed the remainder of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Sin- gleton became the parents of five chil- dren, of whom three are living : Martha, who remains at tlie parental home; Den- nis E., of Fulton, Missouri; and Benja- min Clay, of Shelbj'\'ine. JOHN ^y. FRYE. Though a native of West Virginia and a scion of one of the sterling families early founded in the historic Old Do- minion, this well known and honored citizen of Shelbyville has been a resi- dent of this county from his boyhood days and has here risen to a position of prominence and influence as a citizen of utmost loyalty and public spirit, and as one who has ably contributed to the in- dustrial and civic development and prog- ress of this attractive and favored sec- tion of the .state. He was long identi- fied in an active way with agriculture and stock-growing and still retains his fine landed estate of 220 acres in Black Creek township, the same constituting one of the best improved and most valu- able farms of the county. He is now living virtually retired in the thriving little city of Shelbyville, where he is the owner of a considerable amount of real estate and has various capitalistic inter- ests of importance. Mr. Frye was born in Hardin county, West Virginia, May 22, 1856, and in that commonwealth also were born his grand- father, Westfall Frye, and his father, Benjamin F. Frye, the date of the lat- ter 's nativity having been November 18, 1829, at which time the state was still an integral part of Virginia. There the grandfather passed his entire life and his active career was devoted principally to agricultural pursuits, in which con- nection he was the owner of a good plan- tation. Benjamin F. Frye was reared and educated in his native state, where he continued to reside until 1852, when, at the age of about twenty-three years, he came to Missouri for the purpose of investigating conditions with a view to permanent location. He passed about two years in Shelby county and then re- turned to West Virginia, where, in 1855, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Eliza Clagett, who likewise was born in Hardin county, that state. They con- tinued their residence there until 1857, when they came to Missouri and estab- lished their home on a farm in Black Creek township, where the father was actively engaged in diversified farming and stock-growing, in connection with extensive dealing in live stock, until 1895, when he retired, removing to Shel- byville, where he passed the closing years of his life in the home of his son, John W., subject of this review. He was 332 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY summoned to the life eternal July 30, 1902, at the venerable age of seventy- two years, eight mouths and twelve days, his loved and devoted wife having passed away in December, 1905. He was a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and both he and his wife were worthy members of the Bap- tist church. He was a citizen who ever commanded the unqualified confidence and high regard of his fellow men, and his life was one of signal usefulness and honor. He attained definite success in his various business operations, was a charter member of both banking institu- tions in Shelbyville and was a stock- holder of the Citizens' Bank at the time of his demise. Of the three children in the family, one daughter died in early childhood, and of the two surviving, John W., of this sketch, is the elder; Chester C. is now a resident of Fresno, California. John W. Frye was reared to maturity on the home farm and after availing himself of the advantages of the district schools he continued his studies for three years in the Shelbyville high school. During his active career he never found it expedient nor did he de- sire to sever his allegiance to the great basic industry of agriculture, and through his association therewith, he achieved a high degree of success, be- coming one of the representative farm- ers and stock-raisers of the county and accumulating a fine estate of 220 acres, eligibly located about one mile northeast of Shelbyville. He made the best of im- provements on his farm, which bears every evidence of thrift and ]irosperity and is considered one of the model places of the county. He still gives a general supervision to the farm but has lived es- sentially retired in Shelbyville since 1908, enjoying the just reward of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. He is a stockholder and director of the Citi- zens' Bank of Shelbyville, was a charter member of the Shelby County Railroad Company, is the owner of a considerable amount of valuable realty in his home citj% including his attractive residence pi-operty, and is known as one of the sub- stantial citizens of the county which has represented his home during practically his entire life thus far. He has so or- dered his course as to retain at all times the unqualified esteem of those with whom he has come in contact in business and social relations and he stands repre- sentative of loyal and liberal citizenship. Though never an aspirant for ofiBce and never specially active in the domain of l^ractical politics, he takes a deep inter- est in all that concerns the general wel- fare of the community and gives his sup- port to the cause of the Democratic party. He is affiliated with the Shelby- ville lodge of Free & Accepted Masons and both he and his wife are zealous members of the ^lethodist Episcopal Church, South. Has served for several years as a member of the school board. On the 2r)th of March, 1885, Mr. Frye was united in marriage to Miss Ella Van- nort, daughter of Cyrus W. Vannort, an honored citizen of Shelbyville, and of the five children of this union three are now living, — Elmer R., Grover F. and Mary S., all of whom remain at the parental home. HISTQHY OF SHELBY COUNTY 333 ALONZO COOPER. Ou other pages of this work is entered a memoir to that honored and influential citizen, the late John T. Cooper, who was long and prominently identitied with the agricultural industry and other impor- tant business interests in Shelby county and who was a citizen altogether worthy of the unqualified confidence and esteem in which he was held. He was the father of him whose name initiates this para- graph, and in view of the fact that such review of his career is incorporated in this publication it is not necessary to offer the data again in the article at hand, as ready reference may be made from tlife biographical index to the sketch in question. Alonzo Cooper, who is well upholding the high prestige of the name which he bears and who is now living virtually re- tired in the attractive little city of Shel- l)yville, was born in this same city on July 4r, 1850, and his civic loyalty and patriotism in mature life have justified his "involuntary choice" of a natal day, which, as a boy, he was doubtless able to celebrate with double enthusiasm. He gained his early educational training in the public schools of Shelbyville and after completing the curriculum of the high school he was associated with his father in his business affairs in Shelby- ville until 1871, when the family removed to the fine old homestead farm, in Black Creek township, where he turned his at- tention vigorously and enthusiastically to the divers duties and o])erations inci- dental to the proper prosecution of the great basic industry of agriculture, with it.s allied branch of stock growing. He was twenty-one years of age at tlie time of the removal to the farm and he con- tinued to be actively concerned in its work and management for more than twenty years, within which he gained prestige as one of the wide-awake, pro- gressive and successful farmers of his native county. For two years he and his father were largely interested in raising, buying and shipping mules, handling from 125 to 150 annually. In 1893, upon the death of his honored father, who had in the meanwhile returned to Shelbyville and engaged in handling of harness and vehicles of various descriptions, Mr. Cooper likewise removed from the farm to this city, where he resumed charge of his father's business and became admin- istrator of the estate, whose large and varied interests he has managed with consummate fidelity and ability. He finally closed out the business conducted by his father in Shelbyville, and since that time he has lived virtually retired, though he finds ample demands ui)on his time and attention in the supervision of his various capitalistic interests and in directing the general policy of operating the fine old farm of 500 acres, which he still owns and which is recognized as one of the best improved, most effectively handled and most valuable of the many admirable farms in this county. Mr. Cooper is the owner of a considerable amount of real estate in Shelbyville and elsewhere, and he has done considerable Imsiness in the buying and selling of realty in late years, having also improved many of his ])roperties. Since his re- moval to Shelbyville he has rented his farm. Mr. Cooper is vice-president of the Citizens' Bank of Shelbvville, of 334 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY wliiob he was one of the organizers and incorporators, and he was also one of those identified with the organization of the Shelby County Railroad Company, of which he was a charter member and in which he is still a stockholder. He takes much interest in the progress of his na- tive city and county and is ever ready to lend his influence and tangible aid in support of measures and enterprises tending to advance the material and civic welfare of the conmiunity. Though never ambitious for the honors or emoluments of i)ublic office Mr. Cooper is found ar- rayed as a staunch supporter of the prin- ciples of the Democratic party and he has given effective support to its cause in both local and general campaigns. He is affiliated with Shelbyville Lodge, No. 33, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife are earnest members of the Christian church, taking active interest in the various depart- ments of its work. They are held in high regard in the county that has ever repre- sented their home and their circle of friends is limited only by that of their acquaintances. On October 22, 1876, Mr. Cooper" was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Perry, who was born and reared in this county, where her father, the late Joseph Perry, was a successful and influential farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have two children — Fannie, who is the wife of Benjamin F. Gw^Tin, of Shelbyville, and Roy B. Cooper, who is engaged in farm- ing in Shelby county. JOHN D. DALE. Mr. Dale is a representative member of the l)ar of his native county, being es- tablished in the successful practice of his profession in Shelbyville, the judicial center of the county, and by reason of his prestige in his profession as well as on account of his being a scion of a fam- ily whose name has been identified with the annals of Shelby county for more than half a century, ever standing as a synonym of integrity and honor in all the relations of life. The Dale family was early founded in the state of Mary- land, where Isaac Mitchell Dale, grand- father of the subject of this review, passed his entire life. There also was born Isaac Dale, the son, the year of whose nativity was 1818. He was reared to manhood in his native commonwealth, where he received a good common-school education and where he continued to re- side until 1854, when he came to Mis- souri and took up his residence on a farm near the present city of Shelbj^ille, Shelby county, and in 1861 moved to a farm near Florence. There he devoted his attention to diversified agxieulture and the raising of excellent grades of live stock until 1862, when he removed with his family to the village of Clar- ence, where, after disposing of his farm property, he engaged in the general mer- chandise business, in which he continued until his death, which occurred on Au- gust 26, 1878. His wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Dennis, was like- wise a native of the state of Maryland, and she was summoned to the life eternal on September 1, 1876. The mother had been a member of the M. E. Church, South. Of their nine children five are now living, namely: "William J., who is a resident of Mancos, Colorado; Jesse T., who is engaged in business at Shel- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 335 bina, Missouri ; Bel)eeoa, who is tlie wife of John H. Haiuliue, of Bloomington, Illinois; Rufus E., who is a representa- tive business man of Colorado Springs, Colorado ; and John D., who is the imme- diate subject of this review. John D. Dale is indebted to the i)ublic schools of the village of Clarence, this county, for his early educational disci- pline, which was supplemented by at- tendance in the Methodist Academy in Shelbyville, in which well conducted in- stitution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1878. Thereafter he took up the study of law, and was favored in securing as his preceptor Senator Cyrus S. Brown, of Clarence, one of the able members of the bar of the county and for several terms a member of the state sen- ate. He continued his technical reading under the direction of his preceptor un- til 1883, when he was elected circuit clerk and county recorder, of which dual office he remained incumbent for two terms, giving an administration that met with popular approval and was marked by scrupulous care in the handling of the various details of the office work. In the meanwhile Mr. Dale had continued his legal studies, and on October 24, 1890, he was duly admitted to the bar of his na- tive county and state. He retired from the office of county recorder in the fol- lowing December, and since that time he has been engaged in active general prac- tice as an attorney and counselor at law, with residence and x^rofessional head- quarters in the thriving little city of Shelbyville. In 1896 he entered into a professional partnership with Ho]ikins B. Shain, with whom he was associated until 1898, when the alliance was dis- solved by mutual consent, and since that time Mr. Dale has conducted an individ- ual professional business, in connection with which he has appeared in much im- l)ortant litigation and retained a sub- stantial and representative clientage. He is recognized as an able and versatile trial lawyer and as a counselor well in- t'oimed in the minutiae of the science of jurisprudence. He was official reporter of the house of representatives in the forty-second general assembly of the Missouri legislature and in this connec- tion formed the acquaintanceship of many of the representative men in pub- lic and professional life in the state. Mr. Dale is a staunch advocate of the princi- ples and policies for which the Demo- cratic party stands sponsor, and he has rendered yeoman service in behalf of the party cause. Both he and his wife are active members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South, and are zealous in the work of the church in Shelbyville. On May 15, 1883, Mr. Dale was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Priest, of Shelbyville, and of their five children two are living — Mildred and Celeste B., both of whom remain at the pai-ental home. DR. WILLIAM CARSON. Representing the second generation of his family that has been energetic and serviceable in developing the resources of Missouri, which before their advent in the state, and that of those who came hither about the same time, had lain for ages almost in their state of primeval wildness untouched by the quickening hand of systematic industry, Di-. "Wil- 336 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY liam Carson, of Sbelbyville, is entitled to credit in bis ancestry and bimself as one of tbe fruitful sources of power and enterprise in tbe great commonwealth wbich be bas seen born into tbe world of civilization and grow from infancy to its present standing in tbe political and civil, tbe mental and moral and tbe in- dustrial and commercial forces of tbe coimtry. Dr. Car son was born in Marion coun- ty, Missouri, on ^May 5, 1846, and is a son of AVilliam and Eletbea (Seeley) Carson, tbe fonner born in Frederick comity, Virginia, in 1798, and tbe latter a native of St. Cbarles county, Missouri. Tliey were married on October 2, 1823, and tbey became tbe parents of ten cbildren, four of whom are living — Martha, tbe wife of J. S. Green, of Palmyra, Mis- souri; Maria L., the wife of Eev. J. T. Williams, Baptist clergj-man of tbe same city ; Dr. "William, tbe immediate subject of this memoir; and SamueUa, the widow of the late J. W. Paul, of Nevada, Mis- souri. Tbe father, who was a son of Simon C. Carson, a A'irginia planter, came to Mis- souri in 1819 alone. He lived for a time in St. Charles and Ralls counties, then settled in Marion county, where be fol- lowed general farming until 1860. In that year he was appointed assistant land agent of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Kailroad and moved to Palmyra. He was afterward assistant cashier of the old State Bank of Palmyra. He was a man of considerable ability, earnestly alive to the develojmient of the region in which he lived and at all times ready to do all in his power to promote it. For a continuous period of foiirteen years be represented the county of his home in tbe state legislature, serving three con- secutive terms in the bouse of represent- atives and two in tbe senate. He was very successful in business and promi- nent in public life, and as be was one of the fathers of this part of tbe state and proved himself a very intelligent, pro- gressive and stimulating parent, so he is revered by the people as one of tbe most useful citizens of the earlier days of northeastern Missouri and one of its best in later years. He died in 1870. In politics he was first a Whig, during the Civil war a conservative and later a Democrat. His religious affiliation was with the Baptist sect and he took a very active part in church work. Dr. William Carson began his scholas- tic training in tbe public schools of Marion county, continued it at Bethel and St. Paul colleges, in Palmyra, and completed it at tbe University of Vir- ginia. In 1866 he matriculated at St. Louis Medical College, and from that in- stitution be was graduated with tbe de- gree of ^I. D. in ^Tarch, 1868. He began the practice of his profession at AVest Ely, in Marion county, where he re- mained three years. From there he moved to Sbelbina, in this county, and there, also, he remained three years. His next location was at Oakdale, and there be lived and practiced thirteen years, coming to Sbelbyville in 1887. Here he bas lived ever since and carried on an ex- tensive, very active and widespread and remunerative practice. He is, and long has been, one of the leading physicians of Shelby county, and also enjoys an ex- cellent reputation for bis ability, exten- sive and accurate knowledge of the medi- VERNON L. DRAIN HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 337 cal science aud skill in practice in many other portions of the state. Dr. Carson keeps posted in all phases of progress in his profession and is abreast with its most advanced thougLi and discover}'. He is still a diligent stii- dent of its literature and is also an ac- tive and valued member of the American Medical Association and the Missouri and Shelby county medical societies. He takes an active part in public ati'airs as a zealous working Democrat, and in the fraternal life of the commijnity as a Freemason and an Odd Fellow. In relig- ion he gives his allegiance to the Baptist creed and is a working member of the Mission church of that sect. Locally he has given the people excellent service as an alderman, a school director and the county coroner. He is now the road commissioner of Shelby county. In all these positions he has won commenda- tion for his directness, attention to duty and knowledge of the requii"ements of the county and city. Three times has the little god of senti- ment made the doctor his target, and each time his arrow has found its mark. He was first married in 1868 to Miss Mary Caldwell, a daughter of W. D. Caldwell. They had one child, who died at the age of six months. The mother died in 1870. His second marriage oc- curred on June 29, 1872, and was with Miss Lucy M. Caldwell, a daughter of Larkin B. Caldwell, of Shelby county. They became the parents of six children, all of whom are living — William G., of Kansas City, Missouri; Claud W., of Sheridan, Wyoming; Harry B., of Okla- homa City, Oklahoma ; Mary A., the wife of Dimmitt Wainwright, of Monett, Mis- souri; Larkin E., of Shelbyville, and James I., also of Sheridan, Wyoming. Their mother died in 1904. The doctor's third marriage was with Miss Martha Wilson, of Shelbyville, and occurred in 1908. ^^ERNON L. DEAIN. Successful as a practicing lawyer and prominent and intluential as a citizen far beyond the measure his mod- esty would allow him to admit, Ver- non L. Drain, of Shelbyville, is justly accounted one of the lead- ing and most useful citizens of Shelby county, and he is also well and favorably known in all of the adjoining counties. Wherever he is known he is esteemed for his worth, held in high regard for his ele- vated character and admired for the ([ualities of head aud heart which have won him success in his profession and ]irominence among the people of IMis- souri. Mr. Drain was born in Shelby county, Missouri, on January 21, 1864. He is the only child of Stanford and Mary M. (Lyell) Drain, the former a native of Sussex county, Delaware, where he was born in 1811, and the latter a product of Westmoi'eland county, Virginia. The father i)assed the first quarter century of his life in his native county and ob- tained his education there. In 1836 he moved to Missouri and was employed for a time in Hannibal. He then located in Shelby county and during a short period followed farming with success. But he tired of this occupation and took up his residence in Shelbyville, where he worked for a number of years at the car- ])onter trade, which he had learned in his 338 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY native state. He then again took up farming as his leading employment and adhered to this until his death, which oc- curred in 1892. Twice he yielded to the dominion of the tender passion, being first married on March 21, 1833, to ^liss Sarah W. Parker. They had.one child, who is still living, their daughter ^lary, who is now the widow of John W. Jacobs, of Clarence, in this county. Her mother died September 8, 1850, and on January 5, 1857, the father married a second time, choosing Miss ]\Iary M. Lyell as his part- ner on this occasion. One child was born of this union, Vernon L., the immediate subject of this brief review. Stanford Drain died November 20, 1892. Vernon L. Drain attended the public schools of Shelbj-A-ille and studied a great deal at home. After leaving school he worked on his father's farm for a few years, then passed some time as a clerk and salesman in a store. But feeling within him a call to higher duties than those of a salesman, however necessary and worthy they may be, he began the study of law under the direction of the present representative of this district in the congress of the United States, Hon. James T. Lloyd, of Shelbyville. In 1891 he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession in Shelbj^^dlle, and here he has been actively and suc- cessfully engaged in it ever since. He has risen to very good standing in his profession and influence among the peo- ple on merit which his whole record has made manifest, and in social life he is in the front rank. Mr. Drain has taken an active part in the affairs of the county as a citizen deeply interested in its welfare and zeal- ous in promoting its advancement, and as a Democrat in politics eager to secure the best interests of the country by the appli- cation qf proper principles and theories in the administration of its government. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Shelby county in 1892 and served two terms in that office. His religious con- nection is with the Southern Methodist church. On February 17, 1892, he was united in marriage with Miss Nellie E. Turner, of ^laryville. Nodaway county, ^lissouri. .The three children born of their union are all living and at home with their parents. They are : Benjamin Stanford, Katherine V. and Vernon L. Xo family in the county stands higher in the estimation of the people and none is more deserving of a high rank. EUGENE M. CADWELL. One of the well known and distinct- ively popular officials of Shelby county is he whose names initiates this article. Mr. Cadwell is incumlient of the office of circuit clerk, in which position he has served, with marked efficiency, since January 1, 1907, prior to which he has been one of the representative business men of the thriving little village of Shel- bina, from which he transferred his resi- dence to Shelbyville, the county seat, when preparing to assume the duties of his present official position. Mr. Cadwell is a native son of Shelby coimty and is a member of one of its honored ])ioneer families. His paternal grandfather was Closes Cadwell, who was a native of North Carolina, whence he removed to Kentucky in the ])ioneer days of the latter commonwealth, in HISTOIJY OF SHELBY COUNTY 339 wbicli he continued to reside until his removal to Shelby county, Mo., where Ids deatli occurred. Mr. Cadwell was born on the homestead farm, in Salt Eiver township, this county, on May 7, 1877, and is a son of William M. and Elizabeth (Quigley) Cadwell, the former of whom was born in Kentucky, in 1844, and the latter of whom was born in Shelby county in the year 1854. Their marriage was solemnized in Shelby county, in 1875. and here they continue to maintain their home. William M. Cadwell was about nine years old at the time of his parents' im- migration from Kentucky to Missouri, and the family home was estal)lished in Shelby county, this state, in the year 1853. Here he was reared to maturity and here his entire active and indei^end- ent career has been one of close and suc- cessful identification with agriculture and stock-growing. He is the owner of a fine farm of 240 acres, in Salt River and Black Creek townships, and the place is equipped with the best of im- provements of a permanent order, so that on all sides are abundant evidences of thrift and prosperitj^ During the Civil war he served under Colonel Por- ter, taking part in many skirmishes marking the conflict between the oppos- ing forces in Missouri, and having par- ticipated in tlie engagements at Kirks- ville and Edina. In politics he is a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and he has wielded not a little influence in public affairs in his community. Both he and his wife are zealous members of the Christian church, taking a deep interest in the va- rious departments of its work, and both are held in unqualified esteem in the county that has so long been their home. They became the parents of seven chil- dren, all of whom still reside in Shelby count}'^, their names being here entered in the respective order of birth : Eu- gene M., Frank M., James V., Laura B., Willard T., Ethel M., and Ruth. Eugene M. Cadwell passed his boy- hood and youth on the home farm, to whose work he early began to contribute his quota, and after completing the cur- riculum of the district schools he con- tinued his studies in the high school at Shelbina, where he also completed a course in a business college. After leav- ing school he was employed for several years as clerk in general and hardware stores in Marshall and Shelbina. after which he was engaged for six years as traveling salesman in the south. At the expiration of the period noted Mr. Cad- well returned to Shelbina, where he be- came associated with his brother, James v., in the grain and feed business, under the firm name of Cadwell Brothers. They built up a successful enterprise, and the subject of this review continued to be actively identified therewith until Oc- tober, 1905, when the firm sold the busi- ness and he entered the campaign to se- cure nomination, on the Democratic ticket, for the office of circuit clerk. He received the nomination at the county convention of the party on January 17, 1906, and in the election of the following November he received a gratifying ma- jority at the polls. In the preceding April he had removed to Shelby\'ille, and there he served as deputy county re- corder until January 1, 1907, when he as- sumed the office of circuit clerk, of which 340 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY he has since continued in tenure and in which his administration has met with unequivocal commendation. Mr. Cadwell has rendered yeoman service in behalf of the cause of the Democratic party and is one of its valued workers in the local field. He is affiliated with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows and the Mod- ern "Woodmen of America, and is a citi- zen whose unqualified personal popu- larity in his native county stands as ade- quate voucher for his sterling attributes of character. On January 1, 1905, Mr. Cadwell was united in marriage to Miss Goldie G. Walker, of Shelbina, who was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of Enocli TT. "Walker, a well known and honored citizen of the county. Of the two children of this union one died in infancy and the sur- vivor, William G., was born on Novem- ber 12, 1908. EDWIN M. DAMRELL. Among the native sons of Missouri who have here attained success and pres- tige of no uncertain order is the present able and popular recorder of Shelby county, where he has maintained Ms home from his childhood days and where he has not only been identified with important business interests, but where he has also been called upon to serve in various positions of distinc- tive public trust, a fact that shows the estimate placed upon him in the county where he is best known. In the review of the career of his elder brother, Theodore B. Damrell, appearing on other pages of this work, is given sufficient information concerning his parents and the family histoiy to make it unnecessary to repeat the data in the present sketch. It may be noted, however, that he is a repre- sentative of one of the sterling pioneer families of this section of the state, with whose history the name has been long and worthily identified, in both Monroe and Shelby counties. Edwin M. Damrell was l)orn on a fai-m in Jefferson township, Monroe county, Missouri, on March 9, 1869, and in 1877, shortly after the death of his honoi-ed father, the family removed from Monroe county to Shelby county, locating on an excellent farm which the father had pur- chased in Salt River township. There the subject of this sketch was reared to maturity, being afforded the advantages of the public schools of the locality and continuing to be identified with the work of the farm until he had attained to the age of eighteen years, when he took up his abode in Shelbyville, the county seat, where he became a clerk in the grocery store of Dussair & Levan, with which firm he continued in this capacity for several years, at the expiration of which, in 1893, he became associated with his brother, Theodore B., in purchasing the stock and business, which they there- after conducted under the firm name of Damrell Bros, for a period of five years. In 1898 Mr. Damrell was elected clerk of the circuit court for Shelby county, for a tei-m of four years, and the best evidence of the popular appreciation of his services was that given in his being chosen as his own successor in the elec- tion of 1902. He continued incumbent of the office for a second term of four years, at the expiration of which he was HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 341 marked for further official honors, as he was elected county recorder in 1906, giv- ing a most able admiuisti'atiou and being- re-elected in 1910, so that he is iuciun- bent of the office at the time of this writ- ing, being one of the faithful, efficient and valued officials of the county and commanding the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has come in contact, in official, business and social life. He is one of the interested principals in the Shelby County Abstract & Loan Com- pany, whose facilities and functions are of the best order, and he has ever mani- fested a loyal interest in all that has touched the progress and material and civic prosperity of his home county and state, while he is recognized as one of the representative citizens of Shelbyville, one of the thriving little cities of Mis- souri. In i^olitics Mr. Damrell has ever been aligned as a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, in whose cause he has given most effective service, having been an active factor in campaign work and being one of the leaders of the party in Shelby county. He has held other offices of pub- lic order aside from those already men- tioned and he is at the present time pres- ident of the city council. Prior to his election to county office he has served six years as city collector of Shelbyville. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the local organizations of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the ^loderu Woodmen of America and he holds mem- bership in the Christian church. His wife is Noble Grand of the Rebecca Lodge and a member of the M. E. Church, South. On December 25, 1895, Mr. Damrell was united in marriage to Miss Elwyna Evans, who was born and reared in Shelby county, and who was the daugh- ter of John and Mary Evans, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Shelby county, Missouri. Mrs. Damrell was summoned to the life eternal on Feb- ruary 28, 1901. No children were born of this union. On September 13, 1904, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Damrell to Miss Etta P. Foreman, who was born and reared in Shelbyville and who is a daughter of Aaron B. and Mar- tha V. Foreman, who still reside in this city, Mr. Foreman being a native of Shelby county and his wife of Winches- ter, Virginia. The Foreman family was one of the earliest to become identified with the pioneer settlement of Shelby county, where Aaron Foreman, from whom Aaron B. Foreman is a lineal de- scendant, took up his abode in 1817, hav- ing come here in company with Edward Wbaley and three other men. Mr. and Mrs. Damrell have no children. EUGENE M. TERRILL. The able and popular incumbent of the office of county clerk of Shelby coun- ty has passed his entire life in this sec- tion of Missouri, and he was for many years actively identified with agricul- tural pursuits. Eugene M. Terrill was born on the old homestead farm, in Marion county, Mis- souri, on November 11, 1856, and is the younger of the two children of Oliver T. and Susan M. (McCullough) Terrill, l)oth of whom were born in Kentucky, their marriage having l)een solemnized 342 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY in Marion county, Missouri. Samuel, the elder of their two sons, died when about fourteen years of age. Oliver T. Terrill was one of the valiant argonauts who made their way across the plains to Cali- fornia after the memorable discovery of gold in that state, where he remained two years, having engaged in teaming from Sacramento to the various mining- camps and later having been identified with the operation of a ferry. He re- turned to the East by way of Cape Horn. Upon coming to Missouri he first located in Marion county, where he continued to reside until 1858, when he removed with his family to Shelby county, where he purchased a tract of land in Black Creek township, developing the same into one of the excellent farms of the county and was actively engaged in agricultural pur- suits until 1879, when he received from the governor of the state appointment to the office of presiding judge of the county court to fill out an unexpired teiTH. At the ensuing election he was elected by jiopular vote for a full term, and he gave an admirable and acceptable administration on the bench. After his retirement from office he lived virtually retired, in Shelbyville, imtil his death, which occurred in 1889. His devoted wife survived him by a decade, being sum- moned to eternal rest in August, 1902. Both were devout members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, South, and they ever held the high regard of all who knew them. In politics Judge Terrill was a staunch supporter of the cause of the .Democratic party. Eugene M. Terrill was about two years of age at the time of the family re- moval to Shelbv countv and he was reared to maturity on the home farm, early becoming familiar with the practi- cal details of its work and in the mean- while duly profiting by the advantages afforded in the district school. He later was enabled to continue his studies in the high school in Shelbyville, and there- after he was associated in the work and management of the home farm until the death of his honored father, who left to him 120 acres of valuable land, which continued to constitute the scene of his well directed individual enterprise as a fai-mer and stock grower until 1898, when he removed to Shelbyville and be- came a clerk in the office of the county recorder. This position he held until the spring of the following year, when he was appointed deputy county clerk un- der Charles Ennis. In this capacity he rendered efficient service for the ensuing eight years, at the expiration of which there came fitting recognition of his elig- ibility and faithful service in his election, in 1906, to the office of county clerk, of which he has since continued inciunbent. His previous experience and his natural aptitude for the facile handling of detail work has made him a specially efficient executive, and his administration will pass on record as one of the best in the history of the office of clerk of the county. In ])()litics Mr. Terrill gives an unqual- ified allegiance to the Democratic partj% and its cause has found in him a staunch advocate and one well fortified in his convictions as to matters of public policy. As a citizen his viewjioint is liberal and public spirited, and he shows a lively in- terest in all measures and onterjjrises that tend to conserve the welfare of his HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 343 home city and county. He is a stock- holder of the Shelby County Railroad Company, having become a charter mem- ber of the same. In Slielbyville he owns and occupies an attractive modern resi- dence. He is affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Mod- ern Woodmen of America and the Court of Honor. In June, 1879, Mr. Terrill was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Speight, who was born in Indiana and reared in Shelby county, and who is a daughter of James Speight, who was for many years engaged in farming in this county. Of the six children of this union four are living, namely: Lida, who is the wife of Carl Ennis, of Slielbyville ; Oliver J., Samuel M. and Nannie, who remain be- neath the parental rooftree. FREDERICK M. FARR. A scion of one of the pioneer families of Missouri and known as one of the sub- stantial and representative citizens of Shelby county, Mr. Farr is now living a retired life in the city of Shelb^^nlle, where he is enjoying the generous com- fort and repose that are the just reward for former years of earnest and fruitful endeavor. He was long actively identi- fied with agricultural pursuits in this county and still owns a valuable farm of IfiO acres, in Taylor township. Frederick M. Farr was born in Marion county, Missouri, on January 28, 1843, and is a son of William and Violet (For- sythe) Farr. His father was born in Virginia, whence he came to Missouri in an early day, becoming one of the pioneers of Marion county, where he was engaged in farming and stock-raising until 1849, when he joined the exodus of gold seekers who wei'e making their way across the plains to the new Eldorado in California. He never returned to his former home and passed the closing years of his life in Austin county, Texas, where he died in 1864. The maiden name of his first wife was VanVactor and for his second wife he married i\Iiss Violet Forsythe, who was boni in the state of Kentucky and whose death oc- curred in 1890. Of the six children only two are now living and of these the sub- ject of this sketch is the elder; Frances is the wife of Charles Newman, of San Antonio, Texas. Frederick M. Farr was reared to ma- turity in his native county, where his educational advantages were limited to the district schools. For several years he found employment at farm work and also cultivated rented land, and in 1868 he took up his permanent residence in Shelby county, where he eventually be- came the owner of a fine landed estate of two hundred acres, making the best of improvements on the same and develop- ing one of the model farms of this sec- tion of the state. He started in life without financial resources and won suc- cess and independence through his own well directed energy and assiduous ap- plication. He placed true valuation on men and things, and has ever maintained the most wholesome appreciation of honest toil and endeavor, while his life has been guided and governed by the strictest principles of integrity and honor, so that he has not been denied the confidence and high regard of his fellow men. In 1909 he disposed of the 344 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY live stock on his farm and he and his wife now reside in the home of liis son, Dr. George E. Farr, in Shelbyville. He rents his farm and continues to give to the same a general supervision in the matter of regulating its operation and keeping everything up to the customary high standard. He was one of the char- ter memljers of the Shelby County Eail- road Company, giving both his influence and tangible aid in support of the enter- IDrise. In politics he is a stauncli advo- cate of the principles of the Democratic party, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church. In January, 1867, Mr. Farr was united in marriage to Miss Frances Ann Tur- ner, of Shelby county, where she was born and reared and where her parents were pioneer settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Farr became the parents of ten children, of whom eight are living. Concerning them the following brief data is con- sistently entered : Thomas F. is a pros- perous farmer of this coimty; William A. is a resident of Miltonvale, Kansas; ]\Iary Alma is the wife of Charles P. i\Ic- Cracken, of Knox county, Missouri; Frances E. is the wife of Henry M. Tur- ner, of Cherry Box, Missouri; Dr. George E., of Shelbyville, is the subject of an individual sketch on other pages of this work; Zilpha is the wife of Otis Mc- Cully, of Cherry Box, this state; Martha is the wife of Lon P. Wright, of Cherry Box, this county; and Prudy T. is now Mrs. Notley Keith, of Cherry Box. GEORGE E. FARR, M. D. Dr. Farr is one of the representative younger members of the medical profes- sion in his native county and is engaged in active practice in Shelbyville. He is recognized as an able iihysieiau and sur- geon, well fortified in both the theoretical and practical branches of his exacting profession, and he has gained a repre- sentative support since estal)]is]iing his home and headquarters in tJie thriving little city of Shelbyville. He is a son of Frederick ^f. Farr, a review of whose career appears on other pages of this volume, so that further reference to the family history is not demanded in the article at hand. Dr. Farr was born at Leonard, Shelby coimty, Missouri, on October 31, 1878, and his early educational discipline was secured in the district schools, after which he was a student in Leonard Academy for a period of nine months. Later he completed a course in Oaklawn College, at Novelty, this state, in which institution he was graduated as a mem- ber of the class of 1898. Thereafter he was a successful teacher in the schools of Shelby and Knox counties until 1900, in the fall of which year he was matricu- lated in the University Medical College of Kansas City, Missouri, in which he was graduated in 1906, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He initiated the active work of his profession by locating at Cherry Box, Shelby county, where he remained eleven months, and for the en- suing eighteen months he was engaged in practice at Novelty, this state. On January 8, 1909, he located in Shelby- ville, where he purchased the practice of Dr. Bob. Maupin, and where he has gained a secure hold upon popular con- fidence and esteem, both as a physician and as a citizen. He is a member of the WILLIAM A. HUGHES HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 345 Shelliy county ^fedical Society and the Tri-State ^ledical Society, and is local medical examiner for the New York Life Insurance Company, the Missouri State Life Insurance Cimipanj^ the Intei'ua- tional Life Insurance Company, of St. Louis, and the Bankers' Life Insurance Company, of Des Moines, Iowa. In poli- tics he is a staunch adherent of the Dem- ocratic party, and he is afTiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern AVoodmen of America. The doctor is a bachelor. WILLIAM A. HUGHES. In even a cursory review of the careers of the honored business men and leading farmers of Shelby county there is emi- nent consistency and, in fact, imperative demand that recog-nition be given to the late William A. Hughes, who for seventy years was an honored resident of this county. He was a dominating figure in the business circles of the county, and through his well-directed etforts accumu- lated a modest fortune. Progressive in both private and public affairs, he proved a most valuable citizen, and he so ordered his course as to retain at all times the confidence and esteem of his fellow men. William A. Hughes was born in Boone county, Missoliri, on the IStli day of Feb- ruary, 1830. He was a grandson of Jo- sejih Hughes, one of the first pioneers to enter the wilderness of Kentucky, hav- ing emigrated to the "Blue Grass" state in about 1766, which was several years before Daniel Boone ever made a track in its wilderness, and there he passed the residue of his life, making for himself and family a home in what is now Jessa- mine county of that great state. It was there that the father of our subject, John Hughes, was born in 1777. He grew to manhood amid the pioneer scenes of Kentucky and bore his full part in clear- ing away the forests and helping rid the country of the treacherous, lurking red men who made life perilous to the early settlers. During the war of 1812 he saw active service in the northern campaign, and after peace was restored he returned to his home and began the work of clearing a home for himself amid the dense for- ests of his native county. Not being con- tent with the advantages offei'ed him in Kentucky, in 1822 he gathered together his belongings and started for the then far west, coming to Boone coimty, Mis- souri, in that year. The Indians were still in possession of the coimtiy and all was still a forbidding wilderness. Noth- ing daunted by these surroundings, he liegan at once the work of establishing a new home, and continiied to be a resident of that county until 1838, when he re- moved to Shelby county, securing a farm in Black Creek township, on which he re- sided until his death in 1865, having reached the advanced age of eighty-eight years. He was three times married. His first wife was Elizabeth Perry, who died in Boone county, this state. He chose for his second companion Mrs. Jane E. West, a daughter of Jose]iIi Miller, of Bourbon county, Kentucky, and after her death he married Mrs. Isabella Shambaugh, a daugliter of Jacob Vannort, of Virginia. William A. Hughes was eight years of age when his parents moved to Shelby 346 HISTORY OF SHELBY COI'XTY county. The countiy was unimproved and he bore his full part in reducing it to cultivation, and in early life became inured to the liardships and privations of pioneer life. He secured such educa- tion as was possible in the primitive schools of that day, which was necessa- rily limited. He remained on the home farm assisting in its labors, and on the death of his honored father he became the owner of a part of it, to which he added from time to time, until at the time of his death he was the owner of a fine landed estate of 320 acres, well im- proved with model buildings and every- thing that goes to make up a modern farm. Besides attending to his farm la- bors and its allied industry of live stock, of which he handled a large amount an- nually, he was also largely interested with the late Dr. Dimmitt and John T. Cooper in founding the first bank of Shelbyville, which was opened for busi- ness in 1874, and was kuown as the Shel- by County Savings Bank. Mr. Hughes continued to be interested in that bank for some years, when he disposed of his stock, but later became one of the origi- nal stocldiolders in the Citizens' Bank "of Shelbyville, and continued to be a direc- tor of that bank until his death, which occurred at Shelbyville on May 4, 1908. He was married in ISfJO to Miss Mary E. Bowling, a daughter of Alexander Bowling, a native of Virginia. One child was born to this union, Nel- lie E., who is now the wife of T. B. Dam- rell, of Shelbyville. Mrs. Damrell was a student of the Christian College, of Co- luml)ia, ^lissouri. Further mention of Mr. Damrcll will be found on other pages of this volume. Mrs. Hughes is still living and makes her home with her daughter at Shelby- ville, where she continues as far as possi- ble the church and charitable work begun by her husband. In religion Mr. Hughes was not a mem- ber of any denomination, but aided gen- erously all church organizations in the city and county, no matter what they be- longed to. In fraternal relations he be- longed to the Masonic fraternity, being a charter member of Shelbyville Lodge, No. 96, and was among the last of the charter members to pass away. In politics Mr. Hughes was allied with the Democratic party, and was an intelli- gent advocate of the principles and poli- cies for which it stood sponsor and ren- dered effective service in the promotion of the party cause, but would never con- sent to accept public office. He was a man of the loftiest princi- ples and strong intellectual powers, and will long be remembered as being among the most influential and honored citizens of Shelby county. His memory is revered by all who re- main to have remembrance of his gentle and noble life and who came within the sphere of his gracious and helpful in- fluence. JOHN IL TERBILL. The life and labors of the late John 'M. Terrill, who died at his home in Shelby- ville, on November 5, 1894, were such as to eminently entitle him to memorial tribute in this history, while added con- sistency is given from the fact that he was a native of this section of Missouri and a member of one of its honored pio- neer families. He was a man of broad IIISTOIJY OF SHELBY COUNTY ^47 mental ken, generous attribvites of oliar- acter and distinctive public spirit, and he did much to encourage and support measures and enterprises tending to ad- vance the civic and material progress of the commimity. His life was ordered upon the loftiest plane of integrity and honor and he left that best of all herit- ages, a good name, which is "rather to be desired than great riches." Through his own ability and well directed efforts he accumulated a competency, but he ever had a deep appreciation of the re- sponsibilities that success imposes and showed his stewardship by kindly succor and aid extended to "those in any ways afflicted in mind, body or estate." Loyalty is a tine thing in human nature, and this sterling citizen showed in all the relations of life the utmost loyalty, so that he richlj- merited the high esteem in which he was held by those with whom he came in contact. John M. Terrill was born in Marion county, Missouri, on September 12, 1825, and, so far as available data indicate, his parents came to this state from Ken- tucky in the early part of the second decade of the nineteenth century, num- bering themselves among the sturdy pio- neers of Marion county, where they passed the residue of their lives and where his father was a fai-mer by oc- cupation, tilling the willing soil and aid- ing in transforming the wilderness into productive fields and blossoming mead- ows. Owing to the exigencies and condi- tions of time and place, the subject of this memorial received in his youth only such educational advantages as were af- forded in the ])riraitive pioneer schools, but his alert and receptive mind enabled him to profit generously from the valua- ble lessons gained under the tutorship of that wisest of all head masters, expe- rience, and he became a man of broad in- formation and mature judgment. He be- came eventually the owner of a landed estate of 320 acres, in Marion and Shelby counties, and he was long numbered among the progressive and representa- tive farmers and stock-growers of this favored section of the state. He devoted much attention to the buying and ship- ping of live stock, and in this field of en- terprise he built up a large and prosper- ous business, being one of the leading dealers in this part of the state and gain- ing a wide acquaintanceship in the country throughout which his operations were extended. He continued actively identified with this line of business until about ten years prior to his demise, when, owing to impaired health, he re- moved from his homestead farm to Shelbjt'ville, where he thereafter lived virtually retired until he was summoned from the scene of life's mortal endeav- ors. In Shelbyville he purcluised the at- tractive and commodious residence in which his wife still maintains her home. He was one of the organizers and incor- porators of the Citizens' Bank of Shelb}^- ville and served as a member of its board of directors. His widow still retains his stock in this solid and popular financial institution and has also added somewhat to her holdings in the same. Mr. Terrill was ever found ready to contribute generously of influence and means to the promotion and support of public enterprises that met the approval of his judgment, and few citizens were more liberal and luiblic-spirited in this rjis HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY respect. Mrs. Terrill has endeavored to emulate his example in this regard and is known as a woman of exceptional busi- ness acumen and as one who takes a lively interest in all that touches the welfare of the community. She was a charter member of the Slielby County Railroad Company, and had the distinc- tion of being the only woman to become thus identified with the enterprise, to which she gave her support more through imblic spirit than from .speculative mo- tives. She is now associated with her brother, James Edelen, in the dry-goods and millinery business in Shelb.yville, where she is thus an interested |)rincipal in the tinn of James Edelen & Company, whose establishment is one of the leading- mercantile conceras of the countj'. Mrs. Tevrill is a devoted and zealous member of the Presbyterian church, as was also her husband, and in politics he was found arrayed as a staunch and effective exponent of tlie principles and policies of the Democratic party, though he never was a seeker of public office. On November 13, ISGG, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Terrill to Miss Nan- nie Edelen, who was bom in Marion county, this state, on April 25, 1843, and who is a daughter of George and Ann (McElroy) Edelen, the both of whom were born in Kentucky. The parents were numbered among the sterling pio- neers of this section of the state and the father was a merchant by vocation. The father died at Hannibal on October 20, 1843, and mother at Shelbj-A-ille on Jime 25, 1899, aged eighty-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Terrill had no children. Mrs. Ter- rill has been a prominent and popular member of the social circles of Shelbv- ville, and here her friends are in num- ber as her acquaintances. JAMES EDELEN. One of the venerable and essentially representative business men of Shelby- ville is James Edelen, who is here en- gaged in the general merchandise busi- ness, as head of the well known firm of James Edelen & Co. His career has been one of marked productive activity and much success, and he is one of the hon- ored citizens of the countj' which has represented his home during the major portion of his life, being a native son of Missouri and a member of one of its ster- ling pioneer families. His status in the community renders specially consistent a review of his career within the pages of this historical publication touching Shelby county. James Edelen was born in the little village of AVarren, Clarion county, Mis- souri, on July 25, 1839. His father, George Edelen, was born in the state of Kentucky in 1808, and was a scion of a worthy pioneer family of that common- wealth. George Edelen was reared to manhood in Kentucky and there he ini- tiated his eft'orts in connection with the general merchandise business, with which he continued to be identified in his native state until about 1833, when he came to Missouri and settled in the vil- lage of AVarren, Marion county, where he opened a general store, to the conduct- ing of which he continued to give his at- tention until his death, which occurred in 1843, having been fairly successful in his business affairs after coming to Mis- souri. In 1838 he was united in mar- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 349 riage to Miss Auu McElroy, who like- wise was a native of Kentucky and who survived him by a number of years, her death having occurred in Shelbyville in Shelby county, in 1899, whither she re- moved with her two children after the death of the husband and father. Of the children the subject of this sketch is the elder, and Nannie, the widow of John M. Terrill, now maiutains her home in Shel- byville, Missouri. James Edelen gained his early educa- tional discipline in the common schools of his native county, and he was eighteen years of age at the time of the family re- moval to Shelby county, where he con- tinued his studies for a time in the pub- lic schools of Shelbyville. He and his mother purchased a farm of 120 acres near Shelbyville, and after leaving school he there continued to devote his attention to farming and stock growing for the ensuing five years, at the expira- tion of which, in 1864, he and his mother and sister removed from the farm to Shelbyville, where he was engaged in the general merchandise business for three years, as a member of the firm of Vaughn & Edelen, his associate being Wilson Vaughn. He then sold his inter- est in this enterprise, having also dis- posed of the farm previously mentioned, and after his retirement from the mer- cantile trade he purchased 176 acres of excellent land in Black Creek township. He removed with his family to this place, upon which he made many substantial improvements, developing the projjerty into one of the model farms of the coun- ty. There he continued his active oper- ations as a general agriculturist and stock grower until 1881, and in the mean- while he had also become one of the in- terested principals in the firm of himself, John Sattles, Chaiies A. Haskins, James Vandever and James Gevin, which en- gaged in the importing of high-grade draft horses from Prance, the animals being sold from the well-equipped sales stables maintained bj' the firm in the vil- lage of Shelbina. The enterprise proved very profitable to those concerned, and Mr. Edelen also found that his farm con- tributed much to the sucees of the busi- ness, affording fodder and pasturage for the horses imported and raised by the firm of which he was a member. Upon leaving the farm, in 1881, he took up his residence in Shelbina, and after dispos- ing of his interest in the horse-import- ing business at a distinctive profit, he re- turned to the farm, to which he contin- ued to give his attention until 1887, when he sold the property and removed to Kansas, establishing his home in Mc- Cracken, Eush county, that state, where he became a prominent and influential citizen, having there become associated in the ownership and operation of a well equipped flour mill and also having be- come one of the principal stockholders of the Bank of McCracken, in McCracken, in which institution he still continues to be thus interested, also owning village property and farm land in that section of the Sunflower state. While a resident of McCracken he also conducted a pros- perous enterprise in the buying and sell- ing of farm lands and in the conducting of a general real estate business. In the year 1890 Mr. Edelen returned to Shelbyville, where he has since been engaged in the general merchandise bus- iness, as head of the firm of James Ede- 350 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY len & Co. The large and well equipped establislmient handles a stock whose average valuation is fully $20,000, and the trade of the concern extends through- out the territory normally tributary to Shelbyville. The business represents one of the leading mercantile concerns of the county, and the reputation of the firm is of the highest order, as fair and honor- able dealings have begotten the most im- plicit popular confidence and esteem. Mr. Edelen is a man of excellent judgment and much executive and initiative abil- ity, as is evident when we revert to the fact that no enterprise with which he has identified himself during his long and active career has been a failure. In poli- tics he is a staunch adherent of the Dem- ocratic party, though never ambitious for the honors and emoluments of public office, and both he and his wife are ear- nest and zealous members of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, South. On September 1, 1864, Mr. Edelen was united in marriage to Miss Susan Sheetz, who was born and reared in Shelby county, being a daughter of the late Henry Sheetz, who was a ]iioneer of the county. They have never had children, but have reared and educated a boy and girl. WALTER A. DIMMITT. A scion of one of the honored and pj-ominent pioneer families of Missouri and standing well to the forefront as one of the representative citizens of Shelby county, where he has extensive real es- tate and cai)italistic interests, Mr. Dim- mitt holds the well merited prestige ap- pertaining to large and definite accom- ])lisliniont through individual ability and effort, and he is thus specially well en- titled to recognition in this historical publication, which has to do with Shelby county and its people. He was for many years one of the leading merchants of the county and he continued to maintain his home in Shelbyville, where he still has large interests, until May, 1909, when he established his home in the attractive village of Shelbina. His course has been marked by inviolable integrity and honor and in all the relations of life, and he commands the unqualified esteem of all who know him. Walter A. Dimmitt was born in Monti- cello, Lewis county, Missouri, on Novem- ber 22, 1850, and is a son of Dr. Philip Dimmitt, a sketch of whom appears else- where in this volume. He gained his early educational dis- cipline in the country schools of Shelby county, having been a lad of ten years at the time of the family removal from Booneville to this county. After com- pleting this limited curriculum he con- tinued his studies in the high school in Shelbyville, and that he duly profited by his scholastic advantages is shown in the fact that for four years he was a suc- cessful teacher in the district schools of this county, devoting his attention to such pedagogic labors during the winter terms and being identified with agricul- tural pursuits during the intervening periods. In 1874 he engaged in the gen- eral merchandise business in Shelby- ville, and for more than a score of years he was actively identified with this line of enterprise, in connection with which he built up a business of wide scope and importance and one through which he gained large financial returns. He re- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 351 tired from tliis business in 1902, and upon liis career in connection with the practical activities of life there rests no shadow of wrong or injustice. Thus it may well be understood that he holds as his own the unqualified confidence and esteem of the people of the community in which practically his entire life has been passed. From 1897 imtil 1905 Mr. Dimmitt was editor and publisher of tlie Shelby County Guard, a weekly paper, and he made the same an effective expon- ent of local interests and also of the cause of the Democratic party, of which he has ever been a staunch adherent. Mr. Dimmitt is one of the extensive landhold- ers of tlie county, where he is the owner of 1,060 acres, and in the thriving little city of Shelbyville he is the owner of an entire block of buildings used for busi- ness purposes. For twelve j^ears he was a stockholder and director in the Citi- zens' Bank of Shelbwille, and he served fourteen years as a member of the board of education of this city. He is one of the substantial capitalists and progress- ive and public-spirited citizens of Shelby county, and his aid and influence are ever to be relied upon in the support of measures and enterprises tending to ad- vance the material and civic welfare of the community. He was one of the char- ter members of the Shelby County Rail- road Company, in which he is still the owner of a considerable amount of stock. His various business interests are still centered in Slielbyville, though he now resides in Shelbina, as has already been noted, having purchased an attractive, modern residence in the latter village. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. June 4, 1872, liore record of the mar- riage of Mr. Dimmitt to Miss Ann Eliz- abeth Vaughn, who was born and reared in Shelby county, and who is a daughter of the late Wilson Vaughn, a prominent Inisiness man and influential citizen of Shelbyville. To Mr. and :\lrs. Dimmitt have been born five children, all of whom are living and concerning whom the fol- lowing brief data are entered : Philip V. is now a resident of the city of St. Ijouis, where he is engaged in the post- office; Walter T. is engaged in the jew- elry business at Shelbyville, this state; Roy is identified with business interests in the city of Birmingham, Alabama; Joseph holds a position in a business house in St. Louis; and Bertha remains at the parental home. ROBERT T. JACKSON. The senior member of the real estate firm of Jackson & Neff, of Shelbyville, the subject of this sketch, is a native son of Shelby county, with whose annals the family name has been identified for nearly seventy years, and he is one of the well known citizens and successful business men of the county, where he commands unqualified popular esteem. He is the owner of a valuable farm prop- erty in the county, and was for many years actively identified with agricul- tural pursuits. Mr. Jackson was born on the old Mar- maduke homestead farm, in Black Creek township, this county, on May 23, 1851, and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Fer- 352 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY guson) Jackson, both of whom were born and reared m North Carolina, where the respective families were founded in an early day. The father was born in the year 1807, and in 1841 he came to ^Missouri and settled on the old Marmaduke faiTa, as it is now known, near Shelbyville, where he continued to devote his attention to agricultural jiur- suits for fourteen years, at the expira- tion of which he removed with his family to a farm about ten miles northwest of Shelbyville, in Leutner township, where he continued engaged in general farming and stock growing until his death, which occurred on April 27, 1867, at which time he was about sixty years of age. At the time of his death he was the owner of a well improved farm of 170 acres, and was one of the substantial citizens of the county, '^\;here he was ever known as a man of the highest integrity and as one whose life was one of signal usefulness and honor. In polities, while never a seeker of office, he was a staunch and in- telligent advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and during the Civil war he favored and su]iiiorted the cause of the South. Both he and his wife were consistent members of the ^lethodist Episcopal Church, South. They were married in Xorth Carolina in 1830. and Mrs. Jackson was sunnnoned to the life eternal in 1881, at the age of seventy- three years. Of tlieir seven children all are living save one. Perry is a ]irosper- ous farmer of Shelby county ; Mary Jane also resides in tliis county and is not married; Martin is a resident of Linn county, Oregon; Sarah E. is the wife of Elias Edmonds, of Shelby county; Thomas is a resident of Josephine coun- ty, Oregon ; and Eobert T., of this sketch, is the youngest of the children. The one deceased is Perthia, who was the wife of AVilliam K. Grundy, and who died in Shelby county. Eobert T. Jackson secured his early education in the district schools of Shel- by county, and through his active asso- ciation with men and affairs he has be- come a man of broad general informa- tion and marked business ability. ^Vfter his school days he was associated in the work and management of the old home- stead farm until 1874, after which he continued in the same line of enterprise on his own responsibility, becoming one of the successful farmers and stock raisers of the county and continuing to be actively concerned in the operation of his well improved farm until 1898, since which year he has maintained his home in Shelby\'ille. He is still the owner of his farm, which comprises 140 acres, and which is located in Lentner townshi]). Upon locating in Shelbyville he estab- lished himself in the real estate business, in connection with which he has built up a prosperous enterprise and handled a large amount of property. Since 1906 he has been associated in this business with Andrew J. Neff, under the firm name of Jackson & Nefif. He has also rendered efficient service as a carrier on one of the rural free mail delivery routes from Shelbyville. He is a loyal and public spirited citizen, his political allegiance is given to the Democratic party. He is affiliated with the Court of Honor and botli he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. On December 10, 1870, :\Ir. Jackson HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 353 was united in marriage to Miss Cather- ine F. Carroll, who was lioru and reared in Shelby coimty, where her father, the late Phasant B. Carroll, was a represent- ative farmer. Of the four children of this marriage tliree are living — Nona "\'irgina is the wife of Vergil F. Hirriliu- ger, a farmer of this county ; Thomas is a resident of the city of Seattle, Wash- ington; and Nellie is the wife of L. E. Carson, of Shelby county. WILLIAM R. TURNER. No monarch is so independent as the farmer who holds title to pi'oductive acres of ground, and there is a decidedly etliical significance in the sovereignty of the soil. No man was ever contaminated by association with nature, and to our nation the farm has given brain and brawn. Along whatever paths their am- liition may lead them, men who have known the solace of association and gen- erous companiouship with nature ever find allurement in the great basic in- dustry under whose influence they were reared. It is emphatically one of the at- tractive features of this historical com- pilation that within its pages are found represented many of its successful aud enterprising farmers and stock-growers, and not a few of these claim Shelby county as the place of their nativity. Of this number is William R. Turner, who is the owner of one of the fine farm es- tates of the county and who has made so distinctive a specialty and success of the breeding of high-grade sheep that he has gained the local sobriquet of "Sheep Turner", to wliicji, owing to the wide reputation he has attained in this field of enterprise, he can find no objection. William R. Turner was born on his father's homestead farm, in Black Creek township, this county, on February 12, 1856, and is a son of Holman aud Cath- erine A. (Settles) Turner, the former of whom was born in Kentucky on Febru- ary 21, 1828, and the latter of whom was ])orn in Virginia on June 21, 18.3.3. The marriage of this worthy couple was solemnized on February G, 1851, and of their nine children seven are now living, namely : Mary Jane, who is the wife of Rev. William N. Wainwright, a clerg\'- man of the M. E. Church, South, and now a resident of Monette, Missouri; William R., who figures as the immediate subject of this review; Susan C, who is the wife of Newton Garrison, deceased, of Bethel township; Lillian, who is the wife of John J. Hewitt, of Shelbyville, this county; James, who is a representa- tive farmer of Shelby county, as is also Charles; and Anna, who is the wife of Thomas Herbst, of this county. The honored father came to Missouri in an early day and located on a farm about ten miles east of Shellmnlle, where he became one of the substantial pioneer agriculturists of Shelby county. Tie was a successful mule dealer, buying mules' colts and keeping them until three years old and had a very fine bunch of mules on hand when death claimed him on De- cember 4, 1866, at which time he was but thirty-nine years of age. His widow now survives and lives on the old home place two miles north of Shelb^^'ille. Both were devout mem1)ers of the Meth- odist Episcopal Clnu'ch, South, aud in 3.54 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUXTY politics lie was aligned as a stalwart and intelligent supporter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party. He was held in high esteem as a man of in- violable integrity and honor and as a citizen of sterling worth. William R. Turner is indebted to the district schools of his native county for his early educational discipline, which has been effectively supjilemented by the valuable lessons gained in the broad school of experience, and he was reared to manhood under the invigorating in- fluences of the farm. After leaving school he engaged in farming on rented land, and he thus continued operations until 1880, after which he passed about two years as clerk in mercantile estab- lishments, and for a time he owned and conducted a furniture store at Shelby- ville and clerked in Captain Collier's store one year. In 1882 he removed to a farm in Black Creek township, about two and one-half miles north of Shelby- ville, where he has since maintained his home and where, through his well di- rected energies and progressive ideas he has attained a high degree of s;iccess, being now the owner of a well improved farm of 286 acres, the major portion of which is available for cultivation. Mr. Turner has made a success of handling pure bred stock along all lines, his motto being, "The Best Is None Too Good." In 1885 he began the breeding of pure blooded Shropshire sheep, and was so successful in this undertaking that in 1893 he exhibited his sheep at the World's Fair in Chicago, and carried off first lionors in this class, competing with the entire world. In 1886 Mr. Turner turned his at- tention to the breeding of Duroc-Jersey hogs, and has been more than success- ful in this undertaking — he often pays as high as $300 for his male hogs — and his herd is now considered among the best in the state. In addition to this he is largely inter- ested in the breeding of "Short Horn" cattle, and for some years held annvial sales at Slielbina and other points in tlie county, ])ut on account of the vast amount of labor connected with this de- partment, he has abandoned that feature of the business and now carries but a limited number of exceptionally fine bred animals on the home farm. Mr. Turner's success in life has been due to his own efforts, having never had the advantages of capital, other than that he borrowed on his own security, but by fair dealing and strict attention to business he so(m gained for himself a reputation for honesty that enabled him to secure from the banks any amount of capital needed to successfully conduct his business. He is known as one of the representative farmers and stock-grow- ers of the county and as a man of much enterprise, ambition and progi'essive- ness, while his course has been so di- rected in all the relations of life that he has not been denied the fullest meas- ure of ]iopular confidence and esteem in the county that has been his home from the time of his nativity. In politics he is aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and both he and his wife hold membership in the ^Fcthodist E]iisco))al church. South. On September 11, 1881, :\[r. Turner was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann Doyle, who was born and reared in GEO. W. HUMPHREY HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY Saline county, this state, where her father, the late B. G. Doyle, was a suc- cessful farmer. Of the six children of this union, one, a son, Gordie AV. Turner, died at the age of two years, and the other five are still living, namely: Ade- laide ^lay, who is the wife of Marion Feeley, a farmer of this county; and (Vera Florence, Cleveland Doyle, are in Colorado) Wade Grafflin, and Richard Lee, are at the parental home. SENATOR GEORGE W. HUMPHREY. Eminent in his profession, distin- guished in official relations and upright in his private life, Hon. George W. Hum- phrey, one of the leading lawyers of Shelby county and state senator from the Ninth Missouri senatorial district, well justifies his right to the high jjlace he holds in the councils of the state and the confidence and esteem of the people. ' In every relation, public and private, he has exhibited an elevated standard of excel- lence and proven himself to be a high type of the citizenship of the state. Senator Humphrey was born near Rushville, Illinois, on August 21, 1865. He is a son of William T. and Mary (Rodifer) Huinphrey, the former a na- tive of Kentucky and the latter of Mis- souri. The father was a farmer and lum- ber merchant, whose undertakings were extensive and profitable, and gave scope for the full exercise of his superior and commanding mental faculties. He is now living retired from active pursuits at Slielbina. Always patriotic and de- voted to the welfare of his country, when the Cival war broke out he followed his convictions into the Confederate army, and during the momentous conflict which shook this country to its very founda- tions, rendered active and heroic service to the cause he favored. He participated in numerous engagements, and on one oc- casion faced it in captivity, being sen- tenced to be shot at Palmyra with a number of other prisoners. A few hours before the time fixed for the execution of the sentence he was released, and thus escaped the fate he seemed destined to, which the other prisoners suffered. It is worthy of note in this connection, that the first money ever earned by his son, Senator George W. Humphrey, was ex- ])ended for a handsome monimient, which he caused to be erected in the cemetery at Palmyra to the memory of Hiram Smith, the man who was substituted for his father at the time of the execution of Confederate prisoners at that place. The family, on the father's side, is of English ancestry, but has long been resi- dent in this country. The grandfather of the senator, William Henry Hum- phrey, was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, and came to Missouri in 1839, making the journey on the rivers. He located in Lewis county, where he took up a tract of wild land and by skillful and systematic husbandry transformed it into a well improved and highly produc- tive farm. On this he passed the remain- der of his days, dying at a good old age and leaving behind him the ])riceless leg- acy of a good name and in addition a val- uable monument to his thrift and enter- prise in the excellent farm which he had redeemed from the wilderness and made fruitful in all the products of advanced 356 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY agriculture. His offspring numbered five, four sons and one daughter. Of these two sons are living. Senator Humphrey was reared in Lewis county, this state, and obtained his education in the public schools and at La Grange College. He taught in the public schools for a number of years and for some time was the superintendent of those in Shelbj-^dlle. In 1890 he began the study of law in the office and under the direction of Hon. R. P. Giles, of Shel- bina, who was elected a member of the United States House of Representatives in 1896. He was admitted to the bar in 1893, and for nearly a year was a partner of Hon. James T. Lloyd, the present rep- resentative of the district in the congress of the United States. ' In 1907 he formed a co-partnership with J. T. Gose, who is still associated with him. From the dawn of his man- hood, and even long before that, lie has taken a dee]i and earnest interest in pub- lic affairs, both local and general, being a close and reflective student of political policies and governmental theories. He is therefore wise on the subject and the people know it. They showed their con- fidence in his intelligence and public spirit by electing him to represent them in the state senate in the fall of 1904. The period since his election has been an ex- acting and fruitful one, and has given him exceptional opportunities for demon- strating that the public confidence ex- pressed in his election was not misplaced. He has been prominent in every session of the legislature since his election, in- cluding the extra session of 1905, which had highly important matters for the welfare of the state to consider and dis- pose of. In the most elevated legislative forum in the state Senator Humphrey has served on many important committees, in- cluding the committee on appropriations, of which he was chairman in the session of 1907, and others of which he was made a member by special resolution of the senate. He was president pro tempore of the senate in 1909 and 1910, and as such served as governor during the ab- sence of the governor and lieutenant gov- ernor from the state. It is worthj^ of note that in the whole history of Mis- souri he has been the second man who has enjoyed the distinction of occui)ying the govei-nor's chair as a member of the political party whose candidate was not elected to the office, and also that of be- ing the only president pro tempore of the senate who has done this. "While presi- dent pro tempore of the senate he ap- pointed all committees for the entire ses- sion. These are small and accidental events, it is true, but they are significant in showing that a man universally es- teemed throughout the state had been placed in a position of exalted trust and prominence, and was therefore ready for the performance of a duty for which he had not been especially chosen. With one voice the people of the state rejoiced that their welfare had fallen into such clean and capable hands for proper preserva- tion and promotion. Senator Humphrey has been the legal counselor of the city authorities of Shel- bina during all of the last twelve years and has rendered them satisfactory sei'v- ice in that capacity. He has also served HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 357 the city as mayor, giving it a clean and progressive administration and looking carefully after all its interests. All his life he has shown a deep and abiding in- terest in the welfare of the community of his home and given his active and intelli- gent aid to every worthy undertaking de- signed to promote the comfort, conve- nience and substantial good of its people. In fraternal relations he is united with the Masonic order, the Knights of Pyth- ias and the Order of Elks. His relig- ious affiliation is with the Baptist church. On November 25, 1903, he was married to Miss Gertrude List, an adopted daughter of the late W. H. Warren, of Shelbina, a sketch of whom will be found in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey are the parents of three children, their sons, William W., George E. and Patrick List, who bless and brighten the domestic shrine by their presence and the hopes of future good which they inspire in their ]iarents and all who know them. WILLIAM STEINBACH. A sterling citizen and native son of Shelby county, Mr. Steinbach has been identified with the agricultural industry in said county during his entire active career, marked by industry and generous accomplishment, and he is now the owner of a fine landed estate of 255 acres, where he continued to reside until April, 1909, when he took up his abode in his native vilhige of Bethel, where he owns and occupies an attractive and commo- dious residence. Mr. Steinbach was born in Bethel, this county, on December 22, 1851, and is a son of Philip and Elizabeth (Froelich) Steinbach, whose marriage was solem- nized in the year 18-14 and both of whom were natives of Germany. Philip Steinbach was born on Feb- ruary 6, 1824, and was reared and edu- cated in his native land, whence he immi- grated to America as a young man. In 1845 he became a member of the German colony founded at Bethel, Shelby county, Missouri, and he became one of the pros- perous farmers and stock growers of the county, having continued his residence in the village of Bethel until the disband- ing of the colony, after which he resided on his farm. He passed the closing years of his life, however, in Bethel, where he died on April 6, 1909, at the venerable age of eighty-five years. His life was one of sig-nal integrity and honor, and he was not denied the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem in the community that so long represented his home and the scene of his earnest and fruitful endeavors. He was one of the organizers of the Bank of Bethel, of which he was president for ten years and of which he continued a dii'ector until the time of his death. He contributed materially to the industrial and social u]ibuilding of the county and was a broad-minded and loyal citizen. His po- litical support was given to the Reimbli- can party, with which he identified him- self at the time of its organization, and botli he and his wife, who died on Octo- ber 7, 1888, were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They liecame the parents of nine children, of whom seven are living — Philip, William, George and Henry, all of whom still re- side in this county; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Julius Will, of Green City, Sulli- 358 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY van county; Mary, who is the wife of George Kraft, of Bethel ; and Christian, who likewise resides in this village. William Steinbach gained his early education in the village schools of Bethel, and as a youth he learned the trade of blacksmith, to which he here devoted his attention for a period of fifteen years, having been a skilled artisan and built up a successful business. His career has been marked by consecutive and well di- rected industry and also by that earnest regard for principle that ever calls forth the confidence and good will of men. After abandoning the work of his trade he removed to a fami in Bethel township, where he continued successful operations as an agriculturist and stock grower un- til the spring of 1909, since which time he has lived retired in Bethel, where he is enjoying the rewards of former toil and endeavor and is surroimded by friends tried and true. He owns 255 acres of most productive farming land, has made the most substantial improve- ments on the property and still gives to the same a general supervision. In poli- tics he is found arrayed as a staimch and intelligent advocate of the cause of the Eepublican party, and he and his wife hold membership in the M. E. church. On September 14, 1879, Mr. Steinbach was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ziegler, who was ])orn and reared in this county, being a daughter of George Zieg- ler, who was for many years a represent- ative citizen of Bethel, where his death occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Steinbach have four children, namely: Sojjhia, who is the wife of AValter r'nrry, of Kit Carson county, Colorado; and Albert W. and Flora (twins), and John, all of whom remain at the parental home. ALBERT W. STEINBACH. Mr. Steinbach is a reiDresentative of the third generation of the family in Shelby county, of which he is a native son, and he stands essentially as one of the alert, enterprising and loyal business men of the younger generation in the county and as a citizen whose popularity in the community is of the most unequiv- ocal type. He is incumbent of the impor- tant ofSce of cashier of the Bank of Bethel, of which his honored grand- father, the late Philip Steinbach, was one of the founders and for a decade the president. Mr. Steinbach is a son of William Steinbach, a sketch of whose career is given on other pages of this volume, so that further review of the family history is not demanded in the present connection. Albert W. Stein))ach was born in the village of Bethel, this county, on April 26, 1883, and to the public schools of his native town he is indebted for his early educational training. He manifested distinct predilection for business and in 1 906, when but twenty- three years of age, he was elected cashier of the Bank of Betliel, of which position he has since continued incumbent. His administra- tion of the practical affairs of the insti- tution has been marked by discrimina- tion, judgment and progressive policy, and his efforts have been a distinct fac- tor in the upbuilding of the substantial business of the bank, which is one of tlie well-conducted and alily managed fiuan- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 350 cial institutions of the county and one which receives a representative support. ]\Ir. Steiubach manifests a deep inter- est in all that tends to conserve the prog- ress and material and social prosperity of his native town and county and lends his influence and aid in the promotion of all worthy public enterprises. He is a stalwart in the local camp of the Repub- lican party, is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a popular figure in the social life of the community and his circle of friends, is coincident with that of his acquaintances. JOHN C. BOWER. Mr. Bower is one of the substantial citizens of Shelby county, which has rep- resented his home from his boyhood days, and here he is the owner of a well improved farm of 320 acres, eligibly lo- cated in Bethel township. The farm is now rented to his elder son, and Mr. Bower is living virtually retired in the village of Bethel, where his parents settled in the pioneer days, as member of the sturdy Gennany colony founded here in the '40s. John C. Bower claims the old Key- stone state of the Union as the place of his nativitj', having been born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, on July 23, 1833, and being a son of John L. and Chris- tina (Schnaufer) Bower, both natives of Wurtemburg, Germany, the father hav- ing been born in the year 1800. Their marriage was solemnized in the year 1832, in Pennsylvania. Of their twelve children eight are now living, and con- cerning them the following brief record is entered: John C, the eldest, is the immediate subject of this review; and Tlieodore L., Samuel F., Walter C, Christina, August, and David, all of whom are residents of Bethel, this county ; and Miranda, who is the wife of Charles F. Stecher, of Camp Point, Il- linois. Christina is the wife of William Seppel, a well known citizen of Bethel. The family name has been prominently and honorably linked with the industrial and civic progress of this section of the county, and its representatives of the present day are well worthy of the un- qualified esteem in which they are held in the community. The father came with his family to Missouri and numbered himself among the Bethel colonists in 1846. He was a cabinetmaker by trade and he followed the same in Bethel until his death, which occurred in 1872, his devoted wife having been summoned to the life eternal in 1863. Both were zealous members of the Bethel Colony church and he was identified with the Re- publican party from the time of its or- ganization imtil his death. John C. Bower, whose name intro- duces this article, gained his early edu- cation in the common schools of his na- tive county in Pennsylvania and was about thirteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Missouri. He was reared to manhood in the village of Bethel, where he learned the trade of cabinetnuiking and also that of wheel- wright, under the able direction of his honored father, who was a skilled and versatile mechanic. He continued to be associated with his father in the work of 360 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY his trade until 1870, and in the mean- while he has also turned his attention to farming and stock-growing. He event- ually gave his imdivided attention to tlie latter lines of industry, with which he continued to be identified during the re- mainder of his active business career. Since 1894 he has lived retired, having an attractive home in Bethel and renting his farm to his son, as has already been stated in this context. He is known as a plain, unassuming citizen of sterling integrity of character and as one who has ever borne his share in connection with the work of material and social de- velopment and progress. His political support is given to the Bepublican party and both he and his wife hold member- ship in the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1861 'Sir. Bower was united in mar- riage to Miss Caroline Koser, who was bom in the city of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, on March 1, 1833, and who came with her parents to Shelby county in the pioneer days, the family becom- ing members of the Bethel colony. Mr. and ]\Irs. Bower became tlie j^arents of four children, of whom three are living. Miranda, who is the wife of Henry Fox, of Bethel ; John J., who resides on and rents the old homestead farm of his father; and Gideon, who likewise is a successful farmer of this county. HARRY C. BAIR. The able and po])ular postmaster of the village of Bethel is Harry C. Bair, who is a native son of Shelbj^ county, where his grandfather, Reuben Bair, a native of "Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, took up his abode in 1846, hav- ing come hither from Stark county, Ohio. The postmaster is a son of Samuel J. Bair, who is the subject of a specific sketch on other pages of this volume, so that further reference to the family his- tory is not demanded in this article. Harry C. Bair was born in Bethel, this county, on October 15, 1875, and here he was reared to maturity, securing his early educational discipline in the pub- lic schools and assisting his father in his farming operations. At the age of twenty years he severed the home ties and during the ensuing five years he traveled about from place to place, prin- cipally in the west, for the sake of seeing the country, gaining experience, etc., the while he found em])loyment at various occupations and defrayed his expenses, besides saving a portion of his earnings. In 1900 he returned to Bethel, and here he followed the carpenter's trade and house painting until July 1, 1907, when he received appointment to the office of Postmaster, under the administration of President Roosevelt. He has since con- tinued incumbent of this position, has carefully handled the affairs of the office and has gained public commendation of an unequivocal type. He is well known in this part of the county and his friends are in number as his ac(|uaintances. In politics he is an uncompromising Re- publican and he has been a zealous worker in the local camp of the "grand old party." On August 30, 1908, Mr. Bair was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Zieg- ler, who was born and reared in Bethe! and who is a daughter of William F. Ziegler, of this village. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 361 SAMUEL J. BAIR. It is gTatifying to be able to enter in this volume even a brief review of the oai-eer of this well known and honored citizen of Bethel, who is a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of Shelby county, which has represented his home from his childhood days and which has been the scene of large and worthy accomplishment on his part, in connec- tion with the practical and productive activities of life. He rendered valiant and faithful service as a Union soldier in the Civil war and in the "piping times of peace" his loyalty has ever been of the same insistent type, the while he has So ordered his life as to merit and re- ceive the unqualitied confidence and es- teem of his fellow men. Mr. Bair claims the old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity, as he was born in Stark county, Ohio, in the year 18-t3. He is a son of Reuben and Mary (Berlin) Bair, both of staunch German lineage, and when he was about three years of age, in 1846, his parents came from Ohio to Missouri and numbered themselves among the German colonists in Bethel and vicinity, thus becoming pioneers of Shelby county, where they passed the remainder of their lives, se- cure in the respect and confidence of all who knew them. Mr. Bair's educational privileges were those atTorded in the vil- lage schools of Bethel and were some- what limited, owing to the exigencies of time and jjlace. As a youth he found employment in a local furniture shop, where he worked at the trade of cabinet making, to which he devoted his atten- tion for two years. At the age of nine- teen years he subordinated all other in- terests to tender his aid in defense of the Union, whose integrity was in jeopardy through armed rebellion. On February l-t, 1862, he enlisted as a private in the Eleventh Regiment of Missouri State ]\Iilitia, under Cajit. James B. Lambkin, and he received his discharge at the ex- ])iratioji of his term, on September 27 following. On May 14, 1863, he re-en- listed in the Eleventh Missouri Cavalry, which was regularly mustered into the United States service, and he was as- signed to Comijany G, under Captain Collier. He participated in a number of the important engagements marking the conflict between the opposing forces in Missouri and Arkansas, and among the more notable of these may be mentioned those of Cherry Grove, Kirksville, "Walk- ersville. Little Rock, Devall's Blutf and Clarendon, besides which he took part in many skirmishes and other minor en- gagements. He continued with his regi- ment until the close of the war and was mustered out in the city of New Orleans on Jiily 27, 1865, duly receiving his hon- orable discharge. After thus admirably acquitting him- self as a loyal and faithful soldier of the re]3ublic, Mr. Bair returned to his native county and located in Shelbyville, where he served as carrier of mail between the local postoffice and La Grange for nearly a year, at the expiration of which period he returned to Bethel and in this imme- diate vicinity identitied himself with farming and stock raising, in which con- nection he gained marked success through his close application and well di- rected energies, and he continued to give the same his ])ersonal supervision until 362 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY 1906, when he sold the property. Since that tune he has lived virtually retired in the village of Bethel, where he has an attractive home and is surrounded by friends who are tried and true. In poli- tics he gives a staunch supjjort to the cause of the Republican party, taking an intelligent interest in the questions and issues of the hour. He is identified with the Grand Anny of the Eepublic, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is now serving as justice of the peace. On November 4, 1SG9, Mr. Bair was united in marriage to j\liss Eebecca E. Gooden, who was born in Indiana, whence her pai'ents, John and Elizabeth Gooden, came to Shelby county, Mis- souri, when she was eighteen years of age. ^Ir. and Mrs. Bair became the pa- rents of five children, of whom four are living — William W., who is engaged in farming at Bethel; Harry C, who is in- dividually mentioned on other pages of this work; Mary, who is the wife of Bruce Rimyon, of Bethel township, this county; and Reuben, who lives in this county. THO:\IAS W. P. REED. In even a cursory review of the careers of the honored business men of the city of Shelbina there is eminent consistency and. in fact, imperntive demand that rec- ognition be given the late Thomas W. P. Reed, who was for more than a fourth of a century engaged in the real estate and loan business. He was a dominating fig- ure in the business circles of Slielliina, and through his well-directed efforts ac- cumulated a modest fortune. Progres- sive in both private and public affairs, he jiroved a most valuable citizen, and he so ordered his course as to retain at all times the confidence and esteem of his fellow men. Mr. Reed was born near Sidney, in Shelby county, Ohio, December '2, lS-t2. His parents, James and Mary (John- ston) Reed, were natives of Pennsylva- nia and Ohio, respectively. His fatlier, James S. Reed, was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, but spent the most of his youth in Richland county, Ohio. In 1863 he moved to Iowa, in 1866 to Saline county, Missouri, and the following year to ]\Ionroe county. After a residence there of a few years he became a resident of Shelby county, where he passed the residue of his life, his death occurring at Shelbina on February 27, 1874, and that of his wife in 1880. Of their four chil- dren one is now living. The father was possessed of a fine landed estate at tlie time of his death, besides a considerable amount of citj' property. He was a man whom every one respected for his many sterling qualities, and was ever ready to promote the best interests of the people among whom he resided. Thomas W. P. Reed was a young man at the time of the family removal to Mis- souri. After assisting for a short time with the labors of the home farm in Mon- roe county, he purchased a farm near Paris, Monroe county, in company with his brother Charles. This they success- fully operated until 1876, when failing liealth compelled him to dispose of his . interest in the same, and for a year fol- lowing was engaged in business at Ot- tumwa. Iowa. In 1878 he became a resi- dent of Shelbina, and was here activelv THOMAS W. P. REED HISTORY OP SHELBY COUNTY 31J3 and successfully engaged in the real es- tate business until his death, dh March 31, 1900. In 1895 Mr. Reed was one of the ten men who formed what was known as "The Shelbina Corn Company." This companj' purchased the surplus corn crop of that year, jjlacing the same in cribs along the railroad, and were com- pelled to hold it for over three years, finally disposing of it at a loss of several thousand dollars to themselves, but they prevented many a poor farmer from los- ing everything he possessed by thus fur- nishing a market for his crop and at a price far in advance of what was being offered for it elsewhere. Mr. Reed was a large stockholder of "The Old Bank of Shelbina" at the time of his death, be- sides having a large amount of city prop- erty. He was married March 23, 1869, at Dayton, Ohio, to Miss Isabella Hoover. One child was born to them, Mary L., who is now the wife of John R. Morgan, of Shelbina, a sketch of whom will be found on other pages of this work. Both he and his wife were active and leading memliers of the Christian church. In politics he was ever found arrayed with the Democratic party, but never con sented to hold public ofSce of any kind, though often urged to allow his name to go before the people. He preferred to serve in the more humble position of a private citizen, though no worthy project ever went without his earnest support. He was a man who had unbounded confi- dence in the future of northern iNIissouri, and was ever ready to lend his aid and support to any \)\nn that promised to promote the best interests of her people. His wife's death occurred July 1, 1895. AUGUST BOWER. This well known business man and honored citizen of Bethel is a native son of Shelby county and a member of one of its sterling pioneer families. In the sketch of the career of his elder brother, John C. Bower, on other pages of this work, is given a review of the f amilj' his- tory, so that it is not necessary to repeat the data in the present sketch. August Bower was born in the village of Bethel, his present place of residence, on October 2-t, 1846, in which year his parents, John L. and Chi-istina (Schnau- f er ) Bower, had taken up their residence in Shelby county, whither thej' came from the state of Pennsylvania. In the village schools of Bethel Mr. Bower se- cured his early educational training, and after leaving school he served a thor- ough apprenticeship to the trade of shoe- maker, following the old German custom of the sturdy founders of the Bethel col- ony. After the completion of his appren- ticeship he continued to follow the work of his trade for a period of three years and he then became associated with his father in the general merchandise busi- ness in Bethel. In 1867 he and his brother, Theodore L., purchased their father's interest in the enterprise, which they thereafter continued with ever in- creasing success, under the firm name of T. & A. Bower, until 188-f, when their Inother David purchased an interest in the business, which was continued under the title of Bower Bros, for the ensuing 364 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY four years, when August and David sold their interests to Theodore L., who con- tinued in business some years. In con- nection with his operations in the local mercantile field the subject of this re- view became the owner of farming prop- erty, which he utilized in general agricul- tural operations and in the raising of horses and cattle upon a somewhat ex- tensive scale. After selling out his inter- est in the mercantile business he devoted his entire attention to his farming and stock growing operations for a period of three years, when he again entered the general merchandise trade, associating himself with his brother David and son Wesley A. under the firm name of D. & A. Bower & Co., which is still retained. The fii-m has a large and well equipped store and controls an extensive business throughout the fine farming district trib- utary to the thriving little village of Bethel. August Bower still continues to give a general supervision to his farming interests, and his fine landed estate in Bethel township comprises 400 acres of most productive land. Mr. Bower is one of the substantial and progi'essive citizens of his native county and his business career has been marked by earnest and honest endeavor along noi'mal lines of enterprise, through which he has gained a large and definite success. He was one of the organizers and incorporators of the Bank of Bethel, in which he is still a stockholder, as is he also in the Commercial Bank of Shel- l)ina, another of the staunch financial in- stitutions of the county. He takes much interest in all that tends to conserve the material and social well-being of the community, is a stalwart Republican in his political adherency, and both he and his wife*are regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church. On March 31, 1874, Mr. Bower was united in marriage to Miss Priscilla Bair, of Bethel, a member of one of the well known pioneer families of this county, where she was born and reared. Of the four children three are living, namely : Wesley, who is engaged in bus- iness with his father at Bethel ; Mary, who is the wife of William P. Kraft, of this village; and Gertrude, who remains at the parental home, which is one of the attractive residences of Bethel and known for its generous hospitality. Be- sides this property ^Fr. Bower also owns other real estate in his home village, where he commands the unqualified es- teem of all who know him, and that im- plies the entire populace of this part of the county. DAVID BOWER. The family of which the subject of this review is an honored representa- tive has long been established in Shelby county, as his parents were identified with the founding of the staimch Ger- man colony whose interests centered in tlie village of Bethel, where he himself was born and with whose business atfairs and civic interests he is prominently identified. In the sketch of the career of his elder brother, John C. Bower, on other pages of this review, is given definite information concerning the hon- ored parents, and by reason of this fact and the facility with which reference may be made to the article mentioned, the data are not repeated in this sketch. HI STOP. Y OF SHELBY COUNTY' 365 Mr. Bowei' is one of the leadiug business men of Bethel, where he is junior mem- ber of the tirm of Bower Brotliers, who here conduct a thriving general merchan- dise business. Mr. Bower was born in the village that is now his home and the date of his na- tivity was December 22, 1850. He is in- debted to the public schools of Bethel for the early educational advantages that were ac^-orded to him, and after leaving school he learned the trade of cabinet making, to which he continued to devote his attention for a period of eight years. In 1884 he became associ- ated with his elder brothers, who had es- tablished themselves in the general mer- chandise business under the title of T. & A. Bower, and after four years of identification with this enterprise he and his brother August sold their interest in the same to their brother Theodore L., a member of the original firm. After his retirement from this business David Bower was associated with his brother August in general farming and stock- raising, to which he gave his undivided attention, making a specialty of the rais- ing of horses and cattle, until 1891, when he and his brother August again en- tered the mercantile trade, by opening a large and well equipped general store in Bethel, where they have since conducted a large and prosperous business, under the firm name of D. & A. Bower & Com- pany. The subject of this review still continues to give a general supervision to his farming and stock-growing inter- ests, and is the owner of a fine farm of 400 acres, located in Bethel township. He was one of the organizers and incor- porators of the Bank of Bethel, in which he is now a member of the board of di- rectors, and he is also a stockholder in the Commercial Bank of Shelbina, this county. He is known as one of the re- liable and honorable business men and sulistantial and loyal citizens of his na- tive county, where he commands unquali- fied popular confidence and esteem. His political support is given to the Repub- lican party and he is now a member of the county central committee of Bethel township. He and his wife hold mem- bership in the Methodist Episcopal church. In the year 1884 Mr. Bower was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Bair, who was born and reared in Bethel and who is a daughter of Reuben Bair, a representative of one of the sterling pio- neer families of this part of the county. Mr. and ]Mrs. Bower have four children, Clara, ^Marvin, Frank and Fannie. CARL E. BOWER. Mr. Bower has the distinction of being the youngest bank president in his na- tive county, being at the present time the chief executive of the Bank of Bethel, and he is known as one of the progress- ive and representative business men of the younger generation in Shelby county, where he is well known and where he is not denied the fullest measure of ob- jective confidence and esteem. He is a son of Theodore L. Bower, one of the honored and influential citizens of the coimty, and one to whom is accorded consideration in a special article on other pages of this volume, so that further review of the family history is not demanded in the present sketch. •MC HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Carl E. Bower was born in Betliel, Slielby county, ^lissouri, on March 20, 1871, and he gained his early educational discipline in the excellent public schools of his native village, where he completed the curriculum of the high school when twenty years of age. He then, in Jan- uary, 1892, engaged in the general mer- chandise business in his home town, be- coming associated in this enterprise with his brother, John A., under the firm name of Bower Brothers. They con- tinued the business with marked success for the ensuing five years, at the ex- piration of which the subject of this re- view sold his interest and, in 1897, opened a drug store, besides which he became associated with his father in the furniture business. He continued his active identification with both of these prosperous enterpi-ises until February, 1909, when he sold his interest in the same, his father retiring from active business at the same time. On January 1, 1908, Mr. Bower was elected presi- dent of the Bank of Bethel, of which his honored father was the first president, and he is proving a most able and dis- criminating executive, directing the af- fairs of this substantial and popular in- stitution with consummate judgment and according to the most approved and duly conservative ideas. He is devoting prac- tically his entire time and attention to the bank and, as already stated, is the youngest incumbent of this important of- ficial position to be found in Shelby county. He is aligned as a stalwart sup- porter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, is affiliated witli the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows and the Mod- ern Woodmen of America. On October 26, 1898, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Bower to Miss Ella Vestry, of Shelbyville, this county, where she was reared and educated, being a daughter of John B. Vestry, a repre- sentative citizen of the attractive county seat city. Mr. and [Mrs. Bower have two children, Vivian ^laurine and Irene La- Carl, ilr. and Mrs. Bower are prom- inent and popular figures in connection Avith the social activities of the com- munity, and their pleasant home is a center of gracious hospitality. THEODORE L. BOWER. The Bower family has been one of spe- cial prominence and influence in connec- tion with the civic and industrial devel- opment of that section of Shelby county which has its business and social inter- ests centered in the thriving little village of Bethel, a town founded by sturdy Ger- man colonists more than half a century ago and one that has retained to the pres- ent day a large percentage of represent- atives of these worthy pioneer colonists. Of this number is Theodore L. Bower, who is one of the substantial citizens of the county, where he has large banking interests and is the owner of valuable farm property, besides which he was for many years one of the leading merchants of Bethel, where he is now living vir- tually retired, enjoying the rewards of former years of earnest endeavor and resting secured in the high esteem of all who know him. Mr. Bower is a native of Beaver coun- HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY ty, Pennsylvania, where lie was born on November 9, 1834, and be is the second in order of birth of the eight surviving chil- dren of John L. and Christina (Schnau- fer) Bower. His father was born in ^A'iirtemburg, Germany, in the year 1800, and the mother was a native of the same place, where their marriage was solemn- ized in 1832. In 1846 John L. Bower left the old Keystone state and came with his family to Shelby county, Missouri. He settled in Bethel and here engaged in the work of his trade, that of cabinet maker, becoming one of the valued and success- ful business men of the village and ever commanding the high regard of the com- munity with which he thus identified himself. Here his loved wife died in 1863. and he was sunnnoned to the life eternal in 1872. He was a Kepublican in his political proclivities. On other pages of this work may be found specific mention of their sons, John C, August and David. Theodore L. Bower gained his rudi- mentary education in the common schools of his native state and was a lad of eleven years at the time of the family removal to Shelby county, Missouri. He was reared to manhood in this county and in the village schools of Bethel he completed his educational work. As a boy he began a practical apprenticeship at the cabinet maker's trade, in which he received instruction imder the direction of his father, who was a skilled artisan in this line. He followed the work of his trade imtil 1863, when he engaged in the general merchandise business in Bethel. AVith this line of enterprise he was ac- tively identified for many years, a por- tion of the time being associated with his brothers, and his success was large, be- ing based upon fair and honorable deal- ings and 2)opular appreciation of his sterling integrity of character. He re- tired from the mercantile business in the spring of 1909, and since that time he has lived retired, though continuing to give his personal supervision to his va- rious capitalistic and property interests. Mr. Bower was one of the organizers and incoporators of the Bank of Bethel, in which he is still a stockholder and of which he served as president from the time of its inception until 1896, when he retired from this executive office. He is also a stockholder in the Citizens' Bank of Shelbyville, the Bank of Green City and the First National Bank of Green City. He is the owner of 240 acres of valuable farm land in the county, the major portion of this propertj^ being lo- cated in Bethel township, and he is also the owner of improved realty in the vil- lage of Bethel. A practical, thorough and progressive business man, Mr. Bower never had any desire for public office, though he has been loyal to all the duties of citizenship and is a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party. On November 20, 1864, Mr. Bower was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Link, who was born in Ohio, whence she came with her parents to Shelby county when a child. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Bower three are living, nameh" : John A., who is now a resident of St. Louis, Missouri; Carl E., who is individually mentioned on other pages of this work; and Clara, who is the wife of Andrew Boehringer, of Green City, this state. 368 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY FRANK L. SCHOFIELD. The able and popular county treasurer of Shelby county is a native son of Mis- souri and is one of the progressive busi- ness men and re^jresentative citizens of Shelby county, where he is held in high popular esteem, as is evident from the fact that he has been chosen incumbent of his present responsible office. Mr. Schofield was born in Marion county, j\Iissouri, on November 9, 1862, and liis early educational training was secured in the public schools of the vil- lage of Palmyra, after which he com- pleted a course in the Gem City Busi- ness College, at Quincy, 111. After leav- ing school he became clerk in a mercan- tile establishment in Shelb\*\'ille, and he continued to be thus employed until 1885, save for one year devoted to agricul- tural pursuits. In the year mentioned he engaged in the confectionery biisiness in Shelbyville, and he has built up a pros- perous entel^^rise, Avhich he still con- ducts, having an attractive establish- ment and catering to a large and dis- criminating patronage. Mr. Schofield lias been essentially a progressive and loyal citizen and has been prominent in public atfairs of a local order. He served three terms as mayor of Shelbyville, giving an admira- ble administration as chief executive of the municipal government, and in 1906 he was elected county treasurer. That his handling of the fiscal affairs of the county proved capa])le and satisfactory is shown in the fact that in November, 1908, he was elected as bis own suc- cessor, for a term of four years. He is the owner of valuable real estate in Shelbyville, including his attractive resi- dence, and he has been successful as a business man and ijublic official. In poli- tics he gives an unequivocal allegiance to the Democratic party, in whose local camp he has been a zealous and effective worker, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Court of Honor. On January 25, 1897, Mr. Schofield was united in marriage to Miss Ella Ennis, and they have one son, Frank Lee, who is attending the public schools of Shelbvville. HON. WILLIAM OERINGTON LUNT JEWETT. The interesting subject of this brief memoir, who has been a resident of Mis- souri for nearly forty-four years, and during nearly the whole of the period has lived in Shelbina, has the traditional ad- vantage in his favor of being a seventh son as a suppliant for Fortune's benefac- tions, and what is of more consequence, has shown in his successful career the ])Ossession of the most useful and pro- ductive traits of American citizenshi]i in working out its destiny toward the goal of high ambition and utmost service to its day and generation. The record of successful men in this country embodies strong and forceful lessons in determina- tion to succeed and persistent industry and endurance in the struggle involved in that purpose. It also embodies natural cai)acity of a high order and adaptability to circumstances which is ready for all emorgencies. Mr. Jewett has exhibited in his life work all these qualities in an eminent degree. As a young man look- W. 0. L. JEWETT HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY iGd ing up the loug ascent to consequence among meu and iuspired rather than de- terred by its manifest ruggedness and obstructions ; as a soldier, meeting on tlie field of sanguinary conflict the enemies of his convictions as to the value of the Union and the vital importance of its perpetuity ; as a lawyer, defending in the forum of judicial contention the rights of individual citizens and the general public against those who would illegally invade them ; as a journalist, lucidly and forcibly proclaiming the truth as he saw it on public questions of policy and gov- ernment at all times and under all condi- tions, and as a legislator, looking solely to the welfare of the whole people, he has dignified and adorned the citizenship of his locality and exhilnted the loftiest and most admirable attributes of Amer- ican manhood. Mr. Jewett was born in Bowdoinham, Sadahoc county, Maine, on December 27, 1836. He is the seventh son of Eev. Sam- uel and Sophornia (Huckins) Jewett, and with his father, mother and six brothers moved to Indiana in 1838, mak- ing the trip to what was then a remote and almost imknown region in a carriage. The family located in the southern part of the state, where it maintained its resi- dence four years. At the end of that period another flight in the wake of the setting sun was taken and a new resi- dence was found on a farm in Will county, Illinois. There Mr. Jewett grew to manhood and obtained his education. His oppor- timities for scholastic training were very limited and the facilties attending them were meager. But he determined to se- cure an education, and bv the time he was sixteen years of age he had prepared himself for admission into the academy at Lee Center, Lee county, Illinois, wliich he attended one term. During the next summer he "tended corn" as a full hand, reading history at meal time and study- ing Latin at night. In the winter he made his home with his brother. Rev. S. A. W. Jewett, D. D., and attended schools at Plainfield and Ottawa. He followed the instruction gained in tliose schools with courses of higher instruc- tion in Aurora Institute in the winter of 1860-61, from which he derived great advantage. In the summer of 1861 the terrible cloud of Civil war, with its promised deluge of disaster and death, descended on our unhappy country, and being in- tense in his devotion to the Union and the principles he thought involved in its harmonious continuance, Mr. Jewett en- listed in opposition to its forced dismem- berment in Company E, Thirty-ninth Volunteer Infantry, in a command known in commendatory history as the "Yates Phalanx," because of its invin- cible courage on the field of battle. During his connection with this re- nowned factor in the federal forces of the war he served under General Shields in the Shenandoah valley in Virginia, and was afterward employed in the im- portant engagements on the Peninsula on the James river. In January, 1863, he was discharged from the service for disability, receiving his release at a hos- pital to which he had been sent on ac- count of an injury that resulted in sick- ness and disability. His release gave him an o]iportunity to make a visit to friends in Massachusetts, New Hamp- 370 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY shire and Maine, and he tlien returned to his home near Wilmington, Illinois, where he taught school and began study- ing law in the office of Hon. G. D. A. Parks, one of the leading lawyers in that part of the country. But inured as he was by this time to the pursuits, incitements and promises of peaceful industries, the war spirit within him was not satiated. The war was still in progress, and in the autumn , of 1864 he again entered the Union serv- ice, enlisting in Battery A, First Illinois Artillery. In this command he marched with Sherman from Savannah, Georgia, through the Carolinas, and finally par- ticipated in the Grand Eeview of the Union Army at Washington, which sig- nalized the close of one of the most mem- orable conflicts in the history of the human race. In June, 1865, Mr. Jewett entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and in the spring of 1866 he was admitted to the bar in Michigan and Illinois. But, while pursuing the arduous study of his pro- fession as a lawyer, and even while mus- ing around the campfire during his mili- tary service, the dream of journalism was with him as an insistent and per- suasive influence. And while practicing law at Mt. Sterling, Illinois, until April, 1867, he edited a paper there. During the month last mentioned he moved to Missouri, and for nearly a year there- after taught a public school north of Hunnewell. The goddess of the law still claimed him as her votary, although the dream of success and usefulness in journalism never left him for a moment. But he paid his devotions at the altar of the for- mer for some tune and left his dream in abeyance until later. In 1868 he opened a law office in Shelbina in asso- ciation with H. Payne Higgins, and in this city he has ever since had his home. On Jime 3, 1869, he was united in marriage with Miss Ella Cox, of Hun- newell, who at once became the mistress of his pleasant home in She]l)ina and one of the social lights and inspirations of the city. Of the eight children born to them seven have grown to maturity and are now living, exemplifying in their several stations the excellent qualities of citizenshi]! acquired from the teach- ings and example of their parents. In 1872, while Samuel A. Rawlings, one of the proprietors of the Democrat, was engaged in a political campaign, Mr. Jewett filled his place on the edi- torial staff of the paper for a time, con- ducting the publication in conjunction with Mr. Rawlings' partner, ]\Ir. Hosel- ton. Mr. Rawlings died in 1875, and thereafter Mr. Jewett assisted Mr. Hoselton in editing the paper until IMay, 1881, when he bought a half interest in it. Prior to this, however, in 1870, he stumped the county for Hon. B. Gratz Brown and the enfranchisement of the persons prohibited from voting by the provisions of the Drake constitution. He made a high repiitation as an effec- tive and entertaining campaigner, and in 1876 was elected prosecuting attorney of Shelby county for a term of two years, being re-elected at the end of his term. Mr. Jewett's services and the ability he displayed in the various fields of use- fulness mentioned marked liim as a liroper jierson for further imblic service, HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY and in 1886 he was chosen a member of the lower house of the state legislature, to which he was again elected in 1888. For many years before this time he had been prominent and zealous in the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and in 1899 he was made Grand Master of the order for Missouri, filling the office with great credit to himself and benefit to the oi'der. He maintained his rank as one of the leading citizens of the state, and in 1904 was appointed by Governor Folk a member of the board of visitors to the state university. The last named position to which he was assigTied by official appointment did not come to him as an accident or a mere empty honor. He had sig-nalized his interest in the cause of general educa- tion for the people in another line of productive and valued usefulness. In 1892 he was president of the Missouri Press Association, and for five years sei'ved as chairman of the legislative committee of the National Editorial As- sociation. In the Missouri Press Asso- ciation he secured the passage of a reso- lution providing for the origin of the State Historical Society, with headquar- ters at Columbia, and in 1906 was its president. He is also called the "Father of the School of Journalism" at the State University, because he got the Mis- souri Press Association to adopt a reso- lution favoring the establishment of the chair of journalism in that institution. The above brief account of the life of this highly serviceable and far-seeing citizen necessarily gives but a meager record of his services to the people of his county and state. His newspaper work has been a potential factor in helping to build up the territory in which the paper circulates, and has always been consid- ered by him a direct and jjositive means of reaching the people for the purpose of benefiting thein in every way. He is a gentleman of strong convictions and fearless courage in declaring them. In all his efforts for the advance and im- provement of his section of the country he has built for the future, and in the sweep of his vision no avenue to pro- moting the interests of the public, men- tal, moral, municipal, county or state, has been overlooked or given slight at- tention. His record of service to the people of Shelby county is a long one, and there is nothing in ii all that is not creditable to him and worthy of the most elevated and productive citizen- ship. And although he is approaching the age of four score years, his vigor is still unabated, and all his faculties are still in full harness and energetic work. Missouri has no better citizen and none who has done more for her welfare ac- cording to his opportunities. JOHN D. TOLLE. Mr. Tolle has been a resident of Mis- souri from the time of his nativity to the present, is a member of one of the ster- ling pioneer families of this common- wealth, and he is now numbered among the representative farmers and stock- growers of Shelby county, where he has maintained his home for sixty years and where he has gained a large measure of success, the while he has held a secure place in the confidence and regard of his fellow men. He was loyal to the cause of the Confederacy during the Civil war and was one of its valiant soldiers. 373 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Mr. Tolle was born in Marion county, Missouri, on March 17, 1842, and is a son of Parmenas W. and Susan Jane (Davis) Tolle, both natives of the state of Virginia, where the respective fam- ilies were founded in an early day. Par- menas W. Tolle was bom in the year 1812, and in the pioneer days he came to Missouri and settled in Marion county, where he turned his attention to agri- cultural pursuits and where he continued to reside until 1849, in which memorable year he joined the exodus of gold seek- ers making their way across the plains to California, and he died of cholera while en route to the new Eldorado, his remains being interred on the wild plains of the west. His wife survived him by a number of years, passing the closing years of her life in ]\rarion county, this state. She was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and of the same denom- ination her husband also was a member prior to its division from the Methodist church in the north, at the time of the Civil war. In politics Mr. Tolle was an old-line Wliig, and he was known as a man of superior mentality and sterling- integrity of character. Of the eight chil- dren four are now living, and concern- ing them the following brief record is entered: Lucy Jane is the wife of "Wil liam P. Johnson, of Marion county; Paulina L. is immarried and resides in Philadelphia, Missouri ; John D. is the immediate subject of this review, and Frances P. is the wife of John Smith, of St. Joseph, Missouri. John D. Tolle ])assed his boyhood and youth on the homo farm and was af- forded the advantages of the somewhat primitive pioneer schools of Marion county, where he was reared to manhood and where he continued to be identified with farming until there came the call of higher duty and he tendered his serv- ices in defense of the institutions under whose influence he had been reared. In June, 1862, he enlisted in the command of Gen. Joseph Porter, with which he participated in the engagements at Moore's Mill, Clapp Ford, and Cherry- ville, besides a large number of skir- mishes. He was wounded in the conflict at Moore's Mill and was taken off the field by Union soldiers, being cared for and receiving medical treatment at a farm house, and his injury was of such order that he was incapacitated for further service, so that he was mustered out and received his honorable discharge in 1862. After the war Mr. Tolle continued to reside in Marion county until 1869, when he removed to Shelby county and took up his abode in Black Creek township, where he is now the owner of a well im- proved and valuable farm of 240 acres, the same being devoted to diversified agriculture and to the raising of excel- lent grades of live stock. Mr. Tolle has shown much energj^ and discrimination in the handling of his business affairs and the o])eration of his farm, and through his well ordered efforts he has attained to a position as one of the sub- stantial farmers and representative citi- zens of the county. He is held in high esteem in the community tJiat has so long- represented his home, is a staunch ad- herent of the Democratic i^arty, is af- filiated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife .^^ DAVID MORGAN HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 373 hold meniber!>liii) in the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South. In the year 1870 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Tolle to Miss Martha A. Wheelington, who was born in Mary- land, and who was a child at the time of her parents' removal to Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Tolle have four children, Susan E., who is the wife of Gideon McDonald, of Shelby county; Daisy I., who is the wife of Henry Wear, of this county; John P., a mail clerk, resides in St. Louis; Charles Wainwright is married to Grace D. Triggle, of Clinton county, Missouri, and resides on his father's farm. Mr. Tolle has five grandchildren. DAVID MORGAN. Of the seventy-three years of life vouchsafed to the late David Morgan, one of the most successful manufactur- ers and business men of Shelbiua, and one of its leading and most representa- tive citizens, fifty-five were passed in the United States and forty-six in Shelby coimty, Missouri. He was born in Wales on August 9, 1830, and became a resi- dent of this country in 1848. The por- tion of his native land in which he lived was filled with highly-tinted stories of America as a land of great promise and almost boundless opportunity for indus- try, and these stories filled his youthful mind with an ardent desire to come to and live in a country of such openings and possibilities, and when he reached the age of eighteen years he could no longer resist the tug on his heart strings Columbia was making. He, therefore, at that age determined to brave the heaving ocean, on which steam had not yet depoetized commerce and travel, and journey forth in an ef- fort to work out for himself a better ca- reer than seemed possible to him in his own country. He left the scenes and as- sociations of his boyhood, and without the companionship and encouragement of any other member of his family, em- barked himself and his hopes in a sailing vessel bound for the city of New York. His voyage, although prolonged, was un- eventful, and all the discomforts it brought him were cheerfully borne in the faith he cherished that he was making his way to prospei-ity and consequence among men. They were afterward amply atoned for by the success he achieved, the estate he accumulated and the influence and high esteem to which he attained. On his arrival in this country Mr. Mor- gan took up his residence in Cortland county. New York. There he learned the trade of a wagon maker and worked at it until 1857. In that year the west- ern fever that had been burning in his brain for some time reached a climax, and he came to Missouri, locating in Shelby county. When he arrived in Shelbina he at once started a wagon fac- tory in the town, and this he conducted successfully and with a high and wide- spread reputation for the excellence of his output until his death on April 30, 1903. Some years later he also engaged in merchandising in imiilements and road vehicles, having his sons associated with him in the enterprise, which was carried on under the firm name of D. Morgan & Sons. This business was prof- itable, like the other, and ]\Ir. Morgan was highly esteemed. His popularity 374 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY extended all over this and the adjoining counties, and he was extensively and favorably known in other parts of the state. On January 12, 1860, Mr. Morgan was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. "Williams, the marriage being solemnized in Monroe county, of which the bride was a resident at the time. They became the parents of four children, all of whom are living and reside in Shelbina. They are : William W., James H., David, Jr., and John R. Their mother is still living and also has her home in Shelbina. Many of her forty-three years of wedded life were years of toil and endurance. But like her husband, she was at all tunes sustained and buoyed up by the hope of better conditions, and was winning her way toward them by faithful attention to every daily duty, both with reference to her family and the commimity in which she lived. Her record is well known to the people around her, and there is not one who does not esteem her highly. In political faith Mr. Morgan was an ardent Democrat of the old school. And while he was ever loyal to his party and faithful in its services, he never sought or desired a political office for himself either by election or ai^pointment. His principal concern in public atfairs cen- tered in the welfare of his city, township and county, the progress and elevation of their people and the full and whole- some development of every industrial, mental and moral agency at work in their midst. And to the practical and useful realization of his desires in these re- spects he gave himself with ardor and an energy that accomplished good results in themselves and more in the forces in other persons which they awakened and set in motion. In fraternal life he was connected with and devoted to the Ma- sonic order, socially he moved in the iirst rank in the community, and in busi- ness circles he was regarded as a leader, a judicious guide and a strong source of inspiration. The men of the present day in Shelby county are doing their part to keep up and quicken the progress and sane and safe development of the region, and are doing many things which their fore- fathers could not do. But the latter wrought well with the means and the knowledge they had, and nothing can take away from them the credit of hav- ing laid broad and deep the foundations of the county's prosperity and civil in- stitutions, and made them altogether worthy of the stately superstructure which has been reared upon them. Among the settlers in the coimty in the primitive stage of its history none is entitled to higher credit or was more worthy of esteem than David Morgan, the interest- ing subject of this brief memoir. WALTER C. BOWER. In the sketch of the career of John C. Bower, appearing on other pages of this work, is given data concerning the family genealogy of which the subject of this review is an honored representa- tive, and by reason of the fact that ready reference may be made to the article mentioned it is not deemed requi- site to rei)eat the data in the present sketch. Mr. Bower is one of the repre- sentative business men and highlv es- HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY oiO teemed citizens of tlie couuty that has been his home from his childhood days, and is now engaged in the retail hard- ware trade in the thriving village of Bethel, where he conti'ols a large and substantial business. AValter C. Bower was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, on September 21, 18il, and he was about five years of age at the time of the family removal to Shelby county, Missouri, his father, the late John L. Bower, having been one of the early members of the staunch Ger- man colony which had as its center the village of Bethel. In the schools of this village Walter C. Bower secured his early education, and after completing his stud- ies he worked with his father at the cab- inet maker's trade until 1869, when he became associated with his brother, John C, in the purchase of the furniture busi- ness conducted by their father. After a short interval he bought bis brother's interest in the enterprise and lie con- tinued to be successfully engaged in the manufacturing and sale of furniture and the conducting of a general repair shop in this line until 1893, when he sold the business and engaged in the hardware trade, in which he has since continued with success, having a commodious and well equipped establishment, in which are handled a full assortment of heavy and shelf hardware, stoves, ranges, paints, oils, builders' supplies, etc. Mr. Bower has been a thorough and enter- prising business man and has gained a large measure of success through his honorable and well directed efforts, so ordering his course as to maintain a sure hold upon the confidence and esteem of the community that has represented his home from his childhood days. He is a stockholder in the Bank of Bethel and also in the Farmers' Bank of this village. He is the owner of valuable real estate in the village and also has well improved farm land in the county. Though never ambitious for public of- fice of any description, Mr. Bower is aligned as a loyal supporter of the cause of the Republican party, he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife hold membership in the Ger- man Methodist Episcopal church in their home town. In 1868 Mr. Bower was united in mar- riage to Miss Catherine Carroll, of Shelby county, and their only child died in infancy. Mrs. Bower died in 1870, and on December 8, 1876, Mr. Bower was united in marriage to Miss Cath- erine Fox, who was born in Germany, whence she came with her parents to America, the family home being finally established in Shelby county. Of the eight children of this union, seven are living, namely: Anna, who is the wife of Rev. William R. Velte, a clergjnnan of the Methodist Episcopal church and now a resident of Denver, Colorado ; Ida, who is the wife of Frederick Morris, of Green City, Missouri ; Walter G., who is engaged in business m Bethel ; and Nora, Adam, Clarence and Monroe, who re- main at the parental home. WILLIAM T. ZIEGLER. Mr. Ziegler is one of the well known and popular citizens of his native vil- lage of Bethel, where he conducts a prosperous business as a blacksmith and where he is a representative of one of 376 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY the sterling pioneer families of the county. He was born in Bethel, Septem- ber 9, 1856, and is a son of George and Sophia (Steinbach) Ziegler, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father was born in the year 1810 and was a boy at the time of the family im- migration to America, having been reared and educated in one of the east- ern states and having come to Missouri in 1844 and numbered himself among the sturdy German founders of the col- ony of Bethel, Shelby county, where he became a citizen of influence and one who commanded the unreserved esteem of the community. Here he followed the blacksmitli trade for nearly half a cen- tury, and here his death occurred in the year 1884. His marriage to Sophia Steinbach occurred prior to the removal to Shelby county and her death occurred in 1892. Of their thirteen children, ten are living, and concerning them the fol- lowing brief record is consistently en- tered for perpetuation in this volume : Catherine is the wife of Michael Durr- stein, of Quincy, Illinois; George is a resident of the state of Oregon; Henry resides in Bethel ; Sophia is the wife of Henry L. Hoffman, and they reside in the state of California; "Wilhelmina is the wife of Herman Erich, a farmer of Shelby coimty ; JMary is the wife of Will- iam Steinbach, of Bethel ; Matilda is the wife of Thomas Shadel, of Edina, Mis- souri ; Julia is unmarried and resides in California and is a twin of William T., subject of this sketch ; and Christina is the wife of John L. Smith, of La- Grange, Missouri. The father was a staunch adherent of the Republican party and took an intelligent interest in the questions and issues of the day, and both he and his wife held membership in the Gennan Lutheran church. AVilliam T. Ziegler is indebted to the schools of Bethel for his early educa- tional discipline, and after leaving the same he was engaged in farm work for three years, after which he followed the trade of tinsmith for two years. He then turned his attention to the stui'dy trade of blacksmithing, and he has fol- lowed the same consecutively and suc- cessfully during the long intervening years, being known as a skilled artisan and having a large and rei)resentative patronage. He is the owner of a nice home and other property in his native town, and he gives his support to all measures and enterprises that tend to further the progress and prosperity of the village and county. He and his wife are zealous in the work of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which they are de- voted members; he is affiliated with the Bethel lodge of Free & Accepted Ma- sons, and i. 0. 0. F., No. 603, Hebron Lodge; and in politics, though never an aspirant for public office, he gives a staunch support to the cause for which the Rejiublican party stands sponsor. On December 2, 1878, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ziegler to Miss Emma Pflum, of La Grange, this state. She was born and reared in Missouri and is a daughter of the late S. Pflimi, who was a sterling citizen and success- ful business man of Clarion county. Mr. and Mrs. Ziegler became the parents of seven children, of whom four are living, namely: Carl P., who is engaged in busi- ness at Laclede, this state; Bertha, who is tlie wife of Harry C. Bair, of Bethel, HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY •377 individually mentioned on other pages of this work; and "William H. and Leslie E., who remain at the parental home. JOHN G. BAUER. Among the sterling and honored citi- zens contributed to Shelby county by the great empire of Germany is John G. Bauer, who is a member of one of the honored pioneer families of the county and who has here gained a generous measure of success through his own well directed efforts. He is one of the rep- resentative business men and intluential citizens of Bethel, where he has main- tained his home for more than sixty years and where his sterling attributes of character have retained to him im- pregnable popular confidence and es- teem. Mr. Bauer was born in the kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, December 1, 1835, and is a son of John G. and Nat Bauer, who immigrated to America in 18:59, when he was a child of four j'ears. The little family disembarked in the city of New Orleans, from which point they proceeded by packet boat on the Mississii^pi river to Muscatine, Iowa, in which vicinity the father purchased a tract of land and engaged in farm- ing. He was one of the pioneers of that section of the Hawkeye state, M'here he continued his residence until 1845, when he came with his family to Missouri and numbered himself as one of the sturdy German colonists of Bethel, Shelby county. Here he engaged in ag- ricultural pursuits, but he was not long ]iermitted to continue his endeavors, as his death occurred in 1846, less than a year after his settlement here. His wife preceded him by a number of years, her death occurring in 1836. He was a de- vout member of the Christian church. Of their five children, two are now liv- ing, the subject of this review lieing the younger and his sister, Christina, being the wife of Moses Miller, of Bethel. John G. Bauer, whose name initiates this article, gained his rudimentary edu- cation in the common schools of Iowa and continued his studies in the Bethel schools, having been about ten years of age at the time of the family removal to Missouri and having been reared to manhood in the staunch old Bethel col- ony. After leaving school he served an apprenticeship to the shoemaker's trade, to which he devoted his attention for several years, after which he engaged in the jewelry business, in which he has since continued, being now one of the pioneer merchants of Bethel, where he has directed his efforts along normal and straightforward lines of enterprise and where he has gained a large and well merited success. After the close of the Civil war he took a course in phar- macy, i;nder the preceptorship of Pro- fessor Fink, of Bethel, and prior to the disbanding of the original colony he conducted a drug store for a number of years, in connection with his jewelry business, and still continues it. In 1882 Mr. Bauer became associated with three other substantial citizens in purchasing the Bethel grist mill in Bethel, after the division of the colony, and in 1902 he purchased the interests of the other stockholders, since which time he has continued to ojierate the mill in an individual way. In addition to 378 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUXTY this valuable property he is the owner of other improved realty in his home town and also has about 225 acres of fine farming land in this section of the county. The major portion of this land is located in Bethel township, and the same is devoted to general farming and to the raising of live stock. As a citizen Mr. Bauer has at all times stood exponent of the utmost loyalty and public spirit, and he has contributed a generous quota to the civic and material advancement and prosperity of his home town and county. In politics he accords an unwavering allegiance to the Repub- lican party, taking a lively interest in local atfairs of a public nature, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Christian church. Mr. Bauer has not narrowed his life within the coulhies of mere material success, but has shown the utmost kindliness and good will in his intercourse with his fellow men, doing all in his power to alleviate dis- tress and suffering and showing a high appreciation of his stewardship. Thus it is but a natural result that he holds the unqualified esteem of the community and is admired for his unostentatious but generous elements of character. On October 30, 1864, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Bauer to Miss Louise Stark, who was born in Wiirtemburg, Germany, October 11, 1846, and who was a child at tlie time of the family immi- gration to America. Iler parents passed the closing years of their lives in Shelby county, where her father, Joshua Stark, was a successful stone mason. Mr. and Mrs. Bauer liecame the ])arents of six children, of whom four ar-e now living, namely: Julius IT., Christine E., Lulu Irene, and Catherine, all of whom re- main at the parental home except the one son, who is engaged in the fanning and milling business in Bethel, being as- sociated with his father. He married i Miss Rosa Pepper and they have one child, deceased. Catherine is now Mrs. J. D. Taylor, of Bethel. JAMES W. TURNER. A native of Shelby county, Mr. Turner is numbered among its representative farmers and stock-growers, being the owner of a well improved farm of eighty acres, in section 16, Black Creek town- ship, and having also the supervision of the farm owned by his widowed mother. Of the family history, adequate details may be foimd in the sketcli of the career of his brother, William R. Turner, on other pages of this publication. James W. Turner was born on the old liomestead fai'm of his father, in Black Creek township, this county, August 7, 1862, and is a son of the late William Ilolman Turner, one of the honored and influential citizens of this section of the county. ]\Ir. Turner was afforded the advantages of the public schools of his native township and as a boy and youth he contributed his quota to the work of the home farm, waxing strong in mind and body and gaining a thorough and vahialile ex])erience in connection with all dei)artmeiits of farm work. Ho has never wished or found it expedient to sever his allegiance to the great basic art of agriculture, and his home farm, (■omi)rising eiglity acres of most arable land, all under cultivation, is one of the model i)laces of Black Creek township. Tfr^'He^^- S. G. PARSONS HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 379 In the same towusliip is located the fine farm of his mother, the same comprising 1^00 acres, aud this is operated under his direct supervision aud management, be- ing devoted to diversified agriculture and the raising of excellent grades of live stock. Mr. Turner was the first man to bring the famous Hampshire sheep into the state of Missouri, which is now so popular iu this section of the country, and is essentially enterprising aud pro- gressive in his methods, bringing to bear indefatigable energy and marked dis- crimination in the forwarding of his farming operations, so that he is able to reap generous rewards from the efforts put forth. He is one of the substantial farmers and representative citizens of his township and is well upholding the prestige of the honored family name which he bears, being held iu high re- gard by all who know him. Though never ambitious for public office he ac- cords a loyal and zealous support to the cause of the Democratic party, and both he and his wife hold membershii^ in the Methodist Episcopal church. South. In August, 1889, Mr. Turner was imited in marriage to Miss Euth A. Gar- risou, who was born and reared in Shelby county and who died in 1887, being sur- vived by one child, Gaynell, who remains at the paternal home. On March 1, 1899, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Turner to Miss Nora Shudy, of Shelby- ville, who likewise was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of Johanna Shudy, a representative citizen of Shelbyville. Mr. and i\Irs. Turner have two children — James Francis and Victor Ellis. Mrs. Turner is an active member of the Christian church, giving her most able support to the religious sect she is most interested in. S. G. PAESONS. From her sister county of Monroe on her southern border, Shelby county has received from time to time valued con- tributions in elevated manhood, fine busi- ness capacity and sterling citizenship in every sense of the word. Among them all none has stood higher, been more suc- cessful or attained to more general con- fidence and esteem than S. G. Parsons, the first pioneer of Shelbina and long one of the leading merchants of that pro- gressive aud enterprising community. He was born at Paris, Monroe county, on August 29, 1843, a son of John N. and Jane M. (Gilbert) Parsons, the former a native of Frederick county, Maryland, and the latter of Virginia. The father was born on July 24, 1804, and although a native of Maryland, was reared and educated in Virginia, where his grandfather lived. He came to Mis- souri iu 1829 and located in St. Louis, where he worked at his trade as a car- Ijenter and found a great demand for his services. He helped to build the court- house of that day and many other im- posing structures in that city. In 1832 he moved to Pike county in this state and there was engaged in the dry goods trade for a period of two years. In 1834 he changed his residence to Monroe county, and during the next four years sold dry goods at Middlegrove. At the end of the period last mentioned he took up his residence at Pai-is, and there he engaged in merchandising in dry goods until 1854, when he retired from business. He took 380 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY a leading part in the local affairs of every community in which he dwelt and was always at the front in all undertak- ings for the development and improve- ment of the section. At Paris he helped to found the first hank in the county, and also represented the county in the legis- lature, being elected as a member in 1858. It was in Paris also that the golden web of sentiment enmeshed him in its gleaming net. In that city in November, 18-t2, he was united in mai-riage with Mrs. Jane M. Gilbert, who was born in Virginia. They had six children, four of whom are living: S. G. Parsons, of Shelbina, the immediate subject of these paragraphs ; Sallie P., the widow of Tay- lor Thompson, who is now living in Oak- land, California; Mary C, the wife of J. A. Dawson, of Chillicothe, Missouri ; and Annie E., the wife of E. E. Bodine, of Memphis, Tennessee. In politics the father was a Democrat and in fraternal life a member of the ^Masonic order. He was very successful in business and left a large estate at his death, which occurred on April 11, 1885, in Shelbina. S. G. Parsons was reared in Paris and educated in the private schools of his boyhood in that city. At the age of twen- ty he located at Shelbina and started a dry goods store in-company with ^Ir. Mil- ler, the firm name being Miller & Par- sons. The firm lasted eighteen months. Then Mr. Parsons turned his attention to the grocery trade, with which he has ever since been connected, except during a period of five years, when he gave his time and energies exclusively to farming and raising live stock. He is still en- gaged ill tliis interesting pursuit, in addi- tion to Iiis merchandising, and finds in it an agreeable relief from the annoyances and vexations of mercantile life. His first marriage occurred on May 5, 1865, and was with Miss Mary T. Hanger, a native of Monroe county. They had eight children, seven of whom ai'e living. Jennie T. and Lelia; Kitty Belle, the wife of Lee Francis, of Shelbina; New- ton H., who died in 1910; John R.. of Kansas City, Missouri; Annie E. ; Mary, the wife of Frank Henninger, of Shel- bina; and Nellie, the wife of Charles Murphy, who is living in the state of Oregon. He was married a second time in 1904 to Mrs. P. A. Sparks, of Shel- bina. From the dawn of his manhood Mr. Parsons has been a firm and faithful Democrat in political faith and practice. And although he has never sought or de- sired official station for himself, he has always taken a zealous jiart in the cam- paign of his party and given earnest and effective su]iport to its candidates. At the same time he is not a hide-bound or narrow partisan, and never allows his ardent interest in the welfare of his com- munity to be ovei'-borne by political or personal considerations. Living in an age of progress and a section of the country that is making rapid and substantial advances, he is not only in the procession of development and im- provement but one of its trusted and in- fluential leaders. Having helped to found the municipality of Shelbina, he has been constant and effective in his efforts to build it up to its highest and best devel- opment according to the demands of the time, and has left his impress on every mental, moral and mercantile agency at work among its ]ieo]ile. He has found HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 381 nothing in which the welfare of the com- munity was involved too small for his at- tention and nothing too great for his dar- ing. Shelby county has no better, wiser or more progressive citizen, and none who is more generally recog-nized as a truly representative man of lofty ideals, right purposes and commanding re- sources. And on all sides he is esteemed in a just estimate of his worth and use- fulness. EDWARD C. SHAIN. A prominent and influential factor in the financial and business affairs of Shelby county is Edward C. Shain, who was president of the Shelby County Sav- ings Bank, at Clarence, of which institu- tion he was the founder, and of which he was the executive head from the time of its incorporation until he retired in Jan- uary, 1911. He holds an untarnished reputation as an able and progressive business man and upright and loyal citizen, and such is his high standing in the community that be is eminently en- titled to representation in this publica- tion, on other pages of which may also be found a brief record concerning the stanch banking institution of which he was president. Mr. Shain is a scion of a family that was founded in the Old Dominion state of Virginia in the colonial epoch of our national history, and in that state was born his paternal grandfather, John Sliain, who eventually became a pioneer in Kentucky, and who continued to re- side in that state until 1830, when he I'emoved to Sangamon county, Illinois, and died there. William Shain, father of him whose name initiates this sketch, was born in Kentucky in November, 1803, and there was reared to manhood, receiving such educational advantages as were afforded in the locality and pe- riod. He in turn gained a full quota of experience as a pioneer, having come to Missouri in the year 1824, and hav- ing first settled in Randolph county, where he developed a farm, and whei'e he continued to be identified with agri- cultural pursuits and stock-growing for a decade, at the expiration of which, in 183-1:, he removed to Macon county, this state, where he became the owner of a good faiin, and where he passed the resi- due of his life. He retired from active labors in 1870 and continued to reside on his old homestead until his death, which occurred in March, 1882. He had the distinction of being the first incum- bent of the office of deputy sheriff and collector of Macon, Schuyler and Adair counties, all of which were then included in Macon county, and of this chial office he continued in tenure for a period of four years. He was a staunch Democrat in his political proclivities, and both he and his wife were zealous and consistent members of the Baptist church. Mrs. Shain likewise was a native of Ken- tucky, and her maiden name was Cath- erine Smoot. She was summoned to the life eternal in 1877, and her memory is revered by all who came within the sphere of her gentle and gracious influ- ence. Of the twelve children, seven are living, and concerning them the follow- ing brief record is entered for consistent perpetuation in this article: Bettie Jane is the widow of John Griffin, of Tishi- mingo, Oklahoma; Edward C. is the im- 382 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY mediate siil)ject of this review; Thomas J. and William T. are residents of At- lanta, this state; Armstead A. resides at Kirksville, ^Missouri; Mary Ann is the wife of Dade Sears, of Macon county; and Charles M. is a resident of the state of Oklahoma. Edward C. Shain was born on the old homestead farm in Independence town- ship Macon county, Missouri, December 23, 1835, and he was reared to maturity in his native county, where he duly availed himself of the advantages of the com- mon schools of the pioneer days, includ- ing a well conducted school in the village of Kirksville. After leaving school he continued to devote his time and atten- tion to farming for a period of four years, at the expiration of which, in 18()3, he entei'ed into partnership with "William B. Sears and engaged in the general merchandise ])usiness at Callao, Macon county. In September, 1864, he subordinated his private interests to tender his aid in defense of the Union, becoming first lieutenant in Company K, Forty-second Missouri Volunteer Infan- try, under command of Colonel Forbes and Gen. Andrew J. Smith. He was in active service with his regiment, princi- pally in Tennessee and Alabama, until victory crowned the Union arms, and after the final surrender he continued in service imtil the spring of 1866, when he was mustered out and received his honorable discharge. After the close of his career as a leal and loyal soldier of the republic, ^Ir. Shain returned to Missouri and resumed his active connection with the mercantile business at Caliao, where he continued operations in this line until 1870, when he was elected sheriff and collector of ^lacon county. In this dual office he served one term, within which provision was made for the segregation of the offices, and he was re-elected sherifT under the new dispensation, continuing incumbent of the shrievalty until 1874, and giving a most able and acceptable administration. In the meanwhile he had become the owner of a good farm in his native county, and after his retire- ment from office he continued to reside on and supervise the work of this home- stead until 1883, when he removed to Kirksville, in order to afford his chil- dren better educational advantages. He there continued his residence until 1890, and in the meanwhile showed his indi- vidual ambition and scholastic apprecia- tion by devoting much attention to the study of both ancient and modern his- tory. He finally became associated with his only son in the lumber business, in which connection, in 1892, they floated lumber in rafts down the Mississippi river to Warsaw, Illinois, where they manufactured the same into siding, pick- ets, moldings and general building ma- terial, continuing operations at that place imtil 1894, when Mr. Shain re- turned to Missouri and established his residence in the village of Clarence, Shelby county. Here he purchased a building and effected the organization of the Shelby County Savings Bank, which opened its business in the building men- tioned, and of which he was president from tlie beginning, as already stated in this context. Full data in regard to the upbuilding of this jiopular financial in- stitution will l)e found in the individual sketch devoted to the same on other HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 383 pages of this volume. In addition to giving much of his time to the direction and supervision of the affairs of the bank, ]\lr. Shain also did an extensive individual business in the extending of tinancial loans upon approved real-estate securities, and he is known as one of the able, honorable and progressive business men and substantial capitalists of this section of the state. Mr. Shain is loyal and liberal as a citi- zen and his entire life has been charac- terized by that integrity of purpose that ever begets popular confidence and es- teem. In a generic way he is a staunch sujjporter of the cause of the Demo- cratic party but in local affairs he gives his support to the man and measures meeting the approval of his judgment, irrespective of strict partisan lines. He is affiliated with the time-honored Ma- sonic fraternity and is a zealous and de- voted member of the Christian church, in which he has been an elder and teacher of a Bible class for twenty years. On August 19, 1859, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Shain to Miss Emily Bristow, of Macon county, who died in Novemiier, 1866, and who is survived by one sou, Hopkins B. Shain, now a repre- sentative attorney of the city of Sedalia, Missouri. He was elected district judge of Sedalia county, Missouri, in 1910. His second marriage occurred in October, 1866, his second wife being Nancy Bris- tow, a sister of his first wife. SHELBY COUNTY STATE BANK. This is one of tlie well managed and staunch financial institutions of the county, and its business is of the most substantial order, implying public ap- preciation of its stability and effective service. The bank is located in the city of Clarence, and dates its inception back to the year 1894, in August of which year it was organized and incorporated with a capital stock of $10,000. Six months later, to meet the demands of the rap- idly expanding business, the capital stock was increased to $15,000, and at the expiration of its first year of opera- tions the capital was augmented to $30,- 000, at which figure it was maintained until 1904, when it was increased to $50,- 000, which is the amount since repre- sented in its stock; and $25,000 perma- nent surplus. The personnel of the original board of directors was as here noted : Edward C. Shain, W. D. Crow, B. P. Eutledge, J. L. Sibley and H. B. Shain. Edward C. Shain was chosen president of the insti- tution and remained incumbent of this office until in January, 1911, when G. T. Gilman was chosen president; H. B. Shain was the first cashier, and B. P. Eutledge the first vice-president. In 1895 A. W. Combs succeeded H. B. Shain as cashier, continuing incumbent of this executive position for seven years — up to the time of his death, in 1902, when Marson Dimmitt was chosen cash- ier, of which position he has since re- mained in tenure. B. P. Eutledge is vice-president, and J. 0. Callison, J. D. Fleming and H. E. Combs are assistant cashiers. The members of the board of directors are as follows: George T. Gil- man, N. A. Edwards, C. W. Belsher. B. P. Eutledge, J^frs. A. K. Combs, J. C. Eodcs and D. White. The deposits of tlie bank now aggregate nearly two hun- 384 TTISTOT^Y OF SHELBY COUNTY dred and eigbteen thousand dollars, and a surplus of $25,000 is maintained. On other pages of this publication will be found a brief review of the career of the president of this popular financial insti- tution. WILLIAM L. HAMRICK. A native son of Shelby count}-, who has here gained prestige and success as an able member of its bar, and who is now incumbent of the office of prosecut- ting attorney of the county and also that of city attorney of Clarence, is William L. Hanirick, whose professional stand- ing and personal iio])ularity find ample voucher in the official preferments which are his at the present time. 'Sir. Hamrick was 1)orn on the old fam- ily homestead in Taylor township, this county, and the date of his nativity was November 27, 1860. His paternal grand- father, Rev. Jesse Hamrick, was born in Virginia, where the family was early founded, and was a clergjnnan of the Methodist church. He removed to Ken- tucky when a young man and there passed the residue of his life. William F. Hamrick, father of him whose name initiates this article, was born in Ken- tucky, January 10, 1816, and he was reared and educated in the old Bluegrass state, where he continued to reside until 1854, when he removed to Missouri and took up his residence in Shelby county. He purchased a tract of land in Taylor township and dovelo))od one of the valu- able farms of the county. He continued to reside on th.e old homestead until his death, which occurred September 24, 1873. He was a citizen of prominence and influence in his community, ever commanding the most unequivocal confi- dence and esteem, and he served for sev- eral years as justice of the peace, hav- ing been a staunch Democrat in his po- litical proclivities. His first wife, whose maiden name was Melvina Savage, was likewise a native of Kentucky, where their marriage was solemnized, and she became the mother of four children, of whom two are living : Belle, who is the widow of Valentine iMcCully, of Cherry Box, Missouri, and Miss ISIelvina Hamrick, who now re- sides in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mrs. Hamrick died within a short time after the removal to Missouri, and in February, 1858, Mr. Hamrick contracted a second marriage, being then united to Miss Martha Shelton. a daughter of Grif- fith D. and Lavina P. Shelton, who were pioneer settlers of Shelby county. Mrs. Hamrick was summoned to the life eter- nal in 1904, and of the nine children of the second marriage only two are now living: William Loren, who is the imme- diate subject of this review, and Mar- tha, who is the wife of Luther Kemji, of Leonard, Shelby county, this state. William Loren Hamrick passed his boyhood and early youth on the old homestead farm and was not denied the privilege of contributing his quota to its woi-k, the while he duly availed himself of the advantages of the district schools of the locality, after completing the cur- riculum of which he continued his studies for three years in the Missouri State Normal School at Kirksville. Upon leav- ing this institution he continued to be associated in the work and managenient of the home farm, and in the meanwhile HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 385 devoted close attention to the reading of law, under effective preeeptorship. He was admitted to the bar, upon examina- tion in the Circuit court of his native county, April 11, 1903, pi'ior to which time he had been for fourteen years a successful and popular teacher in the district schools of the county. After his admission to the bar he continued his pedagogic labors for another year, and on February 14, 1904, he opened an office in the thriving little city of Clarence, where he has since been engaged in the ])ractice of his profession, and wliere his success as a trial lawyer and well forti- tied counsellor has been on a paritj^ with his energy in and devotion to his chosen vocation. In politics Mr. Hamrick accords an un- swerving allegiance to the Democratic party, in whose faith he was reared, and he has rendered effective service in its cause. In April, 1904, he was appointed city attorney of Clarence, of which posi- tion he has since remained incumbent, and on November 3, 1908, he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney of the county, receiving a gratifAnng ma- jority at the polls, and entering upon the duties of his office on January 1, 1909, for a term of two years, and he was re-elected in the fall of 1910, with an in- creased majority. He has proved in his administration the wisdom of his choice for the office and has materially added to his professional laurels through his effective labors as i^ublic prosecutor. He is essentially a loyal and progressive citizen, and takes deep interest in all that tends to conserve the welfare of his na- tive county and state. He is affiliated with Clarence Lodge, No. 305, Free & Accepted Masons, and its adjunct organ- ization, the Order of the Eastern Star, and also holds membershi]) in the M. W. of A. Both he and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. On July 26, 1906, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ilamrick to Miss Grace Kemper, daughter of William Kemper, a representative citizen of Clarence, this county, where she was l)orn and reared. WALTER M. PRITCHARD. The able and jjopular cashier of the Clarence Savings Bank is recognized as one of the representative business men of the younger generation in his native county, and his civic and business status in his native town of Clarence sets at naught all application of the scriptural aphorism that "a prophet is not with- out honor save in his own country." Of the institution in which he is an execu- tive officer, brief record is given on other pages of this work. Mr. Pritchard was born in the village of Clarence, Shelby county, Missouri, October 11, 1879, and is the elder of the two children of James W. and Mina (Merrin) Pritchard, whose marriage was solemnized in this county in 1876: the younger child. Alma, is now the wife of John Ward, of Brookfield, Missouri. The honored father died in 1892, and •the mother was summoned to tlie life eternal in 1895. She was born and reared in Shelby county and was a mem- ber of an honored pioneer family of this favored section of the state. James W. Pritchard was born in the state of Vir- ginia, and in 1876 he came to Missouri 38G HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY and took up his residence in the village of Clarence, this county, where he con- tinued to maintain his home until his demise and where he became a substan- tial business man and honored and in- fluential citizen. He was here identified with farming and stock-growing, in con- nection with which he became the owner of a large and valuable landed estate in the county, and he also conducted for a number of years a successful business in the shipping of timber and the manu- facturing of lumber. In politics he was a staunch Rei)ublican, and at the time of the Civil war it was his to render valiant service as a soldier of the Union. He enlisted in Comjiany F, Seventeenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and continued in active service during practically the entire period of the great internecine conflict between the states. He was wounded in the battle of Kenesaw Moun- tain, but was not long incapacitated, and he was with General Sherman's forces on the ever memorable march from At- lanta to the sea. He was ever interested in his old comrades in arms and signi- fied this by his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. Both he and his wife were zealous members of the Chris- tian church. Walter M. Pritchard, the immediate subject of this review, is indebted to the public schools of Clarence for his early educational training, which included a course in the high school, and he later completed a thorough course in the Gem City Business College, at Quincy, Illi- nois, in which institution he was gradu- ated as a meml)er of the class of 1898. In 1900, when nineteen years of age, Mr. Pritchard became assistant cashier of the Citizens' Bank of Clarence, retain- ing this position for a period of five years, at the expiration of which he dis- posed of his stock in the bank and as- sisted in the organization of the Clar- ence Savings Bank, which was incorpo- rated in 1905, and of which he has been cashier from the beginning. His dis- crimination and effective executive ad- ministration have inured greatly to the success of this popular institution, in wiiich he is a large stockholder and wliicli is now one of the solid and im- portant banking houses of the county. He is the owner of a well improved farm of 270 acres, located in Clay townshij), about two miles east of Clarence, and to the operation of the same he gives a general supervision, devoting special at- tention to the raising of high-grade live stock. Though never imbued with office-seek- ing proclivities, Mr. Pritchard is ai'- rayed as a staimch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and is essentially ])rogressive and loyal as a citizen. He and his wife hold member- shi]) in the Cliristian church, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, the j\Iodern Woodmen of America. On August 3, 1898, was solemnized the marriage of ]\lr. Pritchard to Miss Ella Kemi)er, who likewise was l)orn and reared in Sliell)y county, being a daugh- ter of AVilliam Kemper, a representa- tive citizen and business man of Clar- ence. The three children of this mar- riage are Madge, Helen and Kemper. 'Sir. and Airs. Pritchard are popular fig- ures in the social life of the community JUDGE NATHANIEL M. SHELTON HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 387 and their attractive home is one in which a gracious hospitality is ever in evi- dence. THE CLARENCE SAVINGS BANK. In the stability, scope and manage- ment of its financial institutions Shelby county has a source of just gratulation, and among the prominent concerns ex- ercising important functions and forti- fied by all that is reliable in executive control and capitalistic reinforcement, is the Clarence Savings Bank, established L in the thriving little city of Clarence. The Clarence Savings Bank was or- ganized in January, 1905, and was duly I incorporated under the laws of the state, ' with a capital stock of $20,000, which was increased to $40,00Q at the annual election of the stockholders in January, I 1907. The personnel of the original I board of directors was as here noted: I J. H. Merrin, Burrel Million, Dr. J. W. Megee, B. L. Glahn, H. C. AVilliams, M. L H. Lewis and W. M. Pritchard. The * executive officers of the institution have remained the same from the initiation of business until December, 1910, when .Tames O. Stribbling was elected presi- dent to succeed J. H. Merrin, who re- tired on account of his extreme age. Mr. Stribbling enjoys a wide acquaintance throughout the county and his connec- tion with the bank will add to the strength and popularity of that now popular banking house. The other offi- cers are : Burrel Million, vice-president (Mr. Million died in the summer of ■ 1910 and J. B. Shale was elected in Jan- uary, 1911); and Walter M. Pritchard, cashier. There has been no change in the directorate save that in April, 1909, upon the death of Dr. Megee, J. B. Shale was chosen as his successor. The pres- ent board of directors is composed of the following gentlemen : J. 0. Stribbling, J. B. Shale, B. L. Glahn, H. C. Williams, W. M. Pritchard, W. L. Hamrick and M. JI. Lewis. The bank now controls a large and representative support and its business is constantly expanding in scope and importance. Sketches of the careers of its president and its cashier may be found on other pages of this volume. HON. NATHANIEL MEACON SHELTON. Eminent as a jurist, occupying an exalted place in the confidence and es- teem of the people as a citizen, and an ornament to any social circle of which he is a part, Hon. Nathaniel Meacon Shelton, of Macon, circuit judge of the Second judicial district of Missouri, is an honor to the state in which he lives,, the profession to which he belongs, and high-toned American manhood, of which he is so shining an example. The Judge was born near Troy, Lin- coln county, this state, on March 17, 1851. His parents were Meacon and Anna (Berger) Shelton, natives of Pitt- sylvania county, Virginia, where the father was an extensive i)lanter and owner of large tracts of land and numer- ous slaves. They were married in 1828, in their native state, and when they de- termined to migrate to the llien far dis- tant and uncivilized region beyond the Mississippi from their ancestral home, tlu'v came to Missouri in IS.'i?, making 388 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY the trip overland with teams and bring- ing with them a good herd of cattle and a number of their negroes. The father en- tered government land in what is now Lincoln county, which the family lived on, cultivated and improved until 1870, when the ]5arents sold their jiroperty and thereafter made their home with their daughters until death called them fi'om their earthly labors. The father died in 1873, aged 76 years, and the mother in 1887, aged 80 years. They were the parents of three sons and six daughters. Of these two sons and one daughter are living, and all are resi- dents of Missouri. The family, like un- counted others, paid its toll to the awful slaughter of the Civil war, one son dy- ing in the military service of the Con- federacy, being a surgeon in the South- ern army. The father was a "Wliig until the party of that name died through the sectional strife in politics which preceded the war, and after that became a Democrat. For more than twenty years he was the \n-e- siding judge of the Lincoln county court, and his name is revered by the people of all Missouri as that of a ca];)able and upright jurist and a citizen whose life was above reproach. He was twice mar- ried, his first wife, whose maiden name was Ann Evans, dying in her native state of Virginia. The Shelton family is of English ori- gin, the American progenitors having emigrated from Great Britain to this country early in the seventeenth cen- tury. Abraham Shelton, great-grand- father of the present Judge Shelton, was long a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, in which he served with Pat- rick Henry and other distinguished men of his day who gave the political history of the world a new direction and wrote their names in illuminated letters on its heroic pages. He was active in the agita- tion leading up to the Revolution, and was widely and favorably known through- out his own and the other American colonies as a wise counselor, a pure patriot and a fearless defender of his faith. His son, Crisi^in Shelton, the judge's grandfather, was also an extensive planter in the Old Dominion, and died on his plantation there after many years of usefulness and elevated manhood. His widow came to Missouri and died some years later at the home of her son, the judge's father. In two of the great com- monwealths of this country, members of this family have lived and labored for the general welfare, dignifying and adorning the citizenship of the nation and giving examples worthy of imita- tion everywhere by their readiness to take their places in- every crisis and their fidelity to every duty, whether in private or in public life. Hon. Nathaniel M. Shelton grew to the age of eighteen on the paternal home- stead in Lincoln county. He obtained his scholastic training in private schools, Parker Seminary in Troj', this state, and at William Jewell College, located at Liberty, Missouri, which he attended two years. He then taught school one year, and at the end of his service as a teacher was ap]iointed deputy clerk and recorder of Montgomery county, Missouri. Dur- ing his two years of wise and faithful service in that capacity he studied law under the direction of Judge Elliott M. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 389 Hughes. In 1874 he entered the law de- partment of the Missouri State Uni- versity. After passing one year of la- borious study in that institution, he was admitted to the bar in 1875 in Mont- gomery county before Judge Gilchrist Porter at Danville, Missouri. Judge Sheltou began the practice of his profession in the same year in Schuy- jH ler county, and continued to practice in " that county until his elevation to the bench in 1898. He has been re-elected judge at the end of his term ever since then with a steady growth in popularity and strength before the people, whose confidence he has won and retained by his course on the bench, his demeanor I as a man and his breadth of view and progressiveuess as a citizen. Prior to his election as judge he served as at- torney for the Wabash railroad for a number of years in Schuyler county, ren- dering the company good and faithful service without contravening the rights or interests of the people. In 1884 he was elected to the lower house of the state legislature, and was re-elected in & 1886. In that body he was chairman of the committees on education and juris- prudence, and rendered such excellent service and showed himself so well equipped for the administration of public affairs that in 1888 he was elected to the state senate. In the senate he served capably and with high credit to himself as chairman of the judiciary committee. In 1902 the judge moved to Macon county, where he has ever since resided. In politics he has been a life-long Demo- crat, and before his election to the bench was very active in council and on the hustings in the service of his party, hold- ing firmly to the belief that its political principles and theory of government are the correct ones, and that in their ascen- dency in state and nation rests the en- during welfare of the American people, collectively and individually. He has al- ways been one of the progressive men in the judicial district, looking with favor on every worthy enterprise for its im- provement and the strengthening of its mental, moral and material forces, and lending all the full measures of aid cir- cumstances allowed him to advance. Fraternally he is a Freemason of the third degree and a member of the order of Modern Woodmen of America; and socially he is a gentleman of the old school, preserving against all innova- tions the high character and courtly manners of our earlier and, perhaps, better days, not as assumptions or from force of habit, but because they are in- herent with him and as much parts of his nature as the organs of his body and the faculties of his mind. Professionally he is in the front rank of Missouri jur- ists, strictly upright, fair and just, learned in the law, wise in applying and interpreting it, and fearless in enforc- ing it. The marriage of Judge Shelton oc- curred on November 21, 1878, and united him with Miss Belle T. Garges, a native and life-long resident of this state. Of the four children born to them three are living: Mabel, the wife of Wilbur M. French, M. D., of Chicago, Illinois; and Charles W., who is preparing for admis- sion to the bar, and Anna E., both of whom are living at home. All the mem- bers of the family belong to the Christian church. 390 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY JOHN C. EICKEY. Mr. Rickey is known as one of the progressive business men and loyal and public-spirited citizens of Shelby county, where he has maintained his home since 1887. He is now incumbent of the office of postmaster in the thriving village of Clarence, where he is also identified with the cement-contracting business, in which connection a very successful en- terprise has been built up. He has gained a secure place in the confidence and esteem of the community and as one of its representative citizens is well en- titled to consideration in this publica- tion. John C. Eickey claims the fine old Buckeye state as the place of his nativ- ity, as he was l)orn at Athens, Athens county, Ohio, July 11, 186.3. He is a scion of one of the honored pioneer fam- ilies of that commonwealth, in which his grandfather, John Rickey, was born in Belmont county and moved to Athens county, having there passed his entire life. Henry B. Rickey, father of him whose name initiates this article, was boi-n in Athens county, Ohio, November 16, 1844, and in his native state he was reared and educated. There he contin- ued to be activelj' identified with the great basic industry of agriculture until 1885, when he sold his property in Ohio and removed to Eskridge, Kansas, where he remained about four months, at the expiration of which he located in Law- rence, that state, where he was engaged in the hotel business until 1887, when he came to Shelby county, ]\[issouri, where he passed the remainder of his life. Here he purchased a farm, in Clay township, where he continued success- fully identified with farming and stock- growing, becoming one of the substan- tial fanners and highly honored citizens of the county. He passed .the closing years of his life in the village of Clar- ence, and hei-e he was shot and killed January 9, 1909, while in discharge of his duty as village marshal. He was a citizen of sterling integrity of character and his genial personality had won to him a wide circle of friends in the com- munity, so that his death was deeply de- l)lored. He was a stavmch Republican in his political proclivities, and he served as a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, having enlisted in a regiment of Ohio volunteer infantry. He was a valued member of the Grand Anuy of the Republic up to the time of his de- mise, and his religious faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church, as was also his wife's, who died September 12, 1905. In the year 1862 was solemnized the marriage of Henry B. Eickey to Miss Susan Ford, who was born aud reared in Harrison county, Ohio, and they be- came the parents of six children, all of whom are li^^ng, and concerning whom the following brief record is here en- tered: John C, subject of this review, is the eldest of the number; Samuel is engaged in the fur and hide business in Moberly; James A. is also a resident of Moberly, ^Missouri ; Cora is the wife of Charles J. Woolridge, of Sioux Citj-, Iowa ; Charles H. resides in Clarence, as does also Edna, who is the wife of John Larkin. John C. Rickey gained his early edu- cational discipline in the excellent pub- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 391 lie schools of Athens and Pleasanton, Ohio, and after leaving school he con- tinued to be associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm until 1883, when he went to Mount Sterling, Illinois, where he was associated with his uncle, Dr. John C. Rickey, where he spent two and a half years after a severe spell of typhoid fever, at the expiration of which he re- turned to the parental home. He ac- companied his parents on their removal to Kansas and was associated with his father in the hotel business in Lawrence, after which lie came with the family to Shelby county, Missouri, in 1887. For two years he was here associated with his brother-in-law, Charles J. Woolridge, in the grocery business in Clarence, and thereafter he wtis engaged in the same line of enterprise in an individual way until 1897, when he founded a success- ful business in contracting work for the constructing of cement walks, buildings and other structural work. He is still interested in this enterprise, which has grown to be one of no inconsiderable scope and importance. As a business man he has shown marked energy, dis- crimination and progressiveness, and his course has been so directed as to retain to him the unqualified confidence and es- teem of tlie community, the while he has ever manifested a loyal interest in all that has tended to conserve the general welfare. In politics ^Ir. Rickey is found aligned as a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, and he has given effective service in its cause. On April 19, 1906, under the administration of President Roosevelt, he received ap- pointment to the office of postmaster of Clarence, of which position he has since remained the able and popular incum- bent, besides which he served two years as a member of the village council of Clarence. He is affiliated with the Court of Honor, and his wife is a member of the Christian church. On January 23, 1895, Mr. Rickey was united in marriage to Miss Emma Carey, of Clarence, who was born near Eldera, Pike county, Illinois, and who is a daugh- ter of William Carey, a repi-esentative citizen of Shelby county. Mr. and Mrs. Rickey have two children, Merle and Claremont, both of whom are attending the public schools of their home village. CITIZENS' BANK OF CLARENCE. One of the ably managed and essen- tially substantial financial institutions of Shelby county is that whose title initi- ates this paragraph and which is estab- lished in the thriving and attractive city of Clarence. This bank was organized in 1900, and its charter bears date of June 13th of that year. It began opera- tions upon a capita-1 stock of $10,000, and the personnel of the original official corps was as here noted : John R. Jones, president; Jacob H. Merrin, vice-presi- dent; B. B. Asbury, cashier; and Will- iam B. Pritchard, assistant cashier. On September 2, 1902, the capital stock was increased to $15,000, and on September 8th of the following year the stock was raised to $20,000. On March 30, 1905, Theodore P. Manuel, Charles F. Afflick and others purchased the Interests of Messrs. Asbury and Pritchard and in- 392 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY creased the capital stock of the institu- tion to its present noteworthy figure — $40,000. Tlie bank is now one of the solid and progressive financial institu- tions of the county, controlling a large, representative and constantly expanding business and basing its operations upon ample capital and the best of executive direction. The present ofifieers of the bank are as here noted: Theodore P. Manuel, president; Charles F. Afldick, vice-president; and William J. Daniel, cashier. In addition to these executive officers the board of directors also in- cludes John T. ^\jnick and J. E. Daniel. The bank has a surplus fund of $6,500 ; its loans and discounts, personal collat- eral and real estate, aggregate fully $140,000, and the institution owns its own well equipped banking house. JAMES E. ROY, M. D. Dr. Roy is numbered among the rep- resentative physicians and surgeons of the younger generation in Shelby county and is engaged in practice in the village of Clarence, being associated with his elder brother, Dr. Frank K. Roy, under the firm title of Drs. Roy & Roy, and both are recognized as able and success- ful members of their profession and as citizens of progressive ideas and dis- tinctive public spirit, well worthy of the high regard in which they are uniformly held in the community. Dr. James E. Roy was born in the village of Ilager's Grove, Shell)y county, Missouri, July 22, 1883, and is a son of James G. and Pauline (Bright) Roy, both natives of Marion county, this state, where tlie former was born March 10, 1846, and the latter February 2, 1849. The father was reared and educated in Marion county and as a young man he engaged in the boot and shoe business at Palmyra, that county, where he con- tinued to reside until 1878, when he came to Shelby county and located in the vil- lage of Clarence, where he owned and conducted a lumber yard for one year. He then sold the business and removed to a farm in Clay township, this county, where he devoted his attention to farm- ing and stock-growing for the ensuing five years. In the spring of 1883 he sold his farm and removed to the village of Hager's Grove, where he continued to be associated with Joseph Hunolt in the general merchandise business until his death, which occurred November 2 0, 1908. He was also the owner of a farm of 160 acres at the tinfe of his demise. In 1868 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Pauline Bright, who survives him and who now maintains her home in Clarence. Of their four children, three are living — William E., of Hager's Grove; and Drs. Frank K. and James E., of Clarence, who are associated in professional and business lines, as al- ready noted. The father was a man of exalted integrity of character and was a leader in thought and action in the community. In jiolitics he gave his al- legiance to the Democratic party, and he served as postmaster and justice of the peace at Hager's Grove. He was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Indejiendent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a most zealous and devoted member of the Christian church, as is also his widow. He was an elder in the churcli at Hager's Grove and also served as superintendent of its Sunday school. HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 393 I Dr. James E. Roy gained his prelimi- nary education in the district schools of Shelby eoiiuty and later continued his studies in the high schools of Shelby- ville and Shelbina. For four years after leaving school he was a successful and popular teacher in the vilhige of Hager's Grove, and for one year he was similarly engaged at Bacon Chapel, this county. For two years thereafter he was em- ployed as clerk in different mercantile establishments in Clarence, and in the meanwliile he formulated definite plans for his future career, deciding to pre- pare himself for the medical profession. With this end in view he was duly ma- triculated in the University Medical Col- lege of Kansas City, in which excellent institution he completed the prescribed technical course and was graduated May 14, 1908, duly receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. After his graduation he sei'ved nearly a year as house surgeon of the University hospi- tal, connected with his alma mater, and here he gained specially valuable clin- ical experience. In May, 1909, he be- came associated with his brother, Dr. Frank K., in the practice of his profes- sion in Clarence, where he has been most successful in his work and where he has gained a secure hold upon popular con- fidence and esteem, both as a physician and as a citizen. He is identified with the Shelby County Medical Society, and is examining physician for a number of ]")rominent insurance companies and fra- ternal organizations. In politics he is aligned as a staunch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and he is affiliated with the Masonic frater- nity, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and the Modern Woodmen of America. On December 20, 1908, Dr. Roy was united in marriage to Miss Blanch Eber- hard, daughter of Francis M. Eberhard, of Clarence, and they are prominent in the social activities of the community. WILLIAM M. BAYLISS, M. D. Dr. Bayliss, who is engaged in the l)ractice of his profession at Clarence, Shelby county, is one of the well known and essentially representative physi- cians and surgeons of the state, having served as a member of the medical staff of the Missouri State Hospital for the Insane at Fulton, and also having been promijiently identified with the estab- lishing of the state hospital for the treat- ment of incipient tuberculosis. These preferments indicate his high profes- sional standing, and in his private prac- tice he has gained distinctive success and prestige, the while commanding unquali- fied popular confidence and esteem both as a physician and as a citizen. Dr. Bayhss is a scion of a family early foiuided in the patrician Old Dominion state, of which he himself is a native son, having been born in historic Win- chester, Virginia, October 12, 1850. His grandfather, Thomas Blackburn Bayliss, was likewise a native of Virginia, where he passed his entire life, and where he was the owner of a large ]>lantation, being a man of influence in his connnu- nity. John W. Bayliss, father of the doctor, was born in Fre^lerick county, Virginia, on January 7, 1828, and he was reared and educated in his native state, where he continued to maintain his 394 inSTOIJY OF SHELBY COUXTY home until 1858, when lie removed to Indiana, where he has since maintained his home, being one of the honored pio- neer citizens of Hendricks county, that state, where he is now living retired, having been actively identified with farming and stock-raising from 1850 until 1900, in which latter year he re- signed the active hd^ors and responsibili- ties to others, and he has since enjoyed the gracious rewards of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. He has wielded no little influence in public af- fairs of a local order, is a staunch ad- herent of the Democratic party, and in the community that has so long been his home he commands the high regard of all wlio know liim. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In the year 1849 was solemnized tlie marriage of John Bayliss to Miss Frances V. Brill, who likewise was bom and reared in Virginia, and of their eight children, those living are, namely: William M., who is the immediate sub- ject of this sketch; INlarshall W., who is a successful farmer of Hendricks county, Indiana; Lewis E., who is a car repairer by vocation, and is a resident of the city of Indiaanpolis, Indiana; John H., who resides in Mooresville, Indiana; James C. and Robert H., who are residents of Hendricks county, that state; Thomas, who resides in McGill, Nevada; and Ella, who remains at the parental home. Dr. William M. Bayliss was a lad of eight years at the time of the family removal from Virginia to Indiana, in which latter state he was reared to ma- turity on the homestead farm, in Hen- dricks county, and there he was afforded the advantages of the public schools, after comjiletirig the curricuhmi' of which he was matriculated in DePauw Univer- sity, at Greencastle, Indiana, in the year 1872, there continuing his studies for two years, at the expiration of which he became a successful and popular teacher in the public .schools of Hendricks county until 1876, in which centennial year he entered the National Normal University, at Lebanon, Ohio, in which excellent in- stitution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1878. and from which he received his well earned degree of Bach- elor of Science. During the ensuing two years he continued to follow the peda- gogic profession in the state of Kan- sas, and in the meanwhile he began the study of medicine, under effective ])ri- vate preceptorship. In 1880 he entered the Kansas City ]\Iedical College, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1882, being valedictorian of the class, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In the same year he located at ^lillford, Texas, where he engaged in the practice of his profession, to which he continued to devote his attention in the Lone Star state until 1887, when he came to Shelby county, Missouri, and es- tablished himself in practice in the at- tractive and thriving little city of Clar- ence. Here he built up a large and rep- resentative professional business, to which he continued to give his imdivided attention until 1902, in the fall of which year he was appointed a member of the staff of physicians of the Missouri State Hospital, No. 1, for the care of the in- sane, at Fulton, proving a most able and valued official, and continuing incumbent of this ])osition for four years. Upon HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 395 the election of Hon. Josei^h Folk to tlie office of governor of the state, in 1904. the chief executive appointed Dr. Bay- liss chairman of the commission to which was assigned the work of selecting a lo- cation and instituting the erection of the state hosx)ital for the treatment of incipi- ent tuberculosis. The hospital was es- tablished at Mount Vernon, and after the l)uildiug for the same was in part completed Dr. Bayliss was chosen super- intendent of the institution, in which capacity he continued to serve for one year, at the expiration of which he re- signed to resume the private practice of his profession in Slielby county. At that time he returned to Clarence, where he has since maintained his home and where he has even increased his professional precedence, his clientage being of repre- sentative order. He is a member of the Shelby County Medical Society, the Mis- souri State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. He is a close student of his profession and keeps in touch with the advances made in both medicine and surgery. In his political allegiance Dr. Bayliss is found arrayed as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. South. He is affiliated with the Masonic frater- nity, the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and the ]\Iodern Woodmen of America. On May 29, 1884, Dr. Bayliss was united in marriage to JMiss Mary A. Not- tingham, who was born in Pennsylvania, and of their five children, four are liv- ing: Paul, Charles, Maurine and Lucille, all of whom remain at the parental home and are popuhir figures in the social activities of the community. The doctor is local surgeon for the Cliicago, Bur- lington & Quincy railroad for Clarence. BURRELL MILLION. (Deceased.) The honored subject of this short men- tion was for many years one of Shelby county's most highly respected citizens, and we regret that a more extended men- tion cannot be made of him in this work, but for lack of data we embrace the fol- lowing brief notice, which appeared in the Clarence Courier at the time of his death, September 3, 1910 : "The death of Uncle Burrell Million last Saturday was a sad shock and sur- prise to our community. Mr. Million had been on our streets only a couple of days befoi'e, and few knew of his sick- ness, and none realized the severity of his case. "Mr. Million was one of our oldest and most substantial citizens. He was (juiet in disposition, a man who loved his fellowman and was always ready and glad to extend the helping hand. "He was l)orn in Kentucky, in 1828, and moved to Missouri early in life. The greater part of his life was spent on his farm near Woodlawn. He moved to Clarence only a few years ago, and dur- ing his residence here lived a retired life. "The deceased leaves a wife, three daughters — Mrs. Stoddard, Mrs. Far- rell and Mrs. Jackson — also two sons — John and William — to mourn his depar- ture. The funeral was conducted at the family residence yesterday at eleven 396 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY o'clock, by Rev. J. H. Wood, of Shelbina, and the remains laid to rest in the A. 0. U. W. cemetery. "Mr. Million was a member of the Christian church, and a ]\[ason. ' ' JOHN R. MORGAN. "Whatever this leading business man and highly esteemed citizen of Shelbina is, he is all Shelbina 's own. He was born in that city on June 20, 1873, and grew to manhood among its people. He obtained his education in its public schools, ac- quired his business training in active connection with its industries, learned his trade as a j^ainter under the direc- tion of one of its leading mechanics, and has devoted all his energies in life so far to the promotion of its interests and the welfare of its people. Mr. Morgan is a son of the late David and Mary E. (Williams) Morgan, a sketch of whose lives will be found else- where in this volume. At the age of seventeen he began learning the paint- ing trade, and after he mastered it lie was made foreman in the painting de- partment of his father's wagon factory. He held this position with credit to him- self and benefit to the establishment \m- til he became of age. On attaining his majority he bought a harness manufac- tory. This he operated successfully for a period of twelve years, and in connec- tion with it conducted a general hard- ware business of which he is still the proprietor. His trade is flourishing and profital)le, and he has shown in its man- agement a high order of business capac- ity. In addition, lie has other valuable interests in commercial and industrial enterprises, being a stockholder and director of the Commercial Bank of Shelbina, and also a stockholder in the Trout Hardware Company of Chicago. In politics yir. Morgan is a true and tried memlier of the Democratic party, and is at all times active and effective in promoting its welfare. He is an ener- getic worker in all political campaigns, but does not aspire to public office for himself. He feels a deep and abiding interest in the welfare of his country, and believes that it will be best pro- moted by the supremacy of the political principles to which he gives his support. In fraternal life he holds membership in the Masonic order, its adjunct, the Order of the Eastern Star, and the Knights of Pythias. In these frater- nities he takes an active interest, helping to make them as widely and progres- sively useful to their members and the communities in which they operate as possible. Their social features also ap- jieal to him strongly, and he finds a great deal of enjopnent in intercourse with liis fellow members at the meetings of his lodges. Among the progressive and far-seeing citizens of Shelbina ^Ir. Morgan holds a high rank as one of the leaders. He is studious and acquisitive in the line of mental development, and makes it one of his prime activities to secxire the highest and broadest culture his opportunities will allow. He has traveled extensively in this and other countries, mingling freely with different people and obtain- ing a thorough knowledge of their man- ners, customs and pursuits. By this means and continuous and reflective reading he has gained a vast fund of JOHN R. MORGAN HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 397 general information, and is prepared to discuss witli intelligence and profit to his hearers almost every topic of gen- eral interest, and manj- of which knowl- edge among the ordinary run of men is very limited. So general and varied, and at the same time so accurate, is his knowledge of many topics of human thought and interest that he has become an authority on them and is looked to for light concerning them when his fel- low citizens are in need of it. In business Mr. Morgan has been very successful. In local matters of moment he is widely useful, and in the social life of the community of his home he is a prime factor. On all sides he is held in the highest esteem, the regard the peo- ple have for him being based on well demonstrated merit, broad and fruitful public spirit and clean and upright liv- j^ ing. Shelbina has no better citizen, and none who is more universally and de- servedly popular. And what is more to his credit, he is as modest and unas- suming as he is worthy and well es- teemed, being seemingly as unconscious of his superior attainments as he is serv- iceable in the use of them. On October 8, 1895, Mr. Morgan was married to Miss Mary Laura Eeed, who is, like himself, a native of Shelby coun- ty. She is an able second to all his aspirations and a valuable coadjutor in all his enterprises. And she, also, has a strong hold on the regard and good will of all classes of the people. The three children born of their union are all living and still members of the pa- rental family circle. They are: Nell Eeed, Besse Irene and Mary Isabel, each of whom adds greatly to the brightness and warmth of the household and is a strong element in its popularity as a social center and the seat of a i-efined and'gracious hospitality. JOHN B. SHALE. He whose name initiates this review has been a resident of Shelby county since his boyhood days, and now holds precedence as one of its representative and essentially wide-awake and progres- sive business men and as a citizen emi- nently entitled to the high esteem in which he is uniformly held. He has been prominent^ identified with the develop- ment of lumbering interests in Arkansas and Oregon, with which line of enter- ])rise he is still largeh^ concerned, and in his home town of Clarence he controls a large business as a buyer and shipper of live stock and grain, besides which he deals in lumber and operates a well equipped grist mill. Mr. Shale claims the fine old Keystone state of the Union as the place of his nativity, having been born in Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania. August 14, 1858. His' father, William Shale, was born in England in 1828, and was a child at the time of his parents' immigration to America. The family settled in Penn- sylvania, where he was reared to matu- rity and where his marriage was solem- nized. He there devoted his attention principally to agricultural pursuits until 1866, when he came with his family to Shelby count5% Missouri, where he and his devoted wife have since maintained their home and where they are held in unqualified esteem by all who know them. William Shale secured a tract of land in 398 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Jefferson townsliip, where he developed one of the fine farm proiterties of the count)', and where he continued actively concerned in farming and stock-growing until 1895, when he retired from active labors, having also built up a successful enterjirise as a shipper of live stock. He is now living retired in the village of Clarence, and, though more than four score years of age, is well preserved in both mental and physical faculties. He is a staimch adherent of the Democratic party, is affiliated with the local lodge of Free & Accepted Masons, and both he and his wife hold membership in the ilethodist Episcopal church. As before stated, his marriage was solemnized in the state of Pennsylvania, where his wife, whose maiden name was Susan Knox, was bom and reared. Of their ten children, all are living except Sai-ah. who died at the age of thirty years. Con- cerning the other children the following brief data are consistently entereci in this review: Samuel C. is a resident of San Diego, California; "William B. is a well-known resident of Shelby county; John B., subject of this review, was the next in order of birth; AVesley T. resides in the city of Spokane, Wash- ington; Christina is the wife of Mr. Cur- tis, of Phoenix, Arizona ; George resides at Black Eock, Arkansas; Anna is the wife of John D. Bandall, of Salida, Colo- rado; May is the wife of Robert L. Jacobs, of Clarence; and Lawrence is a resident of Goldfield, Nevada. John B. Shale, whose name introduces this article, was about eight years of age at the time of tlie family removal from Pennsylvania to Shelby county, Mis- souri, and here he was reared to matu- rity on the home farm, early beginning to lend his aid in its work and in the meanwhile duly availing himself of the advantages of the district schools of the locality and period. He continued to be associated in the work and management of his father's farm until he had at- tained to the age of twenty-five years, when he took up his re.sidence in the city of Clarence, where he was engaged in the livery business for eighteen months, at the expiration of which, in 1885, he engaged in the buying and ship- ping of grain, in which connection he now operates a modern grist mill, and he is also engaged in the lumber business and in the buying and shipping of live stock. These varied and important in- terests place exacting demands upon his time and attention, but his vital energy, his keen business sagacity and his admin- istrative ability are adequate to meet all contingencies that may arise. He has directed his efforts in a splendid way along noiTual and legitimate lines of en- terprise, and his honest and straightfor- ward policy has gained to him the confi- dence of all with whom he has had deal- He is one of the alert and re- inas. sourceful business men who are uphold- ing the industrial prestige of Shelby county, and as such he is well entitled to this slight tribute of recognition in the history of the county which has so long represented his home. 'Mr. Shale is a stockholder in the Clai'ence Savings Bank, of which he is a director, and is also a stockholder of the Shelby County State Bank, of Clarence. He is the owner of 160 acres of valuable farming land in Shelby county, and about one-half of this tract is under cultivation, the remainder HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 399 being utilized for grazing purposes. He and his partners own 2,250 acres in Missouri. In politics ]\rr. Shale gives an unquali- fied allegiance to the Democratic party. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, South. He has acliieved pro- nounced success in his business opera- tions, and especially in connection with himbering enterprises in Oregon and Arkansas, where he has large interests at the present time. In April, 1885, was celebrated the mar- riage of Mr. Shale to Miss Abbie George, a daughter of David George, a repre- sentative citizen of Granville, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Shale became the parents of seven children, all of whom are liv- ing, namely: Roger, who now resides in Washington, D. C. ; Helen, George B., Corinne, Kathleen, Charles and Frances, all of whom remain at the parental home. ELISHA A. CALLISON. A scion of staunch Scottish stock, this well-known business man and popular citizen of the city of Clarence well ex- emplified the sterling traits of character that have ever designated the sturdy race from which he is sprung, his grand- father, Elisha F. Callison, having been a native of Scotland, and having taken up his residence in West Virginia u])on coming to America. There he passed the residue of his long and useful life, West Virginia at that time having been still an integral portion of the Old Do- minion of Virginia. Mr. Callison is asso- ciated in the milling, grain and live-stock business with John B. Shale, a sketch of whose career appears on other pages of this work, and they control a large and successful enterprise in the various de- partments of their business, being large shippers of stock in addition to conduct- ing successful operations in the other lines noted. This effective partnership alliance is maintained irader the firm name of Callison & Shale. Elisha A. Callison reverts with a due measure of satisfaction to the fact that he is a native son of the state in whicli his honored father and grandfather ac- quitted themselves so well as productive workers and loyal and worthy citizens. He was liorn in Greenbrier county, W^est Virginia, on October 28, 1860, and is a son of Oscar and Margaret (Bright) Cal- lison, both of whom were likewise na- tives of that county, where their mar- riage was solemnized, and where they continued to maintain their home imtil their death. The father was born in 1836, devoted his entire active career to agricultural pursuits and stock-growing, and remained on his fine old homestead farm until his death, which occurred in 1877. His wife, who was born in 1838, died in 1888, their marriage having been solemnized in the year 1849. Oscar Cal- lison was a staunch adherent of the Democratic party, took an intelligent and loyal interest in public affairs of a local order, and served one year as sheriff of Greenbrier county, where he ever com- manded the unipialified esteem of all who knew him. Both he and his devoted wife held membershi]) in the Presbyterian church, and their faith was well exempli- fied in their dailv lives. Thev became 400 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY the jia rents of five children, of whom four are now living, namely : Elisha A., who is the immediate subject of this re- view; James C, who is a resident of Casjier. Kansas; ^[ary, who is the wife of (Jeorge E. Chinn. of Clarence. Shelby county, Missouri; and Austin, who is a representative farmer of Barber coimty. Kansas. Elisha A. Callison was reared to ma- turity under the grateful influences and sturdy labors of the old homestead farm, and he was atforded the advantages of the excellent public schools of Lewisburg, AVest Virginia. At the age of sixteen years he went to Highland county. Vir- ginia, where he assisted in the work of the fann of his uncle, John W. Bird, for the ensuing live years. He then, in 1881, when twenty-one years of age, came to Shelby county, Missouri, where he found emplojTnent by the month at fann work, being thus engaged for a period of three years, during which he was industrious and economical, carefully conserving his resources and formulating jilans for an independent career. At the expiration of the interval noted. Mr. Callison en- gaged in farming and stock-raising on his own resjionsibility. renting a farm in Jetferson township, about three miles distant from the city of Clarence. There he continued operations with all of en- ergy and with unremitting care and dis- crimination for about three yeaii;, and he then removed to Barber county, Kan- sas, where he continued in the same line of enterprise, and where he finally be- came the owner of a well improved farm of 2,250 acres. He remained in the Sun- flower state for a period of twelve years, at the expiration of which, in 1901, he returued to Shelby county, ^[issouri. and purchased a fann of 320 acres near Clar- ence, in Jefferson township, a jiroperty which he sold in 1903. In the autxnnn of 1902. however, he left the farm and took up his residence in Clarence, where he has since been successfully engaged in business in partnershi]i with John B. Shale, as noted in the opening paragraph of this article. Mr. Callison is recog- nized as one of the essentially progres- sive and re]>resentative business men of the county, and his success is the more gratifying to contemplate by reason of the fact that it is the result of his own well directed efforts and good business judgment. Xo citizen of the community commands a larger measure of popular confidence and regard, and he is loyal and public-spirited in his attitude, ever ready to lend his influence and tangible aid in the support of measures and enter- prises tending to advance the general weal. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party; he is affiliated with the local organizations of the Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife are members of the PresTn"te- rian church. February 14. 1883, recorded the mar- riage of Mr. Callison to Miss Anna Erwin. who was born and reared in Highland county. Virginia, whither he returned to claim his bride, who accom- panied him to his new home in ^lissouri, and who has jiroved a worthy and effi- cient helpmeet. They are the parents of seven children, all of whom remain at the parental home, except the elder daughter. The names of the children. HISTORY or SHELBY COUNTY 401 as here entered in respective order of birth, are: John 0., Elizabeth, Edward A., ^largaret, Harry, Charles and Anna. Elizabeth is now the wife of William Gillespie, and they reside in Miles City, Montana. MINUS H. LEWIS. On other pages of this publication is entered a brief review of the career of Aaron Lewis, the honored father of the .'subject of this sketch, and by reason of this fact it is not necessary to repeat the data in this article, as ready reference maj' be made to the sketch mentioned. He whose name heads this paragraph is a native of Shelby county and is now numbered among its enterprising and essentially representative business men, while as a citizen he holds the unquali- fied esteem and confidence of the people of the county in which his entire life has been passed. Minus H. Lewis was born on the home- stead farm of the family, in Jefferson township, Shelby county, Missouri, May 29, 1872, and to the district schools of the locality he is indebted for his early educational training. After his school days were over he continued to be asso- ciated with his father in the work and management of the farm until 1900, when he took up his residence in the vil- lage of Clarence, where he erected a grain elevator of large capacity and modem facilities, thus showing a spirit of progressiveness and confidence that had not previously been manifested in a similar way by any other resident of the county, as this elevator was the first to be erected within the borders of Shel- by county. He conducted a successful grain business for the ensuing two years, at the expiration of which he di.sposed of the elevator and business. While thus engaged he was also associated with William F. Hirrlinger in the conducting of a well equipped hardware, furniture and undertaking establishment, under the fiiTQ name of Lewis & Hirrlinger. In 1904 he purchased his partner's interest in this enterprise, which he thereafter conducted in an individual way until 1907, when he disposed of all his business interests in the village and purchased stock in the Clarence Savings Bank, of which he was elected assistant cashier in Januaiy of that year. Of this posi- tion he has since continued incumbent, giving the major portion of his time and attention to his executive duties in con- nection with this substantial and popu- lar financial institution. He is the owner of an attractive residence and other im- proved realty in Clarence and is one of the loyal and public-spirited citizens who are conserving the material and civic progress of liis native county, where his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances. He is a staunch Democrat in his political proclivities and takes a lively interest in public affairs of a local order. On October 11, 1896, Mr. Lewis was imited in marriage to !Miss TjOu McCart\', who was born in Schuyler county, Illi- nois, and who is a daughter of Michael McCarty, now a resident of Clarence. AAEON LEWIS. Aaron Lewis has been a resident of Shelby county for more than forty years, during the major portion of which he 402 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY has been actively identified with the great basic industry of agriculture, in connec- tion with which he has gained success and independence through his well di- rected energies and indefatigable appli- cation. He is now living virtually re- tired in the village of Clarence, where he has an attractive home, and is enjoy- ing the generous rewards of former years of earnest endeavor and where he is known as a substantial citizen and as one well worthy of the unqualified es- teem in which he is held in the commu- nity that has so long represented home and been the scene of his productive activities. Mr. Lewis was born in Dorchester county, ^Maryland, on November 13, 1843, and is of staunch "Welsh and English lineage, the Lewis family having been founded in Maryland in the colonial era of our national history. He bears the full patronymic of his honored father, Aaron Lewis, who'was born in Marjiand in 1795, and who there passed his entire life, having been summoned' to eternal rest on September 23, 1843, about a month befoi-e the birth of the subject of this review. During the greater portion of his independent career he was identi- fied with agricultural pursuits, and for some time he was engaged in the general merchandise business at Federalsburg, Maryland. His wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Adams, was likewise a native of Maryland, and she survived him by many years, having passed away in 1902. They became the i)arents of eight childi'en and concerning the four now living the following data are entered: Charles is a resident of Knox county, Missouri ; Abraham resides in the vil- lage of Novelty, this state; Lovey is the wife of AVilliam Sullin, of Knox county; and Aaron is the immediate subject of this review. In politics the father was a staunch supporter of the cause of the Whig party, and both he and his wife held membership in the Methodist Epis- copal church. Aaron Lewis, subject of this sketch, was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and his early educational privi- leges were those offered in the common schools of the locality and period. After leaving school he continued to follow farm work for some time, and later was employed as clerk in a general store at Williamsburg, Maryland. He then be- came a sailor on a coasting vessel, and he continued to follow the seafaring life about two years. The merchantman on which he was engaged was chartered at intervals by the government during the progress of the Civil war and was lying at the mouth of the Appomattox river at the time of the evacuation of the city of Kichmond, Virginia. Upon retiring from the maritime sei'vice, ^Nfr. Lewis re- turaed home and learned the trade of carpenter, to which he continued to de- vote his attention for a period of five years, during which he maintained liis home at Federalsburg, Maryland. In 1868 Mr. Lewis came to Missouri and took up his abode in Shelby county, where he has since maintained his home and where through his own efforts he has become a successful and representa- tive citizen. For two years he followed his trade in the village of Clarence, and during the remainder of his active career he gave his attention to farming and stock-raising, eventually becoming the HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 403 owner of a fine lauded estate of 240 acres near the village of Maud, in Jef- ferson township. He developed the property into one of the productive and valuable farms of the county, made ex- cellent improvements upou the place, and continued to reside on this home- stead until 1899, when he retired from active labors and removed to the village of Clarence, where he has since main- tained his home. He disposed of his farm several years ago. He is a stock- holder of the Clarence Savings Bank and has other substantial capitalistic invest- ments in his home coimty. In politics Mr. Lewis is found arrayed as a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, and he continues to take a lively and intelligent interest in the questions and issues of the hour, the while exemplifying the highest standard of loyal and public-spirited citizenship. He is affiliated with the local lodge of Free & Accepted Masons, and attends and supports the ]\Iethodist Episcopal church. South, of which his wife is a zealous member. On August 25, 1870, Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Rosa Con- radt, who was born in Germany, on July 25, 1848, and who was a resident of Shel- by county at the time of her marriage. Her father, the late Jacob Conradt, set- tled in this county many years ago and became one of its substantial fanners and honored citizens. To Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have been born six children, all of whom are living, nameh': Minus H., who is engaged in banking in Clarence; Katherine, who is the wife of Willis Cross, of Clarence; Delia May, who re- mains at the parental home; Mollie, who is the wife of Samuel Sanner, a pros- perous farmer of this county; John E., who is now a resident of the state of Wyoming ; and Nora, who is the wife of Porter Robuck, of Shelby county. WILLIAM L. JACOBS. Bearing a name that has been long and prominently identified with the an- nals of Shelby county, where this well known and honored family was founded in the early pioneer days, William L. Jacobs has well upheld the prestige of the name and is now recognized as one of the representative business men and influential citizens of his native county, where he has a secure place in popular confidence and regard. He is now en- gaged in the general merchandise busi- ness in the thriving little city of Clar- euce, and he is one of the leading and most progi'essive merchants of the county, coutrolliug a large and apprecia- tive trade, which is based on fair and honorable dealings and which extends throughout the fine agricultural territory uovmally tributary to Clarence as a dis- tributing center. Adequate review of the family history is given in the me- moir dedicated to his honored father, the late John W. Jacobs, on other pages of this publication. William L. Jacobs was born on the old homestead farm of his father, in Clay township, Shelby county, Missouri, and the date of his nativity was Sep- tember 6, 1858. He has naught to re- gret in connection with the sturdy dis- cipline which he received in connection with the work of the farm and under 404 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY the direction of a father of marked en- ergy and excellent l)usiness judg-ment. He was afforded the advantages of the well conducted public schools of the vil- lage of Clarence, and this training was supplemented by an effective course in the Gem City Business College, at Quiney, Illinois. In 1877, soon after at- taining to his legal majority, Mr. Jacobs took up his residence in LacygTie, Kan- sas, where he was engaged in the gro- cery business for the ensuing five years, the venture proving successful and af- fo)ding iiim excellent business experi- ence of a practical order. In 1882 he returned to his native county and for the ensuing two years he was identified with various business interests in the village of Clarence. At the expiration of this period, January 1, 1884, he en- gaged in the general merchandise busi- ness in this city, a line of enterprise with which he has here continued to be suc- cessfully identified since that time. The business Avas at the start eouducted un- der the firm name of Whitby, Jacobs & Company, his father being a silent part- ner in the concern and the other active member having been Stephen M. Whitby. The father continued to be passively in- terested in the enterprise until his de- mise, and after the death of j\Ir. Whitby the subject of this sketch continued the business in partnership with his brother, Eobert L. Jacobs, until 1898, when he purchased his brother's interest. Since that time he has individually conducted the business under his own name, and his large and well equipped establish- ment caters most effectively to its ex- tensive and representative patronage. Clothing, boots and shoes, and furnish- ing goods are handled, and Mr. Jacobs has showTi unqualified discrimination in the selection of goods and in meeting the demands of his ever increasing trade. Mr. Jacobs has not hedged himself in with his personal affairs and the pro- motion of his business, but has mani- fested a broad-minded, liberal and loyal attitude as a citizen, giving his influ- ence and co-operation in the supjiort of all measures and enterprises tending to advance the material and civic prosper- itj'^ of the conununity. His political al- legiance is given to the Democratic party, and, while he has never been am- bitious for public office, he has been called upon to serve as a member of the board of city aldermen, of which posi- tion he was a valued incumbent for some years. He is an appreciative and popu- lar member of Clarence Lodge, No. 305, Free & Accepted Masons, of which he served as worshipful master for three terms. On May 29, 1889, Mr. Jacobs was united in marriage to Miss Emma See- ley, who was born in this state, and who is a daughter of the late James Seeley, an honored citizen of Clarence at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs became the parents of four children, of whom one, Mary A., died at the age of four years. The surviving children — Louis S., Aileen and Nellie E. — remain at the parental home, which is a recog- nized center of gracious hospitality. JOHN W. JACOBS. A strong, noble, forceful and benefi- cent influence was that exercised by the HISTOBY OF SHELBY COUNTY 405 subject of this memoir in connection witli the civic affairs and practical business activities of Shelby county, where he long lived and labored to goodly ends, and where his name is revered by all who came within the sphere of his gen- erous and kindly influence. As one who was thoroughly and essentially a rep- resentative citizen of the county, there is eminent propriety in according in this volume a tribute of respect and appre- ciation to his memory. John Wright Jacobs was born in Greene coimty, in the eastern part of the state of Tennessee, August 5, 1824, and died at his home in the city of Clarence, Shelby county, Missouri, April 7, 1906, leaving the priceless heritage of a good name, as no spot or blemish rests on any part of his career, now that he has passed forward to the life eternal. His father, Lewis M. Jacobs, was a merchant tailor at Greenville, Tennessee, and among the first of the journeymen tail- ors employed by him was Andrew John- son, who eventually became president of the United States, and whose name and fame rest secure in the annals of our nation. Lewis M. Jacobs was a native of Virginia, where the family was founded in the colonial epoch, and the lineage is traced back to staunch Scotch- Irish origin. He was reared and edu- cated in the Old Dominion state, whence, as a young man, he removed to Green- ville, Tennessee, where he was engaged in business for a number of years. There was solemnized his marriage to Miss Anna AVright, and a number of years later he removed with his family to Missouri and located in Shelbyville, where he passed the residue of his long and useful life, a successful business man and sterling citizen, and one whose name merits perpetuation as that of one of the worthy pioneers of Shelby county. His death occurred in 1868, and his cher- ished and devoted wife preceded him to eternal rest by about one year. They became the parents of six children, of whom the subject of this memoir was the eldest. The father secured a tract of land near Shelbyville, and there gave his attention to farming, in connection with other business enterprises. On this old homestead his children were reared to maturity. John W. Jacobs was a boy at the time of the family removal to Missouri, and he contributed his quota to the develop- ment of the home farm near Shelbyville, in the meanwhile availing himself of such advantages as were offered by the common schools of the locality and pe- riod. He remained at home and assisted in the management of the farm until two years after his marriage, which was solemnized in 1855. In 1857 he pur- chased and established his home upon a farm in Clay township, this county, developing the same into one of the model places of the county, and there continuing to be actively identified with agricultural pursuits and stock-growing until 1873, when he disposed of his farm and removed to the village of Clarence, where he became a dealer in lumber, ag- I'icultural implements and grain, in con- nection with which important lines of enterprise he built up a large and sub- stantial trade and gained precedence as one of the vigorous, far-sighted and pro- gressive ])Usinoss men of the county. In 1876 he disposed of this business, and 406 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY thereafter he continued to be identified with other lines of enterprise of varied order until 1884, in January of which year he and his son, William L., secured a half interest in the general merchan- dise business which was thereafter con- ducted under the firm name of AVhitby, Jacobs & Company, the son assuming the active management of the business, which he still continues, as will be noted by reference to the sketch of his career appearing on other pages of this work. In this connection John W. Jacobs gave the benefit of his keen business sagacity and mature experience, but, save for this advisory service in the business, he lived virtually retired from 1890 until his death. He was regarded as one of the best business men and most upright and honorable citizens of this part of the coimty, where his circle of friends was coincident with that of his acquaint- ances. Though never a seeker of public office or of notoriety of any order, Mr. Jacobs wielded a large and beneficent influence in local affairs, and his advice and counsel were frequently sought in connection with matters of public polity, the while he gave freely of his aid and influence in support of all that touched the best interests of the community. In politics Mr. Jacobs was aligned as a loyal supporter of the principles and policies for which the Democi-atic party stands sponsor, he was affiliated with Clarence Lodge, No. 305, Free & Ac- cepted Masons, and he was a most zeal- ous and devoted member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, South, having been one of the charter members of the church of this denomination in Clar- ence, as is also his wife. Upon him de- volved the privilege of turning the first spade of earth for the erection of the church edifice. She survives her hon- ored husband and finds a measure of consolation and compensation in the gra- cious memories of their long years of loving companionship. She was born in Delaware, near Laurel, February 15, 1836, and thus has passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten. She is held in affectionate regard by all who know her, and still maintains her home in Clarence, where she is surrounded by a wide circle of devoted friends. On February 15, 1855, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Jacobs to Miss Mary A. Drain, daughter of the late Stanford Drain, one of the honored pioneers of Shelby county. Of the six children of this union, four are living, namely : Will- iam L., of whom specific mention is made elsewhere in this volume ; Anna E., who remains with her widowed mother ; Eob- ert L., who is a representative business man of Clarence; and Cassie L., who is the wife of Albert Mai'ley, of Kansas City, Missouri. DR. HENRY M. POLLARD. A practicing physician and surgeon among them during the last twenty-two years, and throughout the whole period performing his professional duties and those of elevated citizenship to their en- tire satisfaction. Dr. Henry M. Pollard, of Shelbina, won the regard of the peo- ple of Shelby county on his merits by proving himself to be a very useful man and deeply and intelligently interested in the welfare of the region in which he lived and labored. He was active and HENRY M. POLLARD, M. D. histoi;y of shelby county 407 zealous in connection with all undertak- ings for the impi-ovement of the county and licttennent of its people, and gave all observers an excellent example of upright and serviceable living. Dr. Pollard was born on February 4, 1861, in this county and was a grandson of Tliomas Pollard, a native of Ken- tucky, and a son of James M. Pollard, who was also born in that state, his life beginning on October 17, 1826, in Owen county. In 1847, although he had at- tained his majority, he accompanied the family to Missouri, and with the rest, took up his residence in Monroe county. Soon after his arrival he moved to Flor- ida and learned carriage and wagon making. He worked at the trade eiglit years, and during most of the time after completing his apprenticeship, was en- gaged in making wagons for parties who wished to travel overland to the fai'ther west, and also government wagons for Fort Leavenworth, the seat of his opera- tions being at Platte City in this state. In 1855 he returned to Monroe county, where he remained two years, then moved to Shelby county and engaged in general merchandising at Hunnewell, conducting a successful enterprise in that line there imtil 1863. In the year last named, owing to the imsettled and dangerous condition of the country around him brought on by the Civil war, he moved his family and effects to Illinios, where he dwelt until the restoration of peace. When the dread war cloud had passed away, and a rea- sonable degree of quiet had been brouglit back to the region of Ms former home, he returned to Monroe county, and there followed general farming until his death. which occurred in 1900. At tlie time of his demise he owned 300 acres of land and nearly all of it under advanced culti- vation and developed to a high state of productiveness. He took an active and very service- able interest in the public affairs of the county, and was elected presiding justice of the county court in 1878 for a term of four years. Prior to that time he filled other offices of trust and I'esponsi- bility for a ]3eriod of five years. In politics he was an ardent and determined working Democrat, always giving his party the full benefit of his influence, intelligence and energj^. His religious connection was with the Baptist sect, and fraternally he was allied with the Masonic order from his early manhood. On October 11, 1853, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary J. Blackburn, a native of Shelby county and daughter of Samuel Blackburn, a long esteemed resident of this part of the state. Three of the five children born of the union are living: Samuel Thomas, whose home is at Monroe City, Missouri ; Viola, the wife of 0. A. Marr, who resides in Mon- roe county, and William Lee, who lives at Lamar, Colorado. Dr. Pollard, obtained his education in academic lines in the public schools of Monroe county and at the Kirksville State Normal school. In 1885 he matric- ulated at Missouri Medical college in St. Louis, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1888. He then pursued one post graduate course in New York and five in Chicago at the Polyclinic school. With the world be- fore him in which to choose a location for his life work, the young jibysician lo- 408 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY cated at Maud in this county, where he began his practice in 1888. Seven years were passed in an active general prac- tice at that place, then, in 1895, the doc- tor moved to Shelbina, where he lived and gave diligent and faithful attention to the exactions of an ever increasing practice covering a steadily expanding range of country, rising to prominence in his profession and winning great and wide-spread popularity among the peo- ple until his death August 21, 1910. The doctor's rank in his profession and his popularity with the people were based on substantial grounds and well deserved. He was a close stiadent of all that pertained to his work, keeping abreast with the advance in medical science by reflective reading of its best literature, and in close touch with the teachings of practical experience by active membership in the county, state and national medical societies. He was president of the first named and one of its most active and useful members, and was esteemed by its other adherents as a skillful and judicious man in the ap- plication of the medical knowledge of which he was admitted to have in consid- erable volume and systematic accuracy. In fraternal life Dr. Pollard was con- nected with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was loyal and appreciative in his devo- tion to both. His political affiliation was with the Democratic party, and to this, too, he was true and constant, zealous in its service and unwavering in his sup- port of its principles and candidates. At the time of his death he was a member of the Baptist church. On July 17, 1889, he was married to Miss Mollie Clay, the daughter of Charles B. and Amanda (Ilininger) Clay, of Monroe county, this state. Two children have been born of the union, Jessie V. and Eva C, both of whom are still members of the parental household. JOSEPH LEONARD RIDINGS. Prominent in the public life of the community in which he lives ; active, en- teri)rising and successful in his business, in which he occupies a leading place in this whole section of the state; and standing well in the political, fraternal, social and religious circles of Clarence, the city of liis home, Joseph Leonard Ridings is an ornament to Missouri man- hood, Shelby county citizenship and the business and industrial interests of a locality that has made rapid strides of progress under the influence of such men as he. Mr. Ridings was born on November 23, 1864, and is a grandson of Peter F. Ridings, a native of Virginia, who be- came an early settler in Randolph county, Missouri. In that county his son, Peter F. Ridings, the father of Jo- seph Leonard, was born in 1826, Septem- ber 11th, and there he was reared and assisted the family by working on the home farm until 1849, when he joined the host of argonauts who flocked to the newly discovered gold fields of Califor- nia. The next year, however, he re- turned to his old home near Levick Mill, in Randolph county, this state, and turned his attention to farming on 200 acres of land which his father gave him. He continued to farm this land until 1863, then went to Illinois and for one HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 409 I f year worked on a farm in that state. In 1864 lie came back to his Randolph county farm and soon afterward bought a general store and tannery, which he conducted until 1877. In that year he moved his mercantile enterprise to what was but a cross-roads and organized a town, which he named Maud in honor of his daughter. He continued to keep his store at that point, and also to farm. In a little while he was appointed post- master of Maud, and he served in that capacity until 1888, when he moved to Clarence, and during the next year fol- lowed the livery business. In 1869 he sold this and retired from all active pur- suits, and is now enjoying a well earned rest and the fruits of his labor from good city properties and his farm land, which is being farmed by a tenant. He was married in November, 1862, to Miss Mary Larrick, of Palmyra, a native of Virginia, who was born No- vember 24, 1843, and by this marriage became the father of seven children, five of whom are living: Joseph Leonard, of Clarence; Albert M., who lives in the same city ; Charles Franklin, also a resi- dent of Clarence; Maud, the wife of William Schwada, of West Burlington, Iowa; and Jessie, the wife of Lester Herst, of Denver, Colorado. In politics the father is a Democrat, and his wife is a member of the Soi;thern Methodist Episcopal church. Their son, Joseph Leonard Ridings, was educated in the district schools of Randolph and Shelby counties, and after leaving school he assisted his father in the store at Maud until he reached the age of twenty years. In 1884, following his father's example, he also organized a new town, which he called Enterprise, planting it at a cross-roads also, and opening and keeping the first store there. The place soon grew to the digiiity of a Ijostoffice and its founder was made post- master. He remained there seven years, operating a saw mill and blacksmith shop in connection with his store and the postofSce, and found all the circum- stances favorable to his prosperity. In 1891 Mr. Ridings sold out his interests at Enterprise and located in Clarence. There he has been continuously engaged in contracting for building, heating, elec- trical and plumbing work, and is con- sidered the most extensive and reliable contractor in those lines of construction in this part of the county. His business is very large and active, and he is now (1910) erecting a two-story brick build- ing to accommodate it and provide for necessary enlargements. Mr. Ridings is also prominent and in- fluential in the affairs of the city. He is serving his fifth term as a member of the city council, and is considered one of the best, as he is certainly one of the most popular members of the body. He has given intelligent and energetic at- tention to the wants of the city, looked after its best interests with great zeal and enterprise, and taken broad and pro- gressive views, of everything involving its improvement and further develop- ment, and the people highly appreciate his services in this behalf. On January 12, 1888, Mr. Ridings was united in marriage with Miss Annie Dean Sidner, a daughter of William P. Sidner, of Monroe county, this state, and 410 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY a cousin of Thomas Sidner, who was one of the men killed at the cruel and brutal Palmyra massacre of 1864. Mrs. Eid- ings was born in Monroe county on Sep- tember 17, 1867. She and her husband have had six children, four of whom are living, and all of them are still at home with their parents. They are: Leonard. DoUie, Clarence and Lucy, and add great life and light to the family circle. In politics the father is a hard working Democrat; in fraternal life he is con- nected with the Knights of the Macca- bees, and in religious affiliation he is a member of the Southern Methodist Epis- copal church, which his wife also attends. HON. EUFUS FARRELL. In the life story of this eminent citi- zen of Shelby county and esteemed jurist and publicist of Missouri, will be found a most impressive illustration of the number and variety of claims that are likely to be made on almost any Ameri- can citizen of parts and acquirements, and also of the great versatility and adaptability of the American mind, which is always found equal to all de- mands and ready to exercise its mastery over any circumstances, however imn- sual or trying. Farmer, commission mer- chant, hotel keeper, live stock man of active business, following other lines of trade, and finally judge of the highest court in the county, and turning his fac- ulties from one calling to another almost with the ease of a proteus. Judge Farrell has shown himself to be a man of great capacity and resourcefulness, and has done credit to the ancestry from which he sprang and also to the section of coimtry in which he got his training and preparation for life's unending and ever exacting battle. Judge Rufus Farrell was born on ^Miu-cli 25, 1850, in Madison, Monroe county, Missouri, and is a grandson of William Farrell, a native of Kentucky, where the family lived for generations and held an honorable place in the his- tory of that state. The judge is a son of John and Mary Ann (Grove) Far- rell, also natives of Kentuckj^, the for- mer born in Madison county on July 14, 1826, and tiie latter in Oldham county only a little later. The father came to Missouri in 1839 with his parents, and the family located in Monroe county. There he grew to manhood and learned the blacksmith trade, and this he fol- lowed in connection with farming and raising live stock until 1885, when he re- tired from active pursuits and moved to Madison, where he remained until his death ou July 15, 1905. At one time the Judge's father owned 800 acres of land in adjoining ti-acts, al- though the.v were located in two coun- ties — Monroe and Shelby. His marriage with Miss Mary Ann Grove took place in 1845, and by it he became the father of thirteen children, six of whom are now living: W. M., a resident of Paris, Missouri; Judge Rufus, who lives in Clarence, this county; Thomas J., whose home is in St. Louis; John W., who re- sides in ^ladison ; ^Mary Catherine, the wife of 0. T. Hall, of" Shelby county; and Ira Stanberry, a prominent citizen of Billings, Montana. In politics the father was an ardent and steadfast Dem- ocrat, and in religious connection lie- longed to the Christian church. He al- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 411 ■ways took a very active and serviceable interest in church work, serving his con- gregation as deacon and elder at inter- vals for fifty years. Judge Rufus Farrell was educated in a private school at Clarence, under the management and instruction of Profes- sor Johnson. After leaving school he was associated with his uncle, James M. Farrell, six years in extensive farming operations, and at the end of that period he went to St. Louis and took up the live-stock commission business in part- nership with Metcalf, Moore & Company, and this occupied him imtil 1879. In that year he changed his plans and took charge of the Commercial hotel at Mo- berly, Missouri, and carried it on until 1882. Tiring of the life of a publican by that time, he sold out in that year and returned to farming on 120 acres of his father's old place in Shelby county. He continued his activity in this line of en- deavor and the allied ones of raising and feeding live stock, and shipping hogs and cattle to the markets for fifteen years, until 1897, in fact, when he took up his residence in Clarence and gave his attention to the grain elevator and stock business in association with J. B. Shale. This business connection lasted until 1902, when Mr. Farrell was elected district judge. He served one term of four years, and at the end of that, in 1906, he was chosen presiding .judge of Shelby county. Since his accession to this office, through his efforts, the county has built a fine infirmary, which was very badly needed, and which is now highly appreciated by the people. Judge Farrell was first married in 1871, to i\liss Florence Martin, of this county. One child was born to them in 1872, and died in 1874. Mrs. Farrell died in 1875, of tuberculosis. On No- vember 4, 1883, the Judge contracted a second marriage, being united on this occasion with Miss Bettie Wright, a resi- dent of Maud, Missouri. Ten children have been born to them, and all of them are living: Kuby, the wife of Dr. S. J. Miller, of Liberal, Kansas; Gentry T., a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma ; Una iMay, the wife of Earl Ray, of Louisiana, Missouri ; and Blanche, John W., Madge, Maurine, Manuel, Juanita and Eliza- beth, all of whom are living at home with their parents. In politics, Judge Farrell is a Democrat in his faith and allegiance, but since his accession to the bench he has not been an active parti- san, although outside of political consid- erations he takes a great and very help- ful interest in all the public affairs of the county, state and nation. He has also been energetic and progressive with ref- erence to local improvements and every- thing involving the comfort, convenience and enduring welfare of the people of the locality in which he lives. His relig- ious affiliation is with the Christian church. Of the Judge's legal attain- ments, course on the bench, judicial tem- perament, or other qualifications for the high office he fills, it is not for the pres- ent biographer to speak. They are writ- ten in enduring jjhrase in the records of his court, the decisions he has rendered, and the general and high estimation in which he is held as a jurist all over the state of Missouri and those that are ad- jacent to it. There is tribute to his at- tainments, also, in the fact that he has been the choice of the people for a higher 412 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY position on the bench after having given them apiireciated service in a lower one, and that his popularity at home and re- nown abroad in the exalted station he fills increases and intensifies as the years pass and add their testimony in favor of his excellence as a judge, his useful- ness as a citizen and his worth as a man. ALONZO L. GRISWOLD. Making his struggle for advancement in life in several different occupations — agricultural, mechanical and mercantile — Alonzo L. Griswold, one of the leading merchants of Clarence, in this county, has been successful in all, aud his prog- ress has been steady and continued. He has enterprise and perseverance, and through his varied experience has ac- quired a good knowledge of the world and of human nature in its manj^ forms of development and activity. And he is industrious in the application of his knowledge to his business, adapting him- self to the tastes and requirements of his patrons with a zealous determination to meet their wants and satisfy their wishes. Mr. Griswold was born in Aberdeen, Indiana, on February 18, 1863, and came to Missouri with his parents when he was but five years old. He is a son of Washington E. and Louisa (Larue) Gris- wold, the former born in Trumbull county, Ohio, on June 4, 1828, and the latter a native of Baton Rouge, Louis- iana. Their marriage occurred in 1851 and the.y were the parents of nine chil- dren, eight of whom are living: William E., a resident of Clarence, Missouri; Ida, the wife of Dr. J. D. McNeely, of Sun). Iowa; Clarence T., who has his hcmie in Clarence, this county; Charles W., also a resident of Clarence ; Emma, the wife of John Thorne, of Sumner, Missouri; Abbie, the wife of E. W. Black, of Chillicothe, Missouri, and Harry A., a prosperous citizen of Colo- rado Springs, Colorado, in addition to Alonzo L., the subject of this brief re- view, who is sixth in order of birth of the eight living children of the household. In early life the father moved from his native state to Aberdeen, Indiana, and in 1868 brought his family to Missouri, locating at Clarence, in this county. He worked at liis trade of blacksmithing all of his mature life imtil about twenty years before his death, when he retired from active work. He died on Januarj' 6, 1906. He was a Republican in polit- ical faith and activity, and devoted to the success and genei-al welfare of his party. In fraternal relations he was for many years actively and prominently connected with the Masonic order, and when he died was buried by his lodge ac- cording to the ritual of the order. His religious connection was with the Pres- byterian church. Alonzo L. Griswold obtained a district school education in Clarence, and after leaving school engaged in farming until 1882. During the next six years he and his brother, Clarence T. Griswold, con- ducted a flourishing blacksmithing busi- ness in partnership. Tiring of this line of work, he abandoned it in 1888, and became a clerk in the dry goods and clothing store of Marvin Dimmitt, in Clarence. He was employed in the store in the capacity of clerk and salesman for six years, and at the end of that period HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTS 413 became the manager of the 1)usiness, Mr. Dimmitt retiring in 1895. He has since carried it on nnder the name and style of A. L. Griswold & Co., and has made it one of the leaders in its line in this part of the state. His store is a very popular one and he has the confidence of the people as to his business methods and meets the requirements of the com- munity by the extent, variety and com- prehensiveness of his stock. Mr. Griswold was married on April 3, 1895, to Miss Margaret E. Carruthers, of Shelby county, Missouri. They have had seven children, five of wliom are living: Clarence A., Ernest F., Gladys M., Warren R. and Ellen L.,all of whom are still members of the x^arental family circle. The father is a Republican in politics and a ilodern Woodman of the World in fraternal life. He stands well as a merchant, is influential and promi- nent as a citizen, and is held in the high- est esteem as a man. JAMES A. HAMILTON. Farmer, miller and merchant, James A. Hamilton, of Clarence, in this county, has, during all of the last twenty-eight years, contributed essentially and sub- stantially to the progress and develop- ment of Shelby county and the enduring welfare of its people. He is not a native of the county, but has lived so long and so serviceably among its people, that, to all intents and purposes he is practically a Shelby countian, being thoroughly im- bued with the spirit and aspirations of its citizens and zealous and effective in helping to carry them to their highest and best development. Mr. Hamilton was born in ]\Ionroe county, Missouri, on May 24, 1854, and is a grandson of Walter Hamilton, a na- tive of Marion county, Kentucky, where Clement A. Hamilton, the father of James A., also was born, his life begin- ning there in 1824. He came to Missouri in 1851 and took up his residence in Mon- roe county. There be was engaged ex- tensively and continuously in farming and general stock raising until 1888, when he retired from active pursuits and moved to Clarence, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying in Novem- ber, 1900. He was very successful in all his undertakings, at one time owning and farming 500 acres of land. He was married in 1846 to Miss Susan Mary Brown, a native of Washington county, Kentucky. They became the pa- rents of eleven children, seven of whom are living : Susan Dorothy, the wife of J. 0. Stribling, of Clarence, Missouri; James A., the subject of these i^ara- graphs ; Margaret Isabelle, the wife of J. T. Elliott, "of Monroe City; P. W., a resident of Monroe county, this state; Mary Ann, the widow of the late E. C. Patrick, of Clarence ; Hattie, the wife of AVilliam Lister, of Hunnewell, Missouri ; and C. A., a resident of Monroe City. The father was a Democrat in his poli- tics and a member of the Catholic church in his religious faith and allegiance. He was highly respected as a man and wielded considerable influence in the af- fairs of his localit}^ as a progressive and public spirited citizen. His son, James A. Hamilton, was edu- cated in the district schools of Monroe county, and after leaving school worked on the home farm with his father until 414 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY his marriage. In 1882 he bought land in Shelby county, on which he engaged in farming and raising live stock until 1891. He then sold his farm of 160 acres and accepted the position of manager of the Alliance flour mill at Shell)ina. In 1893 he bought the mill in association with other men and continued to conduct its operation until 1901. In that year he sold his interest in it, but continued to live at Shelbina until 1904, when he moved to Clarence, and here he has ever since been actively engaged in the har- ness and road vehicle trade. He has been successful in all his undertakings and is one of the substantial and promi- nent citizens of the town in which he lives, active in promoting its progress and development and looking after the best interests of its people, and those of a large extent of the surrounding coun- try. He has always taken an earnest in- terest and an active part in the public affairs of the community of his home and been of very substantial service to the people. While living in Shelbina he served as alderman of the city, and much of its progress is due to his wise and ju- dicious care of everything involving the welfare of its people, both as a public official and a private citizen. Mr. Hamilton was married in 1879 to Miss Cecilia T. Worland, of Lakenan, Shelby county, Missouri. They have had four children, three of whom are living: John C, who resides in the state of Mon- tana; Margaret, the wife of E. C. Davis, of Brookfield, Missouri; and Winona, who is living at home with her parents. In politics the father is a Democrat, in fraternal relations a Modern AVoodman of America, and in religious affiliation a member of the Catholic church. HON. H. JEAXE SIMMONS. The Clarence Courier, ])ublished at Clarence in this county, is one of the bright, lively, up-to-date and progres- sive newspapers of our country which enjoys an unusual allotment of For- tune's favors. It is doubly endowed in its edit»rial department, combining therein the delicacj- and grace of woman with the strength and aggressiveness of man — the endearing arms of tenderness engirdled witli tlie steel bracelets of power. Its editorial staff includes Hon. H. Jeane Simmons, its owner and pub- lisher, and his accomplished wife, Mrs. Alice (Grant) Simmons, one of the most successful and pleasing literaiy ladies in this part of the country. It is to this duplex torch that this volume is indebted for the luminous, interesting and com- prehensive general liistory of Slielby county which sparkles on its pages. That attractive chronicle of the life, progress, aspirations and achievements of the peo- ple of the county is the joint product of Mr. and Mrs. Simmons, and it proclaims tlieir mastery of facts and the best meth- od of grouping and presenting them for the entertainment of the reader in every paragraph. But it must speak for itself, and it does so in a voice of no uncertain sound or meaning. Mr. Simmons represented Shelby county in the lower branch of the state legislature continuously fi'om 1900 to 1908, and was again chosen as its repre- sentative in that body on November 8, w '^^ Ml -^ L ^^f ^^^^^^^^1 \ 1. ^■>'*iM^^H 1 Hk w 1 ■H^ ! ^^!P?^ k "^if^^^H in k^3H fWlH ^^^F T^^^^^^^^H Wi*:/,Vf- :^ ^^mw^^ ^2n ^8^^^ ^fm^ im. •s, . m ^ Mam- /■ .1 *-*^ 1^^ 111 m^ T V _ . ** \ i... ^ 'Ab: --^^ H. JEANE SIMMONS i HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 415 1910. He was born in the village of Girard, Branch county, Michigan, on March 6, 1869, and is a son of Watson C. and Etta J. (Brown) Simmons. The father was a native of Erie connty, New York, where his life began on July 6, 1841. He died in Monroe county, Mis- souri, on April 5, 1870, closing at the age of twenty-nine years a life of un- usual promise and ef considerable achievement, short as it was. During his boyhood his parents moved to Branch county, Michigan, and there he grew to manhood and obtained his education. On June 20, 1861, he heark- ened to one of the first calls for volun- teers for the defense of the Union and enlisted in Company E, Fourth Michi- gan Volunteer Infantry, in the federal army, for a term of three years. But he suffered in the service, and in April, 1862, was discharged on account of disa- bility, receiving his release at George- town, Kentucky. He returned home and recuperated his health, and then, still fired with patriotic ardor, again enlisted in the Union army, this time becoming a member of Company H, Ninth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and being enrolled in the City of Kalamazoo. Under his second enlistment he served to the close of the war, and was mustered out at Nashville, Tennessee, on September 15, 1865. The next four years were passed by him in his native county. In 1869 he moved his family to Monroe county in this state and engaged in fai'ming six miles south of Hunnewell. But he had not more tban fairly started his useful labors in this state before death ended them, and left his son Jeane an orphan aged thirteen months. The father was married on October 7, 1863, to Miss Etta J. Brown, who is still living. They had two children, the im- mediate subject of this review, and his brother, Glenn C. Simmons, who is now a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The family had its origin in this country in the east, the grandparents of Mr. Sim- mons of this sketch being natives of the state of New York, and descended from families long resident in that part of the country. But they were versatile and could easih^ adapt themselves to circmn- stances. Although reared amid the cus- toms and trained to the ideals of the east they met all the requirements of the west and prospered on its soil and were esteemed by its people. The same adaptability to requirements distin- guishes the present representatives of the family, and has enabled them to do well wherever they have found them- selves and in whatever they have under- taken. The mother of Hon. H. Jeane Simmons married again after the death of his father, and during the childhood of her two sons became a resident of Shelby eountj'^, locating on a farm three miles south of Clarence. Here Mr. Simmons passed his boyhood and youth in the pur- suits and experiences customary in this region. The family moved to Clarence in 1875 and here he began his scholastic training in the public schools and com- pleted it at the college in Glasgow, How- ard county, from which he was grad- uated, after a four years' course of study, in 1889. After receiving his col- lege degree he followed teacliing school one year, then entered the employ of the Missouri Lumber & Mining Company, 4!;; HISTUKY OF SHELBY COUNTY with which he remained a year. Follow- iug that eugagemeut he was variously oceuijied until June of 1894, when he purcha'sed The Clarence Courier, which he has edited and iniblished ever since. From 1901 to 1910 he was assisted in publisliing the paper by his brother-in- law, Edward B. Grant, whose connec- tion with the Courier was severed by his death in July of the year last mentioned. In politics Mr. Simmons has been a life-long Democrat. He has 'been very energetic and effective in the service of his party, and has risen to commanding intluence and leadership in its councils, both in Shelby county and the state at large. He served as mayor of Clarence from 1895 to 1899, and as city clerk for two terms previous to his first election as mayor. In 1900 he was elected to the state house of representatives, and so satisfactory were his services in that as- semblage that he was re-elected in 1902, and again in 1904 and 1906. He was chosen for a fifth term in the fall elec- tion of 1910. He was also a candidate for the office of lieutenant governor in the fall of 1908, but was defeated for the nomination by a small majority in the primary election. During his service in the house of representatives he has seWed as chairman of the committees on Life Insurance and "Ways and Means, and as a member of the committee on Eailroads and Internal Improvements, and several others of leading impor- tance. He was also a member of the com- mission appointed to make arrangements for the centennial celebration of the Louisiana Purchase by a world's fair in St. Louis. In the session of 1907, ^Ir. Simmons introduced and secured the passage of the two cent railroad fare law, which is now being te.sted as to its constitu- tionality in the Supreme Court of the United States. He was also the father of the law providing for the choice of United States senators at ]irimary elec- tions, the law regulating the taxation of franchises and the compulsory education law. In 1903, Governor Dockery ap- l>oinled him a member of the commission to audit the books of all state officials, and in 1907 he was chairman of the com- mittee which was appointed to refurnish the legislative halls and other rooms in the state capitol. On May 23, 1894, Mr. Simmons united in marriage with Miss Alice Grant, a daughter of William and Mary A. (Moul- ton) Grant, the former a native of Eng- land and the latter of the province of Ontario, Canada. They located in ^Ion- roe county, Missouri, in 1869, and in 1879 moved to Shelbina, where the father died in 1893. The mother is now living at Clarence, '^h. and Mrs. Simmons have had two children, their daughters, Alice Jean and Annette, the former of whom died at the age of eighteen months. Annette is still living at home with her parents. Mrs. Simmons, who has won renown by her versatile and graceful pen, and is one of the distinguished literary lights of Missouri, was educated in the schools of Shelbina, l)eing graduated from the high scliool in 1888. For three years she taught schools at different places in Shelby county, and during another pe- riod of equal length was principal of the 1 rrj l» ■ ■^sm^\ K 9 fy.,, jj 1 1 MRS. H. J. SIMMONS HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 417 Intermediate department of the Sliel- bina schools. Her whole life has been passed in touch with literature, of which she has been a diligent and discriminat- ing student, and she has its best spirit of productiveness largely developed in her nature. She has for years been a valued contributor to the Women's de- partment of a number of the papers in this state, and is now held in high esteem as a writer for several ladies' journals in different parts of the country. While her husband was absent from the city during the first three terms of his ser- vice, she successfully edited The Clar- ence Courier, and neither its influence nor its force diminished while it was un- der her control. Her reputation as a newspaper writer of brilliancy, power I and directness is coextensive with the state and extends far beyond its borders. She assisted largely in the compilation of the general history of Shelby county that is published in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Simmons are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and both are active in all the good work of the congregation to which they belong. Mr. Simmons is chairman of its board of stewards and superin- tendent of its Sunday school. He was also chairman of the building committee during the erection of the church edifice now occupied by the congregation. Fra- ternally he is allied with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. Shelby county has no citizens more es- timable than these, and none whom the people of all classes respect more highly or regard with more genuine and well merited pride and esteem. J. SIDNER SMITH. Having passed the three score years and ten allowed by the sacred writer as the ordinary span of a complete life and during more than fifty of the period hav- ing toiled faithfully and effectively in advancing his fortunes and promoting the welfare of the region of his activities, J. Sidner Smith, of Clarence, is now liv- ing retired from active pursuits and en- joying the rest he has so richly earned and the fruits of the labors he so faith- fully performed during the heat and bur- den of his day. He is a t\ne representa- tive of the best and most useful Shelby county citizenship, and as such is univer- sally esteemed by the people of the county. Mr. Smith was born in Monroe county, Missouri, on October 7, 1839, and is a son of Thornton and Ann (Siduer) Smith, the former born in Bourbon county, Ken- tucky, on July 12, 1809, and the latter a native of Fayette county in the same state. They were married on November 19, 1829, and became residents of Mis- souri in 1835, locating in Monroe county, north of Paris. There the father was ac- tivelj^ and successfully engaged in farm- ing and raising live stock until his death, which occurred in 1878. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, seven of whom are liv- ing: Nancy J., the wife of Sam Baker, a resident of Clarence ; J. Sidner, also liv- ing in Clarence; Fannie, the wife of John Williamson; Emma, the wife of Henry Glasscock, of Monroe county, Mis- souri; John T., who also lives in Monroe county; M. C, whose home is in Shelby county; and Robert C, a resident of the 418 HISTOUY OF SHELBY COUNTY state of AVashington. In politics the father was a lirm aud faithful member of the Democratic party. In fraternal relations he was long connected with the Masonic order and in religious allegiance was attached to the Christian church. Jacob Sidner Smith obtained his edu- cation in the district schools of Monroe county and when he left school went to work on his father's farm, on which he had been reared and had learned the art to which he has ever since been devoted. He did not remain at home long, how- ever, but after working with and for his father a short time, went to Kentucky, the home of his ancestors, where he re- mained a few years, and where he was united in marriage on December 20, 1860, with Miss Sarah E. Houston, of New- town, Scott county, in that state. He re- turned to Missouri with his bride in 1861, and located in Shelby county, and here he was energetically and profitably en- gaged in farming and raising live stock imtil 1908, when he retired from active pursuits and moved to Clarence. He has 240 acres of fine land, all under cultiva- tion, and its products yield him a very comfortable living. Mr. Smith and his wife have had twelve children, eleven of whom are liv- ing : Virginia Ella, the wife of J. F. La- riek, of this county; Mary Addie, the wife of P. P. Barton, of Kansas City, Missouri; Eobert K., who also lives in Shelby county ; Annie Fletcher, the wife of J. W. Brewer, of Kansas City, Mis- souri; Emina Susan, the wife of F. S. Barton, of Shelby county ; Abner G., who resides at Liberty, Missouri; Nora Agnes, the wife of D. M. Butner, of this count}'; Leslie G., also residing in this county; Fannie Kate, the wife of "Wil- liam Cross, another resident of Shelby county; Sallie H., the wife of Edward Savage, of Kansas City, Missouri; and Emmett S., of Shelby county. In his political faith and allegiance the father trains with the Democratic party and is zealous of its service, although asking nothing from it for himself. From his youth he has provided for himself without outside aid or any of Fortune's favors, and he has so faithfully per- formed his duties in all relations that everybody who knows him thinks and speaks well of him. LEWIS J. PETER MAN. The ordinary observer and the super- ficial judge of affairs measures success in life among men by results. The deeper thinker and more judicious an- alyst of men and events measures it ac- cording to the direction in which a man moves, being convinced that the only real success is to work in the right direc- tion, whatever tlie results may be. Tried by either standard Lewis J. Peterman, a retired merchant and farmer of Shelby county, now living in ease and comfort in Clarence, has l)een a successful man. The results he has achieved "are grati- fying in magnitude and character, and he has always expended his efforts in the direction of not only enlarging his own worldly estate, but as well in promoting to the best of his ability the welfare of his community and tJie good of the peo- ple among whom he has lived. Mr. Peterman was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, on April 28, 1861. He is a grandson of Jacob Peterman, a native HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 419 of Pennsylvania, and a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Shale) Peterman, natives of England. The father was born on De- cember 10, 1819, in Westmoreland county, and when he was about twenty- five years of age moved to Michigan, where he was actively and successfully engaged in farming until April, 1869, when he moved to Missouri and located in Shelby coimty. He purchased 200 acres of good land one mile east of En- terprise, and on that fruitful and re- sponsive farm he expended his efforts successfully and profitably until 1880, when he retired and moved to Clarence. But he was not destined to enjoy long the rest for which he longed and which he sought by his retirement from active pursuits. He died in April, 1880, a few days after his removal to the city. In early life he was a carpenter, but the greater part of his time on earth, after reaching maturity, was passed in farm- ing. He was married in 1842 to Miss Eliz- abeth Shale, native of England, as has been noted, and by this union became the father of nine children, five of whom are living: Frankie, the wife of W. M. Davis, of San Diego, California; Wil- liam, a resident of New York City; Addie, the wife of Thomas Freeman, of St. Clair county, Missouri ; Charles and liCwis J., residents of this county. In politics the father followed faithfully the fortunes of the Republican party, and in religious affiliation he was actively con- nected with the Methodist Episcopal church. Lewis .]. Peterman obtained his edu- cation in the district schools of Shelby county, and when he left school to begin the battle of life, worked on the old home- stead until 1884, passing one year (1880) or the greater part of it, in Clarence with his mother, just after the death of his father. In 1884 he moved to Oregon, where he was engaged in ranching three years. At the end of that period he sold his ranch and changed his residence to Tulare county, California, and there he followed buying and shipping fruit with moderate success until 1895. He then re- turned to Clarence, Missouri, and during the next two years carried on a lively trade in boots and shoes, and for the lat- ter portion of the time, also in gents' fur- nishings. But his health began to give way under the close confinement of the store, and in 1897 he sold his business in the mercantile line and returned to farm- ing on 160 acres five miles south of Clar- ence. He retired from the farm, how- ever, within a short time and took up his residence in Clarence, where he has ever since been living in ease and freedom from toil. He retains his farm and em- ploj's the revenues from it in comfort- able living, the land being in charge of a tenant, who farms it largely under his. supervision and direction. Mr. Peterman was first married on June 24, 1885, to Miss Stella Gorby, of Shelby county, Missouri, and by this marriage became the father of two chil- dren, Itoth of whom are deceased. Their mother died on December 20, 1891, and on December 28, 1897, the father con- tracted a second marriage, being imited on this occasion with Miss Emma Whiles, of Macon county, Missouri. They have one child, their son William Lewis, who is living at home with thorn. In political affairs the father adheres with fidelity to 420 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY the Eepublican party, and he is at all times zealous and effective in its service, but never seeks any of its positions of honor or profit for himself. His fratei-- nal affiliation is with the orders of Mod- ern Woodmen of America and the I. 0. 0. F., and in religious matters he is con- nected with the Methodist Episcopal church. He has won a competence for life by his industry, enterprise and good management, and holds a high place in public estimation because of his useful- ness as a citizen and his worth and ex- cellence as a man. THOMAS A. BEAN. This highly esteemed citizen of Clar- ence, wlio is now living in ease and com- fort in his attractive home, retired from active pursuits after many years of toil and trial, is a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he was born on November 4, 1836. He is of Irish ances- try, both his father and his mother hav- ing been natives of the Emerald Isle. The father, "William "Warren Bean, was born in Dublin, Ireland, and came to the United States in 1833. He located in Bucks county, Pennsjdvania, at that time one of the most progressive and prosper- ous sections of the country, and there he followed architecture and building, and in addition engaged extensively in farm- ing until 1843. In that year he sold all his interests in Bucks county and moved to Philadel- phia, where he carried on a large grocery business until his death in 1855. He was united in marriage with Miss Fannie Briton, like liimself born in Ireland, as has been stated, and by this marriage be- came the father of seven children, three of whom are living : Daniel, whose home is in Fresno, California ; Martha, the wife of George Bright of St. Louis, Mis- souri, and Thomas A. The father was a devout member of the Presbyterian church and took a great interest in the welfare of the congregation to which he belonged. His political faith was an- chored firmh^ to the principles of the Democratic party, and in the success of that organization he at all times mani- fested the most earnest interest. He was a veiy active worker for the good of the party and during his life spent a large amount of money in its behalf, although at no time desii'ous of holding any of the offices in its gift, either by election or appointment. Thomas A. Bean obtained his educa- tion in the district schools of his native county, and on leaving school in 1858 came to Alissouri and located in Monroe county. There he worked on a number of different farms until 1862, when he moved to Shelby county. In this county he was continuously, energetically and profitably engaged in fanning and rais- ing live stock until 1901. He then sold his farm and retired from active work. He and his wife passed the next four years in visiting their children in Idaho, "Washington, and ]\lontana, and also vis- ited Oregon. Eeturning to Missouri in 1905, he bought the home he now occu- pies in Clarence, and with his wife he has made this a center of refined and gracious hospitality and one of the pop- ular resorts of the city ever since. Mrs. Bean, whose maiden name was Sarah S. Meadows, was born on Decem- ber 25, 1837, and is a daughter of Ander- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 431 son Meadows of this state. They were married on January 24, 1862, and their nnion resulted in the birth of eight chil- dren, seven of whom are living: Fannie L., the wife of J. L. Million of Maud in this county; Daniel 0., who resides in the state of Washington; James A., whose home is at Mullan, Idaho ; Samuel C, who is also a resident of Mullan, Idaho; Warren, who lives in this coun- ty ; William P. of Mullan, Idaho ; and Nora, the wife of W. W. Stohr of Plains, Montana. Mr. Bean, the father of these children, has been a life-long adherent of the Dem- ocratic party and one of the wheel horses of the organization in the locality of his home. He is active in its service without any personal interest to serve, as he nev- er desires an office of any kind for him- self. His fraternal relations are with the Ancient Order of United AVorkmen and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in religious affairs he leans to the Missionary Baptist church, of which his wife has long been a member, zealous in her devotion to its interest and energetic in its service. AVILLIAM F. HIRRLINGER. Beginning the battle of life for himself at an early age, and wholly' dependent on his own resources for advancement, Wil- liam F. Hirrlinger of Clarence, where he carries on a flourishing business as a fuiniture dealer and undertaker, real- ized that it was necessary for him to em- l^loy his every energy, all his time and all the business capacity he could sum- mon to succeed and make headway. He has acted on this conviction and made it tell greatly to his advantage, having be- come one of the men of material sub- stance in his community and risen to high standing as a man, a merchant and a citizen among its people. Mr. Hirrlinger was born on December 26, 1877, in Shelby county, Missouri, and obtained his education in its district schools and at the high school in Clar- ence. After leaving school at the age of eighteen, he at once began a mercantile career as a dealer in buggies and imple- ments. He continued his operations in these lines two years, then, in 1897, sold his business in them and transferred his energies and attention to the furniture trade and undertaking. He has been ac- tively engaged in these departments of mercantile life ever since, with the ex- ception of two years, during which he was on the road for F. C. Biddle & Bros., handling coffins and other undertakers' supplies. AVhile he was engaged in the furniture and undertaking business he was also associated with M. H. Lewis in the hardware trade. He has been very successful, now owning business and residence property of value, and holding other interests which are of consequence and remunerative, and all his acquisi- tions are the result of his own persever- ing industry, alertness to see and seize his opportunities, and good management in making the most of them. Mr. Hirrlinger was united in marriage with Miss Emma A. McCarty of this county in 1900. They have two children, their sons, Charles and Hai'old, both of whom are living at home, and brighten- ing the family fireside with their pres- ence. In political relations the father is a firm and faithful member of the Dem- 432 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY ocratic party, in whose affairs he shows an earnest interest and takes an active part, rendering his party good service in all its campaigns, although seeking none of its official favors for himself. As an active and devoted member of the Masonic order and the order of Knights of Pythias, he has for years been zealous and energetic in the fraternal life of the community; and as a com- municant of the Southern Methodist Episcopal cliurch he has contributed es- sentialh' and substantially to the moral and spiritual welfare of the section in which he lives. He has also done a good citizen's part toward promoting the material welfare and progi-ess of his lo- cality, supporting with ardor and prac- tical sei'vice every worthy undertaking in which the lasting good of his township and county has been involved, or where- by the comfort and convenience of its people could be enlarged and advanced. He is esteemed as one of the best citi- zens of his home town, and is widely and favorably known throughout the county and a large extent of the surrounding country. GEORGE T. GILMAN. The scion of old New England families and inheriting their traits of ingenuity, thrift and readiness for every emer- gency, George T. Gilman, one of the re- spected and influential citizens of Clar- ence, has known how to promote his own interests under all circumstances and has also been potential in furthering the wel- fare of the community of his home and promoting the best interests of its people. Mr. Gilman is a native of Piscataquis county, Maine, where he was born on November 29, 1858. His grandfather, James Gilman, was a native of New Hampshire, and his son, George "W. Gil- man, the father of George T., was born in Somerset county, Maine, on August 24, 1828. In his earh' manhood the father was proprietor of hotels in Maine and California for a number of years. He came to Missouri in 1868 and settled on a farm three miles southeast of Clar- ence, on which he was energetical!}', pro- gressively and profitably engaged in farming and raising live stock until 1897. He then moved to Clarence, and during the rest of his life enjoyed the peaceful existence of a well-to-do retired farmer, highly esteemed by his fellow citizens and in all respects worthy of the regard and good will they bestowed upon him. In 1900 he made a trip to his old home in the far East to visit the scenes of his early life and his relatives in that part of the country, and while there died at Foxcroft, Maine, on June 8 of that year. It was in Foxcroft, also, that he was married, being united there in 1855 with ]\[iss Martha Thomjison, of that town. They became the parents of two children, both of whom are living : George T. and his older sister Abbie, the wife of C. F. Osgood, of Garland, Maine. In politics the father was a Republican of pro- nounced convictions and faithful party service, and in fraternal relations was connected with the order of Odd Fellows. George T. Gilman did not accom])any his father to the Pacific coast, but re- mained in the home of his ancestors and grew to the age of sixteen there. He was educated in the district schools of his na- tive county and at an excellent academy Dr. JOHN M. McCULLY HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 433 in Foxcroft, in that oonnty. Upon the completion of his education in 1874 he came to Missouri and joined liis father, who had lieen here in Shelby county for six years before his arrival. He worked with his father on the farm and in the live stock industry conducted on it until the father retired in 1897, when he took practical charge of the business. But about the same time he, also, moved to Clarence, putting the farm of 400 acres out to be farmed on shares, as it has been ever since, he still retaining the ownership and superintending the farm- ing operations. On January 24, 1889, Mr. Gilman was married to Miss Ella M. Chinn, a daugh- ter of George W. and Maria (Abington) Chinn, and a resident of Clarence at the time of the marriage. They have one child, their daughter, Abbie L., who is living at home with her parents. The father, like his father, but as a matter of firm conviction for himself, has been a life-long Republican in political faith and activity, and, like his father, also, has rendered his party energetic and effec- tive support without political ambition or aspirations to public office. His fra- ternal connection is with the Masonic or- der. He is a friend to all good angencies at work among the people of his com- munity, and helps to sujiport all without regard to sect or partisan considera- tions. He is universally regarded as one of the most active and helpful citizens of Clarence and Shelby county, and is al- ways reliably numbered among their most progressive and representative men. In January, 1911, Mr. Gilman pur- chased the interest of E. C. Shain in the Shelby County State Bank of Clarence and was elected president of the same to succeed Mr. Shain. Mr. Gilman is a gen- tleman of wide business experience and enjoys the confidence of the people of the entire county. JOHN M. McCULLY, M. D. Dr. McCuUy, who is engaged in the successful practice of his profession at Clarence, is recognized as one of the able and representative physicians and sur- geons of Shelby county, and in view of this fact he is well entitled to considera- tion in this compilation, which has to do with the history of the county and its people. He is a scion of one of the hon- ored pioneer families of Missouri, where his grandfather, John McCully, a native of Tennessee, took up his abode in an early day, becoming one of the sterling pioneers of Randolph county, where he passed the residue of his life and where he followed agricultural pur- suits. Dr. MeCully was born in Randolph county, this state, on May 8, 1851, and is a son of William and Frances C. (Yates) McCully. William McCully was born in Randolph county, Missouri, on June 4, 1828, and was there reared and educated. He was identified with the great basic in- dustry of agriculture throughout his en- tire active career and in this connection he so ordered his efforts as to gain a gen- erous measure of success, becoming one of the substantial citizens of Shelby coun- ty, whither he removed from Randolph county in the year 1860 and where his death occurred in the year 1901. He left an estate whose valuation was conserva- 424 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY tively placed at fully thirty thousand dollars, and at the time of his demise he was the owner of more than eight hun- dred acres of valuable land. He was pi'ominent and influential in public af- fairs in his community and for many years held the office of school director in his district. His fine old homestead, where his death occurred, is located in Taylor townshi]), this county. In poli- tics he was a zealous and efficient advo- cate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands spon- sor. He was a man of probity and honor and ever held the implicit confidence and esteem of those with whom he came in contact in the various relations of life. On March 28, 1850, he was united in mai-- riage to- Miss Frances C. Yates, who was born in Kentucky and reared in Ran- dolph county, this state, and whose death occurred on April 1, 1891. She was a de- voted member of the Cumberland Pres- byterian church and was a woman whose gentle and gracious attributes of character endeared her to all who came within the sphere of her influence. Of this marriage seven children were born and of the number the subject of this review is the eldest. "William C. is a successful farmer of Shelby count}', Sarah C. is the wife of James W. Collins, of Macon coimty; Georgia E. is the wife of William E. Mc- Cully, of Macon, this state; Mary E. is the wife of John II. Hudson, of Cherry Box, Shelby county ; Thomas M. is a suc- cessful physician and surgeon and is en- gaged in practice at Novelty, Knox- county, and Lucy V. is the wife of Charles H. Sterling, of Cherry Box. On November 21, 1893, William Mc- Cully married Mrs. Mary E. Vandiver, who survives him. Dr. John M. McCully passed his boy- hood and youth on the home farm and was a lad of nine years at the time of the family removal to Shelby county, where he was reared to maturity and where he received his early scholastic training in the district schools of Taylor township. Thereafter he continued his academic studies in Mount Pleasant College, at Huntsville, this state, in which well or- dered institution he completed the full four years' course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1871, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Soon afterward he began the study of medi- cine under the effective preceptorship of Dr. Luther Turner, of Cherry Box, this state, and in 1873, after the comple- tion of the prescri])ed three years' course, he was graduated in the St. Louis Medical College, from which he received his well earned degree of Doctor of Med- icine, and from which he came forth ad- mirably equip]ied and fortified for the active work of his exacting profession. He initiated his professional practice at Sue City, Macon county, this slate, where he remained for a period of nine years, at the expiration of which, in 1882, he removed to Shelbina, Shelby county, where he devoted his attention to pro- fessional work for a short period, and then, in May, 1883, imrchasod the plant and business of the Shelbina Index, of which weekly paper he continued as edi- tor and publisher for two years, being successful in the journalistic field. In 1885 he disposed of the paper and busi- ness and the ])ublication of the same is now continued under the title of the HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 425 Slielbiua Torchlight. After retiriug from the iiews^japer field Dr. ]McCully engaged in the drug business in Shel- bina, continuing this enterprise, together with the practice of his profession, for twelve years. He then sold his drug business and shortly afterward he ef- fected, in 1896, the organization of the Shelby County Telephone Company, his interest in which he later sold to other citizens of Shelbina. During the six years of his active identification with the telephone business the doctor was presi- dent and general manager of the com- pany which he thus organized and he developed its business along most effect- ive and successful lines. He also has the distinction of having been a pioneer in the development of the independent tele- phone business in the United States. In 1903 Dr. McCully removed to Clar- ence, where he established McCully 's pharmacy, which he has since conducted with ever-increasing success, while he still gives no little attention to the prac- tice of his profession. He is identified with the Missouri State Medical Society and the Shelby County Medical Society, and is held in high esteem both as a phy- sician and as a progressive and ])ublic spirited business man of unqualified civic loyalty and optimism. He is a stockholder in the Clarence Savings Bank, is a staunch Democrat in his polit- ical allegiance, is aililiated with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife is a member of the Southern M. E. church. He was president of the board of education at Shelbina for nine years and was largely instrumental in provid- ing for the erection of the fine new school building in that place. On September 18, 1873, Dr. Mc- Cully was united in marriage to Miss Martha Alice Kawlings, who was born in Tiger Fork, Shelby county, on Oc- tober 11, 1851, and who is a daughter of the late William H. Rawlings, one of the representative citizens of this coun- ty. Dr. and Mrs. McCvdly became the parents of three children, of whom two are living, Aubrey M., who resides in Shelbina, and Glessner. Dr. and Mrs. McCully are prominent and popular in connection with the social activities of their home town and their attractive resi- dence is a recognized center of gracious hospitality. JAMES F. CBOW. One of the most successful among the farmers, merchants and manufacturers of Scotland and Shelby counties of this state and widely and favorably known throughout northeastern Missouri as a public spirited and enterprising citizen, whose energies and resources were al- ways available for the service of his lo- cality and its j^eople, James F. Crow, of Shelbina, had won his way to the conse- quence and influence and the business prosperity for which he was distin- guished by his own efforts and inborn capacity. Mr. Crow was a native of Scotland county, this state, born on March 2, 1846. He was a grandson of John Crow, a na- tive of Kentucky, and a son of Jacob and Agnes (Fifer) Crow, the former born near Perryville, Boyle county, Kentucky, and the latter in Augusta county, Vir- ginia. The father came to Missouri at an earlv dav and located in Boone coun- 426 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY ty with lii« parents. The family soon afterward moved to Pike county, and there he was educated in the district schools and began his life work as a farmer and stock man on his father's farm. He remained with his parents, helping them on the farm and assisting the family for a number of years after attaining his majority, and then moved to Scotland county, near Memphis, while yet the nomadic aborigines infested the region and sometimes became trouble- some, although in the main they were not unfriendly to the white invaders of their ancestral range and aboriginal rights. There he became an extensive and enterprising farmer, and also raised live stock and traded in it on a large scale until 1865, when he re- moved to Monroe county and resided there with his family until his death, which occurred on December 12, 1899. He was also a builder and put up the tirst jail erected in Scotland county, and took a great and very serviceable inter- est in school affairs, working with ardor for the cause of public education and vastly augmenting the power and useful- ness of the institutions devoted to it in that county. More than this, he mani- fested a very earnest interest in every- thing involving the welfare of the region and the advancement of its people, and never withheld the aid of his resourceful brain or ready and skillful hand from any worthy enterprise likely to promote them. At the time of his death he was possessed of about 600 acres of superior land and had it all under vigorous and productive cultivation. He was united in marriage with Miss Agnes Fifer and they became the parents of six children, two of whom are living: James F., who is the interesting subject of these paragraphs, died May 29, 1910; "William D., who resides in Kansas City, Missouri ; and Alice, the wife of John W. Gillispie. In political affairs and allegiance the father adhered to the Democratic party through life, and was a faithful worker for the success of the principles in which he believed. His religious connection was with the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and to this, also, he gave earnest and cordial support. James F. Crow obtained his education in the district schools of Scotland coun- ty and a graded school in Memphis, its present county seat. He remained on the ]iareutal farm, working under the direc- tion of his father and assisting the fam- ily until 1891, but during a large part of the time was also engaged in farming and raising and trading in live stock on his own account. At the time of his leav- ing home he owned and cultivated 600 acres of land of his own. In 1892 lie lo- cated in Shelbina, but continued his farming and stock industries, and in ad- dition carried on a flourishing and ex- tensive business as a dealer in farm lands. During the last seventeen years of his life he was continuously, profitably and extensively occupied in the milling industry, being conducted under the firm name of Crow & Co. Later it became Crow & Wlialey, and still later Crow & Co., and is now known as the Shelbina IMilling Comjiany. This, however, had not been Mr. Crow's first experience in the milling industry, for during 1885 and 1886 he was interested in a mill at Clar- ence and also a lumber business at the HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 427 same place. He was very successful in all his undertakings, making everything pay that he put his hand to, and showing his broad intelligeuoe, business acumen and masterly management in all. He owned 760 aci'es of land, which was farmed by tenants, and had considerable town property in addition. Mr. Crow was never married, but, al- though he had no family claims to impel him to action, he was, nevertheless, one of the most useful and progressive men in his community in all that pertains to the general welfare and the substantial and lasting good of the people. In polit- ical atifairs he was firmly attached to the Democratic party, and one of its most energetic working members. He never aspired to public station nor was willing to accept a political office of any kind, either by appointment or election. But no duty of citizenship was neglected by him, and all were performed with vigor, intelligence and an ardent desire to ad- vance the best interests of his county, state and country. He was regarded as one of Shelby county's best and most representative men, and was universally esteemed as such throughout the county and the whole of northeastern Missouri. MARTIN S. BUCKMAN. Of Kentucky ancestry and immediate parentage, and imbued with the spirit of enterprise and daring which laid the foundations of the great state in which his parents were born, and the breadth of view and progressiveness which have so largely aided in building the super- structure of the commonwealth, Martin S. Buckman, of Salt River township, in this county, has repeated in some meas- ure on the soil of Missouri the perform- ance of his progenitors in the blue grass region. True, he has not been called upon to face the dangers, endure the hardshiijs or engage in the large under- takings which were portions of the lot of his ancestors in the wilds of Kentucky in its frontier days, but whatever has come his way to do or endure he has con- fronted with a manly sjnrit and over- come by persistent and well directed energy, and has therefore met in his day the duty of life as faithfully as they did in theirs. Mr. Buckman was born in Monroe county, Missouri, on December 3, 1856, and came into life, therefore, after the frontier period had passed, although the country here was even then sparsely settled and very largely undeveloped. His grandfather, John R., and his father, Joseph R. Buckman, were natives of Kentucky, where the father was born on November 5, 181.3. He came to Missouri in the early days and located in Monroe county, where passed the remainder of his days busily engaged in farming and raising live stock and rearing to ma- turity, with the best instruction and ex- ample he could give them, his numerous offspring. He was a man of energy and determination, and was successful in his ventures, retiring in 1877 from larger operations to a farm of 2-10 acres in this county. He was married in 1838 to Miss Martha Simms, of the same nativity as himself, and by this marriage tliey be- came the parents of ten children, nine of whom are living: John G., whose home was in Monroe county, this state, died 428 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY December 25, 1909; Benjamin, who re- sides in California ; Frank, who lives in Shelby covmty; ^fary A., the widow of the late George "\V. Drake, wliose present home is in Qnincy, Illinois ; Douglas, also a resident of Monroe county, Missouri; Martin S., the subject of this brief re- view ; Kate, the wife of Stephen Seward, of Monroe county; Elizabeth, who lives in this county; and George, who has his residence in the state of Nebraska. The father died in 1880. He was a Democrat in politics and a Catholic in religious faith and allegiance. He was twice mar- ried, his first wife having died in 1865. His second wife was Frances Fowler. George was born to the second marriage. His second wife died in 1872. His son, Martin S. Buckman, grew to manhood on his father's farm and ob- tained a limited education in the district schools of Monroe county. After leav- ing school he worked on the home farms in Monroe and Shelby counties with his father until 1880. Tlien, by the death of the father the conditions of the home were changed, and he bought a fanu of 240 acres of his own in Shelby coimty. On this as a nucleus he has ever since been energetically and skillfully en- gaged in farming and raising live stock, increasing his land and his business as Fortune has smiled on his enterprise and ability, until he now owns about 1,000 acres of good land and has it all imder cultivation and brought to a high state of improvement and productiveness. He also holds stock in the Commercial Bank of Shelbina and is one of its directors, besides being interested in other indus- tries of value. On .January 30, 1882, he was united in marriage with Miss Emma Simms, of Monroe county, Missouri. They bav« had eleven children, ten of whom are liv- ing: Olive, the wife of Loren Yates, of Monroe City; Lambert, Lillian, Alfred, Grigg, Julius, Benjamin, ^lary (de- ceased), Otis, Martha and Genevieve. In politics the father is a Democrat and in religion a Catholic. CHARLES N. SCHWIETERS. Thrown on his own resources at the early age of fourteen years, and at that age leaving his home to try his fortunes in a distant and strange land in which he had no relatives and few, if any, ac- quaintances, Charles N. Sehwieters, one of the substantial retired farmers and live stock men of Salt River township, Shelby county, has, in his subsequent career and achievements fully justified the faith of his friends and his own in his ability to take care of himself in a worldly way and make his own progress a certainty, and at the same time be of good service to any community which might have the benefit of his citizenship and good example of industry. Mr. Sehwieters was born in Prussia, Germany, on October 2, 184-8. His father, Casper, and his grandfather, Joseph Sehwieters, were natives of the Fatherland also, as was his mother, whose maiden name was ^lary Gayner, and in that great empire their forefath- ers had lived many generations before them. The father was born in 1813 and married to ]\Iiss Gayner in 1846. They became the parents of seven children, four of whom are living: Sophia, the wife of Christopher Kuehne, of Lentner, HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 439 Missouri; Charles N., the interesting subject of this review; Clement, who re- sides in Los Angeles, California; and Barney, whose home is still in Germany. The father, Casper Schwieters, was a soldier in Germany and took an active part in the war of 1848 in that country, through the disastrous ending of which numbers of distinguished Germans be- came exiles from their native land. Charles N. Schwieters began his edu- cation in Germany and completed it in night schools in this country. At the age of fourteen he came to the United States, and under the persuasive allure- ments of the West, which were based on a solid foundation of real wealth of op- portunity, he left the Atlantic seaboard to those who found it satisfactory and himself hastened into the bustling ac- tivities and expanding hopes and pros- pects of the great Mississipjoi valley, lo- cating in Qnincy, Illinois, arriving in that city in 1863. His resources financially were very limited and it was necessary for, him to find employment at once. He soon found an engagement on implement and bridge work, on which he spent the hours of toil during the day, and with character- istic energ\' and foresight, attended school at night. He continued this ar- rangement until 1868, then moved to Warsaw, Illinois, where he worked in a woolen mill about two years. In 1870 he came to Missouri and located near Lentner in this county, where he passed one year on a farm. But there was still a voice from the farther West within him, pleading for recognition, and in 1871 he went to Colorado and in that state and Nevada he passed the next five years. He did not, however, find that section of the country as agreeable to him as this, and in 1877 he returned to Missouri and Shelby county, and located on a farm of eighty acres, which he occupied three years. The spirit of roving and adventure was not yet fully satisfied in him, and in 1880 he moved to Monroe county, and during the next ten years he was prosperously engaged in farming and raising live stock in that county. In 1890 he once more became a resident of Shelby county, and this has, been his home ever since. He was industriously and skilfully engaged in farming here from that time until 1908, when he re- tired from active work and rented to his sons the 360 acres of fine land which he had acquired. In November, 1868, he was vmited in marriage with Miss Johanna Moessmer, who was born in Germany in 1848 and is a daughter of Charles and Clara (Dehner) Moessmer of that country. By this marriage he became the father of eleven children, nine of whom are liv- ing: Clement J., John C, Frederick W., Henry V., Frank, Louis N., Joseph, Wil- liam and Clara May. They are all resi- dents of Shelby county but Frank, who lives in Moni'oe county. Louis lives on the old homestead, and Joseph, William and Clara May are living at home with their parents. The father is a Repub- lican in politics, and ardently supports his political party in all its campaigns. He belongs to the Catholic church, and is devout and constant in his obedience to its teachings. 430 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY A poor lioy with nothing but his own health, strength and unconqiierable spirit, and a friendless exile from his native land, at the age of fourteen; a man of large means and a highly re- sjiected citizen in the country of his adoption at sixty; this is his record, and it is creditable to our land of great re- sources and abundant opportunities. But it is far more to his credit, because it has been his native ability, fidelity to duty and determined industry and fru- gality which have wrought such gratify- ing results. Others, many of them, have had similar or equal ojjportunities, but he has taken advantage of liis and made the most of them. The people among whom he has lived, labored and suc- ceeded so well recognize his merit and esteem him accordingly as one of their best citizens. He also owns two tine residences in Shelbina. MOST. D. AYERS. Orphaned in his infancy, when he was little more than one year old, by the untimely death of his father at the early age of forty-four, and being one of eight children left for the mother to rear and educate, Mort. D. Ayers, now one of the prosperous, progressive and en- terprising farmers of Salt River town- ship in this county, was forced to begin the battle of life for himself at an eai'ly age, and for years after beginning it found the struggle an arduous and try- ing one. But he had the make-up of a man of merit and determination, and never lost faith in himself or his ability to win out in the contest, whatever its difficulties. Mr. Ayers was born at Bay City, Michigan, on ^hiy 30, 1867, and is a son of Wright and Clara (Wright) Ayers, natives of Massachusetts, where the father was born in 1824, and where they were married. They had eight children, only two of whom are now living, Mort. D. and his older sister, Mina, the wife of j\Ir. Middleton, of Allen, Michigan. The father was a carpenter and pros- pered at his trade, bidding fair to win a competence for himself and his family, when death ended his labors in 1868. After his death, about one year, tliat is, in 1869, the mother brought her off- si)ring to Missouri and located in Shel- bina. Here the son obtained a limited common school education, and as soon as he completed it immediately engaged in farming and raising live stock on a farm of 120 acres of land three miles east of Shelbina. The career as a farmer which he thus began he has continued to the present time, and in his efforts for ad- vancement has been successful, winning a comfortable estate through his persist- ent and .iudiciously applied industrj' and his frugality and good management. He is now one of the substantial and well- to-do farmers and stock men of his town- ship, and is also regarded as one of its most progressive and enterprising citi- zens in respect to all matters of public improvement. For he has taken a warm and lioli)ful interest in every worthy un- dertaking designed to advance the wel- fare of the locality of his home or pro- mote the good of its people. On July 2-t, 1887, Mr. Ayers was united in marriage with Miss Julia Nitsche, a daughter of Fred and Minnie (Miller) Nitsche, of Shelbina, where HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 431 Mrs. Avers was born ou May 5, 1866. Four children have been born to the union, three of whom are living: Clara Lillian, the wife of James T. Greening, of this county, and Lee Frederick and Alberta, who are living at liome with their jiarents. As a member of the Ma- sonic order and the Order of Odd Fel- lows the father has taken a deep interest in the fraternal life of his community and contributed to the expansion of its usefulness and the strengtliening of its forces for good. He has sought nothing in the way of i:)olitical preferment, but has, nevertheless, taken a very active in- terest in local public affairs with a view to securing the best results for the gen- eral weal of the township and county of his home. No duty of citizenship lias been neglected by him, and all have been performed with zeal, fidelity and intel- ligence, and he is esteemed by his fellow men of the locality in accordance with his demonstrated worth and usefulness. GEORGE A. WRIGHT. This valued citizen and prosperous farmer and live stock man of Salt River township liegan life for himself with nothing and now has a comfortable com- petence, all of which he has acquired by his own thrift, persistent industry and excellent management. He knows what is required in the way of effort for ad- vancement where the competition is so keen and the avenues of progress are becoming so crowded, when a man has nothing to depend on but his own un- aided faculties, and he can therefore ap- preciate the endeavors of others situated as he was when he began the struggle. Mr. Wright was born in Lewis county, Missouri, on July 28, 1865, where his l^arents had located two years before. His father, also named George, was born in Canada in 1825 and is still living at the grand old age of eighty-five years, with a cousidei'able measure of his vigor still available. He is like some genial and fruitful year, passing to its close, doubtless, but with some of its warmth and beauty and usefulness still remain- ing. He came to the United States be- fore the Civil war and took up his resi- dence in Illinois, where he followed farm- ing two or three years. In 1863 he moved across the Mississippi to Lewis county, Missouri, but four or five years later became a resident of Shelby county, and here he has ever since had his home. In 1899, after farming and raising live stock for a period of more than sixty- five years, he retired from active pur- suits and moved to Shelbina, where he now resides. He was united in marriage with ]\Iiss Nancy Hastings, of Ohio. They became the parents of twelve children, six of whom are living: Ella, the wife of J. W. Peters, of Shelbina; George A., the pleasing subject of this sketch ; Wil- liam, who is a resident of Paris, Mis- souri; Lillie, the wife of Roy Haskins, of Shelbina; Nettie, the wife of Louis Noble, also a resident of Paris, Missouri ; and Ida, the wife of David Montgomery, of Shelbina. The mother of these chil- dren is still living. In politics the father is a Republican, and in religious affilia- tion a member of the Christian church. George A. Wright obtained a limited education in the country schools of Shelby county, and after leaving school 432 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY at an early age worked on farms in the neigliborliood of his home, and also at railroading until 1885. He was thrifty and economical, and by the year last mentioned felt himself able to engage in a ]3ermanent occupation, and therefore bought a farm near Shelbina. He pros- pered on this, and in 1896 bought an- other farm of eighty acres, on which lis has been actively and profitably engaged in farming and raising live stock from that time to the present. In 1909 he purchased ninety acres adjoining. As his prosperity has increased he has pur- chased additional land, and now owns 260 acres, all of which he has under ad- vanced and productive ciiltivation. Mr. Wright has his farm well im- proved with good buildings and fully equipped with all the necessary ap- pliances foi"' its tillage according to the most approved modem methods, and he studies his business in all its features with a view to securiug the best results for all his outlay of toil and care in con- nection with it. He is regarded as one of the enterprising and progressive farmers and stock men of his township, and the appearance of his farm indicates that he deserves the reputation he en- joys. On November 22, 1887, he was united in marriage with Miss Amanda L. Peters, who was born in Scotland county, Missouri, on May 8, 1859, and is a daughter of "William and ]\Iatilda (Rice) Peters. Seven children have been born of the union, five of whom are living, and are at home with their ]iarents. They are: Artie Francis, Benjamin Alex- ander, "William P., Porter Clifford and Gladys Loree. In politi(>s the father is a Republican. JOHN H. MOORE. Born April 24, 1848, in Bethel town- ship, this county, and having passed all his subsequent years within the county, John H. Moore, of that township, where he carries on an extensive business as a farmer and stock man, has witnessed the progress and development of tlie re- gion and has done his part to aid in pro- moting them. In his boyhood the local- ity of his present residence was but little removed from its wild state, or at the most was still but sparsely peopled and its settlement was in a primitive state. But he, when he grew to manhood, and many others like him, gave attention to the needs of the locality and under their quickening labors it has grown to great- ness, wealth and power, witli every ele- ment of its civilization iuteuse with ac- tivity and enterprise. Mr. Moore is a son of Elislia and Ad- monia (Brown) Moore, the former a na- tive of Kentucky and the latter born in the same state, but brought to Missouri by her parents at a tender age. The father came to Ralls county. ^Missouri, in about 1829, but settled in this county in 1836, and passed the remainder of his days here actively and profitably en- gaged in farming and raising live stock. He was first married in 18.S0 to INIiss Amanda Gentry, a native of Ralls coun- ty, in this state. They had three chil- dren. Their mother died in 1843, and the father afterward contracted his mar- riage with Miss Admonia Brown. Five > •z a C/3 I— I o X z o o po m HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 433 children were boru of this uuiou, four of whom are living, "William, John H., Tandy G. and Marj^ E., the wife of S. Bragg, of Bethel. The father was a AVhig in polities. His death occurred in 1851 and that of the mother on August 7. 1891. Their sou John H. began his education in the district schools of this county and completed it at a high school. Since leaving school he has been continuously and energetically engaged in farming and raising stock, and by industry and good management has become one of the most extensive farmers in the county. He owns over 1,200 acres of land, which is of good quality and the greater part of it is under advanced and skillful cul- tivation. The stock industry connected with the farming operations is also ex- tensive and conducted with great enter- prise and excellent judgment. Mr. Moore is also a leading stockholder in the Shelby County Railroad Company and has other interests of value in the county and elsewhere. On July 15, 1879, he was united in marriage with Miss Nannie Moran, a daughter of Solon and Mary Winifred (Martin) Moran, natives of Madison county, Kentucky, who came to Missouri when their daughter, now Mrs. Moore, was but six months old. By her marriage to Mr. Moore she has become the mother of eight children, seven of whom are liv- ing — Mary Edna, the wife of AValter Singleton ; James C, Lulu D., Hattie, Lucy E., John, Jr., and Frankie, the wife of Charles E. Baldwin, of Knox county, Missouri. In politics the father is an active, working Democrat, always zealous and effective in the service of his party, but never desirous of official station of any kind, although he has served on the school board for a period of over twenty-five years. He does not belong to any fraternal or social organi- zation, but is a devoted and serviceable member of the Baptist church. He has been very successful and always mani- fested a lively and helpful interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of his township and county. He is looked upon as a model farmer of large enter- l^rise and great progressiveness and is universally esteemed as a citizen and a man correct in his demeanor in every re- lation of life. And as he has passed all the years of his life in the locality of his present home the people around him have full knowledge of his worth. RICHARD O'DONNELL. This prosperous and highly respected retired farmer of Shelby county, whose well improved and skillfully cultivated farm of eighty acres lies in Salt River township, is a good illustration of the adaptability of the Irish race and its readiness to grapple with any condition in life and secure advancement if given a fair chance. He came to this country after going from his native land to Aus- tralia and passing a few years there. He had practically nothing when he came, but the qualities of pluck, perseverance and shrewdness, with which nature had endowed him, and he is now a man of substance, with a comfortable corape fence for life and stands high in the es- teem of all who know him. Mr. O'Donnell was born in Ireland on September 15, 1833. His father, John 434 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY O'Donnell, and his grandfather, Richard O'Donnell, were also natives of the Emerald Isle, and there their forefath- ers lived many generations. The father came to the United States in 1845 and located in New York City, but three years later returned to Ireland, and there passed the balance of his life. He was a stone mason by occupation and did well at his trade. He was married in 1832 to Miss Mary Shea, also of Ire- land, and they had six children. Richard O'Donnell obtained his edu- cation in Ireland and passed the years of his early manhood in Australia, where he was engaged in building- bridges and saw mills. It was natural that he should seek better opportunities away from his native heath than the political and social conditions in his own country affoi'ded, and as Australia was a new and pro- gressive land, with seeming abundance of opportunity for a poor but ambitious young man, he went there. And the qual- ities of head and hand and heart which he possessed, which would have won him success almost anywhere, were service- able to him there. But still he hankered for America, and in 1877 he came to this country and found a home in Chicago, where he worked six months. He then moved to Shelby county and located on the farm in Salt River township on which he now lives, and on which he was actively and profitably engaged in farm- ing and raising live stock until his re- tirement from active work in 1904. Mr. O'Donnell's farm comprises eighty acres of good land and is well im- proved. He applied to its cultivation while he was in charge of it the intelli- gence he had gained in his extensive and varied experience, and also what he had gained in study and from observation and reflection, and he brought it to a high state of fertility and productive- ness. It is now farmed by tenants, but Mr. O'Donnell still supervises the farm- ing, and the same care and systematic work that he performed is the rule gov- erning all its operations, and the stand- ard of excellence in farming set up by him still prevails in every feature of what is done on the i^lace. Mr. O'Donnell was married in 1870 to Miss Jane Cross, also a native of Ire- land. They have had eight children, six of whom are living, and all residents of Shelby county. They are : John, also a prosperous farmer; Thomas, who re- sides in Shelbina; Richard, Jr.; Mary, the widow of Eugene Bailey; Eugene, who is a farmer of this county ; and Eve- lyn, who is at home with her parents. The father is a pronomiced Democrat in his political faith and allegiance, and his religious connection is with the Catholic church, of which he is a devout and faith- ful member. JOHN F. SPARKS. Born of one of the sturdy strains of Virginia yeomanry on his father's side of the house, his paternal grandfather, Robert Sparks, having been a product of old families in the Old Dominion, and of Kentucky parentage on both sides, John F. Sparks, of Salt River township, in this county, has reproduced in his own career on the soil of Missouri the best historical and traditional life features of his ancestry in the two older states of the South, and shown that whatever the HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY^ 4:!5 condition or snrroundings of the sterling American citizen, he is snre to exemj^lify the commendable traits of character and manhood that have given that citizenship its high rank in the jndicions estimate of the world. Mr. Sparks himself is a native of Hen- r}^ county, Kentucky, where he was born on January 4, 1835. His father, James P. Sparks, was born in Kentucky on Jan- uary 4, 1801, and was reared and edu- cated in his native state. There, also, he began the career as a farmer and live stock man which lasted to the end of his life. He came to Missouri and located his family on the boundary line between Monroe and Shelby counties in 1839, the dwelling of the family being in Monroe and part of the farm on which it was lo- cated in Shelby county. Here he renewed his activity as a farmer and stock man and continued it to his untimely death in 1846, at the age of forty-five years. He was very enterprising and energetic and success followed all his efforts. And from the indications presented he was destined to become a man of consider- able wealth and influence if death had not cut short his usefulness when he was at the height of his powers. In 1822 he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Elizabeth Threlkeld, and by this union he became the father of fourteen children, five of wliom are living: Martha Margaret, the wife of Judge N. Adams, of Shelbina; John F., who is the interesting theme of this writ- ing; Sarah Elizabeth, the wife of Henry Sparks ; Nancy Helen, the wife of Henry Smith, of Monroe county; and S. A. Sparks, an esteemed citizen of Blackwell, Oklahoma. The father was a loyal and zealous member of the Democratic party from the dawn of his manhood, and his services to his party were always pro- nounced and appreciated by the leaders and the rank and file of the organization. John F. Sparks was reared on the pa- rental farm and educated at the district schools of Monroe county. After leaving school life on the farm seemed tame and insipid to him, and accordingly, in 1853, he gratified the love of adventure he had inherited from his forefathers by going to California, which had not long before thrilled the world with the inspiring strains of its golden music. He remained on the Pacific coast fourteen years, then returned to his Missouri home, locating in Shelby county in 1867. In the mean- time he had mined and done teaming in the neighborhood of Sacramento, and had experienced all the adventure and exciting incidents in life that he had pre- viously longed for. After his return to this state he was continuously and profitably engaged in farming and raising live stock until 1904. In that year he retired from active pur- suits in consequence of a serious injury he received, and since then he has lived quietly in the eujojonent of the compe- tency his industry and frugality had brought him. He was married in 1870 to Mrs. Mary E. (List) Sparks, the widow of his deceased brother. Thej' had three children, two of whom are liv- ing: Gerard, of Moberly, and Ada B., the wife of Y. E. Sullivan, of this county. The father is a Democrat in politics, a Presbyterian in church connection and has been a Freemason in fraternal life. He is one of the most esteemed citizens of his township. 436 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY JOHN THORNTON KEITH. Highly successful in his vocation of farmer and live stock man, and- prom- inent and influential in county affairs for many years, John T. Keith, of Salt Eiver township, Shelby county, has served his day and generation well and given an excellent example for the giiid- ance and stimulation of the next. He is one of the leading farmers of his town- ship and one of the most useful and im- portant men in his county, exemplifying in his career the virtue and the value of industry and frugality in business and of high character and public spirit in re- gard to community nit'airs. Mr. Keith was born in Monroe county, Missouri, on August 13, 1847, and is a grandson of John H. Keith, a native of Virginia, who left the home of his an- cestors in his early manhood to make a new one for himself in what was then the wilds of Kentucky. There, on the frontier, or near it, his son, William T. Keith, the father of John T., was bom in 1821. While he was yet a boy the family moved to Missouri, and in this state he grew to manhood, received his scholastic training and prejiared himself for a short but useful professional life. His academic education was completed at McDowell college in St. Louis, and after leaving that institution as a graduate, he studied medicine in Marion county. Wlien he was ready to enter the profes- sion he began his practice in Monroe county and later was associated with Dr. Bowen at Old Clinton in Monroe county. He rose rapidly in his profession and was fast api)roaching the first rank in the medical fraternity in this part of the state, when death ended his useful labors in 1855. The doctor did some farming in con- nection with his practice. He owned a farm of 240 acres which his slaves cul- tivated under his direction and supervi- sion. He was married in 1849 to Miss Mary Ann Smith, of Kentucky, and by this marriage became the father of one child, his son John T., the immediate subject of this sketch. His first wife died, and in 1851 he was married a sec- ond time, being united on this occasion with Miss Mary Lipscomb, of Monroe county, Missouri. They had one child also, who is now deceased. In politics the father trained with the old VTiug party, and in religious association he was connected with the Missionary Bap- tist church. John Thornton Keith began his edu- cation in the district schools of Monrod county and completed it at Bethel col- lege in Palmyra. He afterward pursued a course of special training at the Jones Commercial college in St. Louis. After leaving school he bought a farm of 120 acres in this county four miles south- west of Shelbina, and on this tract and the additions he made to it by subse- quent purchases, he has been actively engaged in farming and raising live stock, also in feeding and shipping stock, ever since until recently he sold 260 of the 380 acres of land which lie owned. His operations are now con- fined to his original 120 aci-es, and on this his specialty is handling jacks and jennets, and for his output in this de- partment of the live stock industry he is prominently and favorably known HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 43r throughout a wide extent of the country. He also liuys and feeds mules for the market, handling over 100 head annually. Locally he is best esteemed for his public spirit and devotion to tlie welfare and improvement of Shelby county. He is an ardent worker and stimulating force in all matters of progress and de- velopment, with a fine initiative spirit for designs and great energy and zeal in working them out. For more than forty years he has been president of the school board, and for a long time has served in the same capacity in the Shel- bina Fair association, which has pi'os- pered admirably under his skillful man- agement. On November 12, 1867, Mr. Keith mar- ried with Miss Martha Ellen Maddox, a native of Monroe coimty and a daughter of Marcus D. and Sarah M. (Sparks) Maddox, esteemed residents of that county. Eight children have been born of the union, seven of whom ai'e living: Ernest, resident in this county; Lena, the wife of Samuel Kimble, also dwell- ing in Shelby county; Alonzo, whose home is here too; Harry, who lives in Shelbina ; Bertie, the wife of Luther Fitzpatrick, of Monroe county; and Myrtle and Lester, who are still under the parental rooftree. The father is an earnest and devoted member of the Democratic party in his political relations and a faithful and ef- fective worker for the success of his party. His church affiliation is with the Southern Methodists, as is also his family. With his mind alert and fruit- ful and his hand open and free for every worthy undertaking for the good of*his township and county in a material way, and all his faculties ready at all times to aid in expanding and intensifying the power and usefulness of the moral agencies at work among their people, and with conscientious attention to every duty of citizenship, he is uni- versally and justly regarded as one of the leading and most serviceable men in this part of the state. JOHN WAY. Born and reared in that great hive of industry, the state of Pennsylvania, in which almost every form of human en- deavor finds expression if the latitude permits, and there trained to useful la- bor from his boyhood, enlisting in the Union army when he was eighteen, and during the four terrible years of our Civil war facing death on the battlefield and enduring the hardships and priva- tions of the march and the cam]i, John Way, one of the progressive and pros- perous farmers and live stock men of Salt River township, in this county, had a discipline in duty that fitted him for almost any requirement smd made him equal to almost any emergency in peace or war. Mr. Way was born on January 10, 1844, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Frederick and Harriet (Sprinkle) Way, natives of Matyland. The father was born near Hagerstown in that state, in 1815, and after a residence there and in Pennsylvania of fifty-seven years, came to Missouri in 1871 and lo- cated in Shelliy county, five miles south- west of Shelbina. Here he acquired land and was actively engaged in farming and raising live stock until 1891, when death 438 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY ended his labors. Before coining to this state lie lived and operated on farms which he rented in various localities in the former states of his residence. Both on them and on his own land in this county he was successful and wrought out good results by his skillful and per- sistent industry and his excellent man- agement. He was married in Hagerstown, Mary- land, to Miss Harriet Sprinkle, of the same nativity as himself, and they be- came the parents of eight children, six of whom are living: John, the interest- ing subject of this bi'ief review; Harry, whose home is in Shelbina ; Luther, a resident of Marion county ; Cyrus, also a resident of Marion county; Mary Ann, the wife of Mark Heuniuger, of Santa Ana, California; Alexander, of Shelby county, Missouri; and Clark, of Shel- bina. In political relations the father ad- hered to the Democratic party and gave it effective and appreciated service, al- though he never sought or desired a po- litical office for himself. His religious connection was with the Presbyterian church. The mother died in Shelby county October 25, 190-1. John Way was educated in the district schools of his native county, but left school when he was eighteen to enter the Federal army in defense of the Union. He enlisted in 18(52 in Company B, Six- teenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, under Corps Commander John B. Gregg and Col. K. E. Robinson, being enrolled in Pittsburg. He served throughout the war and was honorably discharged at Javis Hospital, in Baltimore,Maryland, in July, 1865. His military service was no child's play, but the most strenuous in its ex- actions and experiences. He was in the Army of the Potamac, around which the war storm raged perpetually, and he was called on to take part in some of the most renowned and sanguinary battles of the mighty conflict, among them those at Chancellorsville, Petersburg, the Wel- don railroad, Mine Run and "Winchester, and he was present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox, where the banner of the Confederacy went down in everlasting defeat. At the battle of Winchester he was wounded and taken to an old tobacco barn, where he lay four days in agony and was then taken to City Point, and there the news of President Lincoln's as- sassination reached him. After the war Mr. Way followed rail- roading on the section in AVestmoreland county, Pennsylvania, until 1871, when he came to Shelby county, Missouri, with his parents. After a residence in this county of two years, he returned to Pennsylvania and again engaged in rail- road work. Two years later he sold his interests in that state and came l)ack to this county, arriving in 1875, and liere he has been actively, extensively and profit- ably engaged in farming and raising live stock ever since. He now owns 140 acres of superior land and is prominently con- nected with the live stock industry, his specialty being feeding the best grades and strains of cattle and shipping his output to markets farther east. He has been very successful in all his undertak- ings and is regarded as one of the lead- ing cattle dealers in this j^art of the state. Mr. Way was married on August 13, 1867, to Miss Harriet :\rull, of Fayette county, Pennsylvania. They have had IirSTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 430 seven childi'en, three of whom are living: "William Upton, of Woodliind, Missouri; Forest Gary, whose home is in Seattle, Washington; and Celia AVay, the oldest of the three, who is the wife of Adolph Fitzpatrick. The mother of these chil- dren died September 11, 1894, and on October 25, 1896, the father married a second wife, being united in the second alliance with Miss Bettie Bennett, of Moberly, Missouri. They have two chil- dren, their daughters, Gladys and Delia May, who are still living at home with their parents. In politics the father is an active, working Eepubliean, but he never seeks an office of any kind for him- self, either by election or appointment, preferring to serve the state from the honorable jsost of private citizenship. He is a member of the Missionary Bap- tist church, and his wife belongs to the same. He has been zealous and help- ful in building up his township and coun- ty, and the people who live in them es- teem him highly as one of their best and most useful citizens. Mr. Way was a member of the G. A. E. for some years, but the post has since gone out of exist- ence, most of the members having died. MARION M. MAUPIN. Marion M. Maupin, of Lentner town- ship, who is one of the most extensive and successful farmers and live stock dealers in Shelby county, is a native of Monroe county, Missouri, where he was born on June 13, 1858, and a scion of old Virginia families resident in the Old Dominion from colonial times. He has inherited the elevation of character and sterling manliness of his ancestors, and is thoroughly imbued with the spirit of enterprise and progressiveness tliat fills the West with its energy and has made it so wealthy in production and potential in influence. He has therefore a com- bination of (puilities which would in.sure business success in almost any tield of effort and win him esteem and general consideration in any community. ]\Ir. Maupin is a grandson of Thomas G. Maupin, who was born, reared and passed his early manhood in Virginia, then moved to Missouri in the youth of this state but the full maturity of his own ijowers. His son, Thomas H. ]\Iaupin, the father of Marion M., was also a native of Virginia, born there in 1827. When he was but seven years of age the family moved to this state and located in Monroe county. There he grew to manhood and ol)taiued his edu- cation in the district schools. There also he farmed and raised live stock to the end of his life, except during a period of four years which he passed in California at the height of the early excitement over the discovery of gold in that state. He was successful as a miner there and as a farmer and live stock man here, and when he died in 1905 was possessed of a considerable estate, all won by his own industry, thrift and excellent manage- ment. In 1856 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary F. Maupin, of Marion county, Missouri, and by this marriage became the father of three children, of whom Marion M. is the only one now living. In political relations the father was a life-long Democrat, and from the dawn of his manhood to tlie end of his life was true and loyal to his party and 440 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY one of its zealous and effective workers in all campaigns. He never sought or desired a political office for himself, but worked for the principles of his party because he believed in them and from a stern and exacting sense of duty. His son, Marion M. Maupin, grew to manhood on the family homestead and assisted in its labors while attending the district school in the neighborhood and after leaving school until 1881. He then bought a portion of the land on which he now resides eight miles southwest of Shelbina, and began fanning and rais- ing live stock on his own account. Seek- ing no other occupation for his energies and devoting them to these with ardor and excellent judgment, he has been very successful. His methods have been progressive and all his operations have embodied the best thought and intel- ligence available concerning the lines of activity in which he has been engaged. Mr. Maupin now owns 940 acres of fine land and has it nearly all vmder vig- orous and skillful cultivation, and his live stock industry is in proportion to his acreage. He has some of the land farmed by tenants, but he gives it all his personal attention and supervision. In his stock industry he has somewhat specialized jacks and jennets, but he has also raised and shipped large numbers of Duroc-Jersey hogs, and he has not confined his output to the two lines men- tioned but has been an extensive shipper of general live stock to the Chicago and Eastern markets. He is also a stock- holder in the Old Bank of Shelbina. In the public affairs of his township and county ^Fr. Maupin has always man- ifested a cordial interest and taken an active part. He has served the people well and wisely as school clerk during the last fifteen years, and in many other ways has contributed materially and ex- tensively to the development and im- provement of the region in which he lives. No enterprise of value to the people has been without his active and serviceable aid and intelligent and stim- ulating guidance. And his services are highly appreciated by those who have had the benefit of them. On February 23, 1881, he was married to ^liss Emma Francis, a daughter of Thomas and Millie (Miles) Francis, highly esteemed residents of Monroe county. Six children have been born of the union, four of whom are living: Thomas Eugene, who resides in this county; Myrtle E., the wife of E. L. Smock, of Monroe county; Nannie B., the wife of Benjamin Stewart, also a resident of Monroe county; and Varian F., who is living at home with his par- ents. The father's political allegiance is given firmly and faithfully to the Democratic party, and in its service he is always energetic and influential. He is representative of all that is best in Shelby county citizenship, and is cor- respondingly esteemed by the people of the county, who know his worth and hold his usefulness in high regard. ^Irs. ]\Iaupin is a member of the Christian church. LEE DIMMITT. Beginning active efforts for himself in the struggle for advancement among men when he was but a youth, and now occupying a place of prominence in the industrial and public life of his com- LEE DIM MITT 445 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY 1898, and Dillman Daniel, boru in 1903. Tliey are all living at home with their parents. The father is a Democrat of the most reliable kind in his political as- sociation, and a very earnest and effi- cient worker for the success of his party in all campaigns. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow, a Modern Woodman and a Koyal Neighbor. His religious connec- tion is with the Southern Methodist church and that of his wife is with the Christian sect. Both work well for all church interests. JOHN S. BARTON. This prominent, progressive and pros- ]ierous farmer and live stock man of Lentner township is not a native of Shel- by countj', but has lived in it from the time when he was two years of age. He grew to manhood drawing his stature and his strength from its soil, was edu- cated in its district schools, and from his boyhood has been busily engaged in two of its leading industries. He is there- fore to all intents and purposes a Shelby county product, and the people of the county admire and esteem him as a rep- resentative of their best citizenship and an extensive contributor to the jirogress and development of this part of the state. Mr. Barton was boi-n in ]\lonroe coun- ty, Missouri, on June 10, 1849, and is a grandson of Squire P. Barton, one of the pioneers of northeastern jNIissouri, who was born and reared in Kentucky and came to this state in his early man- hood and located in Marion county. He liollted to lireak u]) the wild laud of that region and to lav the foundations of civil government for the county, being a man of great force of character and consider- able intelligence. His son, Morgan P. Barton, the father of John S., was born in Marion county in 1824 and moved to Shelby county in his young manhood. He followed farming and raising live stock from the time of his arrival in the county to the end of his life on 160 acres of land three miles south of Lentner. His widow, now aged eighty-four years, is living on that fai-m. The elder Mr. Barton was prospering finely and was well established in the confidence and esteem of the community in which he lived at the beginning of the Civil war. Being a man of strong con- victions and a high sense of duty, and believing firmly in the doctrine of state rights, he followed his convictions to the field of battle in response to one of the early calls of the Southern Confederacy for volunteers, enlisting in the command of Gen. Joseph Porter and being hurried soon afterward to the front. After a service of four months he broke one of his hands in a fall from his horse at the battle of Kirksville and, being hard pressed, gave himself up to the Federal authorities, surrendering to Colonel Benjamin. He was transferred from prison to prison, at length reaching the one at Alton, Illinois, in which he died in 1863. His remains were buried in an Alton burial ground with military honors. He was married on February 15, 1847, to Miss Elizabeth Ann iMcBroom, a na- tive of Virgina. Of the nine children born to them seven are living: John S., the immediate subject of this brief memoir; Sarah G., the wife of John HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 443 Clay, of this county; Mary Susan, the wife of John Brison, of Kansas City, Missouri ; Squire P., who is also a resi- dent of this county; Stephen F., also a Shelhy county citizen; AVilliani W., whose home is in Omaha, Nebraska ; and Morgan H., who lives in Shelby county. In politics the father was a pronounced and energetic Democrat. His religious affiliation was with the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South. His venerable widow, now eighty-four years old, as has been noted, is the oldest woman in Shelby county — a veritable and shining link between the bustling present, with its advanced development and strident progress, and the remote l^ast of the pioneer days, with its rug- gedness of life, its thrilling adventures, constant ]ierils and almost ever-present privations and hardships. She has lived usefully and correctly among this people, and there is not one of them who does not do her reverence. Her son, John S. Barton, was educated in the district schools of Shelby county, whither his ]iarents moved from Monroe county in 1851. After leaving school he worked out on neighboinng farms and as- sisted the family on the home farm until 1870, then bought the farm of 200 acres' on which he now lives, and on this he has been actively, extensively and protitably engaged in farming and raising live stock ever since. He has been very suc- cessful in his operations, conducting them with intelligence and skill and man- aging his business with judgment and foresight. He has also been zealous and energetic in promoting the welfare of his township and county, serving as a mem- ber of the school board at several differ- ent periods, and giving earnest attention to all projects for the advancement and improvement of the locality in which he has his home. On December 22, 1872, Mr. Barton was united in marriage with Miss Sophronia Kidwell, a daughter of Henry and Nancy (Mullins) Kidwell, long esteemed resi- dents of Shelby county. Of the seven children born of the union six are living: Lulu May, the wife of Rev. E. L. Carroll, of Liberty, Missouri; Etta B., the wife of Thomas Noel, of Lentner; George F., who still has his home with his parents; Edgar C, who is also a resident of Lib- erty ; Jesse W., living in this county ; and Eva v., who is still a member of the pa- rental household. In political relations the father is allied with the Democratic party. He and his wife are active mem- bers of Missionary Baptist church. They are among the most highly respected cit- izens of Shelby county and fully deserve the regard and good will bestowed on them. WILLIAM GAMBLE. Settling down to the quiet yet inter- esting and independent life of a farmer and live stock man after trying his hand at varioiis other occupations and in- structive experience in several different localities, William Gamble, of Lentner township, this county, has foimd the field of effort suited to his taste and made a success of gratifying ]n-oportions in working it. He has qualities of per- severing industry and good business management that would have brought him profitable returns in almost any line of industry, but his bent is more decidedlv in the Hue he is following than 444 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY any other, and lie has been wise enough to adhere to it through all temptations to do otherwise, and these have been numerous in his case, as American life is full of allurements for men of capacity and enterprise. Mr. Gamble was born in Vicksburg, Mississijopi, on December 21, 185-4, and is a son of Andrew and Patience (Pot- tercary) Gamble, both of whom met tragic fates after many years of useful- ness and upright living. The father was born in Ireland and came to the United States in his boyhood, locating at Vicks- burg, Mississippi. There he grew to manhood and became the owner of a cot- ton plantation east of the city. He also conducted a livery business and traded in horses and mules. In a trip down the Mississippi to New Orleans in 1860 he was accidentally drowned. He was a stone cutter and monument or tombstone maker by trade, but he did not work at that craft long after acquiring a knowl- edge of it. His widow was killed by a piece of a shell from the Federal army during the siege of Vicksburg. They had seven children, three of whom are living: Andrew, whose home is in St. Louis; William, the subject of this brief review; and Robert, who is a resident of Jackson, Mississippi. The father was a member of the Masonic oi-der and his religious affiliation was with the Prot- estant Episcopal church. His son William was educated in the ))ublic schools of Vicksburg and St. Louis, and after leaving school began the battle of life for himself by work- ing in a harness manufactory. But he did not like this occupation and in a short time transferred his energies to work in a machine shop, where he remained until 1870. He then came to Missouri and lo- cated for one year in Macon county. At the end of that period he settled in Shelby county on the farm two miles west of Shelbina, and in 1902 on the farm he now lives on and here he has been continuously and successfully en- gaged in farming and raising live stock ever since. He has increased his farm to 312 acres, one-half of which he has in grass and the rest under general cul- tivation. In addition to the live stock he raises he feeds numbers of cattle and ships his whole output to Chicago and markets farther east. Mr. Gamble has taken an earnest in- terest and active part in promoting the welfare of his township and county, giv- ing energetic attention to every worthy undertaking for their advancement and improvement, and contributing by all means in his power to the comfort and convenience of their people. He served on the school board seven years and in many other ways has shown his abiding interest in the good of his commimity. He was first married in 1876 to Miss Henrietta Kidwell of Shelby county. She died seven months after the mar- riage, and on February 12, 1880, he mar- ried a second time, his choice in this union being Miss Rosa Tayloi-, a daugh- ter of Wesley and Emerine (Bowles) Taylor, esteemed residents of Marion county, this state, where Mrs. Gamble was born on April 19, 1856. They have had five children, but only two of them are living: Fannie, the wife of Earl Bowen, of Clarence, Missouri, and HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 445 Charles Milton, who is still at home with his parents. Politically the father is a Democrat and he and his wife are mem- bers of the Baptist church. WILLIS J. MAGRUDER. This prosperous and enterprising farmer and live stock man of Lentuer township was boi'n in Shelby county, near Maud, on August 13, 1865, and has passed the whole of his life to this time in the county of his nativity. From his boyhood he has been engaged in the two of its leading industries which now com- mand his time and attention, and by that means has contributed materially to the wealth and commercial influence of his township and the consequence of its people. He has also taken an earnest interest in its welfare in all other ways, performing all the duties of good citi- zenship in a commendable manner and exemplifying in his daily life the best attributes of elevated American man- hood. Mr. Magruder is of Kentucky ancestry on his father's side of the house. His father, William Henry, and his grand- father, Willis Magruder, were born in the Blue Grass state and became early residents of Missouri, locating in Mon- roe county during the boyhood of the father. He came- into being in 1839, and, after a residence of a few years in his native state, and one of several more in Monroe county, this state, moved to Shelby county in 1862. Here he followed farming and raising live stock until 1893, when he retired from active pursuits and has since been living with his chil- dren in this and Monroe county. He still owns his farm in Shelby county and has it rented to a tenant who farms it under his direction and supervision. He was married in 1862 to Miss Sarah Jane Weatherford, of Monroe county, Missouri. They have had nine children, three of whom have died. Those living are: Beauregard, a resident of Walla Walla, state of Washington; Willis J., the subject of this writing; Lucy Helen, the wife of E. R. Gaines, of Monroe county, Missouri; Henrietta, the wife of Alexander Stalcup, of Monroe county; Minnie Kate, the wife of Le Roy Hard- ing, of Shelby county; and Beulah May, the wife of George Ashford, of Shel- bina. In his political relations the father adheres to the principles of the Dem- ocratic party, and has long been a faith- ful worker in its service. His religious connection is with the Baptist church. Willis J. Magruder obtained his edu- cation at the district school in Fairview, Monroe county, this state. After leav- ing school he studied telegraphy at Se- dalia for one year, then farmed on the home place and assisted the family there until 1888. In that year he began a ca- reer in farming and raising live stock on his own account in Shelby county, and here he has been continuously and suc- cessfully engaged in those pursuits ever since. He makes a specialty of raising superior breeds of hogs, but also handles sheep and cattle in large numbers. He has studied all features of his business thoughtfully and observed all its man- ifestations with care, and by this means has become not only one of the most suc- cessful stock men in his township, but 446 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY an acknowledged anthority on every- thing; connected with the live stock in- dustry. Mr. Magruder is a man of public spirit and progressiveness and shows these qualities of his manhood in his de- votion to the welfare of his township and his earnest efforts on all occasions and in every way to promote it. No effort designed to advance their interests goes without his active aid, which is always given with intelligence and good judg- ment. On September 28. 1890, he was imited in marriage with Miss Mary Vir- ginia Kidwell, of Shelby county, Mis- souri. They have had nine children, all of whom are living. They are: Charles F., Visa F., Chester, Koland, Everett, Vemey, Howard, Velma and Vivian, and are all yet members of the parental fam- ily circle. MICHAEL E. EUTTER. Although a native of Marion county, this state, where he was born on October 7, 1833. ]\richael E. Rutter, of Salt River township, has been a resident of Shelby county during all but the first two years of his life, and from his boyhood has been connected with its farming and stock raising industries in an energetic and serviceable way. He is now one of the best and most widely known breeders and handlers of mules of superior grades in this county, his operations in this line being extensive and commanding atten- tion and admiration all over the country. ^Ir. Rutter is a grandson of Edmond Rutter, who was born and reared in Kentucky and a son of Chambers Rutter, who was also a native of that state, and born in 1799. The latter came to Mis- souri in the early days of its histoiy and located near Scipio Bottom, where he passed a number of years engaged in teaming. In 1833 he moved to Marion county, and after fanning there two years, changed his residence to Shelliy county. Here he was actively and suc- cessfully engaged in farming and raising live stock until 1839, when he turned his attention to merchandising and kept at it two years. At the end of that period he returned to the farm, on which he died in 1852. He was married in 1832 to Miss Nancy Hornback of Macon county. They had two children, both of whom are living, Michael E. and his sister Mary E., the wife of Clark Vandiver, who lives in Shelbina. Their mother died and in 1836 the father married a second wife, being united in this marriage with Miss Catherine Gallagher, of Shelby county. In politics he was a pronounced Demo- crat, loyal to his party and zealous in its service. His religious affiliation was with the ^lethodist Episcopal Church. South. ^lichael E. Rutter was educated in the country schools of Shelby county, and after leaving school at once began farm- ing and raising live stock on his own ac- count, continuing his operations in these interesting and profitable industries un- til ]90,'5, when he gave uj) all active pur- suits, although he is still living on his farm. During the last fifteen years of his activity he was very successfully oc- cupied in raising superior strains of mules, building uj) a large trade and ac- quiring a wide reputation for the excel- lence of his output, as has been stated. HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 447 He was married in 1852 to Miss Eliza H. Hollyman, of Marion county. They have had eight children, four of whom are living: John W., a resident of Shel- by county; Nancy E., the wife of Clay Dufer, of Shelby county ; and James and Charles, who are also residents of this county. The father is a loyal and un- wavering Democrat in his poltical rela- tions and an earnest and effective worker for his party in all campaigns, although he has never sought a political office of any kind for himself. He is devoted to the progress and welfare of his town- ship and county and shows his interest' in their substantial advancement by zeal- ous assistance in every worthy project involving the good of their people, among whom he is held in high esteem as one of the leading and most useful citizens of this portion of the state. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episco- pal Church, South, and he is active in the service of the congregation to which he belongs. Now verging close upon eighty years of age, he can look back over his long career with the satisfaction that it has been profitable to himself and serviceable to the people around him. for he has been faithful in the performance of every duty and given an impressive il- lustration of the benefit and comfort of upright living. GEOEGE W. O 'BRYAN. It is not often that man who has lived to an almost patriarchal age in his native region moves to another, and on what is to him practically an alien soil lights the fires of a new domestic hearth, but this is what hapi)ened in the case of John 'Bryan, the father of George W. 'Bryan, one of the enterprising and progressive farmers and stock men of Lentner township and one of the public spirited and broad minded citizens of this county, who came to Missouri when he was well advanced in years, and with all the energy of his youth re])eated here what he had already achieved in the state of his nativity as a successful fai'mer and live stock man and a live and influential citizen. Mr. 'Bryan is a native of Washing- ton coimty, Virginia, where he was born on February 18, 18-f9. His parents, John and Sallie (Heninger) 'Bryan, were also natives of that state and descended of families resident there from early colonial days. They were married on June 28, 1829, and had four children, of whom George W. is the only one living. The father was born in Virginia in 1778 and came to Missouri in 1853. In his na- tive state he was a shoemaker, but after coming to this state he followed fai'ming and raising stock exclusively, which he had been engaged in in connection with working at his trade in Virginia. He died in Monroe county, which was the place of his Missouri residence, in 1862. He was married twice, the first time to Miss Anna Anderson, of Virginia, with whom he was united on July 29, 1804. They had five children, whose mother died a few years after the last one was born. His second wife was a daughter of Jacob and Mary Henninger, esteemed residents of Monroe county, and num- bered among its most respected and use- ful citizens. In politics he belonged to the '\Vhig ]iarty until the death of that organization, and afterward took but lit- 448 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY tie interest in public affairs. His relig- ious afiSliation was with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. His son, George W. 'Bryan, was edu- cated in the public schools of Monroe county, this state, of which he became a resident when he was four years old, and after leaving school bought sixty acres of land, which he farmed until 1893. He then sold his farm in the au- tumn of that year and also everything pertaining to his farming operations, and went to California for the winter. On his return to j\Iissouri he bought 327 acres of farm land in Shelby county, but took up his residence in Lentner. Here for six years he carried on a general merchandising establishment in connec- tion with his farming and live stock oper- ations. At the end of the period men- tioned he sold out his interests in the store and since then he has done a little fanning, but has had the greater part of his land worked by his sons. His fann now comprises 300 acres and is all under vigorous and skillful cultivation. In 1904 he was elected president of the Farmers and IMerchants' Bank of Shel- bina, now the Sbelbina National Bank. He resigned after a service of about two years in this capacity, but he still holds stock in the bank and is one of its direc- tors. This plain narrative of his life, as far as it has proceeded, is sufficient to show that he is a man of character and force, but it has made no mention of the fact that he has at all times been zealous and energetic in the service of his town- ship and county, and has done all in his power to promote their welfare. Yet this is a well known fact and has secured for him the lasting regard and good will of all classes of the people among whom he has so long lived and labored. On September 11, 1877, he was united in marriage with Miss Anna M. Hager, a native daughter of the town of Hager 's Grove, in this county, to which her father, John Hager, gave its name, or rather, which was named in his honor. Of the eight children born of this union seven are living: Lena V., the wife of ^r. AV. Moxley, of Merced, California; Laura F., the wife of Charles Brady, of Monroe county, Missouri; Anna Vir- ginia, the wife of A. "W. Byrum, of Santa Rosa, California; Jimmie Lee, who re- sides in Lentner, Missouri ; Walter C, a resident of this county; George Vest, also a resident of Lentner; and Archie C, who lives in the same place. In political affairs the father gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, and as he is a man of strong convictions he works for the success of the party he be- lieves in with all his ardor in all its cam- paigns. The religious affiliation of him- self and his wife is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and both are active and effective church workers for the congregation to which they belong, and give serviceable aid to all worthy church enter]irises without regard to de- nominational lines. Mr. 'Bryan has been very successful in business, prom- inent and influential for years as a citi- zen, and one of the leaders in the live stock industry in this state, especially in the production and handling of mules of the best grades, for his output in which he has a national reputation. He is the father of Jimmie 'Bryan, a sketch of whom will be found in this volume. w^- THOMAS W. FORMAN HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 449 THO^IAS W. FORMAN. In section 5, Black Creek township, is located the fine farm property of this rei)reseutative exponent of the agricul- tural industry in liis native county, where he has ever held a secure place in popular confidence and esteem. He is a scion of one of the honored pioneer fami- lies of Shelby county, and he is one of the loyal sons of the state who went forth in defense of the Union when its integ- ritj' was menaced by armed rebellion. Thomas W. Forman was born on the parental homestead farm, in Taylor township, this county, on December 15, 1844, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Mary (Bowling) Forman, honored pio- neers, concerning whom duly specific mention is made in the sketch of the career of their elder sou, John Forman, on other pages of this work, so that fur- ther review of the family historj^ is not demanded in the present connection. Thomas W. Forman was reared under the conditions and influences of the pio- neer days and contributed his quota to the work of the home farm, the while he received such limited educational advan- tages as were offered in the somewhat primitive district schools of the locality and period. He was about seventeen years of age at the inception of the Civil war, and his youthful patriotism prompted him to make definite response to President Lincoln's call for volun- teers. At Palmyra, Marion county, in October, 18G1, Mr. Forman enlisted as a private in Company F, Third Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, under command of Gen. John M. Glover. He continued in active service with this gallant regiment until victory had crowned the Union arms and peace had been declared. His command was assigned to the Army of the Red River, and with the same he par- ticipated in many engagements in ]\lis- souri and Arkansas, including the battle of Little Rock. He was mustered out in the city of St. Louis in the fall of 1865, and duly received his honorable dis- charge, having proved a valiant and faithful soldier of the republic and made an excellent record during his long years of service. After the close of his military career the young soldier returned to his native county, where he farmed on rented land until he was able to make investment in land of his own. In 1867 he purchased sixty acres in section 5, Black Creek township, and from this modest nucleus, through his own well-directed efforts and careful business methods, he has evolved a fine landed estate of 880 acres, constituting one of the best farm prop- erties in the county, as he has made the best of improvements on the same and has manifested much judgment in the handling of all departments of the farm work. Mr. Forman is thus one of the ex- tensive and substantial agriculturists of his native county, and he has .made a specialty of the raising of high-grade live stock and in the buying and ship- ping of cattle, horses and mules, in which connection he has built up a flour- ishing enterprise, particularly in the handling of mules, of.,which he keeps an average of fifty head, being a successful breeder as well as dealer. It is naturally to be presu]iposed that a citizen who has been so enterprising and successful in connection with his private interests should also take a loyal 450 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY concern in all that tends to advance the material and civic welfare of the com- munity, and in this respect Mr. Forman is essentially progressive and public spirited. He is a stalwart in the local camp of the Democratic party, but the only office in which he has consented to serve is that of school director, of which he was incumbent for a number of years. He and his wife hold membership in the Christian church. On December 18, 1873, Mr. Forman was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Mayes, who was born, reared and edu- cated in this county, being a daughter of James and Louisa Mayes. Mr. and Mrs. Forman have four children, namely: Ella, who is the wife of Joseph Van Skike, of Shelby county; Benjamin F., who is associated in the work and man- agement of the home farm, and Alice and Marvin. HUGO POWELL. This esteemed citizen of Shelbina, who has recently moved to that city after farming and raising live stock in Shelby county with great industry and a grati- fying measure of success for a period of over thirty-four years, is a native of Germany, and was born in the city of Breslau in that country on May 20, 1827. Before he was a year old his parents, Arthur and Laura (Frost) Powell, also natives of Germany, emigrated to the United States and located in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. There the father worked at his trade as a brewer until 1848, when he returned to his native land, where he died in 1852. He and his wife were the parents of two children, of whom Hugo is the only one living. The mother died in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in 1847, and the year following the father took her re- mains back to Germany. He obtained a limited public school education in the schools of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and after leaving school went to the city of New York, where he served as a cash boy in a store five years. In 1853 he enlisted in Company F, Sixth New York Regular Cavalry, under the command of General Scott. While in the military service under this enlist- ment he learned the trade of clothing cutter. But he was devoted to the Union and found a charm in military life which had not been fully dispelled by his short term in the army. He therefore enlisted .again in 1861, at the very beginning of the Civil war, liecoming a member of Company F, Excelsior Brigade, New York, which was commanded by Colonel Sickles, who later became one of the dis- tinguished generals of the Union army and lost one of his limbs in the deluge of death at Gettysburg. Mr. Powell served in this brigade eighteen months, then received a serious injury by falling off a bridge while doing duty as a picket during the battle of Fair Oaks, Vir- ginia. This incapacitated him for further military service, and he was honorably discharged from the army on August 28, 1862, in the city of Philadelphia. His next move in life was to M'ork at his trade as a clothing cutter, which he followed for five years in New Yoi'k city. At the end of that period he came West and located for a short time at Beloit, Wisconsin, and there he was en- gaged in merchant tailoring and dealing in gents' furnishings for three years. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 451 From Beloit lie moved to Hamiibal, Mis- souri, where he followed the same busi- ness nine years. He then took up his residence in Shelby county and changed his occupation to farming and rais- ing live stock. He has been industriously occupied in these pursuits ever since until a few months ago, when he de- termined to retire from active pursuits and moved to Shelbina, where he is now living in comfort and contentment after a long and arduous struggle for ad- vancement in prosperity and enduring many privations and hardships at dif- ferent periods of his life. Mr. Powell has been successful in his undertakings, winning a competence for himself and his family and rising to a high position in the regard and good will of the people of this county. He has been active in promoting their welfare and given them an excellent example in elevated citizenship. His political con- nection is with the Republican party, of which he is an earnest and zealous mem- ber, and in religion he is affiliated with the Christian church at Lentner. Fra- ternally he belongs to the Masonic order and the Grand Army of the Republic. On July 10, 1866, he was united in marriage with Miss Eusebia Meeter, of Beloit, Wisconsin. She is still living. They have no children. Mr. Powell's four score and three years sit lightly on him. He is still a man of vigor and enterprise, as earnestly interested in the progi-ess of his county and state, as faithful and energetic in the performance of the duties of citizenship, and as genial, obliging and companionable in social re- lations as he ever was. He is justly esteemed as one of the best and most estimable men in Shelby county. HUGH W. WOOD. .Viming at no high-flown or spectac- ular success in life, and seeking no ave- nues to preferment but that of honest fidelity to daily duty in his chosen voca- tion, but adhering steadfastly and zeal- ously to that, Hugh W. Wood, one of the substantial and prosperous farmers and stock men of Lentner township in this county, has made steady progress in advancement and attained a position of prominence and permanency in the re- spect and good opinion of the people in all ijarts of this and the adjoining coun- ties. Mr. Wood is wholly a product of Shelby county. He was born within its borders on April 11, 1861, obtained his education in its public schools, has passed all the active years of his life to the present time (1910) in helping to pro- mote its industrial and commercial growth and the elevation of its civil and social institutions, and taken the mistress of his home and helpmate in life's ardu- ous struggle from among its agreeable daughters. All that he is, therefore, Shelby county has made him, and all that he has done and achieved has re- dounded to its credit and advantage. It is to be said, however, that he had native force and capacity which enabled him to take advantage of the opportuni- ties presented for his betterment, and has shown great industry and business acumen in managing his affairs. He is a son of John Wesley and Kitty (Robb) 4555 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Wood, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of the state of Tennessee. The father's fatlier, "William Wood, was also born and reared in Kentucky, where his parents were among the pioneers of that great and progressive state. There John Wesley Wood, father of Hugh W., was born on May 3, 1831, and from there he accompanied his jiarents to Missouri and Shelby county in 1835, when he was but four years old. He grew to man- hood and secured a common school edu- cation in the primitive coimtry schools of his boyhood, the best then attainable in the undeveloped state of this region. After leaving school he started the battle of life for himself as a farmer on a tract of forty acres of wild land. This he reduced to subjection and fertility, improved it into a comfortable country home and, as his prosperity increased, added to its extent by additional pur- chases. He is now seventy-eight years of age and is still actively engaged in farming and raising live stock, his farm now comprising 180 acres of superior land and being all under skillful and vigoi'ous cultivation. It is located three miles northwest of Shelbina. Mr. Wood, the elder, married Miss Kitty Robb, a native daughter of Ten- nessee, as has been stated, but long resi- dent in this county. Of the nine chil- dren born of this union six are living: Meredith, the wife of Malcolm Swear- inger, of Shelbina ; Hugh W., the subject of this sketch ; Meretta, the wife of L. W. Duncan ; T^aura Frances, the wife of Ollie Fletcher; and Myrtle, the wife of W. H. Tenney, all residents of Shelby county, the hist named having her home in Shelbina. The father adheres faith- fully and firmly to the Democratic party in i)olitical matters and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in his religious relations. Hugh W. AVood was educated in the public schools of Shelby county and, after completing their course of instruc- tion, helped his father on the home fann until he reached the age of twenty-seven years. In the autumn of 1888 he began the career in farming and raising live stock which he is still extending. Hi?f tine farm of eighty-five acres is a model of its size and capacity in the develop- ment to which it has been brought and the skill and intelligence with which it is managed. For, having no ambition in any other line of effort, Mr. Wood stud- ies what he is engaged in and applies to his operations in both farming and the live stock industry all that he can ac- quire of valuable information from ju- dicious i-eading and reflection. All this is greatly to his credit and of material benefit to his township and county, in which he has always manifested a very active and helpful interest. On October 3, 1888, Mr. Wood was united in marriage with Miss Mary L. Fletcher, a daughter of Charles A. Fletcher, who was a ])rominent resident of Shelbina. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party and in all its campaigns he is one of its service- able and ap])reciated workers, although never seeking any of its honors or offi- cial positions for himself. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episco- pal Church, South, and in this also he takes an earnest and productive interest. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 453 as lie does in the work of all church or- ganizations without regard to creed or denominational differences. JOHN T. DAVIS. Looking well always to the interests of his country and freely offering his life and all its energies to the service of that country, whether the call of duty took him to the gory field of battle trampled by the relentless iron heel of civil war or those white with the harvests of peace- ful and productive industry, John T. Davis, one of the leading and most suc- cessful farmers and live stock men of Jackson township in this county, has vin- dicated his patriotism and sterling citi- zenship in peace and war. He was boi-n in Marion county, Mis- souri, in 1833, and is a son of Gabriel and Cynthia (Kinkaid) Davis, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Vir- ginia. They were married in 1832 and had six children, two of whom are living: John T. and his brother Wallace, who is also a resident of Shelby county. The father was born in 1809 and came to Mis- souri in 1828. Through the agency of his ancestors and other hardy pioneers his native state had by that time been largely redeemed from its wild and un- pruned condition and made highly pro- ductive and progressive. But when he became a resident of Missouri at the age of nineteen he found the frontier condi- tions still extensively prevalent and him- self face to face with the problem that had engaged the energies of his fore- fathers one and two generations earlier in Kentucky. But he was of heroic mold and accepted the situation and its obligations with cheerfulness, entered upon the duties before him with alacrity and did his part toward the development and improvement of the region in which he had taken up his residence with dili- gence and tidelity to every requirement. He located in Marion county and en- gaged in farming and raising live stock, which he followed continuously and with success until 1884, when he retired from active labor. In 1848 he sold his Marion county property and bought a farm in Shelby county, on which he passed the remainder of his life and died in 1894. He was a Republican in political faith and allegiance from the foundation of the party and always gave its principles and candidates his earnest and effective support. John T. Davis was educated in the country schools of this county and after leaving school learned the carpenter trade. He worked at this until 1864, when he enlisted in the Union army. Company F, Thirty-ninth Missouri In- fantry, under command of Captain Poe. The Civil war was in its last stage of vigor, however, at the time of his enlist- ment, and his militarj^ service lasted only six months. At the end of that time he was mustered out of the army at St. Louis, Missouri. He was ready for more arduous trials in the service than he ex- perienced, as he was familiar with mili- tary tactics and knew something of the possible hazards and hardships of war, having belonged to the state militia for some years before the Civil war began and during the war until his enlistment. After his discharge from military service he returned to his Shelby county home and remained there two years. In •154 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 1867 lie bought a farm of fifty acres and to its development,, improvement and proper cultivation he devoted himself with all his energy- until a short time ago. He now has his farm worked by a tenant but still employs himself in light tasks in connection with its management. He has prospered as a fanner and stock man, and has attained to general esteem and approval as a citizen. He gives his ear- nest support to the Republican party in political affairs and is jjotential in its service. His fraternal relations with the Grand Army of the Republic are main- tained in active membership and devoted loyalty to that organization, and his re- ligious convictions find expression in zealous and hel])ful connection with the Southern Methodist Episcopal church. He was married in 1867 to Miss Ange- line Davis, of New York state. They have had three children, two of whom are living: Alma, at home, and Linneus I., who resides in the state of Texas. The mother of these children died Feb- ruary 8, 1905. CHARLES A. GRAVES. Among the substantial, prosperous and progressive farmers and live stock men of Jackson township, this county, none stands higher tlian Charles A. Graves, whether his industry, good management and success in his business or the elevated character and continued usefulness of his citizenship is taken as the gavige of his merit. He is well and widely esteemed for both, and it is con- ceded on all sides that he is fully worthy of the high rank he holds in the general esteem of the people wherever he is known. Mr. Graves was born in Marion county, Missouri, on March 31, 1858, but has been a resident of Shelby county for many years. He is a son of James and Martha (Janes) Graves, natives of Ken- tucky, who were married in Kentuckj'', and had eleven children, three of whom are living: Ellen, the wife of John W. Hubbard, pf Monroe City, Missouri; Henrietta, the wife of R. D. Rogers, who resides in Oregon; and Charles A., the interesting subject of this brief review. The father settled in Marion county, this state, long before the Civil war and was busily engaged in farming and raising live stock until the end of his life. He belonged to the Democratic party in po- litical allegiance and the Catholic church in religious faith and obedience, and gave earnest attention to the interests of both. Charles A. Graves obtained a limited common school education in the country schools of this county, and after leav- ing their course of training began the struggle for advancement in life by working on farms in the neighborhood of his home, in addition to what he did there, assisting his mother, who was then a widow. Some time later he moved to this county and bought a farm. On this he has worked hard and steadily, but with .indgment and profit, ever since, making it higlily productive and improving it with judicious taste, re-creating it into one of the attractive rural homes of the township in which it is located. He has carried on, in con- nection with his fanning operations, a HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 455 flourishing live stock business, raising many head of stoclv and feeding num- bers for the markets. In botli lines of his endeavor he has been very success- ful, l)ecause he has applied intelligence as well as gi-eat energy to his work. His farm now comprises 160 acres and is nearly all under cultivation. Mr. Graves has suffered many dis- asters in his career as a farmer and stock man, but these never disheartened him. On the contrary, they seemed to awaken latent powers of enterprise in him and stimulate him to broader vision and still greater activity. In the local affairs of the county, and especially those of his township, he has taken a very earnest interest and rendered very helpful service. He has been a member of the school board three years, is a stockholder in the Hunnewell bank, and in many other ways has contributed to the advancement and imi:)rovement of this portion of the state and the endur- ing welfare of its people. He was first married on February 1, 1880, to Miss Louisa Howe, a resident of Shelby county, and by this marriage be- came the father of five children, all of whom are living. They are : Artie, who resides in Marion county, Missouri; James, whose home is in the state of Montana ; Estes Vai"ian, a resident of St. Louis, Missouri ; Josie, the wife of M. Miller, of California; and Letha Ethel, who also lives in California. The father was married again December 20, 1905, uniting with Mrs. Cora E. (Kellogg) Snider, of this county. They have one child, their son Charles Lyman, who is still at home with his parents. The father is a Democrat in his political re- lations and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in his religious affiliation. He is regarded as one of the leading and most useful citizens of his township. JAMES W. HOWE. James W. Howe, widely known m northwestern Missouri as one of the most successful and ijrogressive farmers and public spirited citizens of Shelby county, whose fine farm of 420 acres is located in Jackson township, is a native of this county and was born on July 7, 1846. His father, Samuel R. Howe, was born in the state of Kentucky and came to Missouri at an early date, while the greater part of the state was still on the frontier and its resources were yet wait- ing for the commanding might of mind and the energy of the pioneers aud their followers to call them into productive- ness and the service of mankind. He located in Shelby county and here he was continuously and successfully en- gaged in farming and raising live stock until his death in 1877. He was married to Miss Nancy David- son, of this county, and they became the parents of eight children, all of whom are living -. Susan, the wife of J. E. How- ell; John, also a prosperous fai-mer; James W., the immediate subject of this memoir; Eliza Ann, the wife of George See; Francis, another contributor to the agricultural greatness of Shelby county; Margaret, who resides in the neighbor- hood of her birthplace; Rebecca, the wife of Harvey Rivercomb; and Louisa, the widow of the late Charles Graves. They are all residents of this county. The father was a Democrat in politics and a HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 457 sturdy manhood of the English, uniting both with the thrift and resourcefulness that distinguish the people of New England. Mr. Phillips was born in Wyoming county, New York, on June 16, 1841, and is a son of William H. and Pliileta (Pier- son) Phillips, the former a native of New Hampshire, born in 1801, and the latter born in 1810 and reared in Con- necticut. The father was a farmer and passed the whole of his life after the removal of the family to the state of New York on the parental homestead actively engaged in farming. He died in 1869, but throughout his career relied on his own exertions for advancement, and never made much of the fact that he was a descendant of Lord Phillips of Ire- land. In politics he was a Whig until the extinction of the party, and after that a Republican. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, five of whom are living — Arabella, of Harvey, Illinois; Mary, of Lakenan, in this ooim- ty; Kitty P., the widow of H. ]\I. John- son, and now a resident of Live Oak, Florida ; and the immediate subject of this brief review; Bessie Y., now the widow of William H. Cushman, resides at Phoenix, Arizona. Eugene C. Phillips obtained his edu- cation in the i)ublic schools of Erie county. New York. On leaving school he showed his fidelity to the Union by en- listing for the Civil war in the Thirty- third New York Battery of Light Artil- lery imder Capt. A. M. Wheeler. The battery was an inde]iendent organiza- tion, but wholly devoted to the cause of the Union and worked in perfect har- mony and co-operation with the Federal forces. It was stationed most of the time at or near Petersburg, and was ac- tively engaged in all the operations around that historic center of the storm of the great Civil war. Mr. Phillips was mustered out of the service in June, 1865, and returned to the home of his parents in Erie county. New York, and worked his father's farm as a tenant for two years. In the spring of 1870 he became a resident of Mis- souri, locating on a farm he purchased in Shelby county. He cultivated and im- proved this farm until 1908, and in con- nection with his farming operations car- ried on an extensive enterprise in stock breeding. In the year last mentioned he retired from active pursuits and has since been enjoying the rest to which his long years of faithful and productive toil entitled him. He has his farm rented and gives his attention to other interests which command and reward it. He is a stockholder in the Commercial Bank of Shelbina, and is now and long has been a stockholder in and director of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Association of Shelby County. In March, 1867, Mr. Phillips was mar- ried to Miss Helen Churchill, of Niagara county, New York, and by this marriage liecame the father of thi'ce children, all of whom are living. They are: Edwin P., of Hannibal, Missouri ; Gertrude, who is the wife of Robert McUlvoy, of Troy, Missouri, and Ernest, a successful business man, now living in Chicago. In politics the father is an ardent Prohibi- tionist and in religion a devout and ser- viceable member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South. He is well es- teemed in the county and is favorably 458 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY known in all parts of it. He has been helpful in developing it and is looked upon as one of its most worthy and es- timable citizens. JAMES A. SPENCER. The interesting subject of this brief memoir, whose death on April 4, 1904, cast a gloom over the whole community in which he had so long been a leading citizen, successful merchant and pros- perous and progressive farmer, was a native of Marion county, [Missouri, where he was born on July 14, 1841. He was a son of Edward G. and Margaret (McElroy) Spencer, who were natives of Kentucky. They were married in Kentucky and had twelve children, five of whom are living: "Wilson, a resident of Saline county, Missouri; Mollie, the wife of Douglas Ricks, of Taylorville, Illinois; Edward and Dorris, whose homes are in this county; and Henry C, who lives in Kansas City, Missouri. The father came to Missouri at an early day and located in Marion county. There for a number of years he was prosperously engaged in farming, but late in life he changed his residence to Lafayette count j% and there he died in 1871. He was a man of force and prom- inence, active in the early history of the locality in which he lived, esteemed by all who knew him, and desen^ing their regard and approbation by his upright- ness and good influence as a man and his progressiveness and usefulness as a citizen. His son, James A. Spencer, was edu- cated in the public schools in Shelby- ville and Paris, Missouri, and after se- curing his own mental training for the duties of life shared the benefits he de- rived from it with others by teaching school at Paris for some years. He moved to Shelby county in 1869 and lo- cated at Hunnewell, where he followed the drug business four years. At the end of that period he changed the seat of his activity to Monroe county and his occu])ation to farming. His mind was too versatile and active to be con- fined to one line of employment, how- ever, and in 1875 he returned to Hun- newell and to merchandising in connec- tion with his farming and live stock in- dustries. He was first a grocer and afterward a general merchant, carrying on an extensive business in each line and winning a very gratifying success in both. He was also postmaster of Hunnewell four years. In 1894 he sold all his mercantile in- terests and began an active and suc- cessful career in the real estate business, still continuing his farming operations. His farm at that time comprised 253 acres, and this he enlarged by successive purchases until at the time of his death he owned and had under vigorous and progressive cultivation 753 acres. On this farm he passed the last twenty-six years of his life, and in that period greatly improved it and increased its value, making it one of the best and most desirable in Jackson township, in which it was located. He was also a stock- holder in the Hunnewell bank, and was actively and sei-viceably connected with other institutions of value to the com- munity of his home. On October 5, 1869, Mr. Spencer united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Rags- HISTOIIY OF SHELBY COUNTY 459 dale, a daughter of James and Sallie (Deaver) Eagsdale, of Monroe county, this state. ]\Irs. Spencer was born on December 3, 1849, and is still living. She and her husband became the parents of eight children, seven of whom are living. They are : James E., died September 29, 1910; Sidney IL; Kipley C; Nellie A., the wife of T. J. Greening ; Eichard R. ; Earl; Leta, the wife of Clancy Fitzsim- mons ; and Orrie M., the wife of Charles M. Yancy. They are all residents of Shelby county. The parents were active and useful members of the Christian church. They were esteemed as among the best and most worthy citizens of the county and enjoyed the regard and good will of the whole people. SIDNEY H. BROWNE, JR. Of good old Pennsylvania stock, and inheriting from his ancestry the traits of industry, thrift and persevering self- reliance which are characteristic of the people of that great industrial hive, Sid- ney H. Browne, Jr., one of the enter- prising and prosperous farmers and live stock men of Jackson township, in this county, has employed his native ability and used his opportunities to great ad- vantage in improving his own worldly condition and helping to push forward the welfare and progress of the locality of his home. He has aptly exemplified on the soil of Missouri the qualities of diligence, frugality and good manage- ment that have so signally advanced the prosperity and made the greatness of his ancestral state, although he is not a native of it. Mr. Browne was born in Quincy, Illi- nois, on February 1, 1871, and is a grandson of George Blight Browne, a well-to-do business man of Pennsylva- nia, and a son of Peter A. and Lavena (Jordan) Browne, also natives of Penn- sylvania, the latter born in the city of Philadelphia. The father's life began in 1837 and he became a resident of Mis- souri in 1872, after a residence of some years in Quincy, Illinois, and Hannibal, Missouri. On their arrival in this state the parents located at Huunewell, where they lived one year. They then moved to a farm one mile and three-quarters from that town. The father engaged in farming and raising live stock, and also dealt extensively in cultivators for the benefit of the farmers living aroimd him, and for his own profit as well. He was in this line of mercantile business about eight years. On March 10, 1900, his life ended on the old homestead. He and his wife were the parents of six children, five of whom are living: Elizabeth J., the wife of F. E. Swift, of Hunter, Oklahoma; George Blight, a resident of Burlington, Iowa ; Sidney H., the subject of these paragraphs: Pene- lope, the wife of J. A. 'Daniel, of Hun- newell; and Kenton S., who also lives at Hunnewell. The father was a Re- publican in his political faith and al- legiance, and earnestly interested in the welfare of his party, although he was never a very active partisan. His fra- ternal affiliation was with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows. Sidney H. Browne, Jr., had the prep- aration for the battle of life usually se- cured by boys of his class and surround- ings. He was trained to useful labor on his father's farm and in scholastic 460 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY development and acquirements in the public schools, attending them at Hun- newell. Since leaving school he has been continuously engaged in farming and raising live stock with increasing pros- perity and progressive intelligence. He has not only given his business close and careful attention in a manual way, but has studied its requirements and possibilities, applying to his operations the best information he could gather from reading and reflection, and he has been successful accordingly. He is a stockholder in the Farmers and Mer- chants' Bank and has interests in other profitable connections. On December 19, 1895, he was united in marriage with Miss Olive Dill, who was born on November 6, 1873, and is a daughter of F. j\I. and Heneretta (Sel- sor) Dill, highly respected residents of this county. One child has been born of the union, a son named Francis Marion, who is living at home with his parents. The father is a zealous and active mem- ber of the Eepublican party in his politi- cal alliance. His fraternal connection is with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and he and his wife are devoted adherents of the Southern Methodist Episcopal church. PETER A. SNIDEE. (Deceased.) After a trying and adventurous ex- perience during the first few years of his manhood, which embraced the haz- ards of sectional strife on the battle fields of the Civil war and confinement in a military prison, a surveillance of months under a military parole and a residence and struggle for existence in a state distant from his home and all the associations of his boyhood and youth, Peter A. Snider settled down to farming and raising live stock, and be- came one of the prosperous, enterpris- ing and progressive men engaged in those pursuits in Jackson township of this county. Mr. Snider was born near Columbus, Ohio, on June 29, 1841, and was a grand- ( son of Peter Snider, a native of Ger- many, who came to this country and lo- cated in Pennsylvania in his early man- hood. He is a son of John Henry and Barliara (Rupright) Snider, the former born in Pennsylvania in 1818, and the latter a native of Germany. After their marriage they lived for a time in Frank- lin county, Ohio, near the capital city of Columbus. They moved to Hannibal, Missouri, in 1842, and after a residence of four years in that city, came to Shelby county and took up their residence on a farm on which the village of Kendall now stands. The father also opened a general store there, which he conducted for six or seven years, then moved his stock of goods to Hunnewell, but still retained his farm at Kendall. He con- tinued his mercantile operations at Hun- newell until the troublesome times inci- dent to the Civil war destroyed his busi- ness and ended his mercantile career. He then returned to his farm, where he died in 18G3. His first wife, the mother of Peter A. Snider, their only child, died while the latter was still in his childhood, and some time afterward he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Utz, a resi- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 461 dent at the time of Shelby county. By his second marriage he became the father of eight children, seven of whom are living: Charles, a resident of Lake- nan; Marion F., a sketch of whom ap- pears in this volume; John and Henry F., who also reside in this county, a sketch of the latter being included in this work; Belle, the wife of Frank Erwiu; Joseph, another prosperous Shelby county citizen; and Ida, the wife of Thomas 'Daniel. In his political al- legiance the father belonged to the Dem- ocratic party and gave it loyal and ef- fective service. His religious affiliation was with the Presbyterian church. Peter A. Snider obtained his educa- tion in the district schools of this county and a gi'aded school in Ilunnewell. After leaving school he worked on the farm with his father until 1862, when he enlisted in the service of the Confed- erate army under Gen. Joseph Porter. But he found military life altogether in- tolerable to him, and, after being in the armj^ two months, just before the battle of Kirksville he returned to his home and surrendered to Federal General McNeil, who was then in command of this military district. Under orders from General McNeil he was taken to St. Louis and incarcerated in a military prison. After languishing in this i^lace of torture from October, 18()2, to Sep- tember, 18()3, he was released on parole to await further orders. He then again returned to his home, and six months later was set free from his parole. Being thus at liberty to do as he pleased, and finding the state of life in his home locality one of incessant strife and deadly hazard, he went to Califor- nia to remain until the war should be over. In 18(36 he came back to Shelby coimty and began farming and raising live stock, in which he has been continu- ously and profitably engaged until his death. May 29, 1910. He i^rospered in his undertakings since the war, in a worldly way, and rose to high esteem and consideration among the people of his township. He owned 160 acres of good land, which he had highly im- proved, and nearly all under intelligent and profitable cultivation. In November, 1867, Mr. Snider was united in marriage with Miss Martha Utz, of this county. They had six chil- dren, five of whom are living: Anna May, the wife of Oscar Blackford, of Shelbina ; Noah, an esteemed resident of this county; Barbara, the wife of "\V. S. Parker, also living here; Winifred, the wife of Larue Wood, of Sedalia, Mis- souri; and Abbie Belle, who is still at home with her mother. In politics the father was a staunch and active Demo- crat, and was a member of the Methodist E2:)iscopal church, South. He was held in high approval by the people around him and was considered a most estima- ble and worthy citizen. WESLEY BAKER. Of Pennsylvania ancestry and Iowa nativity, and for some years a resident of Kansas and twenty-one years of Mis- souri, Weslej' Baker, of Jackson town- ship, in this county, where he is a pros- lierous and progressive farmer and live stock man and a highly esteemed citizen, has had the influence of four of the great states of the American Union in molding 462 HISTORY OF SHP:LBY COUNTY his career, and that influence has worked well to his advantage and the benefit of the several communities in which he has lived. He has done his part to be worthy of it and true to the incentives of indus- try, frugality and enterprise it has given him, using his opportunities with judg- ment and making them all minister to his advancement and the good of the peoi)le among whom he has dwelt. Mr. Baker was born in Poweshieak county, Iowa, on December 7, 1861. His father, John Baker, was born in Beaver coimty, Pennsylvania, in October, 1834, and his grandfather, Richard W. Baker, was also native in that state. In his young manhood the father took passage on the tide of migration to the throb- bing West and established for himself a new home in Poweshieak county, Iowa. There, in 1859, he was mari-ied to Miss Julia Stanley of that county, and he is still living in the state. He was reared on a farm and he has followed fai-ming continuously from his boyhood. He and his wife became the parents of eight children, five of whom are living: Mary, the wife of Paul Nelson, of Eochester, Minnesota; Wesley, the interesting sub- ject of this brief review; George M., a resident of Iowa; Clara A., who also lives in that state; and Cora, the wife of Albert Sexton, another member of the family whose home is in Iowa. In politics the father is a Eei^ublican. His son Wesley was educated in the district schools of his native county, and after completing their course of instruc- tion, worked for a short time for his father on the home farm. But he was ambitious to do something material and considerable on his own account, and accordingly he rented some land in the neighborhood of his home, which he farmed for four years. At the end of that period he left Iowa and went to southwestern Kansas, where he took up a homestead. He lived on this and im- proved it until he received a government » patent for it. In 1890 he sold his home- stead in Kansas and sought another new home in Shelby coimty, Missouri. He looked foi-ward to his opportuni- ties in this count}'^ with high hopes and pleasing anticipations of advantage to himself, and cheerfully dared all the dan- gers and privations of a journey to his new location overland in a covered wagon. The journey was made in safety, the destination was reached with- out greater inconvenience than the weari- ness incident to the long trip and slow progress, land was secured in Jackson township on his arrival, and he at once began the career in farming and raising live stock which is still in progress, and which has made him one of the substan- tial farmers and stock men of the county and raised him to consequence and gen- eral esteem among the people here. ,Mr. Baker now has a farm of 330 acres, all under cultivation, highly im- proved with good buildings and in an advanced state of iiroductiveness. He is also a stockholder and vice-president of the Hunnewell Bank, and has other interests of value in the county. But his own affairs have not been allowed to engross all his time and energy. He has taken an earnest interest and active part in those of his township and county and rendered them good service. For a number of years he has been one of the leading members of the local school HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 463 board, and in many other ways has been influential and effective in helping to advance public, business and social in- terests to the advantage of the people, the development of the locality of his home and the general welfare of the county and state. On December 23, 1896, Mr. Baker was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Bell Perry, a resident of this county. Six children have blessed their union and five of them are living. They are: Ura A., John T., Walter 0., Charles L. and George W., all of whom are still mem- bers of the parental household. Po- litically the father is a Democrat; fra- ternally he is an Odd Fellow, and in re- ligious affiliation he belongs to the Mis- sionary Baptist church. He is regarded as one of the leading citizens of his town- ship, enteri^rising and progressive, in- telligent and broad-minded, and true to every public and private duty. HENEY F. SNIDER. A native of Shelby county, and hav- ing passed his whole life to this time within its borders engaged from his youth in helping to promote its indus- trial, civil and social life, Henry F. Sni- der, of Jackson township, has been of great service to this portion of the state and admirably ujiheld the credit of his family, two other members of which have honorable mention in this work. He has been successful in building up his own estate, although he began the struggle for advancement among men with prac- tically nothing in the way of capital but his own natural ability and determined spirit, and the same qualities have made him both useful as a citizen and worthy of the high esteem in which he is held as a man. Mr. Snider was born on October 2, 1857, near where he now resides, and is a son of Jolm Henry and Sarah (Utz) Snider, the story of whose lives of suc- cess and disaster is told in a sketch of his half-brother, Peter A. Snider, to be found on another page of this history. Since leaving the country school in which he obtained his scholastic training, Henry has been continuously and profit- ably engaged in farming and raising stock for the markets. He has a fann of 100 acres of superior land, all of which he cultivates with skill and industrJ^ and which he has improved with good build- ings and other necessary structures. Mr. Snider takes a warm and service- able interest in the alTairs of his town- ship and county, rendering the people excellent returns for their confidence in calling him to the school board, of which he has been a member and the clerk for a number of years, and in numerous other ways proving himself worthy of their regard and efficient in tlieir behalf. He was married on October 25, 1883, to Miss Fanny B. Metcalf, of Howard county, this state. Of the four children which have blessed their union and brightened their hoiisehold three are liv- ing: John W., who resides in this county; Lillian F., the wife of Forrest McGlasson, of Pullman, state of Wash- ington; and Henry H., who still dwells under the parental rooftree. The father gives his political alle- giance and su])]:)ort to the Democratic party and is at all times zealous in its service. Fraternally he is allied with 464 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY the Court of Honor, and to the welfare and progress of this order he is earnestly and actively devoted. His religious con- nection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, South, of which he is a live and helpful member, giving a good man's share of attention to the affairs of his congregation and his due portion of as- sistance toward all its worthy and benefi- cent undertakings of every kind. HEDGEMAN PICKETT. Of old Virginia ancestry, but a native of Missouri, and having passed the whole of his life to the present time (1911) within its borders, Hedgeman Pickett, of Bethel township, combines in his char- acter and make-up the best traits and characteristics of the people of both states, and is a ci'edit to each. His gi"and- father, 8anford Pickett, came from his native state of Virginia to Missouri among the early pioneers of this part of the state and located on a farm in Shelby county, where he died after years of great usefulness to the locality. Hedgeman Pickett, who was born in Bethel townshij), this county, on Jan- uary 1, 1859, is a son of Hiram and Eliz- abeth (Eookwood) Pickett, natives of Fauquier county, in the Old Dominion, where the father was born on August 10, 1822. He came to Missouri when he was thirteen years of age with his par- ents and grew to manhood on the family homestead, near Betliel. After com- pleting his education he began a very successful career as a fanner, which lasted until his death on ^liwrh 29, 1S90. He was also prominent and influential m the public life of the county, displaying great enterprise and public spirit in its development and improvement, carrying into matters of general concern the same energy, breadth of view and progres- siveuess that characterized him in the improvement and cultivation of the 9G0 acres of land he owned when he died. His marriage with Miss Eookwood oc- curred in 1854. They became the par- ents of twelve children, eight of whom are living — ^^Sanford H., a resident of Quincy, Illinois; Hedgeman, the imme- diate subject of this memoir ; Jennie Lee, the wife of John H. Bue, of this county, a sketch of whom will be found in this work ; Annie, the wife of J. A. Green, of Woodward, Oklahoma ; John and James S., residents of this county; Gabrella, the wife of C. R. Douglas, also residing in Shelby county, and Oscar W., whose home is in Shelby county, too. Jennie and Annie, named above, are twins. The father was a Democrat of the most pi'o- nouuced and active type in his political relations. Hedgeman Pickett obtained his edu- cation in the district schools of Betliel township, which he attended at intervals until he reached the age of nineteen. He then engaged regularly in the employ of his father and continued the relation im- til 1880. In that year he rented a por- tion of the fai-m on which he now resides and bought two years later what he had been renting, its extent being eighty acres. He has ever since been energet- icallj", studiously and successfully occu- pied in farming and raising and feeding live stock, advancing to great ]iros]ierity in his business and high standing and universal esteem as a man and citizen. His farm now comprises 600 acres, all > z o w c o w > z n w H H HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 465 but forty of which are under skillful and systematic cultivation according to the most ajjproved methods of husbandry. It is one of the best and most valuable farms in tlie township, and has been made so by his persistent industry and the wisdom and intelligence with which he has managed his business and looked after every detail of the work. But Mr. Pickett has not employed his energy and capacity wholly in his own affairs. He is a progressive and public- spirited man and takes great interest in the needs and ]iossibilities of the com- munity around him and does all in his power to promote its welfare. He is a school director and has been road com- missioner, rendering approved service to the people in botli offices and retaining their eontidence and regard by his gen- eral and active work in their behalf in many ways and holding their admiration and his widespread popularitj^ by the ex- cellent example he gives as a citizen. Mr. Pickett was married on Feliruary 17, 1880, to Miss Sarah Catherine Allen, who was born in Shelby county on Sep- tember 17, 1861, a daughter of David and Sarah Ann (Ford) Allen, natives of Kentucky, but long esteemed, prominent and useful residents of this portion of Missouri, having come to Shelby county many j^ears ago. The union has resulted in the birth of six children, five of whom are living — Edgar, who is farm- ing on his own account in this county, and Sylvia, Frank, Bessie and Charles, who are dwelling yet under the family rooftree and helping to enliven the parental family circle. In politics the father is a Democrat of firm convictions and continued loyalty to his party. He is influential in its councils and effective in its service, but he neither seeks nor desires any of its honors or emoluments for himself, being well content to serve the state from the honorable post of pri- vate and faithful citizenship. His wife is an active and interested member of the ^Missionary Baptist cliurch. MARION F. SNIDER. Owning 211 acres of excellent land in Jackson township, this county, and making this the base of active, enter- prising and progressive industries in farming and raising live stock, Marion P. Snider stands among the leading men in the township engaged in those pur- suits. He is also held in high esteem as one of the influential and sei'viceable citizens of the township, with cordial in- terest in the progress and development of the region in which he lives, integrity and uprightness of life as a man, and energy and breadth of view with refer- ence to public atfairs as the foundation on wliicli the popular estimation of his worth rests. Mr. Snider was born in Shelby county, Missouri, on May 6, 1850. He is a half- brother of Peter A. Snider, in a sketch, of whom, to be found elsewhere in this book, an account is given of the lives of his father and mother, John Henry and Sarah (Utz) Snider, long residents of the county and accounted as among its most estimable citizens. After obtain- ing the limited education which the Shelby county country schools of his boyhood and youth afforded, the subject of this brief review worked on his father's farm and assisted the family imtil 1872. 466 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY By this time Mr. Snider 's mind was firml}^ fixed on establishing a home of his own, and in accordance with his de- sire to do this, he began farming and raising live stock on his own accoimt. Although his progress was slow at first, it has been steady from the beginning. The way before him was ascending and rugged, for he was without material re- sources, and had nothing but his per- sonal qualities of head, heart and spirit to depend on, but he ke])t climbing it, whatever the difficulties, and as he gained higher ground and surer footing, he enlarged his estate and his business operations in proportion to his increas- ing prosperity. His farm, as has been stated, com- prises 211 acres and it is well improved, highly developed and veiy productive. It is all under cultivation and is tilled with intelligence and vigor, every acre being made to yield the best result the most advanced modern agricultural methods can produce, according to the season and other circumstances. He studies his work with earnest thought and reflective observation, and he ap- plies the information he thus gains to all his efforts with energy and zeal that leave nothing to chance, in so far as such industry can overcome or command it. In December, 1873, Mr. Snider united in marriage with Miss Ella Coleman, of Hannibal, Missouri. Three children were born to them, but one of whom is living, their daughter AUie P., the wife of Alvin Lippincott, who lives in this county and stands well among the people. Her father follows faithfully the for- tunes of the Democratic party and is loyal in his service to it, although he seeks none of its honors or profits for himself. He and his wife are zealous and devoted members of the Southern Methodist Episcopal church and are held in high regard as useful forces in the congregation to which they belong. BYRON L. SAYIFT. Although not a native of Missouri, Byron L. Swift, one of the successful farmers and representative citizens of Salt Eiver township, has lived in Shelby county most of the time since he reached the age of five years, when he came to this state and county with his parents. He grew to manhood on the soil of Shelby county, drew from it his stature and his strength, obtained his education in its public schools and from the dawn of his maturity has been engaged in helping to promote its industrial great- ness and power in his quiet and unas- suming way, but with material enter- prise and substantial results for the good of the people. Mr. Swift was born in the town of Richfield, Summit county, Ohio, on ^larch 20, 18(50, and is a son of Stiles P. and Delia Elizabeth (Stofer) Swift, the former a native of Michigan and the lat- ter of Ohio. In 1863 the father moved to Missouri and located in Shelby county. His family came two years later. Here he practiced medicine in the Homeopa- thic school for a number of years, and also conducted farming oiiei'ations in connection witli raising live stock. In 18fi5 he changed his residence to Shel- bina and there devoted himself wholely to the practice of his profession. Some vears afterward he moved to Burlin- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 407 game, Kansas, but only remained two years. From there lie moved to North Topeka, Kansas, and there he remained actively engaged in a large practiee as a physician until his death, November 17, 1900, aged seventy-eight years. In 1848 he was united in marriage with Miss Delia Elizabeth Stofer, at the time a resident of Ohio, as lie was, and they became the parents of six children, three of whom are living: Burton D., a resident of this county; Byron L., the subject of this brief review; and Lillie B., the wife of Jacob Griggs, whose home is in Parsons, Kansas. After the death of his first wife he again married, March 23, 1893, his second wife being Miss Miriam A. Blakeslee, who survives him. In his political allegiance the father was a devoted member of the Kepublican party from its birth to his own death, and he gave the organization the best service in all its campaigns he was ca- pable of, although never seeking any of its favors for himself or allowing its demands to interfere in any way with his business. Byron L. Swift was reared on his father's farm, and as soon as he left school began farming and raising live stock on his own account. He has stead- fastly adhered to these occupations in spite of many temptations to give his attention to other callings, and has made his operations in them substantially profitable to himself and of very material benefit to his township and county. He has conducted his business with enter- prise and intelligence, studying the best modem methods in connection with it and applying the results of his observa- tions with excellent judgment and con- tinuous industry, progressiveness and breadth of view. He was married on October 25, 1893, to Miss Katy A. Wolfe, of New Orleans, Louisiana. The five children born of the union are all living and all yet mem- bers of the parental family circle. They are: Ruby, William, Bessie, Katy and Byron. Their mother died on August 27, 1908. The father is a Republican in his political connection, with an earnest and unceasing interest in the welfare of his party, and at all times renders it all the service he can. Fraternally he be- longs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which, also, he takes an active and serviceable interest. The enduring welfare of his township and county is a matter of constant concern and energetic effort on his part, no worthy undertaking involving it going without his earnest, intelligent and helpful assistance. He is regarded as one of the best and most useful men in his locality. JAMES POLK CONNAWAY. "While the great state of INIissouri at- tracted the attention and commanded the admiration of the world during tiie late Spanish-American war by her prolific production of superior mules well adapted for hardy service and long en- durance, which enabled her to supply all the requirements of the American army with this necessity of modern war- fare, she is no less entitled to credit for her great industry in the production of high grade horses for almost every use to which the noble animal is put in the service of mankind. The pre-eminence of the state in bring- 468 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ing forth this product as a creation for use, enjoyment and commerce has not been so pronounced as in connection with the other four-footed animal of great utility, and no great public exigency has brought the name of Missouri into uni- versal notice in reference to it, but the industry is, nevertheless, an extensive one in the commonwealth and engages the energies of a large number of the people here, many of whom have na- tional reputations for the excellent qual- ity of their output in this line. Among this niunber Polk Connaway, of Salt River township, Shelby county, is in the front rank and he well deserves the high standing he enjoys in connec- tion with the industry. He has made a si^ecialty of it for many years and be- come an authority on every feature and department of the business and his name is as familiar as a household word in every horse market in the country that has any general and widespread reputa- tion of its own or is frequented by deal- ers of extensive trading. Mr. Connaway was born on February 22, 1871, in Shelby county, Missouri. His parents, John Henry and Anna (Swain) Connaway, were born and reared in the state of Delaware, and there their forefathers lived from colonial times. The father, who came into being in 1841, was a son of Minus Connaway, who lived on a farm in Delaware which the family had occupied for generations. He was prominent in the affairs of the little state, whose proud boast has often been that she "produces greatness, not big- ness," and his son had the prospect of a career at home in line with the long habits and stimulating examples of his ancestors. But the West wore a winning smile for him, and he yielded to its per- suasive blandishments, coming to Mis- souri at an early day in his own life and that of the state. ' He located on a fanii in Shelby county, three miles west of Shelbina, and there he faiTued and raised live stock actively, extensively and success- fully until 1908, when he retired from active labor. Since then he has made his home with one or another of his chil- dren. He was married to Miss Anna Swain, and they became the parents of eight children, six of whom are living: Mary, the wife of Frank Barnes, of Ohio ; Polk, the interesting subject of this writ- ing; Frank, who is also a resident of tliis county; Ollie, the wife of Charles Ra])lee, of Shelby county; John, another member of the family who dignifies and adorns the citizenship of this county; and Mattie, now Mrs. Earl Porter, of Palmyra, Missouri. The father is a Re- publican in politics and a member of the Southern Methodist Episcopal church in religious affiliation. Polk Connaway was educated in the countiy schools of Shelby county, and after leaving school worked on his fa- ther's farm and others in the vicinity until 1895. He then began farming and raising live stock in a general way on his own account, and has been ener- getically and successfully engaged in these pursuits from that time to the present. Soon after starting in busi- ness for himself he determined to give his whole attention in the stock industiy to the production and handling of su- perior strains of horses, making that his specialty and allowing no other line to HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 469 interfei'e with his extensive operations in it. He has been very successful in the business and, as has been noted, has reached considerable jirominence and won a national repiitation for himself in it as one of the best and most intelligent horsemen in the state of his residence. On February 5, 1895, he was united in marriage with Miss Sallie Churchwell, of Shelby county, Missouri. The five children born of this union are all living and still reside under the parental roof- tree. They are: Anna Valience, James Lester, Ethel C, Mattie Hazel, and an infant daughter, named Tomie D. The father gives his active support and loyal allegiance to the principles and candi- dates of the Republican j^arty in political affairs, and to the Modern Woodmen of America in fraternal relations. He is highly esteemed for his public spirit and enterprise in connection with the prog- ress and improvement of his township and countj'^, and held in strong regard for the elevated character and general usefulness of his citizenshii?. HUGH DEMPSEY. Starting with practically nothing in the way of financial resources, and now owning and cultivating a fine farm of 195 acres in an advanced state of im- provement and productiveness, Hugh Dempsey, of Salt River township, in this county, furnishes an impressive illustra- tion of the possibilities of industry, en- terprise, thrift and good business man- agement in our land of unmeasured re- sources and great wealth of opportunity. His career also gives another proof of the versatility, adaptability and readi- ness for any conditions so characteristic of the Irish race, and its powers of achievement in every field of human en- deavor to which it sedulously devotes itself, whatever the circumstances. Although liorn in Adams county, Illi- nois, on November 7, 1852, Mr. Dempsey is but one generation removed from the Emerald Isle, where his father, Charles Dempsey, and his mother, Sarah (Demp- sey) Dempsey, were born and reared, the father's life beginning in that country in 1815, and the mother's two or three years later. The father came to the United States a very young man and lo- cated first in Pennsylvania. A few years afterward he moved to Adams county, Illinois, and in 1866 brought his family to Missouri and took up his residence in Shelby county. Here he was ener- getically and continuously engaged in farming and raising live stock until his death in 1882. By his marriage to Miss Sarah Demp- sey he became the father of eight chil- dren, six of whom are living: Edward J., of St. Louis, Missouri; Hugh, whose life story this review especially records; Lizzie, the wife of Marshall Baker, a resident of this county; Nancy, the wife of William Barry, of St. Louis ; Charles Mark, who is also a resident of this county ; and Margaret, the wife of Thomas Finney, another member of the family who is adding to the growth, im- provement and prosperity of Shelby county. In politics the father adhered to the Democratic party and in religion to the tenets of the Catholic churcli. His son Hugh obtained a limited com- 470 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY mon school education in tlie district schools of his native county and those of this county. At an early age, even be- fore attaining his majority in years, he began farming and raising stock on his own account, and from the beginning of his venture in these two lines of industry he has been successful and steadily in- creased in prosperity, having acquired the ownership of 195 acres of good farm- ing land, as has been noted, and brought it to a high state of fruitfulness. Mr. Dempsey has also steadily risen in the good opinion and appreciation of his township and county. He was foui*- teen when he became a resident of the county, and during the forty-four years of his I'esidence among its people has so demeaned himself as a man and been so active and useful as a citizen that he has won universal regard and good will in this part of the state. He rendered ex- cellent service to the jmblic as a mem- ber of the local school board for a period of fifteen years, and in reference to every other public interest has always been active and heli)ful in behalf of the en- during welfare of the locality of his home. On Deceml)er 28, 1875, he was married to Miss Jane Baker, a daughter of Rea- son and Dorenda (Dudgeon) Baker, long esteemed residents of this county. Of the six children born to the union, four are living, all of them still in the parental family circle. They are: Charles E., Georgia, Anna and Reason B. The fa- ther belongs to the Democratic party in politics and the Catholic church in re- ligion. He is firm in his allegiance to both party and church and a faithful worker in each. JAMES S. BARKER. Venerable in years and venerated for his long usefulness to his country in many different localities and lines of en- deavor, inchiding faithful services on the battlefield and activity in several of the industries of peaceful production, James S. Barker, of Salt River township, is one of the memorable and striking per- sonages in Shelby coimty. At the ad- vanced age of ninety, he is resting from labor and enjoying the twilight of his long day of toil, amply provided for by the competence he has gained through his own efforts, and secure in the high regard of the people of the whole county because of the uprightness, consistency and general worthiness of his career among men. Mr. Barker was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, on April 21, 1821. His grandfather located in that state on his arrival in this country from Ireland, where his family had dwelt for many generations. For a time he resided at Carlisle, in Cumberland county, and there his son, John Barker, the father of James S., was born, in 1773. The greater part of John Barker's life was ]iassed in Carlisle, but he died at Lock- haven, Clinton county, in 1850, having moved to that city from the adjoining county of Lj^coming some time previ- ously. He was a millwright and worked at the trade for a time. But he was most ])rominently and extensively known as a very successful pilot on the Sus- quehanna river. Tn 1801 he was married to INfiss Nancy Ramsey, also a native of Pennsylvania. Of the ten children born to them, only HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 471 one is now living, James S. His older sister, Elizabeth, the wife of William Dunn, of Great Island, Pennsylvania, died in October, 1910, in her ninety-ninth year. The father was a man of great force of character and wonderful phy- sique and endurance. The trials and ex- actions of his life on the river, the nerv- ous strain under which he constantly la- bored, the dangers of his calling, the rig- ors of the seasons and rage of the ele- ments to which, he was frequently sub- jected, all passed over his stalwart frame in vain. He lived to the age of seventy-seven and retained much of his vigor of bodv and all of his clearness of mind to the last. James S. Barker obtained his educa- tion in the district schools of his native county, and while attending them ac- quired a good knowledge of blacksmith- ing, working at the trade when he had leisure from school sessions. After leaving school he followed the craft for a time with success and good prospects. But the outbreak of the Mexican war called him to higher duties, and he en- listed in the American army under Col. John C. Hayes, being enrolled in Com- pany K, First Regiment, on July 3, 1847, at Dallas, Texas, where he happened to be at the time, having made the trip from Shelbyville on horse back, over 1,300 miles. He served to the end of the war and took part in several engage- ments, notably the battle of Laquelta- pan, which was a hot fight in which the Mexican loss was 150 men killed. Mr. Barker was mustered out of the service on April 30, 18-18, at Vera Cruz, Mexico, the war having been ended by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mr. Barker did not, however, work at the trade of blacksmithing until the be- aiuuina' of the Mexican war. He became a Susquehanna river pilot, like h i s father, and was employed as such until 1842. He then came to Missouri and lo- cated at Walkersville in this county. In connection with his brothers, George and Tliomas, he built four mills on Salt river, but soon after their completion all but one, a saw mill, were washed away in a flood. This the three brothers operated until 1849. James then sold his inter- ests in the mill to his brothers, and the next year he returned to Pennsylvania and again became a pilot on the Susque- hanna, continuing as such four years. In 1854 he came back to Missouri and once more located in Shelby county. Here, during the next two years, he farmed in connection with Charles Smith, his father-in-law. At the end of the period named he opened a general merchandising establishment at Walk- ersville, which he conducted with great success and profit for two years. But mercantile life was not to his taste, and in 1858 he sold his business and returned to farming and raising live stock, in which he was very actively and exten- sively engaged until about ten years ago. Then advancing years impelled him to retire from all active pursuits, although he was at the time and is now in good health. On July 17, 1849, Mr. Barker was united in marriage with Miss Sibbella Smith, of this county. Eight children were born of their union and six of them are living: Emma Belle, the wife of An- drew Baker, of this county; William, who lives in California; Elizabeth, the 472 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY wife of James A. Kent, of Shelby county; Caroline, the wife of James Cooter, of Holden, Missouri; Jennie L., the wife of John W. Wilson; and Ger- trude, the wife of John H. Lancaster. The two last named are residents of Shelby county, Missouri. The wife and mother died October 20, 1893, aged sixty- three years. Mr. Baker's political faith has been pinned to the Republican party from its organization, and he has at all times given it loyal support, acting on honest convictions in this, as he does in every- thing else. For many years he has found entertainment and inspiration in the teachings and social features of the Ma- sonic fraternity and the Order of Odd Fellows, and religious comfort in the doctrines of the Christian church, of all of which he has been ftn active and con- sistent member. His life in the past, his present peace and contentment, and his hopes for the future give force to the words of the Psalmist: "Behold the up- right man, for the end of that man is peace." HENRY WILL. 'Mr. Will, who is one of the substantial citizens, large landholders and success- ful business men of Shelby county, main- taining his home in the village of Bethel, has been a resident of this county from the time of his liirth and is a scion of one of its sterling pioneer families, the name which he bears having been identified "with the annals of the county for more than half a century. Mr. Will was born in the village of Bethel, this county, on July 15, 1848, and his father was one of the original mem- bers of the colony here founded by a number of substantial and worthy citi- zens of German birth or ancestry. John Will, grandfather of the subject of this review, was a native of Germany and passed the closing years of liis life in Missouri. Mr. Will is a son of Nicholas and Catherine (Ziegler) Will. Tbey were both natives of Germany. Their marriage was solemnized in Shelby county, ^Missouri, in 1847. The father came to this county in 1845 and to Amer- ica in 1839. He became one of the colo- nists at Bethel, where he followed his trade, that of tailor, until the colony was disbanded, and thereafter he devoted his attention to farming on a small scale and to the raising of bees, being long known as one of tlie successful apiarists of this section of the state, and continu- ing to be actively identified with this line of enterprise until his death, wliich oc- curred on October 25, 1900, at which time he was seventy-nine years of age, having been one of the honored and well known pioneer citizens of the county. His devoted wife was summoned to the life eternal December 12, 1902, at the age of seventy-seven years. She came to America in 1831 and to Bethel in 1844. The mother had been a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church and the father had been a supporter of the cause of the Re])ul)Hcaii ]iarty from the time of its organization until his demise. Of the ten children five are mentioned in this sketch. Of the number the subject of this sketch is tlie eldest; Christine is the wife of Henry Schriever, of Bethel; Julius E. is a resident of Green City, this state; Louise is the wife of Freder- HENRY WILL HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 473 ick Pfliiin, of Shelby coimty, and Frank now resides in Albany, Oregon. Henry Will i:iassed his boyhood and yonth in his native village of Bethel, in whose schools he seonred his early edu- cational training. After the breaking np of the colony he followed various occu- pations, in connection with which he de- veloped no little versatility. In 1879 he engaged in work as a brick mason, to which vocation he devoted his attention for a few years, after which he was asso- ciated with his brother Julius E. in the conducting of a wagon repair shop for a period of seven years. They then en- gaged in the hardware business at Bethel under the timi name of Will Brothers, and they were associated in this enterprise for thirteen years. Tjike his father, Mr. Will has achieved suc- cess and no limited reputation as an apiarist, and to this interesting line of enterprise he has given special attention the past few years, finding the same a source of definite profit and conducting operations on an extensive scale. He has also been prominently identified with farming and stock growing, but now rents his fine farm property, which com- prises 316 acres and which is eligibly located in Bethel township. In 1892 Mr. Will became one of the organizers of the Bank of Bethel, of which he was elected president in January, 1907, serving in this office for one year, since which time he has continued as a valued member of the directorate of the substantial and po])ular institution. Though essentially loyal and public spirited as a citizen and taking much in- terest in all that tends to conserve the progress and prosperity of the commu- nity, Mr. Will has never been a seeker of ])ublic office. He is aligned as a staunch supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church in their home village, where they are held in high regard by all who know them. On April 3, 187-t, Mr. Will was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Schriever, who was born and reared in this county, and who is a daughter of the late Sam- uel Schreiver. The six children of this union are: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Edward G. Bower, of Bethel, and Louise, Emma, Alma, Irwin R. and Catherine R., all of whom remain at the paternal home. Emma is now Mrs. William Erich, of Bethel township; Alma is now Mrs. John Brothers, of Bethel township. WILLIAM S. FOX. He whose n-ame introduces this sketch was for many years engaged in the gro- cery business in Shelbina, gaining rec- ognition as one of the leading repre- sentatives of the mercantile fraternity in this attractive little city, where he still maintains his home, and where he now conducts one of the leading grocery stores and meat markets. He is held in unqualified esteem in the town that has so long been his home and is well entitled to consideration in this history of his county. Mr. Fox was born on a farm near the village of Paris, Monroe county, Mis- souri, January 5, 1867, and the lineage of the family is traced back through sev- eral generations in America, his pater- 474 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY nal grandfather, James C. Fox, having been a native of Kentucky. In that state also was born Joseph H. Fox, father of our subject. The former was reared and educated in liis native commonwealth, and as a young man he came to Missouri and took uj) his residence in Monroe eountj', where he became a successful farmer and also built up a large and prosperous business as a dealer in mules. His wife, whose maiden name was Mar- tha M. McKinney, was born in the state of Missouri, Monroe county, and both are now deceased, the honored father having passed away in 1899 and the mother in 1871. In politics the father was a staunch adherent of the Demo- cratic party, taking an intelligent inter- est in the issues of the hour and being loyal and liberal in his attitude as a citi- zen. He was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and botli he and his wife were zealous and valued members of the Christian church. Of their nine children all are living excejjt one, and concerning them the following brief record is given : James A. is a resident of Louisville, Kentucky; Maiy M., a maiden ladj^ re- sides in the city of St. Louis ; AValter L. is a resident of Fort Collins, Missouri; Alice M. is the wife of James B. West, of St. Louis; Annie E. is the widow of Arthur W. Skinner and resides at Har- per, Kansas; Edward L. maintains his home in Hannibal, Missouri; William S. is the immediate subject of this review; and Louise T. is the wife of Albert N. Wiles, of Quincy, Illinois. William S. Fox passed his boyhood days on the home farm and after com- pleting the curriculum of the public schools of Shelliina he continued to as- sist in the work of the home farm for a short interval, at the expiration of which, in 1894, he engaged in the grocery busi- ness in Shelbina, where he built up a large, prosperous and essentially repre- sentative trade, based upon fair and hon- oi'able dealings and upon his care and discrimination in catering to the de- mands of his patrons. He was specially effective as a buyer and his store was looked upon as a model establishment of its kind. He continued the enterprise with ever increasing success until Oc- tober, 1908, when he sold the same, and for two years was employed as a travel- ing salesman for the Scudders-Gale Gro- cery Company, of Quincy, Illinois, which he re})resented in a good territory in this state, though still maintaining his home in Shelbina, as has already been stated. He was one of the popular com- mercial men of his native state and his success as a traveling salesman was on the same high plane as was that he ma- tured in connection with his individual l)usiness as a retail grocer. In Decem- ber, 1909, Mr. Fox resigned his position as traveling salesman and in the spring of 1910 again engaged in the retail gro- cery and meat business at Shelbina, where he is now enjoying a large and constantly increasing trade. -^Ir. Fox is aligned as a staunch su])]iorter of the ])rinciples and policies for which the Democratic party stands sjwnsor, is pro- gressive and ]niblic-spirited as a citizen, is identified with several fraternal and social organizations, the Masonic frater- nity, K. of P. and I\r. W. of A. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Christian church. On October 25, 1888, Mr. Fox was HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 475 united in marriage to Miss Margaret M. Gresbam, who was born and reared in Marion county and wbo is a daughter of John Gresbam, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Fox have two children — Por- ter G., wbo is now employed in a busi- ness with his father at Shelbina, and C. Brace, who remains at the parental home. JOHN BEO.WN. John Brown, a native and all his life to this time a resident of Shelby county, and until three years ago one of its leading farmers and live stock men, is now one of the prosperous and promi- nent citizens of Shelbina, where he is energetically and extensively engaged in business as an auctioneer and general dealer in live stock. He was born near Bethel, this county, on June 28, 1855, and obtained bis education in the dis- trict school near bis home, living on bis father's farm and attending the sessions whenever be found opportunity amid the exactions of active farming o^jerations. His grandfather. Eleven Brown, was a native of Kentucky, where bis parents settled in early days when that now great state was still a part of the fron- tier, but rapidly filling up with hardy and stalwart pioneers. Bedford Brown, the sou of Eleven and father of John, was ])oru at Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1820, and came to Missouri when he was but sixteen years of age, finding in this state at that early period much the same conditions that his forefathers had found in Kentucky when they arrived in it. He located for a short time at Pal- myra, then moved to Shelby county and took up bis residence on a farm near Bethel. There be followed farming and general stock-raising until his death. Wiien that event occurred be owned 240 acres of land and an extensive live stock business. He was energetic and know- ing, took advantage of his opportunities with good judgment and used them with intelligence and skillful management. Success crowned all bis eiforts and gave him, in connection with his high char- acter and public spirit, consequence and standing among the people. His spe- cialties in stock were horses and mules, and he raised great numbers of each. In about 18-18 be was united in mar- riage with Miss Elizabeth Todd, a na- tive of Maryland, and by that uu^rriage became the father of ten children, all of whom are living. They are: Eliza, the wife of Henry Nichols, of this county; Alexander, who resides in Kirks- ville, Missouri; John, the immediate sub- ject of this sketch; Benjamin F., also a resident of this county ; Lucinda E., the wife of James Nelson, of Sheridan county, Kansas; Fannie, the wife of Frank Taylor, of Shelby county; Lillie, the wife of Al. Taylor, who also resides in this county; Julia, the wife of James Gentry, of Kirksville; Kittle, the wife of Tom Will Garrison, of Shelby county ; and Joseph, whose home is in Knox county. The father was a member of the Democratic party in political faith and allegiance and belonged to the Mis- sionary Baptist church in religious con- nection. John Brown was trained to farming and raising stock, and gave bis attention to these pursuits immediately on leav- ing school. He also bought considerable numbers of stock for shipment to East- 47G HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ern markets. He was very successful in his operations ou the farm, and con- tinued them along progressive and jarof- itable lines until February 1, 1907. At that time he moved to Shelbina, and during the subsequent years has been very successfully engaged in auctioneer- ing and dealing in live stock generally. He understands his business thoroughly and gives it his whole attention. His success is therefore a logical result of capacity, enterprise and first rate man- agement, combined with excellent judg- ment. He was married in 1878 to Miss Amanda T. Gentry, of Ralls county, this state. They have had ten children, three of whom are living, John and Paul, of Rexford, Kansas, and Mark, of Shelby county, Missouri, all of whom have in- herited the business capacity of their father and are doing well in their sev- eral callings and localities, and, like him, are highly respected by the people around them. ARTHUR E. JORDAN. This enterprising, prosperous and highly successful farmer and live stock man and respected citizen of Jackson township in this county, was born in the state of Indiana on August 26, 1863, and came with his parents to Missouri and Shelby county when he was eight years of age. He is a son of Philip W. and Nancy H. (Coffman) Jordan, an account of whose lives will be found in a sketch of his brother, William A. Jordan, pub- lished in this volume and containing a narrative of the family history. Mr. Jordan acquired his education in the Oak Dale, Shelby county, public school, and, after completing the course of study available to him in that temple of Cadmus, began at once a career as a farmer and producer and shipper of live stock, which he has continued to the present time and in which he has suc- ceeded admirably by reason of his good judgment, fine business capacity and the close, intelligent and careful attention he has always bestowed upon his business. He has also taken an earnest interest and active part in the affairs of his town- shi]) and was a member of the school board for some years. He is a Demo- crat in political allegiance, belongs to the Court of Honor fraternally, and is connected with the Christian church in religious alliance. He takes an ardent interest in his party, his fraternity and his church, and his membership is highly valued in each. In 1892 he was united in marriage with Miss Ina Vanarsdall, of Marion county, Missouri. They have had two children and both of them are living and still members of the parental family circle. They are a daughter named Nancy Ruth and a son named Guy. The parents stand high in the es- timation of the people of the township, and common consent will attest that they are well deserving of the regard in which they are held. WILLIAM A. JORDAN. Successful and progressive as a farmer and producer of live stock, and successful because he is progressive, William A. Jordan, of Jackson township, is also a man of influence and high stand- ing as a citizen, and he holds his i-ank in this respect because of the elevated character and usefulness of his citizen- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 477 ship. He is not a native of Shelby county, but has lived in it ever since he was two years old, a period of thirty- nine years, and during all the period of his youth and manhood has contributed to its advancement and improvement. Mr. Jordan was born in Indiana on May 1:2, 1869, and is a scion of old Vir- ginia families, his grandfather, Arthur B. Jordan, having been born and reared in that state and to a house long estab- lished there. In that state, also, Philip W. Jordan, the father of William A., was born, opening his eyes on this world in 1836. He left his ancestral home a young man and migrated to what was then the distant "West, locating in Linn county, Missouri, where he was exten- sively occupied in farming and raising live stock for a number of years. He then dwelt for some years in the state of Indiana, and in that state he was mar- ried in 1862 to Miss Nancy H. Coffman. By this marriage Mr. Jordan became the father of seven children, six of whom are living: Arthur E., a sketch of whom will be found in this work; Rosa Lee, the wife of Lee Harrison, a resident of this county; Dora D., the wife of Lewis Parker, whose residence is in the new state of Oklahoma ; William A., the sub- ject of this brief review; Allie L., the wife of James Collier, of Montana; and Charles P., whose home is in this county. The family moved to Shelby county in 1871, and here the father followed gen- eral farming with great success imtil his death, which occurred in 1881. During the Civil war he was drafted into the Federal army, but the war was so nearly over when this occurred that he was never called into the service. His po- litical support was faithfully and ar- dently given to the Democratic party, and his religious support with equal con- fidence and ardor to the Southern Meth- odist Episcopal church. William A. Jordan secured a limited education in the public school at Oak- dale in this county, and excellent train- ing in his destined life work on his father's farm, on which he remained un- til he attained his majority. He then began operations for himself as a farmer and stock man, and to these pursuits he has steadfastly adhered through all the subsequent years, except that at times he has worked at the carpenter trade, of which he acquired a knowledge during his minority. He has made a very grati- fying success of his endeavors in all his undertakings, and is now in easy circum- stances in a worldly way and secure in the regard and good will of the people in his township and throughout the county. On October 27, 1897, Mr. Jordan united in marriage with Miss Edith Cochrane, a resident of this county. They have had four children, and all of them are living, and still at home with their parents. They are: Harvey G., Mary E., Bessie and Tna Lue. The father is firm and faithful in his attach- ment to the Democratic party in polit- ical affairs and energetic and zealous in his support of it. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Court of Honor, in which he is also active and serviceable. In the public affairs of the townshi]i and county of his home he has always taken a very helpful interest, aiding in every way 478 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY open to him in their progress and de- velopment. He is now a member of the school board. THOMAS D. MITCHELL. In tlie life story and family record of this highly enterprising, i)rogressive and successful farmer, live stock pro- ducer and real estate operator of Jack- son township, who is one of the leaders in his several lines of activity in this county, run golden threads of personal and general history, and firm fibers of manly achievement, embracing material, intellectual and spiritual conquests of moment in their immediate and of great value in their continuing importance. He is the son of one of the early pio- neers, who was also one of the early school teachers in this part of the state. The farm on which he lives was the old cami)ing ground of the Methodists in the early evangelizing work which made them famous and gave them so strong a hold on the people in tliis and the ad- joining counties. He has himself built up a large and profitable business by his own endeavors, which has been and is of great benefit to all Northeastern Mis- souri. Mr. Mitchell was born in Shelby county, Missouri, on April 14, 1862. His father, also named Thomas I). Mitchell, was a native of Virginia and first saw the light of this world in 1835. He came to this ])ortion of Missouri among its earlier settlers and located on a farm near Emden. This farm he worked dur- ing the summer months and during the winter he taught school for a number of years. His scholastic contributions to the advancement of the county were based on very little education acquired in the schools, for he had not much op- portunity for such acquisitions. But he was a great reader and student and a very well-informed man. "While he taught school, and afterward, he pushed his fanning operations and the live stock industrj'^ in which he was engaged to large proportions and considerable ad- vantage to himself financially. He was joined in marriage with Miss Eliza A. Spencer, of Marion county, and they became the parents of five children, three of whom are living : Thomas D. ; his brother, Douglas E., a resident of this county; and their sister, Margaret, the wife of Horace Warner, who has her home in Illinois. The father was a firm believer in the principles of the Demo- cratic party and gave that organization earnest and effective support in all its campaigns. In religious connection he was affiliated with the Methodist Epis- co])al church. South. It is easy to infer, if the matter were left to inference, that he was an imi)ortant man in the early history of his locality. But this is on record to his credit, and it is manifest from the record that he never neglected a public or private duty or betrayed a trust. His son Thomas had no educational advantages except those furnished by the district schools of Shelby county. And as soon as he left them he began th(> career of farming and raising stock, which he is still expanding, and in which he has achieved both a competence and a widespread rei)utation of credit for himself, and has also conferred upon the region in which he lives substantial com- MELCHIOR NOLL HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 479 niereial benefits. For many years he has given his attention in the stock industry to raising, feeding and dealing in fancy live stock, and he is now known promi- nently and favorably for the character of his output in all the alert and com- manding stock markets of the country, and in some other countries as well. His farm at present comprises 326 acres of superior land, which has been developed by every means known to advanced ag- riculture and improved with judgment and good taste. On November 28, 1888, he was mar- ried to Miss Bertie Blackburn, a daugh- ter of Samuel Blackburn, now county judge of Shelby county. They have had five children, two of whom are living, Horace T. and Mary M., both residents of Shelby county. The father is a Dem- ocrat politically, and belongs to the Court of Honor and the Brotherhood of America fraternally, and takes a cordial interest in all these organizations. MELCHIOR NOLL. The great empire of Germany has con- tributed to the com]ilex social fabric of the United States a most valual)le ele- ment of citizenship, and from this source our nation has had much to gain and nothing to lose. The sturdy equipoise, practical judgment and well-directed in- dustry that characterizes our citizens of German birth or lineage act as a balance wheel in connection with the adjustment of civic and industrial activities, and even the most casual observer cannot fail to note that thrift and prosperity are in evidence wherever the average citizen of German extraction and training di- rects his energies. ^lelcliior Noll, the only representative of his immediate family in the state of Missouri, is one of the substantial and honored citizens of Shelby county and is a successful business man of the thriving little village of Bethel, where he is en- gaged in contracting as a brick mason and where he has maintained his home for more than thirty-five years, ever commanding the most unequivocal con- fidence and esteem in the community. Mr. Noll was born in Keibersdorf, Germanj', on January 6, 18-f8, and is a son of Melchior and Madeline (Christ) Noll, both of whom passed their entire lives in Germany, where the father fol- lowed the vocation of farming during the major portion of his active career. Of the seven children two of the number are residents of America, the subject of this review being the only representative in Missouri, as previously stated. Mr. Noll was reared and educated in Germany, and in 1872, when twenty-three years of age, he severed the gracious ties that bound him to home and fatherland and set forth to win for himself such ben- efices as could be wrested from the hands of fortune under the auspicious condi- tions existing in America. He had little in the way of financial resources, but was endowed with ambition, sterling integ- rity of purpose, diligence and self re- liance, so that he came to the new world with an eciuipnu^nt equal to that of many others of his countrymen who have, here achieved success and independence. Soon after his arrival in America Mr. Noll made his way westward, and in the sum- 480 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY mer of 1871 he settled in Hanuilial. Mis- souri, in which city he continued to re- side until the spring of the followin": year, when lie came to Shelby county and took up his abode in Shelbina, where he followed his trade of brick mason un- til 1874, when he established his perma- nent home in Bethel, where he has gained a large measure of success through his well-directed efforts as a contractor in the line of his trade, having erected many of the liest buildings in this part of the county and also having done a large amount of other contract structural work. His career has been marked by indefatigable industry and judicious em- ployment of the agencies at liis com- mand, the while he has been guided and governed by those high principles of in- tegrity and honor that ever beget popu- lar confidence and esteem. He is one of the stoekliolders of the Bank of Bethel and is a valued member of its director- ate, and he is also the owner of a consid- erable amount of improved real estate in his home village, including his at- tractive and commodious residence. In politics, though never a seeker of official preferment, he is aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and both he and his wife hold membershij) in the Methodist Episcopal church. He is affiliated with Bethel Lodge, Xo. 537, Free and Accepted Ma- sons. In the year 1879 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Noll to Miss Emily Will, daughter of the late Nicholas "Will, of Bethel, and of their seven children five are living, namely: Sophia, who is the wife of George Keefe, of Marysville, this state; Julius and William, who are residents of Bethel ; Ella, who now re- sides in Marysville; and Frank, who re- mains at the paternal home. ^Irs. Em- ily (Will) Noll was summoned to the life eternal in July. 1897, and on Novem- ber 28, 1S99, Mr. Noll was married to Mrs. Alvina C. Arnold, of Bethel, a daughter of George Fabler, who was a well known citizen of Lewis county. JAMES G. BLACKFORD. Having enlisted in the Federal army in defense of the L'nion when he was but eighteen years old and passed the next three years in active service, in which he faced death on many a well fought field of conflict, James G. Black- ford, now one of the prosperous and pro- gi-essive farmers of Jackson township, in this county, began life for himself un- der conditions of great danger, priva- tion and arduous exactions. He met the requirements of those conditions with manliness and fidelity, and in their stem discipline acquired both self-control and self-knowledge which have been of great value to him throughout all his subse- quent years. ^Ir. Blackford was l)orn in this county on April 13. 18-14, and is a grandson of Benjamin Blackford, a native of Ken- tucky, and a son of James ^I. Blackford, who was also a native of that state. ])orn in 1810. The father came to ^lissouri among the early settlers and located in Clarion county, where he remained until 183i'. He then moved to Shelby county, and there he was actively and success- fully engaged in farming and raising stock until his death. He was one of the leading men in his township and es- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 481 teemed on all sides as one of its most representative citizens. He was married to Miss Eliza Deed- man, like himself, a native of Kentucky, and by this marriage became the father of thirteen children, six of whom are living: ]\Iary Ann, the wife of William Finney; Lney, the wife of Charles Col- lier; James G., the subject of this sketch ; Clementine, the wife of Jacob Melson; Jessamine; Susan, the wife of William Fitzpatrick; and Benjamin G. They are all residents of this county except Mrs. Collier, whose home is in Grimdy county, Missouri. The father followed faith- fully the fortunes of the Democratic party in political affairs, and gave his allegiance to the Christian church in re- ligious matters. The educational advantages of his son, James G. Blackford, were limited to the curriculum of the district schools of this county and his own study, reading and reflection. He left school in 1862, when he was eighteen years of age, and en- listed in the Union army, Company G, Second Missouri Cavalry, under com- mand of Colonel Lipscomb and Briga- dier-General McNeil. He served the full three years of his term of enlistment and took part in several of the historical bat- tles of the war and numerous minor en- gagements. His discharge from the service came at the close of the war. When the "war drum throbbed no longer and the battle flags were furled," he returned to his Missouri home, and since that time has been altogether occu- pied with progressive and jirofitable farming operations on his excellent farm in Jackson township, which now comprises 210 acres and is very pro- ductive and nearly all under advanced and skillful cultivation according to the most approved modern methods of farm- ing. As he was faithful to his country in time of war, so he has been faithful to his township and county in time of peace, taking an active interest in their advancement and improvement, and at all times showing an eager desire and a willing hand to aid in caring for and promoting their best interests. On February 14, 1878, Mr. Blackford was united in marriage with Miss Mary Givans, of this county. They have had two children, both of whom are living, their sons, Wayne, who resides in Co- lumbia, Boone county, and Lloyd, whose home is in Shelby county, this state. Like their parents, the sons are well es- teemed by the people who know them, and regarded as excellent men and ex- emplars of the most sturdy and sei*vice- able American citizenship. FEEDERICK G. SPEYERER. Farming and raising live stock are two of the leading industries of Shelby county, and the men who have helped to develop them and build them up to their present high state of prosperity and activity are entitled to high praise and the general approval of the people whose welfare is promoted by them. In this number is to be found Frederick G. Speyerer, one of the progressive and suc- cessful farmers and live stock men of Lentner township, whose operations in the industries mentioned have long been extensive and fruitful in good for the township and the county. Mr. Speyerer is a native of Germany. 482 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY born on j\Iay 29, 1842, and a scion of families long domesticated in that coun- try. His father, John Speyerer, and his grandfather, Frederick G. Speyerer, were natives of the Fatherland, and their forefathers lived in it for many genera- tions. The father was born in 1816 and came to the United States in 1852. His first location in this country was in the state of New York, where he remained until 1863. He then moved to Illinois/, and in that state passed the remainder of his life, busily and profitably engaged in fanning. He died there June 11, 1867. Before he left his native land he served his required term in the German army, acquiring in its discipline a con- trol of himself and a use of his faculties which was of benefit to him throughout the rest of his life. In 1841 he was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Heintz, who was also a native of Ger- many. They had nine children, three of whom are living: Their sons Fred- erick and John, wlio reside in Shelby county, and their son Michael, whose home is in Texas. In politics the father was a Republican in this coimtry, and in religion he belonged to the Lutheran church. Frederick G. Speyerer was but ten years of age when his parents brought him to this country. His opportunities for scholastic training were limited to those afforded by the district schools of Erie county. New York, but he was of a studious mind and rend a great deal at home, and in this way acquired a large fund of general information. Soon after leaving school he became a sailor on the great lakes, and gave himself up to the hazards of wind and wave for a period of ten years. At the end of that time he came to Missouri and located in Shelby county, and from the year of his arrival here he has been very actively and successfully occupied in farming and raising, feeding and shipping live stock. He has taken an active part in the affairs of the township and county of his home, giving his energetic and help- ful aid to every commendable undertak- ing involving the welfare of their people. Politically he is a Republican. Frater- nally he is connected with the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, and in re- ligion he is affiliated with the German Lutheran church. On April 18, 1872, he was united in marriage with IMiss Eliza- beth Dilcam, of Pennsylvania. Eight children were born to them and all of them are living: John B., who resides in Illinois; George F.. whose home is in this coimty; Frederick C, a resident of the state of Wyoming; Elizabeth, who lives at Marceline, Missouri ; and Etta v., Rosa C. Grace and Ino, all of whom are still ;it home with their parents. The latter stand well in the community in which they live and are highly re- s])e('ted by the people among whom they liave so long lived and labored. They are regarded as excellent citizens, with, an abiding interest in the substantial and enduring good of their coimty and a con- stant readiness to promote it in every way they can, and in reference to its every material, mental and moral need. GEORGE W. STALCUP. With good old Virginia ancestry to give him examples of upright and ele- vated living in his family history, and a HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 483 residence in three states of the American Union to give him knowledge of men in different parts of the country and the varying application of American institu- tions to the daily economies of life, ac- cording to location and circumstantial requirements, George W. Stalcup, of Leutner township, Shelby county, has had many incentives to duty in his citi- zenship, and his nature has resiDonded to them in a very satisfactory manner. He is progressive, successful and pros- perous as a farmer and producer of su- perior strains of live stock, leading and enterprising as a citizen, and upright and esteemed as a man. Mr. Stalcup is a native of this county, where his life began on January 24, 1863. He is a grandson of William Stalcup, who was born and reared in Virginia, and a son of James Stalcup, also a na- tive of that state. The father came to Missouri in the early days and located in Shelb}' county. Here he was actively and extensively occupied in farming and raising live stock until the beginning of the Civil war. Soon after the start of that unfortunate and sanguinary conflict between the sections of our land he fol- lowed his belief in the doctrine of state sovereignty into the Confederate army and defended it on the field of battle un- til he was killed in the massacre at Cen- tralia, Missoui'i. He enlisted imder Cap- tain Johnson and his command saw a great deal of active service until its ex- istence was disastrously ended by the event in which he lost his life, along with many other brave men who deserved a better fate. They dared the hazards of war, espousing their caiase wamily and defending it valiantly, and they should have died, if at all, in fair and open bat- tle, as true soldiers always prefer, and not in such unmanly and brutal warfare as that in which they fell. Mr. Stalcup was married in Missouri to Miss Mary Byars, like himself, a na- tive of Virginia. They had six children, Init onl^^ two of them are living: George W. and his older brother William, both of whom are residents of this county. During his life the father was a man of force and influence in his community and his death was widelj'' lamented. He was active in promoting the development of his township and county until the iron heel of war crushed out all enterprise and left every industry inert and lan- guishing. But he did his part while he had opportunity, and his name is re- membered among the people with great respect and general approval. George W. Stalcup thus had his child- hood and youth overshadowed by the terrible storm cloud of our Civil war, and began life for himself amid trying circumstances which were due to it. He obtained a limited education in the dis- trict schools of Shelby county and after leaving school worked on the home farm for two years. He then went to Cali- fornia in seai'ch of better opijortimities for advancement, but only remained in that state one year. The next four were passed by him in South Dakota. At the end of that period he returned to this state and Shelby county, and since his return has been actively, continuously and successfully engaged in farming and raising and feeding stock for the mar- kets. He has made a specialty of tine saddle horses and won a national repu- tation for the excellence of his output in 484 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY this department of the stock industry. His farm comprises 235 acres of good farm land, is well improved, highly cul- tivated and pleasantly located near Lentner. On September 18, 1889, he was married to Miss Alice Kimble, of this county. Two children have been born to them, but only one of them is living, their daughter Elsie, who is still at home with her parents. MARK DEMPSEY. Forty-four years of the fortj'-seven which Mark Dempsey, the present county assessor of Shelby coimty, has lived have been passed in this coimty, to which he was brought by his parents when he was but three year's old. He was edu- cated in the county schools, acrpiired his social habits in free and friendly inter- course with the people here, has taken a leading part in the industrial life of the coimty, and for a number of years has been one of its most capable, reliable and upright public officials. He is there- fore to all intents and purposes a Shelby coimtian, although he is a native of Adams county, Illinois, where he was born, near the city of Quincy. on Sep- tember 3, 1863. He is a son of Charles and Sarah (Dempsey) Dempsej*, natives of Ireland, the father born in County Derry and the mother in Belfast. The father was reared to the age of twenty-one in his native land and came to the United States about 1833. He first located in Pennsylvania and entered the employ of the Crane Iron Works at AUentown, in that state. But the enormous migration from the eastern states to the prairies of the West, as it was then, attracted his attention and enlisted his interest, and in time the influence became so potential with him that he joined the tide and moved to Adams coimty, Illinois. There he engaged in farming for some years, and in 1866, when the Civil war cloud had vanished from our country, he moved his famih' to Missouri and lo- cated in Shelby county. On his arrival here he bought a tract of unbroken land in Jackson township, and to the devel- opment and improvement of this he de- voted the remaining years of his life, which ended in 1877. His widow sur- \aved him eight years, dying in May, 1885. Of the eight children born to them five are living, and all but one are residents of this county. They are : Hugh ; Eliza- beth, the wife of Marshall Baker ; Nancj', the wife of William Barry, of St. Louis, Missouri ; Mark, and Maggie, the wife of T. J. Finney. Each of them in their several locations and occupations exemplifies in daily life the lessons of thrift, industry and upright living incul- cated around the family fireside and by the example of their parents, and each is highly respected by all classes of the peojile among whom they are known. The father was an active and loyal Democrat in his political faith, but he never held or sought a political office. His religious connection was with the Catholic church. Some years after he was well established in this country, and had become a prosperous farmer in Adams county, Illinois, his father, Pat- rick Dempsey, brought the rest of the family to that county, and there he met with a tragic fate, being killed by acci- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 485 dent before he liad much opportunity to become acijiiaiuted with the institutions and opportunities for advancement in tlie land in wliieh he had sought a new liome. ]Mark Dempsey grew to manliood in this county and was educated in its pub- lic schools, as has been stated. At the age of nineteen he began farming as a tenant on land he rented, and a few years hiter he bought the farm on which he now lives in Jackson township, where he owns 310 acres and has the whole tract under advanced and skillful culti- vation. From the time when he began farming until now (1910) he has been continuously engaged in this interesting and progressive pursuit, and in connec- tion with his farming operations he has conducted also an extensive bitsiness in raising and feeding live stock for the markets. He has been highly successful in both lines of his industry, and has risen to consequence and esteem among the people as one of their most enter- prising, progressive and representative citizens. So well has he established himself in the public regard, and so thoroughly has he demonstrated his ability, integrity and fitness for official duties, and his abiding interest in the welfare of the county and its people, that he was elected county judge for a term of four years, and during the last eight has been the county assessor, filling the office with great credit to liimself and decided bene- fit and acceptability to the people. His political allegiance is given firmly and faithfully to the Democratic party, and he has made himself so serviceable in helping to guide its activities and make them effective for continued success that he has risen to leadership in it and is highly esteemed by both its members of prominence and its rank and file, all of whom have found his counsel wise and his energy in the party's behalf con- tinuous and effective. On January 28, 1889, Mr. Dempsey was married in this county to Miss Cath- erine Hurley, a native of Adams county, Illinois, and a dai;ghter of James and Alice Hurley, highly respected residents of that county. Six children have been born in the Dempsey household and five of them are living, and all still mem- bers of the parental family circle. They are: William Hurley, Edward James, Alice Loretta, Margaret and Patrick Leo. All the members of the family be- long to the Catholic church. JOHN ERTEL. Although a native of this county, John Ertel, one of the prominent and pro- gressive farmers of Salt River township, this county, is of French parentage and ancestry, and comes of a military strain. His forefathers fought from time to time in the French army, and his grandfather made a creditable record imder Napoleon, following the eagles of the empire from field to field until they were altogether overthrown in the his- toric battle of Waterloo. In his turn the grandson took the field in defense of the Union when war desolated our own im- hapijy country, and in many a well- fought battle admirably sustained the examples and history of his family. Mr. Ertel was born in Quincy, Illinois, on June 26, 1844, and is a son of Daniel 486 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY and Mary (Louckinbill) Ertel, the for- mer in Prance in 1815 and the latter a native of Switzerland. The father came to the United States in 1832 and located in Quincy, Illinois. There he worked as a carpenter and millwright until 1860. In that year he moved into the country in Adams county. Illinois, a few miles from Quincy, and turned his attention to general farming, which he followed until 1898. He then returned to Quincy to pass the remainder of his days, and in that city he died in 1899. He was very successful in his several lines of industry, and when he died left an Illi- nois farm of 400 acres and other prop- erty. His marriage with ^[iss Mary Louck- inbill took i)lace in 1839, and by it he became the father of twelve children, seven of whom are living: John, who is the only one of them residing in this coimty; Fred J., whose home is in Quincy, Illinois; George, a resident of Adams county, Illinois ; Albert, who lives in Hannibal, Missouri; Daniel, of Adams county, Illinois; Emma, the wife of Nicholas Haufner, of Quincy, Illinois; and Louisa, the wife of Wilkie Brunts, also of Adams county, Illinois. In American political affairs the father ad- hered to the Democratic party, and, although he had no official aspirations for himself, always gave his organiza- tion the most loyal and effective support, and was a man of influence in its local coimcils. John Ertel grew to the age of sixteen in Quincy, Illinois, and then accompa- nied his parents to the fann. He ob- tained his education in the public schools of his native city, and was about to enter upon a career for himself as a farmer when the Civil war broke out and called him to another department of sei^vice. In 1864, when he was but twenty years old, he enlisted in the Union army, Com- pany H, Fifty-first Illinois Infantry, un- der command of Major Beattj'. His service in the army lasted one year and was tlien ended by his muster out at Colmnbus, Georgia, and his discharge soon afterward at Springfield, Illinois. But while his term was short his service was active, and took him into the battles of Chickamauga, Georgia, and Knoxville, Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee, and several minor engagements. He was wounded twice in battle. After the close of the war he returned to his father's farm, on which he worked until 1868. He was married in that year and began life for himself as a general farmer. He has adhered to this occupa- tion ever since and has been verj' suc- cessful at it. In 1890 he became a resi- dent of Shelby county, Missouri, and he now owns 280 acres of fine land in Salt River township, the farm being well im- proved and nearly all under cultivation. He was married in 1868 to Miss Nancy Wilhoit, of Adams county, Illinois. Eight of the ten children born of this union are living: William, of this coun- ty; Daniel L., of St. Louis, Missouri; and Jane, George, Anna, Delilah, Nancy and John, all of whom are still living at home with their parents. In politics the father is a Republican. He is loyal to his party and zealous in its service, but has never sought a political office of any. kind for himself. GEO. W. CRAWFORD HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 487 GEORGE AV. CRAWFORD. A native of the state of New York, born iu St. Lawrence county on October 3, 1848, and of Scotch and EngHsh an- cestry, George "W. Crawford has exem- plified in his career in Missouri the en- terprise and progi-essiveuess of the great state of his nativity and the sterling- traits of the people from which his fam- ily are descended. His grandfather, John W. Crawford, was born and reared in Scotland, where his forefathers lived for many generations. His son, also named John "\V. Crawford, the father of George W., was a native of Canada, and when but a small boy was taken by his parents to New York state, where the familj" lived for a number of years and he grew to manhood. A few years later he moved to Illinois, when that now great state was opening its horn of plen- ty to the service of mankind and asking- all who chose to come and share in its bounty. John W. Crawford, the second, was a farmer all his life. On November 22, 1829, he was united in marriage with Miss Diana Pay, a daughter of Caleb Fay, a scion of old English families, long resident in Great Britain, but himself a native of Vermont and a son of Caleb Fay, who was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill. Eleven children were born in the older Crawford household, but only two of them are living, George W. and his older sister Mary. The father died on March 5, 1862, and the mother in 1889. Their son George "\V. obtained his edu- cation in the district schools of New York and Illinois, and after leaving school worked on farms in the latter state. In 1871 he came to Missouri and located in Clay township, Shelby county, and here he has been energetically and successfully engaged in farming and raising live stock from that time to the present. His farm comprises 420 aci'es and is well improved and liighly culti- vated. His stock industry is extensive and active and is managed with the same care and intelligence that he bestows on his farming operations, and like that is progressive and profitable. He is one of the leaders in both industries in this part of the state and has a high and wide- spread reputation for his activity and intelligence iu both lines of endeavor and the excellence of his output in stock. Mr. Crawford was married on Decem- ber 24, 1873, to Miss Mary Bowman, a daughter of Aaron S. and Mary (Pierce) Bowman, who were natives of Tennessee and came to Missouri in 1853. On their arrival in this state they located in Ten Mile township, Macon coimty, where they lived until 1882, when they moved to Shelby county. Here the father was industriously engaged in farming until within a few years of his death, which occurred on March 25, 1892, when he was eighty-six years old. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford have had five children, but only two of them are living, their daughter Zella, the wife of Leslie Schwada, and their son Charley M. In ])o]itics the father is a Republican, with an abiding interest in the welfare of his ])arty and an energy always ready for its service. He was a member of the school board for ten years or longei'. In relig- ious connection he and his wife are affil- iated with the Evangelical church and 488 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY are very zealous and active clmrcli work- ers, serving as steward of the congrega- tion to which he belongs and taking an earnest interest and leading part in all its benevolent activities and undertak- ings. He is generally esteemed as one of the best and most useful citizens of his township, who can lie depended on to do his part in furthering the promotion of every worthy enterprise for its improve- ment and advancement. JOHN WIGGINS. Orphaned when he was but little over five years of age by the untimely death of his father, and thus thrown on his own resources at an early age, and now one of the successful and prosperous farmers of Shelby county, with a fine farm of 400 acres in Salt River town- ship, John Wiggins has evidently had vision to see, alertness to seize and in- telligence to use his opportunities for advancement to good advantage. What lie has is the fruit of his own unassisted industry, ability and determined spirit, and it is therefore all the more to his credit that he has it, and all the more enjoyable to him in possession and use. ^Ir. Wiggins is a Kentuckian by birth, l)ut he was brought to this county by his parents when he was but seven years old, and he has lived here from then to the present time. He was born in Mason county, Kentucky, on May 10, 18-1-6, and is a son of Thomas Wiggins and a grand- son of Archibald Wiggins, the latter born and reared in Virginia and the for- mer in Kentucky, his life beginning in Mason county of that state in 1800. He moved his family to Missouri in 1851, and took up his residence in Carroll county. But he did not live long to real- ize the high hopes with which he had sought a new home in the distant West, as it was then. He died on the farm on which he had settled his family in Sep- tember of the same year at the age of about forty-five years. He was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Leach, of the same nativity as himself, and hy this marriage became the father of six children, three of whom are living: John, the immediate subject of this brief review; Adelaide, the wife of John Onan, of Shelliina ; and Julia, the wife of C. L. Wilkins, who also lives in Shelbina. In politics the father was a pronounced and loyal Democrat and a faithful worker for his party. He was industrious and frugal, making good provision for his family, according to his circvmistances, and also took an ac- tive and helpful interest in the affairs of his township and county, in which he was esteemed as an excellent citizen. But his usefulness was cut short and his career ended before he had made much headway in his struggle for ad- vancement, and he left his widow and offsjiring but slenderly provided for. It thus hajipened that the mother of John Wiggins found herself with sev- eral cliildren to rear and educate as best she could, and an undevelojied farm out of which to make a livelihood for her household. But she entered upon the task ))ravely and ])erforniod her duty faithfully. Nevertheless, it became nec- essary for her son John, her oldest child, to begin his work in the world at an early age. He ol)tained a limited edu- cation in the district schools of Carroll HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 489 county, just over the line from Eay county, in which his mother's farm was located, but was not allowed to attend them long or with any regularity while he went to them. He remained at home assisting his mother on the farm until 1864, then moved to Shelby county and began farm- ing and raising live stock on his own account. He has dwelt in this county continuously ever since and been en- gaged in the same occupations all the time. He has been verj- successful in his operations, having nothing to start with in the way of capital, and is now one of the substantial farmers of the township in which he lives. On Decem- ber 8, 1870, he was married to Miss Mar- tha Cadwell, of this county. Four chil- dren have been born to them and all of them are living. They are: Clara May, the wife of A. B. Stalcup; Birda Ethel MeGee, whose home is in this county; Addie, the wife of Alonzo Keith, of Shelbina ; and Allie, the wife of Elwood Snell, who resides in Texas. The par- ents are zealous members of the Mis- sionary Baptist church and take an ac- tive part in the work of the congrega- tion in the sect to which they belong. WILLIAM L. DUNCAN. A son of the late Judge Duncan, of this county, and taking from him the management of the farm on which he was born and reaied, and on which he learned the art of farming under the careful tutelage of his father, William L. Duncan, of Black Creek township, in this county, has demonstrated in his suc- cessful career that the lessons of his boyhood and youth were not lost ui)on him, and also that he had capacity to apply them in practice to his own ad- vantage and the benefit of the township and county in which he lives and has passed the whole of his earthly exist- ence to this time. Mr. Duncan was born in this county on December 15, 186-t, and is a son of William H. Duncan, who was born in this county in 1844, and a grandson of Levin Duncan, a native of Maryland, who was one of the early settlers of this part of Missouri. His son, William H. Duncan, the father of William L., was reared in this county and educated in its public schools. From the time when he left school until his death he was en- ergetically and profitably engaged in farming and raising and feeding live stock for the markets, and in all his op- erations he was one of the most enter- prising and successful men in his town- ship, and one of its leading citizens. His high character and great intelli- gence gave him influence with the peo- ple and made him something of a leader among them. And his interest in the progress and development of the county increased his jiromineuce and power. In 1894 he was elected county judge and in 1896 he was re-elected to the same posi- tion. At the end of his second term, in 1898, he was elected judge at large for his judicial district, but he did not live to take his seat as such, dying before the end of the year in which he was elected to it. In politics he was a Demo- crat and in religious affiliation a mem- ber of the Southern Methodist Episco- jial church. He was married in 1864 to Miss Mary 490 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Jane Lowman. of this county. They had six children, four of whom are living: William L., the subject of this review; Mettie, whose home is in Shelbyville; Charles B., a resident of Nashville, Ten- nessee; and Maud, the wife of Clement Tyre, of Lexington, Missouri. They are all esteemed citizens where they live, and in their daily lives exemplify the teach- ings and examples given them at the jiarental fireside by their excellent par- ents, being faithful in the performance of every duty in both private and public life. The mother now makes her home at Shelbyville with her daughter Mettie. AVilliam L. Duncan began his scholas- tic training in a district school in this county and completed it in a graded public school in Shelbyville. Prom S(!hool he returned to his father's fax'm, the one on which he was born and on which he now lives, as lias been noted, and began the career as a farmer and live stock man which he is still extend- ing. He has enlarged the farm to 240 acres, cultivated it skillfully and ener- getically, improved it with judgment and good taste, and made it one of the at- tractive and valuable rural homes of the township. He has also taken a good citizen's full part in helping to advance the best interests of his townshi[) and countj-, and labored in all his efforts to promote the enduring welfare of the peo- ple, giving them the stimulus of his in- fluence and the force of his example in good work for progress and develop- ment. On February 19, 1898, he was married to Miss Marietta Wood, a daughter of Wesley and Kittie (Robb) Wood, highly respected residents of this countv. Politicallv he is a Democrat and fraternally a Knight of Pythias. His wife belongs to the Methodist Epis- copal church, South, and takes an ear- nest interest in church work. Both are among the most generally esteemed citi- zens of the countv. JOHN B. LOWMAN. Now forty-four years of age, with good health, strength and a spirit of ])erseverance which is not daunted by difficulties; owning a fine farm, which he has improved with excellent judg- ment and good taste, and which he has brought to a high state of productive- ness through systematic cultivation ac- cording to the most approved modern methods in agriculture and provided with everything in the way of equip- ment requii'ed for its advanced and vig- orous tillage and further development, John D. Lowman, of Black Creek town- ship, this county, is on the highway to extensive prosperity and material con- sequence among men. And, having won the regard of his fellow men who live in the same township and count y through his great public spirit and en- terprise with reference to the progress and irajirovement of the county, and the readiness and intelligence with which he enters upon every worthy project de- signed to promote them, he has attained a position of influence that promises much for his future as one of the leading citizens of this portion of the state. ^Ir. Lowman is a native of Sh('ll)y county and has passed the whole of his life to the present time within its bor- ders. He was born on February 15, 1866, and is a son of Samson B. and HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 491 Mary (Wilson) Lowman, a sketch of whom will be found in this work. He had no educational facilities but those furnished by the country schools of this county, but he has been an industrious reader and student on his own account, and is a well-informed man. After leav- ing school he worked on his father's farm and assisted the family until 1891. He then bought a farm and began a pro- gressive and profitable career in farm- ing and raising live stock for himself, which he is still extending under flour- ishing conditions. His farm comprises 160 acres and he has made it one of the most attractive and valuable of its size in the township. Nearly all of the land is under cultivation, and every acre that is farmed yields first rate returns for the labor and care bestowed on it. Mr. Lowman was married on August •20, 1902, to Miss Ida B. Fagan, of Ma- rion county, Missouri. Mrs. Lowman is a dai;ghter of George W. and Susan E. (Barnett) Fagan, residents of Philadel- phia, Missouri. His political allegiance is given loyally and faithfully to the Democratic party, and, while he seeks no political honors or advancement for himself, he is impelled by the force of his convictions to zealous and effective efforts for the success of his party in all its campaigns. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. South, and h i s wife of the Missionary Baptist church. They stand well in their com- munity socially, take an earnest interest and an active part in the work of all the intellectual and moral agencies alive and vigorous around them, and in every way do their part as ui:)right, progressive and estimable citizens, and they are held in high regard by all classes of the people wherever they are known. SAMSON B. LOWMAN. Although of Virginia nativity and parentage, Samson B. Lowman, of Black Creek township in this county, who has made his mark indelibly on the record of the county's history both as a farmer and a public official, and is one of its best known and most esteemed citizens, is of Pennsylvania ancestry. His grand- father, Bernard Lowman, was born and reared in the city of Lancaster, Penn- sylvania, but in his early manhood moved to Middlebrook, Virginia, and there his son, William O. Lowman, the father of Samson B., was born in 1815. There also he grew to manhood, was educated and learned the trade of tan- ner, wliich he followed in his native state for a nmnber of years. In February, 1835, he was married to Miss Sarah Eagon, of Staunton, Vir- ginia, and by this marriage became the father of foiar children, two of whom are living, Samson B. and his sister, Mary Jane, the wife of William H. Dun- can, of Shelbyville, this county. In the fall of 1856 the father moved his family to Missouri, and, after passing the win- ter at Canton, Lewis coimty, settled in Shelby county, where he spent the re- mainder of his life and died in 1900, passing away at Shelbyville. In this county he was engaged in farming until a,bout fifteen years before his death, when he retired on the competency he had acquired to enjoy the rest he had richly earned. In politics he was a Dem- ocrat, in fraternal life an Odd Fellow, 492 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY and in religious connection a member of the Southern Methodist Episcopal church. Samson B. Lowman was educated in private schools at Middlebrook, Vir- ginia, and, after completing his scholas- tic training, worked on the home farm with his father until 1860, having come to this state and Slieluy county with his parents. In the year last named he bought 160 acres of land in Black Creek township and began farming and raising live stock on his own account. He has followed these pursuits with unceasing devotion from that time to the iiresent, and has won a very gratifying success in pursuing them. In 1876 he was elected county surveyor and road and bridge commissioner of Shelby county, and he held the office until 1892, and during his tenure built the bridge over Salt river, between Shelbina and Shel- byville, the first iron bridge in the county. But ever since he located on his farm it has been his home. As has been indicated, Mr. Lowman has been entirely successful in his busi- ness operations, and has also risen to prominence and influence in his town- ship and county. His fann now com- prises .360 acres, and all but twenty acres of it is under cultivation. With his in- telligence and progressiveness in view, it is needless to say that his farming and live stock operations are conducted according to the most approved modern methods and with the ap])lication to them of all that is latest and best in the- ory and practice in the industries in- volved. And, with knowledge of his pub- lic spirit, enterprise and interest in his locality, it seems equally needless to say that he is among the leading and most esteemed citizens of the countj'. Mr. Lowman has been married twice. His first marriage took place on Novem- ber 26, 1860, and was with Miss Mary AYilson, who died in 1877. They had four ehildi-en and two of them are liv- ing: John D., an account of whose life appears in this volume, and his older brother, AVilliam M., both residents of this county. On June 26, 1879, the father was married a second time, being united on this occasion with Miss Angle Bryan, of Chillicothe, Missouri. Of the two children born of this marriage only one is living, Florence B., who is Mrs. Joseph C. Graddy, of Lexington, Mis- souri. The father is a Democrat in his political allegiance and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, South, in religious affiliation. JAMES A. SMITH. A native of Sussex county, Delaware, where his forefathers lived for several generations, and since 1865, except for a short interval of six months, during which he lived in Atchison, Kansas, a resident of Shelby county, Missouri, James A. Smith, of Lentner township, has ])assed the greater part of his life to this time amid scenes far different from those of his childhood, youth and early manhood, and among people whose habits and institutions are, in many re- spects, greatly unlike those amid which he grew to maturity. He has had ex- ]>erience in both country and city life, and followed Fortune's unreliable prom- ise in several occupations. Yet he has at all times met the requirements of his HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 49 :J situation iu a manly way and made the most of his opportunities for his own advantage and the good of his commu- nity. Mr. Smith was born iu Sussex county, Delaware, on May 1-t, 1843, and is a grandson of Marlow Smith, also a na- tive of that state, and a son of John Smith, who lived in it all his life. He was a general farmer and also raised live stock on an extensive scale, owning 120 acres of land in a tract well adapted to his pui'suits. He was a man of force and enterprise and succeeded well in all his i;udertakings, achieving a substan- tial prosperity and standing well in his county as a citizen. In political rela- tions he was a Democrat, and in refer- ence to all matters affecting the welfare of his locality was public spirited and progressive. In Delaware he was united in mar- riage with Miss Mellie Traitor, who was born and reared in Marjiand. They be- came the parents of ten children, seven of whom are living: John, whose home is in "Worcester county, M a r y 1 a n d ; Rufus, who resides in Sussex county, Delaware ; Leolyn M., who lives in Den- ver, Colorado ; James A., the subject of this brief review; David, who is also a resident of Sussex county, Delaware; William, who lives at Springwater, Ore- gon; and Mary, the wife of James Bun- ton, of Sussex county, Delaware. Both the father and the mother died in Oc- tober, 1869, and within a few days of each other. They were well esteemed as useful citizens wherever they were known. Their son, James A., obtained his edu- cation in the district schools of his na- tive county, and after leaving school worked on the home farm with his father and assisted the family for a number of years. But the great AVest had a per- suasive voice for him and kept tugging at his heart strings. And in 1865 he yielded to the call and came to Missouri, arriving in Shelbj- county on November 20th, and remaining here a short time. He then went to Atchison, Kansas, where he lived for six months, variously engaged. Returning to this county at the end of that j^eriod, he worked as a hired man on a farm for one year, then rented eighty acres of land, which he farmed on his own account for a time, with considerable success but not entire satisfaction to himself. In order to more nearly accomplish his desires and have a permanent home for himself and his family, he bought a farm of forty-four acres, and on this he has ever since resided and expended his efforts with gratifying success and steadily increasing prosperity. He has greatly improved his farm, cultivated it with industry and skill, and brought it to a high degree of fruitfulness. As the place is not a large one, Mr. Smith is enabled to carry on what is called in- tensive farming, adapting his croi)s to the land as study and observaticm de- velop its characteristics, and thus makes every acre yield its due proportion of return for the labor expended on the farm and give him the best possible re- sults. His farm is one of the most val- uable and attractive rural homes in the township for its size. On February 28, 1867, Mr. Smith was joined in marriage with Miss Susan M. Carothers, a native of this county. They 494 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY have had twelve children, ten of whom are living : Jerome, who resides at Pine, Oregon; Dollie, the wife of Boone Fad- dis, of Centralia, Missouri; Charles L., whose home is in Portland, Oregon; Annie, the wife of Amos Miller, of Mon- roe county, Missouri; James E., a resi- dent of Canada ; Lucy, the wife of John Winn, who also lives at Centralia, Mis- souri; Nora, a resident of Shelbyville; Armstrong and Maud, who are still at home with their parents ; and Leona, the wife of Arthur Phillips, whose home is in this county. In political faith and allegiance Mr. Smith is a member of the Democratic party and, although he never has sought or desired a political office for himself, either by election or appointment, he is loyal and energetic in the service of the organization and always helpful in its campaigns. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal church. South, of which his wife is also a mem- ber, and to this also he is loyal and de- voted, taking an active part in its work and aiding in evei-y way he can to pro- mote its best interests. In the affairs of his township and county he takes an active interest and serviceable part, do- ing all he can to help them to whole- some and enduring progress and devel- opment along lines of steady and sub- stantial advancement. GEORGE W. GREENFIELD. One of the substantial farmers and stock growers of Shelby county, which has been his home from the time of his birth, Mr. Greenfield is a representative citizen of this section of the state and a member of one of the honored pioneer families of Shelby county. Through well-directed effort he has achieved a large measure of success in connection with temporal affairs, and he is the owner of a finely improved landed estate in his native county, besides which he is a member of the directorate of the Farmers' Bank at Leonard. He is held in uuquahfied esteem in his native coun- ty and is well entitled to consideration in this history. George W. Greenfield was born in Taylor township, Shelby county, Mis- souri, on September 16, 1848, and the old homestead which was the place of his nativity is but three miles distant from his present place of abode. He is a son of Samuel and Hannah (Michaels) Greenfield, whose marriage was solemn- ized in the state of Ohio in 1838. The fatlier was born on Chesapeake Bay, in the state of Maryland, in 1812, and the mother was a native of Virginia, whence she removed with her parents to Ohio in an early daj'. Samuel Greenfield passed the first fourteen years of his life in his native state and then accomjianied his })areuts on their removal to Ohio, where he was reai'ed to maturity and where he received a common school education. He continued to reside in the old Buckeye state until about 1836, when the family removed to La Grange county, Indiana, and in 1840 came to Missouri and num- bered himself among the first settlers of the present township of Taylor, where he secured a tract of wild land, which he reclaimed into a ])roductive farm. He became one of the successful farmers and stock raisers of the county and added materially to his landed estate, GEO. W. GREENFIELD HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 495 becomiug the owner of more tliau 700 acres. His first land was secured from the government and consisted of 120 acres. He continued to be actively con- cerned in the supervision of his large in- terests until 1899, when he disposed of his live stock and retired from active liusiness. In the meanwhile he deeded the greater portion of his lauded hold- ings to his children. He died in 1901, aged ninety-one years, and his name merits an enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of Shelby county, to whose civic and industrial development he contributed in generous measure. He gave his support to the cause of the Ee- publican party from the time of its or- ganization until the Greenback party was formed, and he thereafter was iden- tified with the latter until it passed out of the political arena, when he again afiSl- iated himself with the Republican party. He was identified with the organization of the Methodist Epicopal church at Leonard, and both he and his wife held membership in the same. Mrs. Green- field was summoned to the life eternal in aliout 1880, and of the eight children five are now living, namely : Sarah, who is the widow of Jacob Hoofer, of Shelby county; George W., who is the imme- diate subject of this review; Susan, who is the wife of Recompense Cox, of Nor- ton, Kansas; Samuel A., who likewise resides at Norton, Kansas; and Mary, who is the wife of Edward Cox, of Shel- by county, Missouri. George W. Greenfield was reared to maturity on the old homestead farm and his early educational discipline was re- ceived in the Ernest school, in his home township, which lie attended until he was fourteen years of age, and in the McWilliams school house, which had formerly been a Baptist church, where he prosecuted his studies at intervals until he had attained the age of nineteen years. Thereafter he continued to assist in the work of his father's farm until 1871, when he began independent opera- tions as a farmer and stock grower and established a home of his own, having l)urchased a house, to which he made an addition, besides making other improve- ments. He began operations on eighty acres of land and broke the virgin soil by the use of seven yokes of oxen. He di- rected his efforts with much energy and discrimination and his success be- came cumulative in its tendency, so that he soon gained precedence as one of the substantial representatives of the agri- cultural and stock industries of his na- tive township and county. He is now the owner of a finely improved estate of two hundred acres and the land is of the most fertile order, so that he has one of the model farms of Shelby county. On his farm he has long maintained a black- smith shop, and as he is a natural me- chanic and has much skill at the black- smith trade he has not only been able to attend to the shoeing of liis own horses and the repairing of his farm imple- ments and machinery, but in earlier days he frequently came to the aid of his neighbors in making repairs of this order. Mr. Greenfield was one of the charter members of Farmers' ]iank of Leonard, assisting in its organization and having lieen from the start a valued member of its board of directors. He is a man of resourceful nature, is progressive and 496 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY energetic, and his course has been so ordered in all the relations of life as to retain to him the inviolable confidence and esteem of his fellow men. He has shown a loyal interest in all that has tended to advance the welfare of his na- tive county and is essentially liberal and progressive as a citizen. His enterprise and thrift are shown in the attractive and commodious modern residence, tine bam and other substantial buildings on his homestead, and he has reason to find satisfaction in the fact that he has been content to remain on his "native lieath" and to continue his identification with the great basic industry under whose in- fluence he was reared, for he has achieved marked success and is one of the independent farmers and business men of the section in which he maintains his home and where he is surrounded by those environments that make for peace and happiness. He has served as school director but has never consented to become a candidate for any specific ])olitical office. He gives his allegiance to the Repul)lican party, his wife holding mem])ership in the jNF. E. church, to whose support they are liberal contributors. Mr. Greenfield has been twice married. In 1871 he wedded Miss Melissa Ward, wbo was born in Iowa and who was a daughter of Charles and Rachel Ward. Mrs. Greenfield was summoned to eternal rest on the 4th of April, 1888, and of the eight children five are now living. Concerning them the following brief rec- ord is given : Samuel F., who is engaged in real estate business at Dighton, Lane county, Kansas; Joseph Victor, wbo is identified with the mining business at Marble, Colorado; Mary, who is the wife of George Thompson, of Adams, Oregon ; Nellie, who is the wife of Elmer Loft, of Shelby county, Missouri, and Wesley S., of this county. On the 10th of December, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Greenfield to Mrs. Emeline (Ward) Rogers, who was born in Pennsylvania, and who is a sister of his first wife. No children have been born of the second marriage. The family home is one no- table for its gracious hospitality and is a favored rendezvous for the wide circle of friends that Mr. and Mrs. Greenfield have gathered about them. ROBERT E. CAPP. This energetic, enterprising and suc- cessful farmer and sheep breeder of Salt River township, in which he is one of the most progressive and esteemed citi- zens, is a native of this county and has passed the whole of his life to the pres- ent time within its borders. He secured his education in its district schools, ac- quired the graces of social life among its people, learned the duties of citizen- ship under its civil institutions, and has devoted all the years of his later youth and manhood to its progress and de- velopment. He is therefore wholly a ])roduct of the county, and his career, which has been successful for himself, has also ministered to the welfare of the region of his nativity, in which he has always felt a deep and abiding in- terest. Mr. Capp was born on October 12, 1878, and is a grandson of David Capp, a native of Pennsylvania, and a son of Robert Jackson Capp, whose life began in this state on July 15, 1846. For many ITISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 497 years the father owned a farm of 109 acres of good hind in this county and farmed it with skill, industry and pro- gressiveness. He was also, during his residence in the county, an extensive feeder of hogs for the markets, and en- joyed a wide and creditable reputation as such. In 1908 he moved to a farm of thirty-seven acres near the town of Jasper, in the county of the same name, this state. And there he lived until the following year, when he sold this land and on January .3, 1910, bought prop- erty in Clarence, where he now lives. He was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Powell, a native of Benton county, Missouri. Six children have been born of the union, and all of them are living and residents of Shelby county. They are: John D.; AVilliam H. ; Mary, the wife of Wesley Clark; Sarah Ann, the wife of Albert Kendal; Jesse, and James T. Capp, who trades extensively in mules. The mother of these children died on December 24, 1904. In politics the father is a pronounced Democrat and an energetic and helpful worker for the success of his party in all its cam- paig-ns. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, South. Robert E. Capp grew to manhood on bis father's farm and attended the dis- trict school in the vicinity when he had oppoi'tunity during his boyhood and youth. While his educational facilities were limited, he made good use of them and thereby laid the foundation for an extensive fund of general knowledge which he has since acquired from judi- cious and reflective reading. After leav- ing school he continued to work on the home place and assist the family until he reached the age of eighteen. At that age he started a farming and live stock industry of his own on eighty acres of land which he rented for a time and then purchased. His farm is located near Bacon Chapel and is one of the best in that part of the township, and he has made it what it is by the vigor and skill with which he has cultivated it and the good judgment and taste with which he has improved it. Early in his career as a farmer Mr. Capp took a liking to sheep and ever since he has fed and raised this inter- esting and profitable but uncertain and delicate animal for the markets on an extensive scale. Under his care and ac- curate knowledge of the business the un- certainties of the sheep industry are carefully guarded against, and the con- stitutional delicacy of the animal is pro- vided for, so that he escapes the usual hazards incident to the industry. For he is one of the best informed and most judicious breeders and feeders in this part of the country, and his output holds a high rank wherever sheep are sold within the range of his operations and shipments. He has, therefore, been very successful in his live stock enterprise, as he has been in his farming industry, which is carried on with equal intelli- gence and ability, and prosecuted with equal energy and vigor. Mr. Capp was first married on Sep- tember 20, 1899. One child was born of the union, but it is now deceased. Its mother, whose maiden name was Grace A. Teter, died on March 31, 1901, and on April 20, 1904, the father married a second wife, taking as his companion in this union Miss Effie Bunion. They 498 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY have had two children, both of whom are living and still at home with their parents, being yet of tender years. They are a son named Clell and a daughter named Cozette. The father is a faithful working Democrat in political affairs and devoted to the welfare of his party. In religious relations he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, South. HANSFORD S. CARROLL. Aged forty-two years and still unmar- ried, Hansford S. Carroll has not the in- centive to interest in the welfare of his township and countj' that married men iiave on account of their families. He is, nevertheless, earnestly and serviceably devoted to their general good and does all in his power to promote it, impelled by his high sense of duty as a citizen and his loyalty to the region of his nativity and his lifelong residence with the ex- ception of one year, which he passed in Oregon. He has shown his interest in his locality as a steady contributor to its industrial and commercial development, and also by his active part in helping to advance and intensify all the mental and moral agencies at work among its people. Mr. Carroll was born in Shelby county, Missouri, on March 2-t, 1808. He is a grandson of James Carroll, a native and for many years a leading farmer of In- diana, and a son of Benjamin Carroll, who was also a native of Indiana. When he was but three years old the father was brought by his parents to Missouri. The family located on a farm of 100 acres near Bacon Chapel, and on that farm Benjamin grew to manhood and learned tlie ins and outs of the occupa- tion he followed throughout the years of his activity. At the age of nineteen he bought ninety acres of land, on which he took up his residence and engaged in farming and raising live stock on his own account. The land was new and undeveloped, and all that it subsequently became in productiveness and comeliness he made it by his systematic industry and the judgment with which he devel- oped and cultivated it. He found it re- munerative through the vigor of his op- erations in farming it, and his live stock operations were also profitable. In 1858 he was united in marriage with Miss Harriet McBroom, a native of Mon- roe county, Missouri. They became the parents of eight children, six of whom are living: Richard L., Hansford S., John C, Lizzie (wife of W. H. Miles, of Macon, Missouri), Nannie and AVilliam T. Except Mrs. Miles they are all resi- dents of this county. The father and mother are now living with their son Hansford S., the immediate subject of this brief memoir. He was educated in the district schools of Shelby county and after leaving school assisted his father on the home farm for a number of years. He at length yielded to a longing he had felt for some time to see the Pacific coast region, and went to the state of Oregon, where he passed a year engaged in farming. But Missouri was more to his liking, and at the end of the period mentioned he returned to this state and again took up his residence in Lentner township, Shelby county, on a farm of fifty-two acres in the neighbor- hood of his father's place near Bacon Chapel. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ■i'J'J Like his father, Mr. Carroll has shown liimself to be progressive and enterpris- ing, and has improved his fann and l)rouglit it to a high state of productive- ness. He has studied the nature of its soil and kept in touch with the latest thought and discovery in the science of agriculture, and he has industriously applied to his work all that he has learned by study and observation. It follows, as a matter of course, that he has been successful, for the soil of this portion of Missouri has never yet failed to respond liberally to the hand of skill- ful and persuasive husbandry. Hi s politi- cal faith rests upon the principles of the Democratic party and he gives that or- ganization his continued and elTective support. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen, and to that, too, he is devoted in loyalty of feeling and activity of service. He ignores no duty of good citizenship, but performs all with fidelity and intelligence. JOHN L. QUIGLEY. Successful and progressive as a farmer and mill man, upright and enterprising as a citizen, clean, capable and energetic as a public official, John L. Quigley, of Salt River township, this county, has exemplified in his useful career among the people of his township and county many of the best and most admirable traits of elevated and productive Amer- ican citizenship. He has met every pul)- lic and private duty in a manly and straightforward manner and discharged all with fidelity and ability. And while pushing his own advancement with com- mendable industry and intelligence, he has also given the affairs and the en- during welfare of the region in which he lives careful attention and valuable ad- vocacy and assistance. JNIr. Quigley was born in Monroe coun- ty, Missouri, on April .S, 1858. His grandfather Quigley was l)orn and reared in Kentucky, and Samuel Quig- ley, his father, was also a native of that state. The father came to Missouri in 1854 and took up his residence in Mon- roe county, where he remained until 18G1. He then moved to Adams county, Illinois, and during the next six years was actively engaged in farming in that county. In 1867 he returned to Missouri and located in this county near Shel- l)ina, where he continued his farming operations until his death on July 4, 1886. His political faith and active sup- port were given throughout his man- hood to the Democratic party, and he was warmly attached to its principles. In 1844 he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah J. Wallace, a native of Ten- nessee. They became the parents of nine children, six of whom are living: Lizzie, the widow of the late Thomas Beasley, of California; William H., who resides in California; and John L., Charles, Robert and Warren, all resi- dents of this county. The mother is still living, and although she is well advanced in years, she is still vigorous and active, and is blessed with the good opinion of all who know her past usefulness or are brought into contact with her present genial and pleasing disposition and obliging manner. John L. Quigley obtained his educa- tion in the district schools of Shelby 50ir HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY county and after completing it helped his father on the home farm until he reached the age of twenty-four years. He then determined to found a home of his own, and to this end he bought a farm of 125 acres in this county near Bacon Chapel. In connection with his farming he has for years operated a saw mill, which is one of the great conven- iences of the neighborhood, and is known far and wide for the excellence of the work done on it. Mr. Quigley has not been wholly ab- sorbed in his own aflfairs, although he has at all times given them close and careful attention. The interests of his township and county have appealed to him with force and he has responded to the appeal with energy and intelligence, giving the region around him the benefit of his l)readth of view, progressiveness and enterprise in connection with local public affairs, and doing whatever he could to promote the welfare and ad- vancement of the people. In 1905 he was appointed game warden by Governor Folk, and although he occupied the office only two years, he made a record of ef- ficiency and fidelity in it which is still highly commended and stands strongly to his credit. On February 5, 1884, he was^mited in marriage with Miss Mary Z. Farrell, a native of Shelby county, Missouri. They have had three children, two of whom are living and both still at liome with their parents, a son named Everett and a daughter named Nellie. In political af- fairs the father adheres faithfully to the principles of the Democratic party and is one of its most energetic and efficient workers in all campaigns. In fraternal relations he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, and in religious af- filiation with the Christian church. The people of his township esteem him highly as one of their best and most useful citi- zens, and this estimate of him is held good throughout the county. It is based on well demonstrated merit, has been sustained by consistent fidelity to duty and ujirightuess of life, and is borne modestly by him although freely ac- corded by all classes of Shelby county residents. JOHN C. PRIEST. One of the most popular and esteemed citizens of Shelby\'ille and one of the most successful men in the business world of the city is John C. Priest, who has been a farmer and stockman and extensively engaged in the real estate, abstract and loan business from the dawn of his manhood, and who has won success and prominence in every line of activity in which he has been occupied, winning his way to prosperity and con- sequence by the application of good com- mon sense to his business and to popular favor by his genial nature, obliging dis- positio7i and high character. ]\rr. Priest is a native of Shelby county and was born within its borders on Feb- ruary 1, 1855. His grandfather, Louis Priest, was a native of Virginia, and in that state, also, his father, ^fadison J. Priest, was born, his life beginning in 1811 and the place of his nativity being Frederick county. He was reai-ed to manhood on his father's farm in that county and obtained his education in the schools of the neighborhood. In 1836, HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 501 when he was twenty-seven years old, one year after liis marriage, he brought his young wife to Missouri, both determined to brave the perils and privations of the western wilds in the hope of finding a fortune amid its hoimdless opportimities, and, at any rate, of securing a better chance of advancement than their own state at that time seemed to offer. They located in Shell)y county on government land which they took up, and on this they expended their efforts to good purpose until the death of the husband in 1884. Mrs. Priest was born and I'eared in Hampshire county, Virginia, and lier maiden name was Sarah A. Vandiver. They became the parents of five children, four of whom are living: William L., of Shelby coimty; Mary E., the widow of Eobert M. Sprinkle, who lives in "West Virginia ; Silas W., whose home is in Leonard, this county; and John C, the immediate subject of this review. In politics the father was a Democrat and took an active interest in the affairs of his party. He was also energetic in pro- moting the welfare of his community by every means in his power. John C. Priest obtained his education in the district schools and the Shelby- ville high school. After leaving school he worked on the farm at home until 1894, laboring in connection with his father a portion of the time and on his own account during the remainder. In the year last mentioned he moved to Shelby^'ille, and here he has been con- tinuously, prominently and successfully engaged in the real estate, loan and ab- stract business ever since. He has also, during the later years, been engaged in farming and raising live stock in a gen- eral way and on a large scale. In 1883 Mr. Priest was imited in mar- riage with Miss Emma C. McMurray, a daughter of John F. and Martha C. (Dunn) ]\IcMurray, of Shelby county. Four children were born of the union and all of them are living. They are: Jessie, Minter, Vincil and Tommy D., the last three named are still living at home with their father. The mother died in 1894, and in 1896 the father mar- ried a second time, his choice on this oc- casion being Miss Nellie J. McMurray, a sister of his first wife. She, also, has passed away, leaving Mr. Priest a wid- ower for a second time. In politics he is a Democrat and an earnest worker for his party. He is at the present pub- lic administrator of Shelby county and was mayor of Shelbyville two years, from 1902 to 1904. His fraternal rela- tions are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in religious affiliation he is allied with the Methodist Episcopal church. South. Fortune has favored him in his business ventures because he has made her do it by his capacity, shrewd- ness and close attention to his affairs. And the people esteem him highly be- cause they have found him worthj^ of their regard. JAMES J. HILES. Serving his country well in war and during the greater part of the rest of his life to this time (1910) helping to expand its greatness and augment its l)ower through peaceful industry, James J. Hiles, of Black Creek township, Shelby 503 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY county, lias proven himself an excellent citizen and worthy of the high and uni- versal esteem in which he is held throughout this county and in many por- tions of those that surround it. He is a native of Kentucky, born in Scott county on May 18, 1839, has lived and was edu- cated in Illinois, followed the flag through the terrible experiences of the Civil war, engaged in merchandising for a few years, served on the police force in the United States capitol at Washing- ton, D. C, and has l)een one of the promi- nent, progressive and successful farmers of this county during the last thirty-nine years. Thus, tried in many lines of use- ful endeavor, he has proved faithful and capable in all, and won on honest and demonstrated merit the rank he holds in the general estimation and regard of the public. Mr. Hiles is a son of Jacob and Mary (Haley) Hiles, the former born in Scott county, Kentucky, February 12, 1805, and the latter on June 1, 1813. His paternal grandfather, Falser Hiles, was a native of Gennany. The father came to Missouri in ISO.') and settled on eighty acres of land in this county, and on this land he was actively and continuously engaged in general farming, until his death, which occurred Januarj^ 17, 1881. He was married in Kentucky to Miss Mary Haley. Of the eight children born to them five are living: James J., the immediate subject of this review ; Louisa, the wife of Zetos Beathards, of Shelby county; Alonzo, whose home is in St. Louis; Eliza, the wife of John Griffith, and Martha, the wife of E. A. Baker, of Shelbyville. In political faith and al- legiance the father was a Democrat and in religion he belonged to the Christian church. He was active in the sei-\Mce of both organizations and made his mem- bership in each valuable to it. His wife survived him some years, her death occurring on March 14, 1894. James J. Hiles obtained his education in the district and select schools of Adams county, Illinois. After leaving .school he enlisted in the Federal army at Quincy, Illinois, his company forming part of the Third Missouri Cavalry under command of Col. John M. Glover, his enlistment taking place in Septem- ber, 18()1. His regiment was soon at the front, and until the close of the momen- tous and sanguinary struggle was en- gaged in active service. Mr. Hiles par- ticipated in the battles of Mount Zion, in Boone county, Missouri, Little Rock, Arkansas, and a great many engage- ments of minor importance. He was dis- charged in New Orleans in 1865 and turned to his Shelby county home soon afterward. After his return he located in Shelby- ville and engaged in the grocery and confectionery trade with enterprise and profit until 18()9, when he was appointed a member of the capitol police force in "Washington, D. C. He remained there in that capacitj^ until 1871, then came back to Shelby county and bought a farm, on which he has been energetically and continuously occupied in general farming ever since. In connection with his farming operations he carries on an extensive and active live stock business, and he conducts both lines of his work with a vigor and intelligence that bring THOMAS E. GARRISON HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 503 excellent returns for his eflforts, and give him high rank as a fanner and stock- man. Mr. Hiles was married on July 18, 1871, to Miss Elizabeth S. Hill, a daugh- ter of Z. B. Hill, of Shelbyville. They have had five children, four of whom are living: William R., Mary I., Lucy E. and Zerald A., all of them still members of the parental family circle. The father is a Eepublican in politics, a mem- ber of the Christian church, to which his wife also belongs, and an Odd Fellow and member of the Grand Army of the Republic fraternally. He is a very prominent and influential man. THOMAS E. CxARRISON. This progressive and enterprising farmer and stock man of Bethel town- ship, this county, has seen strenuous times in peace and war, but tried by the very extremity of fortune it did not sub- due him, or even discourage his deter- mined spirit, which has always felt itself equal to any emergency, and ready for any undertaking in the line of his desires and abilities. He is a native of Missouri, born in Knox county on April 9, 1841, and has been a resident of Shelby county since he reached the age of ten years. His father, Thomas E. Garrison, was born and reared in Virginia and came to Missouri in 1839. He took up his residence in Knox county, where for a number of years he was actively and pro- gressively engaged in farming. His wife, whose maiden name was Jane C. Van- diver, was also a native of Virginia and a daughter of Samuel Vandiver. Six children were born of the union, all of whom grew to maturity and four of them are living now. They are : James W., whose residence is in Shelbyville ; Thom- as E., the subject of this brief review; Fi-ancis N., who has his home in Adair county, this state; and Charles L., who is an esteemed citizen of the state of Arkansas. The mother died in 1877 and the father in 1883. Thomas E. Garrison attended the dis- trict schools of Bethel township, Shelby county, and the high school in Shelby- ville. After leaving school he enlisted in the Confederate army. Company E, Third Missouri Infantry, and served to the close of the war except for a period of ten months, during which he lan- guished in a Federal war prison. He took part in the battles of Lexington, Missouri, Corinth, Mississippi, and nu- merous others of greater or less im- ]3ortance. Not long before the siege of Vicksburg he was taken prisoner, and during the next ten months, as has been stated, he was confined in a Federal prison. At the close of the war Mr. Garrison returned to his Shelby county home, and since then he has been continuously, actively and very successfully engaged in farming and raising live stock on a large scale. His fine farm in Bethel township comprises 500 acres and he has it well improved and the most of it under advanced and skillful cultivation. He manages his operations with judgment and conducts them with vigor, making every effort to secure the best returns for his outlay of intelligence and labor, and usually succeeding through the su- perior quality of his work and manage- ment. His extensive stock industry is 504 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY conducted with the same care, skill and energy, and it also yields abundantly in response to his persuasive care and close attention to its every detail. In addition to his farm and stock busi- ness Mr. Garrison has othur interests of value. He is a stockholder in the Farm- ers' Bank of Bethel and a member of its board of directors, and he also holds a considerable block of the capital stock of the Bank of Newark, Missouri. All that he has he has acquired solely through his own efforts and good business ca- pacity, and his high standing as a man and citizen is also due to the inherent elements of his cliaracter and his de- voted attention to all things involving the welfare of his township and county, whose interests are all very dear to him. He wa< married in 1867 to Miss Sophia A. EUyson, a native of Macon county, Missouri, and a daughter of Davis M. and Ruth (Spencer) Ellyson, who were born and reared in Virginia. Four chil- dren have been born in the Garrison household, and two of them are living: Lena, the wife of Christie Moore, of Bethel, and Jane D., the wife of J. M. Whitelock, of Kirksville, Missouri. The father is a consistent member of the Methodist church. In politics he is a Democrat and has served some years as school director. CHAELES B. GARNER. Born, reared and educated in Shelby county, and during all the years of his mature life but one taking part in its industries and mingling freely with its people, Charles B. Garner, of Black Creek township, is well known through- out its extent, and the general confidence and esteem of the people, which is freely accorded to him, is based upon definite knowledge of his worth as a man and usefulness as a citizen. He is one of the leading farmers and stock men of the township in which he lives, and one of the most important factors at work for its development and improvement. Mr. Garner's life began on October 6, 1871, and he is a son of Charles Julius and Mary (Glahn) Garner, natives of Germany, where Mr. Garner's grand- parents and other ancestors were born and lived, contributing in their several ways and generations to the progress of that great empire. The father was born in 1831 and came to the United States in 1855. He passed the first three years of his life in this country travel- ing over it and making studious ob- servations with a view to finding a loca- tion that pleased him for a permanent residence. He then located in Clarion coimty, whei'e he lived until 18G4. In that year he moved to Shelby county and settled on a farm near Leonard, on which he passed the remainder of his days in energetic and successful farming and stock-raising, dying on May 10, 1903. ?Ie was a man of considerable ]iromi- nence locally, and through his industry and frugality acquired a competency. In 1866 he was united in marriage with Miss ^fary Glahn, who came to this coun- try from the Fatherland also and helped to make one of its comfortable and pros- perous homes. They had seven children and five of them are li^-ing: Rozena, whose liome is in Hannibal ; Louise "\V., the wife of George E. Clote, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; George B., who lives in HISTmiY OF SHELBY COUNTY 505 Shelby county; Augusta F., the wife of Charles E. Post, of Gridley, California, and Charles B., the subject of this me- moir. The father was a Lutheran in religious faith and a Republican in poli- tics. Both his church and his political party received his earnest and helpful support. Charles B. Garner was educated in the country schools and an excellent academy at Leonard. He was reared on his father's farm, and after leaving school continued to assist in its labor and helj) the family until 1900. He then went to Sue City, in Macon county, and took charge of a drug store. But he did not find mercantile jjursuits agree- able, and at the end of one year returned to Shelbj- county, and here he has ever since been engaged in farming and rais- ing stock with great enterprise, intelli- gence and success. His fine farm com- prises 180 acres of land and is well im- proved and skillfully cultivated. The knowledge of his business which Mr. Garner applies to both his farming op- erations and his stock industry, are well rewarded in the returns they bring him, and his rank as a progressive and up- to-date farmer is among the highest in his township. On October 31, 1900, Mr. Garner united in marriage with Miss Anna Val- lier, a daughter of William and Susan (Linton) Vallier, esteemed residents of this county. But two children have been born in the Garner household, a son named Edwin Kenneth, and Mary A., who is the light and life of the home. In political faith and allegiance Mr. Gar- ner gives his earnest and effective sup- port to the Democratic party, and in fraternal relations he is allied with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern AVoodmen of America. His wife is a loyal and devout member of the Christian church. Both stand high in the confidence and respect of the peo- ple and richly deserve the regard so generously bestowed upon them. THEODORE HEINZE. Orjjhaned at the age of six years by the death of his father, and brought into a strange land, far from the scenes and associations of his childhood and the tra- ditions and history of his family, when he was nine, Theodore Heinze, oue of the substantial and progressive farmers and stock men of Black Creek township, in this county, began life in this country undei- very trying circumstances, and with no prospect of advancement except the possibilities of what he should be able to do for hunself. No smiles of Fortune brightened his rugged pathway and no favoring circumstances helped him in his slow and painful progress. But he had that within him that gave him assurance of success, and he was guided by its influence, using all his powers and living frugally and judi- ciouslj^ until he got a good start. Mr. Heinze was born on March 20, 1863, in Berlin, Germany. He is a son of Theodore and Louisa (Hueter) Heinze, also natives of Germany, where the father was born in 1823, and where he passed the whole of his life, dying there in 1869. He was a carriage and wagon maker and flourished at his trade, but his health failed and he passed away at the early age of forty-six. In 1862 506 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY he was married to ]\Iiss Louisa Hueter and tliey became the parents of four children, two of whom are living, Theo- dore and his sister Martha, the wife of John Rufner, of Shelby county. Three years after the father's death, the mother, finding herself without much prospect of advancement in a worldly way, and having small children to rear, educate and prepare for the battle of life, determined to seek the greater free- dom of choice and alnmdance of oppor- tunity offered by this country to work- ers, and in 1872 brought her family to Missouri, locating in Shelbj' county, and here the members of the family who are living have ever since been domesti- cated, mingling freely in the activities of this locality and taking their part in its ]iroduetive industries with advantage to tliemselves and benefit to the town- ship and county of their residence, in whose prosperity and progress they have shown themselves to be deeply and earnestly interested. Theodore Heinze's scholastic training was begun in his native land and com- l^leted in the district schools of Shelby county. He began his life work here on a farm, and he has been engaged in farming and raising live stock ever since. By thrift, industry and good manage- ment he has acquired the ownership of 175 acres of good land, and he has im- proved his farm with commodious and comfortable buildings, ocpiipped it with all the necessary a]ipliances for ad- vanced agriculture and brought the land to a high state of cultivation. His stock industry is as extensive as his facilities allow and is as flourishing and profitable as first rate management can make it. Mr. Heinze was married on December 7, 1892, to Miss Louisa Rathjen, of Shelby county. They have had five chil- dren, but only three of them are living — Marline, Dora and Alvina — a 11 of whom are still at home with their par- ents and popular members of the family circle. In politics the father adheres to the principles of the Republican party and is zealous in the support of them. His religious connection and that of his wife is with the Lutheran church, and in the affairs of the congregation to which they belong they both take an earnest interest and an active part. They are esteemed wherever they are known as worthy and estimable citizens, enterprising in the management of their own affairs and energetic in helping to promote the enduring welfare of the community around them. JOHN H. WERR. The interesting subject of this brief memoir is well worthy of honorable men- tion in a work that pur]iorts to show in personal histories the qualities of in- dustrial force, productive energy, ster- ling manhood and elevated citizenship which have given Shelby county its dis- tinctive character and won its advanced state of progress and development. For. while the story of his life presents no s]iectacular features or high adventures for contemplation, it shows well what thrift and enterprise can accomplish through steady application to tlie ordi- nary affairs of life. Mr. Werr is a native of Wiirtemburg, Geiinany, where he was bom on April 4. 1870. He is a son of George and HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 507 Eosle (Weinman) Werr, also natives of Germany, l)ut long residents of this county. The father was born in 1833 and married in Germany. He brought his family to the United States in 1886 and settled near Bethel, in Shelby county, Missouri, and here he was ac- tively, energetically and profitably en- gaged in farming and raising stock until his death, which occurred in 1905. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, six of whom are living : George ; Maggie, the wife of John Bower; John, whose home is in Black Creek township ; Fred; Rosina, the wife of Christian Claussen ; and Henry, all residents of Shelby county and good factors in its industrial, mercantile and social life. The father was a Lutheran in church connection and a Repulilican in political faith and allegiance. He was success- ful in his business in this country and rose to general esteem and popularity among the people, who recognized his worth, intelligence and excellent citizen- ship, and found him upright and reliable in every relation in life and warmly in- terested in the welfare of the community in which he lived and expended his sti'ength in useful and productive labor. John Werr grew to the age of sixteen in his native land and obtained his edu- cation there. He came to this country with his parents in 1886 and has ever since been a resident of this county. For some years after his arrival in this lo- cality he worked on the home farm with his father. He then hired out as a hand on other farms in the neighborhood until 1899, when he bought a farm of eighty acres and began operations on his own account. He was frugal and thrifty while he was working for others, and he has applied the same qualities to his efforts in his own behalf, in which he has also shown great industry and ex- cellent judgment. He has been success- ful from the beginning of his enterprise and his progress in it has been steady and substantial. He now owns 160 acres of first rate land and has it all under advanced and productive cultivation. His stock industiy is in just proportion to his farming operations, and is man- aged with the same care and skill that he l)estows on them, and he is prosperous in both. On February 12, 1899, Mr. Werr was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Neusehafer, a daughter of John and Catherine (Reinheimer) Neusehafer, es- teemed residents of Shelby county. Two children have followed the imion and they still sanctify and brighten the fam- ily altar. They are Evers and William, and both are attending school. The po- litical faith of the father is firmly an- chored to the Republican party and he is an energetic and effective worker in behalf of its principles and candidates. He and his wife are leading members of the Lutheran church in their neighbor- hood, and by all classes of the people living around them and wherever they are known elsewhere they are held in high esteem and cordial regard. They are model farmers and excellent citizens. HENRY ARNOLD. This leading farmer, esteemed ditizen and public-s]Mrited man of Black Creek township, this county, has shown in his successful and somewhat striking career in this country that, in spite of adversi- 508 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ties and trials which attended him for years from his childhood, he is made of the fiber and possesses the qualities which command success and compel even troubles to minister to the progress of the man who has them. He is a native of Germany, where he was bom on Feb- ruary' 14, 1864, and is a son of Henry and Mary (Xeuschafer) Arnold, also na- tives of the Fatherland and belonging to families long resident in that country. The father passed the whole of his life in his native land, conducting a promising business as a farmer, and dying there in 1867. He was married in 1860, and by his marriage became the father of one child, the interesting sub- ject of this brief sketch. He obtained a limited education in the place of his birth, his opportunities being scant be- cause he lost his father by death three years after his own life began, and the mother was left in straitened circum- stances. "When the son was seventeen years old he and his mother determined to try for better conditions and more extensive opportimities than their own land seemed to offer, in the land of j^rom- ise in which so many of their country- men had found fortune and favor. Accordingly they came to the United States in 1881 and located in Shelby coimty, and here the son has been con- tinuously, actively and very successfully engaged in farming and raising stock ever since. He had nothing to start on, but he met his requirements bravely and resolutely, and has made every day of his labor tell to his advantage. The qualities of industry', frugality and good management that have made his race so thrifty and }jrogressive. and won it the high rank it has attained in the industrial world, were manifest in him and he stemmed the tide of poverty and disaster that seemed against him with a patient and deteiTuined spirit, and he has won the success in life that he must have felt was due him if he made the proper ef- forts to secure it. He now owns 380 acres of good land, having recently added twenty acres to his farm, and has the greater part of it imder advanced cultivation, with good buildings for the accommodation of his family and the products of his land and a complete equipm-ent of good farming implements, including everything necessary for the complete and profitable fanning of his estate. His stock industry is also ex- tensive and is managed with great skill, intelligence and thrift. Mr. Arnold is also a stockholder in the Bank of Lentner and the State Bank of Clarence. He was married in 1888 to Miss Anna Eeinheimer, who was at the time a resident of Shelby county. She is a daughter of Peter and Catherine (Xoah) Reinheimer, who are well known in the county and held in respect by all who know them. Mr. and ^kfrs. Arnold have had eight children, five of whom are living, and all still at home with their parents. They are : Edward. Mar- tin, Anna. Henry P. and Ireta D. The father is a pronounced Eepublican in his poltical convictions and allegiance, and takes an active part in the affairs of his party, although he has never been a can- didate for any political office. He and his wife are zealous and devoted mem- bers of the Lutheran church. HISTORY OF SHELBY COTTXTY 509 JAMES SASS. Black Creek township has upon its fer- tile and highly productive soil a number of the most progressive and successful farmers in Shelby county. They are men of thrift and enterprise, and they study the nature of the soil they cultivate, its possibilities and requirements and by reading and good judginent keep them- selves in touch with all the latest devel- opments in the science of agriculture, so as to secure the best results in their work. Among them none stands higher in public esteem as a farmer and as a citizen than James Sass, whose well im- proved and attractive farm of 224 acres is in section 29, and is one of the best in the township. Mr. Sass is a native of Holstein, Ger- many, where he was horn on December 7, 1851, and where he lived until he was seventeen years of age and obtained his education. He is a son of Jergin and Louisa (Widow) Sass, also natives of Germany. They were the parents of ! seven children, four of whom are living : Nicholas, Catherine, the wife of Emil Claussen ; James and Ag-nes, all resi- dents of Shelby county. The mother died in her native land, and in 1871 the father l)rought the rest of the family to the TTnited States and direct to this county, following hither his son James, who came to the county in 1869. The father was a farmer all his life, and after con- ducting a profitable industry in his chosen vocation for a period of twenty years in Shelby county, died here in 1891. James Sass has been of a resolute and energetic nature from his childhood, and as he was approaching his manhood be- gan to think of better opportunities for advancement in life than his own land seemed to offer, and to study where he could find them. He was well informed as to the boundless resources of the United States and the wealth of oppor- tunity in them, and determined to avail himself of the promise the land across the sea held out to industry, thrift and good management. Accordingly, youth of seventeen as he was, he braved the heaving Atlantic, without friend or kin- dred in his company, and in due course of time arrived in Shelby county. He had been well trained to farming and at once entered upon that occupation as his life work. He has been engaged in it ever since, and has been successful and prosperous from the start. For he has known how to do his work well and man- age his operations skillfully, and al- though his progress was slow at first, it was steady and rapidly increased. In connection with his farming he has car- ried on a flourishing stock industry, and in this line of effort he has also suc- ceeded, making it jiay good returns for the labor and care he bestowed on it. As has been noted, he owns and cultivates 224 acres of fine land and has his farm well improved. He has taken an active interest in pub- lic affairs and risen to prominence in the community. All the duties of good citizenship have found him ready for their performance, and the people es- teem his devotion to the welfare of the township and county in wliich ho has lived and labored so effectually to his own advantage and for the benefit of the locality. In politics he is a Prohibition- 510 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ist and in religion a member of Inde- pendent Holiness cluirch, and in both bis party and bis cburch organizations be has long taken an earnest and service- able interest. Mr. Sass bas been married twice, tirst in 1877 to Miss Mary Doss, a resident of Shelby county. They had one child, their son John, who is living. The mother died in 1884, and in 1885 the father mar- ried a second time, making Miss Cather- ine Krauter, also of Shelby county, his choice. Of their three children, one, their son Henry, is living and is still at home. FRANCIS M. CHURCHWELL. From its very beginning the career of Francis M. Churchwell, who lives on a fine farm of 320 acres near Shelbyville, as a farmer and live stock breeder and dealer, has been successful and jn'ogres- sive. He is a gentleman of great enter- prise and industry, thoroughly familiar with all that is latest in discovery and methods in the lines of endeavor to which his life to this time (1911) has been de- voted, and decidedly skilful in the appli- cation of his extensive knowledge con- cerning them. He is a native of Mis- souri and has never lived in any other state, but has devoted all his years of m.-'.tiirity to its welfare and the advance- ments of its agricultural and live stock industries, and at the same time has given the general welfare of the locality of his home earnest and intelligent at- tention. Mr. Churchwell was born in Marion county, this state, on August 4. 1843. He is of English ancestry, his grand- father, Samuel Churchwell, having been born and reared in that country, and of Virginia parentage, his father. Thomas Churchwell, and his mother, whose maid- en name was Susan E. Tarpley, having been natives of the Old Dominion. The father was born on March 22, 1810, and came to Missouri in 1836. He took up his residence in Marion county on a farm of eighty acres, and there he was actively and successfully engaged in farming and rearing live stock until bis death. On November 30, 1837, he solemnized his marriage with Miss Tar])ley, who was born on January 16, 1818, and they be- came the parents of seven children, six of whom are living : Eliza J., the wife of John T. Poor, of Garfield county, Okla- homa; Meredith T., whose home is in Shelbina ; Francis M., who also lives in this county ; Thomas J., a resident of the state of Nebraska; William Harvey, an- other of the family residing in this county; and Sarah Ann V., the wife of Isaac Bethards, whose home is also in Shelby county. The father died on July 12, 1886, having survived his wife thirty- six years, her death having occurred on November 12, 1850. In politics he was a Whig until the death of the party of that name, and after that a Republican. His religious association was with the Missionary Baptist church, and he was devoted to the welfare of his sect. But, although a man of peace in times of ])eace. be did not hesitate, in his young manhood, to take up arms in defense of his country, having been a volunteer and valiant soldier in the Black Hawk war. Francis ^l. Churchwell received his academic education in the district schools of Marion county, and later pursued a > u > n en n a n w r r HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 511 course of s])ecial training for business at the Jones Commercial college in St. Louis. After leaving that institution he taught school three terms, and then lo- cated on a farm of 100 acres near Em- den, on which he lived until 1889. In that year he moved to a farm of 200 acres near Shelbyville. This farm he oc- cupied and improved until 1903, when he made his home on the one he now resides on, which is also near Slielbyville. This comprises 320 acres and is well improved and very skillfully cultivated. It has been brought to a high state of product- iveness, and has handsomely su]iported ■ and advanced the extensive industry in feeding and raising live stock for the markets which Mr. Churchwell has con- ducted on it from the time when he took possession of it. He is especially interested in breeding and raising mules, and deals in them extensively as an ad- junct to his other live stock operations. He has been very successful in all his undertakings and is one of the leading and most substantial farmers and stock men in Black Creek township. On October 31, 1867, Mr. Churchwell was united in marriage with Miss Sarah A. V. Durrett, a native of Marion county, Missouri. They have had eleven children and twenty-four grandchildren, all of whom ai'e living: Eichard H., of Cas- cade county, Montana; Frances J., the wife of A. C. Yawter, of Neoslia, Mis- souri ; Sarah A., the wife of Polk Conno- way, of this county; Marj' S., the wife of Prank Connoway, whose home is also in this county ; Thomas H., a resident of Cascade county, Montana; Mona L., the wife of James T. Churchwell, of Ray- mon, Montana ; Rebecca E., the wife of Walter McCue, a resident of Shelby county, Missouri ; Francis M., Jr., the third member of the family, whose home is in Cascade county, Montana; John S., who resides in Pratt county, Kansas ; and "William T. and Benjamin D., who are living at home with their ]iarents. In ]>olitics the father is a Repulilican, and in religious association a member of the IMissionary Baptist church. It goes without the saying that he is one of the highly esteemed citizens of Shelby county and is regarded as one of its leading and most useful men. HENRY RATHJEN. The early pioneers of Shelby county redeemed the region froiu the waste and laid the foundations of its present great- ness and advanced development. The men and women of a later generation and all subsequent ones have gone on improving and enriching the domain ac- cording to their opportunities and cap- abilities, adding successive features of progress and forces of culture as the times demanded and their resources al- lowed. From the beginning the fortunes of this portion of the state have been in the hands of callable and self-reliant people, ready to take advantage of every circumstance for its aggrandizement and willing to make any sacrifice to ac- complish its greatest good. The future of the county and the commonwealth de- jiends upon the fiber and foi'ce of the present generation and those that shall come after it. As an indication of what the present generation is doing to kee]) u]^ the march of progress and meet the require- 512 lilSTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY ments of its duty, the career of Henr.v Rathjen, of Black Creek township, and others like him, is well worthy of con- sideration. He is a progressive and wide awake fanner and stock man, fully abreast with the times in his Inisiness and alive to all the elements and powers of good citizenship and what is de- manded of it. What the young farmers and stockmen of the county are doing gives abundant assurance that there will be no backward step, and that no proper means of development, intellectual, moral or social will be overlooked and that no material advantages will pass un- noticed or neglected. ^Ir. Eathjen is a native of the county and has passed the whole of his life to this time within its borders. He was born on February 17, 1877, and is a son of Christian and Elizabeth (Cordis) Rathjen, natives of Germany. The father was born in 1841 and came to the United States in 1868. He came at once to Shelby county, Missouri, on his ar- rival in this country, and found a home in a German settlement containing many of the friends of his earlier life in his native land. He took up as his own the leading occupation of the settlement, and the one to which he had been reared, becoming a farmer and stock-raiser. He continued his operations in this dual line of nsefxil and profitable endeavor until his death on December 29, 190G, and was successful in all he undertook. He was married on October 10, 1870, to Miss Elizabeth Cordis, and by this marriage became the father of four chil- dren, all of whom are hving: Hiram, Lizzie, the wife of Theodore Heinze, Henry and Anna, the wife of Hugh Dane, all of them residents of Shelby county. The father and mother were for many years devout and consistent workers of the Lutheran church and attentive to all the retiuirements of their duty as such. Henry Rathjen was educated in the country schools of Shelby county and iunnediately after completing their course of instruction began the cai-eer of farmer and stock man in which he is still engaged. He now owns 100 acres of good land, well improved and nearly all under cultivation. He is a Democrat in politics and has his religious athliation witli the Lutheran church. On Febru- ary 16, 1906, he was united in marriage with Miss Kate Keller, a daughter of Philij) Keller, an esteemed resident of Shelby county. They have one child, their son Cliristian Henry. Mr. Rathjen is as enterprising and i)rogressive with reference to the affairs of the county as he is in his own business. He is every- where regarded as an excellent citizen and an upright and useful man, worthy of all esteem and earnestly interested in the enduring welfai-e of the township and county in which he lives. JOHN S. CHIXN. Devoting the first few years of his early manhood to farming on his father's farm, and four of its most strenuous and trying ones to the defense of his po- litical opinions during our Civil war, then returning to the peaceful and pro- ductive jnirsuit of agriculture, with a flourishing live stock industry in connec- tion, John S. Chinn, of Black Creek townshi]), in this county, has been tried in laborious exertion on the soil of our HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 513 countrj', both when it has been plowed l)y the sword for men's destniction and furrowed liy the plowshare for their sustenance, and has not been found wanting in either case. He is one of the successful farmers of his township and one of its most esteemed citizens. Mr. Chinn was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, on July 30, 1830, and is a grandson of Thomas Chinn, a native and planter of Virginia, where his father, William S. Chinn, also, was born, his life beginning in 1790. The latter moved from his native state to Shelby county, Kentucky, and lived there until 1834, when he came to this county and located on the site of the present town of Bethel. There he engaged in general farming until about 1845. He then moved to the ]ilace on which his son now resides near Shelbyville, and engaged in merchandis- ing in that town, continuing his opera- tions for a period of four years. But mercantile life was not to his taste, and at the end of the period named he gave it up and returned to farming, which he followed until his death in 1856. He was married in 1811 to Miss Lucy S. Chinn, of Kentucky. They had ten children, four of whom are living: Zuelda J., the wife of William Hill, of this county; Elijah, whose home is in Clarence; John S., the subject of this memoir; and Charles R., a resident of Webb City, Missouri. The father was a Democrat in politics and a member of the Christian church, to both of which he was loyally and serviceably devoted. Fraternally he was a member of the ■Ma- sonic order for many years. John S. Chinn was reared on his father's farm, on which he worked while attending the country schools and after- ward assisting the family until 1862. In that year he enlisted in the Confederate army under General Price, his regiment being subsequently transferred to the command of General Magruder. He served until the close of the war, seeing a great deal of active service, partici- pating in the battles of Kirksville, Mis- soviri, Prairie Grove, Arkansas, Milli- gan's Bend, Pleasant Hill and Shreve- port, Louisiana, and many engagements of less importance. He was mustered out of service at Shreveport, Louisiana, at the close of the war, and returned to his home in this county, where he was continuously and suecessfulh^ engaged in general farming and raising stock until 1902, when he retired from active pursuits. He is still living on the old homestead, however. Mr. Chinn was married on September 15, 1858, to Miss Mary J. Pickett, of Shelby county. They have one child, their son Charles E., who is a resident and esteemed and influential citizen of this coimty. In politics the father has l)een a life-long Democrat. In fraternal life he has been for many years a mem- ber of the Masonic order, and in religion he communes with the Christian church, to which he has long belonged. In all these organizations he has been a zeal- ous and usefvil factor, and in all the ele- ments of elevated and sei'\'iceable citi- zenship he has met the full requirements. Having reached the age of four score years, he is crowned with patriarchal honors and his life is mainly retro- si)ective. But the retrospect is pleasing, for he has lived acceptably and worthily, and everybody who has knowledge of 514 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY him venerates him for his uprightness, his loyalty to duty and his sterling man- hood. ^^LLIA:^I H. PHIPPS. Whether in the rage of battle or fury of the charge in the most momentous civil war of modem history, or laboring ■with all his ardor in the most exacting tasks of peaceful industiy at the busiest season of his occupation, William H. Phipps, one of the successful and pro- gressive faiTuers of Lentner township in this county, has never flunked or shirked his duty. In all the relations of life and under all circumstances he has been a true and faithful citizen of his country. and its utmost calls to sei"vice have met with a ready and cheerful response from him. He was bom in England on March 25, 1842, and when but three years of age was brought by his parents, George and Mary (Bobinson) Phipps, also natives of that country, to the United States. The father was born in 1810 and re- mained in his native land until 1845. In that year he moved his family to this country and located near Rochester, Xew York. He was very skillful in the work of trimming fruit trees and also in threshing wheat with the flail, and he found plenty of demands on his acquire- ments during the ten years he lived in the East. In 1855 he joined the tide of migration westward, moving to Illinois, where he bought land and followed farm- ing until his death, which occurred in 1891. He was a very energetic and thrifty man and was reasonably suc- cessful in everj-thing he imdertook. His marriage with Miss Mary Robin- son took place in 1833 and resulted in nine children, two of whom are living, William 11. and his older brother, George, who lives in Iowa. The father was a man of very good standing, both in the states of New York and Illinois, and enjoyed the respect of the people in every locality in which he lived. The mother, also, was held in high esteem, and both were worthy of the regard of those who knew them on account of the upright lives they lived and the excel- lence of their citizenship and demeanor in all the relations of human existence. William H. Phipps was educated in the country schools of central Xew York, where he was reared, and in 1861, when he was but nineteen years old, fired with the zeal of youth and the patriotism of a man, he enlisted in Com- pany F, Eighth Xew York cavalry, in defense of the Union, to which he was so warmly attached that he, was willing to risk his life in its behalf. His regi- ment was under the command of Colonel Crook, and he served in it something over three years, being discharged at Rochester, Xew York, on December 8, 1864. The command was in the thick of the fight during the most strenuous years of the momentous conflict, and ^Ir. Phipps faced death on some of the most famous battle fields of all hvmian his- tory, among them Antietam, Chancel- lorsville and Gettysburg. He also par- ticipated in many minor engagements, and still bears the marks of service in a way that makes them known to all ob- servers. At the battle of Beverly Ford, Virginia, February 6, 1864, he was shot in his right elbow, which caused him to pass four months in Lincoln hospital in HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 515 Washington, D. C, and has left him with a stiff arm ever since, a daily and hourly reminder of the hardships and perils of the awful scenes through which he passed during his military sei-vice. After leaving the army he returned to his New York home and worked on his father's farm imtil 1867. He then de- termined to seek his fortunes on his own account in the farther West, as it was then, and in a region which, having been wasted by the war, offered great oppor- tunities of advancement to those who would help to rebuild it and continue the development of its resources. Accord- ingly, in the year last named he came to Missouri and located in Shelby county. Here he bought twenty acres of land on which he has been actively and profit- ably engaged in farming and raising stock ever since. He has prospered through industry, thrift and good man- agement, and has added to his farm as he has advanced in material acquisitions until now he has 162 acres, the greater part of it under cultivation and j'ielding excellent returns for the labor, care and intelligence he bestows upon tilling it and developing its resources. On September 14, 1869, Mr. Phipps was united in marriage with Miss Mar- tha E. Heckard, a daughter of Michael and Rachel (Heckart) Heckard, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Delaware. They came to Shelby county in the early days, and here the father entered a tract of government land, on which he flourished and reared his family. Mr. and Mrs. Phipps have had six children, four of whom are liv- ing, all of them residents of Shelby county. They are: Mary, the wife of E. B. Robey; William A., one of the sub- stantial and progressive farmers of Black Creek township; Essie M., the wife of J. E. Hollenbeek, of Shelbina, and Bertha May, the wife of George Coddry. In politics the father is a Republican. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and he and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. They are among the most esteemed and useful citizens in the town- ship of their residence. JOHN L. KELSO. Starting in life as a young man with nothing by way of equipment for its strident and exacting warfare but his own faculties and the spirit that con- trolled and directed them, and now one of the most successful and prosperous farmers and stock men of Black Creek township in this county, John L. Kelso presents in his career and achievements a fine illustration of what is possible to industry, frugality and thrift in this land of inexhaustible wealth of every mate- rial kind and almost boundless oppor- tunity in the development, transforma- tion and use of what nature has so boun- tifully bestowed for the service of man- kind. Mr. Kelso is a native of Shelby county, where he was born on January 12, 1862, and a son of Samuel and Eliza J. (Barr) Kelso, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Delaware. They were married in 1855 and had seven children, five of whom are living: Alvina, the wife of John Foey, a highly respected citizen of Shelby county ; AVilliam, whose home is in Colorado ; John L., the subject 516 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY of these paragraphs; Charles, who is also a resident of Colorado ; and James, who lives in this county. The father was bom in 1S28 and came to Missouri in his boyhood with his parents. The family settled in Shelby county, and here he grew to manhood and obtained his edu- cation. He began life as a farmer and continued to follow this avocation until his death, in 1S72. He was a Republican in politics and a member of the Southern Methodist church. His success and prog- ress in his farming operations gave promise of making him a man of conse- quence and considerable worldly wealth, but his early death at the age of forty- four cut short his career and left its large promise unfulfilled, his plans in- complete and his family but indifferently provided for. Orphaned at the age of ten years by the death of his father. John L. Kelso was obliged to make his own way in the world from an early age. He obtained a limited education in the district schools of Shelby county, where he has passed the whole of his life to this time, but his opportunities to attend school were scant and irregular, owing to the circum- stances of the family, who needed what he could earn to aid in its support. He worked out by the month for a meager compensation for a time as a boy and youth, and later for better wages, all the while assisting the family and laying up what he could for himself. He was very frugal and industrious and by very slow accretions succeeded in accumulating a small sum of money. By this toilsome and painful process he climbed slowly upward on the rugged road to prosperity until 1885, when he bousrht 160 acres of land and began farming and raising stock on his own account. Since then his progress has been more rapid, and he has at length, through arduous effort and close attention to his business, ac- quired a competency and is comfortably fixed, with assurance in his circum- stances against all ordinary calamities and bright prospects for the future, for he is still full of energy and determina- tion, and has all his past experience to guide and help him to greater success and prosperity, and feels every incentive of duty to make the most of his oppor- tunities. He now has 280 acres of good land and nearly all of it at an advanced stage of cultivation. Mr. Kelso was married on April 7, 1885, to Miss Laura B. Clark, a daugh- ter of James and Isabelle (Graham) Clark, esteemed residents of Shelby county. James, Leta and Elva, the three children bom of the union, are all living and still at home with their parents. The father is a Prohibitionist in politics and a member of the Holiness church in re- ligion. His wife also embraced the Holi- ness religion until her death in 1902. Mr. Kelso was again married in 1904 to Sarah Biglow, a widow of Frank Big- low and a sister of his first wife. ^^LLIAM CLAUSSEX. No element of the immigrant popula- tion of this country has done more for its development and improvement in a ma- terial way than that which the Father- land has given it. The German is the great toiler in any field of effort suited to his taste or capacity, and his patience and persistency is always in proportion HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 517 to the task before him. His offspring, even though born in this country and reared amid circumstances very differ- ent from those of his own childhood and youth, inherits his traits and reproduces them in further iisefulness to the com- munity in which he hves. "William Clausseu, one of the substan- tial and progressive farmers of Black Creek township, Shelby county, is of this class. He was born in Shelby county, Missouri, on January 30, 1878, and is a son of Henry and Anna Magdaline (Groezinger) Claussen, the former a na- tive of Holstein, Germany, and the lat- ter of Jo Daviess county, Illinois, but of German parentage. The father came to the United States in 18G9 and found con- genial surroundings and plentiful sug- gestions of his native land in a German Lutheran settlement in this county. But a short time after his arrival he went to Jo Daviess county, Illinois, where there was a similar settlement or colony. He remained there until after his marriage in 1873, then returned to Shelby county, and here he passed the remainder of his life, which ended on November 25, 1903. In early life the father was a miller, but during almost the whole of his resi- dence in this county he followed farming and raising stock and was very success- ful in his operations. In politics he was a Republican and in religious faith a Lutheran, with strong devotion to both his party and his church. He and his wife were the parents of four children, all of whom are living and residents of this county. They are : Christian, Mary, the wife of Valentine Nothnagel, a sketch of whom will be found in this work; William and Paulina, who is still living at home with her mother. William Claussen obtained his educa- tion at Red Star district school, in this county, and while attending it and for some years after leaving it worked on his father's farm, helping in its cultiva- tion and assisting the family. He re- mained at home until March 8, 1903, when he was married to Miss Anna Neu- schafer, of Shelby county. He then bought 160 acres of good land and began a farming and stock raising industry of his own. This he has ever since carried on with vigor and good judgment, and through it has risen to comfort for life, in a worldly way, and to consequence and standing in the township as a citizen. For he has been as energetic and judi- cious in aiding to ijromote the welfare of the locality of his home and advance the interests of its people as he has been in pushing his own affairs to profitable re- sults, and by this means has won the re- gard and good will of all classes of those who live around him. Mr. and Mrs. Claussen have had three children, their sons Henry and Elmer and their daughter Grace. They are all living and still members of the parental family circle. The father is a pronounced Republican in politics, with an ardent in- terest in the welfare of his pai"ty and a constant readiness to render it any serv- ice in his power. He and his wife are de- voted members of the Lutheran church. Born and reared in Shelby county, and thoroughly at home among its people, with all their interests embarked upon its currents of pr()S])erity and advance- ment, they are loyal to it and its general 518 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY weal in every way, and are known and acknowledged to be among the most es- timable and useful citizens of this part of the state. JOHN GEOEGE BURCKHAEDT. (Deceased.) It is a matter of gratification to the publishers of this history that within its pages will be found represented so large a quota of the men who have here attained to success and honor in their respective fields of endeavor and who have found within the gracious borders of the fine old county of Shelby ample scope for productive effort. Of this number was John George Burckhardt, who was one of the enter- prising farmers of Bethel township and who was a member of one of the sterling families of this section of the state, where he took up his abode more than forty years ago. John G. Burckhardt was born in Wur- temburg, Germany, on the 27th of Sep- tember. 1842. He was a son of John G. Burckhardt, also a native of Germany, who came with his family to America in the early '50s, and located on Long Is- land, New York, in which state he and his wife passed the residue of their lives. Their son, John G., Jr., was twelve years of age at the time of the family removal to the United States. He was reared to maturity on historic old Long Island, at Glencove, and there he re- ceived a common school education. Wlien the Civil war was preci])itated upon a divided nation he gave distinctive evi- dence of his loyalty to the land of his adoption. Soon after tlie outbreak of the war, at the age of nineteen years, he tendered his services in defense of the Union, by enlisting as a private in the 4th New York Volunteer Infantry, in which command he served two years. Through faithful and gallant service he won promotion to the ofiSce of corporal and later to that of sergeant of his com- pany. At the expiration of his tenn of enlistment he received his honorable dis- charge, but shortly afterward, in 1863, he enlisted in the navy, becoming fire- man on the g-unboat "Anemana," and he continued in the navy arm of the Union service until the close of the war, when he received his final discharge, after hav- ing made an admirable recoi'd in both departments with which he was thus con- nected. After the close of the war John G. Burckhardt located in Allentown, Penn- sylvania, where he found employment in the steel rolling mills until 1869, when he came to Shelby county, Missouri and purchased a small tract of land in Bethel township, where he engaged in farming and stock-growing. As a raiser of high- grade live stock he eventually attained a wide reputation and pronounced suc- cess, and he ultimately l)ecame the owner of a fine landed estate of three hundred and ten acres. He gave special attention to the breeding of pedigree or registered stock, including Clydesdale horses, short- horn cattle and Shropshire sheep, and from his well-ordered stock farm were sold many fine animals for breeding pur- poses. He became one of the influential citizens of the county, where he ever com- manded unqualified confidence and es- teem, and where he ever gave his aid and influence in support of all measures tend- JOHN G. BURCKHARDT HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 519 ing to advance the general welfare. He was a Eepublican in his political adher- ency, served for many years as a member of the scliool board of his district, was actively affiliated with the Grand Army of the Repulilic and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was one of the pil- lars of the Presbyterian church at his home, in which he was a deacon at the time of his death, which occurred on the 4th of October, 1909. Of this churcli his wife also has been a devoted member for many years, and she still resides on the old homestead farm. Mr. Burck- hardt was one of the prominent factors in the organization of the Farmers' Mu- tual Fire Insurance Company, of Shelby county, and was vice-president of the same at the time of his demise. He served many years, and with marked in- terest and efficiency, as statistical re- porter of Shelby county, supplying data for the government. On the 18th of December, 1870, was solemnized the marriage of John G. jJurckhardt to Miss Frances Vawter, who was born at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on the 3d of January, 1843, and who survives him, as has already been stated. Of the seven children of this union all are living except one, Louise C, who died in womanhood. Concerning the others the following brief record is en- tered: Sarah A. is the wife of Henry Beckley, of Shelby county; John F. Mai'garet is now Mrs. Harry Barnes, of this county; Elizabeth is the wife of Andrew Easdale, of this county ; George has charge of the old home farm; and Mayme is the wife of Arthur Hamilton, of Woodlake, Nebraska. VALENTINE NOTTINAGEL. This prosperous and progressive fai'mer of Black Creek township, Shelby county, who has used all his opportuni- ties for his own advantage and the good of the township and county in which he lives, is a native of the city of Griesheim, near Hanover, in Germany, where he was born on July 4, 1875, and came to this country with his parents in 1881, when he was but six years old. The family located at once in Shelby county, and here Mr. Nothnagel has lived ever since. He grew to manhood in this county and has been from his childhood interested in its people and one of the active factors in promoting their welfare and the de- velopment of the locality of his home. Even though he began his education in his native land, he may be appropriately claimed as a product of this county, for he completed his scholastic training in its schools, married among its citizens and has devoted all his energies to mag- nifying its industries and adding to its wealth and power. Mr. Nothnagel is a son of Peter and Catherine (Bork) Nothnagel, also na- tives of Germany, the father having been born in the same place as Ms son. The l^arents were married on December 5, 1872, and became the parents of four children, two of whom are living, Cath- erine, the wife of William Gerlicli, of this county, and Valentine. Having heard the word of promise from the New World, which offered better chances for advancement in life than the Old, the father determined to move his family to this country and brought it to the United States in 1881. They found a new home )20 HISTORY OF SHELBY COr.XTY with familiar associations among the early Lutheran settlers of Shelhy eounty, and here the family has been domesti- cated from the time of its arrival. The father has been a steady and thrifty farmer and stock man ever since, and is now living on a farm of sixty acres near Clarence, where he carries on his two exacting and profitable industries, giv- ing them the close and careful attention the German people give everything to which their duty leads them. He has also been zealous and service- able in promoting the good of his com- mimity as a farmer and a citizen, and is regarded as a very worthy and useful man. His political allegiance is given to the Bepublican party, in whose affairs he takes an active interest, and in clnirch relations he and his wife are devout and consistent Lutherans. Their son Valentine began the battle of life for himself by working out by the month, continuing his slow progress in this line of labor until February 23, 1902. On that date he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Agnes Cla\isson, of Shelby county. He then deemed it his duty to provide a permanent home for his family and bought HiO acres of land, which constitute the farm on which he now resides, and on which he conducts a thriving business in general farming and raising live stock. He has built his op- erations in those lines of useful en- deavor from a small beginning up to a high state of developmont, and is re- garded as one of the thrifty and success- ful farmers and stock men of Black Creek township. He was industrious and frugal as a hired hand, saving his earnings to get a start in life, and he has followed the same rules of conduct as a landowner, making slow but steady l)rogress at first, and enlarging his op- erations as success crowned his efforts. Four children have been born to him and his wife, and all of them are living aTid are still members of the parental family circle. They are John Henry, Rosa Matilda, Carl Edward and Katy Louisa. The father is a Eepiiblican in politics and he and his wife are Luther- ans in religious faith and training. They are highly respected as sterling and estimable citizens. GEORGE W. MOORE. With a parentage combining the best traits of the Scottish yeomanry and those that are worthy and conuneudable in the people of Marjdand, G. "W. ^Moore, of Black Creek township in this county, who is one of the thrifty and successful farmers and stock men of that locality, has inherited qualities that have char- acterized the bone and sinew of two parts of the world which have made honorable records in history and are very fruitful in industrial life. And he has been true to his ancestry, and exemplified in his own career all that was sterling and pro- ductive in it and the sections from which his parents came. Mr. ^ioore is, himself, a native of Shelliy county, Missouri, where his life began on September 16, 1852. He is the only son and child of Hugh and Mrs. Alexine (Richardson) ^loore, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of Maryland. The father was born in 1806 and came to the United States with his parents in 1820. As he neared and HISTOKY OP SHELBY COUNTY 521 passed his majority in age he traveled considerably, and finally located in this county as one of the most desirable regions he bad seen for his purposes. He was a stonemason and worked at his trade in many localities. After settling in Shelby county he purchased some land and farmed in connection with his me- chanical industry for a numlier of years, then gave up the trade and devoted him- self exclusively to farming and raising stock until his death, which occurred in 1893. His wife died in 1875. They had one child, their son, George W. The father was a Democrat in political faith and lie and his wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Their son G. W., who has passed the whole of his life to the present time in this county, was educated in its district schools. After completing their course of instruction he worked on his father's farm and assisted the family until the death of his pai-ents. He has since been active and constant in his work as a farmer and stock man, and by close at- tention to his business, and judicious judgment of it has made a great success of it. His farm comprises 180 acres of superior land and he has the greater part of it under excellent cultivation. He is a skillful farmer and a careful and studious stock-raiser, and he makes both industries minister to his advantage. His farm is well improved and fully pro- vided with the necessary appliances for its successful tillage, and he has one of the most attractive and valuable country homes in his township. Mr. Moore has not neglected the in- terests of his township and county while building his own fortunes. He has been energetic and enterprising in aiding all commendable public improvements and worthy undertakings for the develop- ment and advancement of his locality. In politics he is a firm and faithful Dem- ocrat, with great interest in the success of his party and effective activity in pro- moting it. He is regarded on all sides as a very worthy and useful citizen and en- joys the esteem of all who know him. He was married on May 3, 1877, to Miss Elizabeth Perry, a daughter of B. F. and ]*[argaret (Carroll) Perry, well known and highly respected residents of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have had six children and four of them are living: Magazine, the wife of Don Mclntyre, of Shelby coimty; and Mollie, George T. and Dulcie, all of whom are still living at home with their parents. BENJAMIN F. PERRY. Thelifestory of this successful farmer and valued citizen of Shelby county, who lives in Lentner township, and is now re- tired from active pursuits, if written out in full would form a narrative of thrill- ing adventure, considerable romance and variety of feature and tragical experi- ences, followed by gratifying success in his business and the esteem and good will of the people among whom he has lived and labored during the last forty- four years, and to whom he has demon- strated his worth and his title to their regard by his industry and prosperity as a farmer and his usefulness as a man. Mr. Perry was born in Morgan county, Indiana, on August 25, 1827. His father, AVilliam Perry, was a native of Ken- tucky. And in that state his grand- 522 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY father, whose name -was AVilliam, also first saw the light of this world. The father settled in Morgan county, Indiana, at an early day and died there in 1839. He was an extensive faiTuer, owning and cultivating with success and profit a quarter section of land. He was married in Indiana to Miss Elsie Eunis, a native of Pennsylvania, and they became the parents of seven children, of whom the only one now living is Benjamin F., the interesting and venerable subject of these jjaragraphs. Benjamin F. Perry had no opportuni- ties whatever for attending school. In his boj'hood and youth the family lived in a new country and had to endure the hardships and privations of pioneers. Every available force was required to aid in the development and cultivation of the laud, and like the sons of other pio- neers, Mr. Perry was obliged to do his part of the farm work from a very early age, while before beginning that the un- settled condition of the country made schools scarce and there was danger to young children who attended them. He worked on the home farm and assisted the family until 1843, often hiring out as a hand to other farmers in the neigh- borhood. This sturdy and laborious life deprived him of all chance for mental training in the schools, but it developed his body, giving him vigor and supple- ness of frame, and it also cultivated in him a spirit of daring and self reliance and awakened in him a desire for travel and adventure. In the year last named, when he was but sixteen years old, he began a season of wandering from place to place which lasted six vears. At the end of that period he married and settled down in Indiana. But the longing for variety of surroundiugs and conditions would not be stiUed, and after two years of quiet life in his native state he procured a team and house wagon and during the next fifteen years journeyed through many states working on farms. In 1866 he came to Shelby county and bought laud on which he has ever since been liv- ing and until 1904 was energetically en- gaged in fanning. In that year he gave up active work, dividing among his chil- dren the 300 acres of land which he had acquired, all except thirty-seven acres, which he retained for his own use. During the Civil war he refused to take either side of the sectional contro- versy and was persecuted by the parti- sans of both, losing everything he pos- sessed, and then left the region of his losses and sought a location free from the danger of further jiersecution. He was married in 1848 to Miss Margaret Carroll, a resident of Indiana. Of the ten children born to them eight are liv- ing: Jerusha, the wife of Louis Perry, of Nebi'aska ; Alexander, whose home is in Kansas City, Missouri ; Nannie Eliza- beth, the wife of G. "W. Moore, of this county, a sketch of whom will be found in this volume ; Savannah, the wife of George Coonrod, of Shelby county ; Ben- jamin and AVilliam, who live in this county; IMargaret, the wife of Homer Kendall, of Oglesby, Illinois ; and Eliota, the wife of I. Kite, of Anabel, Missouri. Having reached the age of eighty-three years and lived acceptably and service- ably more than half of that period among this people, with an enduring and helpful interest in their welfare, ^Ir. Perry is HISTOI!Y OF SHELBY COUNTY 523 I esteemed by them as a citizen and vener- ated as a patriarch. He has richly earned the rest he now enjoys after his long- day of toil and trial, and is fully entitled to the mildness and benignity of his life's evening. And by the uprightness and usefulness of his residence among them he has fairly won the entire regard and good will of the people of Shelby county. They recognize this fact and freely ac- cord him the prominence as one of their leading men his merit has brought him. JOHN NEUSCHAFER. The late John Neuschafer, whose un- timely death on October 5, 1888, cut short a luminous career full of useful- ness to the community in which he lived, was a native of Hesse Cassel, Gei'many, born on January 11, 1839. He came to the United States in 1868 and. at once lo- cated in Shelby county, Missouri, in a German colony established here, where he found many of the customs and char- acteristics of his native land and people of tastes, habits and aspirations kindred with his own. The German Lutheran settlement in which he took up his resi- dence was essentially a farming com- munity and as he had been trained to the pursuit its people followed, he entered upon it with energy and spirit in their midst. Mr. Neuschafer bought land and was actively and profitably engaged in culti- vating, developing and improving it, with gratifying present success and great future promise, when death ended him and his useful labors at the early age of forty-nine years. But, during the twenty years of his residence in this county he gave abundant proof of his skill and good judgment as a farmer and his uprightness and public spirit as a citizen, becoming as warmly attached to the land of his adoption as he was to that of liis nativity, and taking an earnest and helpful interest in all its public af- fairs — civil, educational and religious in- stitutions and its industrial and commer- cial activities and contributing his full share to their advancement, according to the measure of his capacity and oppor- tunities. He was very successful in his own affairs, beginning work here on a farm of 100 acres and ending his life on that farm enlarged to 356 acres. On December 14, 1869, Mr. Neuschafer was united in marriage with Miss Cath- erine Reinheimer, a German, like him- self, but born and reared in Australia, where her life began on November 1, 1851. They became the parents of eleven children, and all of them are living and own their own homes in Shelby county. In their several stations and localities they carry out the teachings of the fam- ily fireside around which they grew to maturity, following with fidelity the ex- cellent example given them by their pa- rents and adding not only to the wealth and material strength of the county, but also to the power, sterling worth and progressive spirit of its citizenship. They are : Mary, the wife of Henry Von Thun ; Elizabeth, the wife of Harmon Rathjen; Louise, the wife of Philip Kel- ler ; Emma, the wife of Christian Prange ; Henry; Sarah, the wife of John Werr; Anna, the wife of William Claussen ; Pe- ter ; Catherine, the wife of Albert Kueh- ner ; Louis and John. The father served as road overseer 524 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY for a number of years, and in many other Tvays manifested his cordial and service- able interest in the community. He be- longed to the Lutheran church and took an active part in promoting its progress, as does his widow, who is still living on the old homestead. He was an ardent Eepublican in politics and gave his party energetic and effective service, and, al- though deeply interested in his own af- fairs, never neglected those of the local- ity in which he lived. His father, Jacob Neuschafer, passed the whole of his life in Germany, where his forefathers lived for many generations. He was the father of six children, all now deceased. Mr. Neuschafer was one of the most esteemed citizens of Black Ci"eek town- ship. He was enterprising, progressive and broad in his views, and was an in- spiring force in his commimity, both through his o^ti activity and the forces he stimulated to action and helped to direct into proper channels in others. His memory is embalmed in the lasting re- gard of his township as one of its most estimable and worthy citizens. THOMAS E. PEIEST. Young in years, as the statistical an- nalist counts age, but in full touch with the progress and aspirations of the times, and therefore of the proper make- up and caliber for any time in which his lot might have been cast ; of an ancestry springing from the heroic age of our country's history, yet depending wholly on his own resources and capabilities, and therefore up to the requirements of any age, and under any circumstances wholly and sincerel_v a scion and repre- sentative of Missouri and Shelby county of the present day, Thomas E. Priest, of Black Creek township is well worthy of a place in a work purporting to record the achievements and indicate or suggest th^ liromise of the future of this portion of the middle West. Mr. Priest is a native of Shelby county, born on June 6, 1885. and the son of Wil- liam L. and Anna S. (A'andiver) Priest, the former also a native of this county and the latter of Virginia. He began his education in the district schools of Shel- by county and completed it at a graded school in Shelbj-ville. After leaving school he worked on his father's farm and assisted the family until April 9, 1905, when he was imited in marriage with ^liss Elizabeth Reinheimer, a na- tive of this county, born on August 3, 1885, and daughter of Charles and Em- ma Eeinheimer, well known and highly respected residents of the county. Directly after his marriage Mr. Priest bought 185 acres of land and on that has been energetically and successfully en- gaged in farming and raising live stock ever since. His operations in both lines of his productive industry have been ex- tensive and have been conducted with .iudginent and skill. He is studious of his business and ever on the alert to take advantage of any suggestion extensive reading of the best agricultural and stock i)ublioatious or the lessons of expe- rience given him, and so keeps his busi- ness up to date in every respect. He is accounted one of the most advanced and ]irogi"essive famiers and stock men in his township and well deserves his rank. Two children have been born in this household, his daughters Myra C. and HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 525 Margaret, liotli of whom are living and help to brighten and warm the family hearthstone with their winsome presence. In politics Mr. Priest is a Democrat, in fraternal life a Modern Woodman of America, and in religious affiliation a Methodist Episcopalian, belonging to the Southern branch of that church, of which his wife is also a member. Mr. Priest's grandfather, Matthew Priest, was a native of Virgina, where his forefathers were long residents and extensive planters. His father, William Priest, was born in Shelby county, Mis- souri, on November 4, 1837, and has passed the whole of his subsequent life in the count}', except when he was absent on a short mining expedition to Colorado before the Civil war and another after it and during the years of that momentous sectional conflict, when he was in the Confederate army. He was educated in the district schools and at Shelb^^ville High school. After leaving the high school he taught for a year, then, in 1859, when the almost universal slogan was "Pike's Peak or Bust," he crossed the plains with a mule team to Denver in search of gold. But he did not remain long on this expedition. Returning to Shelby county, he clerked in a general store in Shelbina until 1861. In that year, when martial music was all the American people heard, and the lowering of clouds of civil strife, which had so long darkened our whole sky, burst with all their fury on our unhappy country, he enlisted in the Confederate army under the command of Major Adams. He served to the end of the war, and at its close was mustered out of the service at Memphis, Tennessee. He took part in the battles of Lexington, Missouri, and Corinth, Mississippi, and was then transferred to the cavalry di- vision of the army under General Mar- maduke as first lieutenant of Company P in what was known as the Burbridge Regiment. He was twice slightly wounded, but not seriously enough to in- cajjacitate him for service, and took part in all of General Marmaduke's engage- ments. After the close of the war Mr. Priest returned to Shelbina and clerked in the general store of Sigbert Parsons until fire destroyed the entire business block in which the store was located. The next five years were passed by him on his father's farm, of which he had charge as general manager, and at the end of that period he again went to Colorado on a prospecting tour, which lasted until the autumn of 1876. Returning at that time once more to Missouri, he turned his at- tention again to farming and raising live stock, and to those industries he adhered until 190-t, when he gave uji all active imrsiiits. Since then he has lieen living quietly with his two married clii!'^ •?n. Mr. Priest was married in September, 1877, to Miss Anna S. Vandiver, a daugh- ter of John W. Vandiver, of Shelby county, the patentee of the original corn planter. Of the four children born of this union three are living: William, who is a resident of Ogden, Utah ; Susan F., the wife of Dean C. Demmitt, whose home is in this county; and Thomas E., with an accoimt of whose life this me- moir begins. In politics the father has been a life long Democrat. He has served the township long and well as school di- rector and road overseer, and in other 526 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUXTY ways of value and practical utility. He has for many years been a devout and zealous member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South and has taken a leading part in all the work of the con- gregation to which he belongs. HE^^Y S. FUNK. The capacity to conduct affairs of mag- nitude and great moment and bring them to a successful conclusion is a rare one, and admirable wherever it is shown. The power to do this in the face of great and obstinate obstacles and to do it with seeming ease and freedom from anxiety or worry, is still rarer and more admir- able. The commanding might of mind is involved in any case, and when that operates apparently without friction, easily, smoothly and without variation or delay toward the destined or desired end, the evidence is clear that there is serenity and loftiness of s]iirit, a healthy balance of attributes and personality and masterly self-mustering of forces, allied with the intellectual supremacy in the man who makes the exhibit. In other words, that a man who is master of the situation and of himself has the matter to be accomplished in hand and will achieve it. In many ways in his career Henry S. Funk, of Clarence, Shelby county, Mis- souri, has shown that he is such a man. He has initiated, undei'taken and accom- plished great things, and has done it with such seeming ease that the magnitude of the achievements have not sufficiently impressed the public mind, and he has thereby robbed himself of a considerable measure of the credit that has been due him. But he is not a man who cares for this. It is results he aims at, and he is willing to let the rest of the considera- tions involved take care of themselves. Mr. Funk is a native of Veiinilion county, Illinois, and was born on a farm two and one-half miles east of Danville in that county on August 22, 1862. He is a son of Christian W. Funk, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who came from there to Danville, Illinois, in com- pany with his cousin, Dr. I. K. Funk, the celebrated publisher of New York, for the purpose of looking over the coun- try. Christian Funk later located there, l)ut I. K. Funk returned to New York City. Christian Funk was a farmer and general business man, and also a car- penter. He built the first large hotel in Danville, and he owned and conducted it for a number of years. He was a close student of agriculture and horticulture and was a general seed producer for a number of years. The Funk family in this country origi- nated with four Mennonite bishops who were exiled from Germany and came to the United States, locating on Indian creek, Pennsylvania. They founded the Mennonite college at Bethlehem, in that state, and in many other ways left their impress on their time and the locality in which they lived. For they were men of strong intellectual powers and exten- sive accpiiremeuts in wide and compre- hensive learning, and also had a great force of character. One of them, Bishop Ifonry Funk, translated the celebrated work entitled "The Martyr's Mirror" from Dutch into English, and gave it cur- rency in this country. Kudol])li Funk, the paternal grand- HENRY S. FUNK . HISTOT!Y OF SHELBY COUNTY 527 father of Henry S., was born in Lan- caster county, Pennsylvania, and Hen- ry's father was also a native of that state. During the Civil war in this coun- try he sjTnpathized with the South, but he never took a very active part in po- litical atfairs. In all the other relations of life he was, however, a man of unusual energy and ca]iability, and, like many other members of the family, past and present, never undertook anything which he did not achieve. He died at Danville, Illinois, on May 10, 1872. The mother was Mary Shotf, a daughter of Eudolph and Christina (Stauffer) Shoff, who were also Pennsylvanians by nativity, and born and reared in Lancaster county. Of the seven children born of the union three grew to maturity and ai'e still living. They are : Fanny, the wife of A. W. Boardmau, of Toledo, Ohio, the general manager of the Rey- nolds Bros. Elevator Company, of that city; Albert, a j^rominent real estate dealer of Danville, Illinois, and Henry S., of Shelby county, Missouri. The last named obtained his education mainly in the public schools of Danville, Illinois, but after leaving them and work- ing for a period of five years, he passed three months at a State Normal school in that city. At the age of thirteen he be- gan working for a small compensation in a garden and from that a few years later passed to renting farm lands and raising live stock. In 188.3 he engaged in mer- chandising, but his interest was never weaned away from the farm, and after a time he returned to it. He came to Missouri in 1895 and located in Taylor township, this county, where he has ever since resided and been engaged exten- sively in farming and raising stock. In this county he controls and cultivates over 2,000 acres of land and has a stock industry in proportion, giving close, care- ful and intelligent attention to every de- tail of the work in both lines of his en- deavor, and making everything connected with either tell to his advantage. But Mr. Funk has not been only a farmer and stock man, extensively as he has operated in these lines of effort. For a number of years he has been a railroad promoter, and his ability in this depart- ment of creative work is well shown by his latest achievement in it. At the ear- nest solicitation of the farmers along the line he inaugurated the Hannibal & Northern Electric Railway, of which he is now vice-president, an electric line o]ierating between Hannibal and Kirks- ville, in this state, and it has been chiefly through his instrumentality and endeav- ors that the line became a possibility and later will be an accomplished and very useful institution. Mr. Funk is an author, too, and many productions from his facile and virile pen have attracted wide attention and brought forth highly favorable com- ments, because of their genuine merit. He is now writing a book on "Farm Life," which is sure to be full of interest and information, for it will be based on the extensive experience of a man who knows how to tell his story in a graphic and impressive way. In addi- tion, he is not only a great lover of mu- sic, but is highly accomplished in both the science and the art of making "con- course of sweet sounds." He has a rich baritone voice that has delighted thou- sands who have heard him sing, and has 528 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY brought him many flattering offers of engagements on the stage. In politics he adheres faithfully and firmly to the Democratic party, but at the same time is independent, and in local affairs believes in voting for the candi- date he considers best for the welfare of the people without regard to partisan considerations. In advocating the con- victions he holds he has always been ac- counted a successful political leader, but he has never sought or desired a political office of any kind, either by election or appointment. Fraternally he is allied with the Masonic order, the Improved Order of Red INIen and the Modern Wood- men of America, and believing in their benefit to the communities in which they are located, he has ever been a liberal contributor to all churches without re- striction on account of denominational or other considerations. His public spirit is shown in his ardent supjiort of all undertakings of merit for the improve ment or advancement of his township and county, and by his having laid out and given to the city of Danville, Illi- noio, more streets and alleys than any other man. It is shown especially by his self-sacrifice and enterprise in connection with the electric railway line he is build- ing, which, while it may result in con- siderable profit to him hereafter, sub- jects liim at ])resent to the risk of losing everything he has. I\Ir. Funk has been twice married and has a family of three daughters by his first marriage, as fol- lows: Lila, who is now ]\Irs. John Fish- er, of this county; Ada, still at home, and Zora, now Mrs. Dale Ilolloway, of Hen- ning, 111. His second marriage occurred on December 2.3, 190'2, the lady of his choice being Mrs. Georgia A. Qeenan, a native of Crawfordsville, Ind. Mrs. Funk's maiden name was Georgia A. Nilest. Her parents, George and Lena (Fisher) Nilest, are still esteemed resi- dents of Crawfordsville, Ind. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Funk, Romona Cecelia. He is one of the most prominent and influential men in the county and is fully entitled, on demonstrated merit, to the rank beholds. DR. HARRY B. HAMMOND. Standing high in his profession, prom- inent and influential as a citizen, having a potential voice in the public affairs of the community of his home, and radiant as a sunbeam in social life, Dr. Harr)' B. Hammond, one of the leading dentists of Shelby county, is of great service to the people of Shelby\nlle, which is the seat of his operations, in many different ways. He is a native of Missouri, born in Lincoln county on February 6, 1872, and a son of Thomas H. Hammond, who was born at Troy in that county in 1S.39. The paternal grandfather, Rol>ert Ham- mond, came to this state from Kentucky at an early date and helped to lay the foundations of the present civilization and fix the fonns of government of the locality in which he settled. He was a man of strong personality, groat force of character and a wide knowledge of pub- lic affairs, and as the ]ieriod of his ar- rival was a formative one, his capalnl- ities were in great demand in the service of the people. His son Thomas, the father of the Doctor, was I'eared to manhood and edu- cated in Lincoln county, Missoui-i, and HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 539 followed farming there iu a vigorous and progressive way, and with great suc- cess, until 1907, when he retired from active pursuits and moved to St. Louis, where he is now enjoying the competence he acquired by his long years of ardu- ous labor, the esteem of the people, which he won by his worth as a man and his usefulness as a citizen, and the rest he so richly earned. He also was a man of prominence during the days of his activity and wielded considerable influ- ence in Lincoln county, being elected county assessor in 1880 and re-elected in 1882. After that he served for a number of years as chairman of the county cen- tral committee of the Democratic party, of which he has been a life-long member, and won high commendation for his wis- dom in the councils and his activity and effectiveness in the detail work of his party through many hard-fought cam- paigns. He was married in 1861 to Miss Mollie Shelton, of Lincoln county, in this state. They had four children, all of whom are living: Robert L., Cooper S., and Lucy, who are all residents of St. Louis, and Dr. Harry B., of Shelbyville. Their mother died in 1878, and in 1881 the father married a second time, making Miss Martha Light, a native of Virginia, his wife on this occasion. They have had two children, their son Wallace T. and their daughter Mary I., both of whom are living and reside in St. Louis. The father is a member of the Masonic order and of the Missionary Baptist church. Dr. Harry B. Hammond obtained his academic training in the district school's of his native county and a graded public school iu Troy, Missouri. After leaving school he worked for the street railway company in St. Louis two years. In 1895 he entered the dental department of Washington University, St. Louis, and was graduated from that institution with the degree of D. M. D. in 1898. He began practicing at Shelbyville the same year and has been continuously and suc- cessfully engaged in his professional work there from that time to the present (1910). He is considered invaluable to the professional life of the city, as his practice is very large and his patrons are devotedly loyal to him and constant in their esteem of him and his work. On October 22, 1897, Dr. Hammond was united in marriage with Miss Anna M. Knest, a daughter of John C. and Katherine Knest, popular residents of St. Louis. They have one child, their son Thomas B., who is living at home with his parents. The Doctor is a Dem- ocrat in politics, an Odd Fellow in fra- ternal relations and a Baptist in relig- ious affiliation. He is a leading member of the Missouri Dental Association and the Washington University Alumni As- sociation. He takes an earnest interest and helpful part in all matters of local improvement, and is accounted one of the best citizens of Shelbyville and Shelby county. FRED CRAIGMYLE. The interesting subject of this brief memoir is in all essential respects a self- made man. He began the battle of life for himself at the age of twenty, and without variance or a shadow of turn- ing he has remained in his part of the great field of human endeavor from that 530 HISTORY OF SHELBY COL^XTY time to the present (1910), except that he is now living on and cultivating a fann of 175 acres of his own, which he has acquired through his industry, thrift and excellent management. ]\Ir. Craigmyle was born in Shelby county, Missouri, on February 18, 1873. His grandfather Craigmyle was a native of Kentucky, as was also his father, hav- ing been born in that state in 1821. He came to Missouri in about 1855, and took up his residence in Marion county, but after a residence of a few years in that county he moved to Shelby county and located on a good farm near Oakdale. There he followed farming and general stock raising until his death in Novem- ber, 1878. He was successful in his un- dertakings and prospered here in a gratifying manner. On May 30, 1861, he was united in marriage with Miss Sallie Evans, a na- tive of Maryland. They became the par- ents of three children, all of whom are living and reside in Shelby county. They are: Kate, the wife of Fred Beottcher, John T. and Ferd. The father was a Democrat in political faith and a mem- ber of the Southern Methodist church in his religious connection. The mother is still living and has her home on the old homestead. Their son Ferd. was educated in the district schools of Shelby county, but his opportunities in this respect were lim- ited. For his services were needed on his father's fanii during the working seasons, and even in the winter months he was often obliged to remain away from school to perform some duty at home. In April, 1890, he purchased a farm of 160 acres and set up for himself as a farmer of extensive operations. He worked hard and saved his revenues, making every hour of his time and every stroke of his aim tell to his advantage, and managing his affairs with excellent judgment in order to secure a foothold in the struggle among mankind for ad- vancement. On this land he carries on general farming and handles large num- bers of live stock of various kinds. Every year of etTort has added to his success and prosperity, and he is now one of the substantial and well-to-do farmers of the township in which he lives. His farm is near Oakdale in Jack- son township. On Febmary 15, 1899, he was united in marriage with Miss ^laud Coomes, a native of Shelby county. They have one child, their son Lloyd, who is at home and going to school. In politics the father is a firm and faithful Democrat, and while he neither seeks nor desires a l)olitical office of any kind, he takes an active interest and a helpful part in the affairs of his party, giving it loyal sup- port on all occasions and doing what he can to help make it successful in all its campaigns. In religious affiliation he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. As a good citizen should, 'Sir. Craig- myle has manifested a deep and earnest interest in the growth, development and improvement of his township and county, and he has at all times done what he could to push their car of progress along on lines of wholesome advancement. His woi'th as a man and his usefulness as a citizen have won him the confidence and respect of all classes of people wherever he is known. HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 531 HENRY VON THUN. Although he has passed nearly the whole of his life to this time in Shelby county, and is thoroughly imbued with the spirit and aspirations of its inhab- itants, Henry Von Thun, of Black Creek township, where he is one of the substan- tial and progressive farmers and stock men, is not a native of this state or country. He was born in the provine of Victoria, Australia, on October 31, 1861, and is a son of Nicholas and Caroline (Bui'khart) Von Thun, and a brother of John 0. Von Thun, a sketch of whom will be foimd in this volume. Reference is made to that sketch for the history of the parents. The family moved to the United States and located in Shelby count}% Missouri, in 1868, when Henry was seven years old, being among the early arrivals in the German Lutheran settlement here. He obtained his education in the district schools of this county, and while at- tending them assisted the family by working on the home farm and hiring out on other farms and cropping on his own account. In 1866 he engaged in farming and raising live stock for liim- self, and he has continued his operations in these lines of interesting and profit- able effort from then until now. His present farm comprises 160 acres and the greater jiart of it is under advanced and skillful cultivation. The stock in- dustry carried on in connection with the farming operations is extensive and it also is profitable. Mr. Von Thun is a man of intelligence and good judgment in his lines of work, and he puts all his energies and acquirements in service to make a success of it. In this he has suc- ceeded admirably, winning a competence for himself and establishing himself firmly in the regard and good will of the people around him. On January 14, 1892, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Neuschafer, a daughter of John and Catherine (Rein- himer) Neuschafer, esteemed residents of this count5^ Five children were born of the union, all of whom are living and still members of the parental family circle. They are Anna, Bertha, Lena, Virgie and Mary Evehna. The parents are devoted and active working mem- bers of the German Lutheran church, and in politics the father is a Republican of firm convictions, always loyally sup- porting the principles and candidates of his party and working for its success, al- though he is not himself desirous of hold- ing any political office. His devotion to his party springs from a sense of duty, and is kindred in its source and its results to his deep and serviceable interest in the welfare of his township and county. In their behalf he is always ready to do anything in his power to advance their interests, pro- mote their improvement, or enlarge the conveniences and comforts of their peo- ple. He is true to every duty of good citizenship, and the people who live around him and know his worth and fi- delity, esteem him highly and accredit him as one of the best and most useful men among them. PETER KELLER. Peter Keller, one of the prosperous, enterprising and progressive farmers of Bhick Creek township, Shelby county, is a member of that industrious and thrifty 532 IIISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY race which has commanded the admira- tion of the world by the persistency of its enterprise, its capacity for close and steady api3lication, and its masterly achievements in every line of human thought and action. He was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, on May 23, 1867, a son of Philip and Margaret (Feldman) Ivellei-, also natives of that jiortion of the German emj^ire, and be- longing to families resident there for many generations. The father was born in 1840 and in 1882 came to the United States and di- rect to this county, bringing his family with him. His first marriage, which was with Miss Margaret Feldman of the same nativity as himself, took place in 1860. They had eight children, four of whom are living: Peter, the subject of this brief review; Philip, who resides in this county ; Catherine, the wife of Henry Eathjen, also a resident of this county, a sketch of whom api^ears in this volume ; and Louis J., whose home is in St. Joseph, Missouri. The motlier of these children died in 1883 and in 1884 the father was married to Mrs. Catherine Quenzer (Beyer), who was also born in Germany. He is a Ee- pul)lican in politics, with an abiding faith in the principles of his party and great zeal and activity in its service in all cam- paigns. His religious connection is with the Lutheran church, in which he takes a very earnest interest and is an active worker, especially in the congregation to which he belongs. His son Peter was educated in the state or public schools of his native land, and after his arrival in this coun- try at tlie age of fifteen worked for a number of years on his father's farm and assisted the family. 'WTien he attained his majority, or soon afterward, he be- gan farming for himself, applying to his work all that close study of the business and reflective observation taught him about it, and from the very beginning of his career as a farmer he has been suc- cessful and prosperous. He now owns 190 acres of good land which he has made veiy productive and improved with taste and good judgment, making it one of the valuable and attractive rural homes in Black Creek township, which has many of the same kind. On February 16, 1890, he man-ied with Miss Maria Catherine Quenzer, a native of Germany, who came to this country in 1884, at the age of twelve years, with her mother, Mrs. Katharina Quenzer, widow of Mich. Quenzer, and who afteiTvard married Peter Keller, the father, as has before been stated. They have had three children, two of whom are living, their sons Philip, born in November, 1891, baptized January 30, 1892, and Carl Al- bert, born April 24, 1907, baptized ]\ray 20, 1909, both of whom are still at home with their parents. The other child was a daughter of the household named Gretchen, born June 7, 1894, baptized July 15, 1904, who died on August 3, 1909, at the age of fifteen. She was a very iiromising young lady and her un- timely death enveloped the whole com- munity in grief and gloom. The father is a Bepublican in politics and a Luth- eran in religion. He takes a helpful in- terest in everything pertaining to the welfare of his township and county and is accounted one of the best and most useful citizens they have. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 533 PHILIP KELLER, JR. Among tlie wide-awake, enterprising and progressive farmers and stock men of Black Creek township, in this county, Philip Keller, Jr., is entitled to a high rank, both on account of his achieve- ments in what he has done and his aims at higher and better results in stock breeding for himself and the people all around him. He has for years been ac- tive and energetic in his efforts to raise the standard of cattle in his township, and by his energy, foresight and per- sistency, he has been successful in a large measure. Mr. Keller was born in Griesheim Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, on March 22, 1873, and came to the United States and Shelby county, Missouri, with his parents when he was a boy nine years old. He is a brother of Peter Keller, in a sketch of whom in this work the family history will be found. He began his edu- cation in the schools of his native land and completed it in those of this county. After leaving school he worked on his father's farm and assisted the family, re- maining at home with his parents until 1895. He then bought the farm of 150 acres of land on which he now I'esides and since that time has been industrious and constantly engaged in cultivating, developing and improving it. He has made it a model of its size and character and increased its value considerably. In connection with his farming he car- ries on an active and flourishing indus- try in raising live stock and otherwise handling this necessary commodity for the markets. His specialty in this line is thorouglibred Aberdeen- Angus cattle, and his herd is one of the best known and most admired in this part of the state. From it he has introduced the breed into other herds, greatly to their advantage and that of the men who own them, and much to the improvement of the grade of cattle produced in the lo- cality. Mr. Keller is very energetic in the management of his business, losing no opportunity to enhance his prosperity and realize the desires he has in connec- tion with the live stock industry in this county, and his enterprise in this behalf is highly appreciated by the people resi- dent here. He is also alive and alert in reference to the general welfare of the region in other ways, giving his earnest aid to every worthy undertaking for the improvement of his township and county and the benefit of their inhabitants. In politics he is a Republican, and in re- ligion he and his wife are Lutherans. On November 3, 1895, he was united in marriage with Miss Lizzie Neuschafer, a daughter of the late John and Kather- ine Neuschafer, of this county. Two children have been born of this union, Lydia and Anna Marie, and both are still living at home with their parents. The latter are reckoned among the most worthy and estimable citizens of Black Creek township, as they are known to be faithful in the performance of every duty with reference to both public and private life, and to be impelled by lofty motives and aiming at highly commendable re- sults in all their activities. They ai'e con- sistent members of their church and zealous workers for its advancement in every way. 534 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY WILLIAM M. HAWKER. Mr. Hawker has been a resident of Missouri since his childhood days and has been long and prominently identified with the great basic industry of agri- culture^ in this section of the state. In connection with this important line of enterprise he gained large and substan- tial success, becoming one of the large landowners and influential citizens of Marion county, and continuing to reside on his fine homestead farm until Febru- ary, 1904, when he removed to the at- tractive little city of Hunnewell, Shelby county, where he owns and occupies a commodious and modern residence and where he is living virtually retired. Mr. Hawker has the distinction of be- ing a native of the island of Jamaica, West Indies, where his father was a resi- dent for a few years after his immigra- tion from Germany. Mr. Hawker is a son of Frederick and Louise (Ginter) Hawker, both of whom were born and reared in Germany, where their marriage was solemnized, in the city of Guten- berg. In 1844 they came from the island of Jamaica to the United States, and soon aftei'ward established their home in Marion county, Missouri. The father purchased land in Warren township and thereafter gave his attention principally to farming and stock-growing until his death, which occurred in 1869. His wife passed to the life eternal in 1871, and both were earnest members of the Luth- eran church. Of their eight children six are now living, namely: William M., who is the immediate subject of this re- view; Mary, who is the wife of Finley Mitchell, of Marion county; Elizabeth, who is the wife of William Barnett, of the same county ; John, who is the owner of a valuable ranch in the famous Bitter- root valley of Montana; Fannie, who is the wife of Joseph Freeland, of North Dakota; and Etta, who is the wife of Edward Ettings, of LaBelle, Missouri. The father espoused the cause of the Republican party at the time of its or- ganization and thereafter continued a stalwart supporter of its cause until his death. During the Civil war he was loyal to the Union and did all in his power to aid in its preservation. William M. Hawker was about two years of age at the time of the family removal to Marion county, Missouri, where he was reared to manhood on the home farm and received a common school education, which he has since effectually amplified through his association with the practical activities of life and through his well directed reading. Dur- ing his entire active career he never abated his allegiance to agriculture and its allied industry of stock-raising, and he directed his energies with marked discrimination and ability, so that he received the most generous returns from his efforts. He acciunulated a fine landed estate of 320 acres, and the same was as productive and valuable land as can be found in this favored section of the state. His old homestead, now owii^d by one of his sons, comprises 316 acres. His residence is one of the most modern and attractive in the village and is sur- rounded by grounds comprising about three acres and twenty acres nearby. Mr. Hawker is a stockholder and director of the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank of Hunnewell, in politics he gives a staunch > a r r > m Iff HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 535 adherence to the Republican party, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon. During the Civil war Mr. Hawker was thoroughly in sympathy with the cause of the Union, and in 1862 he enlisted in the home g-uard, being a member of the company stationed at Palmyra, this state, under command of Captain Lear. On the 11th of February, 1861, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hawker to Miss Sarah F. Couch, who was born and reared in Marion county, this state, where her father, Marshall Couch, was an early settler. Mr. and Mrs. Hawker became the parents of eight children and all are living except one son that died. Mollie is the wife of Harry Huggins, of Shelbina, this county; Charles is engaged in farming in Salt River township; El- vira is the wife of Thomas Burdett, of Sharpsburg, Missouri; Frederick has charge of the old homestead farm, in Salt River township, Marion county; Vernie is engaged in farming in Shelby county; Myrtle is the widow of Charles Enyard and now resides in the city of St. Louis; and Gertrude is the wife of James Freshwater, a farmer of Marion county. GEORGE E. STEWART. All of the forty-two years of life which George E. Stewart, one of the enterpris- ing, progressive and successful farmers living near Clarence, has lived from his birth, on January 13, 1868, to the present time (1910), have been passed in Slielby county, and those of them since he ar- rived at years of discretion and produc- tiveness have been fruitful in good both for himself and the locality in which he has spent them. For he has been one of the reliable men in promoting every form of public improvement and devel- oping every resource of value whom his township has furnished to aid in push- ing forward the car of progress in the agricultural, industrial and commercial life of the county. Mr. Stewart was born in the county and has never felt any strong inclination to wander beyond its borders. He ob- tained his education in its public schools, grew to manhood on one of its fertile farms, married one of its esteemed daughters, and has, ever since he began the battle of life for himself, been a con- tributor directly and essentially to its welfare and the benefit of its people. He is a son of William and Elizabeth (Las- ley) Stewart, natives of Ireland. The father was born in 1812, came to this country when he was a young man and located for a time in Pennsylvania. He then came West with the tide of migra- tion that was surging toward the Rocky mountains and settled in Shelby county, Missouri, where he passed the remainder of his days. He was actively and profit- ably engaged in farming and raising live stock in this county until 1887. Tn that year he retired from active pursuits and from then until his death, on February 9, 1899, lived with his son George. In connection with his farming operations he also did considerable work at his trade as a stone mason in the neighborhood of his home. Among other buildings on which he worked, which are of historic interest, was the old Bethel mill, which was long a landmark in the region and a rallying ])Iace for tlie whole countryside, 536 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY of which he laid the foundation, ffis skill was emploj-ed also on other struc- tures with histories, for he was an early arrival in the county and helped blaze the way for the civilization and develop- ment that was soon to follow in his wake. He was married in 1845 to Miss Eliza- beth Lasley, who also came to this coun- try from Ireland, as has been stated, and they became the parents of twelve chil- dren, eight of whom are living: Marga- ret, the wife of "William Stone, of Tama county, Iowa ; Mary, the wife of George Sickle, of Shelby county, Missouri; Eob- ert, whose home is in Shelbj^ville ; Eliza, the wife of W. G. Chick, also a resident of Shelbyville; Alice, the wife of J. W. Eay, of this county ; Andrew, a prosper- ous Shelby county farmer; Celestia, the wife of William West, of Kansas; and George E. In politics the father was a Eepublican, in fraternal life an Odd Fel- low and in religion a Presbyterian. George E. Stewart was educated in the district schools of this county and started his career as a farmer and stock man very early in life. His first venture was the purchase of 131 acres of land on which he went to work for himself, and from the start he has been successful and enjoyed increasing prosperity as the years have passed. He farms well and wisely and his farm responds generously to his skillful husbandry. His stock in- dustry is extensive, and it, also, is active and ]irofitable. Both are managed with intelligence and the most careful atten- tion to every detail of the work connected with them from start to finish. On September 3, 1890, Mr. Stewart was united in marriage with Miss Anninda Hirrlinger, a daughter of Jacob P. and Martha (McCroskey) Hirrlinger, es- teemed residents of this county. Three children have been born in the Stewart liousehold, and all of them are living and still at home with their parents. They are two daughters, Geraldine E. and El- sie L., and a son, Kenneth W. In poli- tics the father is a Prohibitionist and in religion a member of Holiness church, to which his wife belongs also. They are active and zealous workers in the church and take an earnest and serviceable in- terest in everything pertaining to the ad- vancement and improvement of the town- ship and county in which they live. Everybody that knows them respects them for their worth and the estimable quality of their citizenship. HARMAN EATHJEX. Beginning his career as a fanner on his own account at the dawn of his man- hood, and continuing it without inter- ruption through all the subsequent years of his busy life, Harman Eathjen, one of the wideawake and enterjirising farmers and stock men of Black Creek township in this county, has given a fine example of what steadfastness of purpose and the use of every opportunity for ad- vancement can accomplish even in the unobstrusive and often unnoted life of a husbandman in the rural districts of this state, far from the seaboard and aside from the highways of the world's great activities. Mr. Eathjen is a native of Shelby county and was born in 1871. He was educated in the district schools of the county, attending for the most part the Red Star school in the township of his HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 537 present residence. He is a brother of Henry Batlijen, a sketch of whom ap- pears in this woi-k in which the history of the parents will be found. After leav- ing school, and while attending, he worked on the home farm with his father, remaining at home and assisting the family until 1893. He then bought the farm on which he now resides and to the development, improvement and cultiva- tion of which he has ever since devoted the greater part of his time and energies. This farm comprises 129 acres and is one of the best of its size in the town- ship. It is well improved, vigorously and skilfully cultivated and has been brought by his labors and good manage- ment to a high state of productiveness. The live stock industry carried on in connection with the farming operations is extensive and active, and sedulous care to every requirement of the business, with a view to securing the best results, has made it highly profitable. The spe- cialties of this industry are cattle and hogs of superior breeds. Mr. Eathjen was married on Febru- ary 17, 1896, to Miss Elizabeth Neu- sehafer, a daughter of the late John and Catherine (Reinheimer) Neuschafer, of this county. Four children were bom of the union, three of whom are living, and all still at home with their parents. They are Amelia, the daughter of the hoiise, and Edward and Alfred, the sons. In politics the father is a Democrat of the reliable and constant kind, and in re- ligion he and his wife are Lutherans, de- votedly loyal to their church and serv- iceable to the congregation to which they belong. Mr. Rathjen has been successful in his business, building it to good proportions and conducting it with vigor, enterprise and progressiveness. He has also been attentive to the wants of his township and county, and given his energetic and helpful aid to everj' worthy undertaking for their advancement. While not an of- fice seeker in any sense, he has been of great service to his political party in all the campaigns it has conducted since his youth, and by the spirit and effective- ness of his work in its behalf has won the appreciative regard of both its lead- ers and its rank and file. He is consid- ered one of the best and most represen- tative citizens of his township, and is correspondingly esteemed by all its in- habitants. VALENTINE KRAUTEE. With filial devotion to his parents that is altogether commendable, this esteemed farmer and stock man of Clay township, Shelby county, has passed with them the years of his maturity as he did those of his childhood and youth, assisting in providing for the wants of the family and helping in every way available to him in bettering the condition of its members. Since the death of his father in 1908, at the age of seventy-seven years, he has stood loyally by his nearer jDarent and looked after her comfort with constant and considerate attention. He was bom on March 13, 1870, in Grosherzogthun Hessen, Germany, and is a son of Peter and Margarotta (Borok) Krauter, also natives of that ijlacc. The father was born there in 1831 and came to the United States in 1881, settling among the German Lutherans in Shelby 538 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY f^^'iuty, Missouri. Here lie engaged in general farming until his death, which occurred in 1908. His marriage occurred in 1859, and he and his wife were the parents of four children, two of whom are living, Valentine and his older sister Katharine, the wife of James Sass, of this county, a sketch of whom will be found in this volume. The father was a Republican in polities and a Lutheran in religion. His son Valentine began his education in his native land and completed it in a district school in Shelby county, which he attended for a short time. He came to this country and Shelby coimty with his parents when he was eleven years old and grew to manhood here, where he has lived and labored ever since, giving all his energies to the advancement of his own fortunes and the development and improvement of the township and county in which he lives. Wliile grow- ing to manhood he worked on the farm operated by his father and he has been actively and prosperously engaged in the same occupation during all the subse- quent years of his life. Mr. Krauter began operations for him- self with literally nothing in the way of cai^ital or worldly possessions, and has made all he now owns liy his own un- aided efforts, to use his own expressive utterance on the subject, digging all he has out of the ground. His success in his careful and continued industiy is a tribute alike to his own enterprise and good management aud to the land which he has cultivated — the ground out of which he has dug the substance of his estate. He now owns IfiO acres of land which he cultivates and twenty acres of valuable timber land. He also carries on a very active and flourishing live stock industry, which he manages with the same care, intelligence and attention to details that he employs in his farm- ing, and he makes it profitable by this method of conducting it. Since the death of his fathei", as has been stated, he has lived with and cared for his mother, who is now sixty-nine years of age. In his political faith and allegiance he is connected with the Re- publican party, and although he has no aspiration to official station and desires nothing of public life, he is loyal and serviceable to his party and true to the political convictions he holds. In re- ligion he is a Lutheran, cordially inter- ested in his church and at all times ready to do what he can to advance its inter- ests. He is also true to the locality in which he lives, giving his energetic and effective support to every commendable undertaking for its advancement, and helping in every way at his command to augment and intensify the mental, moral and social agencies at woi-k among its people. The duties of citizenship rest upon him as an imperative obligation, and none of them is neglected or slighted by him. He is well worthy of the imi- vei'sal esteem in which he is held throughout Clay township and in all other parts of Shelby county. JONATHAN JARRELL. This successful, enterprising and pro- gressive farmer and stock man of Black Creek townshi]), this county, is a native of Kent county, state of Delaware, whose boast has long been that she represents HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 539 I "greatness, not bigness," where lie was born in 1854. He is a brother of James Wesley Jarrell, who is also a resident and prosperous farmer and stock man of the same township in Shelby county in which his brother Jonathan lives. A sketch of him will be found in this vol- lune, and in that the family history will appear at some length. The brothers have been residents and important fac- tors in the agricultural life of the county since 1865, when they came to this lo- cality with their parents after a resi- dence of a few years in Rush county, In- diana. Jonathan Jarrell was a boy of eleven years of age when he came to Shelby county, and in the district schools of this county he completed the education he had begim in those of Rush county, Indiana. During the last forty-five years he has lived in Shelby county, and during the whole of that period, after he reached years of maturity, he has been actively and progressively engaged in farming and raising live stock. His present farm comprises sixty acres of fine land, is well improved with good buildings and has been brought by his industry, enterprise and thrift to a high state of development and productiveness. His stock industry is as large as his acreage justifies, and is conducted with the same care, attention to every detail and extensive and accu- rate knowledge of its requirements that distinguish him in his farming opera- tions, and in both he has been so success- ful as to have won a reputation as one of the best and most progressive men in his township engaged in these interesting and profitable pursuits. In his political faith and activity Mr. Jarrell is a devoted member of the Dem- ocratic party and one of the ardent work- ers in his township for its success and advancement. In religious allegiance he is allied with the Christian church, and in its welfare he also takes an active and serviceable interest. He has been ef- fective and loyal in his work for the de- velojiment and improvement of his coun- ty and township, and his enterprise and public spirit in their behalf are well ap- preciated by their people. Mr. Jarrell was married in 1890 to Miss Eliza Fink, a resident of Shelby at the time of her marriage. They have one child, their son Roy, who is still a member of the parental household and following in his father's footsteps by fidelity to every duty and laborious ef- forts to aid in advancing the interests and ])rosperity of the famil.v to which he belongs. The father is one of the best known and most esteemed citizens of his township, and his long life of usefulness among the people of this section gives him full title to the general regard in which he stands. He has shown himself to be a good citizen as well as a good farmer, and there is no one who knows him that does not respect him. JAMES WESLEY JARRELL. Like his younger brother, Jonathan Jarrell, who is a resident of Black Creek township, this county, and a sketcli of whom appears in this work, James Wes- ley Jarrell, of the same township, and one of its jirogressive and wide-awake farmers and stock men, is a native of Kent county, Delaware, where he was horn in 1852. He is a son of John P. 540 IIISTOEY OF SHELBY COUXTY and Elyda (Minner) Jarrell, of the same nativity as himself. The father was born in 1827 and left his native state of Delaware with his wife and the children they then had in 1857, locating in Eush county, Indiana, where the family lived until 1865, and then moved to Missouri, taking up a new residence in Shelby county. The father was a farmer all his life from youth to his death, in 1892, and was closely connected with and inter- ested in the welfare and prosperity of this county during the last twenty-seven years of his earthly career. He was suc- cessful in his operations, according to the standards of his day and was true to all the duties of citizenship in every re- spect. His marriage with Miss Minner took place in 1848, and they became the parents of five children, all of whom are living. They are : James AVesley, Jona- than, William, Samuel T. and George W., and are all residents of this county but Samuel T., whose home is at Tyrone, Oklahoma. The father was a Democrat in his political faith and a member of the Christian church in his religious affilia- tion. James Wesley obtained his education in the district schools of Rush county, Indiana, and those of Shelby county, Missouri. AVhile attending school and after completing his education he worked on his father's farm, remaining at home and assisting the family until 1876, when he engaged in farming and raising stock on his own account on seventy acres of land given him by his father. In the spring of 1910 he disposed of his old homestead and purchased ninety-five acres in the same township, where he now resides. He has been successful in both lines of his industry and is universally regai'ded as one of the substantial and progressive men in his township. For, while advancing his own interests and enlarging his iDrosperity, he has taken an earnest interest and an active part in promoting the enduring welfare of the locality in which he lives and contribut- ing to the substantial good of its people. He was married in February, 1876, to Miss Mary Jane Philliber, a resident of this county. They have had six children, four of whom are living: Nora, the wife of Walter Howerton, of Knox county, Missouri; John, who is a resident of Shelby county; and Lily May and Ber- tha, who are still living at home with their parents. The father is an earnest and ei¥ective worker for the principles and candidates of the Democratic party in his political relations, although he has never sought a political office of any kind for himself, either by election or ap- pointment. His religious connection is with the Christian church, of which he is an earnest, loyal and devoted member. A residence of forty-five years in Black Creek township has given him a very ex- tensive acquaintance with its people, and those living in other parts of Shelby county, and has also given them an inti- mate knowledge of his worth as a man and his usefulness as a citizen, in conse- quence of which he is well esteemed in all parts of the county. His wife also stands well in the regard and good will of the people, and so do the other mem- bers of his family, all of whom exemplify in their daily lives the sterling traits of character that distinguish their parents. o w C/3 < h-l Q < HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 541 HIRAM SELSOR. This enterprising and progressive farmer and live stock breeder of North River township, Shelbj' county, has had a somewhat checkered and spectacular career in the nearly seventy years he has lived since his birth, and while the inci- dents and events that make uj) the story are all interesting, they are also alto- gether creditable to the subject of it in that they show him up as a man of force and self-reliance under all cir- cumstances, and impelled by a high sense of duty in every case. Mr. Selsor was born in Shelbyville, Missouri, on March 21, 1841, and is a ■ grandson of Larkin Selsor, a native of Virginia who moved to Missouri and lo- cated in Shelby county among its early I settlers. John W. Selsor, the son of Laikin and father of Hiram, was born in 1816 in Scott county, Virginia, where I he grew to the age of sixteen. He was of an adventurous disposition and longed to go abroad from his home and see something of the world. He therefore left Virginia in 1832 and came to Mis- souri, locating near Walkersville in Shelby county, and finding a home tem- porarily with the family of Richard Per- ry. From that home as a basis he went forth from time to time to different parts of the county, working on farms and as a carpenter in every section. Then dur- ing a period of about ten years he was engaged in the furniture trade in Shelby- ville. He died at Huunewell in 1881. The elder Mr. Selsor, father of Hiram, while not a great success in his business undertakings, was a good man and highly respected all over the county. In about 1838 he was married to Miss Keturah Matlack, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Abraham Matlack, of that city, a retired sea captain. Of the ten children born of the union three are living: Hiram, the subject of this article; Henrietta, the wife of Marion Dill, of this county; and Anna, the widow of the late Frederick Mimch, of Slielbina. In politics the father was first a Whig and afterward a Republican. The mother, even though a married woman, was bus- ily occupied in teaching school for many years, about twenty-five in all, although not continuously for that length of time. And it must be said in all truth to her credit that she was regarded as one of the best teachers in the county in her day. Hiram Selsor attended the district schools in the county and the Shelbyville high school until he Avas about eighteen years of age. He then worked on the home 23lace and assisted the family until August, 1861, when he enlisted in the Federal army in defense of the Union, first in Berry's cavalry, which was sta- tioned at St. Joseph, Missouri, and later in the Third Missouri cavalry under Col. John M. Glover. He was soon afterward commissioned as first lieutenant in Com- pany A, 4th Arkansas Cavalry. This l^osition was gained by a competitive ex- amination, several hundred competing, and his commission as lieutenant was sigTied by President Lincoln personally, and in that capacity he served until the close of the war, when he was mustered out at Little Rock. While in the 3rd Missouri Cavalry he took part in fifty- eight engagements, among them the prin- cipal ones being those at Bayumetre, Brownsville, and the capture of Little 542 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Eock. And while in the 4th Arkansas Cavaliy many skirmishes made it warm and life active for the regiment. After the war Mr. Selsor returned to Shelby county, and on November 2, 1865, was united in marriage with Miss Kate Hesler, of Lone House, a daughter of Fleming and Mary (Jordon) Hesler, na- tives of Kentucky, but for many years esteemed residents of this county. He then located on a farm and began a ca- reer as a farmer and live stock breeder, which has continued to the present time, except during the ten years he passed in Hunnewell in the drug trade. He now owns and cultivates 200 acres of land and carries on a flourishing live stock business as extensive as his acre- age and other facilities will permit. He pushes both departments of his business with enterprise and manages them with good judsTuent, and they are both profit- able to him as well as important to the township and county because of the aid they give in expanding the production and commerce of this portion of the state. By his marriage with Miss Hesler Mr. Selsor became the father of six children, five of whom are living: Dr. William L. Selsor, of Shelbina; Catherine, the wife of Ray Moss, of Hunnewell ; Fred, who resides and is in business in Kansas City, Missouri; and Francis Ella and Beatrice, who are living at home with their parents. The father has always taken an earnest interest and an active part in the local public affairs of the township and county, and has been serv- iceable in promoting the welfare of both. Before his children grew to maturity he served on the school board, and in many other ways made his mark as a pro- gressive and public-spirited citizen in reference to the general well-being and substantial progress of his locality. In politics he is a Republican, in fraternal life a member of the Grand Ai-my of the Republic and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In belief Mr. Selsor is an agnostic, while his wife is a mem- ber of the Christian church. JAMES H. VANSKIKE. A scion of old Kentucky and Maiy- land families, James H. Vanskike, one of the substantial, enterprising and pro- gressive farmers and stock men of Shell )y county, whose fine farm of 190 acres is located in Black Creek township, has well exemplified in his career the salient and sterling traits of character and habits of useful industry for which his ancestors were distinguished, and which have made the i^eople of those two states prosjierous and progressive at home and well esteemed abroad, secur- ing for them honorable names in history and creditable mention in all the under- takings of the United States in peace and war. Mr. Vanskike was born in Knox county, Missouri, on January 25, 18-48, and is a grandson of Jesse Vanskike, a native of Kentucky, where Jesse's son William, the father of James H., also was born, and where his life began in 1820. He became a resident of Missouri in 1835 and, after a short residence in Monroe county, moved to Shelby county. Here he remained until his marriage with Miss Sarah Todd, who was bom in Maryland, the marriage taking place in HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 543 Shelby county. He then preempted eighty acres of land in Knox county not far from the boundary of Shelby county, and on this farm he passed the re- mainder of his life, actively and prosper- ously engaged in general farming and raising live stock until his death in 1900. lie and his wife were the parents of eight children, six of whom are living: John W., Charles and James H., who are residents of Shelby county; and Jesse, Thomas and George W., who live in Knox county. The father was a Repub- lican in politics and a member of the Baptist sect in i-eligion. He was a man of great energy and activity, and rose to considerable prominence and influence because of his continued and general use- fulness as a citizen. He took an earn- est interest and an active part in the af- fairs of the counties in which he lived, helping to give their progress and de- velopment a substantial foundation and good speed in advancement. His son, James H. Vanskike, grew to manhood on his father's farm and ob- tained his education in the Knox and Shelby county district schools. He took his part in the labors of the farm both while attending school and after com- pleting his education, remaining with his parents and assisting the family until 1871. Tn that year he bought tlie farm on which he now lives seven miles west of Shelb>"ville. He has greatly improved it and added to its value by his industry and thrift and his excellent management of its general farming operations and the vigoi'ous and enterprising live stock business which he has long been con- ducting on it. Like his father, he has taken a very earnest and serviceable interest in local public affairs, serving as a member of the school board sixteen years, and in many other ways doing his full part in promoting the welfare of the township and county of his home and ministering to the increased comfort and prosperity and general well being of their people. His political faith and zealous support are given to the principles and candi- dates of the Republican party, and in fraternal life he is an Odd Fellow and in religion a member of the Missionary Baptist church. He was married on September 14, 1871, to Mrs. Nannie C. (Duncan) Dunn, a daughter of John S. and Matilda (Lyne) Duncan, of Shelby- ville. Two children were born of the union, Sallie May, who is living at home with her parents, and Joseph S., an esteemed and prosperous citizen of this county. All the members of the family stand well with the people of their lo- cality, who have found them worthy and estimable in all the relations of life. JAMES H. TARBET. James H. Tarbet, who is one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of Black Creek township in this county, where he owns and operates a tine farm of eighty acres, and where he has been for many years prominent in the public and official life of the town- ship, is not a native of ]\lissouri, but has lived in Shelby county from the time when he was but a few months old, and may therefore be fairly regarded as a Shelby county product. He obtained his education in its district schools, has mingled for many years with apprecia- 544 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY tion in its social life, made his whole career as a public official in the sei'\'ice of its people, and has passed all the years of his activity to this time in ener- getic and successful management of two of its leading industries, contributing to their growth and development. Mr. Tarbet was bom on April 21, 1867. in Rush county, Indiana, and was brought to Shelby county, Missouri, be- fore the end of the year of his birth. His grandfather, Eobert Tarbet, was a native of Kentucky, and in Fleming county of that state ^Ir. Tarbet 's father, John W. Tarbet, also came into being, his life having l)egun on October 16, 1840. He moved to Indiana a young man, and in 1867 brought his family to this state and located in Shelby county. For some years after his arrival liere he farmed on land which he rented. But later in life bought a farm of 160 acres, which he cultivated with vigor and profit until 1900, when he moved to Haskell county, Texas. In connection with his farming he kept a general store at Kirby, this county, for eleven years and also operated a threshing outfit. When he decided to move to Texas he sold all his possessions here. He was prominent also in the official activities of the county, serving veiy acceptably as a justice of the peace for sixteen years and in other ways of value making himself useful to the county and its people, and acquiring extensive influence and popularity among them, as a merchant, a farmer and a pub- lic spirited citizen. He was married in 1864 to Miss Nancy E. Kenning, a resident of Indiana at the time of the marriage. They became the parents of fourteen children, ten of whom are living: James H., the sub- ject of this review; John ^I., Charles F., George and Mary (twins), and Walter, all of whom reside in Haskell county, Texas ; Jesse E., whose home is in Grant county, Kansas; Thomas H. and Grover C. (also twins), the former a resident of Haskell county and the latter of Denton county, Texas; and Josephine, whose home is also in Haskell county, Texas. In politics the father is a staunch and loyal Democrat, always active and ef- fective in the service of his party. Fra- ternally he is allied with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, and in re- ligious affiliation he and his wife are members of the Christian church. Their son, James H. Tarbet, grew to manhood on his father's fa inn, assisting in its labors while attending school, and working also on other farms in the neighborhood. He remained with his parents and gave them all the help he could until 1888, when he married and started a home of his own. During the next five years he rented farms, but in 1893, through industry, frugality and good management, found himself able to buy a farm and purchased the one on which he is still living. This comprises eighty acres of first rate land, and he has improved it with a taste and good judg- ment and brought it to a high state of productiveness by careful and intelligent cultivation. He also conducts a lively and profitable industry in raising and feeding live stock for the markets. Mr. Tarbet has prospered in his busi- ness and has shown a good citizen's un- failing interest in the welfare and prog- ress of the county. He was a member of the school board thirteen vears and HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 545 is now serving as its clerk. In 1899 he was also appointed road overseer, and is still giving the people of the township excellent service in that capacity, having held the office continnously from the date of his first appointment. In political re- lations he adheres firmly to the prin- ciples of the Democratic party and is at all times one of its most energetic and effective working members. His fra- ternal connections are with the Odd Fel- lows and the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, and he and his wife are zealous and deeply interested communicants in the Christian church, in which they are both earnest and appreciated workers. His marriage was solemnized on Jan- uary 10, 1889, and was with Miss Har- riet J. Robinson, a daughter of James and ^latilda (Schudy) Robinson, prom- inent and highly esteemed residents of Shelby county. Three children have been born of the union, and they are all living and still at home with their par- ents. They are Omer J., Velma L., and Esther May. JOHN G. VON THUN. John G. Von Thun is one of the highly successful and ]iros)ierous farmers and live stock men of Black Creek township, in this county, whither he was brought by his parents from the far distant land of his birth when he was but two years old. He was born on June 2, 1866, in the colony of Victoria, Australia. There the father, Nicholas Von Thun, a native of Germany, born in 1827, passed ten or twelve years of his life engaged in farm- ing and teaching school. In 1868 he moved his family to Missouri and located in Shelby county. Here he bought land and was busily occupied in general farm- ing until his death, in 1872. He was married to Miss Caroline Burkhardt, who was also a native of Germany. Thfey had six children, four of whom are living: Henry, a sketch of whom will be found in this work; and Harman, John G. and Paul, all four resi- dents of this county. The parents be- longed to the Lutheran church and were among the original settlers in the Ger- man Lutheran community in this county, to whom is much indebted the industry, thrift, progressiveness and general good citizenship of the colony, for there were excellent men and women, giving faith- ful attention to every duty in public and ])rivate life, and both through their la- bors and the force of their example they gave the portion of the county in which they lived substantial prosperity and good speed on the road to high develop- ment. John G. Von Thun, as has been noted, was an infant but two years old when his parents moved to the United States and located in Shelby county. He has passed all his subsequent years here, and while he has prospered himself in a worldly way, he has also been an important fac- tor in promoting the general welfare and steady improvement of his township and county. He has always been energetic and enterprising with reference to all ])ul)li(' interests and has given everybody around him the stimulus of his own zeal and activity and the force of an excellent example for the good of the locality in which ho has so long lived and so effec- 546 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY tively labored for himself and all worthy undertakings involving the good of his community. Mr. Von Thun obtained his education in the district schools of this county and at an early age began working on neigh- borhood farms, and when he grew older rented land for himself and did consider- able cropping. He kejjt this up until 1891, when he bought the land on which he now lives, and which has been his home and the seat of his enterprise ever since. He has carried on vigorous farm- ing operations in a general way, with skill and enterprise, and he has also con- ducted a very active and extensive live stock industry. His farm is a fine one, well improved and highly productive, and he makes every hour of his work on its tell to his advantage. His religious affiliation is with the Lutheran church. On January 15, 1891, he was united in marriage with Miss Augusta Doss, a daughter of John and Henrietta (Trea- fald) Doss, first settlers in the German Lutheran community, coming here in 1865, and have since been worthy and ap- preciated residents of Shelby county. One child has been born of the union, a son named Albert, who is living at home . with his parents. He is a young man of promise, zealous in the performance of his duties and a credit to the family, standing well in the community and gen- erally esteemed, as his parents also are, and as they all deserve to stand and be esteemed. HARRY H. PRANGE. One of the most successful and pro- gressive farmers and stock men of Black Creek township, in this county, and one of the most energetic and public spirited of its citizens with reference to public improvements and the general progress and development of the township, Harry H. Prange is justly esteemed an excel- lent man to have as a resident of any wide-awake and enterprising community and as worthy of the regard and admira- tion of all persons who value his charac- ter of citizenship, which has been found very useful and based on proper ideals of manhood and duty to the region in which he lives. Mr. Prange is a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he was born on Sep- tember 11, 1863. He is a son of John and Catherine (HjTiian) Prange, the former born in Germany in 183-t, and the latter a native of Pennsylvania. The father came to the United States early in the 60 's and located in Pennsylvania for a few years, then in 1866 moved his family to Missouri and found a new home in the German Lutheran colony in Shelby coun- ty. He was one of the first settlers in that colony and at once showed the sturdy and sterling traits of character and habits of industry and frugality which distinguished its residents and gave such an impetus to the development and improvement of the portion of the county in which the colony was located. He bought land there and followed farm- ing and raising and feeding live stock for the markets with great vigor, skill and good management. He was success- ful in his business, and at the time of his death, which occurred on February 19, 1909, was a well-to-do man of consider- able valuable property and excellent standing in his township. His marriage to HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 547 Miss Catherine Hyman took place in 1859, and by it he became the father of six children, all of whom are living, and all residents of Shelby county but one. They are: Harry, the subject of this brief memoir; Margaret, the wife of Jacob Gable ; Isabelle, the wife of Justice Ech- ternacht; Christ, a prosperous Shelby county farmer ; Anna, the wife of Simon Gingrich; and Mary, the wife of Frank Wilt, who lives in Monroe county, Mis- souri. The father was a Republican in his political adherence and a member of the Dunkard, or German Baptist church, in his religious affiliation. The wife and mother departed from this life January 20, 1911. Harry H. Prauge obtained a common school education at Hager's Grove, in this county, where the family located on its arrival in this part of the country. After leaving school he remained with his parents, working on the farm and as- sisting the family until 1900, when he bought a tract of land in tlie neighbor- hood of Kirby, on which lie has been fanning and raising live stock with suc- cess and increasing prosperity ever since, although he had practically noth- ing to start with. His farm comprises 160 acres of superior land, and he has cultivated it all in a manner in keeping with its high quality and great produc- tiveness. Mr. Prange was married on March 6, 1890, to ;Miss Minnie Doss, a daughter of John and Henrietta (Trefall) Doss, who have long been residents of Shelby coun- ty and enjoyed the respect of all its peo- ple. He did not, however, go at once to a farm of his own, but continued to live and work on the homestead of his pa- rents ten years longer. The four chil- dren born of the union are all living and still have their home with their parents. They are Etta, Nannie, Ernest and Carl. The father trains with and supports the Republican party in political affairs, and has his religious affiliation with the Lutheran church, to which also the other members of the family belong and in which they all take an active and service- able interest, as they do in all other com- mendable agencies for good, at work around them. WILLIAM T. GIBSON. Born and reared to manhood in Vir- ginia, and descended from families long resident in that state, William T. Gib- son, one of the most prosperous and progressive fanners and live stock men in Black Creek township, Shelby county, this state, had from his childhood ex- amples and traditions of high emprise to stimulate him to vigorous exertion and elevated manhood, and he has been true to them, taking his fate into his own hands at the age of twenty-two and seeking the advancement in life he had determined to secure by coming to a region far distant from the home of his birth and outside the pale of family in- fluence or the generosity of friends to help him along. In his new home he has kept in serv- iceable action through daily diligence the forces of inspiration within him, and has achieved a very substantial success in life to this time (1911). He has also adhered to the lessons of good citizen- ship which he learned in his boyhood and youth, and through the steady practice 548 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY of the principles of manhood involved in them has risen to consequence and influ- ence among the people, being regarded not only as one of the most enterprising and intelligent farmers in their midst, but also as one of the best citizens of his township. Mr. Gibson was bom on January 30, 1863, in Montgomeiy county, Virginia, and is a son of John and Olive (How- rey) Gibson, the former born in the same county as his son and the latter in Floyd county in the same state, these being adjoining counties. His grandfather, also named John Gibson, was a native of Virginia, too, and passed the whole of his life in that state. The father was a general farmer and also a preacher of the gospel. He came to Missouri and resided in Shelby county until his death. In politics he was a Republican and his religious affiliation was with the Chris- tian church. His marriage with Miss Olive Howrey took place in Virginia, and by it he became the father of nine chil- dren, seven of whom are living: Alice, the wife of Joseph Hall, of Virginia ; William T., to whom these paragraphs are specially devoted; John, who is a resident of Shelby county; Anna, the wife of Grant Winter, of Virginia; James, who also lives in that state; L>Tin, who is a resident of Nebraska; Ernest, whose home is in this county; and ^lary, the wife of "William Haffner, also a resident of Shelby county. William T. Gibson obtained his educa- tion in the country schools of his native county. In 1885, when he was twenty- two years old, he came to iSIissouri and took up his residence in Shelby county. During the first three years of his resi- dence in this count.v he worked as a hired man on farms, and in 1888 and 1889, just after his marriage, he lived on a farm he rented. In the year last mentioned he bought 140 acres of land and settled down on it with a view to improving it and making the most he could out of its cultivation and the live stock industry he started in connection with that. He has been very successful in his undertakings, and now owns and cultivates with vigor, enterprise and intelligence 540 acres, his farm being one of the best in Black Creek township. He has worked hard and at- tributes his success to his energy, con- tinued industry and careful attention to every feature, jjliase and detail of his work. ^Ir. Gibson was married on January 21. 1888, to Miss Lydia M. Boyles, a daughter of Archibald Boyles, a resi- dent of this county. Of the five children born of the union three are living, Ernest, Florence and Floyd, and all are still members of the parental family circle. The father is a Prohibitionist in politics and a member of the Christian church in his religious affiliation. JACOB H. MERRIN. This venerable and honored citizen of the city of Clarence, where he has main- tained his home for more than forty years, and where he was president of the Clarence Savings Bank, has been closely identified with the civic and industrial ui)building of this section of the state and is one of the substantial capitalists and representative men of Shelby county, where he has ever commanded unquali- fied popular confidence and regard. JACOB H. MERRIN HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 549 Mr. Merrin is oue of the. valued citi- zens contributed to ISiielby county by tiie line old Buckeye state, as lie was born in Monroe county, Uliio, on tlie 1st of August, 1827, being a son of John and tSallie (Beers) Merrin, the former of wlioin was born in the state of Mew Jer- sey, in 17yy, and the latter of whom was a native of Uhio, in which state their marriage was solemnized. John Merrin was one of the sterling pioneers of Ohio, and his vocation throughout his entire active career was that of farming. He passed the closing years of his life in Knox county, Ohio, where he died in 1849, and his wife survived him by a number of years, both having been zeal- ous members of the Presbyterian church and his political support having been given to the Democratic party. Of the nine children of this union the subject of this review is the eldest of the four now living; John N. is a resident of Tay- lorville, Illinois ; Lodema is a resident of the state of Washington; and Mary Eliz- abeth is the wife of John O. Trimmer, of Moimd City, Missouri. J acob H. Merrin, whose name initiates this article, was reared to the sturdy dis- cipline of the pioneer farm and his early educational advantages were those af- forded in the primitive common schools of Knox county, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood and where he had his full (juota of experience in the re- claiming of land in the virgin forest and where he continued to be associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to his legal majority, when he initiated his independent career in connection with the same basic industry, which has ever constituted the bulwark of our national prosperity. He became the owner of a large tract of land in Knox county, Ohio, and reclaimed and developed a consider- able ijortion of the same. He finally traded about 350 acres of his land for a stock of general merchandise, and for the ensuing two years he conducted a store at Fredericktown, Knox county. In 1865 Mr. Merrin traded his stock of mer- chandise for 320 acres of land in Mon- roe county, Missouri, where he devoted his attention to farming and stock-grow- ing until 1876, when he removed to Shel- by county and took up his residence in the village of Clarence, where he has maintained his home during the long intervening years. He became exten- sively engaged in farming and in the raising and buying of cattle, building up a large and prosperous business as a shipper of live stock, and with these lines of industry he continued to be actively identified until 1899, since which time he has lived virtually retired, having an attractive residence in Clarence, where he is also the owner of other valuable property, besides which he retains in his possession 420 acres of excellent farming land, the most of which is lo- cated in Clay township, this county. He was president of the Clarence Savings Bank from 1905 to 1911 and gave to the same a personal sui)ervisiou, having 1)een a potent factor in directing its af- fairs in such a way as to make the insti- tution one of the solid and prosperous banks of the county. JMi-. Merrin has always stood representative of loyal and public-spirited citizenship and has done much to aid in the social and matei'ial development of his comnnmity. In pol- 550 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY itics, though never a seeker of the hon- ors or emoluments of public office, he has ever been arrayed as a staunch advo- cate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands spon- sor, and both he and his wife are active and valued members of the Presbyterian and Baptist churches. Mr. Merrin has been twice married. In January, 1852, he wedded Miss Han- nah Loree, of Knox county, Ohio, who died in 1893, and of their three children two are living, Ellen, who is the wife of William Wilt, of Clarence, and Effie D., who is the wife of James Woods, of Monroe county, this state. In 1897, De- cember 19, Mr. ^lerrin was united in marriage to Mrs. ]\Iattie Stowe, of Ma- con county, who now presides over their pleasant home. Mrs. Merrin's maiden name was Mattie Randolph, a native of Kentucky. She came with her parents to Missouri when fifteen years of age. She has one son bv her former marriage, Monroe Stowe, of Macon county. THEODORE W. FEELY. Enterprising, progressive and suc- cessful as a farmer and live stock man, prominent and sen'iceable in the official life and public affairs of the locality in which he lives, and standing high in the regard of the whole people of Shelby and Monroe counties, among whom he has passed all the years of his life to this time (1910), Theodore W. Feely, of Black Creek township, is justly entitled to the rank he holds in public esteem as a farmer and a citizen, and his excellent reputation as a man of great public spii'it and strong devotion to the best interests of his township, county and state. Mr. Feely was bom in Shelby county, Missouri, on November 11, 1862. He is a grandson of Le Grand Feely, a native of Virgiina, and a son of James Le Grand and Mattie E. (Morrison) Feely, the former born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, on March 6, 1835, and the lat- ter a native of Tazewell county, IlUnois. The father came to Missouri in 1856 and located at Shelbyville, where he worked at the carpenter trade for ten years. In 1866 he moved to the adjoining coimty of Monroe, and there was busily occupied in general farming and raising live stock until 1873. In that year he returned to this county and bought 127 acres of wild prairie land, on which he passed the re- mainder of his days, improving his un- tamed estate and making it over into an excellent and valuable farm. His marriage with Miss flattie E. Morrison took place in 1858, and they became the parents of nine children, all of whom but the fifth in order of birth, a daughter named Carrie Belle, are liv^- ing. The eight who are living are : John A. and William M., residents of Hotch- kiss, Colorado; Theodore W., whose life story is the special theme of this writ- ing; James McKendree, whose home is in Shelbyville; Virginia Edna, the wife of Rev. W. D. Neale of Rocky Ford. Colo- rado; Charles R., an esteemed resident of this county; Stella, the wife Okf E. M. O'Bryen, of Shelbyville; and Silas Mar- vin, wlio is also a resident of Shelby county. The father was i)ublic adminis- trator of Shelby county for a continuous period of twelve years. In political faith and activitv he was a member of the HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 551 Democratic party and prominent in the councils of and among the zealous work- ers for that organization. In fraternal life he was for many years a Freemason and in church relations a Southern Methodist. His death occurred on Jan- uary 7, 1898, and that of the mother on February 11, 1907. Their son, Theodore W., obtained his education in the countrj- schools in Mon- . roe and Shelby counties and a graded i public school in Shelbwille. After com- pleting his education, and while acquir- »ing it, he assisted in the work on his father's farm, remaining with his par- ents and aiding the family all he could until 1886. He was married in that year, on September 15, to Miss Jennie M. Garrison, a daughter of J. W. and Mary (Francis) Garrison, natives of Vir- ginia, but long residents of Shelby county, Missouri. Mr. Feely then bought an eighty-acre farm and on this he has ever since cai'ried on a flourishing busi- ness in general farming and raising and feeding live stock, in both of which he has been very successful and prosper- ous. He now owns 418 acres of tine and fertile land, and in his stock industiy gives his attention almost exclusively to breeding and dealing in Hereford cattle. In i^olitics he is a Democrat and as such has been a member of the school board continuously for twelve years. He is also a charter member of the Shelby County Railroad Company. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Church, South. They have had five chil- dren, all of whom are living: William L., who is a rising man in this county; Velma, the wife of R. D. Hatcher, also a resident of Shelby county; and Shelby, McKendree and Virginia, who are living at home with their parents. SILAS MARVIN FEELY. Having built up a prosperous farming and live stock industry from practically nothing to start with, and aecom]jlished it all within the last ten years, and hav- ing also risen to a position of good standing and general esteem throughout the township and county of his home, Silas Marvin Feely, of Black Creek town- ship, has demonstrated that he is made of the material that commands success, and has elevated ideals of citizenship in private life and with reference to all pub- lic affairs. Mr. Feely is a native of Shelby county, born on August 10, 1879. He is a son of James Le Grand and Mattie E. (Morri- son) Feely, an account of whose lives will be found in a sketch of their older son, Theodore W. Feely, elsewhere in this volume. Like his brother Theodore, Si- las Marvin Feely obtained his education in the country schools near his father's farm and a graded public school in Shel- byville. He remained at home with his parents until 1901, aiding in doing the work on the homestead and giving the family all the assistance he could. In the year last named he rented a farm to go into business for himself as a farmer and live stock operator, and this farm he bought in 1903. It comprises 124 acres, is well improved and skillfully cultivated and has become one of the most desirable of its size in the township in which it is located. Both the general 552 HISTORY OF SHP:LBY COUNTY farming and the stock industry con- ducted by Mr. Feely are managed with wisdom and pushed with highly com- mendable enterprise and both are profit- able. Mr. Feely was married on December 25. 1901, to Miss Addie Marie Turner, a daughter of AVilliam R. and Mary (Doyle) Turner, esteemed residents of Shelby county. Three daughters have resulted from the union, Gertrude Marie, Mildred Elaine and Dortliy Lois, all of whom are living. In politics the father is a pronounced Democrat, with an abid- ing and helpful interest in the affairs of his party and steady activity in its be- half. His fraternal conection is with the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and his wife are consistent members of the Southern Methodist church, devoted to its welfare and energetic in helping to promote it, and the good of the com- munity in general. Mr. Feely is a young man yet, and the success and standing in life which he has already won are greatly to his credit. But his enterprise, correct and extensive knowledge of the work in which he is en- gaged, his devotion to its vigorous pros- ecution to the highest and best results, and his intelligent attention to its every requirement, give assurance that his as- cent to higher altitudes and greater pros- perity in connection with it will be steady and increase in speed. His uprightness and progressiveness as a citizen, which have secured for him the esteem of all who know him, also indicate that he is destined to more extensive popularity and stronger influence in ilic community of whicli he is so valued a member. CHARLES R. FEELY. This enterprising and progressive farmer and live stock dealer of Black Creek townshij^, in this county, who now lives on the family homestead and in the house in which he \vas born, is a brother of Theodore AV. and Silas M. Feely, of the same township, sketches of whom will be found in this work. In that of the former the family history is told at some length, the leading events in the lives of the parents being set forth somewhat in detail. The story of their lives and those of the lives of their sons, as they appear herein, show that the fiber of the family is firm, that its members have grappled with adverse conditions and become mas- ters of them and that attention to the du- ties of elevated citizenship has been one of their prominent characteristics, and continues in the sons as it was exempli- fied by the parents, with advantage to themselves and decided benefits to the community in which all have had their homes. Charles R. Feely was born on August 7, 1874, in Shelby county, Missouri. He obtained his education in the district schools, and worked on the parental acres while attending and after leaving those valued institutions for mental training and the inculcation of sterling qualities of manhood and womanhood. He remained with his parents until 1900, then bought an eighty-acre farm, which he has increased to 255 acres. He has the whole tract under skillful and ad- vanced cultivation and reaps an abun- dant harvest of profits from his outlay (if onterjirise and labor. His specialties in tlie live stock line of his business are HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 553 Shorthorn cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs, of which he handles large numbers and with them keeps the markets in which he deals active and well supplied. Through his activity in this respect he has also helped considerablj^ to improve the grades of stock he favors throughout Shelby county and the adjoining counties of the state, and has thereby been of great benefit to this whole region. Mr. Feely was married on February 11, 1903, to Miss Lizzie Christian, of AVarren, Missouri. They had one child, their son, Donovan Eead, who is being indoctrinated in the tenets and principles of business so successfully pursued by bis parents, and who, although very young yet, is showing himself to be an apt and responsive student. In political faith and allegiance the father is a firm and faithful member of the Democratic party, and gives its principles and can- didates his earnest support in all cam- paigns. In fraternal relations he be- longs to the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, and his religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. His wife is a member of the Missionary Bai^tist church. Mrs. Feely died De- cember 29, 1903. Mr. Feely again mar- ried, November 10, 1909, to Lu Verne Hallenbeck, of this county, a daughter of Silvesta Hallenbeck. Like his younger brother, Silas AI. Feely, Charles E. is yet a young man, and his success has been won within a few years. It also gives great promise for the future, both with reference to his own esate and the general improvement and advance of the townshi]i and county of his home, in which he takes a very ac- tive interest and in promoting their wel- fare bears a zealous, helpful and impor- tant part of the work. He and his wife are among the most useful and esteemed residents of Black Creek township. EDWARD M. COE. The grandson of a Virginia planter who came to the United States from Enghmd and settled in the Old Domin- ion soon after our Revolutionary war, whose name also was Edward, and the son of David J. and Elizabeth (Skin- ner) Coe, who were born and reared in London county of that state, Edward M. Coe, one of the prominent farmers and stock breeders of Black Creek township in this county, inherited from his an- cestors, and acquired in association with the people of his native place, qualities of sturdy independence and sterling manhood which gave him self-reliance and have been among the leading ele- ments of the business success he has achieved. He also inherited from his progenitors a spirit of valor and mili- tary prowess which made the l)attlefield seem to them and him a place of sanctity when duty called them to it. His grand- father and all the sons of his household took part in the war of 1812, and rend- ered their country valiant service in that short but sanguinary conflict. And when our Civil war began, the second Edwai'd and representative of the third genei-a- tion of patriots in this country, promptly took his place in the ranks of one of the contending armies as a private soldier, and offered his life bravely in defense of his convictions. Mr. Coe was born in Lcmdon county, Virginia, on July 1, 1821, and grew to 554 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY manhood and obtained bis education tbere. He came to ^Missouri in 1843, ar- riving on February 4 of that year. He bad been well trained in a variety of pursuits, as after returning from tbe war of 1812, his father engaged in fann- ing, milling and raising live stock, and as he was successful in all these lines of business, and carried on extensively in each, bis offspring had tbe benefit of his acumen and capacity which aided him in acquiring knowledge of them and skill and enterprise in conducting them. Tbe father's marriage with Miss Elizabeth C. Skinner occurred on July 1, 1820, and resulted in tbe production of three chil- dren, of whom Edward M. is tbe only one now living. In politics the father was a Whig and in fraternal life a mem- ber of the Masonic order. On his arrival in this state Edward M. Coe first located in Knox county, but soon afterward moved to Marion county, where he remained four years. In 1847 he changed bis residence to Lewis county, and in bis new location built a mill, which he operated three years. A desire to see tbe farther West had seized hold of him by tbe end of that period, and in 1850 he made a trip to Oregon, which was just then pleading earnestly for settlers to take possession of and en- joy the gi-eat bounty and rich opportuni- ties that lay for all comers in tbe ex- panding lap of that region. Three years on tbe Pacific slope satisfied him and at the end of that period be returned to Missouri and again took up bis residence in Knox county. He I'emained there until 1895, then moved to Shelbj' county, and here be has been fanning and rais- ing considerable (piantities of live stock ever since. He has bred, reared and placed on tbe market some of tbe best horses ever known in this count}-. Mr. Coe's farm comprises 321 acres of choice land and is located near Sbel- byville. It is one of the best in the county, and is jiarticularly well adapted to bis live stock industry and adequately equipped and fitted up for conducting the business in the most progressive and satisfactory manner. The farm is the attractive and valuable home of his family, which consists of bis wife and six living children — Edward and Ma- rion, who ai*e still living with their parents; Andrew N., who resides in At- lanta, ^lissouri; Frances R., tbe vrife of Samuel Mason, whose home is in Knox county, this state; Ella, the wife of N. S. Taylor, who is also a resident of Knox county; and Lydia, the wife of William Collins, of Shelby county. It is not to be overlooked, or passed with a mere mention, that ^Ir. Coe took part in tbe Civil war in this county. At tbe very beginning of the conflict he en- listed as a private soldier in tbe Confed- erate army, in Colonel Franklin's regi- ment under Colonel Porter. Whatever tbe length of bis term of sen'ice, it is certain that be bore himself bravely in all the privations, bardsbii)s and dan- gers of military life and admirably sus- tained tbe reputation of bis forefathers. His company was commanded by Captain Kendrick, and tbe regiment by Colonels Porter and Franklin. He was united in marriage with Miss ^[artba V. Nelson, a native of Knox county, on May 24, 1864. Eight children in all were bom to them. In politics Mr. Coe is an Inde- pendent, considering first, in every cam- HISTOEY OP SHELBY COUNTY 555 paigB, the best interests of the public, and casting his vote in accordance with his judgment on that ground. In fra- ternal life he is a member of the Ma- sonic order, and in religion his allegiance is given to the Missionary Baptist church. He has been very successful in his business, has shown himself to be an excellent citizen in every respect, and has won the lasting regard and confi- dence of the whole people in the north- eastern part of this state and wherever else he has lived. KIM BETHARDS. All of the fifty-five years that have passed to this time (1910) in the life of Kim Bethards, one of the substantial, prosperous and progressive farmers and live stock breeders of Black Ci'eek town- ship, have been spent in Shelby county, and all of the number since he was first able to work have been devoted to the promotion of the two leading industries of the county in which he is now engaged. He was born in the county on November 8, 1844, and has never lived in any other county than Shelby, and never far from the locality of his present faiTU of 193 acres near Shelbyville. Mr. Bethards is of Maryland ancestry, his grandfather and his parents, Joshua and Matilda (Moore) Bethards, all hav- ing been bom and reared in that state. The father came to Missouri in 1835 and located on a farm of 160 acres neaij Shelbyville, and there he farmed and raised and fed live stock for the markets, steadily enlarging his possessions in land and extending his stock industry as his prosperity increased, until at the time of his death he owned 900 acres and carried on one of the most active and considerable trades in stock in that part of the county. He and his wife were the parents of thirteen children, four of whom are liv- ing : Adeline, the wife of Robert Doug- las, of Shelbyville ; Isaac, who resides in Henderson county, Illinois; and Zedoc and Kim, both of whom are residents of this county. The father was a pro- nounced and active Democrat in political faith and allegiance, and a man of great enterprise and zeal in behalf of all com- mendable projects for the improvement and development of his township and county. He found them almost at the dawn of their corporate existence and not far removed from the frontier stage of their history. He left them well ad- vanced in material progress, dotted with the homes of an enterprising and sturdy people, determined to make the most of the opportunities for advancement their fertile acres afforded, and with all the elements of mental, moral and spiritual life well established. And to this result he and his wife contributed extensively and substantially. He died on March 5, 1875, and she on May 11 in the same year. Their son Kim, the interesting sub- ject of this brief sketch, obtained his education in Shelbyville, and after leav- ing school at once began farming on 200 acres of land near that town. From that farm he moved in 1878 to the one of 193 acres which he now owns and occupies. From the first planting of his plowshare in the responsive soil of this county he has been continuously and profitably en- gaged in general farming and raising 556 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY and feeding live stock. He lias been very successful in both lines of activity, and his success is due to his energy, ca- pacity and general good management. He has been a student of his business in all its details, and has applied the re- sults of his reading, reflection and prac- tical observation with skill and judg- ment, expanding his intelligence and broadening his views as the years have rolled away in their course. He is now considered one of the best and most prac- tical farmers and stock men in his town- ship. On December 23, 1873, Mr. Bethards was united in marriage with ]\Iiss Ann Eliza Jordan, who was born in Michi- gan. They have had nine children, eight of whom are living: Minnie, Frank, Omer, Louis and Elva, all of whom are still at home with their parents; Albert, the third in the order of birth, who is a resident of South Dakota, and Eoy and Bay, whose homes are also in South Da- kota. In political affairs the father fol- lows the fortunes of the Democratic party and is active and serviceable in his support of its principles and candidates, although he is not desirous of any of its honors or emoluments for himself. Mrs. Bethards is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. ELIAS A. McBEIDE. The fine old state of Virginia has made her name glorious in history by her pro- duction of many of the most distinguished men this country has known, and also by rearing on her historic soil a whole race of chivalric and high-minded men and graceful, cultivated and elegant women. From her prolific and teeming popula- tion and liberal institutions have gone forth in addition hosts of sturdy and self-reliant emigrants to other states, which they have helj^ed to build up and develop in every element and feature of industrial, commercial and civil power. In this last class belongs Elias A. Mc- Bride, one of the sterling yeomanry of this county, and the family from which he sprang, whose activities in this sec- tion of the state form part of the pro- ductive force which has been at work in developing its resources during the last three generations. He was born on Oc- tober 13, 1850, in that portion of A'irginia which was torn from the mother state by the stern arbitrament of the Civil war. There also was the place of nativity of his grandfather, Stephen McBride, and his parents, James J. and Ellen (Horn) McBride. He came to Missouri with his parents in 1858, and the family located in Sheridan county, where the father was actively engaged in general farming and raising live stock until the beginning of the Civil war. "When that memorable conflict between the sections of our torn and distracted country began he went into the Confederate army as a drill mas- ter. But before he served any great length of time he was captured by the opposing forces, and from then until his death, which occurred in 1863, he lan- guished in a Federal military prison in St. Louis, and there he died. The mother was spared the sadness of know- ing his fate, for she died in 18G0, more than a year before his military service began. They were the parents of six children, > o w r I— * > o I— I o [' HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUXTY 557 two of whom are living: Lucretia, tlie widow of the late Jesse Smith, of Han- nibal, Missouri, and Elias A. The latter was thus orphaned by the death of his mother when he was ten years old and doubly orjihaned by that of his father when he was thirteen. Yet, in spite of the malignity of fate that thus bereaved him, he was able to secure a good educa- tion in the. disti'ict schools of Shelby county and the high school in Shelby- ville. But he was obliged to make his own way in the world from an early age, and he began his progress up the steep incline toward prosperity by work- ing out as a hired hand on farms in the state of Illinois, which he did for a pe- riod of eighteen months. Mr. McBride was industrious and fru- gal, and used every opportunity avail- able to him to advance his fortunes, and at the end of the period named, he re- turned to Shelby county, Missouri, and took up his residence on a farm of 120 acres near Shelbyville. He now lives on one of 240 acres in the same locality. He has farmed his land vigorously and skillfully and has made it highly pro- ductive. And his success in developing it and enlarging his own prosperity, while the progress was slow and painful at first, has been continuous and con- siderable. He has also taken an earnest interest and an active part in helping to build up and improve his towmship and county, and is regarded as one of their most worthy and estimable citizens. In politics he is a Republican, in frater- nal life an Odd Fellow, and in religion a member of Missionary Bajjtist cluucli. On October 4, 1874, he was married to Miss Agnes Forman, a native of this county. They have had four children, three of whom are living: Ernest H. and Everett T., prosperous citizens of Shelby county, and Emmet C, who is still living at home with his parents. Ely E. died on August 23, 1909, aged twelve years. Mrs. McBride died Octo- ber 31, 1906. No persons in the county stand higher in public esteem than the members of this excellent family. ROBEET EDGAR TAYLOR. The son of an extensive live stock breeder and shipper, and who was also extensively engaged in farming, and himself occupied from the dawn of his manhood in the same lines of activity, with steadily increasing success, Robert Edgar Taylor, of Black Creek township, has contributed materially and effec- tively, in himself and through his par- ents, to the growth and development of Shelby county and its consequence, in- fluence and power in the productive and commercial life of the state. The part his parents took in this commendable work is, however, by no means to be considered onh' on his account, nor is his part to be regarded only in connec- tion with theirs. For each is worthy in itself of honorable mention, without ref- erence to the other, as each has l)een considerable in magnitude and ini])or- tance. Mr. Tayloi' was born in this county on July 11, 18fi8, and is a son of Rob- ert James and Louisa (Prye) Taylor, natives of \'irginia, where their fore- fathers lived for generations. The father came to Missouri in 1849 and set- tled on a farm of 280 acres near Shelbv- 558 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY ville. He carried on an active and ex- tensive business as a general farmer, and also conducted one of equal magni- tude in raising and shipping live stock for the Eastern markets. He was very successful in all his undertakings, de- voting to them his whole attention and applying to them all his energy and in- telligence, except what was given in be- half of the general interests of his township and county. He was so zeal- ous in his industry and the management of his operations that he never laid aside his instruments of progress or abated his earnestness in the use of them until death ended his labors on January 26, 1909. His union in marriage with Miss Frye took place in about 1850, and by it he became the father of eight children, three of whom are living: Maggie, the wife of I. N. Looney, of St. Louis, Mis- souri; Lula, the wife of Charles Ennis, of Shelbwille; and Robert E., the sub- ject of this brief review. The father was an active and zealous Democrat in his political relations, a member of the Masonic order in fraternal life, and gave his religious allegiance to the Southern Methodist church. Robert Edgar Taylor, like most of his boyhood associates, ol)tained his educa- tion in the public schools of Shelbyville.' And, like the greater number of them also, began a career as a farmer and stock breeder as soon as he left school. The beginning of this career was on his father's farm and tuider the direction of that enterprising and progressive man, and the son continued this rela- tion until 1899, when he bought the farm and began operations for himself on it. All its industries and interests were thus transferred f x'om father to son, although the former remained in his position as adviser of the latter to the end of his life. The business has gone on in the same steady strides of advancement and enlargement ever since the son took hold of it, and he has shown that his early ti-aining under the eye of a master in it was not lost upon him. He has kept up the general farming and also the live stock industry to their full capacity, and has also kept i^ace with the march of modern progress in conducting them. He united in marriage with Miss Ollie Dines, a native of Shelby county, on September 16, 1891. The two children born to them are both living and still members of the parental household. They are Daniel E. and Clifford Lee, both youths of promise and giving ex- cellent fruits of their home training in their fidelity to duty and admirable traits of character. The father is a Democrat in his political faith and ac- tivity and devoted to the welfare of his party. He is an Odd Fellow, and be- longs to the Southei-n Methodist church. HENRY G. MILLER. The history of this sturdy farmer and stock man, sterling citizen and stimulat- ing force in the affairs of Black Creek township, this county, and that of the family to which he belongs, presents a feature of very unusual occurrence and interest. Both he and his father were soldiers in defense of the Union during our Civil war of unhappy memory, and each saw three years' service in that sanguinary and momentous conflict, the HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 559 father as a corporal in his company and the son as a private in his. Of the mili- tary experiences they had, both have been restrained by natural modesty and genuine worth from saying much, espe- cially in their own behalf. But the knowledge of others, based on well as- certained facts, has established the truth that they bore well their part in the shock of battle or frenzy of the charge, and bravely endured the hardships and trials of duty in camp and on the march. Mr. Miller is a native of Shelby county, Missouri, born on March 20, 1842, and is a scion of old Alabama fami- lies. His grandfather was a native of that state, and not the first representa- tive of the family that lived there. In that state also the father and mother of the interesting siibject of this sketch were also born and reared. The father, Solomon W. Miller, came to Missouri in 1836, and located in Shelby county. He bought a farm of 120 acres of land near Shelbyville, and on that he lived and la- bored with well applied industry and fidelity to every requirement of duty until 1856. He then built a mill, known all over the surrounding country as "Miller's mill," and for a long time one of the landmarks and central gathering places for farmers and others for many miles around. He was successful and prosperous in both his farming and mill- ing operations, and became a man of substance and of prominence in the com- munity. The mill was built in the neigh- borhood of Shelbyville. Solomon AV. Miller was united in mar- riage with Miss Jane Tolliver, a native of Alabama, the marriage taking place in Indiana. Seven children were born in the household, four of whom are liv- ing, and all but one of them residents of Shelby county. They are: Henry G., to whom these paragraphs are specially devoted ; Fannie, the wife of Samuel Al- lison; Joseph H., also a successful Shelby county farmer; and Emma, the wife of John Ruckman, of the state of Oklahoma. In politics the father was a Democrat, and in religioTi a Universalis!. He was a son of the South, but he was not favorable to the institution of sla- very, and was strongly opposed to the dismemberment of the Union. And he showed the strength of his convictions by following them to the battlefields of the Civil war, which so violently wrenched the institutions and was so fatal to the life and prosperity of the country, serving as a corporal of the company in which he enlisted, as has been stated above. He was discharged from the service in 1865 after being in it three years. His son, Henry G. Miller, obtained his education in the district schools of Shelby county, and after leaving them at once turned his attention to farming and milling. From then until now (1910) he has been energetically occu- pied in these industries, except during the three years of his service in the Union army during the Civil war, men- tion of which has been made in the open- ing paragraph of this sketch. He lives on an excellent farm of 160 acres near Shelbj^ille, which ho cultivates with vigor, intelligence and profit, and his mill is one of the established and popu- lar institutions of this part of the county, of which he is also one of the leading and most representative citizens, licJd in 560 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY high esteem by all who know him and eai'nestly devoted to the best interests of the township and county in which he dwells and to the prosperity and ad- vancement of which he so essentially and judiciously contributes. Mr. Miller was married on February 15, 1866, to Miss Mary S. Collier, a na- tive of Grundy county, Missouri. Seven of the ten children born to them are liv- ing: Sallie F., the wife of E. C. Grossen- bacher, whose home is in Texas; Mary C, the wife of Amos Forman, a resident of this county; Lizzie B., the wife of C. H. Walker, who lives in Quincy, Il- linois; James W., who is in business in St. Louis; Effie E., the wife of W. L Forman, of Shelby county; Maggie I., who also has her home in Shelby county; and Ida, who is residing at home. The father is a Democrat in politics and a Universalist in i-eligion. He gives dili- gent attention to the claims of both his party and his state, and is valued as a member and worker in both. In his business operations he has been uni- formly successful and jjrosperous, and in citizenship no man in the county stands higher. ROBERT L. CARMICHAEL. Transferring to this state and Black Creek township. Shell ty county, the ele- vated ideas of manhood and public duty he inherited from his ancestors and ac- quired from association in the place of his nativity, and coming to this locality with his parents at the age of sixteen, Robert L. Carmichael made himself a very useful and esteemed citizen here and helped materially in the woi'k of building up the township and county of his residence, in which he lived and la- bored for the last forty-four years. His death occurred February 1, 1911. He was born in Hampshire county, "Virginia, now West ^"irginia, on Octo- ber 28, 1850, and was a son of Robert and Lucy A. (Louthan) Carmichael, of the same nativity as himself, and a grand- son of Daniel Carmichael, who came to this country from Scotland, where he was born and where his forefathers lived many generations before that event occurred. The father was born on No- vemlier 15, 1814, and brought his family to Missouri in 1866. He located on a good farm in Shelby county and lived, on it until his death on November 3, 1899. He was a planter in his native state and a farmer here, ])assing the whole of his life from boyhood in agri- cultural pursuits, and he attained con- siderable success in his work, which he managed with .skill and ])rosecuted witli vigor and enterprise of the most com- mendable character. He was mai'ried to Miss Lucy A. Lou- than, and by this vmion he became the father of six sons, five of whom are liv- ing: John W., Daniel A., James H., W. E., and Robert L., all residents of Shelby county. In ]iolitics the father was a Democrat of the old school and a de- voted member of his party, giving it loyal and effective support at all times. His religious association was witli the Methodist Episcopal church. South. He was a man of strong character, consid- erable intelligence and elevated man- hood, and he became one of the jiromi- nent and intlueiitial citizens of this countv. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 561 His son, Robert L. Carmicliael, ob- tained his oducation in the ijublic schools of his native county, and while attend- ing them assisted his father in the man- agement of the plantation there. After his arrival in this county he continued this filial course until the death of his parents, when he took charge of the farm and had been actively, progres- sively and profitably occupied with its cultivation and the conduct of his large and remunerative live stock industry. In connection with the home farm he also cultivated what was long known as the Fumam farm, which he became pos- sessed of. His joint farm now comprised 300 acres, and is one of the most valuable landed interests in the township of Black Creek. Mr. Carmicliael was married on March 9, 1876, to Miss Sallie A. Taylor, a daughter of B. F. and Eliza (WilUams) Taylor, who have long been highly es- teemed residents of this county. The Carmichael offspring numbered five, and four of the children are living : Lena M., whose residence is still with her par- ents ; Winnie, the wife of Albert Kennel, a resident of this county ; Ethel, the wife of W. W. Elgin, who lives on the old family homestead ; and Lucy T., the wife of R. A. Moore, also living in Shelby county. Thus Mr. Carmichael 's children dwelled with and around liim, within easy communication with their par- ents and one another, and was thereby enabled to keep up to a large extent the old spirit of the family circle of the past. His political allegiance and support were given loyally to the Democratic party, and he was prominent in its councils and active and effective in its service. He had no direct religious affiliation except through that of his wife, who is a mem- ber of the Missionary Baptist church, but he aided in the support of all denomi- nations with a liberal hand. THEODORE B. DAMRELL. A representative of the third genera- tion of the Damrell family in Missouri, the subject of this review has long held precedence as a progressive and upright business man who has been very suc- cessful in his various enterprises, and as a citizen well worthy of the high re- gard in which he is uniformly held in the county that has been his home dur- ing the major portion of his life. He is now a resident of Shelbyville, he has given effective service in various offices of public trust, and is actively engaged in the business of buying and shipping high-grade horses, jacks and mules, in which line he has built up a large and flourishing business. Theodore B. Damrell was born on the homestead farm of his father in Jeffer- son township, Alonroe county, Missouri, on May 9, 1859, and is a grandson of Judge Edmond Damrell, who was one of the pioneer settlers of that coimty and one of the first judges of the County court, having been a man of prominence and influence in his community and hav- ing continued his residence in Monroe county until his death, in the fulness of years and honors. Alpheus T. Damrell, father of him whose name initiates this article, was born in Monroe county, this state, in 1832, and there he passed his entire life, having been reared to the sturdy discipline of the pioneer farm- bcn HISTOIJY OF SHELBY COUXTY stead and having gained his early edu- cation in the common schools of the lo- cality and period. After leaving school he continued to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to his legal majority, when his father gave him a tract of land in Jet^erson township, that county, where he developed a valuable farm and became known as one of the thrifty and successful agriculturists and stock grow- ers and as a representative citizen of that section of the state, where he con- tinued to maintain his home until his death, which occurred on March 20, 1877. At the time of his death he was preparing to move to Salt River town- ship, Shelby county. Mo., and after his death his family removed to the farm mentioned. In the year 1853 was solemnized the marriage of Alpheus T. Damrell to Miss Lupine Stribling, who was bom in ^Ion- roe county, this state, in 1839, being a daughter of Toliver Stribling, a sterling pioneer of that county. She still sur- vives her honored husband and now, venerable in years and secure in the af- fectionate regard of all who know her, she maintains her home in the city of Shelbyville. Of the ten children eight are living and all save the youngest still reside in Shelby county, namely: Leo- nidas, Tolivor S., Theodore B., Lydia, Orlando, Edwin M., Eppie, and Lovie Lupine. Lydia is the wife of Marcelus C. Coomes, a representative farmer of this county; Eppie is the wife of Will- iam IL ISfoore, who is likewise identified with agricultural pursuits in this county; and Lovie Tj. is the wife of James AY. Miller, of St. Louis, this state. In poli- tics the honored father was a staunch advocate of the principles and policies of the Demoratic party and he wielded no slight influence in public affairs of a local order, having been one of the leaders in the ranks of his i)arty in Mon- roe county. He was signally loyal and public-spirited as a citizen and his aid and influence were ever given in sup- port of measui'es and enterprises tend- ing to conserve the progress and ])ros- perity of the comnumity. He was a char- ter member of the Alasonic lodge at Florida, Monroe county, and passed its various official chairs. His religious faith was that of the Christian church, and his wife has long held membership in the same church. His name merits perpetuation in this work as one of the worthy citizens who have contributed to the material and civic upbuilding of this favored section of the state. Theodoi'e B. Damrell, the immediate subject of this review, passed his boy- hood and youth on the home farm, in whose work he early began to lend his aid, waxing strong in mind and body and duly availing himself of the advantages of the common schools of the locality. He continued to be associated in the work and management of the old home- stead farm until the death of his father and shortly aftei'ward removed with the family to the homestead in Salt River township, Shelby county, near Shelbina. The older brothers had established them- selves independently and he remained with his widowed mother, supervising the work of the fann, until 1879, when he removed to Lewis county and estab- lished his home near La Belle, where he built up a jjrosperous business as a HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 563 dealer in horses of the better grade and whei'e he continued to reside nntil 1886, when he returned to Shelby county, where he engaged in gieneral farming, in connection with the handling of fancy horses and mules. In 1889 he left his farm and took up his abode in the city of Shelbyville, where he became senior member of the firm of Damrell & San- ders, dealers in general merchandise. This association continued for a period of six years, at the expiration of which Mr. Damrell 's brother, Edwin M., pur- chased Mr. Sanders ' interest in the busi- ness, which was thereafter successfully continued under the firm title of Dam- rell Brothers until 1901, when the stock and business were sold to the present owner, Preston B. Dunn, Jr. Since that time Mr. Damrell has given his atten- tion principally to the buying of horses, mules and ,iacks of the best type, and he has built up a large business, shipping principally into the western states and being one of the leading dealers in this kind of stock in this section. He is a stockholder of the Citizens' Bank of Shelbyville, of whose directorate he is a member, and was a. charter member and director of the Shelby County Eailrnad Company, the construction and operation of whose line was promoted and financed by the citizens of the county. Mr. Dam- rell never denies tlie sui^port of his in- fluence and tangible aid in the furthering of measures advanced for the general good of the community, and his attitude is essentially that of a broad-minded, progressive and loyal citizen, while his course in life has been so guided and governed that he has never been denied the fullest measure of popuhir confi- dence and esteem. He has served for eight years as a member of the board of aldermen of Shelbyville and at the pres- ent time is serving his first term as a member of the board of education of his home city. He is a stalwart in the local camp of the Democratic party and takes an active part in its work. He is affil- iated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Christian church, giving a liberal support to the various departments of its work. On January 19, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Damrell to Miss Nellie E. Hughes, who was born and reared in Shelby county, being a daugh- ter of the late William A. Hughes, an honored pioneer settler and the organizer of the first bank in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Damrell have one daughter, Mary Hughes Damrell, who remains at the ])a rental home and is one of the popular figures in connection with the social activities of the community. JAMES M. HOLLIDAY. The subject of this sketch has been an intimate friend of the writer for more than fifty years, and at our own request the county historian has kindly permit- ted us' to write this brief sketch of the life of our friend as connected with the people of Shelby county. James M. Holliday was born in Scot- land county, Missouri, Januaiy 2, 18.39, moved to Shelby coimty, Missouri, with his parents in the month of November, 1S.')2. His father, his father's brother, and tlieir mother were among the pio- 564 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUXTY neer settlers of Shelby county, and were connected with its early history. His uncle, Judge William J. Holliday, was Shelby county's first representative in the Missouri legislature. Our friend like most of our pioneer fathers who prepared this great country for its present civilization, was deprived of a college education, but he through his own effort and resources amassed a wonderful volume of information. He was an untiring reader, a deep thinker, and a walking encyclopedia. He never forgot anything he heard or read, if it interested him. He was en- thusiastic in his convictions and loyal to his fi'iends; a man who would boldly do battle in the conflicts of life for the success of his friends ; honest in pur- pose, resourceful in strength, and judi- cious in his executive accomplishments. Religiously he was a member of the Christian church, his biblical infoi-ma- tion equal to many who have made the Bible a life stud^^ Politicalh', a Democrat, while he never held a verj' lucrative office he has many times been honored with positions of trust. He was appointed constable of Taylor township in 1871, was elected public ad- ministrator of Shelby county and com- missioned by Governor Woodson in 1874, but never qualified. Was elected justice of the jjeace of Taylor township in 1876 and held that ofiSce for six years ; was appointed and commissioned by Governor Francis in 1890 as a notary public of Shelby county and filled that office for four years, and in 1894, at the solicitation of Congressman William IT. Hatch, he was api)ointed, by ^Ir. Hurt, the doorkeeper of the house of repre- sentatives of the fifty-third congress, messenger and assigned to the commit- tee on agriculture, which was Colonel Hatch's committee. This position he filled during the rest of Colonel Hatch's career as congressman, and the Hon. William H. Hatch never had a warmer friend or a greater admirer than James M. Holliday. While in Washington Mr. Holliday visited Memorial Hall and was mortified to find Missouri with her long list of illustrious men without a representative. Mr. Holliday, being a student of Mis- souri's great men and an admirer of Col. Thomas H. Benton, at once begun the agitation of the question of having the statue of Thomas H. Benton placed in Statuary Hall in Washington, D. C. He wrote an article and had it published in the Shelbina "Democrat," calling atten- tion to this neglect. He also wrote a letter to Governor Stone, urging him to take up the matter, to which Governor Stone replied, prom- ising to bring the matter before the leg- islature in his message, and this was done and Squire Holliday 's work was accomplished, which is a jewel among his successes of which he has always been proud. It was his especial desii'e to have Col. Thomas IT. Benton represent Missouri in Statuary Hall in Washington, D. C, but along with this the Missouri legis- lature placed the statue of Francis P. Blair. James M. Holliday left Shelby county in November, 189fi, moving to the state of Montana, again entering into the hardships and enjoying the hospitalities WILLIAM A. HIRRLINGER HISTORY OP SHELBY COUNTY dG3 of pioneer life. He located on and home- steaded 160 acres of land, lived on it five years, proved up and got a deed to it. Has been successful in other ven- tures and has a nice competency to lean upon in his declining years. He has had the confidence of the Democratic party in the great state of Montana, as evidenced Ijy liis nomina- tions for the legislature and county com- missioner without his solicitation. He has while in Montana filled the office of postmaster four years, road supervisor six years, and has been hon- ored many times with various minor of- fices. He is now living in Helena, Mon- tana, and is a constant reader of the "Shelby County Herald" and "Shelbina Democrat," and has never lost interest in Shelby county people and tlieir enter- prises or its history. WILLIAM A. HIRELINGEE. William A. Hirrlinger, one of the leading farmers of Jefferson township, in this county, was born in Riohhand county, Ohio, on June 28, 1846, but came to Missouri with his parents in 1852. The family took up its residence at Shel- ))yville, and here he grew to manhood and ol)tained his education. He lias passed all his subsequent years in this county, and may therefore, without im- propriety, be called a product of Shelby county, and in all respects except his liirtli a Missourian. For he is thor- ougiily imbued with the spirit of the people of this state, and devoted to its welfare in every way. ^Ir. Hirrlinger 's paternal grandfather, Frederick Hirrlinger, was born and passed his life in Germany. His son, William, the father of William A., was also born in that country, his life begin- ning in the city of Wittenburg in 1822. In 1844 he came to the United States and during the next six years had his home in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1850 he moved to Illinois, and in 1852 to Missouri, set- tling his family at Shelbyville. During the Civil war he enlisted in the army, his regiment becoming a part of the com- mand of General Greene, and while the conflict lasted he saw considerable active service, taking part in the battles of Lexington and Pea Ridge, Missouri, and a number of other engagements of great or small importance. He was a cabinet maker, and at the close of his military service returned to Shelbyville and worked at his trade until 1865. He then turned his attention to farming, which he followed until his death in May, 1871. The mother, whose maiden name was Magdalena Doerr, was also a native of German j" and a daughter of Jacob and Magdalena Doerr, who were born and reared in that country, and belonged to families long resident there. She died on July 11, 1887. By their marriage they became the parents of seven children. One of them died in infancy and the rest grew to maturity. Those now living are: William A., the subject of this sketch; Magdalena, the wife of Stephen M. Hancock, of Marion, Indiana; Eliza, the wife of John Van Houten; Emma, the wife of Charles Rheinheimer, of Shelbyville; and Cora, the wife of L. L. Wheeler, of Clarence. William A. Hirrlinger attended the schools in Shelby^nlle, and after com- pleting their course of stiidy worked at 566 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY the carpenter trade until 1870. He then became a farmer and has been one ever since. In 1875 he located in Jefferson townshiij, this county, and from that time to the present (1910) has been engaged in his chosen occupation there. His farm comprises 162 acres of first rate land and is well improved and vigorously culti- vated according to the most advanced modern methods. It is very x^roductive, yielding good returns for the labor and care bestowed ui)on it. Through its products Mr. Hirrlinger has gained a competency for life, and by his faithful attention to all the duties of citizenship and his cordial interest in and energetic activity in promoting the welfare of his township and county, he has arisen to an exalted ]ilace in the regard and good will of their people. He was married in November, 1871, to Miss Keziah A. Barr, a native of this coimty. They had four children, all of whom are living. They are : Virgil F., whose home is in this county ; Lily Irene, the wife of G. M. Edmonds, of Clay town- ship, this county; Bertha E., the wife of G. C. Chinn, of Lentner township; and ^Tyrtle, the wife of S. B. Searles, of Belleville, Ontario, Canada. Their mother died on June 28, 1882, and on April 15, 1885, the father married a sec- ond wife, making Miss Louisa Hen- niuger, a native of INTonroe county, his choice on this occasion. They had no children. His second wife died in 1892, and in 1894 he married a third, i\liss Ma- ria Turney, a daughter of Daniel and Hannah (Waite) Turney, natives of Can- ada, who located in Monroe county, Mis- souri, in 1869. They, also, have no chil- dren. In political connection Mr. Hirrlinger is allied with the Democratic party. "When Mr. Hirrlinger became of age he offered his first vote for Seymour in 1868, but was denied the right to vote on the ground that his father had served in the Confederate army, notwithstanding the fact that he had himself been mus- tered into the Missouri militia during the last year of the war and had done guard duty at Shelbyville during Ander- son's raid on Shelbina. He served on the school board about six years, and in many other ways has been beneficial to the township and county by reason of his public spirit and helpful interest in the public affairs of his locality. He is a director of the Farmers' Mutual In- surance Company of the county, and connected with other institutions of value to the people. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of which his wife is also a mem- ber, and in the congi-egation to which they belong he has been one of the stew- ards for more than forty years. His interest in church work leads him to great industry in the worthy and com- mendable activities of the sect to which he is attached, and also to serviceable exertions in behalf of other church or- ganizations. Jefferson townshi]) has no better or more useful citizen, and none whom the ])eople hold in more coi .lial and sincere regard. JOHN M. WOOD. The subject of this brief sketch is one of the able and popular officials of Shelby county, where he has been superinten- dent of the countv infinnarv from the HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 567 time of its establishmeut in 1900. He has proved a most careful, efficient and generous executive officer in connection with this well ordered institution for the aid of the helpless and indigent residents of the county, and he is well entitled to representation in this publication. Mr. Wood is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of Missouri, though he himself is a native of the Lone Star state. His paternal grand- fathei', Malcolm Wood, was born and reared in Missouri, where he passed his entire life, his parents having come from Kentucky to this state in an early day. John M. Wood was born in Texas on September G, 1872, and is a son of John and Sallie (Swearengen) Wood, both of whom were natives of Shelby county, Missouri, and now reside near Walker- ville in this county. The father devoted practically his entire active career to agricultural pursuits, in which connec- tion he maintained his residence in Texas for a period of about four years, at the expiration of which he returned to Mis- souri. He is a Democrat in his political proclivities, is affiliated with the Ma- sonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Metho- dist Episcopal church. South. They be- came the parents of thirteen children, of whom only five are now living, nameh^: James H., who is a resident of Knox county, this state; Cora, who is the wife of Charles Quigley, of Shelby county; John M., who is the immediate subject of this review; Emma G., who is the wife of James Fitzpatrick, of Shelby county; and Nellie, who resides on the old home- stead in Shelbv countv. John M. Wood was about four years of age at the time of the family's return from Texas to Missouri, and he was reared to maturity on tlie homestead farm of his father in Salt River town- ship, Shelby coimty, where he received his early educational training in the district schools. From his youth to the present time he has been actively identified with the great basic art of agriculture, having continued to be in- dividually engaged in this vocation and in the raising of live stock in this county from the time he was twenty-one years of age until 1900, on the 15th of Febru- ary of which year he was assigned charge of the Shelby county poor farm. Upon the completion of the infirmary build- ings he was continued in charge of the farm and made superintendent of the infirmary. The institution is located one-half mile northwest of the city of S h e 1 b y V i 1 1 e and the farm contains twenty-six acres, affording adequate provision for raising much of the food products required in the conducting of the institution, which has about thirty- three inmates at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1910. The main build- ing, a substantial structure of pressed l)rick, is modern in its design and sani- tary provisions, is two stories in height, with ample basement, and is 40 by 60 feet in dimensions. Tiie plumbing is of the best type and the building is heated with steam. The county is to be hon- ored in having made so effective pro- vision for its unfortunate wards and is to be congratulated on having in charge of the infinnary so cajiable, earnest and true-hearted a manager, — one who has deep sympathy for those consigned to his 568 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY care but who is not lacking in tlie main- tenance of proper discipline. In politics Mr. Wood gives his alle- giance to the Democratic party and he is essentially loyal and public-spirited as a citizen. In a fraternal way he is iden- tified with Shelby Lodge, No. 33, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, in Shel- b;i"\'ille, and he holds memliership in the Methodist Episcopal church. South, and his wife of the Christian church, in whose work they take a zealous interest. On March 9, 1898, Mr. Wood was united in marriage to ^liss Bessie Grif- fith, who was bom, reared and educated in Shelby county, and who is his effective and popular coadjutor at the infirmary, of which she is matron. She is a daugh- ter of John Griffith, a representative farmer of this coimty. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have an adopted son, John T., who is five years of age. PRESTOX B. DUNN. One of the representative and hon- ored citizens of Shelby county and a scion of one of its best known pioneer families, Hon. Preston B. Dunn, vice- president of the Shelbyville Bank, has so ordered his course in all the relations of life that he lias made his influence felt in a potent way in connection with industrial, financial and civic affairs and matters of public import. He stands as a fine type of loyal and useful citizen- ship, has attained to large and generous success through worthy' means, and well merits the high esteem in which he is held in his native coimty. He was for- merly president of the bank of which he is now vice-president, being one of the largest stockholders of this substan- tial institution and having, in his present office, acted principally in an advisory capacity since his retirement from the presidency. A review of the history of the Shelbyville Bank appears on other pages of this publication. Preston B. Dunn was born on the homestead farm of his father, in Black Creek townshi]), Shelby county, Missouri, on August 9, 1843, and is a grandson of James Dunn, who was one of the ster- ling pioneers of Kentucky, where he con- tinued to reside until his death. In Jes- samine county, that state, John Dunn, father of the subject of this review, was born in the year 1792, and there he was reared to maturity and continued to maintain his home until 1824, when he came to Missouri and numbered himself among the early settlers of Howard county, where he remained until 1832. when he removed to Clarion county, from which section he came to Shelby county in 1836. Here he secured a tract of land sis miles west of the present thriving lit- tle city of Shelb>'\nlle, the old home- stead, which he developed into a pro- ductive fann, having been located in Black Creek township. He was a man of energy-, ambition, sti'ong mentality and mature judgment, and he played no insignificant part in the material and civic upbuilding of the county, where he ever conunauded the fullest measure of ]^opular confidence and esteem and where he continued to maintain his home until his death, which occuiTod in July. 186(i, having retired from active labors in the same year and having been a resident of Sliclbj"\Mlle at the time of his demise. He was one of the extensive and success- HISTOUY OF SHELBY COUNTY 569 ful fanners aud stock-growers of this section of the state and wielded marked and beneficent inflnence in connection with local affairs of a public order. He was a staunch Whig m politics and after the dissolution of that party gave his allegiance to the cause of the American and Union parties. He became the owner of a considerable number o^" slaves and his sympathies were with the cause of the Union when the Civil war was projected upon a divided nation. Both he and his wife were zealous mem- bers of the Presbyterian church, show- ing their lively and constant faith in all manner of good works and kindly deeds. In the year 1818 was solemnized the marriage of John Dunn to Miss Eliza- beth Doak, who was born and reared in Harrison county, Kentucky, and who was a woman of noble and gracious attributes of eliaracter, her fidelity and strength being such as to make her a true helpmeet in the strenuous life of the pioneer days. She was summoned to the life eternal in 1876. Of the thirteen children three died in infancy, and of the number only two are now living: Mar- tha C, who is the wife of John F. McMurray, of Shelbina, this county, and Preston B., whose name initiates this article. Preston B. Dunn was reared to the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the pioneer farm and to the common schools of Shelliy county, including the Shelby high school, of Shelbyville, he is indebted for his early educational training, which was effectively supplemented by a cour.se in Westminster College, at Fulton, Mis- souri, in which institution he was grad- uated as a member of the class of 1864. Thereafter he remained on the old home- stead and devoted a portion of the time to teaching in the country schools until 1866, when he entered the Louisville Law School, at Louisville, Kentucky, in which institution he was graduated in March, 1867, with the degree of Bachelor of Law. Shortly afterward, at Shelby- ville, he was admitted to the bar of his native state, and there he began the practical work of his profession, in which he gained high prestige and unqualified success and in which he continued con- secutively until 1892. He was identified during the long intervening years with much important litigation, retained a large and representative clientage, and was kno-rni as a counsellor well forti- fied in the science of jurisjjrudence and in the practical application of the same. In 1893 Mr. Dunn was elected presi- dent of the Shelbyville Bank and he con- tinued as the able chief executive of this solid and popular financial institution until 1899, when he resigned the active administrative duties to others, though he has since continued to serve as vice- president, as previously stated in this article. In politics Mr. Dunn has been a zeal- ous and effective advocate of the prin- ciples and policies of the Democratic party, but his partisanship is not of the narrow order that i)r('cludes the view- ing of public matters from a bx'oad- minded and clearly outlined vantage point. As a young man he served as deputy collector of Shelby county, and in 1890 he was elected as representative of Shelby county in the state legislature, in which he made an admirable record. He is affiliated with the Independent 570 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY Order of Odd Fellows, is a member of the Presbyterian church, and his wife is a communicant of the Protestant Epis- copal church. As a citizen he has ever been liberal, loyal and progressive, and he has done mueli to further the material and civic advancement of his home county, of whose citizens he is one of the best known and most highly honored, and of whose bar he was long one of the leading members. On January 9, 1873, Mr. Dunn was united in marriage to Miss Clara Mc- Murtry, who was born and reared in Shelby county, where her father, Alex- ander McMurtry, was a sterling pioneer settler. Mrs. Dimn was summoned to eternal rest on March 8, 1885, and both of their children are living: Alexander M., who is now cashier of the Shelby- ville Bank; and Preston B., Jr., who is engaged in business at San Antonio, Texas. On December 2(5, 1888, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Dunn to Miss Lillie M. Rogers, daughter of Ste- phen Kogers, of Monroe City, this state, and they have one child, Clara E., who is a popular tigure in connection with the social activities of her native city. THE SHELBYVILLE BANK. Among the oldest and most favorably known of the secure and ably managed banking houses of northern Missouri is that known as the Shell)yville Bank, which dates its incei)tion back to the year 1874, when it was organized under the title of the Shelby County Savings Bank. It was originally a jointstock institu- tion, of which John T. Cooper was presi- dent and Philip Dinnnitt cashier. Under these conditions the bank was continued successfully for several years, and then its president and cashier purchased the stock of the other interested principals and changed the title to Cooper & Dim- mitt. As a private institution conducted by this firm, the bank gained wide repute as one of the substantial and solid finan- cial institutions of the state, and its title to popular support and confidence was based not more clearly upon its sound financial basis than upon the high char- acter of the men who controlled its af- fairs. Mr. Cooper sold his interest to Dr. Philip Dimmitt, and thereafter the business was successfullj- continued un- der the title of Philip Dimmitt, banker, with operations based on a capital of $12,000. Dr. Dimmitt had in his employ, in an executive capacity, his son Frank and later Lindley G. Schofield also. In 1892, after the "death of his wife, Dr. Dimmitt retired from active business, having sold the banking business, De- cember 13th of that year, to Preston B. Dunn, Lindley G. Schofield, Frank, Prince, and Marvin, Pope and Lee Dim- mitt. At this time the institution was reorganized under the title of the Shel- byville Bank, which has since been re- tained, the previously mentioned gentle- men l)eing the stockholders of the bank, whose capital was increased to $20,000. The officers elected under the new re- gime were as here noted: Preston B. Dunn, president; Lindley G. Schofield, cashier ; and these executive officers were also members of the directorate, which likewise included the other three stock- holders, Frank. Prince and Pope Dim- mitt. On :^lay 31, 1S!)4. the capital stock was increased to $20,000, and at the next HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 571 annual election, in 1895, the following- directors were chosen: Preston B. Dunn, Lindley G. Schotield, Prank and Prince Dimmitt, and Reason Baker. Mr. Dunn continued in the presidency and Mr. Schofield became vice-president, being succeeded in the position of cashier by Marvin Dimmitt. Under these condi- tions the business was thereafter con- tinued until 1902, in the annual election of which year the following directors were chosen : Preston B. Dunn, Joseph Doyle, John Frye, Prince Dimmitt, and A. M. Dunn. As Mr. Dunn wished to retire from active administrative duties, Prince Dimmitt was elected president and Mr. Dunn assumed the essentially honorary ofiSce of vice-president. They have since continued incumbent of these positions, and A. M. Dunn, son of the vice-president, has been the able and popular cashier. George 0. Tannehill has been assistant cashier since Janu- ary, 1904. The directorate remains un- changed, save that Preston B. Dunn, Jr., succeeded John Frye in the election of 1904. The history of the Shelbyville Bank has been one of continuous and substantial growth and expansion, and at all times have its interested princi- pals stood representative of the best class of citizenship as well as of finan- cial stability. The bank controls a large and important business and adds ma- terially to the business prestige of Shelby county. SANFORD BAKER. Mr. Baker, who is postmaster at Ep- worth, is one of the successful and popu- lar business men of this village and is well entitled to consideration in this pub- lication. He served with no little dis- tinction as a member of the regular army of the United States, in which he took part in the Spanish- American war, and was later stationed in the Philip- pine Islands, and as a citizen he mani- fests the same sjjirit of loj^alty that made him an effective soldier of the reiaublic. Mr. Baker is a native of the fine old Buckeye state, having been born at Woodsfield, Monroe county, Ohio, on March 15, 1877, and being a scion of one of the pioneer families of that state, where his grandfather, Henry Baker, a native of Pennsylvania, took up his abode in an early day. Leander C. Baker, father of the subject of this sketch, was likewise born at AVoodsfield, Ohio, in the year 1854, and there he was reared and educated. His active career was one of close identification with ag- ricultural i^ursuits, and he died when a young man, having passed away on April 8, 1886, at which time he was a resident of ]\Ionroe county, Ohio. In 1876 he was united in marriage to Miss Susana Mc- Cammon, of Woodsfield, Ohio, and she is still living, maintaining her home in Shelby county, Missouri. They became tlie parents of three children, of whom the eldest is he whose name initiates this article; ^linnie is the wife of John F. Burkhardt, of Shelby county; and Lucy C. is the wife of Joseph Wilson, likewise a resident of this county. Sanford Baker secured liis rudimen- tary education in the jmblic schools and was about eleven years of age at the time of the family removal to Missouri, whore ho continued to attend school as (ipjtortunity i)rosonted. After leaving 572 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY school be followed farm work, princi- pally ill Illinois and Nevada, until 1897, when he enlisted in Company H, Twen- ty-second United States Infantry, nnder command of Colonel Wycoff, who was killed in an engagement in Cuba in the Spanish- American war. Mr. Baker was with his regiment in this conflict with Spain, having taken part in the battle of El Caney, the bombardment and siege of Santiago de Cuba, and having been present at the capitulation of that city. He also took part in many engagements after his regiment was sent to the Phil- ippine Islands, where he remained until the expiration of his three years' term of enlistment, when he was mustered out, at Cabiou island of Luzon, on Au- gust 10, 1900, duly receiving his honor- able discharge, with the rank of cor- poral. Immediately after his discharge from the service Mr. Baker set sail for America, disembarking in the port of San Francisco and thence coming to the home of his mother, near Bethel, Shelby county, Missouri, where he remained for a short interval. He then went to Quincy, Illinois, where he was employed in a wagon shop for one year, after which he passed two years in Nevada, where he was employed for some time in a gold stani]) mill and later in an estab- lishment liaiidling gold by the cyanide process. In 1904 ]\Ir. Baker returned to Shelby county and for the ensuing three years he had charge of his mother's Jiomestead farm, \\\Hm which he erected within this period a new house and barn. In 1907 he opened a blacksmith, wagon and gen- eral repair sho]) in the village of Ep- worlh, where he has since continued in business and where he has built up a prosperous enterprise, being a skilled mechanic and conducting business ac- cording to the most fair and honorable methods, so that he has a strong hold upon the confidence and esteem of the community. This sterling veteran of the Spanish- American war is now in another department of government service, as he has been postmaster of Epworth since February, 1908. ^Ir. Baker marches gallantly and loyallj' under the banner of the Eepublican ]iarty, and in a fra- ternal way he is affiliated with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. On December 23, 1907, Mr. Baker was united in marriage to Miss Margaret E. Johnson, who was born and reared in this county, being a daughter of Fred- erick H. Johnson, a representative farmer of Bethel township. Mrs. Baker passed to the life eternal on May 12, 1909, and is survived by one child, Oliver J. JAMES F. MOEAN. The owner of a fine farm property in Bethel townshi]i, the subject of this re- view is one of the representative agri- culturists and stock-growers of the county, is a citizen who has exerted much influence in local affairs of a public order and who has served as county judge, of which office he was incumbent for two terms. He has been a resident of the county since 1880 and here has attained independence and definite suc- cess through his well directed efforts, the while lu> has at all times commanded the unqualified confidence and respect of those with whom he has come in contact in the various relations of life. JAMES L. HOLLIDAY HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 5* o Judge Moran is a native of Mason county, Kentuclaco and pros- perity as the shadows of his life ))egin to lengthen from the golden west. He has lived virtually retired on his fine 578 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY homestead farm for more than twenty- five years, the same being eligibly lo- cated in Taylor township, and he is here surrounded by a circle of loyal friends, being one of the well known and highly honored residents of this section of the county and commanding the high regard of all who know him. Mr. Hall is a native of the state of Maryland, having been born in Worces- ter county on February 7, 1829. His father, James Hall, was born in the same county and passed his entire life in Maryland, where his active career was one of active identification with agri- cultural pursuits. He died in 1832, while still a young man, having been married in 1828 to Miss Louisa Grey, who was likewise born and reared in Maryland, where the respective families were early founded, and of the two children the subject of this sketch is the survivor, his brother, Thomas P., having died at the age of about fourteen years. A number of years after the death of her first husband, Mrs. Hall became the wife of "William Webb, with whom she came to Missouri in the year 1835. They lo- cated in Marion county, whence they later removed to j\lonroe county, and both Mr. and Mrs. Webb passed the closing years of their lives in Shelby county, where her death occurred on March 3, 1891. Of the children of the second marriage, two are now living, Jacob and Elizabeth (now Mrs. Brew- ington), both of Shelby county. George William Hall, the immediate sul)ject of this review, was about six years of age at the time of the family removal to Missouri, and his early edu- cational advantages Avere most meager, being limited to a very irregular and brief attendance in the pioneer schools of Monroe and Scotland counties, this state, where he did not even become fa- miliar with what were designated in the early days as the "Three E's," inter- preted as "Reading, 'Riting and 'Rith- metie." Through the valuable lessons gained under the wise headmaster, ex- perience, he later supplemented his lim- ited early training, becoming a man of mature judgment, much business acu- m en an d wide general information. When eleven years of age he went to live with his uncle, Jacob Grey, a farmer in Scotland county, and there he worked on the farm and in a blacksmith shop for the mere recompense of a home. He continued thus engaged until 1847, when, at the age of eighteen years, he began working by the month in Shelby county, devoting himself to farm labor in this way until 1819, when he married and ini- tiated his independent career by rent- ing land, ui)on which he farmed until the following year, when he i)urchased a tract of practically unimproved land near the village of Clarence, this county. A few years later he sold this property and purchased 110 acres in Salt River township, where he was engaged in farming until the close of the Civil war, having also operated a saw mill on Black creek. In ISHf) he sold his farm and re- moved to the village of Clarence, this county, where he conducted a black- smith shop until 1873, having built up a successful business. He then sold the shop and purchased 160 acres of his present homestead, in Taylor townslii)), where he has since maintained his home and where he continued activelv identi- HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 579 lied with the work of the phioe until 1882, since which time he has lived vir- tually retired. He has developed his land into one of the valuable farms of the county, and the area of the same is now 270 acres. Soon after locating here he established on his farm, contiguous to the village of Leonard, a Ijlaeksmitli shop, which he conducted until his re- tirement from active labors, and of which he is still the owner. Mr. Hall has been one of the progres- sive and loyal citizens of the county and has never failed in his duties as a citi- zen. He is a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, but the only office in which he has consented to serve is that of school trustee, of which he was incumbent for several years. His integrity of jsurpose has never been questioned, and his unassuming sincer- ity and honor have gained him the es- teem and good will of all with whom he has come in contact. On June 28, 1849, Mr. Hall was united in marriage to Miss Lovey Brewington, who was born and reared in Shelby county, where her father, Henry Brew- ington, was an early settler. Of the ten children of this union, six are living, and concerning them the following brief record is entered: James H. is engaged in the farming and blacksmithing busi- ness in the village of Leonard; Thomas B. is now a resident of the state of Idaho ; Joseph N. resides in Baker City, Oregon ; William P. is a physician of Macon county, Missouri ; Martha S. is the wife of Edward Hines, of Shelby- ville, this county; and George M. is iden- tified with agricultural pursuits in Brit- ish Columbia. His first wife died June 17, 1899. He was married to his pres- ent wife in June, 1910, her name being Mary Willis, widow of Finius Willis. Her maiden name was Mary Breeding. She was born in Randolph county, Mis- souri. She died iu December, 1910. WILLIAM L. GILLASPY. In the attractive little viUage of Leon- ard Mr. Gillaspy is living virtually re- tired from active liusiness, after having contributed his quota of service as one of the world's workers. He is a native son of the coimty and a member of one of its honored pioneer families, and the original progenitor in America settled in Virginia in the colonial epoch of our national history. There was born James Alexander Gillaspy, father of him whose name initiates this sketch, and this worthy man left the Old Dominion to become a pioneer of Kentucky, whence came the original representatives of the name in Missouri. William L. Gillaspy was born in Tay- lor township, Shelby county, Missouri, on October 6, 1840, and is a son of Louis H. and Lucinda (Mani;el) Gillaspy, both natives of Kentucky, where the former was born on July 5, 1806, and the latter on April 23, 1804. Their marriage was solemnized on January 1, 1835. In 1830 Louis H. Gillaspy had come from his native state to Missouri, first settling in Marion county, where he remained until his marriage, soon after which he came to Shelby county and secured 160 acres of government land, upon which a portion of the present city of Shelby- ville is located. He reclaimed a portion of the tract to cultivation and there con- 580 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY tinued to reside until 1838, when lie sold the property and removed to Taylor township, where he eventually became the owner of a fine lauded estate of 320 acres. He gained precedence as one of the successful farmers and stock-growers and influential citizens of this section of the country, where he ever commanded uniform confidence and esteem, and he continued to reside on the old homestead until his death, in 1890, at the venerable age of eighty-four years. He was a staunch Democrat in his political pro- clivities and both he and his wife were luembers of the Christian church. Mrs. Gillaspy was summoned to the life eter- nal in 1890 at the age of eighty-six years. All of the three children are living, the subject of this review being the youngest of the number. Sarah C. is the wife of Samuel P. Gaines, of Leonard, this county; and John A. is likewise a resi- dent of this county, where he has at- tained marked success in connection with agricultural pursuits. William L. GiUaspy was reared to ma- turity on the old homestead farm in Tay- lor township and his early educational advantages were those afforded in the pioneer schools of the locality. He con- tinued to attend school at intervals until he had attained to the age of nineteen years, and tlius he laid effective foun- dation for the large fund of practical knowledge which he later gained in the school of ex]ierience. He continued to be associated in the work and manage- ment of the home farm until 1860, when he purchased from his father a tract of eighty acres in section 24, that township, where he continued to be actively and successfully engaged in general farming and stock-growing until 1886, when he sold the farm and removed to the village of Leonard, where he has since lived a retired life, having an attractive home and here enjoying the generous rewards of past endeavors. He developed his land into one of the valuable farms of the county and through its operation and the final sale of the property he has real- ized a competency. Mr. Gillaspy is one of the substantial and highly esteemed citizens of his native county, sincere, honorable and of generous and kindly nature, so that he has won and retained a wide circle of friends in the community that has represented his home from the time of his nativity to the present. He is a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, has shown a loyal interest in all that has touched the gen- eral welfare, and has served as constable and also as school director. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Christian church. On August 29, 1860, Mr. Gillaspy was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann Davis, who was born in Snowhill, Mary- land, on July 10, 1840. being a daughter of James and Eliza Davis, who took up their residence in Shelby county, Mis- souri, when she was a child. Mr. and Mrs. Gillaspy became the parents of ten children, and the family circle remains still unbroken. Concerning the chiLlren the following brief record is given, in conclusion of this sketch of the career of one of the county's sterling citizens: Edwin E. is a resident of the city of Hannibal, this state; James L. is a suc- cessful farmer in Taylor township, as is also Eichard W. ; James P. is engaged in the same line of enterprise in Clay HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 581 township; Effie M. is the wife of Robert S. Magruder, of Clarence, this county; Anna L. is the wife of John Kyle, of Rush county, Kansas; Callie B. is the wife of William Pepper, of Ranchester, Wyoming; George C. is a representative farmer of Taylor township; William N. is a resident of La Crosse, Kansas ; and Fannie remains at the parental home. JACOB H. SINGLETON. It is gratifying to be able to present in this historical compilation record con- cerning so large a percentage of the es- sentially representative farmers who are ably aiding in upholding the industrial prestige of the county, and among this number is he whose name introduces this paragraph. Mr. Singleton is the owner of a well improved farm in Taylor town- ship, is a citizen to whom is accorded unqualified pojiular esteem, and is a na- tive son of the township in which he now maintains his home. He is a brother of Judge Adolphus E. Singleton, of whom individual mention is made on other pages of this volmue, so that detailed review of the family history is not de- manded in this article. Jacob H. Singleton was born in Tay- lor township, this county, on October 8, 1857, and is a son of William and Susan (Vandiver) Singleton, both natives of Virginia, where the former was born in 1817 and the latter in 1824. The pater- nal grandfather, Myron Singleton, was likewise a native of the Old Dominion, in which was cradled so much of our national history, and there the family was founded in the colonial epoch. Will- iam Singleton was reared to maturity in his native state and came to Missouri in the pioneer days, first locating in Marion county, whence he soon afterward re- moved to Shelby county, becoming one of the pioneers of Taylor township, where he secured 200 acres of govern- ment land, which he eventually re- claimed, developing a productive farm and becoming one of the honored and substantial citizens of the county. He continued to be actively identified with the great basic industries of farming and stock-raising throughout his entire business career, save for one year passed in the village of Clarence, this county, and he was summoned to "that imdis- covered country from whose bourne no traveler returns" in the year 1894. He was a loyal supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and both he and his wife, who is still living, became known as zealous members of the M. E. church, South. Of their eight children five are now living, namely: Benjamin H., a resident of Shelbyville ; Judge Adolphus E., of the same city; Jacob H., subject of this sketch; and Ella and Cary, who re- main with their widowed mother on the old homestead. Jacob H. Singleton was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and the district schools afforded him his early educational advantages. He con- tinued at the parental home, assisting in tlie work and management of the farm, until 1886, when he ]mrchased seventy acres of land in section 33, Taylor town- ship, where he continued oi)erations as a thrifty and progressive farmer and stock-grower, having added to the area of his original tract until he now has a well improved farm of 134 acres, all of 582 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY which is available for cultivation. He is a Democrat in his political allegiance, takes a loyal interest in public affairs of a local order, was incumbent of the office of school director of his district, is affil- iated with the Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Christian church at Leonard. On October 3, 1886, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Singleton to Miss Vassie McDaniel, who was born in this county, being a daughter of Cornelius and Susan McDaniel and a member of one of the old and honored families of this section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Singleton became the parents of eight children, and the four living children all remain at the parental home, namely: Leila, Clark V., Guy and Vance, who are popular young folk of this part of the county. ALEXANDER BURNETT. One of the most successful and enter- prising farmers of the jJresent day and having made his own way to his present consequence and standing in the estima- tion of the people, Alexander Burnett, of Black Creek township, Shelby county, has richly earned his prosperity in worldly wealth and shown himself to be a man of great energj' and resourceful- ness, warmly interested in the welfare of the people of his township and county, and at all times ready to exert himself wisely and effectively in their behalf. His devotion to the interests of the region in which he lives has won him the universal confidoiioo and esteem of its inhabitants and given him a strong hold on public regard in other parts of the state. Mr. Burnett was born in Sauk county, "Wisconsin, on July 10, 1855. He is the oldest son and second child of his par- ents, Thomas and Isabella (Osborn) Burnett, the former a native of Scotland, where his parents were also born and the families were domesticated many years. The father was bom in 1824 and came to the United States with his parents in 1838. During the next seven years the family lived in the city of New York, but in 1845 moved to Wisconsin, and in 1858 moved to Iowa, and there the father was actively engaged in general farming un- til his death, which occurred on October 11, 1887. His marriage took place in 1851, and by it he became the father of seven children, all of whom are living. They are: Mary, the wife of Gilbert Palmer, of Aledo, Illinois; Alexander, the subject of this re\new; Malissa, the wife of John Brown, of Des Moines, Iowa ; Robert, Grant and Thomas, all of whom live in Iowa; and Zachariah, who is a resident of Jacksonville, Missouri. The father was a Republican in politics and a Baptist in church affiliation. The mother was a native of Indiana. She died in Iowa in May, 1898. Their son Alexander grew to manhood on his father's farm in Iowa and ob- tained his education in the coimtry schools and the high school at Bonaparte, in that state. For two years after leav- ing school he clerked in a dry goods store in Des Moines, then passed one year working again with his father on the farm. At the end of that period he moved to Shelby county, Missouri, and during the next three years worked for Alonzo Cooper. His next step in business was general merchandising, which he fol- ALEXANDER BURNETT HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 583 lowed for two years. Since then he has been continuously and very progres- sively engaged in general farming and raising stock on a steadily increasing scale of magnitude and profit. He now owns and cultivates 800 acres and has a live stock industry in proportion, all of which he has accnmulated by his own euerg^^, thrift and wise management, having become one of the leading and most successful farmers and stock men in this part of the state. Mr. Burnett was united in marriage with Miss Eliza B. Hopper on November 20, 1879. She is a daughter of Solomon and Eliza (Graham) Hopper, well known residents of Shelby county. Five chil- dren have been born of the union, three of whom are living — David E., one of the prosperous and influential citizens of this county, and Martin and Mabel, who are still living at home with their par- ents. The father's political affiliation is with the Democratic party and his fra- ternal connections are with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mrs. Burnett belongs to the M. E. Church, South. Mr. Burnett is a gentleman of sterling integrity and universally re- garded as one of the most estimable, in- fluential and commendable men in the county, numbering his friends by the host and performing every duty of citi- zenship with fidelity, intelligence and great breadth of view. CHRISTIAN P. GLAHN. The honored subject of this memoir was long numbered among the repre- sentative exponents of the great basic industry of agriculture in Shelby county, having been the owner of a finely im- proved homestead farm in Black Creek township, and having ever commanded the high regard of the people of the commimity in which he so long lived and labored to goodly ends, — an honest, up- right, unassuming gentleman, a devoted husband and father, and a man to whom friendship was ever inviolable. He left the heritage of a good name and it is most consonant that in this history be incorporated and perpetuated a tribute to his memory as one of the worthy citi- zens of the county. He was summoned to the life eternal on April 24, 1906, se- cure in the esteem and respect of all with whom he had come in contact in the varied relations of life. Christian P. Glahn was born in Prus- sia, on January 17, 1839, and was a son of Christian and Mary A. (Wand) Glahn, the foi-mer of whom was born in Prussia and the latter in Germany. The jiarents severed the ties that bound them to their fatherland and immigrated to America in 1842, making Missouri their destina- tion and first settling near Palmyra, Marion county, where the father bought a farm, the work of which was princi- pally done by his sons. He himself was a wagon maker by trade, being a skilled artisan in this line, and he followed his trade in the village of Palmyra until 1865, when he removed with his family to Shelby county and purchased a small farm in Black Creek township, gradually adding to its area as his financial cir- cumstances justified, until he became the owner of a valuable landed estate of 400 acres, in the vicinity of Hager's Grove. He continued to be identified with agri- 584 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY cultural pursuits on this place until his death, which occurred in 1889, his wife surviving him by several years and both having been held in high regard as folk of sterling worth of character. They became the parents of thirteen children, of whom five are living: Henry F., a farmer of Shelby county; August, re- siding at Los Angeles, California; Jo- seph, twin of August, engaged in farm- ing in California ; Benjamin L., a resi- dent of Clarence, Shelby county; and Catherine, wife of Irving Lathrop, of Joplin, Missouri. Christian P. Glalm, the subject of this memoir, was about four years of age at the time of the family immigration to America, and he passed the days of his boyhood and youth in Marion county, this state, where he was reared on and assisted in the work of the home farm and where his ediicational training, very limited in scope, was secured in the dis- trict schools of the pioneer days. In 1865 he came to Shelby county with the other members of the family and soon afterward he purchased 128 acres of land in section G, Black Creek township, two miles south of the village of Leonard, where he developed a productive farm, making excellent improvements on the same, and where he continued to be known as a thrifty and successful farmer and stock-grower until the close of his life, on April 24, 1!)06. As his success became cuiuuhitive lie made judicioiis in- vestments in additional land, and at the time of his demise he was the owner of a valuable estate of 873 acres, which is still in possession of the family and which constitutes one of the model farm properties of this section of the state. Mr. Glahn never sought public offie«, but his influence and co-operation were de- manded by his appreciative neighbors, who called upon him to serve as road overseer and as school director. Tie was essentially loyal and public-spirited as a citizen and did all in his power to fur- ther the material and civic prosperity of the county in which he so long main- tained his home and in which he was not denied the most generous measure of poi)ular confidence and regard, based upon his intrinsic integrity and honor and his kindliness in his relations with his fellow men. He gave a staunch alle- giance to the cause of the Eepublican party, and was a zealous and devoted member of the Christian church, with which his wife also has long been identi- fied, having taken an active part in its work imtil the infirmities of advancing years compelled her to relax somewhat her earnest efforts in this respect. Since the death of her honored husband Mrs. Glahn has remained on the old home- stead, endeared to her through the gra- cious associations and memories of the past, and the fine farm has its practical management assigned to her worthy sons, who are numbered among the rep- resentative citizens of this part of the county, where they are well upholding the prestige of the honored name which they bear. On February 22, 1870, Mr. Glahn gave wortliy observation of the anniversary of the birth of George Washington by taking unto himself a wife, in the person of Miss Mary Arnett, who was born in Shelby county, on Septem])er 11, 1852, and who is a daughter of the late ^lica- jah and Judith (Green) Arnett. wlio HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 585 were early settlers of this county, the father having been a native of Kentucky and the mother of Virgina. As already stated, Mrs. Glalm survives her honored husband, as do also eleven of their chil- dren. Concerning the children the fol- lowing brief record is given as a fitting conclusion of this brief memoir: Ben- jamin F. is engaged in the practice of law in the village of Palmyra, Marion county; Fannie is tlie wife of Robert Ray, a farmer of this county; Christian P. is engaged in the practice of medicine at Palmyra; Charles E., James 0. and Ernest are associated in the manage- ment of the home farm ; Mary is the wife of Stephen A. Bryant, of Cleveland, Oklahoma; and Alma, Ethel, Milton and Gertrude remain with their mother on the old homestead. JOHN PEOPLES. This venerable and honored citizen, who resided on his fine homestead farm in section 29, Taylor township, was a resident of Shelby county from his child- hood days and was a member of one of its sterling pioneer families, of which detailed mention is made in the sketch of the career of his brother, William Z. T. Peoples, on other pages of this work, so that a repetition of the data is not demanded in the present connection. Mr. Peoples lived retired for a number of years, after having devoted a long period to the great basic industry of agriculture, in connection with which he gained definite success and prosperity, as is attested by his ownership of the valuable homestead on which lie resided until his death on January 11, 1911. John Peoples was a native of Sullivan county, Tennessee, where he was born on September 6, 1833, and he was a child of about six years at the time of the fam- ily removal to Missouri, his parents first settling in Marion county, whence they removed to Shelby county about one year later. Here he was reared to maturity under the invigorating and somewhat strenuous discipline of the pioneer farm, in Taylor township, in whose primitive schools he gained his limited educational training. He often recalled the scenes, conditions and incidents of the days when this section was practically a wil- derness, and he assisted in the breaking of many acres of the fine prairie land, in which connection he contributed mate- rially to the development of the county in which he continued to maintain his home through the long intervening years, marked by the upbuilding of one of the most prosperous and attractive sections of the state. In 1861 Mr. Peoples ini- tiated his independent career as a farmer and stock-grower, and in this line of en- terprise he labored earnestly and effec- tively, so that he was not denied a due recompense. He lived virtually retired since 1885, and his homestead farm, e(|uii)ped with sulistantial improvements and under effective cultivation, com- ]5rises 183 acres, which he disposed of in 1909. Mr. Peoples gave his support to the enterprises and objects that have con- served industrial and civic progress, and his influence in the couunnnity was ever on the right side, as lie was a man of inflexible integrity and honor, of mature judgment and of strong mentality. In ])olitics he was aligned as a staunch ad- 586 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY vocate of the principles and policies of the Democratic party. He held member- ship in the Grange, and was a zealous member of the Christian church at Leon- ard, in which he had been an elder for many years. At the time of the Civil war he served about six months in the state militia. In 1860 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Peoples to Miss Minerva Patton, who was bom in Kentucky, from whence her parents came to Missouri when she was a child. She died in 1865, and of her two children one is living, Eldridge, who is a successful farmer of Custer county, Nebraska. In 1868 Mr. Peoples contracted a second marriage, being then united to IMiss Amanda Fink, who was born in Shelby county, where her father, the late John Fink, was an early settler. Of the seven children of this union four are now living: William, a resident of Shelbyville; Christine, wife of George Jarrell, of tliis county; Laura, wife of Louis Perry, of Shelby county; and John, who is identified with agricultural pursuits in this county. The mother of these children died August 6, 1881. BENJAMIN F. VAN VACTER. This well known and highly esteemed business man and influential citizen of the village of Leonard, where he is en- gaged in the real estate business, is a native of Shelby county and a scion of one of its sterling pioneer families, as his father, Benjamin Van Vacter, here took up his abode more than eighty years ago, having settled in Taylor township when this section was a veritable wilder- ness, wild game being plentiful and pro- viding much for the larders of the sturdy pioneers, whose slumbers were often in- terrupted by the howls of the predatory wolves. The subject of this sketch re- calls many of the scenes and conditions of the pioneer epoch, and he has not only witnessed but has also assisted in the development of this county into one of the most attractive and prosperous in the great state of Missouri. Mr. Van Vacter was born on the old homestead of his father, in Taylor town- ship, this county, one mile east of the l)resent village of Leonard, February 5, 1846. His father was born in Jefferson county, Virginia, of staunch Holland Dutch ancestry, in the year 1797, and he was reared to maturity in the historic Old Dominion state, where he continued to reside and where he followed agricul- tural pursuits until 1837, when he set forth for the wilds of the far West, as Missouri was then considered on the very frontier. Soon after his arrival in this state he came to Shelby count}', which at that time had very few settlers, and here he entered claim to 400 acres of govei-nment land, the entire tract being in a state of primitive wildness. He here set himself vigorously to the stren- uous work of reclaiming his land to culti- vation and in due time he developed one of the productive farms of the county, continuing to reside on his homestead, one mile east of Leonard, until his death, which occurred in February, 1866. He was one of the honored and influential citizens of this section of the country, honest and straightforward in all the re- lations of life, industrious and energetic, and possessed of strong mentality and individuality, so that he was not denied HISTORY OF SHELTiY COUNTY 587 the confidence and good will of the com- munity in whose upbuilding he so ably assisted. He was a staunch adherent of the Democratic party and both he and his wife were zealous members of the Christian church, having been organizers of the church of this denomination in Leonard and ha^'ing contributed liber- ally to its support. In 1840 was sol- emnized the marriage of Benjamin Van Vacter to Miss Anna Smith, who was born in Ireland, and whose death oc- curred about 1901. They became the parents of five children, and the three sur\nving all continue their residence in Shelby county, namely : Joseph H., Ben- jamin F. and Robert 0. Benjamin Franklin Van Vacter, to whom this brief sketch is dedicated, was reared on the pioneer farm, to who.se work he early began to contribute his quota of aid, and he continued to attend the district schools in Taylor township, at varying intervals, during the days of his boyhood and youth, laying in these primitive institutions the foundations for the broad and practical knowledge he has since gained under the direction of that wisest of head-masters, experience. He continued to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until the death of his honored father, after which he engaged in farming and stock-growing on his own responsibility on a farm of 120 acres deeded to him by his father at the time of death. This homestead, in section 20, Taylor town- ship, continued to be his place of abode and the scene of his enteiTorising and suc- cessful endeavors as a general agricul- turist and stock-grower until 1884, when he sold the property and removed to the village of Leonard, where he entered into partnership with Theodore P. Man- uel and engaged in the general merchan- dise business, under the finn name of Van Vacter & Manuel. About four years later he sold his interest in this enter- prise to his partner, and since that time he has given his attention ^principally +o the dealing in real estate in the state of Kansas, in which connection his opera- tions have been of no inconsiderable scope and importance, and have been a source of distinctive profit to him. He is one of the siibstantial citizens and business men of his native county, was one of the organizers and incorporators of the Farmers' Bank, of Leonard, in which he is still a stocldiolder and of which he served as vice-president for a short period. In politics he is a staimch adherent of the Democratic party, and in earlier years he was a zealous and effective worker in its local ranks. He is a member of the Christian church and is active in the support of the various departments of its work. Mr. Van Vac- ter takes a loyal interest in all that tends to advance the material and civic pros- perity of his native county, and measures and enterprises of a public order receive his earnest support. > LUTHER KFMP. This well known citizen of Taylor township is the owner of a fine farm of 220 acres and is contributing his quota to upholding the prestige of the great industry of agriculture in Shelby coimty. He has been a resident of Shelby county since his boyhood days, and in the sec- tion in which he was reared and is best 588 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY known he enjoys the most unqualified popularity and esteem, showing that he has directed his course in such a way as to merit this pleasing recognition. Luther Kemp claims the staunch old Hoosier commonwealth as the place of his nativity, as he was horn in Dubois county, Indiana, on June 21, 1869, being a representative of one of the pioneer families of that state, as his grand- father, William F. Kemp, was an early settler in the county mentioned, having there been engaged in agricultural pur- suits imtil his death. In the same county also was born James L. Kemp, father of him whose name initiates this article, the date of his nativity having been 1846. The father was reared to man- hood in Indiana, was there married and there continued to devote his attention to farming until 1874, when he removed with his family to ^lissouri and settled in Clay township, Shelby county, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres, to whose area he later added until he had a total of 138 acres. He made excellent improvements on his farm, and there continued to be successfully engaged in the carrying on of diversified agricul- ture and tlie raising of live stock until his death, which occurred in the year 1882. In politics he gave his support to the cause of the Republican party and he was a loyal and upright citizen, com- manding the respect of all who knew him. In 1868 he was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Griffith, who was born in Ohio, and of their five children, two are li\nng, the subject of this sketch being the elder, and AVilliam G., also being a prosperous farmer of Shelby county. Luther Kemp was five years of age at the time of the family removal from Indiana to Shelby county, Missouri, and here he was reared to manhood under the invigorating influences and labors of the home farm, while his educational opportunities were limited to a some- what desultory attendance in the district schools, which he attended at intervals until he was sixteen years of age. He was but thirteen years old at the time of his father's death, and after leaving school he found emplojTnent on neigh- boring farms until 1888, after which he rented land and engaged in farming on his own responsibility for three years. Thereafter he was again employed by others until 1893, and in the meanwhile he was frugal and industrious, saving his earnings and formulating his plans for a future of independence in connec- tion with the branch of industrial enter- prise in which he had been trained. In the year last mentioned Mr. Kemp pur- chased fifty-three acres of land in sec- tion 26, Taylor township, and he has since added to the area of his holdings until he now has a well improved farm of 220 acres, reiu'esenting the tangible results of his careful and well directed endeavors. He is one of the substantial and successful farmers and stock-grow- ers of the county, is appreciative of the many opportunities here afforded in his chosen field of endeavor, and is essen- tially loyal and progressive as a citizen. His success is most gratifying to con- template from the fact that it has been gained through his own exertions and ability, and he well merits his prosper- ity, as does he also the esteem in which he is held by those most familiar with HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 589 his life and labors. He is a stockholder and director of the Farmers' Bank of Leonard, is a Republican in his political allegiance, has never been a seeker of official preferment, though he has served efficiently as school director of his dis- trict, and he is affiliated with Cherry Box Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is liberal in his support of the work of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is an earnest member. On January 31, 1893, Mr. Kemp was united in marriage to Miss Martha Ham- rick, wlio was born and reared in this county, being a daugliter of William F. and Martha J. Hamrick. Mr. and Mrs. Kemp became the parents of eight chil- dren, all of whom are living, namely: Olin, Vincent, Freda, Ruth, Theodore, Elsie J., Richard and James. FORREST G. BODWELL. Dependent largely upon his own re- sources since his boyhood days, it has been given Mr. Bodwell to achieve a suc- cess of no stinted order and one that stands creditable to him as one of the most earnest and indefatigable workers of the world. He has been a resident of Taylor township for more than forty years, in fact since his boyhood days, and here, beginning with no financial reinforcement or fortuitous influence, he has directed his labors with such dis- crimination and ability that he is now numbered among the substantial agri- culturists and stock-growers of the county, being the owner of a well im- proved farm of 240 acres — a paljjable evidence of his success and independ- ence. He has not, however, hedged him- self in with the confines of mere per- sonal advancement but has stood ex- ponent of loyal and liberal citizenship, has guided his course along the lines of strictest integrity and honor, and thus has merited the staunch hold which he maintains upon popular confidence and esteem. Mr. Bodwell is a scion of families founded in New England in the colonial epoch of our national history, and is himself a native of the old Bay state, having been born at Haverhill, j\Iassa- chusetts, on February 9, 1851, and be- ing a son of Aaron G. and Lucy (Howe) Bodwell, whose marriage was solem- nized in the year 1843. His father was born in Massachusetts, on August 7, 1818, and his mother was a native of New Hampshire, where she was born on April 9, 1818. The father, who was a shoemaker by trade, came with his fam- ily to Missouri in 1854, settling in Lewis county, where he continued in the work of his trade until his death, which oc- curred in 1859. Of his four children, the subject of this sketch is now the only survivor. In 1861 the widowed mother became the wife of James W. Jeffries, and they took up their residence in Shelby county, where Mr. Jeffries was engaged in farming until his death. Mrs. Jeffries is still living, having reached the ripe old age of ninety-three years. Forrest (i. Bodwell was about three years of age at the time of the family removal to Missouri, and was only eight years old at the time of his father's death. He came to his ste})father's farm in Marion county in 1861, just 590 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY after his mother's second marriage, and here he was reared to the sturdy disci- pline of the farm, in the meanwhile se- curing such educational advantages as were afforded in the district school, col- loquially and facetiously known as "Grub College," in Taylor township, the family having removed to Shelby county in 1866. He continued to attend this school at intermittent intervals un- til he was about twenty years of age, and in the meanwhile he continued to assist in the work of the home farm until 1881, when he purchased forty acres of his present homestead, in section 27, Taylor township. As success attended his indefatigable efforts he made judi- cious investments in adjoining land, un- til he now has a fine faim of 240 acres, the major portion of which is under cul- tivation, while everything about the place bears evidence of thrift and pros- perity. He has given his undivided at- tention to the management of his farm- ing interests and, starting with nothing, is now one of the leading agriculturists and stock-raisers of this section. His career has been marked bj^ hard and persistent work and he has a full and practical appreciation of the value and dignity of honest toil and endeavor. In politics Mr. Bodwell is enlisted under the banner of the Democratic party, in whose cause he takes a lively and intel- ligent interest, and in jjublic affairs of a local order he gives his aid and in- fluence in the support of all measures projected for the general good of the community. He is affiliated with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, has served for several years past as clerk of the school lionrd of his district, and he contributes in liberal measure to the work of the Christian church, of which his wife is a zealous member. On November 15, 1877, Mr. Bodwell was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Evans, who was born and reared in this county and who is a daughter of Eleazer and Melinda (Walker) Evans, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Bodwell became the parents of nine children, all of whom are living except one, James, who died at the age of two weeks. Elizabeth L. is the wife of John B. Alexander, of Macon county ; Samuel G. is a successful farmer of Shelby county; Lula G. is the wife of Chester Gillaspy, of this county; and Ruby, Rose, Marj^ C, Florida and George remain at the parental home. JOHN A. CHRISTINE. John A. Christine, of Salt River town- ship, one of the most extensive and prom- iuet farmers of Shelby county, has dem- onstrated in his long career of fifty-four years of usefulness among the people here that his mettle is of the firmest fiber, his manhood of the most vigorous kind and his self-reliance and capacity are of a character that A-ields to no diffi- culty, is daunted by no danger and dis- turbed by no disaster. He has met every requirement of every situation in which he has found himself in a masterful way, performed every duty properly belong- ing to him with fidelity and recognized every claim of elevated citizenship with entire devotion to his county, his state and liis coimtry. Mr. Christine, a native of Shelby comity, l)orn on January 26, 1857, ob- > d O X n EC l-H w H !Z! W HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 591 tained his education in the country schools and a graded school in Shelbina, and has passed the whole of his life to the present time on his native soil. He is therefore thoroughly imbued with the spirit of this people and in deep and ser- viceable accord with their every worthy asi^iration. He has aided in the promo- tion of all commendable undertakings among them for their progress and im- provement, and has helped to lead them along lines of wise development while aiding them in their progress. It is, con- sequently, an entirely logical result that he is highly esteemed on all sides as one of the most useful and representative men. in the county. Wliile he is a native Missourian, his father, John Joseph Christine, was born and reared to the age of fourteen and one-half years in Germany. At that age he came alone to the United States, with- out relative or friend on the vessel that brought him across the Atlantic, or any acquaintance in the long journey across the continent that brought him to Walk- ersville, in this county, before he reached the age of twenty-one. His life began in 1829 and ended tragically in 1862 in the massacre of Centralia, where he was in the service of the government as a Union soldier. His whole activity during his life in this country was devoted to farm- ing and raising live stock, except the time passed by him in the army. In 18-56 he was united in marriage with Miss Nancy E. Snawder, of this county, and by this marriage became the father of three children, now living, and one that is deceased. Those living are: John A., the engaging subject of this memoir ; Mary Frances, the wife of Frank Smith, of Idaho; and Celia, the wife of Matt Smith, of this county. In politics he was a pronounced and ardent Repub- lican and as earnest in his devotion to the welfare of his party as he was to the preservation of the Union. His son John A. thus found his child- hood and youth darkened by the awful shadow of our Civil war, which not only deprived him of his father, but left the family in very straitened circumstances. He left school at an early age in order to assist his mother in pi-oviding for the household and worked on the farm imtil his marriage. He then rented land and farmed it for five years. At the end of that period he bought 120 acres six miles north of Shelbina, which forms a part of the 920 acres which he now owns and lives on, the most of which is under culti- vation. On this farm and its subsequent additions he has lived and labored faith- fully as a farmer and in raising live stock during the last twenty-nine years. During this period he also manufactured molasses in the autumn months of every year for over thirty years with great suc- cess and profit. ]\Ir. Christine's day of toil has been long, however, and its exactions have been heavy, and he is now gradually re- tiring from active pursuits. But he still keeps up his interest in all public atfairs, serving as a member of tlie school board and in other ways aiding in tiie i)rogress and development of his townshi)) and county, as he has always done, having been a charter member of the Shelby County railroad and interested in numer- ous other public improvements from time to time. On Marcli 26, 1876, he was mar- ried to Miss Letlia Ann Cadwell, a 592 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY daughter of Noah and Sarah (Hinton) Cadwell, prominent residents of this county. Eight of the nine children born of the union are living — Mary Frances, the wife of H. M. Bragg; Sarah Ellen, the wife of Moses Mcintosh; Allie, the wife of Orville Thompson; Jessie, the wife of "William F. Stewart; John T., Charles H., Harry S. and Abbie Jewel. They are all residents of Shelby county, and the two last named are still at home with their parents. The father is a Re- publican in his political belief, an Odd Fellow and a Modern Woodman of America in his fraternal and a member of the Missionary Baptist church in his religious relations. JOHN FORMAN. As a worthy representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Mis- souri, of which state he is a native son, having been a resident of Shelby county for fully half a century, Mr. Forman is well entitled to consideration in this pub- lication, and the more so from the fact that he has contril)uted his quota to the civic and material upbuilding of the county, which has been his home from liis childhood to the present day, except for a period of 'a few years passed in the great western mining regions of the west, many years ago. He is now ven- erable in years, but is still actively iden- tified with agricultural pursuits and stock-growing, tlirongji the medium of which he has gained success and inde- pendence, being one of the representa- tive citizens of Taylor township, where his well improved farm is located in sec- tion 28. John Forman was born in Ralls county, Missouri, on March 16, 18.32, and is a son of Benjamin F. Forman, who was born in beautiful Shenandoah county, Virginia, on March 18, 1794, being a scion of a family founded in the Old Dominion in the colonial era of our national history. The lineage is traced back to staunch English origin. Benjamin F. Forman was reared to ma- turity in his native state, and in 1814, when twenty years of age, he came to the wilds of Missouri, which was then considered to be on the very frontier of civilization. He first located in Boone county, where he remained about eight years, at the expiration of which he re- moved to Ralls county, where he secured a tract of wild land and initiated the reclamation of a fanu. In that county he continued his residence until 1842, when he removed with his family to Shelby county, where he piii'chased 120 acres of land, in Taylor township. Here he developed a productive farm, to which he continued to give his supervi- sion imtil his death, wliich occurred in 1874. He was a millwright by trade, but after coming to this state his principal vocation was that of farming. He en- dured the full tension of the pioneer epoch and his name merits a place on the roll of the sterling early settlers of IVfissouri. On his farm he erected a mill, the motive power for which was pro- vided by horses, and in the oi)eration of this primitive mill he was enabled to provide tlie ])ioneer settlers with wheat and buckwheat flour, this being one of the first mills erected in the county and supplying settlers over a wide area of countrv. Mr. Forman was a man of HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 593 strong- individualitj', staunch integrity of character and of much energy and enterprise, so that he naturally wielded beneficent influence in the community. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party, and both he and his wife were zealous and consistent mem- bers of the Missionary Baptist church. In the year 1823 Benjamin F. Forman was united in marriage to Miss Mary Bowling, who was a native of Kentucky, and who proved a faithful and devoted wife and helpmeet, being one of the noble pioneer women whose strength and fortitude were well exercised in the days when conditions in this section were of the most primitive order, ne- cessitating many deprivations and hard- ships, as viewed from the standpoint of the present day. She was summoned to the life eternal in 1854, and of the eleven children, four are now living, namely: Stephen, who resided in Mon- roe county, this state (since died) ; John, who is the immediate subject of this re- view ; Daniel, who resides in Elk county, Kansas; Aaron B., who is living in Shelby^'ille, Shelby county, Missouri; and Thomas W., of whom specific men- tion is made on other pages of this work. John Forman was reared under the conditions and influences of the pioneer days, and his reminiscences of the same are most graphic and interesting. He was & lad of about ten years at the time of the family removal to Shelby county, and here his educational advantages were limited to a somewhat intermit- tent attendance in the old Sanders schoolhouse, a most primitive "institu- tion of learning," in Taylor township. Necessarily arduous labor fell to his portion in connection with the work of the pioneer farm while he was yet a mere boy, but he waxed strong and vig- orous under this sturdy discipline, con- tinuing to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until 185-t, after which he was employed by the month on neighboring farms for sev- eral years, within which time he broke many acres of virgin prairie. In 1860, moved by a spirit of adven- ture and a desire to improve his material fortunes, Mr. Forman made the long and hazardous trip across the plains to California, utilizing an ox team for transportation and being four months en route. After his arrival in the Golden state he secured work on a ranch, being thus employed during the first winter, and, after devoting two years to ranching and gold mining, he purchased a team and outfit and engaged in freight- ing from Marysville, California, across the mountains to the mining camps at A^irginia City and Carson City, Nevada, this venture proving fairly successful. He continued to be thus engaged until 1866, when he again made the long over- land journey and returned to Shelby county, Missouri. For a short time he remained with his brother Aaron in Shelbwille, and he then rented land and was thereon engaged in farming until 1868, when he purchased his present farm of eighty acres, in section 28, Tay- lor township, where he has lived and labored during the long intervening years, marked by well directed effort and due material success. He has made his farm one of the valuable places of 594 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY the county, the same having been im- proved with substantial buildings and being under effective cultivation, while he has also devoted no little attention to the raising of live stock of excellent grades. Mr. Forman is one of the honored and influential citizens of his townshii?, has ever shown a loyal interest in those en- terprises and measures that have tended to advance the general welfare of the community, is a stalwart advocate of the l)rinciples and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor and has served as road overseer and school director. Both he and his wife have long been active and devoted members of the Missionary Baptist church at North Eiver. On April 26, 1871, Mr. Forman was united in marriage to Miss Martha J. Kodgers, who was born in Marion county and reared in Shelby county, where her parents, the late Jonathan and Eliza (Davis) Rodgers, were early settlers, having been natives, respec- tively, of Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Forman became the par- ents of five children, all of whom are living and concerning whom the follow- ing brief data are entered in conclusion of this sketch: jMiss Lillian M. remains at the parental home; Charles E. is en- gaged in business in Great Falls, Mon- tana ; John W. is a resident of the same state, being ongagod in ranching in Fer- gus comity; and Oi'ville E. and Benja- min C. remain at the parental home, being associated in the practical work and management of the farm and being popular young men of their native county. JACOB HOOFER. The honored subject of this memoir, who died at his fine homestead farm, in Taylor township, on April 5, 1900, passed the major portion of his long and useful life in Shelby county and was a member of one of the earliest pioneer families of this section of the state, to whose civic and material development he contributed his quota. His life was marked by signal industry and was guided and guarded by the loftiest prin- cijjles of integrity and honor, so that he was not denied the fullest measure of p o p u 1 a r confidence and esteem. He achieved success and independence through his own efforts and made his life count for good in all its relations, so that it is most consistent that in this work, devoted to the county that so long represented his home, there should be incorporated a tribute to his memory, thus per])etuating a brief record of his worthy life and worthy deeds. In one of the picturesque cantons of the fair little republic of Switzerland, Jacob Hoofer was born on September 9, 18.32, and he was about four years of age at the time of his parents' immi- gration to America. His father, Ulery Hoofer, was born in Switzerland in the year 1801 and was there reared to ma- turitj^ as was also his cherished and de- voted wife. In 1836 they came to Amer- ica and, after remaining for a short time in Pennsylvania, they made their way westward to the wilds of Shelby county, Missouri, then an isolated and sparsely settled section, and one that represented the \Trtual border of civilization. The father jnirchased a tract of wild land HISTOHY OF SHELBY COUNTY 595 from tlie government, the same having been located in Taylor township, and his thrift and energy not only enabled him to gain more than average success ac- cording to the standard of the locality and period, but he also became influen- tial in the affairs of this section, where he developed a productive farm and where both he and his wife continued to reside until their death. He estab- lished one of the first orchards in the county and the same was long one of the largest in this section, the seed for the orchard having been brought by him from Pennsylvania. Of the eight chil- dren only two are now living — Frances, who is the widow of Charles E. Bowen and resides in Knox county, this state; and John, who is a resident of Hanson, Kansas. Jacob Hoofer was reared to maturity on the pioneer homestead in Taylor township, early gaining his full share of experience in connection with the ar- duous work of the farm, and finding but meager opportunities for diversion or for the securing of an education. His only schooling in a specific way was con- fined to about two terms in the primi- tive district school, but his was an alert and rece]:)tive mind and he effectually made good the early handica]i through the lessons gained in the valuable school of ex]ierience and through self-disci- ])line. He continued to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until he was seventeen years of age, when he indulged the sjiirit of ad- venture by aligning himself with the sturdy argonauts who were making their weary and hazardous way across the plains to the New Eldorado in Califor- nia. He was one of the historic "Forty- niners," and in that memorable year that marked the discovery of gold in California he crossed the plains with an ox team and joined the throng of gold- seekers. He remained in California for three years and his efforts were at- tended by an appreciable success, as he accumulated a considerable amount through his labors as a miner. In 1852 Mr. Hoofer returned to the parental home, where he remained until 1857, when he purchased 120 acres of most productive land in Taylor town- ship. Here he developed one of the val- uable farms of the county, being ener- getic, progressive and indefatigable and making his one of the model farms of this section. In 1865 he removed to Iowa and purchased a fann in Free- mont county, where he continued to be successfully engaged in agricultural pur- suits until 1890, when he returned to Missouri and located in Polk county, where he remained for three years, en- gaged in farming. He then sold his property there aud returned to his old home in Shelby county, where he ynir- chased the present homestead farm oc- cu]ned by his widow, in section 23, Tay- lor township. Here he passed the resi- due of his life, secure in the esteem of all who knew him. He was a Republican in his political adherency and took an intelligent interest in the questions and issues of the hour, while he was ever loyal to all civic duties and responsibili- ties, though never a seeker of public office of any kind. On March 5, 1857, Mr. Hoofer was united in marriage to Miss Sarah ^Vnn (irreenfield, who was born in T^a Orange 596 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY county, Indiana, on August 19, 1838, and whose parents, Samuel and Hannah (Michaels) Greenfield, were honored pioneers of the county. Mrs. Hoofer continues to reside on the homestead farm, is a devout member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and is held in affectionate regard by all who have come within the sphere of her gracious and kindly influence. Of the nine children, six are living, and concerning them the following brief record is consistently given in conclusion of this memoir: Sarah is the wife of Frederick Schurk, of Lincoln, Nebraska ; Laura is the wife of William King, of Farragut, Iowa; Emma is the wife of George W. Halli- burton, of Shelby covmty; and Martha, Jennie and Henry remain with their widowed mother, the last named having charge of the home farm, which com- prises 120 acres and which is one of the well improved and attractive rural demesnes of the county. LEWIS SMITH. Numbered among the representative farmers and stock-growers of Taylor township is this well known and popular citizen, who has been a resident of Shelby county since his childhood days and who claims the fine old Buckeye commonwealth as the place of his nativity. Mr. Smith was bom in Eichland county, Ohio, on February 27, 18.54, and is a scion of a family founded in Virginia in the colonial epoch of our national his- tory. In that Old Dominion state was bom his grandfather, George Smith, who removed thence to Ohio and became one of the pioneers of Holmes county, that state. Removed to ^Missouri in 1858 and continued to remain in Missouri vmtil his death. George H. Smith, father of him whose name initiates this review, was l)orn in Holmes county, Ohio, in 1832, and was reared to maturity in the old Buckeye state, where he received a common-school education and where was solemnized, in 1852, his marriage to Miss Mary Marks, who likewise was bom in Ohio and who was a member of a family that settled there in the pioneer days. George H. Smith continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits in Eichland county, Ohio, until 1858, when he came to Missoui'i and settled in Tay- lor township, Shelby county, where he jjurchased a tract of land and improved a productive farm. He became one of the successful agriculturists and stock- growers of the count}' and here contin- ued to reside until his death, which oc- curred on Maj' 26, 1907. He was the owner of 240 acres of land, and the ma- jor portion of this was reclaimed to cul- tivation under his direction. He was a citizen of sterling integrity of character and ever commanded the high regard of the community in which he so long main- tained his home. He was a Republican in politics, but was not affiliated with any church. His wife, whose death occurred June 2, 1907, was a member of the Ger- man Lutheran cluircli. They became the parents of four children, all of whom are living, namely: Lewis, who is the im- mediate subject of this sketch ; James, who is a resident of Butler county, Kan- sas; Franklin, who is identified with business interests in the city of Hanni- bal, Missouri, where he maintains his HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 597 home ; and Jane, who is the wife of S. V. Mackey, of Cheney, Washington. Lewis Smith was but four years of age at the time of the family removal from Ohio to Missouri, and lie has ever since been a resident of Shelby county. He was reared to maturity in Taylor town- ship, and there his early educational dis- cipline was secured in the Ernest dis- trict school and the school colloquially desig-nated in those days as "Grub Col- lege." He continued to attend school at intervals until he was nineteen years of age, and in the meanwhile he early began to contrilmte his quota to the work of the home farm, with whose affairs he continued to be associated until 1879, when, at the age of twenty-four years, he began independent operations as a farmer and stock-grower, on a place of eighty acres that had been deeded to him by his father. He has improved the farm with good buildings, has added to its area imtil he now has 120 acres, the major portion of which is under effective cultivation, and on every side are evi- dences of thrift and good management. Mr. Smith is a man of indefatigable en- erg;^', enterprising methods and marked public spirit, and he has ever taken a lively interest in all that has touched the welfare and advancement of his home township and county, where he is well known and held in high popular esteem. Though he has never been ambitious for public office he has served with marked efficiency as school director of his dis- trict and is a staunch advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party. Both he and his wife ai"e zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Evans Chapel and take an active interest in the various depart- ments of its work. On February 4, 1879, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Lorena Jen- nings, who was born and reared in Shelby coimty and who is a daughter of Wiley D. and Jane Jennings, the former of whom was born in Tennessee and the latter in Illinois. They are now both dead. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two sons, both of whom are popular j^oung men of Shelby county: John Everett, who was born on December 28, 1879, and Prentiss Eugene, who was born on Sep- tember 27, 1883. JOHN A. GILLASPY. Within half a mile of his present at- tractive residence, in Taylor township, Shelby county, the birth of John A. Gil- laspy occurred on February 22, 1838, and this date has its own significance, indi- cating as it does that he is a representa- tive of a i^ioneer family of this now fa- vored section of the state. His parents were ninnbered among the early settlers of the county, where they ever com- manded unqualified esteem and where they did well their part in conserving both civic and industrial development. Further than this, he whose name ini- tiates this paragraph had the distinc- tion of being the first white child bom within the borders of Taylor township, where he is now a substantial citizen and representative farmer and stock-grower, and where his course has been so di- rected as to retain to him inviolable con- fidence and esteem, the while he has well ujjlield the prestige of the honored name which he bears and which has been 598 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY prominently identified with the history of Shelby county for more than seventy years. He is a son of Lewis H. Gil- laspy, concerning whom due mention is made in sketches relating to other rep- resentatives of the family in the county, and to these articles ready reference can be made as supplemental to the one here presented. John A. Gillaspy was reared under the conditions and influences of the pioneer epoch in Shelby county, and as a boy he began to aid in the work of the home farm. His early educational training was secured in the Ernest schoolhouse and the old district school building that was formerly a Baptist church — one of the first church buildings erected in Tay- lor township. He continued to attend school, principally during the winter terms, until he was sixteen years of age, and in the intervening summer months he gave his attention to the sturdy work of the home farm, with whose manage- ment he continued to be identified until 1858, when, at the age of twenty years, he initiated his independent career by locating on a ])lace of eighty acres given to him by his father. Here he has main- tained his home during the long inter- vening years, which have been marked by earnest and well dii'ected industry, through the medium of which he has gained a large measure of material suc- cess and achieved that independence which makes it possible for him to en- joy unequivocal peace and prosperity as the shadows of life begin to lengthen from the golden west. TTe has contin- uously given his attention to diversified agriculture and to the raising of high- grade live stock, and to his original homestead he has added from time to time until he is now the owner of a finely improved landed estate of 404 acres. Mr. Gillaspy was one of the organizers and charter members of the Farmers' Bank of Leonard, in which substantial and popular financial institution he is still a stockholder. Though never lacking in civic loyalty and ever standing ready to lend his in- fluence and co-operation in the support of measures and enterprises projected for the general good of the community, Mr. Gillaspy has never found aught of allurement in public office, and the only position of which he has been incumbent in this line is that of school director. He takes due interest in the vital questions and issues of the hour and his political allegiance is given to the Democratic party. Both he and his wife have long been zealous and devoted members of the Christian church and he is a pillar in the church of his denomination at Leonard, in which he has held the office of elder for a number of years. On December 2, 1858, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Gillaspy to Miss Crecy Peoples, who likewise was born and reared in Shelby county, where her parents, John and Rebecca (Bachman) Peoples were early settlers. To Mr. and Mrs. Gillaspy were born two children: Dora Alice, who is the wife of John W. McWilliams, a representative business man of the village of Leonard, this county ; and Beatrice Orzelia, who is the wife of James H. Hall, who likewise is engaged in business at Leonard. x\s a worthy i)ioneer and as one of the oldest of the native sons of Shelby county there is special pleasure in presenting in this HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 509 volume this all too brief review of the career of Mr. Gillaspy, who has here lived and labored to goodly ends and who here commands a secure place in the con- fidence and regard of all who know him. LAFAYETTE J. JOHNSTON. In section 28, Taylor township, is lo- cated the well improved homestead farm of Mr. Johnston, who is entitled to con- sideration in this work as one of the rep- resentative farmers and stock-growers of Shelby county and as a citizen of distinctive loyalty and public spirit. Lafayette J. Johnston is a scion of staunch Scottish ancestry, his grand- father, John Johnston, having been a native of Scotland and having come from the land of the hills and heather to America when young. He passed the major portion of his life in the dominion of Canada, where he continued to main- tain his home until his death. His son Jacob W., father of him whose name initiates tliis review, was born in Weller county, province of Ontario, Canada, on June 28, 1836, and there he was reared and educated. He was there identified with agricultural pursuits and there also became a skilled workman at the trade of carpenter. He continued his resi- dence in Weller county, Canada, until 1868, when he came with his family to Shelby county, Missouri, and secured a tract of land in Taylor township, where he engaged in farming, in connection with which he found much reciuisition for his services as a carpenter, having erected a number of houses and other buildings in this township. Here he con- tinued to uuiintain his home until 1880, when he removed to Elkhart county, In- diana, where he became a successful farmer and where he passed the residue of hi-s life, which reached its close in 1900. In 1860 was solemnized his mar- riage to Miss Lydia Nygh, who likewise was bom and reared in the Dominion of Canada and who is still living in Elkhart county, Indiana, both having been zealous members of the Mennonite church and having well exemplified in their daily lives the simple and noble faith they thus jn'ofessed. They became the parents of ten children, of whom eight are now living, namely : Lafayette J., who is the imme- diate subject of this sketch ; Clara, who is the wife of Jacob Mishler, a resident of Elkhart county, Indiana ; Ida, who is the wife of Albert Brady, of New Paris, that state; Susan, who is the wife of George Walker, of Chicago, Illinois; Isaiah, who is a resident of Nappanee, Indiana ; Esther, who is the wife of El- mer Grubb, of Los Angeles, California; Jacob, who maintains his home in Elk- hart county. Indiana ; and Mary, who is the wife of Leonard Stackhouse, of Nap- panee, that state. It will thus be seen that the immediate family circle now finds representation in divers sections of the Union. Lafayette J. Johnston, the immediate subject of this sketch, was born on a farm in Weller county, province of On- tario, Canada, on November 19, 1866, and thus he was about two years of age at the time of the family removal to Shelby county, Missouri, where he gained his rudimentary education in the district schools of Taylor township. When he had attained to the age of four- 600 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY teen years Lis parents removed to Elk- hart county, Indiana, as has already been noted, and there he was reared to ma- turity and continued his educational dis- cipline in the public schools, the while he contributed his quota to the work of the home farm, in the work and man- agement of which he continued to be as- sociated until 1889, when, as a young man of twentj^-three years, he returned to Shelby county, Missouri, and settled in Taylor township, where he now owns a well improved farm of 160 acres, all of the land being available for cviltivation and being devoted to diversified agricul- ture and the raising of live stock of ex- cellent grades. Mr. Johnston has shown himself industrious, persevering and progressive and thus has achieved a worthy success in connection with his farming operations. Loyal and liberal as a citizen, he finds satisfaction in aid- ing in the support of all that tends to ad- vance the general welfare of the com- munity, and to him is given unqualified esteem and confidence by all who knew him. In politics he is a staunch advo- cate of the principles for which the Re- publican party stands sponsor, but he has never eared to enter the arena of practical politics, and the only office in which he has consented to serve is that of school director of his district. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Mennonite clnncli, in whose faith he was reared, and is now ]iastor of Mt. Pisgah church, near Cherry Box, having served a number of years. On December 25, 1890, :\rr. Johnston gave api)ro])riate observance of the joy- ous Christmastide by wedding Miss An- na Detwiler, who was born in Wliiteside county, Illinois, and reared in Shelby county, and who is a daughter of John G. and Magdalina Detwiler, well known residents of the village of Cherry Box, this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnston have been born eight children, all of whom still remain at the parental home, and their names are here entered in re- spective order of their birth : Lydia, now ^frs. Fred Littleton, of this county; Alma, Eran, Uriah, Xoah, Orpha, Esther and Orvis. WILLIAM HOWELL. Born of a martial strain and with high examples of devotion to patriotic duty and loyalty to the rights of ma'^^'ind in his family history, AVilliam Howell, one of the venerable and venerated citizens of Salt River townshiji, in this county, has, in bis own life work and experience, admirably sustained the spirit and pa- triotic ardor of his ancestors and exem- plified the best attributes of elevated American citizenship. His grandfather, John Howell, although a native of Eng- land, helped to win the independence of our country by four years valiant ser- vice in the Continental army under the immortal commander who was "First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen. ' ' And when the Civil war burst with all its fury on the land and threatened its dismemberment, he shouldered his musket and freely ]ioured out his blood to save the laiion which his ancestor had helped to found. Air. Howell was born in AVestmore- land county. Pennsylvania, on December 1, is;;:?, and is a sou of Aaron and Re- becca (Wilson) Howell, also natives of WILLIAM HOWELL HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 601 that county. The father followed fann- ing and raising live stock in his native state all his life. He was a very success- ful farmer and a man of prominence and influence in the local affairs of his por- tion of the state. He also contributed to its welfare and that of other states by rearing to maturity a large family of children and making them useful mem- bers of society. His marriage with Miss Eebecca Wilson took place in about 1829 and resulted in the liirth of thirteen chil- dren in the household. Of these three are now living — William, the immediate subject of this writing; Matilda, the wife of J. C. Parr, of Irwin, Pennsylvania; and Eleanor, the wife of J. D. Brown, also a resident of Irwin, Pennsylvania. The father was first a Democrat and later a Whig, and finally a Eepuhlican in poli- tics, and in his religious affiliation was warmly attached to the Presbyterian church. His son, William Howell, was edu- cated in the district schools of Westmore- land and Allegheny counties, Pennsyl- vania, and after leaving school worked on the home farm with his father until 1870. He then yielded to a longing that had possessed him for years and deter- mined to try his fortunes in the newer country of the great West. In the year last mentioned he came to Missouri and located in ^lonroe county, where he re- mained until 1882 actively and profitably engaged in farming. He then sold his in- terests in that county and moved to Shel- by county, in which he has ever since lived, following farming and raising live stock for the markets with all his energy and the ardor of a man devoted to his work. He has been very successful in his operations in this county, and in 1908 determined to lessen his labors and take a well earned rest. He accordingly re- tired to a very comfortable home on a farm of ninety acres, near Shelbina, and has in addition another tract of sixty- five acres west of Shelbina and ninety acres northwest of Shelbina. He has the greater part of bis land farmed by ten- ants, but although he is seventy-seven years of age, he still superintends the work and does a portion of it himself, be- ing very vigorous and active for his age and imbued with a spirit of industry which will not be satisfied without some- thing in the way of regular occupation. On August 9, 1862, he enlisted in the Federal army in defense of the Union, being enrolled at Pittsburg, in his native state, in Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Pennsylvania Infantry, un- der command of Col. Thomas M. Bayne, the regiment being known as the "Nine Months' Volunteers." He was in the service for the full term of his enlist- ment and was mustered out at the end of it. He participated in the battle of Fred- ericksburg, Virginia, in which he re- ceived a wound from which he has never fully recovered. Ml'. Howell has been as loyal to his country and the locality of his residence and their interests in peace as he was in war. In the affairs of Shelby county he has shown a very earnest interest and in promoting the welfare of the people has taken an active and serviceable ^lart. He was especially helpful to his township in a long service as school director and left his impress on the school system of the township. In many other ways he has 603 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY contributed essentially and wisely to the advancement of the region and helped to promote its judicious improvement, and he is esteemed by all classes of its citi- zenship for the uprightness of his life, his enterprise in building ui3 its material development and the aid he has given in strengthening its moral and educational agencies. On May 16, 1861, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Elizabeth Marehand, a daughter of Abraham and Eachel (Saam) Marehand, all natives of Penn- sylvania, where Mrs. Howell was born on September 7, 1837. By this marriage he became the father of seven children, six of whom are living — Aaron S. C, of Henry county, Missouri ; William A., a resident of Shelby county; Mary Ella, the wife of Joseph White, also of this county; Rachel Rebecca, the wife of George Foster, of IMacon, Missouri ; and Owen Fletcher and Arthur S., both resi- dents of Shell)y county. In politics the father is a pronounced and zealous Re- publican, and in religious affairs he leans to the Presbyterian r-hurch, of which his wife is a member. Twenty-eight years of his life has been passed in this coun- ty, and they have all l)een fruitful in good to its people and their interests. He is justly esteemed as one of their best and most representative men. GEORGE B. GARNER. Owner of one of the splendid farms of his native township and held in high esteem in tlie community that has ever represented his home, ^Ir. Garner is one of tlie prominent and successful agri- culturists and stock-growers of Taylor township and is a member of one of the well known and highly honored families of the county. On other pages of this work appears a sketch of the career of his brother, Charles B. Garner, and in- cidental thereto is given due record con- cerning the family history, so that a rei)etition of the data is not demanded in the present connection, as ready ref- erence may be made, through the index of this volume, to the article in question. Mr. Garner was born on the old home- stead farm in Taylor township, this county, on March 4, 1866, and he is in- debted to the local schools for his early educational training, reverting with fa- cetious satisfaction to the fact that he was a student in the Ernest schoolhouse, coloquialiy designated by the euphoni- ous title of "Grub College." He con- tinued to attend school at intervals until he was seventeen years of age, and in the meanwhile he contributed materially to the work of the home farm, thus learning the lessons of practical and consecutive industry and gaining expe- rience that has been of inestimable value to him in his independent career. He continued to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until 1890, when he married, after which he rented a farm near the village of Leon- ard, where he remained one year, at the ex]iiration of which he purchased forty acres of his ])resent farm, in section 22, Taylor township, where the best evi- dence of his energy, ability and success is that afforded by his ownership at the present time of a well improved landed estate of 255 acres, all available for cul- tivation. He erected the present sub- stantial buildings on the place, and the HISTORY OF SHELBY COUN^TY 603 other improvements are of the best type, so that he has everj- reason to view with satisfaction the progress he has made and the independent position to which he has attained through his own well directed endeavors. He is a staunch Re- publican in his political allegiance, tak- ing a loyal interest in public affairs of a local order and having served both as clerk and director of the school board of his district. He gives a liberal support to the work of the Methodist Episcopal church in Evans Chapel, of which Mrs- Garner is a zealous member On February 13, 1890, Mr. Garner was united in marriage to Miss May S. Boring, who was born in Green county, Illinois, and reared in this county, being a daughter of George W. and Augusta Boring. The mother died in 1908 and the father lives in Clarence, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Garner became the parents of eight children, all of whom are liv- ing, namely: Florence Merle. Alfred E., Eva May, George Delbert, Charles E-. Clara Hazel, and Lola Grace. One died in infancy. EICHAED W. GILLASPY. A representative of one of the old and honored families of Shelby county and a son of William L. Gillaspy, of whom more s]iecific mention is made on other pages of this volume, the subject of this review has been a resident of this county from the time of his birth and is now numbered among the successful farmers and progressive citizens of Taylor town- ship, his well unproved farm being lo- cated in section 24. Richard Wilson Gillaspy was born on the old homestead farm of his parents, in Taylor township, this county, on June 28, 1866, and there he was reared to ma- turity, in the meanwhile having duly availed himself of the advantages af- forded in the district school that was long known locally by the facetious title of "Grub College." He continued to atiend school at intervals until he had attained the age of sixteen years, after which he continued to be associated in the work of the home farm until 1887, when he rented a tract of land and en- gaged in farming and stock-growing on his o\vii responsibility. He was inde- fatigable in his efforts, which were di- rected with energ\' and discrimination, so that his success became cumulative. He continued his operations under these conditions for a period of six years, at the expiration of which he purchased forty acres, which he later sold and pur- chased eighty acres of his old homestead fai-m, to which he has since added until he now has an admirably improved farm of 160 acres, all of which is available for cultivation. He has erected substantial buildings on his farm, and the place gives the tangible evidences of thrift and prosperity. Mr. Gillaspy has not failed to lend his co-operation in the support of all measures advanced for the general wel- fare of the community and, though he has never sought or desired iiulilic office of any description, he is a staunch sup- porter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Missionary Baptist clmrch and are zealous workers in the various deitarlments of its relig- ious and benevolent activities. They are 604 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY held ill high regard in their native county and their pleasant home is one notable for its hospitality. On March 11, 1890, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Gillaspay to Miss Mar- tha L. McVey, who, like himself, is a member of a well known pioneer family of Shelby county, where she was born and reared. She is a daughter of Reu- ben W. and Martha McVey, who were residents of Taylor township. They have no children. JOHN H. BUE. Pleasantly located on his fine farm of 210 acres in Bethel townshiji and pursu- ing the peaceful if arduous life of an ac- tive and energetic farmer and live stock breeder, John H. Bue has, nevertheless, had a career of considerable variety and adventure, even though it was confined to his youth and early manhood. He is a native of this country, though not of this state, having come into being on Novem- ber 2.S, 1855, in Lake county, Indiana, and is a son of Henry and Eliza (]\Iooney) Bue, natives of Lincolnshire, England, where the father was born in 1830. He came to the United States when he was about twenty-one years old, and for a short time lived in Rochester, New York. But the West had greater attrac- tion for him. Its great wealth of re- sources called him with a pleading voice and its natural life, unspoiled as yet by the blandishments of social culture, wore for him a winning smile. Accordingly, after a residence of a year in Rochester he moved to Indiana and took up his resi- dence in Lake county. There he banked cord wood and later became a railroad contractor. In 1869 he took another flight toward the Rockies, coming to Missouri and lo- cating at Excello, in Macon county. Here he bought a fann and farmed it one year, then moved to Boonville, Cooper county, where death soon afterward robbed him of his wife. From that time to his death, in 1895, he followed railroad contracting almost exclusively. During the greater part of his activity in this country he was highly prosperous, but business re- verses late in life deprived him of much of his gain, and kept him from leaving his children with as good a start in life as he had aimed to give them. He died at the home of his son, John H. Bue, at which he had lived at intervals after the death of his wife. Mr. Bue, the father, undertook and carried to completion several large works of construction in his contracting days, among them the O. K., M. K., T. & Long division of the AVabash railroad in this part of the country. He was married in New York to Miss Eliza INIooney, and by this marriage became the father of eight children, five of whom are living: John H., the immediate subject of this sketch ; Mary, the widow of Patrick Lyons, who lives in Bloomington, Illinois; "William, who is a resident of Flathead county, Montana; Sarah, the wife of William Garrison, whose home is in the new state of Oklahoma ; Charles, who resides at Elwood, Indiana; Hannah M., the wife of R. W. Tanner, of Idaho, who died in September, 1910. The father was a mem- ber of the Protestant Episcopal church, ARTHUR L. FREELANU HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY 605 and was much esteemed for his business enterprise aud his estimable qualities as a man and citizen. John H. Bue obtained his education in the public schools of Merrillville aud Ross Station, in Lake couutj', Indiana, attending them until he reached the age of fourteen years. He then went to work with his father, going from place to place as circumstances required, seeing differ- ent phases of American enterprise and human life aud treasuring up the lessons of his experience for future use. He continued working on railroad contracts with his father until 1879, then deter- mined to gratify a long-felt desire and seek a permauent residence and settled occupation. In that year he came to Shel- by county, Missouri, and during the next three years engaged in farming and rais- ing live stock on land which he rented for the purpose. At the end of the period named he liought the farm he had been renting and on it lie has made his home and conducted his industries ever since. But as he prospered he added to his land and increased his live stock business. He now owns 210 acres, the greater ])art of which is under cultivation, and is farmed with intelligence and enterprise. The stock business is carried on in the same spirit, and liotli are made very profitable by the excellent management which con- trols them in every detail. Mr. Bue has taken an earnest and helpful interest in the affairs of his town- ship and county, which have felt the quickening imjmlse of his strong mind and ready hand. He is a school director and has rendered valued service as road overseer. His first marriage, wliich oc- curred in 1879, was with Miss Elizabeth Smith, of Shelby county. They had one child, which died in infancy. The mother also died soon afterward, and on Novem- ber 23, 1883, Mr. Bue contracted a second marriage, uniting with Miss Jennie Lee Pickett, also a Shelby county lady, and daughter of Hiram and Elizabeth (Rook- wood) Pickett, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky, and both long resident in Shelby county, where Mrs. Bue was born on .Tuly 19, 1861. Three children have been born of the second marriage, and two of them are living, a son named William and a daugh- ter named Maybelle Lee, now Mrs. "Wil- liam Vanskike, of Knox county. In poli- tics the father is a Democrat and at all times an energetic and effective worker for the success of liis party. He and his wife are zealous and devoted members of the Southern Methodist Episcopal church, and are held to be among the most valued workers in its cause. Mr. Bue being one of the stewards of the congregation to which he belongs and looked up to as one of its leading mem- bers. Mr. Bue is interested in breeding superior lines of coach and draft horses and now owns two of the best stallions in the county. ARTHUR L. FREELAND. The last three generations of the fam- ily to which Arthur L. Freeland, of Lake- nan, this county, belongs have contrib- uted to the life, activity and jiroductive- ness of four states of the Auierican Un- ion and have done well and been highly esteemed in all. His paternal grand- father, John Freeland, was a native of 606 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Massachusetts and moved in Ms early manhood to North Carolina, where the father, Francis Freeland, was born on February 27, 1807. While he was but a small boy the family moved to Kentucky, and there he grew to manhood and lived until 1832, extensively engaged in farm- ing and raising live stock after reaching his maturity and becoming one of the noted stock men of the state. In the year last named he moved his own family to Illinois, and in 1866 located in Jackson township, Shelby county, Missouri. There he bought a large tract of land, which he farmed until 1873, when his wife died. He then retired from active pursuits and passed the remainder of his days in ease and the comforts of a pro- longed rest, dying at Lakenan on March 13,^1888. Francis Freeland was married in 1832 to Miss Julia A. Mayhugh, a native of Virginia, born in 1809. She became, by her marriage, the mother of eleven chil- dren. Ten of her offspring grew to ma- turity and six of them are still living — John AV., a resident of Oklahoma ; Field- ing M., who lives at Blackwell. Okla- homa ; Fleming IT., who has his home in Shelbina ; Franklin P., a citizen of Leota, Kansas ; Napoleon B., who is also a resi- dent of Oklahoma; and Arthur L., the immediate subject of this memoir. The father was a Whig in early life, and when tlie party to which he belonged passed into history and was succeeded by the Republican party, he joined the new or- ganization and adhered to it until his death. His religious affiliation was with the Southern ]\Iethodist church. Arthur L. Freeland was born at Blan- dinsville. Illinois, on August 28, 1851. He was reared to the age of fifteen on his father's farm in Illinois, and began his education in the public schools in its vicinity. At the age of fifteen he accom- panied his parents to Missouri, and lived with them on their farm in Shelby coun- ty until 1885, completing in its public scliools, a private school in Shelbyville and the high school in that city the edu- cation he had started in Illinois. After leaving school he became a teacher in the public schools of Shelby county, follow- ing that trying but self-developing voca- tion until 1885. He then started an enter- prise in general merchandising which he conducted for a period of twenty years, his place of business being in Lakenan, of which he was appointed postmaster the same year. He is the postmaster of the city now, having filled the office con- tinuously from his first a]ipointment in 1885, with the exception of four years, and discliarged his official duties in con- nection witli his mercantile undertaking. Mr. Freeland sold his store and busi- ness in 1905, and since then he has de- voted his time and attention wholly to the duties of his office and the care of his other interests. He has been successful in liis efforts for advancement and now owns land in Pike county and a valuable residence in Lakenan, over both of which he exercises a careful supervision and direction. He has always taken an active interest in jiolitics as a Republican, in fraternal life as a Freemason, holding membershi}) in Shelbina Lodge of the or- der, and in religious affairs as a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. On October 31, 1872, he was united in marriage witli Miss Emma C. Holliday, of Shelbyville. One child HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 607 blessed their union, .their daughter Julia E., who is now the wife of Linn L. Byars, of Valley, Nebraska. Mr. Freeland is an enteriirising and progressive man, as is shown by his own success in everything he has undertaken and by his valued contributions in coun- sel, in activity and in material aid to every movement for the development and improvement of the town and county in which he lives and the promotion of the enduring welfare of their people. He is always at the front in all good works — niaterial, political, intellectual and moral - — and is esteemed by the ])eople who have had the benefit of his services as one of the most representative and useful men among them. No one stands higher in Lakenan and Shelby county, and the regard in which he is universally held is acknowledged to be based on demon- strated merit. REV. JAMES JOLLY WILSON. This venerable and venerated pa- triarch in the Christian ministry, who was a commanding herald of the gos- pel for fifty-six years, and but recently retired from active service in his cho- sen line of beneficence, has passed the eighty-first milestone of his long journey of usefulness through the wilderness of human error in which he has contended against all forms of evil, and is now rest- ing serenely from his labors, secure in the affectionate regard of the ]ieoi)le who have so long had the benefit of his minis- trations and the confidence and esteem of the whole body of the eitizenshiii of Shelby and adjoining counties and in many other parts of the country. Rev. Mr. Wilson was born on March 22, 1829, in Highland county, Ohio, and is a son of Joseph H. and Maria (Jolly) Wilson, also natives of that county, where the father was born on May 6, 1807, and they were married in 1828. The father grew to manhood in that county, and when he was old enough engaged in farming. He also kei)t a store and oper- ated a tan yard at Petersburg, Ohio, for twenty years, and at the end of that period moved to Oxford, Indiana. There he followed farming until his death, in 1875. He was successful according to the standards of his day, and in all places of his residence rose to consequence and influence among the people. He and his wife became the parents of five children, but only two of them are now living, the interesting subject of this memoir, and his brother, Sanford H., who is a resi- dent of Santa Clara, California. The mother of these children died some years before her husband, and he afterward contracted a second marriage, uniting in 1856 with Mrs. Priscilla Briden, of Tip- pecanoe county, Indiana. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church and a man of great activity and effectiveness in his congregation. His son, James Jolly AVilson, began his education in the district schools of his native county and later attended Salem Academy, in Ross county, Ohio, for one year. In 1849 he entered Han- over College, in Indiana, whidi he at- tended three years. He then entered the ministry and was licensed to preach in 1853 at the church in which he was bap- tized as an infant. He began his career as a jireacher in Oxford, Indiana, occu- pying the pastorate of the Presbyterian 608 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY church in that city three years. In 1857 he came to Missouri, practically a Chris- tian missionary, and located in Knox county. For a number of years he preached throughout a large extent of the surrounding country in school houses and country churches, both of which in those days were few in number and it was far between them. The new comer proved a veritable god- send to the region in which he took up his residence and his useful calling. He served as president of the board of edu- cation in Knox county before the Civil war and under his inspiring influence school houses soon began to rise in many places like exhalations from the ground, and the cause of public education re- ceived a stimulus that was of the great- est benefit to the county and highly ap- preciated by its inhabitants of that day. His influence as a minister was equally manifest in the quickening of religious spirit among the people, and this also re- sulted in the erection of many new altars for worship. In 1868 Rev. Mr. Wilson moved to Shelby county, five mlies northwest of Bethel, and there he dwelt and gave him- self to his duties with great and constant devotion until November, 1909, when he retired from all active work in the min- istry and found a restful home in Shel- byville. For forty-five years he had preached in Pleasant Prairie Presby- terian churcb, besides delivering a great many sei'mons and addresses in other places, and officiating at numberless other functions belonging to the clergy outside of the pulpit. He was in great demand for funeral services and one of the most popular men in this portion of the state for uniting young couples in marriage. His genial manner and benignant disposition won him his way to the hearts of the people easily and gave him a specially strong hold on the regard of the young, while his high char- acter, purity of life and unwavering fidelity to duty established him in gen- eral confidence and esteem so firmly that nothing could loosen his hold or alienate the people from him, even slightly. Eev. Mr. Wilson was married on Sep- tember 25, 1851, to Miss Zenetta C. Core, a daughter of John and IMary (Ferneau) Core, residents at that time of Pike county, Ohio, where the marriage took place. Four children were born of the union, but Sandford Core Wilson, of Shelbj'ville, is the only one of them now living. The father is now a member of Kirksville Presbytery and was chosen moderator of the session in 1904. He was then advanced in years, having ])assed his three-quarter century mark, but he was hale and vigorous in body, and the session over which he presided found that his mind was as active and keen and its resources were as ready for immediate iise as they had ever been. His wisdom and skill in presiding fully justified the confidence of the body ex- pressed in his choice. The life herein briefly chronicled has been one of arduous effort, stern endur- ance and uncomplaining self sacrifice. But it has been fruitful in benefits to those among whom it has been passed, and in view of the good results it has so materially helped to bring about, its retrospect cannot but be pleasant to all who know its record, even the good man who has lived it. And all who have knowl- HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 609 edge of him and liis great work, must re- joice and do rejoice that the evening of his long day of toil and trial is so mild and benignant. Moreover, all wish him yet many years in which to enjoy it. FAEMERS' BANK OF EMDEN. This very useful, highly appreciated and widely popular financial institution, which has an excellent reputation for soundness, progressiveness and the use of good judgment in its management, was founded on April 14, 1904, with a capital of $10,000, and the following offi- cers in control : President, D. S. Sharp ; cashier, R. L. Davis; directors, D. S. Sharp, E. L. Turner, W. S. Wood, Thomas J. Crane, P. H. Couch, U. J. Davis and R. D. Goodwin. In 1906 Marsh. Booker succeeded E. L. Turner. The direc- torate of the bank remained unchanged until January 1, 1908. At that time R. D. Goodwin was elected president and several months later Howard Couch was chosen cashier, and F. M. Dill vice-presi- dent. The board of directors at present (1910) is composed of R. D. Goodwin, F. M. Dill, W. S. Wood, Thomas J. Crane, P. H. Couch, U. J. Davis and R. A. Humphrey. The business of the bank has been good and active from its founding and has steadily increased from year to year. The institution is known throughout this portion of the state, in nearby sections of adjoining states and in banking cir- cles generally, as one of the soundest and best managed banks of its size and character. Its past record is altogether to its credit, both as to progress and to safety, and the gentlemen at the head of it give the best guaranty of its strength and reliability in their personal charac- ter and standing, and the success with which they have managed other business enterprises with which they are con- nected in leading ways. Richard D. Goodwin, the president and controlling spirit of the bank, is a native of Shelby county and was born near Emden on November 19, 1846. He is a son of Henry H. and Mary (Dur- rett) Goodwin, natives of Virginia. The father was born in Louisa county, Vir- ginia, in 1817, and came to Missouri in 1835. He located in St. Louis county and during the next two years followed farm- ing there. He then came to Shelby county and here he lived until his death, in August, 1910, and was very actively and successfully occupied in general farming and raising live stock until a few years ago, when he retired from ac- tive pursuits. In the early days of his residence in this state he was a great hunter, the season's regular average tribute to his unerring rifle being twenty- five to forty deer, besides other game in profusion. He divided his land among his children, but before doing this he owned 340 acres. This venerable gentleman, who forms a bright and interesting link connecting the early history of this county with the present state of affairs in it, was married in 1843 to Miss Mary Durrett, a daugh- ter of Dr. Richard Durrett, a native of Virginia, but a resident of Shelby county, Missouri, at the time of the marriage. She and her husband became the parents of eleven children, eight of whom are living: Judith, a resident of this county; Richard D. the president of the bank; 610 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Robert, William and Henry, prosperous and highly respected citizens of Shelby county; Jennie, the wife of George Nor- man ; Mary, the wife of James Babb ; and Rebecca, the wife of Clay Davis, all also residents of this county. The father was an old-time Democrat in his political faith and allegiance, and his religious connection was with the Missionary Bap- tist church. His son, Richard D. Goodwin, obtained his education in the district schools of Shelby county, which he attended at in- tervals until he was twenty years old. After leaving school he worked on his father's farm in partnership with his brothers until 1899. He then bought 160 acres of land, which he has increased by subsequent purchases to 195, and on this farm he has carried on for years a very active, successful and ])rofitable general farming and stock breeding enterprise of magnitude in each department and con- ducted with great enterprise, vigor and continual striving for the best results through the application of skill and broad intelligence to the work and ob- servant attention to its every detail. Mr. Goodwin has been very much in- terested in the bank of which he is now president from the beginning of its his- tory. He was a charter member in its organization and has been one of its firmest and most faithful friends ever since. What it is now is largely a prod- uct of his creation. He has taken also a deep interest in the affairs of the com- munity outside of financial circles, help- ing to develop and bring to completion every wovtliy undertaking for the benefit of his township and county. He is an ardent Democrat in political relations and has served his party well as town- ship chairman both by appointment and election. He is a member of the Baptist church and one of the trustees of the con- gregatipn to which he belongs. His wife is an earnest and devoted member of the Christian church. Her maiden name was Anna Moi-eland, and she is a native of Marion county, in this state, and a daughter of Washington and Isabella (Robertson) Moreland, residents of that county. Her marriage with Mr. Good- win took place on October 19, 1899. CRAYTON WOODAVARD. As one of the sterling citizens of Shelby county, which has been his home since 1902, when he removed here from the adjoining county of Knox, ]Mr. Wood- ward is well entitled to consideration in this publication. The major portion of his active business career has been one of close and successful identification with agricultural pursuits, and he is still the owner of a well-improved farm of 184 acres in Bourbon township, Kjiox county. He is now postmaster in the village of Leonard and his circle of friends in the community is limited only by that of his acquaintances, for his life has been such as to merit unqualified popular trust and esteem. Crayton Woodward claims the old Em- , pire state of the union as the place of his nativity, having been born in Oneida county. New York, on March 30, 1849, be- ing a son of Samuel R. and Mary (La- sure) Woodward, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of the state of New York, where their marriage was sol- emnized in the vear 1845. Of the two CRAYTON WOODWARD HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 611 children Crayton is the elder and Russell is now a resident of Cedar county, Neb- raska. The father was originally a AVhig and later a Republican in politics, and both he and his wife held membership in the Universalist church. Samuel R. Woodward was born in Couueetiout in 1829, and was a member of a family of English extraction that was founded in New England in the colonial days of our national history. He was reared and educated in his native state, and he re- moved to the state of New York when a young man. There he was engaged in the navigation of canal boats for a period of twenty years, at the expiration of which, about the year 1865, he removed with his family to Missouri and settled in Knox county, where he purchased a tract of land, becoming one of the fairly successful farmers and stock growers of that county, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in 1875. His devoted wife was summoned to the life eternal in 1852. Crayton Woodward passed his boy- hood days in his native county of New York state, where he was afforded the advantages of the common schools and a well-conducted select school. He was fif- teen years of age at the time of the fam- ily removal to Knox county, Missouri, where he duly assisted in the work of the home farm, beijig associated with his father until the latter 's death, and there- after continuing independent operations as a farmer and stock grower in that county until his removal to Leonard, Shelby county, in 1902. He was known as an energetic and thrifty exponent of the great basic industry of agriculture and was not denied a due measure of success in connection with his long con- tinued ojierations in connection there- with. As before stated, lie still continues in the ownership of his old homestead farm, .which is well improved and under effective cultivation. In politics Mr. Woodward is found loy- ally arrayed under the banner of the grand old Republican party, in whose cause he has been an active worker in a local way. He received from Postmaster General Payne appointment to the office of postmaster at Leonard in 1902, imder the administration of the lamented Presi- dent McKinley, and in this position he has since continued the efficient and pop- ular incumbent. He has also served as school director for more than five years past, and is known as a loyal and public spirited citizen. Mrs. Woodward is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church. On March '80, 1872, Mr. Woodward was united in marriage to Miss Laura M. Johnson, who was born and reared in Knox county, this state, where her father, the late Cornelius Johnson, was an early settler. Of the six children of this union four are living, namely: Sam- uel, a successful farmer of Taylor town- ship, Shelby county; Russell, who now resides in Knox county, Missouri; Au- gustus, who is a twin of Russell, and who is identified with agricultural jmrsuits in Shelby county; and Guy, who remains on the old homestead in Knox county. CECILIUS C. CALVERT. Although he bears a distinguished name and had men of promience and in- fluence among his ancestors, Cecilius C. 612 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY Calvert, present postmaster of Emden, in this county, is a modest gentleman of merit, and makes no claim to recognition except what he presents in his character, his conduct as a man and his usefulness as a citizen. He is a native of Missouri, born on April 1, 1844, in Marion county, but his grandfather, also named Cecil- ius, was born and reared in England and came to the United States in his young manhood, locating in Virginia before the formation of the Federal Union. From Virginia he moved to Missouri in 1818 and took up his residence in what is now Marion county, where he died in 1850. Coming down to the next generation, Mr. Calvert is a son of Gabriel and Sarah A. (Eollins) Calvert, natives of Ken- tucky. The father was born in Bourbon county, in that state, in 1814, and was brought to Missouri by his parents when he was four years old. He was reared and educated in ]\Iarion county, and as soon as he was of a suitable age began farming and raising live stock in that county, and followed those pursuits in the same locality until his death in 1898. He was very successful as a farmer and when he died left 200 acres of superior and well improved land to his heirs. In the days of his young manhood the law required citizens to muster at regular times under fixed regulations for mili- tary training. Gabriel Calvert was the fifer of the organization in his neighbor- hood, and it is a common tradition handed down from the older inhabitants that he was one of the best of his day. He was married in 1839 to Miss Sarah A. Rollins, a native of Kentucky, but re- siding in IMarion county, Missouri, at the time of the marriage and for some years previous. They had twelve children, six of whom are living: Thomas J., of this county; Cecilius C, the theme of this writing ; Sarah, the wife of B. V. Fergu- son, of Marion county; George A., of Monroe county; Julia, the widow of the late John AVood, of Shelby county; Ziba, who lives at Shelton, Nebraska; and Bo- lar, who is a resident of Marion county, Missouri. In jjolitics the father was a Republican and always deeply interested and active in the service of his party. Cecilius C. Calvert obtained his educa- tion at Hickory Grove district school, in Marion county, which he attended during the winter months until he was thirteen years of age. He then worked on his father's farm until the beginning of the Civil war, when he felt impelled by his love of the Union to enlist in its defense. He enlisted in March, 1862, in Company K, Eleventh Missouri Infantry, under Col. Henry S. Lipscomb, and served un- til December, 1864, when he received an honorable discharge at Cape Girardeau, in this state. During his service he took part in the battles of Newark and Kirks- ville, Missouri; Gainesville, Arkansas, and the two days' engagement at Cape Girardeau. The command then followed Price and Marmaduke to Little Rock and took possession of that city and closed the campaign at Frederickstown, ]\[is- souri. After his discharge from the army Mr. Calvert returned to his Marion county home and remained there working on the farm and assisting the family until 1866, when he was united in marriage with Miss Eliza Spaw, of Iowa, a daughter of AVilliam J. and Mary Ann (Ashpaw) Spaw, formerly of that state but long HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUXTY 613 residents of Missouri. He then rented a farm in Marion county, which he occu- pied until 1873. In that year he moved to Macon county on eighty acres of land which he purchased, and on which he raised stock and carried on general farm- ing operations until 1889, when he sold out there and changed his residence to a farm of 240 acres in Shelby county, about three miles from Emden. He directed the cultivation of this farm and the stock industrj^ in connection with it until 1905, then divided it among his children. After this disposition of his farm Mr. Calvert moved to Emden and took charge of a feed and grist mill, which he owned and operated until 1907. This mill he then sold, after which he passed a year in South Dakota. Eeturning to Emden in 1908, he bought back the mill property, and he now operates the mill very profitably. He also keeps a general store and has a large and active trade. In October, 1908, he was appointed post- master of Emden and is still in service in thft capacity. From his happy union with Miss Spaw in the marriage which was solemnized in 1866, ten children have been born, eight of whom are living, and all residents of Shelby county but one. They are: Laura, the wife of E. P. Parsons ; James ; Sarah, the wife of William E. Dye ; Ad- die, the wife of James Vanoy; Anna, the wife of W. C. Habig, of South Dakota ; Julia, the wife of William Adudell ; and George and Frank. The father is a Re- publican in politics. Fraternally he is connected with tlie Grand Army of the Republic, and in religious affiliation he and his wife are energetic working mem- bers of the Primitive Baptist church. WILLIAM J. COTTON. This extensive, enterprising and suc- cessful farmer and live stock breeder and dealer, furnishes an impressive il- lustration of the worth of industry, thrift and intelligent use of the oppor- tunities afforded by this prolific and rapidly improving country and what they can accomplish in the way of making fortune and good repute for a laborious man and worthy, public spirited citizen. He lived on rented land for some years after he began farming, and although he finally inherited a farm of considerable extent, it was in a state of primeval wild- ness when he took charge of it, and he was obliged to do almost as much as any pioneer to reduce his holding to sys- tematic productiveness. Mr. Cotton was born on April 29, 1857, at Shelbyville, Missouri, and is a grand- son of Chester K. Cotton, a native of Connecticut and one of the earliest set- tlers of Shelby county. He was for many years engaged in general merchandising at Shelbyville, and prospered finely in his business. The parents of William J. were William B. and Mary (Parsons) Cotton, the former born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1835, and the latter a na- tive of this county. He came to Missouri with his parents when he was quite young and was reared and educated in this county, attending school in Shelby- ville, where he lived. As soon as he was old enough and sufficiently trained for the purpose, his father took him into the mercantile estal)lishment as a i)artner under the firm name of Cotton & Son, which became a very ])opular and pros- perous firm, doing a large business and 614 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY wixining trade from a veiy large extent of the surrounding country. But the life of the junior member of this firm was short, as he died in 1871 at the early age of thirty-six years. He was married in 1854 to Miss Mary Parsons of this coimty, a daughter of Jonathan and Mary Ann (Carter) Par- sons, natives of Virginia. They had two children, their daughter, Mary Cather- ine, the wife of I. N. Frederick, of Shelby county, and their son, William J., both of whom live to revere their memory and follow their example of upright and use- ful living. The mother died in 1858, and in 1860 the father married a second wife, choosing as his partner on this occasion Miss Jennie Dobbins, of Marion county. Four children were born of their union and three of them are living, and all resi- dents of Shelbina. They are: Thomas M. ; Cora, the wife of Sim Downing; and Weldon. In politics the father was a Democrat and an active worker for his party. He was a Freemason fraternally and a member of the Methodist Episco- pal church in religious affiliation. William J. Cotton obtained his aca- demic training in the district schools of Shelby county and at Ingleside College, Palmyra. After leaving the latter in- stitution he pursued a course of special business training at the Gem City Com- mercial College, Quincy, Illinois. Upon completing his education he started mak- ing his own way in the world, and until 1866 rented land and carried on farming operations as extensively and vigorously ashiscircumstanceswouldpennit. In 1866 he received as an inheritance from his grandfather, with whom he had made his home after the death of his father until he started a home for himself, a farm of 360 acres of wild and unbroken land, and he immediately gave himself up with all his energy to make this tract over into a comfortable home and a productive and valuable basis of general farming and stock breeding and feeding operations, enlarging his efforts in each department as he prospered and gained facilities for the purpose. In this design he has been very successful. His farm is well improved, highly productive and very valuable, and he has made it all this by his energj', intelligence and excellent judgment in managing everything con- nected with it. And the live stock indus- try conducted in connection with the farming is managed with the same care, intelligence and skill, and is in its meas- ure proportionately as profitable. Mr. Cotton has risen to prominence and influence also in the general life of his township and county. He has shown gi'eat interest in their development and improvement, giving active support to every worthy undertaking for promoting that and looking well to the best inter- ests of the whole people in every way. His public spirit as a citizen is highly ap- preciated by the people, and he is very popular and has high standing among them. He has served them well as a school director and in all other ways open to him, or that he could make open to him, has given their affairs and their enduring welfare his best and most help- ful attention. On December 18, 1878, Mr. Cotton was united in marriage with Miss Jessie Bar- num, of Palmyra, a daugliter of Ezra and Martha (Wells) Barnum, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 615 Kentucky. Two children have been born of the union, a son named Chester P., who is living at home with his parents, and a daughter named Alberta, who is the wife of B. F. Floweree, an esteemed resident of Shelby county. In i^olitics the father is a pronounced and unwaver- ing Democrat of the most reliable kind. In fraternal relations he is a Freemason, and in religious connection he and his wife are zealous working members of the Missionary Baptist church, he having served as clerk of the congregation to which he belongs during the last fifteen years with credit to himself and benefit to the church and greatly to the satisfac- tion of the whole congregation. JOHN J. HOLLYMAN. The untimely death of this excellent farmer, fine stock man and most highly esteemed citizen of Tiger Fork township, Shelby county, which occurred on No- vember 13, 1899, when he was but little over fifty-five years of age, stopped in its midst a very progressive and successful business career in the allied industries to which it was devoted, and cast the whole community in mourning over the loss of an inspiring force, a leader of thought and action and a very useful man in all practical requirements of every day life, which had been at work among its people. Mr. Hollyman was born on August 23, 1844, in Shelby county, Missouri, and here he resided all the years of his life. He was a son of Charles N. and Nancy (Eaton) Hollyman, natives of Kentucky, where the former was born in 1810. He came to Missouri in the very early days and for a short time lived in Marion county. From there he moved to Shelby county, and on its fertile soil and amid its inspiring and progressive institutions he passed the remainder of his days, dy- ing on March 25, 1882. He spent his years in this state in farming and raising live stock, and in his time was considered one of the very best farmers in Shelby county. His marriage, which took place in 1835, resulted in three children, all of whom are now deceased. John J. Hollyman attended the dis- trict schools in Shelby county and also the public schools in Lexington, Ken- tucky, whither he went during the Civil war and remained three years. After his return to this county he finished his education in one of the schools here. He remained on the home place with his pa- rents, assisting them until death robbed him of them. He then bought the place and on it he passed the rest of his own life and the remaining years of a very successful career as a farmer and also as an extensive breeder and feeder of stock, which he shipped in large consign- ments to the Chicago and other markets. He began as a farmer and stock man with 160 acres of land, and when he died he owned 480 acres, which his widow now controls and manages with a skill and in- telligence that keep the old spirit in the industries conducted on the ]ilace and maintain the profits at the highest range of the times. Mr. HolljTnan was prominent in local public affairs as a Democrat who never wavered in loyalty to his party or flagged in zeal in its service. But he would never consent to accept a ]"»olitical ofiice either by appointment or election, 616 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUXTY although frequently and earnestly solic- ited to do so by his friends among the party leaders and also those who marched with the rank and file. He pre- ferred the independent and honorable position of private citizenship as a man and the duties and interests of his farm to all official cares and all artificial dis- tinctions boi'n of temporary elevation in public life. At the same time he gave close and intelligent attention to the needs and possibilities of his township and county, and omitted no effort possi- ble on his part to provide for the one and develop the other to the highest extent. Every form of public improvement or enterprise for the good of the people had his hearty, cheerful and helpful support from start to finish. On April 26, 1883, he was united in marriage with Miss Anna V. Bell, who was born on July 17, 1855, in Shelby coimty, Missouri, and is a daughter of J. W. and Elizabeth B. (Ferguson) Bell, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Holly- man were the parents of two children, both living : Charles N., who lives at La- redo, Texas, and Frank, a resident of this county. Their mother is a member of Mt. Zion Baptist church, and one of the active workers among those who be- long to it, doing everything she can to advance the interests of the congrega- tion and the church in general. JAMES W. TURNER Having passed the limit of human life as designated by the Psalmist, although bearing well and with spirit the burden of his years, James W. Turner, one of the prosperous and enterprising farmers and stock men of North River township, in this county, is entitled, on account of his age, to the veneration the people be- stow upon him. But he has another title to their regard and good will and to their gratitude and esteem as well. That is that more than half a century of his use- ful life has been passed among them and the greater part of this period has been devoted in a leading and substantial way to the development and improvement of the locality in which his labors have been expended. Mr. Turner was born on December 10, 1839, in Garrard county, Kentucky, and is a grandson of James Turner, who was also a native of that state and when he left it, and came westward with the ad- vancing tide of migration toward the Rocky mountains, became one of the verj' early settlers in this portion of Mis- souri. He settled on a farm in our ad- joining county of Marion, and on that farm he passed the remainder of his days, dying on it at last and being laid to rest in the very soil he had hallowed by his labors. His son, Thomas W. Turner, the father of James AV., was born in 1818 in Garrard county, Ken- tucky, where he grew to manhood and was married at the very dawn of that estate. In 1840 he brought his j'oung family to Missouri and located on a farm in Marion county, also, near where his father lived. On this farm he was ac- tively, extensively and prosperously en- gaged in farming and raising live stock during all the subsequent years of his life except the last two or three, which he passed in Shelby county at the home of his son James, where he died on October 10, 1899. HISTOKY OP SHELBY COUNTY 617 He was married in 1838 to Miss Mar- garet Tucker, of the same nativity as himself, and they became the parents of ten children, eight of whom are living: James W., the interesting subject of these paragraphs; Thomas, who has his home in the state of Oklahoma ; John, who is a resident of this county; Mica- jah, who resides at Fort Scott, Kansas; Samuel, whose home is also in Okla- homa ; Mary, the wife of George Powell, of Marion county; Holman, who dwells in distant California ; and Nancy, the widow of the late George Nash, of Marion county, tliis state. In politics the father was a Democrat and always took an interest in the welfare of his party. James W. Turner began his scholastic training in the district schools of his na- tive county in Kentucky and completed it in those of Marion county, in this state, attending the latter until he reached the age of twenty-one. He then started his own career of conquest and advancement by buying eighty acres of land in Shelby county, on which he set- tled and which form a part of his present fine and well improved farm of 400 acres, nearly all of which is under advanced and skillful cultivation. On this land he was very actively, extensively and profit- ablj^ engaged in farming and raising live stock until 1903, when he retired from all active pursuits, although he still gives supervisory attention to the farming and does chores and light jobs connected with its work, according to his taste and in- clination. Mr. Turner has long been prominent and influential in the public life of the township and county, and has always shown a very warm and cordial interest in whtever has involved their enduring welfare. He served as clerk of the dis- trict school and on the board of school directors twenty-five years, and is now serving his third term as justice of the peace and notary public. He also car- ried the United States mails for two years during the Civil war. This was a public service full of peril and he fre- quently appeared to take his life in his hand when he started on his trip. But he met the requirements of the case bravely and faithfully, and he escaped unharmed, winning the commendation of all who knew of his service for his courage and fidelity in performing it. On January 25, 1866, he was united in marriage with Miss Martha Meglasson, of Marion county, a daiighter of Paschal and Caroline (Bayless) Meglasson, the former a native of Kentucky and the lat- ter of Mississippi. Five children were born of the union, three of whom are liv- ing: Lee, Laura Belle and Hurley J. The daughter is still at home with her parents, and her brothers are ])oth pros- perous and rising men in this county. The father adheres to the Democratic party in political faith and action, and in the days of his greater vigor was a very energetic worker for its success in all campaigns. His religious allegiance, and that of his wife also, is given to the Christian church, in which both are zeal- ous and devoted workers for all that per- tains to the welfare of the congregation to which they belong. MONROE TEACHENOR. The life of a traveling salesman for a large and important mercantile estab- 618 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY lisliment is by no means an easy one, however outsiders may view it. At the same time it has its compensations for its exactions and hardships and those who follow it are not slow to see and ap- preciate these. The traveling salesman of oxir time is looked upon as an author- ity on the latest phases of social, polit- ical and mercantile activity in many places, and is usually warmly welcomed as a sunbeam from the outside world in nooks and corners which are aside from the great, busy, struggling world ; and in other aspects he is regarded as a shin- ing link between the ambitious busy strivings of the smaller cities and the mighty commercial centers. In this ca- pacity Monroe Teachenor, of Shelbina, has served the public for a number of years and has found his life agreeable in the main. He has been successful in his calling, and this, if nothing else, is an element of enjoyment and sufficient in it- self to i-econcile the man who experi- ences it to almost any ordinary privation. Mr. Teachenor was born in Lewis coim- ty, Missouri, on October 5, 1863, and is a grandson of Isaac Teachenor, a native of Ohio, and a son of Nathaniel Teache- nor, who was born and reared in the same state. The father came to Mis- souri in 1857 and located in Lewis coun- ty, where he followed teaching school in connection with farming for a number of years. In 1869 he moved to Shelby county, and after remaining in this coun- ty two years removed to Knox county, where he died on May 1, 1909. He was married in 1855 to Miss Sarah Glasscock, also a native of Ohio. They had eight children, four of whom are liv- ing: David W., a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah; Isaac L., who lives at Clay- ton, Illinois; Monroe, the pleasing sub- ject of this brief re\new ; and Mrs. P. F. Gardiner, of Knox county, Missouri. The father was a successful farmer and a de- voted and loyal member of the Independ- ent Methodist church. He stood well in his community, wherever he lived, and was regarded as an upright, entei-pris- ing and useful citizen wherever he was known and by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance, or the benefit of in- timate association with him. His son, Monroe Teachenor, obtained his education in the district schools of this state and at a high school in New- ark, in Knox county. After leaving school he was employed as a clerk and salesman in a dry goods store for a num- ber of years. He then went on the road as a traveling representative of Janis, Saunders & Co., a large wholesale dry goods establishment in St. Louis, whom he represented in th^e commercial world throughout a large territory until 1884. In that year he accepted a position in the same capacity with the Hargadine-Mc- Kiltruck Dry Goods Company, of St. Louis, and with that house he has been actively engaged ever since. Although his home is in Shelbina, Mr. Teachenor has seen much of the world and learned its ways. He knows men and their secret springs of action, and has mastered all the details of the dry goods trade as a commercial tourist. And he has the wisdom to make an intel- ligent, practical ai)plication of what he has learned in the way of swelling his trade and thereby adds greatly to his own revenues and the business of the house he represents. He is regarded as HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 619 one of the most capable, agreeable and successful men in the employ of the house in his line of activity, and univer- sal testimony proclaims that he is en- titled to the high rank he holds in this respect. On September 23, ISSfi, he was united in marriage with Miss Harriet Parsons, a native of Shelbyville, Missouri. They have had four children, three sons and one daugMer. They are: Homer, Fred, Lotus and Brooks. The father is a pro- nounced Democrat in politics and active in the service of his party according to his opportunities to work for it. These are necessarily limited, as he is away from home a great deal of the time. Fra- ternally he is connected with the Masonic order, and in religious afHliation is al- lied with the Methodist Episcopal €hurch, South. Mr. Teachenor's heart is in his busi- ness, and in 1909, thinking thereby to win out a larger and more gratifying- success in it, he moved to St. Louis. But he found that he was as well off in Shel- bina and better satisfied, and in 1910 he moved back to that city, which is now his home. He takes an active interest in public affairs and does all in his power to promote the welfare of his city and county. And he is esteemed by their people as one of the best and most repre- sentative men among them. EMMETT D. SWINNEY. Starting in life with nothing but his native ability and his determined and persevering spirit, and winning a grati- fying success as a farmer, a mechanic and a merchant, Emmett D. Swinney, of Shelbina, furnishes in his career a fine example of the versatility of the Amer- ican mind when awakened to and kept in action by correct principles and lofty ideals of duty; and an example also of the true allegiance to local and general requirements of government, which is the natural product of good citizenship. Mr. vSwinney was born in Macon coun- ty, Missouri', on March 13, 186:3, and is descended from sturdy old Kentucky stock. His father, Rev. John G. Swin- ney, was born in Pulaski county, Ken- tucky, in 1818, the son of Wiliiam H. Swinney, who was also a native of that state, and who there was reared and had his career. The family was a pioneer one in that state. Some of its earlier members helped to lay the foundations of the commonwealth and later ones aided in Iniilding the superstructure. Rev. John G. Swinney came to Mis- souri in 1832, while the conditions here were much like those found by his ances- tors when they invaded the wilderness of Kentucky, and he experienced in his day many of the hardships and privations which they experienced in theirs. He was a millwright and worked at his trade along the Missouri river for a gi'eat many years. But in the meantime, feel- ing a call to higher duties, he studied for the Christian ministry, and the greater part of his time during the subsequent years of his life were spent in pastoral duties and in proclaiming from the sa- cred desk the ti-uths of the gospel. This venerable "Father in Israel" was the last survivor of the old pioneer pi-eachers who laid the foundations in Macon and Shelby counties of the relig- ious organization to which he belonged. 620 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY At the age of eighteen he became united with the Baptist church, and in 1843 was ordained a i3reacher in that denomina- tion. On the fourth Saturday of Novem- ber, in the same year, and seven months after his ordination, he joined with Eev. William Griffin and Eev. Henry Mat- thews in organizing the Macon Baptist association, of which he was the first dis- trict missionary. He devoted the labors of nearly all of his after life to minis- terial work under the auspices of this association and helped to promote its growth from three feeble and struggling congregations to a membership of many thousands. Eev. Mr. Swinney was one of the six pioneer preachers who founded the Bap- tist church in this region, and like his colleagues in the work, he labored on his farm and at his trade during the week and preached on Sunday, often riding many miles to fill his engagements and braving all kinds of weather by day and night for the purpose. His ministry be- gan before the day of salaried preachers in this part of the world, and his labor in the ministerial field was therefore one of love, and given freely, without money or price of any kind. One church, in which he preached for a number of years on one occasion, gave him the sum of $2.50, and this amount he invested in a barrel of salt. At another time, in October, 1882, he requested the Darksville Bap- tist church, in Eandolph county, of which he was then the pastor, and from which he had received no pay for the year, to raise all it could of the salary it wished to pay him and send it to a veteran brother clergj-man, Eev. H. J. Thomas, of Shelbina, who was ill and in distress. The congregation complied with his re- quest and the wants of the brother in need, who died a few weeks later, were relieved. Eev. J. G. Swinney lived in Macon county until 1865, then moved to Tuscola, Illinois. In the spring of 1866 he re- turned to Missoui'i and took up his resi- dence in Shelby county, four miles north of AVoodlawn, where he lived until 1891. In that year he moved to Clarence, where he died on August 10, 1901, aged eighty- three years and two months. He was married in Macon county, Missouri, in 1844, to Miss Sarah Matthews, who was born in Kentuckj- on February 13, 1825. They became the parents of ten children, eight of whom are living: D. J., of De- vall Bluff, Arkansas; J. T., of Eichmond, Missouri ; Martha, the wife of John Clark, of Leonard, this county ; J. M., of Macon, JNIissouri ; A. P., of Clarence, Shelby county; i\Iary, the wife of W. S. Cornelius, of Macon county ; Emmett D., the subject of this writing; and Alice, the wife of Calvin Matthews. The mother survived her husband nearly seven years, dying on April 25, 1908. Emmett D. Swinney obtained his edu- cation in the district schools of Shelby county, and after completing their course of instruction, worked for his father on the home farm a number of years. He was, however, of a mechanical rather than an agricultural turn of mind, and gratified his inclination by operating a saw mill for some time. In 1885 he moved to Shelbina and accepted employ- ment under W. S. Clark in the implement and woodenware trade, remaining with him seventeen years. In 1902 he and "William McDaniel bought the business HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 621 from Mr. Clark, and tliej' prospered in the undertaking until 1910. Mr. McDaniel then sold his interest to Mr. Hawkins, and the firm name became Swinney & Hawkins. Under the new arrangement the business has gone steadily ahead to larger proportions, a higher reputation and more considerable importance. It is now one of the leaders iu its line in this part of the state. On December 25, 188.3, Mr. Swinney was united iu marriage with Miss Mattie Rutter, a native of this county, born in 1863, and a daughter of James and Mary Rutter, esteemed citizen of the county. All of the three children born of the imion are living. They are Edward, Effie and Wade. The father has long been prominent in local public affairs and the fraternal life of his com- munity. He has been secretary of the Odd Fellows' lodge in Shelbina during all of the last fifteen years, and has made a very creditable record in that im- portant and responsible office. He is a member of the Missionary Baptist church and takes an earnest interest and active part in all its uplifting and benev- olent work. In the affairs of his city and county Mr. Swinney has also been zealous and very helpful. No worthy undertaking for the benefit of the people has ever gone without his energetic support, and by the wisdom of his counsel and the force of his example, as well as by his influence and efforts, others have been brought into line and made effective for good. Shelby county has no more esti- mable citizen, and none who is more justly held in high esteem and good will by the people of every class. ELMER B. RAY. Elmer B. Ray, who conducted the lead- ing livery and horse sales barn in Shel- bina, which was, at the time, one of the principal establishments of its kind in this part of the state of Missouri, is a native of Shelby county, and was born here on January 11, 1878. He is a grand- sou of Felon Ray, a native of Kentucky, and a son of Andrew B. Ray, also a na- tive of that state. The Ray family was among the pioneer families in Kentucky, its earlier members who went to what is now that great state when it was literally a howling wilderness having been com- l^anions of Daniel Boone and the heroic men who associated with him in laying the foundations of the commonwealth. Their descendants repeated on the soil of Missouri their performances on that of Kentucky, for Andrew B. Ray, the father of the subject of this writing, was brought to this state by his parents when he was but one year old. The family located in Shelby county on arriving in Missouri, and here its mem- bers passed the remainder of their lives actively engaged in farming and raising live stock. Andrew B. Ray grew to man- hood on his father's farm and attended the primitive frontier schools of his boy- hood and youth. After reaching man's estate he started a farming enteqirise of his own near Shell)yville, and in time ac- quired the ownership of 420 acres of land there. Wlien advancing years made him desire to retire from active pursuits, he moved to Shelbyville, where he still lives. He was married to Miss Orzella Bond, a native of Missouri. Of the three chil- dren born to them Elmer B. is the only one living. His mother died on July 14, 622 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 1900. She and her husband saw this country in its state of almost primitive wildness, and encountered all the hard- ships and faced all the perils of frontier life. But they bore their destiny bravely and performed its duties faithfully, in accordance with the heroic spirit of the pioneers, whose exploits in various places embody many of the most thrilling and spectacular f e a t u r e s of American history. Elmer B. Ray shared the fate of coun- try boys of his day in Missouri. He worked on his father's farm, attending the district school in the neighborhood of his home when he had opportunity, and reached manhood with no other prospect in life than that of following the occupa- tion of his forefathers. He had, however, one advantage over many of his boyhood associates. He was allowed to take a fin- ishing course of instruction at Leonard college, and this brouglit liim near to his majority. So, after working a short time longer at home, he began farming on his own account on a fariu of 120 acres in the vicinity of Shelbyville. Some time after- ward he moved to his father's farm, which he cultivated during the next seven years. But, while he was an excellent farmer and found both pleasure and profit in his occupation as such, he had a longing for mercantile life and mingling somewhat in the great world of business. Accord- ingly, he moved to Shelbina and opened a livery and sales stable. The results have realized his hopes of advancement and ])roved that his venture was not a mistake. He made a success of his pres- ent business and won a reputation for himself as a cajiable and enterprising manager of it. His stable was known throughout a large extent of the sur- rounding country and to hosts of travel- ing men for the excellence of its equipment and service, and its sales feature was equally well known and popular. On November 14, 1900, ^Ir. Ray was united in marriage with Miss Jennie Rankin, a native of this state. He is a prominent member of the Order of Odd Fellows, in whose progress he takes an interest and an active part. His reli- gious connection is with the Christian church, and in this he is also zealous and serviceable, especially in the affairs of the congregation of which he is a mem- ber, but he is helpful to all churches without regard to creed or denomina- tional differences. In connection with the interests of his city and county Mr. Ray is a man of pub- lic spirit and enterprise. He is always ready to bear his jjortion of the burden of improvements and assist every worthy undertaking in the most practical and effective way. And he is intelligent and far-seeing in respect to such matters, and never narrow, obstinate or dogmatic. He expresses his own views freely and as freely accords to every other citizen the same right. And he welcomes every suggstion and examines it carefully, giv- ing it weight in i)roportion to its merit as he sees it. He is universally regarded as one of the most enterprising and pro- gressive citizens of the county, and as such is held in high esteem. MARVIN WHITBY. "Equal to either fortime," was the motto of Lord Byron, a mighty though HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY G23 erring spirit, and the manner in which he lived up to it half redeemed his fame from the reproach due to even his grosser errors. Without involving any- thing of error, and in its best sense, this motto might he ai^plied to Marvin Whitby, of Clarence, this county, which has been his home and the seat of his in- teresting career for many years. For he has been tried by both extremes of fortune and never seriously disturbed by either. Mr. Wliitby was born at Canton, Lewis county, Missouri, ou January 27, 1849, and comes of good old Maryland and Kentucky stock. He is a grandson of William B. Whitby, who was born and reared in Maryland, and a son of Au- gustus E. Whitby, who was also a native of that state and born in 1806. He came to Missouri in 1841 and took up his residence in Shelby county, where he re- mained five years, removing to Lewis county in 1846. There he wrought at his trade as a millwright and prospered at the business, not only because there was great demand for his services, but also because he worked industriously and lived frugally. In politics he was a Democrat, loyal to his party and zealous in its service, and in religion a member of the Southern Methodist Episcopal church. And under all circumstances and wherever he lived he was an excel- lent citizen, and universally esteemed as such. In 1842 he was united in marriage with Miss Catherine A. Miller, a native of Kentucky. They had six children, two of whom are living, Marvin and his sister, Laura A., the wife of Ben- jamin Heathman, of Shelbina. The father died in March, 1855, and the mother on June 5, 1894. This excellent woman, who survived her husband and natural protector tliirty-nine years, bore the burden of rearing her offspring cheerfully and with Spartan courage. She could not do all she wished for her children, but she did what she could, and this was all that could be asked. And it stands out greatly to her credit that she never shirked the duty or grew restless in performing it to the best of her ability and the full measure of her strength. Marvin Whitby was orphaned at the age of six years by the untimely death of his father, and was thrown on his own resources at an early age. He attended school for a short period in Clarence, and then went to teaching. His own op- liortuuities for scholastic training and acquirements had been very limited, but he had improved them in the fullest measure, and was fairly well qualified to impart to others the knowledge he had himself gained by such arduous effort. As he taught he kept on enlarging his fund of information and developing and training his mind with such success that he kept pace with the progress in teach- ing and adhered to his chosen vocation twenty-eight years, beginning in 1870 and teaching vmtil 1898. In the mean- time, so favorably had he impressed the public witli his capacity and general ac- ceptability that in 1889 he was elected school commissioner of Shelby county, and at the end of his term was re-elected for another. Teaching school is exacting, exhaust- ing and nerve-racking work, as all who have followed it zealously and conscien- 624 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY tiously know, and while engaged in it Mr. Whitby sought relief from its pres- sure in farming a tract of fifty-five acres of good land, which he purchased for the purpose. He was progressive and suc- cessful in farming, as he was in teaching, and won a reputation for intelligence and enterprise in that line of endeavor. In 1900 he was elected public administra- tor of Shelby county. This office he held continuously for eight years, making a first rate record for efficiency and ability in its administration and extending and strengthening his hold on the regard and good will of the i:)eople. He served as city clerk for eight years, also sixteen years as justice of peace and a number of years as a school director. Since leaving the office of public ad- ministrator he has been engaged in farm- ing on 283 acres of as good land as can be found in this county, all but ninety acres of which he has acquired by his own industry and thrift, aided by the counsel and assistance of his excellent wife, to whom the ninety acres came as an inheritance from her father. In ad- dition to his farm he owns valuable city property. His jiresent home in Clarence is a pleasant one, and in that city he is looked upon as one of the leading and most useful men in the community. He well deserves the rank he holds in public estimation, for he is unceasing in the use of his influence and the gift of his inspiration for the progress and imi)rovement of the city and county, and at all times eagerly desirous of promot- ing the substantial, intellectual and mor- al welfare of their people in every way open to him. On December 24, 1894, he married Miss Alice M. Taylor, a native of Mis- souri and a daughter of the late Major Taylor, of Shelby county. Mrs. "Whitby walked life's troubled way with him fourteen years, and proved herself to be a model woman by every test of excel- lence. She was a true companion for her husband, and a highly useful factor in the life of the community. All she possessed of intelligence, wisdom and energy she freely devoted to the advance- ment of her household and the business of the family, and, at the same time, spared no elfort of which she was ca- pable to contribute to the betterment of the community around her. She died October 12, 1908. Mr. Whitby's political faith and ear- nest support are given to the principles and candidates of the Democratic party. His church affiliation is with the South- ern Methodists, and in fraternal rela- tions he is connected with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows and the An- cient Order of United Workmen. In his part}', his church and his lodges he is an energetic and effective worker, and his membership in each is highly valued, while in all the duties of citizenship he is as true as the needle to the jjole, and as useful and productive as he is straightforward and upright. On the erection of the New Methodist church at Clarence in 1910, Mr. Whitby donated the primary room of the build- ing, furnishing it in memory of his wife and it is known as the Alice M. Whitby room. Mr. Whitby's mother was a charter member of this church. HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 625 OLIVER JERRE LLOYD. Although but twenty-eight years old (1910) Oliver Jerre Lloyd, of Shelbina, has already had a busy and varied ca- reer. His activities have been employed for the most part in one line of work, but that has taken him to many diiferent places and shown him men and their im- pulses and aspirations under widely dif- fering circumstances. He is now the cashier of the Shelbina National Bank and is performing the duties of his posi- tion to the entire satisfaction of the di- rectorate and patrons of that progres- sive and enterprising institution. But he was well trained for the work by tui- tion in its theory and experience in its practice. Mr. Lloyd was born in Lewis county, Missouri, on January 10, 1882, and is a son of James T. and Mary (Graves) Lloyd, a sketch of whose lives will be found elsewhere in this volume. He ob- tained his academic training in the dis- trict schools of Shelby county and one of its high schools. After completing this part of his preparation for the bat- tle of life, he attended a business high school in Washington, D. C, from which he was graduated in 1902. Armed with his diploma, his hopes of success, his worthy aspirations for consequence and standing among men, and his determina- tion to realize all he looked forward to, he again came to Missouri and located at Kirksville, having been appointed assist- ant cashier of the Baird National Bank in that city. It seemed to the young aspirant for business success and steady advance- ment that he was on the high road to the accomplishment of his wishes. But soon after his connection with it began the bank went into liquidation, and he was obliged to seek another avenue to the goal he desired so ardently to reach. He was offered a clerkship in the Citizen's Bank, of Memphis, Missouri, and he ac- cepted it and filled the position with credit to himself and benefit to the bank until April, 1908. He was then asked to take the chief clerkship of the Demo- cratic Congressional committee in Wash- ington, D. C, and yielded to the request. Political life and its contentions were not to his taste, and being offered the position he now holds, he resigned from the clerkship of the committee on June 1, 1910, and became the cashier of the Shelbina National Bank. This brought him again to the performance of duties for which he is particularly well fitted and which are in accordance with his wishes and ambitions. They also give him scope to apply his desire to aid in the progress and improvement of the region to which he is warmly attached, and minister to the welfare of its people, whom he holds in high regard, as they do him on just grounds of well demon- strated worth and manhood. On June 22, 1904, he united in mar- riage with Miss Gertrude Chick, a na- tive of this county, born on January 31, 1881, and a daughter of W. C. and Eliza (Stuart) Chick, esteemed resi- dents of the county. Mr. Lloyd and his wife are earnest and serviceable members of the Christian church and take an active part in its works of benev- olence and evangelization. They are also interested warmly and practically in all good and worthy agencies for ad- 626 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY vancement and improvement, social, in- tellectual and moral, at work in the com- munity. They are social sunbeams light- ing and warming all circles in which they move, and are highly esteemed as among the best and most representative citi- zens of their city and county. Their pleasant home is a center of refined and gracious hospitalit}', and a very popular resort for their hosts of friends and ad- mirers. It is also a center of earnest work for the good of the community. ANDEEW J. OLIVER. The state of Virginia, which gave us a number of our earlier presidents and the ancestors of several of later date, has also sent her sons and daughters abroad throughout the land, quickening the spirit of improvement, brightening and elevating the social atmosphere and giving trend and character to the civil institutions of many different sections. Among those who went abroad from the wide domain of the Old Dominion and came to Missouri in the early days were John L. and Nancy (Warren) Oliver, the parents of Andrew J. Oliver, one of the leading mechanics and merchants of Shelbina. Mr. Oliver's paternal grandfather, Lemuel Oliver, was a native of Virginia, and his forefathers had been planters in that state from colonial times. His son, John L., was born there on January 29, 1821, and was reared to the occu]iation of his ancestors. But when "manhood darkened on his downy cheek" he was seized with a spirit of adventure and determined to seek a home and found a name for himself in a distant part of the country. Accordingly, in 1844, he came to this state and located near Milan in Sullivan county. After a short residence in that county he moved to Lewis county, where he lived a number of years, and then came to Shelby county in 1886. He took up his residence in Shelbina, and here he engaged in farm- ing and teaming, prospering in his work and rising to influence and good stand- ing among the people by the worth of his character, his industry and upright- ness and the enterprise and jjrogressive- ness of his citizenship. His first marriage was with Miss Nancy Warren, and by the union they became the parents of twelve children, five of whom are living: John W., An- drew J., George W^., Sherman, and Laura, the wife of George Warren. The mother of these children died on July 22, 1882, and in February, 1884, the father married a second wife, being imited in this with Miss Pauline Fitz- simmons, who is still living. Andrew J. Oliver was born on Octo- ber 13, 1854, in Marion county, Missouri. He grew to manhood on his father's farm, acquiring a good practical mastery of the business, and attended the dis- trict school in the neighborhood, where he obtained a limited common school edu- cation, his opportunities for regular and lengthy attendance being subject to the necessities of the farm, which required his labor much of the year. The school he attended was in Lewis county, where the family was then living, and after leaving it he learned the blacksmith trade, and then worked at it as a helper at Trenton, Missouri. Soon afterward he accjuired the ownership of a shop at HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 627 La Belle, this state, ■which he conducted for a time. His trade became distasteful to him and he sold his shop, determined to go back farming. He located on a farm in Lewis county, which he lived on and cultivated six years. He tired of this in turn and took up his residence in Shel- bina on August 1, 1890. Here he has ever since been engaged in blacksraith- ing and dealing in implements, and has been very successful in his operations. His shop is one of the most completely equipped in this part of the state, and the mercantile end of his business is ex- tensive and flourishing. In addition, he owns 480 acres of land in Warren county. North Dakota, and other property of value. On February 15, 1884, he was united in marriage with Miss Maggie Ellen Harrison, a native of Pennsylvania. They had three children, two of whom are living: Maggie May, the wife of E. A. Newman, and Effie Eebecca, the wife of Richard Highland. Their mother died on August 17, 1899, and on August 9, 1900, the father contracted a second marriage, being imited in this with Miss Ellen Hales, a native of Iowa. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. In ])olitical affairs Mr. Oliver gives his allegiance and support to the prin- ciples of the Eepublican party, and he is loyal to it and energetic and effective in its service, although neitlier seeking nor desiring any of the honors or emolu- ments it has to bestow for himself. In fraternal life he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, and, al- though a busy man and much engaged in his own affairs, he finds time to give his lodge the benefit of his frequent presence at its meetings and his counsel in its management with a view to secur- ing the best possible results for its mem- bers. In the public affairs of his city and county he takes an active part, giv- ing his earnest and intelligent aid to every worthy undertaking for their im- provement and the substantial good of their people. His citizenship is of an elevated character, and has gained for him the esteem of the whole people wher- ever he has lived and become known. He is a representative man and altogther worthy of the high regard in which he stands in public estimation. MARVIN DIMMITT. Although he has several times changed his residence, occupation and business associates, and covered in his interesting and instructive career farming and mer- cantile life, banking and official duties, Marvin Dimmitt, now the capable and highly esteemed cashier of the Shelby County State Bank, located at Clarence, has known how to make the changes for his own advantage and advancement, and how to use every means at his com- mand for the benefit of the people around him in promoting their general welfare and heli)ing to magnify their comforts and conveniences in life. Mr. Dimmitt is a native of Shelby county, Missouri, and was born on a farm near Shelbyville on January 14, 1863, He is a son of Dr. Philip Dim- mitt, now deceased, and a brother of Lee and Prince Dimmitt, sketches of whom will be found on other pages of 628 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY this work. He grew to manhood and was educated in the Shelbyville High School, Shelbyville, Missouri. In 1877 he turned his attention to mercantile life, becoming a salesman in the dry goods store of W. A. Dimmitt in Shelbyville. At the end of one year's experience and training as a clerk and salesman in the store he found an opening that was more attractive to him, and became a clerk in the bank of Messrs. Cooper & Dimmitt, which was also located in Shel- byville, His fidelity to duty, capacity for business and progressive spirit were amply manifested in each engagement, and he found his services in demand for other business connections. In 1879 he left the bank and assumed the manage- ment of a branch store belong-ing to W. A. Dimmitt at Bethel. But his one year's experience in banking had given him a fondness for the business and demonstrated to him that he had special fitness for it. At the end of one year passed in the management of the store at Bethel he returned to the bank of Cooper & Dimmitt and resumed his po- sition as clerk and bookkeeper. In 1881 his desire to have and conduct a banking business of his own induced him to open a bank at Clarence for Messrs. Holtzclow & G a skill as a step- ping stone to the accomplishment of his purpose. He opened this bank in April of the year last named and con- tinued in charge of it until the follow- ing November. During the summer he erected three business buildings in part- nership with his brother, Frank, and in the autumn they ojiened a dry goods store in one of them under the firm name and style of Dimmitt Bros. In December, 1885, Mr. Dimmitt was appointed postmaster of Clarence by President Cleveland for a term of four years. He filled the office with credit to himself and satisfaction to the people for the full term, but did not sever his connection with the mercantile establish- ment in which he was a member of the firm. On the contrary, in December, 1896, he bought his brother Frank's in- terest in the store, and from then until 1895 he conducted th« business alone and under his own name. In 1895 he was elected cashier of the Shelbj'ville Bank, but held on to an interest in the store at Clarence, although the firm name was changed to that of L. Griswold & Co., the same as it is at this time (1910). Mr. Dimmitt remained in the service of the Shelbyville Bank until February, 1902, then sold his interests in that city and moved to Clarence. In May of the same year he was elected cashier of the Shelby County State Bank in Clarence, and he has continued to fill that position ever since. In addition to his interest in that sound, progressive and highly suc- cessful financial institution, which has steadily grown and prospered imder his wise and prudent management, he owns and directs the farming of 240 acres of land and has residence and business property of considerable value in Clar- ence, and interests of moment in other places. But Mr. Dimmitt 's life has not been wholly given up to business. He has taken an earnest and helpful interest in political affairs and dignified and adorned the official circles of the county, having served six terms as mayor of Clarence and eight years as a member HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY C-39 of the school board. His political afSlia- tion is with the Democratic party and he is one of its most assiduous and effective workers in all campaigns, showing him- self wise in its councils and zealous and successful in promoting its welfare in the field. In fraternal relations he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. On January 31, 1884, Mr. Dimmitt was united in marriage with Miss Eva P. Davis, of Clarence, a daughter of Will- iam Davis, at that time one of the lead- ing lumber merchants of that city, but now residing at San Diego, California. Seven children have been born in the Dimmitt household, and five of them are living: Elizabeth F., the wife of S. J. Byrd, of Carrizo Springs, Texas; and Michael, Patrick, Eva M. and Buster, all of whom are still members of the parental family circle. HENRY H. BONNEL. (Deceased.) Finding his country in the throes of a terrible civil war soon after dawn of his manhood, Henry H. Bonnel, who was one of the prosperous and progressive farmers of Bethel township in this coun- ty, took his place in the army of defense, and during the momentous conflict bore his burden of service, with all its in- volvement of peril and privation, ardu- ous labor and dark uncertainty. Then, when peace was restored, and the armies so lately engaged in deadly warfare melted away into the hosts of industrial production, he turned once more to the cultivation of field and farm, in which he was actively and successfully engaged, devoting to it the same fidelity and en- ergy that distinguished him in the march and on the battlefield of military service until his death in 1910. Mr. Bonnel was a native of Batavia, Ohio, born on April 10, 1835. He was a son of Levi and Elizabeth Smith (Hill) Bonnel, the former born and reared in Pennsylvania and the latter in Ohio. They had eight children and six of them are living: Henry H., Aaron, Mark, Ann Eliza (Reynolds), Mary Amelia (McDonald) and Frank. The father brought his family to Missouri in 1861 and located in Shelby county, where he engaged in farming and raising stock, pursuing these lines of useful endeavor until his death in 1874. The mother sur- vived him eighteen years, dying in 1892. Henry H. Bonnel was reared in his na- tive place and educated in its public schools. He was warmly attached to his home and his parents, and after leaving school remained with them, assisting his father on the farm, and accompanjnng them to this state when they migrated to it. In January, 1862, on the 16th day of the month, he enlisted in a company of Missouri cavalry, and was soon after- ward at the front and in the midst of the fray, which from that time on to the close of the war was constant and ter- rible. He took part in numerous im- ]iortant battles and many engagements of minor consequence, and, although often face to face with death, esca])od unharmed while his comrades fell like autumn leaves all around him. Before 630 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY the end of the struggle he became quar- termaster-general of Company I, being promoted to this position in recognition of the value of his services in the sterner phases of the conflict. At the close of the war Mr. Bonnel returned to his Shelby county home, and here he was profitably engaged in farm- ing and raising stock, except during the last two years, when he lived retired from all active pursuits. During his residence in this county he has ever taken an earnest interest and an active part iu promoting the welfare of the re- gion, doing at all times all he could for the benefit of its people, the development of its resources, and its moral, intellectu- al and material advancement in every way. He was clerk of the district for more than twenty-five years and served on the school board for a period of eight. In politics he was a pronounced Repub- lican, but never was an active partisan. Fraternallj' he belonged to the Masonic order and the Grand Army of the Ee- public. In 18fi4 Mr. Bonnel was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary Washington Mat- kin, a native of Shelby county, Missouri. Of the eight children born to them six are living: AVillard, Effie May, now Mrs. Starmer, and Julian, Kate, Bailey and Mary Edith. The mother of these chil- dren died iu 1900 after a life of domes- tic service and fidelity extending over thirty-six years, during which she was true to every trust and gave her off- spring a fine example of devoted and upright womanhood, for which she was held in high res])ect wherever she was known as was her husband. HENRY C. DRENNAN. With his boyhood darkened by the ter- rible shadow of our Ci%T.l war and the hardshiijs and trials incident to that mo- mentous conflict, and being obliged in consequence to make his own way in the world from an early age, Henry C. Dren- nan, a leading farmer and stock man of Bethel township, in this county, and one of its prominent and influential citizens, has shown in his career that, however much the lessons of adversity sometimes indurate and sour the sijirit, they are in most cases salutarj' and stimulate their subject to a development of all that is best within him. Mr. Drennan's life began in Illinois, Sangamon county, in 1854. In that state his father, William Drennan, also was born and there was reared, educated and married, uniting iu wedlock with Miss Lucinda Cannon, a native of Kentucky, in 185.S. They had six children, four of whom are living: Henry C, Charles W., Darius D., who lives in Idaho, and Mar- garet F., the wife of Charles IVIiller, of Knox county, Missouri. In November, 1855, the family moved to this county and located on a farm, which was full of promise, and during the years of its cultivation by the father realized its prouiise. He prospered on it and was winning a competency. But in 18G4. in- spired by the warmth of feeling engen- dered by the cruelty of the predatory border warfare irresponsible parties waged on the helpless people, he enlisted in the Union army in Company G, 39th Missouri ^"olunteer Infantry. A few months later he was killed in the battle of Centralia, Missouri. The mother is HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 631 living yet and has reached the ripe old age of eighty-two years. Their son, Henry C. Drennan, obtained a limited education in the district schools, his opportunities being more limited than they would otherwise have been, owing to the hard conditions laid upon the people by the war, which continued for years after that was over. He left school at an earlj^ age and at once began the career as a farmer which has made him successful in a worldly way and given him consequence and influence among the people. He has pursued his industry in this line of effort ever since and has wrung from the soil of this county, by arduous and continued indus- try, skill in the application of his labor and good judgiuent in the management of his operations, a substantial estate and the prospect of still greater achieve- ments. He owns and has mostly under cultivation 360 acres of first-rate land, improved with good buildings and pro- vided with all the a])purtenances of an attractive and comfortable country home. In connection with his farming operations he carries on a thriving gen- eral live stock industry whicli is man- aged with the same intelligence and care as his farming, and which brings him returns in proportion.. Mr. Drennan has ever been active and zealous in the service of his community, manifesting his interest in its welfare by close attention to its recjuirements and an effective support of every worthy en- ter]irise designed to promote its prog- ress and development. He served on the school board for a period of more than fifteen years, and in other ways has done his part to advance the general weal of the locality and its people. In politics he is a firm and consistent Republican, but he has never been an over-active par- tisan. He was married in 1882 to Miss Sallie C. Miller, a native of Ohio who came to this state with her parents when she was three years old. They have four children. Hurley H., Fred M., Alice and Phil 0. WILLIAM CUMMINGS RAINES. Born in Wisconsin in 1839, at a time which may properly be desigiiated as belonging to the early history of the iVIiddle West, and in later years carried by his occupation to almost every other part of the country west of the Alle- ghany mountains, William C. Raines, now one of the i)rosperous and progres- sive farmers of Bethel townshi)), in this county, has had a varied experience and found it profitable, not only in the acqui- sition of worldly wealth, but in giving liim knowledge of himself and others, and a familiar acquaintance with the va- rious parts of our great domain which lie between our two mighty mountain ranges. Mr. Raines is a scion of old N'irginia families on his father's side of tlie house, his ancestors having lived in the Old Dominion from early colonial days. From there his grandfather migrated to Kentucky when that now great common- wealth was almost a pathless wildei'ness, and there his father, Isaac Raines, was born. His mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Ramsdell, was a native of In- diana. Of the eight children born in his father's family he is now the only one liviui"'. The father was of a misiTatorv 632 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY disposition and sought advancement in various parts of the country. He came to ^Missouri and located in Marion coun- ty, at Hannibal, at an early date, after living successively in Kentucky, Indiana and Wisconsin. In 1850, when the ex- citement over the discovery of gold on the Pacific slope was at its height, he went to California. He did not tarry long in the new eldorado, however, but soon returned to his Marion county, Mis- souri, home. Still the gold fever had him in its grip, and the longing for the Pacitic coast was constantly with him while he was busily engaged in cultivating his Ealls county farm for a number of years. At length it became irresistible, and in 186.3 he went back to California, taking his wife with him, and there he remained thirty years, his wife dying there in 1880. Thir- teen years later, in 189.3, he returned again to Missouri, Shelby county, and here he died in 1899. William C. Raines obtained his edu- cation in the public schools of Hannibal, Missouri. After leaving school he learned the blacksmith trade, but he has never worked at it. In 1858, when he was nineteen years old, he became an engineer on transports and tow boats, and in this capacity he was employed for a period of nearly forty years during which he traversed every navigable riv- er in the West. In 1886 he came to Shelby county, Missouri, accompanied by his family, and settled down as a farmer, to which occupation he has ever since adliorod. Tie has ]>rospered in his agricultural enterprise, and now owns and has under cultivation 137 acres of superior land, which constitutes one of the attractive and valuable country homes of Bethel township, and is man- aged with skill and intelligence that make him one of the model farmers of the locality. On December 12, 1863, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Callo- way, a native of Maryland. They had six children, two of whom are living, their daughters, Emma, the wife of Will- iam P. Roberts, of St. Louis, and Julia C, the wife of J. C. Smith, of Walkers- ville, Missouri. The mother of these children died on January 8, 1909, aged seventy years. In politics the father be- longs to the Democratic party, but owing to his migratory life he has never taken an active interest in political affairs. He is not a member of any church or fra- ternal organization, but is an excellent citizen, highly esteemed by all who know him and well worthy of the universal regard in which he is held in his own community, in the welfare of which he takes an earnest and serviceable interest. FRANCIS M. KIMBLEY. Becoming an orphan at the age of sev- enteen by the untimely death of his father, which left the family in strait- ened circumstances, and in consequence, ol)liged to nuike his own way in the world without the aid of outside help or For- tune's favors in any way, F. ^1. Kimbley, of Bethel township, in this county, found life's journey a rough and stony road during several years of his progress on it toward the goal of his hopes. He is now one of the most successful and pros- ]ierous f armersand stock men of the town- ship, i:)rominent and influential as a citi- HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 633 zen and generally esteemed and popular as a man. He has made the rugged ascent to this condition wholly by his own efforts and ability, and is deserving of the consequences he has attained. Mr. Kimbley's life began in Adams county, Illinois, where he was born on January 1, 1863. He is a son of Matthew E. and Emilia J. (Prickett) Kimbley, the former a native of Illinois and the latter of Ohio. They had ten children, two of whom are living, F. M., and Hen- ry, who lives in the state of Oklahoma. Harvey and Geoi'ge died after having reached maturity. The father first came to Missouri and located in Clark county in 1860. Later he moved his family to that county, and there he followed farm- ing until his death in 1879. The mother survived him twenty-seven years, dying in 1906. Their son, Francis M. Kimbley, ob- tained a limited education in the district schools of Clark county, but his aspira- tions in this direction were cut short by the death of his father, and even be- fore that his advantages had been mea- ger, as the work on the home farm re- quired during all the working season every available force in the family, and all other considerations had to yield to it. When he left school he gave himself up wholly to the cultivation of the farm, which tlie family occupied until 1880, and then he and the rest of the living children came to Shelby county with their mother, and took up their residence on a farm in Bethel township. In 1883, impelled by the hope of suc- cess in mining and other lines of effort, he went to Colorado, which was then looked upon, and not improperly, as a state, or territory of great possibilities. But Shelby county still had a winning voice for him, and after a short time he returned to it, content to take his chances for advancement with the fruits of its fertile soil and his opportunities for so- cial enjoyment and civil and material progress among its home-loving but wide-awake and enterprising people. Here he has been industriously and suc- cessfully engaged in farming and rais- ing live stock ever since with steadily increasing iDrosperity. He now owns and has under cultivation over -iOO acr«s of fine land, well improved and brought to a high condition of productiveness. His stock industry is also extensive and l^rofitable. Both departments of his work are conducted with skill and intel- ligence, and each well rejjays the care and attention bestowed upon it. Mr. Kimbley was married in 1883 to Miss Anna Wester, a native of this coun- ty. They had six children, five of whom are living. They are Harry, Minnie, Ettie, Ira and Ruby. In politics the father is an active working Democrat, with great interest in the success of his party and always zealous and effective in its service. He rendered good serv- ice to the people as a member of the school board for four years, and in many other ways has been useful in promoting their welfare. In fraternal life he be- longs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which also he takes an active part, contributing to its advancement In- wisdom in counsel and zeal and intelli- gence in active work. He is one of the most esteemed citizens of the township. Mrs. Kimbley is a member of the Baptist church. 634 HISTORY OP SHELBY COUNTY EDWARD N. GERAED, JR., M. D. Who shall say to how many persons a country physician in active practice is comfort in suffering, solace in sorrow, hope ia despair and even consolation in death? Or how shall we estimate the im- mense amount of good one who is faith- ful to his duty does in encouraging the failing, stimulating the flagging, and leading the almost hopeless to hold on their last anchorage of hope in the de- sire to be still self-sustaining and useful to others in their day? These are ques- tions which no one, not even the country physicians themselves, can begin to an- swer, so far does any man's personal in- fluence outrun his knowledge of needs and consequences. It is enough for every doctor to consider the requirements of his daily duty and properly attend to them, leaving to other than human tri- bimals to determine the results. Tried even by this severe standard. Doctor Edward N. Gerard, Jr., of Leon- ard, this county, is entitled to a high regard. During all of the last fifteen years he has been engaged in an active general practice of his profession in Shelby county, and for thirteen of them at Leonard, where he now has his base of operations. He has rendered the peo- ple of the county excellent service, and that it is appreciated is shown by the universal esteem and confidence the peo- ple bestow u]X)n him and general and widespread popuhuity he enjoys. He has ever been at the call and service of the pnlilic, and they have not ignored the fact. For he has a large practice and gives it close, careful and conscien- tious attention. Dr. Gerard was born on September 8, 1869, at Shelbina, in this county, and is a son of Edward N. and Priscilla E. (Drane) Gerard, the fonner a native of Ralls county, Missouri, and the latter of the state of Maryland. They had eight children, all of whom grew to maturity. Five of them are living : Walter, whose home is in Seattle, A¥ashington; Mary, residing in Oakland, California; Nellie, the wife of Dr. J. H. Gentry, an esteemed resident of San Bordena, California; Richard and Harry, who live in Oakland, California, with the mother and sister, Mary. The father, who was an honored ])hysician in this part of the state during Hie last generation, was born and reared in Ralls county, Missouri, and practiced his profession there and in Monroe and Shelby counties. He died in February, 1904. The mother is still living at Oak- laud, California, and is now seventy-one years old. Dr. Edward N. Gerard, Jr., grew to manhood in Shelbina and obtained his scholastic training in part at the ordi- nary schools of the city. He then at- tended Shelbina Collegiate Institute, and after completing its course of instruction took up the study of medicine at Univer- sity ]\Iedical College in Kansas City, ]\lissouri, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1895. He began his practice at Shelbina, and con- tinued it there and at other ])laces until 1897, when he located at Leonard, in this county, where he has ever since been actively, energetically and successfully engaged in it, with a steadily increasing body of patients and a growing poinilar- ity among the people. In December, 1898, he was united with HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 635 Miss Edna Way, a daughter of Harry and Margaret (McMillan) Way, highly respected residents of Shelby county, but born in Pennsylvania. They came to Missouri in 1884 and located in Shelbina. Dr. and Mrs. Gerard have one child, their son, Nathan Way, who brighteus and warms the family iireside with his genial presence. The Doctor is a Demo- crat in politics and always takes an active interest in the affairs of his party, but has never accepted a political office of any kind. He is a member of the Order of Odd Fellows and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. FARMERS' BANK OF LEONARD. This valued and progressive financial institution, which is one of the best of its magnitude in this part of the state, was foimded on August 13, 1906, with a capi- tal stock of $10,000. William Z. T. Peo- ples was elected president; B. F. Van Vacter, vice-i^resident ; B. J. See, cash- ier, and William Z. T. Peoples, B. F. Van Vacter, D. A. Carmichael, A. L. Perry, C. B. Forman, J. W. Hawkins, J. A.^Gillaspy, N. W. Peoples and G. W. Greenfield, directors. In 1908 D. A. Car- michael succeeded Mr. Van Vacter as vice-president and L. Kemp was chosen to his place on the board of directors. B. J. See was also added to the board that year. The bank has flourished and been very popular from the start. It supplied a great need in the community, and the liberality and straightforwardness of its management, coupled with its undoubted strength and soundness, which is guar- anteed by the character of the men at the head of it, have made it an institution of which every citizen of the community is proud, and justly so. The institution carries on a general banking business according to the most ai)i)r()ved modern methods, and toward public improve- ments and all the undertakings for the advancement of the town and surround- ing country in which it is located, pur- sues a policy of great ijrogressiveness. At the time of this writing (1910) the bank has a surplus and undivided profits amounting to $3,000; deposits aggregat- ing $51,995.54, and loans that reach the sum of $52,214.09. Its business is stead- ily increasing, and its hold on the confi- dence and regard of the peo]3le keeps pace with the increase. It meets every requirement of such an institution in the most successful manner, and while hav- ing at all times a close and circumspect eye on the line of safety, provides for every want to which it can minister in public or private life. William Z. T. Peoples, the ex-president and controlling spirit of the bank, is a native of Shelby county, Missouri, born on March 12, 1849. His grandfather, John Peoples, was born in Ireland and became an early settler in Tennessee. In Sullivan county of that state the father of Mr. Peoples, the president of the bank, was born in 1804, and there he was reared and educated. There also ho was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Bachman, a uative of Tennessee. They bad thirteen children, five of whom are living, and all residents of this county but one. They are : John ; Chrissey, the wife of John A. Gillaspy; Solomon, who resides in the state of Oklahoma; Wil- 636 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY liam Z. T. ; and Mary E., the wife of Eichard Tuggle. The father was an old time Democrat in his political faith and allegiance and a great worker for the success of his party. His religious affil- iation was with the Christian church. AVilliam Z. T. Peoples obtained his education in what is known as Ernest district school, in Taylor township, this coimty. The schoolhouse, when he was a pupil in the school, was a rude con- struction of logs and furnished with slab benches and lacking nearly all the con- veniences of the modern structure de- voted to the education of the young. But, primitive as it was, and irregularly as it was kept, the school helped in the devel- opment of character along with mental training, and that its ministrations were of value is shown by the make-up and achievements of those who learned some of the lessons of life under its discipline. The parents of Mr. Peoples came to Missouri in 1836, and after a residence of two years in Marion county located in Shelby county, where they were among the early settlers. The father entered government land and became a very suc- cessful and extensive farmer and stock man, holding at the time of his death, which occurred on October 21, 1854, 1,.300 acres of superior land, a great deal of which he had reduced to systematic fruit- fulness. His operations in both farming and stock raising were extensive, as has been stated, but every detail of them re- ceived his close and intelligent attention and was directed by his personal super- vision. His great success was the logical result of bis skill and industry, and it marked him as a man of great natural al)ility enriched by study and reflection. His son, William Z. T., remained at home until he reached the age of twenty- one, working on the farm and assisting the family. In 1870 he bought 160 acres of land and began farming and raising stock for himself, but continued to reside with his mother until his first marriage the next year. He kept up his farming operations and stock raising with in- creasing prosperity and frequent addi- tions to his farm until 1906, when he was chosen president of the Farmers' Bank of Leonard. He moved into that town in 1907 and there he has even since re- sided. But he still retains his fine farm of 450 acres and rents it to his son. In December, 1910, Mr. Peoples resigned his position as president of the bank on account of failing health and D. A. Car- michael was chosen as acting president until the office can be regularly filled. In the local public affairs of the town- ship and county Mr. Peoples has always shown a good citizen's earnest and help- ful interest. He has served as school director and in many other waj^s has con- tributed to the welfare and advancement of the people around him. He was first married on May 4, 1871, to Miss Mary Alice Garnett, a daughter of Thomas and Ziraldi (McWilliams) Garnett, esteemed residents of this county. The union re- sulted in one child, a son named Noah W., who is a prosperous farmer in this county. The mother of this son died on Se]itember 8, 1900, and on January 16, 1907, the father was married to Miss Florence Taylor, of Woodson county, Kansas. In politics he is a Democrat of the most reliable and unwavering kind, and in religion a member of the Chris- tian church, and a very active worker in HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 637 the congregation to which he belongs. In all the elements of elevated and upright citizenship he is distinguished and he is correspondingly esteemed by all who know him throughout the county. JAMES WILLIAM HAWKINS. Successful in everything he has under- taken and highly reisresentative of the people among whom he lives and labors and having also developed and built up to large proportions a distinctive indus- try, which is one of the sources of pride to the people of this county, James Wil- liam Hawkins, of Taylor township, this coimty, presents a j^leasing theme to the pen of the biographer, however briefly it may be found necessary to treat it. He is a native of the county and has passed his life to this time (1910) within its borders. He was educated in its public schools and he married one of its native daughters. He has also expended all his efforts in industrial life among its peo- ple. Whatever he is, therefore, he is all the county's own. Mr. Hawkins was born in Clay town- ship, Shelby county, in 1855. His pater- nal grandfather, John F. Hawkins, was born and reared in Kentucky where the family to which he belonged was among the i^ioneers. There also his son Bowles Hawkins, the father of James William, was born. But when the latter was but two years old the family moved to this state and located in Ealls county. In that county the father of Mr. Hawkins grew to manhood and obtained his edu- cation. After leaving school he followed farming in Ralls county until 1850, then moved to Shelby county and here re- newed his farming operations, supple- menting them with a thriving industry in raising stock generally for the Eastern markets. His operations were extensive and he continued them successfully and profitably until his death, which occurred in May, 1877. In 1849 he was united in marriage with Miss Lucinda S. Dawson, a native of Ralls county, Missouri, and daughter of John and Fanny (Bowles) Dawson, who came to this state from Kentucky. The elder Mr. Hawkins and his wife be- came the parents of eleven children, all but one of whom grew to maturity. Those now living are: James W., the immediate subject of this memoir; Fanny B., the wife of V. B. Creekmur, whose home is at Prescott, Arizona; John F., who resides at Phoenix, Ari- zona ; Eugene T., who is a citizen of Cal- ifornia ; Wallace B., a resident of Monte- vista, Colorado; Lulu A., the wife of Norris Farmer, of Shelby county, Mis- soiiri; and Leslie B. The mother sur- vived her husband ten years, passing away in February, 1887. James W. Hawkins grew to manhood in this county, and as soon as he left school turned his attention to farming and raising live stock. His industry in these kindred pursuits was small at first and general. But be soon developed a taste and capacity for specialties, and to them he has ever since devoted himself. He has a fine farm of 1 20 acres, which he calls the "Cedar Grove Stock Farm," and on this he specializes in Shorthorn cattle, Poland-China hogs, Cotswold sheep and single comb brown leghorn chickens with great success. He has won a high reputation for his output, and the 638 HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY study and care he bestows on his breed- ing have made him an authority on all matters connected with the subject and given his opinions concerning it great weight. In 1907 he opened a general store in Leonard. But he soon found out that merchandising in a general way was not to his taste, and in October, 1908, he sold the business to his son-in-law, C. E. Stuart, and returned to his farm. On February 25, 1880, Mr. Hawkins married with Miss Bertha G. Shofstall, a daughter of W. H. and Sarah C. Shof- stall, natives of Ohio, but herself born and reared in this county. Three chil- dren have been born of the union, two of whom are living, Sallie Kate, the wife of C. E. Stuart, of Leonard, and Arthur Scott, who is associated with his father in the stock business, the name of the firm being J. W. Hawkins & Son. The business is extensive and all the energies and time of both father and sou are I'e- quired for its proper management and complete success. In politics ]\rr. Hawkins is a pro- nounced Democrat, but he has never been a very active partisan, nor has he at any time sought or desired a political office, although he did serve three years as school director. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in religious affilia- tion belongs to the Baptist church. lie is a stockholder in the Farmers' Bank of Leonard and a member of its board of directors. TMiile his business is exacting and he has given it all the attention nec- essary to make a great success of it, he has not allowed it to absorb him wholly, but has given due and heli>ful attention also to the affairs of his township and county, always aiding in the promotion of every worthy enterprise for their benefit, and contributing his full share of zeal, enterprise and industry to acceler- ate their progress and raise the standard of living among their people, with an ar- dent desire to keep them in the forefront of progi-ess in every way as parts of one of the most enterprising and influential states of the American Union. MICHAEL HEESHEY. Although born in Canada and of a father who was also a native of that country, Michael Hershey, of Cherry Box, in this county, has passed almost the whole of his life in the United States and may properly be considered an American to all intents and purposes. His life began in 1843, and he is a son of Benjamin and Magdaleua (Dausman) Hershey, the father born in Canada and the mother in Germany. "V\Tien their son Michael was a very small boy the family moved to Indiana, where the father has passed the subsequent years of his life as a farmer. His principal oc- cupation in Canada was farming also, but in connection with his agricultural operations there he conducted a gi'ist and saw mill. Nine children were born in the family, five of whom are living: Benjamin, David, ^Michael, Martha and Salome. Their mother died on January 11. 1872. Michael Hershey obtained his educa- tion in the district schools of Indiana, and after leaving school remained with his parents, working on the farm and as- sisting the family for a number of years. In 1870 he came to Missouri and located HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 639 at Cherry Box, in Taylor township, this county, where he is still living. He has been continuously and successfully en- gaged in farming since his arrival in the county, and has made steady progress in his work of gaining a substantial com- petency for life. He owns and has under cultivation eighty acres of good laud, and the farm is well improved and highly productive. In 1869 he was united in marriage with Miss Maria Benner, a native of Pennsylvania. They have had nine children, six of whom are living: Allen, Magdalena, Jacob, Benjamin, Henry and Nancy. Fannie died August 16, 1910. In politics the father is a Re- publican, but he has never taken a very active interest in political affairs. His religious connection is with the Mennon- ite church. MILTON PASCHAL OAKS. This enterprising and progressive farmer of Taylor township, in this coun- ty, whose success in life has been consid- erable and won altogether by his own in- dustry, thrift and business capacity, was born in Greene county, Illinois, in 1850, and came with his parents to Missouri in 1857. His father, Michael Oaks, was a native of Tennessee, as was also his mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Oaks. They had twelve children, of whom only two are living, Milton P. and his sister Etta, the wife of Samuel Win- drum, of Denver, Colorado, and these are the only living members of the fam- ily, as the parents are also deceased, the mother having died in 1868 and the father in 1877. He, after the dentli of his first wife married again, choosing Miss Jane Debord as his second wife. They had four children, but only their son Charles is living of that offspring. On coming to Missouri the family lo- cated in Bethel township, Shelby county, and there the parents passed the remain- der of their days engaged in farming. Their son Milton obtained a limited edu- cation in an old log sciiool house in Bethel township, and as soon as he left school began the career as a farmer, which he is still extending with increas- ing profit and esteem among the people. His farm contains eighty acres and is well improved and highly cultivated. It is fully equipped with the needed ap- pliances for its work, and is one of the comfortable and valual)le country homes of the township in which it is located. In connection with his farming opera- tions he carries on a nourishing live stock industry, which he manages with the same sedulous care and close attention that he bestows on his general farmnig. In 1871 Mr. Oaks was united in mar- riage with Miss Ellen Waite, a native of Shelby county. They have iiad four children, of whom three are living, their sons Walter Byron, Isaac Pierce and Milton Chester. In ]iolitics the father is a Reimblican, deeply interested in the welfare of his party and always zealous and effective in its service. He served on the school board more than five years, and in many other ways has been of great service to the township and county of his home. In religious connection he is allied with the Methodist church. He and his wife are regarded with respect and good will wherever they are known, and looked upon as oxemjilars of the best attril)utes of elevated and sterling Amer- ican citizenship. 640 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY EDWARD PENDLETON ALEX- ANDER. Pursuing the even tenor of his way from year to year as a farmer of enter- prise and progressiveness, never ming- ling with the noisy affairs of the world, yet shirking no duty of citizenship, Ed- ward Pendleton Alexander, of Taylor township, in this county, has entitled himself to general regard and favor by his industry, ability and success as a farmer and his uprightness and high character as a man. His valuable farm of 190 acres is altogether his own acqui- sition, as he had nothing to start with and has had no favors of Fortune to help him along since, and all that it is he has made it. It stands forth, therefore as a monument to his business ability, good judgment and persevering diligence in the work that has been allotted to him. Mr. Alexander was born in Monroe county, Missouri, on October 18, 1855, and is a son of John Morris and Cordia (Gaines) Alexander, natives of Ken- tucky. The father came to Missouri when he was yet a young man, and in tliis state he put in practice the lessons in advanced and progressive farming that he had learned in that of his na- tivity. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, five of whom are living : James Thomas, whose home is in Shel- bina; William Franklin, Edward P. and Samuel L., now at Denver, Colorado, all of whom are prospering in their several callings. Both parents died in the same year, 1901. Edward P. Alexander attended the district schools in his boyhood and youth when he had opportunity, but his advan- tages were limited. He left school at an early age, and after working on the home farm with his father and assisting the family for a few years, he began farming on his own accoimt and has been doing so ever since. He was married in 1880 to Miss Louisa Cook, a native of Kentucky. Four of their five children are living: John W., Cordia Frances, Samuel Grover and Goldie. The father is a Democrat in politics and belongs to the Christian church. JOSEPH FRANKLIN COCKRUM. Conducting a prosperous and progres- sive business as a general farmer and stock man in Taylor township, this count}^, and representing in his charac- ter, habits and attention to every duty the best attributes of the people of his locality, Joseph F. Cockrum is justly de- serving of the universal esteem he en- joys as a citizen and the high position he holds as a farmer. He is a native of Mis- souri, born in Knox county, in 1853. His parents, James and Elizabeth (Shaw) Cockrum, were farmers also. The father was born and reared in Kentucky and came to Missouri when he was a 3'oung man. He located in Knox county and followed farming and raising stock there until a few years ago, when he retired from all active pursuits. There, also, he met with and married his wife, who died in 1857. He is still living and is now eighty-eight years of age. They were the parents of seven children, six of whom grew to maturity. Four besides Joseph Franklin are living: Ange, the wife of HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 641 Andrew Figli, who has her home in the state of Washington; Orlette, the wife of E. Hammond, a resident of Knox county, Missouri; Viva, the wife of W. Hammond; and Thomas, who also lives in Taylor township, Shell)y county. Josejoh F. Cockrum was educated at Washing-ton district school, in Knox county, and has been a farmer ever since he left school. For some years he worked with his father on the home farm and assisted the family. In 1882 he came to Shelby county and located in Taylor township, where he now lives. Born and reared on a farm and well trained to its requirements, he desired no other occu- pation than that of farming, and this he has followed with gratifying results ever since his advent into this county, and in connection with it has for years carried on a thriving industry in raising live stock for the markets. His valuable farm comprises 120 acres and is all un- der advanced cultivation and his live stock business is in proportion. On March 25, 1875, Mr. Cockrum was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Boggs, a native of Kansas. They had two children, their son Gilbert E. and their daughter Carrie L., who is now the wife of Henry Hersher, a resident of Shelby countj'. Their mother died in 1885, and in 1887 the father married again, choosing as his partner on this occasion Miss Sarah Street, who was liorn and reared in Knox county, where he also had his nativity. They have no children. In politics Mr. Cockrum is a Democrat, but he has never been an ac- tive partisan and has never held a politi- cal office or sought one. He is a member of the Christian church. WILLIAM STALCUP. Although he is now prosperous and in- creasingly successful as a farmer and stock man, William Stalcup, of Jefferson township, Shelby county, started in life seriously handicapped by disaster. He was made an orphan when he was but five years old by the death of his father on the battlefield of Centralia, Missouri, where he was fighting for his convictions as a man and citizen. The son then grew to manhood amid the desolation and prostration of all enterprise in the com- munity of his home brought al)out by the Civil war and the predatory sectional strife that preceded it. But he was made of stern stuff and the very trials of his lot toughened the fiber of his nature for the contest before him. And he has suc- ceeded in the contest with adverse cir- ciunstances because he meant to and made the required efforts for the accom- plishment of his purpose. Mr. Stalcup was born in the township in Shelby county in which he now lives, his life beginning in 1859. He is a son of James and Mary (Byars) Stalcup, na- tives of Virginia, both of whom came to this state in early life. The father was a small boy when his parents moved the family to Missouri and found a new home in Jefferson townshi]), Shelliy county. He grew to manhood here and obtained a limited education in the dis- trict schools, or such as there were dur- ing his boyhood and youth. When he left school he turned his attention to farming, at that time the principal occu- pation of the men in this part of the state, and he adhered to his chosen voca- tion throughout the remainder of his life. He was a soldier in the Civil war and 642 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY was killed in the battle of Centralia, Mis- souri, in 1864, as has been noted. His widow is still living and resides in Clar- ence, Missouri. She and her husband were the parents of five children, two of whom are living, AVilliam and his brother G. W. AVilliam Stalcup attended the country school near his home and through its ministrations secured a limited educa- tion. His opportunities for scholastic training were limited, owing to the con- ditions of the country and the circum- stances of the family, which forced him to look out for himself in the struggle for advancement at an early age. Since leaving school he has been engaged in farming, working under great difficulties and with veiy slow approaches toward his desired goal at first, but with increas- ing speed and greater prosperity after a few years as the harvest from his per- sistent industry and self-denying frugal- ity began to ripen and be gathered in. He now owns a valuable farm of more than 130 acres, which is well imjaroved, fully equipped with the necessary ap- pliances for its vigorous and profitable cultivation and provided with all the re- quirements of an attractive and comfort- able country home. On this farm he has for many years carried on general farming operations on a high plane of skill and enterprise, and also conducted a thriving live stock industry of good proportions and ele- vated character. In 1897 he embarked in a general mercantile enterprise at Maud in this coimty, but this was not to his taste, and after hanging to it three years he sold the business and returned to his farm. He was married in 1883 to Miss Jennie Phillips, a native of Monroe county, Missouri. They have had four children, three of whom are living, Geor- gianna, James Thomas and Ethel. In political affiliation the father is a Repub- lican, and although he has never sought or desired a political office, he has always been active in the service of his party. For the good of the community he served on the school board about six years, but he prefers at all times the honorable post of private citizenship. He is a member of the Northern Methodist church. AV. J. KESNER. During the last eighteen years this prosperous farmer and stock man of Jef- ferson township has been one of the use- ful factors in promoting the industrial and civil life of Shelby county, adding to its wealth in agricultural products and live stock, helping to advance it in public impi-ovements and aiding in sustaining and strengthening all its moral, educa- tional and material interests. He has been faithful to the duties of citizenship and while pushing forward his own in- terests has always lent a willing hand to the advancement of those of the town- ship and county in which he lives. Mr. Kesner was born on September 30, 1867, in Lewis county, Missouri. He is a son of G. AA^ and Mary J. (Allison) Kesner, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of A^irginia. The father came to Missouri in 1840 and located in Lewis county. There for a period of forty-two years he was actively engaged in farming and raising stock, with stead- ily increasing prosperity in a worldly way and a strengthening hold on the con- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 643 fidence and esteem of the people. In 1882 he moved his family to Monroe county, where he followed the same pur- suits. He died on October 4, 1899. His marriage with Miss Mary J. Alli- son occurred in 1856 and by this mar- riage became the father of six children, all of whom are living. They are Louisa, George W., Lina, Maggie, W. J. and Sarah. The mother is still living and makes her home in Clarence, Shelby county. Although advanced in years, she bears the burden of age well, being \dgorous and enei'getic, and meeting the daily duties of life now with the same spirit of devotion and determination that characterized her in the earlier period of her residence in this state, when her experiences were largely those of a pioneer. Her son, W. J. Kesner, who is the im- mediate subject of this brief memoir, be- gan his education in the district schools of Lewis county and completed it in those of Monroe county, to which he removed with his parents in 1882. After leaving school he had the usual experi- ence of country boys in Missouri at that time, working on his father's farm and assisting the family, learning in practical labor the art of farming and acquiring a knowledge of human nature by mingling freely in the social life of the neighbor- hood, thus gaining all the while addi- tional strength and equipment for the battle of life in whatever phase it might present itself. In 1890 he moved to Macon county and entered the contest for himself as a farmer and raiser of stock. Two years later he came to Shelby county and took up his residence in Clarence, and in the vicinity of that town he has ever since been actively and prosperously engaged in farming and raising stock. He now owns and cultivates eighty acres of land and has his farm brought to a high state of development in its productive capacity and well improved with good buildings and all the other appurtenances of a com- fortable country home of the present day requirements. On February 12, 1891, Mr. Kesner was united in marriage with Miss Lily B. Craig, of Monroe county, in this state. They have one child, their daughter Nora Belle. In politics the father is a Eepublican, in fraternal life he is an Odd Fellow and a Modern Woodman, and in religious affiliation a member of Mission- ary Baptist church. REUBEN LEE TAYLOR. Reuben Lee Taylor, one of the pros- perous, progressive and successful farm- ers of Jefferson township, in this county, has passed the whole of his life to this time (1910) in the county, and has been, for many years, one of the leading forces in its progress and development. He has helped to expand and augment its indus- trial and commercial power, the moral, social and educational agencies at work among its people have had the benefit of his services in counsel and active sup- port and its advancement in the way of public improvements has always been aided by him to the full extent of his ability and influence. Mr. Taylor is a native of Clay town- shii?, Shelby county, where he was born in 1863. His parents, F. P. and Mary H. (Henniger) Taylor, have registered 644 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUXTY themselves among the most sterling and useful citizens of the county and won the regard and good will of the people by their acceptable lives and faithful atten- tion to every duty in private and general life. The father, who was a son of Major Taylor, of Kentucla-, was born in that state, but was brought by his parents to Missouri before he was a year old. He was reared in Shelby county and edu- cated in the primitive schools of his day. After reaching years of maturity he be- gan farming, and this pursuit he adhered to until his death in 1902. Being a tirm believer in the doctrine of state rights, when the Civil war began he enlisted in the Confederate army, and during the whole of our sanguinary sec- tional strife was in the field in defense of his convictions. He was through life an adherent of the Democratic party in politics and one of its most active and zealous supporters. He lived acceptably long years among this people, winning their favor by his valor in war and his industry, frugality and deep and service- able interest in the general welfare of his community in peace. The niotber, who is a daughter of "Wil- liam and Susan (Kimball) Henniger, is still living at the age of seventy-eight years. Her marriage with Mr. Taylor took place in 1849, and they became the parents of nine chiklren, eight of whom are living: Nathan R. ; Susan E., the wife of H. C. Cross ; William M. ; Vir- ginia, the wife of W. E. Warren, of Great Falls, Montana ; Francis H., whose home is in Montana ; Reuben L., the sub- ject of this memoir; Milton H., another resident of the state of Montana ; and Hattie Belle, the wife of Charles Carroll, of this county. Reuben Lee Taylor attended the dis- trict schools of Shelby countj' and also a school of higher grade in Clarence. He selected the vocation of farmer and rais- ing stock early in life as his work for a livelihood, and as soon as he completed his scholastic training according to the opportunities available to him entered upon it with energy and a determination to make a success of it. He now owns and cultivates 300 acres of first rate land and carries on a flourishing business in raising stock in counection with his farm- ing operations, and in both he has real- ized the determination of his youth, be- ing at this time one of the most success- ful and progressive farmers in the town- ship in which he lives. In the public affairs of his township and county he has at all times taken an active and serviceable interest, giving his energetic and effective support to all undertakings for the improvement of the region of his home and stimulating oth- ers to exertion by the force of his exam- ple. He has been a member of the school board during the last ten years and for the greater part of the period its presi- dent. His religious connection is with the Southern Methodist church, and in the congregation to which he belongs he is one of the most active and zealous workers. He served as superintendent of its Sunday school for fourteen years, and in many other ways has been poten- tial in promoting its welfare and extend- ing its usefulness. In political adher- ence he has always been an ardent Demo- crat, with an earnest interest in the sue- HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 645 cess of his party and great efficiency in working for it. In 1885 Mr. Taylor was united in mar- riage with Miss Hollie Evans, a daugh- ter of William and Susan (Byars) Evans, and a native of Clarence in this county. She and her husband have had seven children, five of whom are living, William E., Perry P., Paul E., Reede L. and Frank, all of whom are as well thought of in the community as their pa- rents. ISAAC NOAH BAKER. "Contentment, like the speedwell, grows along the common, beaten jjath." So sang a celebrated English poet long- years ago, and so has life been found by Isaac N. Baker, one of the prosperous, enterprising and progressive farmers of Jefferson township, in this county. He has not sought the world's acclaim in official station of high or low degree. He has followed the beaten path of his chosen vocation as a farmer and stock man, and in its congenial duties and good returns for his labor he has found con- tentment, comfort and substantial prog- ress, along with the opportunity to do much for the advancement of the town- ship and county of his home and the gen- eral welfare of the people living in them, for he has been true to their every inter- est. Mr. Baker is a native of Randolph county, Missouri, born on October 21, 1844. His father, whose name also was Isaac, was a native of Kentucky and came to Missouri at an early day, being one of the first three settlers in what is now Randolph county. His early home in this state was among the Indians, and as he always treated them honestly and fairly, they were always friendly in their dealings with him and held him in high esteem. The mother, whose maiden name was Jane McCully, was a native of Ten- nessee. They were the parents of twelve children, all of whom grew to maturity. Five of them are living : Charles Thomas, who has his home at Albany, Texas; Nancy, the widow of William Tedford, who resides in California ; Fanny, the wife of James Davis, of Moberly, Mis- souri ; Sarah, the wife of Jefferson Snod- grass, of Oklahoma ; and Isaac Noah, the subject of this writing. The mother died in 1871 and the father in 1896. They were highly respected and looked upon as among the most worthy and estimable citizens of the community in which they lived. Their son Isaac Noah obtained his ed- ucation in the district schools of his na- tive county, and after completing it worked on the home farm with his father and assisted the family for a number of years. He then set up for himself on a farm and engaged in general farming and raising live stock in Randolph coun- ty for a time. In 1877 he moved to Shel- by county and took up his residence in Jefferson township. He has an attrac- tive and valuable farm and gives it close attention, intelligent supervision and skillful cultivation. It is well imjjroved with good buildings and fully equipped with everything needed for its work ac- cording to the most aiijiroved modern methods in agriculture. The stock indus- try conducted on it is also well managed and as extensive as tlie circumstances and good business sense will permit, and both are profitable to their owner. 646 HISTORy OF SHELBY COUNTY Mr. Baker was married in 1875 to Miss Sarah E. Bishop, a native of the town- shiiJ in which she now lives and a daugh- ter of James Bishop, an esteemed resi- dent of that township. Six of the nine children born of the nnion are living. They are : Nettie, Earl, Mabel, Eoy, El- sie and Lulu May. The father is a firm and faithful member of the Democratic party in politics and always a zealous and effective worker for its success. He served acceptably and with credit four years as a member of the school board, giving his official duties careful, judi- cious and intelligent attention, and mak- ing the schools feel the impulse of the vigor of his management and his cordial interest in their welfare and advance- ment. In religious faith and allegiance he is a Methodist. No residents of the township are more favorably known or more highly esteemed than he and his wife, and they are well worthy of the general regard and good will bestowed upon them in all parts of the county where they are known. JOHN HENRY MAUPIN. School teacher, soldier and merchant, John Henry Maupin, of Maud, Jefferson township, in this coimty, has shown his adaptability to circumstances and re- quirements, and the able and faithful manner in which he has performed his duties in every occupation demonstrates that he is not only a man of adaptability, but one of ability, too, and well qualified for usefulness in any employment which he consents to take or any line of en- deavor in which he chooses to engage. He has made a good record in every field of action in which he has labored, and his demonstrated progressiveness as a citi- zen and worth as a man have won for him the high regard of the people of the whole township and other parts of the county in which he is known. Mr. Maupin was born on July 31, 1836, in Augusta county, Virginia. His father, James Dabney Maupin, and his grand- father, Daniel Maupin, were born and reared in Albemarle county, Virginia. The father came to Missouri in 1851, bringing his family with him and locat- ing in Monroe county, where he was suc- cessfully and profitably engaged in farm- ing until his death in 1889. His wife, whose maiden name was Dorinda V. Kennerly, was also born and reared in Virginia. She was a dai;ghter of Reu- ben and Tabitha (Wyatt) Kennerly, the former a native of South Carolina and the latter of Virginia. The children bom in the Maupin household of this union were nine in number, and all grew to ma- turity. Six of them are living: Harriet K., the wife of P. M. Hanger, of Shel- bina ; Mary C, the wife of L. D. Kenner- ly; John Henry, the subject of this me- moir; Tabitha, the wife of Nathaniel Threlkeld, of Shelbina; and Benjamin F. and Lee K. Their mother died in 1878. The father was a life-long Democrat of the most reliable kind, and was always active in the service of his party, but he never aspired to office or desired any of the preferments of i^ublic life or the hon- ors or emoluments of official station. John Henry Maupin obtained his edu- cation in part in the country schools of Virginia and this state, and completed it at the college in Paris, Missouri. After completing the course of instruction at HISTORY OF SHELBY'COUNTY 647 that institution he taught school for about twentj^-five years, his service in this caiiacity being continuous except during the years of the Civil war and two years afterward. In June, 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate army. Com- pany F, Missouri Infantry, and was soon afterward daring death on the battle- field. He took part in the engagements at Boonville, Pea Ridge, Newark, Kirks- ville and numerous others, but, while some of the fields on which he fought were very sanguinary, he escaped un- hai'med. He rose to the rank of lieuten- ant of his company and made a credit- able record for gallantry on the field and fidelity to duty in every phase of the service. At the close of the war he returned home and a little while later went West, where he engaged in freighting for about two years. He then came back to his Monroe county, Missouri, home and again engaged in teaching school. In 1883 he came to Shelby county and took up his residence at Maud, in Jefferson township, where he has ever since lived. Here he opened a drug store, which has occupied him from that time imtil the present. He has built up a fine trade, won the confidence of the people in his business and made his store one of the established and most appreciated insti- tutions in the mercantile life of the township. Mr. Maupin was married in 1887 to Miss Betty Harris, a daughter of Thomas H. and Betsy (Maupin) Harris, natives of Albemarle county, Virginia, but long esteemed residents of this coun- ty at the time of the marriage. The one child born of the union is now deceased. In his political faith and allegiance Mr. Maupin is a pronounced Democrat and has at all times been very energetic and effective in the service of his party. He served as a justice of the peace for more than six years and as a member of the school board about the same lengih of time, rendering service satisfactory to the people in each capacity, winning a good name for himself as a public offi- cial and contributing as such essentially to the welfare and advancement of the township. In fraternal life he is con- nected with the Masonic order. In all the relations of life Mr. Maupin has lived ac- ceptably and uprightly. He has been very successful in business and always taken an earnest and helj^ful interest in all that concerns the good of the region in which he lives, by whose people he is held in the highest esteem. FRANCIS MARION DALE. Although not a native of Shelby coun- ty, Francis Marion Dale, one of the sub- stantial and progressive farmers of Jef- ferson township, has been a resident of it for a period of almost thirty years, and is therefore well known to its people and also knows them well. He has been an active and effective worker for the improvement and progress of the town- ship in which he lives, and given close and energetic attention to the welfare of the whole county in many ways. By entei'ing into the spirit of their enter- prise and aspirations and taking his place and doing his full share of the work of promoting their interests he has won the confidence, esteem and lasting good will of the people and become truly 648 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY representative of all that is best among them. Mr. Dale was born on January 16, 1849, in Randolph county, Missouri, and is a grandson of Philip and son of Jacob Dale. The latter was also a native of Missouri and one of its prosperous and progressive farmers. He was an active, working Democrat during the whole of his mature life, zealous in the service of his party and also in reference to every form of public improvement of the local- ity in which he had his home. The mother was Miss Minerva Chitwood be- fore her marriage to Mr. Dale, a daugh- ter of Chedwick Chitwood, who was born and reared in Virginia and came to this state in early life. Mr. and Mrs. Dale had seven children, six of whom are liv- ing: Francis M., John William, George A., Mary Catherine, the wife of Samuel Bland, of Randolph county, Missouri; Sarah N., the wife of William Faught; and Lucy Margaret, the wife of Frank Powers, of La Plata, Missouri. The mother of these children died in 1863, and the fatjier afterward married Miss Nancy Hines. Six children were born of this union, all of whom are living. They are: Thomas B., Lewis F., James M., Elizabeth, Barbara and Alice. The father died in 1875. Francis Marion Dale was reared on his father's farm in Randolph county and obtained his education in the dis- trict schools of tliat county, but his at- tendance at them was irregular and only for a few years. After leaving school he worked on farms in the neighborhood of his home as a hired hand for a time. He then engaged in o])erating a saw mill for two years. At the end of that time he turned his attention to farming for him- self in Randolph county, remaining there and following that occupation eight years. In 1882 he moved to Shelby county and located on the farm in Jeffer- son township on which he now lives. He has been actively, successfully and pro- gressively engaged in farming ever since, and in connection with his farming oper- ations has carried on an extensive and profitable general live stock industry. His fai'm comprises 120 acres of supe- rior land and he has it all under cultiva- tion, well improved and brought to a high state of productiveness. Mr. Dale was married in December, 1871, to Miss Maria J. Hmnphrey, a daughter of J. J. and Lavinia J. Hum- phrey, who came to this state from North Carolina. The children born in the Dale household numbered eight, and six of them are living: Homer C, Oliver C, Charles D., Beulah F., the wife of Wil- liam J. Stewart, of Maud, in this county ; Lora and Hugh J. In politics the father is a Democrat, and in religious connec- tion a member of the Christian church. To both party and church he is true and faithful, working for the welfare of each to the limit of his circumstances and ren- dering both excellent service. He served as a member of the school board more than ten years. He has been successful in his business, upright in his living, energetic and square in his citizenship and true and zealous in every other rela- tion in life, and is imiversally esteemed as a man. SAMUEL GORBY. Having reached the patriarchal age of four-score years and over, the reflec- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 649 tions of this venerable man are mainly retrospective. But the retrospect must be pleasing, as he has lived worthily and usefully, and has contributed essentially and considerably to the betterment of the people among whom his years of ac- tive industry were passed, and is now giving an excellent example of true and upright manhopd and elevated citizen- ship to the men younger than he is who know him, all of whom hold him in the highest esteem for what he is, what he has been and what he has done. Mr. Gorby is a native of Stark county, Oliio, born on May 4, 1829. His father, Jonathan Gorby, was Itorn in the state of Delaware. He was a farmer all his life from youth, following this occupation in the state of his nativity and that of his adoption. In early life he moved to Ohio, when that now great common- wealth was a part of the Northwest Ter- ritory, and was still lai'gely under the dominion of its savage tenants, who had held it in thrall for many generations, with much of its soil still virgin to the plow and the greater part of its vegeta- tion only the wild growth of unpruned Nature. He created a good farm in the wilderness and on it reared to maturity all of his nine children. His wife, whose maiden name was Anne Davis, was a na- tive of Virginia. Of their otf spring their son Samuel is the only one now living. The mother died in 18.3.3 and the father in 1841. Samuel Gorby attended the primitive country schools in the vicinity of his home and later received instruction from a private tutor. His education was far in advance of that of his youthful com- panions, and after its comi^letion he taught school in his native state for a number of years. In 1854 he followed the tide of migration to the farther AVest and came to Missouri. Locating in the city of Hannibal, he resumed his voca- tion as a school teacher and followed it there for about three years. In 1857 he moved to Shelby county and in Jefferson township he continued his ministrations to the welfare of his fellow men as a teacher, doing something in this line also in Monroe county. In all he was en- gaged in teaching for a period of forty years. After giving up his work as a teacher he devoted his energies for a long time to dealing in live stock. But for a number of years he has not been engaged in any active work. The rest he is enjoying has been well earned, and it is a source of great gratification to his countless friends and admirers that he has good health and continued vigor to enjoy the ease which is now his portion. His long day of toil was full of adven- ture and excitement. It laid him under many privations and exactions. It brought him during a great part of it only the crude and homely comforts of the frontier. But his evening is mild and benignant, and all the more agreeable and enjoyable because of the strenuous life he was called upon to endure during its period of labor — the heat and biarden of the day. Mr. Gorby was married in 1854 to Miss Eliza Firestine, also a native of Ohio. They had seven children, all of whom grew to maturity, but only two are now living. They are Ethel, the wife of John Swearingen, of California, and John, who lives in this county. Their mother died in 1884, and in 1888 the father mar- 650 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY ried a second wife, his choice on this oc- casion being Mrs. Mary (McCloskey) Benson, who was born in Pennsylvania. Mr. Gorbj' has been a lifelong Democrat in political relations and always an ar- dent and conscientious worker for the success of his party. He served as a member of the school board many years and rendered other valuable service to the public in many lines of useful effort. OLIVER COMMODOEE PERRY. Clay townshi]:) in this county numbers among its people some of the most en- lightened and progressive farmers in the county — men who are up to the period in every feature of their business and make themselves examples to others by the manner in which they conduct it, show- ing hitherto unexpected possibilities in this part of the state in the way of agri- culture and developing them to their limits, greatly to their own advantage and the benefit of the county and all its inhabitants. In this number is to be classed Oliver Commodore Perry, who lives in Clarence. He has a model farm south of Clarence and shows himself to be a model fanner. He is a native of Shelby county, born in Salt River township on December 7, 1846, and a son of Richard and Mary (Selsor) Perry, natives of Virginia. The father came to Missouri in 1833 and lo- cated in Shelby county, where he was ac- tively and successfully engaged in farm- ing for a number of years. He was a very religious man and took great inter- est in church work. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, five of whom are living: Martha, the wife of the late Nathan Byars, of Taylor town- ship, this county ; Joseph S., whose home is in Knox coimty; Oliver C, a resident of Clarence ; Delilah, the wife of the late John Colvert, of Oklahoma City; and Katharine, the wife of Wesley Sharpe, of California. Their mother died in 1866 and their father in 1889. Oliver C. Perry obtained a limited ed- ucation in the primitive country schools of his boyhood and youth, and after com- pleting their course of study went to Montana, where he was engaged in gold mining for two years. At the end of that period he returned to Shelby county con- tent to seek his advancement in life in the peaceful pursuit of tilling the soil and leave to others the strenuous life of the mining camp, and all other forms of adventurous and exciting existence. He turned his whole attention to farming in Jefferson township. But of late years lias turned it over to his son Floyd. He also deals in improved real estate and owns considerable property in Clarence. He pushes his business with every atten- tion to its most exacting requirements, keeping himself well posted as to values and the trend of the mai-ket. In both lines of endeavor he has been very suc- cessful. Mr. Perry has also taken an eai-nest and helpful interest in the welfare of his township and county. He is a member of the Democratic party in his political affil- iation and an effective and determined worker for the success of the organiza- tion. He rendered the community excel- lent service as a member of the school board for more than ten years, and in all other ways has done his duty faithfully as an upright and patriotic citizen. In HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY G51 religious connection he is allied with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. On December 19, 1867, Mr. Perry was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Ran- dol, a native of Shelby county, Missouri. They have had seven children, six of whom are living : John H., a resident of Siloam Springs, Arkansas; Emma, the wife of Dr. Gaines, of Las Animas, Colo- rado ; Ora, the wife of Edward Phillips, of Hannibal; Floyd, whose home is in Jefferson township; Leo, the wife of N. P. Turner, of Eaton, New Mexico ; and Harry, who is living at Clarence. The parents are accounted as among the worthiest and most estimable citizens of Clarence, and the other members of the family, in their several locations and sta- tions in life are daily exemplars of the lessons and training inculcated around the family fireside wliile they remained under the parental rooftree and the con- trol of their parents. JAMES RICHARD BAKER. For more than half a century this pro- gressive farmer and representative citi- zen of Jeft'erson township has lived in Shelby county, actively engaged in one of its leading industries, heljnng to pro- mote its welfare and contributing es- sentially to the consequence and bene- fit of its people. He is a native of this state, born in Monroe county on Sep- tember 25, 1842, and Ijecame a resident of Shelby county in 1857, coming to the county with his father at the age of fif- teen years. His parents. Carter and Luc in da (Crim) Baker, were born and reared in Kentucky, and came to Missouri soon after they reached their maturity. The father located in Monroe county and farmed there until 1857, when he moved to Shelby county. Here he continued his farming operations until his death, in August, 1866. His widow survived him thirty years, dying on June 18, 1896. They were the parents of ten children, five of whom are living: Sarah Eliza- beth (Newton), James Richard, Sam- uel E., Elijah B., and Carter A. At the beginning of the Civil war the father enlisted in a company of Missouri in- fantrj'. But he never got far into the active military operations of the great contest, participating only in a few skirmishes. His son, James Richard Baker, grew to manhood on his father's farm in Mon- roe and Shelby counties and obtained his education in the district schools. At the beginning of the war, when he was but nineteen years old, he enlisted in Company D, Sharpshooters, and for a time saw very active and strenuous serv- ice. He took part in the battles of Lex- ington, Kirksville, Pleasant Hill and a number of others. But early in his mili- tary career he was captured by the other army, and from then until the close of the war languished in a military prison. At the close of the memorable conflict he was released from ]irison and dis- charged from the service at Shreveport, Louisiana. He then returned to his Mis- souri home and resumed his farming op- erations, beginning a career for himself in this line of endeavor, which he is still expanding. He now owns 189 acres of good land, nearly all of which is under 652 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY cultivation and liiglily productive. The farm is also well improved with good buildings and fully provided with all that is necessary for conducting the work on it according to the most ap- proved modern methods in advanced ag- riculture. In addition he carries on an extensive and flourishing live stock in- dustry, and in both lines of enterprise he has prospered. Mr. Baker has been one of the lead- ing men in his township in jDromoting public improvements and contributing to the general welfare of the locality. He served on the school board more than twenty years, and in numerous other ways has helped to build up and develop the township and county in all their moral, mental and material inter- ests. He is a pronounced Democrat in his political allegiance and always zeal- ous in the service of his party. For a continuous period of eight years he was town constable, and his services to the community in this office were very ac- ceptable to the people and highly ap- proved. In religious connection he is allied with the Baptist church. In 1885 Mr. Baker was united in mar- riage with Miss Ellen I. Johnston, a daughter of George and Theresa John- ston, who came to Missouri from Vir- ginia. Mrs. Baker is, however, a native of Shelby county. She and her husband are the parents of two children, their sons, George C. and Everett E. All the members of the family stand well where they live and enjoy in a marked degree the regard and good will of the people around them in all other places where thev are known. JAMES C. OEK. This prosperous and progressive farmer of Jefferson township, in this county, has been tried by severe disci- pline in disaster and has never flinched or shown want of high manly spirit. The stern arbitrament of the sword in civil war ruled against him, and laid upon him unusual hardships, but he endured his fate courageously and showed, even in his darkest and most oppressive experi- ences, the qualities of persistency and determination of purpose which have made him successful in his subsequent operation and won him his high stand- ing in the regard of his fellow men wherever he is known. Mr. Orr was born in Randolph county, Missouri, in December, 1843. His pa- rents, John B. and Eliza Anne (Hutton) Orr, were born and reared in Virginia, and there also they were married. Soon after their marriage they moved to ]Mis- souri, arriving in 1843, and took up their residence amid the wild natural luxu- riance of Randolph countj', which was largely unpeopled and still in a state of semi-wilderness at the time. Here they won a farm from the waste, which they develoi)ed and improved into a comfort- able country home, and on which they reared to maturity four of their six chil- dren, all of whom are still living. They are: Elizabeth, the wife of Davis Mitch- ell; James C, the subject of this brief review ; William M., who resides in Mad- ison, Missouri ; and John N., whose home is in ^lacon, ^Missouri. The mother died in 1854 and the father in 1884 at the age of sixty-nine years. They enjoyed in a marked degree the respect and good will HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY 653 of all who knew them and were num- bered among the most worthy and esti- mable citizens of the locality in which they lived and faithfully labored for themselves and the common weal. Their son, James C. Orr, obtained a limited education in the coiintry schools, which were primitive and of narrow range in his day, attending those of Mon- roe county. In 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate army, but did not see much active service. In one of the earliest en- gagements in which he took part he was captured and thereafter he languished in a Federal prison for about eight months. At the end of that time he took the oath of allegiance to the United States gov- ernment and was released. After his release from prison he re- turned to his Missouri home and at once began farming, the occupation in which he has been actively and successfully en- gaged ever since. In the spring of 1874 he moved to Shelby county and located in Jefferson township, where he now re- sides. He has a fine farm of 100 acres, which is well improved, skillfully culti- vated and has l)eeu brought to a high state of productiveness. Every detail of its oiDerations passes under his strict personal supervision, and all depart- ments of the work are made to pay triltute to his intelligence and care. In the affairs of the township and county Mr. Orr has always taken a lively and helpful interest, aiding every good project for the development and im- provement of the region, and doing his part toward liuilding up and strengthen- ing all its institutions. He is a Proliibi- tionist in politics, but has not, for many years, taken a very active interest in public affairs. He served as a member of the school board upward of ten years and as a road overseer for two. In re- ligious faith he is allied with the Holi- ness sect. Mr. Orr was married in April, 1870, to Miss Frances H. Hutchinson, a native of Monroe county, Missouri. They have had seven children, six of whom are liv- ing: Emma, the wife of N. B. Kiei-gan, of St. Louis; George W., Owen, E. S., C. H. and H. W. In all the relations of life the father has shown himself worthy of esteem and he is held in liigh regard by all classes in the township and throughout the county. WILLIAM H. BOSTWICK. Successful in all his business under- takings, faithful to every duty of good citizenship, taking an earnest and help- ful interest in everything that will pro- mote the general welfare of his town- ship and county and minister to the com- fort, convenience and general well being of their people, William H. Bostwiclc, one of the leading farmers and stock men of Jefferson township in this county, is well worthy of the high rank he holds as a truly representative man in the county and the universal esteem bestowed upon him by all classes of the peo]ile here and elsewhere, wherever he is known. Mr. Bostwick was born in Rushville, Indiana, in October, 1861. He is a son of Thomas and Martha (Jerrel) Bost- wick, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Delaware. They left the region of their birth in early life and found a new home in what were 654 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY then the wilds of Indiana, or at least a portion of that great state which was far behind its present condition of de- velopment and advancement. In 1868 the family moved to Missouri and lo- cated in Shelbyville, this county, where the father was energetically and suc- cessfully engaged in farming to the end of his life, which came in October, 1899. His wife died on August 8, 1890. They were the parents of five children, two of whom are living, "William H. and his brother. Rev. E. E. Bostwick, of Kirks- ville, Missouri. William H. Bostwick obtained his ed- ucation in the schools of Shelbyville, assisting in the work on his father's farm while attending them. He made early choice of his occupation for life, selecting the line of effort with which he was familiar and to which he was trained. As soon as he left school he began the career as a farmer and stock man which he is still extending with such gratifying success and prosperity. He has steadfastly adhered to it during all the succeeding years, and has found his faith in it as a means to advance- ment fully justified. His present farm comprises 678 acres of excellent land, and his live stock industry is in propor- tion to it. Both are managed with good judgment, extensive knowledge of the re- quirements and possibilities in the case, and both bring in handsome returns for the labor and care bestowed upon them. The farm is one of the most highly im- proved and best developed in the town- ship, and is considered one of the most valuable as well as one of the most at- tractive. Mr. Bostwick has been a wheel horse in all matters of public improvement for the region in which he lives, giving his active and intelligent support to every worthy project for its advancement, and helping in every way he could to strengthen and intensify the mental and moral agencies at work among its peo- ple. He has been a member of the school board during the last eight years, and the schools have felt to their advantage the impulse to elevation and progress given by his quickening hand. In relig- ious afiSliation he is connected with the Baptist church, and is a leader in the congregation to which he belongs, serv- ing as one of its deacons and taking a very important part in all its worthy un- dertakings. In politics he is allied with the Republican party, in which, also, he takes a zealous interest and to which he renders effective and appreciated serv- ice. On February 25, 1886, he was married to Miss Nanny Y. Eaton, a daughter of John and Nancy Eaton, the former born in Hannibal, Missouri, in 1832, of Ken- tucky parentage, and the latter a daugh- ter of old Virginia families. Mrs. Bost- wick, however, was born and reared in Shelby county. She and her husband are the parents of nine children, all of whom are living. They are: Nanny R., Mary E., John E., Elsie, A. Audrey, Willye, Lloyd K., Louveta G. and Lotus V. All the members of the family are held in high regard and well deserve the hold they have on the good will of the people. LANIUS LANDRON WHEELER. The interesting subject of this brief review comes of heroic strains, and while HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 655 Ms own life to this time (1910) lias been passed amid the pursuits of peaceful in- dustry, he has nevertheless shown by his successful management of his affairs and his quick and complete use of every opportvmity offered for his advantage, as well as in his mastery of adverse cir- cumstances, that he has inherited the traits of his ancestors and is well worthy of the name he bears. He was born at Lentner, in this county, in 1860, and has passed the greater part of his subse- quent life in the county. The paternal grandfather, Mason Wlieeler, was born and reared in Mason county, Kentucky, and received his name from that county. He came to Missouri when he was twenty-one years of age and located in Marion county, where he lived and farmed for a number of years. He then moved to Monroe county, and there he followed farming until early in the forties, when he became a resident of Shelby couuty, locating on a farm near Bacon Chapel. There he died at a ripe old age, respected and revered by all who knew him. In religious con- nection he was a Methodist, holding his membership in the congregation of Bacon Chapel church. He was a safe leader in church and neighborhood af- fairs and one of the most forcible and eloquent men in this part of the state in prayer. He was also effective as an exhorter. His son, Jolm Anderson Wheeler, the father of Lanius L., was born in Marion county, Missouri, in 1835, and, like his father, w^as reared on a farm and fol- lowed farming all his life. He was mar- ried in 1852 to Miss Fannie Robb, a na- tive of Tennessee. They had eight chil- dren, seven of whom are living: Lanius L., Thomas S., Hugh B., John Wesley, Arthur E., Ethel and Olive Leone. In 1862 the father joined the Confederate army and was with Coloner Porter in his famous raid. At the battle of Kirks- ville a musket ball passed through the crown of his hat and killed his brother- in-law, Thomas Robb, who was standing by his side. After the Porter raid, Mr. Wheeler surrendered, with others of the command, to Colonel Benjamin at Shel- liyville, who demanded of him his horse, his gun and forty dollars in money. On receiving these. Colonel Benjamin re- leased him on parole, but required that he report to Provost Marshal Dick Strahn, at Palmyra, Missouri, every thirty days. After the war Mr. Wheeler returned to Monroe county, Missouri, and took up his residence near Duncan's Bridge, where he lived for a number of years. He then moved back to Shelby county and located on a farm near Bacon's Chapel, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying in March, 1893. His widow is still living and has her home in Kansas City, Missouri. He achieved a considerable degree of success in life, althougti his career was cut short at the early age of fifty-eight, rising to promi- nence and influence in his community and being well and favorably known throughout the northeastern part of the state. His son, Lanius L. Wheeler, obtained his education in the district schools and worked on his father's farm while at- tending tliem. He became a farmer on his own account after he left school, and has persevered in that occupation dur- 656 HISTORY OF SHELBY COU^■TY ing the greater part of his subsequent life. But for a number of years he was engaged in mining in the farther "West, and still has holdings of value in gold mines at Telluride, Central City and Gunnison, Colorado. His present farm in Clay township, this county, comprises 260 acres of superior land, and in con- nection with its cultivation he carries on an extensive and thriving live stock in- dustry. Both lines of his operations are profitable because of the intelligence, skill and vigor with which he manages them, and his success has made him one of the leaders in these industries in Shelby county. Mr. Wheeler was married in 1883 to Miss Cora Allen Hirrlinger, a daughter of William and Magdalena (Doerrer) Hirrlinger, who were born in Darm- stadt, Germany, but Mrs. Wheeler is a native of Shelbyville. She and her hus- band became the parents of seven chil- dren, five of whom are living: Nora, the wife of H. A. Jordan, whose home is in Clarence, this county ; EUza A., the wife of Peter Neuschafer ; and V i n c i 1 O 'Bryan, Virgil L. and John Leland. In politics the father is a pronounced and ardently interested Democrat, al- ways true to his party and at all times ready to render it any service in his power. He has served on the school board for moi-e than six years, and in many other avenues of beneficial effort has helped to build up the township and county of his residence and promote the welfare of their people. Fraternally he is connected with tlie ]\lo(lern Woodmen of America, and in religious affiliation he and his wife are allied with the Meth- odist Episcopal church. His half cen- tury of life has been judiciously em- ployed in furthering his own interests and at the same time in essential con- tributions to the welfare of others. It has been eminently useful and upright, and given him an opportunity to exem- plify in all relations the attributes of elevated and serviceable American citi- zenship. JUSTUS F. ECHTEENAOHT. For a full quarter of a century this progressive and enterprising farmer and stock man has been a resident of Mis- souri, and has lived and labored in the township and county of his present resi- dence. He is therefore well known to the people among whom his daily life of usefulness and sterling citizenship has l)een passed, and the universal esteem they give him is based on well deter- mined grounds of merit, and is neither speculative nor sentimental. He has demonstrated the quality of his man- hood and all who know him have found it worthy of their confidence and regard. Mr. Ecliternacht is a native of Lan- caster county, Pennsylvania, one of the rirhest and most prosperous counties in tb ' United States, where he was born o" October 10, 1861, a grandson of Joliu Ecliternacht, who came to thi^-. countr> from England, where he was born au^ grew to manhood. On his arrival in tli United States he located in Laucastf » county, Pennsylvania, and there iris so 3 Williiuii, the father of Justus F., wa born, reared and. at the end of a long life of usefulness, buried in the regi i hallowed by his labor and devotion to the welfare of its people. He was a HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 657 farmer and gave all his energy to the pursuit of his chosen vocation except what was required for the service of his community. His wife, whose maiden name was Caroline Dean, was born at Lititz in the same county. They had eight children, seven of whom are liv- ing: Albert, Sophy, Justus F., Mary, Emma, Harry and George. The father died at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1900. The mother is still living and has her home at Adamstown, in her native county. Their son, Justus F., grew to man- hood in the county of his nativity and was educated in the district schools of Adamstown there. After leaving school he worked on a farm in the neighborhood of his home for a number of years, get- ting a start in life by slow accretions gathered by industry and carefully hus- banded in frugal living. In 1885 he came to Missouri and located on a farm in Clay township, Shelby county, on which he is still living, and has bestowed his labor from that time to tb^ present (1910). The farm comprises eighty acres and is devoted to general farming and stock-raising. It is well improved, highlj' productive and skillfully ailti- vated. By close attention to every de- tail of it- work and the application of " broad intelligence to its operation, Mr. '^' Echternacht has made it one of the '^' model farms of t^^e township in which ^ it is located and greatly enhanced its '' value since he became its owner and laid upon it the persuasive hand of his pro- ' gressive husbandry, his good judgment ' in its management and his energj^ in tilling it. But he has not allowed its require- ments to wholl}' absorb him or lessen his interest in the welfare of the locality. To every worthy project desig-ned to promote the development and improve- ment of his township and county he has given ready, judicious and effective aid, making himself one of the most useful citizens of the region, and winning the commendation of all its people by his energy and breadth of view in its be- half. He is an active, working Demo- crat in political faith and allegiance, but he has never sougbt or desired a polit- ical office of any kind, either by election or appointment. His fraternal affilia- tion is with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his religious connec- tion with the Christian church. He has always taken a great and helpful inter- est in church work, and for years has been one of the trustees of the congTe- gation to which he belongs. On Decem- ber 17, 1886, he was united in marriage with Miss Belle Prange, a native of Clay township, this county, and a daughter of John and Kate (Heiman) Prange, who were born and reared in Germany. Six children have been born of the union, all of whom are living. They are : Voneda, the wife of W. Lee, of At- lanta, Missouri, and John, Katie and Carrie (twins), Albert and George. JACOB GABLE. Born and reared in Germany, and trained to usefulness in the stx'enuous and frugal industrial life of that great and progressive empire, Jacob Gable, one of the prosperous and progressive farmers of Clay township, in this county, brought to the United States inherited 658 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY qualities of industry and thrift and a knowledge of agricultural pursuits that were bound to make him successful in any farming region, and particularly so in one so bountiful in returns for well applied labor as the region in which he found a new home. His life began in the Fatherland on February 9, 1861, and he obtained his education in the schools of his native locality, southern Germany. He is a son of Philip and Catherine (Keller) Gable, also natives of Germany. They had five children, only two of whom are living, Jacob and his older sister, Elizabeth. Jacob remained at home with his par- ents until he reached the age of twenty- two. Then, in 1883, he and they set out for the United States, buoyed up with high hopes of prosperity and advance- ment in the land of promise to which they looked with longing. But much of what they expected was to be denied them. The father died at sea during the voyage across the Atlantic, and the mother followed him to the other world within the same year. His double bereavement left the son at the dawn of his manhood a lone exile in a foreign land, untried in the ways of the world and thrown wholly on his own resources. He took up his burden bravely and during the eai-ly years of his struggle for a foothold bore it with fortitude and constancy of purpose. Having taken up his residence in Clay township, this county, he went to work as a farm hand wlierever he could get employment, and as he was industrious and skillful he soon found his sei'vices in demand and had no difficulty in se- curing ijlaces. He saved his earnings, and after a few years of faithful labor for others, he bought a farm of 120 acres for himself, and since then he has been devoting all his energies to its develop- ment and improvement. He has been very successful in his operations, rising by steady progress to consequence in a worldly way, and to good standing and influence among the people of his town- ship and county. His farm is well improved, vigorously and skillfully cultivated and very pro- ductive. It yields good revenues in re- turn for the labor and care he gives it, and has grown into considerable value as the result of his judicious manage- ment and the general progress of the township, which he has greatly helped to promote and foster. For he has been attentive to all the duties of citizenship and borne his full share of the labor and care incident to pushing forward the de- velopment and imjirovement of the lo- cality in which he lives, giving to the interests and institutions of the land of his adoption the same loyal devotion he gave to those of the land of his nativity while he remained a resident of it. On March 6, 1890, Mr. Gable was united in marriage to Miss Maggie Prange. They have four children : Alice, Anna, the wife of Louis Neuschafer, John and Ruth. The father is a devout and consistent member of the Christian church, taking an active and heljiful in- terest in all the worthy undertakings of the congrogatiou to which he belongs and aiding it all the while to larger and more comprehensive usefulness. He and his wife, and the other members of the family are regarded as sterling in all the relations of life, and enjoy in a HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 659 marked degree the respect and good will of all classes of the people around them and of all others who know them. They live acceptably and are faithful in the performance of every duty in private life and neighborhood affairs. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS WHITE. In the life and family history of this successful, enterprising and progressive farmer and stock man, and also more truly a prominent and representative citizen of Clay township, Shelby county, Missouri, there are many features of unusual interest and significance. He is a grandson of Thomas and Jemima (Cooley) White, natives of Kentucky, who came to Missouri and located in Howard county in 1818, where his father, Mark White, was born in 1825. The latter was a farmer and money lender, and achieved great success in all departments of his business, being jjos- sessed of an estate worth more than $100,000 at the time of his death, which occurred on December 9, 1896. Soon after attaining his majority he moved to Macon county, Missouri, where he became an extensive dealer in farm lands and other real estate, and was very successful in his operations. He was an uneducated man in the teachings of tlie schools, but he had strong com- mon sense, excellent judgment and great shrewdness in selecting his opportuni- ties and making the most of them. He was also very energetic and industrious, making every hour of his time tell to his advantage, both for his own benefit and that of the township and county in which he lived. By his first marriage, which took place in 1845, and was with Miss Serelda Wright, a daughter of Summers and Naomi (Coffey) Wright, he became the father of nine children, six of whom grew to maturity and are living. They are: William C, a resident of Macon county; Mollie, the widow of the late John B. Eichardson; Melissa, the wife of J. A. Banta, whose home is at Macks- ville, Kansas; Stephen A. Douglas, the immediate subject of this memoir; Ben- jamin F., who resides in Kansas City, Missouri; and Amy, the wife of William Gates, of Macon county, in this state. The mother of these children, who was brought from Kentucky an infant in the arms of her mother, who made the trip on horseback, died on September 9, 1879, at the age of fifty-one years, and in 1880 the father married a second time, choos- ing as his companion on this occasion Mrs. Hattie J. Dixon, a daughter of Peter Ryther and wife, natives of Ohio. Two children were born of the father's second marriage: Serelda, who is now the wife of Ralph Talbot, of Macon county, and Mark, who is also a resident of that county. Stephen A. Douglas White attended schools in Macon City, St. James Acad- emy and the State Normal School at Kirksville. When he left school he at once entered upon his life work as a farmer and live stock man, and to this he has steadfastly adhered to the pres- ent time (1910), although for about eight months in 1898 he was also engaged in mercantile life. But this was not agree- able to him, and at the end of the period mentioned he sold his intei'ests in it and again gave his whole attention to his farm and stock industry. In 1901 he 660 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY moved to Shelby county, and here he has continued his extensive operations in farming and raising stock, his prin- cipal product in the latter line of busi- ness being high-bred mules. He is also a stockholder in the Clarence Oil, Gas and Mineral Company and a member of its board of directors, and as such has an important bearing on its transactions and is potential in promoting its success and prosperity. In December, 1880, Mr. White was united in marriage with Miss Laura Powell, a daughter of Henry M. and Itelia (Mathis) Powell. Of the four children born of the union, thi'ee are living: Delia, the wife of Joseph Low- ery, of Macon county; Alice, the wife of Harry AV. Orr, of Shelby county ; and Valley, the wife of Hood Shearon, of Narrows township, Macon county. Their mother died in Se]itember, 1889, and on February 17, 1892, the father married again, being united at this time with Miss Lillian Davis, a daughter of Dur- born and Adelia ("Wallace) Davis, na- tives of New Hampsliire. Her grand- parents on her mother's side were Reu- ben and Anna (Howard) Wallace, the fonner a native of New Hampshire and the latter of New York, the Wallace line in the family being of Scotch ancestry and belonging to the distinguished fam- ily of that name renowned in Scottish history, both for the great achievements of some of its members and the lamen- table tragedies that followed them through the ingratitude of those whom they served so faithfully. Durborn Davis, the father of the pres- ent Mrs. White, was a soldier in the Civil war, belonging to the Thirteenth New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. He became a resident of Clarence, in this county, in 1865, just after the close of the war, when the now prosjierous little citj' was but a hamlet on the un- broken prairie. Here he developed and improved a good farm, and aided greatly in building up the town and surround- ing country and making them progres- sive and prosperous. He died on March 13, 1899. Mr. and Mrs. (Davis) White have had three children, two of whom are living. They are their daughters, Ruth Blanche and Rose. In politics the father adheres firmly and faithfully to the Democratic part}% and is a very earnest and effec- tive worker in its behalf. He has given the community more than ten years of excellent service on the school board, and his party vigor and inspiration as central Democratic committeemen for six years. In fraternal relations he is allied with the Masonic order, its ad- junct, the Order of the Eastern Star, and the Knights of Pythias. No citizen of the county stands better in public es- teem, and none is more worthy of high standing. His grandmother AVright was a remarkable woman, and lived to be within a few days of one hundred years of age. SAMUEL H. MEARS. Born and reared to the age of seven- teen in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and having acquired habits of industry and thrift in the strenuous and intense industrial life of that great common- wealth, Samuel H. Mears, of Clay town- ship in this county, transferred to the almost virgin soil of Missouri the train- HISTGEY OF SHELBY COUNTY GGl ing for usefulness as a farmer which his native state had given him, and has enlarged his efforts and quickened his pace in the practice of it in accordance with the advantages which the better land and more extensive opportunities of this region have afforded him for the use of his attainments. His life began in 1851, and he is a grandson of James Mears, who was born in Ireland and came to the United States in his boyhood. He located in western Pennsylvania, and after leaving school engaged in farming there. His son, John S. Mears, the father of Samuel S., was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and after reaching his maturity moved across the line into In- diana county, where he followed farming for a livelihood until 1868. In that year he came to Missouri, bringing his family with him and taking up his residence in Macon county. His wife's maiden name was Martha Lucas, and she was a native of Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Patrick Ijucas, an esteemed resident and prosperous farmer of that county. She and her husband were the parents of eight children, six of whom are living: John L., whose residence is at Moberly, Missouri ; Mary J., the wife of J. C. Foster, also a resident of Mo- berly; Alexander S., who lives in Los Angeles, California ; Samuel H., the sub- ject of this brief review ; William T., of Moberly, Missouri, and Francis M., of Macon county. The father died in Feb- ruary, 1875, and the mother in October, 1909, at the age of eighty-seven years. Their son, Samuel H. Mears, began his education in the district schools of his native county and finished it in those of Macon county, Missouri. After com- pleting their courses of instruction he taught school for a time, then moved to Shelby county and became a farmer. He has followed agricultural pursuits ever since, and with increasing success and prosperity. He became a resident of this county in 1873, and here he has passed the subsequent years of his life, busily and profitably engaged in his chosen vocation and rising to promi- nence and influence among the people of his township. His farm comprises eighty acres of first rate land and is well cultivated. He has it improved with commodious and comfortable buildings, and by his vigor and skill in the man- agement of its operations has brought it to a high state of development and fruitfulness. In connection with his farming he carries on a thriving indus- try in raising and feeding live stock for the markets. In political connection Mr. Mears is a pronounced Democrat and a zealoiis and effective worker for the success of his party. He served as district clerk twelve years and was a school director for upwards of twenty. In religious af- filiation he and his wife are allied with the Primitive Baptist church, and he has long been an ardent and effective church worker, serving as deacon of the congre- gation to which he belongs during the last fifteen years, and in many other ways pi'omoting the usefulness and power of the organization, serving also as its clerk for twelve years. On De- cember 3, 1873, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Lucinda Burk, a native of Illinois and daughter of James and Nancy (Sims) Burk. Six children were 663 HISTORY OF SHELBY COTJXTY born of the union, four of whom died in infancy. The two living are Wellie J. and Homer E. The father has always taken a lively interest in all matters per- taining to the welfare of his community and is one of the representative men of the county. HENEY SCHWADA. Among the prosperous and up-to-date farmers of Clay township in this county, none is entitled to more consideration for enterprise, progressiveness and suc- cess wrung from adverse conditions than Henry Schwada, whose fine farm of 120 acres in section 17 shows up to all ob- servers as a monument to his industry, skill and frugality, as a possession, and his vigor, intelligence and advanced ideas as a farmer. It is one of the at- tractive and valuable rural homes of the township and is altogether the result of his own unaided efforts, as he acquired it and has made it what it is by hard work and excellent management. Mr. Schwada was born in Indiana in 1862 and brought by his parents to Mis- souri and the county and township in which he now lives when he was but two years old. He is a son of John and Clara (Neaman) Schwada, natives of Germany, who came to the United States in early life and located for a time in Indiana. In 186-1 they moved to Mis- souri, and found a new home in Clay township, Shelby county. Here they were for many years actively and profit- ably engaged in farming and raising live stock. They had nine children, eight of whom are living: Henry, Flora, Mary, John, Frank, Louisa, Leslie and Will- iam. The parents are still living and have their home in Clarence. Their son Henry obtained his educa- tion in the district schools and worked on his father's farm while attending them. As soon as he grew to manhood he began fanning on his own account, and this line of industry has been his constant occujjation ever since. His pi'esent farm com^jrises 120 acres, as has been noted, and is highly developed and very pi'oductive. In connection with his farming operations Mr. Schwada carries on a flourishing live stock business, which is also active and profitable be- cause he makes it so by his enterprise, intelligence concerning it and good man- agement. He was married on October 11, 1899, to Miss Rosa Griswold, a daughter of George W. and Ellen (Hayford) Gris- wold, and has two children, his sons, Nolan and Lowell. In politics he is a Democrat, but has never taken a very active part in public affairs. His relig- ious allegiance is given cordially to the Evangelical church, and he and his wife are zealous advocates of its interests and effective workers for its advance- ment. It is not to be inferred that be- cause Mr. Schwada is not an active pai'- tisan and takes but little interest in po- litical affairs, he is indifferent to the welfare of his township and county. On the contrary, he has been energetic and ardent in the support of every worthy enterprise for their advancement, and has cheerfully and capably borne his full share of the burden incident to promot- ing their development and improvement, and multijilying conveniences and com- forts for their people. No undertaking HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 663 designed for their benefit has ever lacked his aid or bad to call twice to secure it. To every dutj^ of citizenship he has been true and faithful, and the people who have had the benefit of his services show that they apjireciate what he has done by the general esteem in which they hold him and the members of his family. He stands well wherever he is known, and that is almost all over the county, and is fully deserving of the regard and good will so freely accorded him. He has also been successful in his own behalf and is one of the substantial and well-to-do farmers and stock men of his township. GEORGE W. HARVEY. Although not a native of Missouri, George W. Harvey, of Clay township, has been a resident of the state and the county and township in which he now lives ever since he was five years old, a ]")eriod of forty-one years. From his youth he has been actively engaged in one of the leading pursuits of the people of his locality, and, while seeking his own advancement, has given due atten- tion and valued help in promoting the development and improvement of bis community and the whole of the sur- rounding country, exemplifying in his daily life the best attributes of sterling and elevated American citizenship. Mr. Harvey was born at Joliet, Illi- nois, on July 10, 1864. He is a son of Joseph and Naomi (Turner) Harvey, the former a native of Lowell, Massa- chusetts, where he was born on July 2, 1837, and the latter born and reared in Illinois, and a daughter of George and Rebecca Turner, natives of England. They were married on December 20, 1858, and had six children, but George W. and his brothers, Edward and Prank, are the only ones living. Their mother died on October 28, 1881, and the father married a second wife in 1884, Miss Al- cinda Thrasher, a native of Monroe county, Missouri. They also had six children. The father was educated in the district schools, and after leaving them began a successful career as a farmer, which he is still extending. In J line, 185.3, he moved to Illinois, where he worked at various occupations, but chiefly farming. He became a resident of Shelby county, Missouri, in August, 1869, and here be has been energetically engaged in farming and raising live stock ever since, with continued success and increasing jjrosperity. He is a Democrat in political faith and alle- giance, and served as a justice of the peace eight years. His religious connec- tion is with the Evangelical church. Mr. Harvey's paternal grandparents were Samuel and Hannah (Fellows) Harvey, the former a native of England and the latter of the state of Vermont. The grandfather came to the United States a young man and located in Mas- sachusetts. He was a machinist and worked at his trade all the mature years of his life, having learned it before at- taining his majority. He was first mar- ried to a Miss Jones, a native of Mas- sachusetts, and by that union became the father of three children. His second marriage, which was with Miss Hannah Fellows, resulted in one child, their son Joseph, the father of George W. Sam- uel Harvey's last wife died in 1864, and the end of his life came in 1869. 664 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY George AV. Harvey obtained his edu- cation in the district schools of Clay township, Shelby county, and as soon as he left school began farming, following the occupation he had acquired a knowl- edge of on his father's farm during his boyhood and youth. He began with practicallj' nothing and now has a fine farm of eighty-seven acres, well im- proved and highly productive. He also carries on a general industry in raising live stock for the markets, and this he makes profitable, as he does his farming operations, by the energy with which he conducts it and the intelligence and skill with which he manages it. He is one of the substantial and progressive farmers and stock men of liis township and is esteemed as one of its best and most use- ful citizens, as he takes an active inter- est and leading part in everything in- volving the enduring welfare and ad- vancement of the township and county of his home, allowing nothing of value to languish for the want of his aid. On April 16, 1885, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Huett, a daughter of Adolphus K. and Sarah Anne (Ingersoll) Huett, natives of "Wis- consin. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have had sis children. Three of them died in infancy. The three living are: Grace; Agnes, the wife of Orval Dehner, and Voda May. In political relations the father is a pro- nounced Democrat and an ene-rgetic and effective worker for the welfare of his party. He has not sought or desired of- ficial station, but has served as a mem- ber of the school board four years for the benefit of the community. He is re- garded as a man of strong character, considerable intelligence and strict in- tegrity, and is generally looked upon as one of the leading and most representa- tive men in Clay township. He well de- serves the public confidence and esteem he enjoys, having earned it by his up- right and serviceable life, and his inter- est in all that pertains to the substan- tial good of his township and county. HEKEY F. GLAHN. The interesting subject of this brief memoir, whose farm and live stock in- dustry near Hager's Grove are among the most prosperous and progressive in Clay township, this county, is not a na- tive of the United States, but has been a resident of this country and of Mis- souri from the time when he was two years old. He may therefore be con- sidered a Missourian to all intents and purposes, for all his knowledge of the world has been acquired in this state, and all his activities from his boyhood have been expended in the work of build- ing it up and expanding its commercial, industrial, political and intellectual power. And during our Civil war of un- happy memory he showed his devotion to the Union by shouldering his musket and meeting its opponents in battle array on many fields of carnage. Mr. Glahn was born in Prussia, Ger- many, on February 6, 1841, and is a son of Christian and Mary Antoni (Wand) Glahn, also natives of Prussia. They brought their family to the United States in 1843 and came at once to Mis- souri, locating in Marion county. The father was a wagon maker and worked at his trade in that county, and also HISTOKY OF SHELBY COUNTY 665 farmed, until 1866. In that year he moved to Shelby county and made his new home in Chiy township, where he followed farming and raising live stock exclusively, and there he passed the re- mainder of his life, dying in 1888. He was very successful in his operations and accumulated a large fortune for this part of the country. The mother died in 1888. They were the parents of twelve children, five of whom are living: Henry F., Gustave and Joseph (twins), Ben- jamin, and Katharine, the wife of Irwin Lathrop, of Joplin, Missouri. Henry Glahn obtained his education in the district schools of Marion county, and after completing their course of in- struction began farming for himself. But he was not allowed a long period of peaceful pursuit of this industry. The Civil war began in a short time after he went to farming, and on August 22, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, Thirtieth Missouri Infantry, and was soon after- ward at the front in the midst of hostili- ties. He took part in the battles of Jackson, Arkansas Post and Blakely, and a number of other engagements of greater or less importance, including the siege of Vicksburg. During this mem- orable siege he was one of the eighty- four resolute ])atriots who volunteered for the disastrous attack on Fort Hill, which was a forlorn hope from the be- ginning. After the close of the war Mr. Glahn returned to his Shelby county, Missouri, home and resumed his farming opera- tions. He has continued them without interruption to the present time (1910), and has been very successful in carrying them on. His present farm comprises 170 acres of good land, is well improved and cultivated with every care and at- tention that intelligence, good judgment and advanced methods can apply to the work. His live stock industry is also extensive and profitable, for it is man- aged in the same way as the general work on the farm. Mr. Glahn ranks among the leading and most judicious farmers and stock men in his townsliij), and the good results of all his efforts fully entitle him to the rank he holds. On October 22, 1868, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Jane Price, a daughter of James and Sarah (Stewart) Price, natives of Kentucky, who came to Missouri in 1860 and lo- cated in Macon county. Eleven children were born of the union, three of whom died in infancy. Those who are living are: Harvey E., whose home is in this county ; Dora, the wife of William Fore- man; Daniel Webster; George W^illiam; Julius Samuel; Charles Henry; Rosa Helen, the wife of Louis Clair, and Rus- sel Marion, who is attending school at Kirksville, with a view to a business or professional career. In political faith and allegiance the father is an ardent Republican and an earnest worker for the success of his party in all campaigns. He served on the school board for a period of eight years, not, however, as a partisan, but as a good citizen, and for the benefit of the community, and he rendered excel- lent service, giving the schools an im- pulse to progress which sprang from his own enterprising and progressive spirit. His fraternal relations are with the Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has always taken a great interest and 666 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY a very active and prominent part. He is now the chief mustering officer for the state of Missouri, and officer of the day in the post to which he belongs at Clarence. He is also a past-commander and has been state and national aide-de- camp. His fervor in devotion to the or- ganization, like that of many other vet- erans who are members of it, seems to grow in intensity as the years pass and its fast-fading ranks melt away. So, also, does his interest in and zeal in be- half of the Christian church, of which he and his entire family have long been devout and consistent members, and he a leader in the congregation to which he belongs, taking an active part in all its worthy and commendal)le work. In all the requirements of good citizenship he has measured up to the highest stand- ard, giving his community the best serv- ice and example he has been capable of. The people of the township and county are well advised of this fact, and of all else that is creditable in his record, and they esteem him accordingly, holding him to be one of the best and most useful men among them. LEWIS CASS STOVER. Successful, prosperous and highly pro- gressive as a farmer and stock man, long a valued mem])er of the local school board, for many years an elder in his chui-ch, and at all times deeply and serv- iceably interested in public affairs and the development and improvement of the township and county of his home, Lewis Cass Stover, whose fine farm of 120 acres, near Clarence in Clay township, this county, is one of the choice ones in that locality, has proven himself to be a very useful citizen and altogether worthy of the confidence and esteem of his community, which he enjoj's in full measure. Mr. Stover was born in September, 1848, in Hannibal, Missouri, and is a son of Jacob and Polly (Baker) Stover, both natives of Maryland. The father came to Missouri in 1833 and located in Han- nibal. He was a blacksmith and for a number of years operated the largest ))lacksmithing establishment in Hanni- bal. His marriage with Miss Polly Baker, a daughter of Alexander Baker, took place in 1843. They had three chil- dren, but their son, Lewis Cass Stover, is the only one of them living. His mother died in June, 1851, when he was but three years old, and in 1855 his father went to Texas, where he remained eleven years. While there he married a second wife. Miss Mary Race, a Ken- tuckian by nativity. They also had three children. In 1866 the father re- turned to Missouri, and here he re- mained imtil his death in 1886. Left largely to his own resources in boyhood and youth, Lewis Cass Stover realized early in life that he had only his own capabilities to look to for ad- vancement among men and success in life. He attended the public schools in his native city for a time, securing what he could in the way of scholastic train- ing, then went to work on a farm as a hired hand. By this means, and by dili- gent use of his every opportunity for the acquisition of useful knowledge, he gained a thorough mastery of agricul- tural pursuits, and as they were suited to his taste and capacity, he determined HISTOKY OP SHELBY COUNTY 667 to devote his life to them. He has ad- hered to this resolution to the present time (1910), and has won a gratifying success by doing so. He has an excel- lent farm, which is well improved, highly cultivated and very productive. His special industry, however, is raising good breeds of live stock for the mar- kets, and to this he gives the greater part of his attention and care, making every effort to keep his output up to the highest standard of excellence and main- tain the good reputation it has wherever he is known. Mr. Stover was married in 1882 to Miss Kittie Arnett, a daughter of Maca- jah Arnett, of Kentucky, and Judith (Frances) Arnett, a native of Virginia. They came to Missouri at an early day and located in Shelby county, where Mrs. Stover was born. She and her hus- band were the parents of four children, of whom three are living: Sybel, Neva, the wife of James Coi^enhaver, and Mil- dred. In politics the father is a life- long Democrat, with an abiding interest in the welfare of his party and an en- ei'gy and intelligence in effort ever ready for its service. He has rendered the people excellent service as a mem- ber of the school board for more than fifteen years, and in every other way available to him has contributed to their benefit and the advancement of the town- ship and county in which he lives. His religious connection is with the Chris- tian church, and he has been one of the elders of the congregation to which he belongs for many years. He takes a great interest and a leading part in church work, and his activity in this be- half is highly appreciated by all church people, as his energy and progressive- ness as a citizen are by the whole com- munity and all classes of its residents. JOHN D. EDWAEDS. The last survivor of his father's household and representing the fourth generation of his family that has been loyal to the American flag and helped to develop and build up the country in peace and defend it in war, John D. Edwards, of Clay townshij) in this county, is a shining link in the chain which connects the present day with our remote and historic past. His great- grandfather, William Edwards, was a native of Wales, and brought his family to this country in colonial times, locat- ing in Virginia. He was a tailor and made clothing for General Washington. He joined the Colonial army and fought valiantly under the great commander for American independence. His son, also named William, the grandfather of John D., was also born in Wales and came to America with his parents in his cliildhood. After he grew to maturity he moved to Kentucky, where he farmed for many years and where he at last laid down his trust. In that state the third William Edwards in direct descent, the father of John D., whose life story is our present theme, was born and reared on the farm. He, also, was a farmer, and, after following his chosen occupation in his native state some years, came to Missouri in 1856 and located in Clay township, Shelby county. His wife was Miss Eliza David- son, a native of Tennessee, and they had twelve children, all now deceased but 668 HISTOEY OF SHELBY COUNTY John D. The father died in 1868 and the mother in 1874. Before coming to Missouri the family lived for a number of years in Schuyler county, Illinois, and there John D. Ed- wards was born in 1841. He attended the district schools near his home and as- sisted his father on the farm, taking an earnest interest in the welfare of the family and doing all he could to helji it along. At the age of fifteen he accom- panied his parents to this state and re- mained with them until he attained his majority. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company B, Ninety-first Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, in defense of the Union, and was soon afterward in the midst of unrolling columns on some of the historic battle fields of our Civil war. He took part in the battles of Mobile, Fort Blake- ley and others of importance, and also in many minor engagements. After the close of the war Mr. Ed- wards returned to his Missouri home, and for a time worked at the carpenter trade, of which he had previously ac- quired some knowledge. He then again turned his attention to farming, and con- tinued his operations in that line until 1899, when he retired from all active pur- suits. He was married at Shelbyville on Februaiy 10, 1867, to Miss Elizabeth Delmer, a daughter of Sebastian and Mary Dehner, natives of Germany, who came to this country and Missouri many years ago and located in Shelby county, where Mrs. Edwards was born and grew to womanhood. She and her husband became the parents of six children, five of whom are living : James E., who mar- ried Miss Louisa Bowman; Eliza, the wife of Hugh Wheeler; Milby I., whose wife was Miss Fanny Eliza Copenhaver ; John F., who married Miss Grace Al- bright, and Nina K., the wife of Charles Getchal. They are all upright and use- ful citizens, and are everywhere esteemed highly as such. In political faith and allegiance the father is a pronounced Eepublican, with an earnest interest in the welfare of his party, and a heart and hand ever ready to promote its success. He keeps alive the agreeable and reminiscent features of his military service, without the bit- terness of feeling that prevailed during the experiences they recall, by zealous and active membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. He is also a member of the Methodist church. In the affairs of the townshija and county he has always taken an earnest interest, mani- festing this in a practical way by giving the people excellent service as a member of the school board for upwards of five years. WILLIAM K. GUNBY. All of the sixty-three years so far passed in the life of this enterprising and progressive farmer of Clay town- ship, Shelby county, have been spent in the county except those which found him a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, and they have all been em- ployed in usefulness to the locality in which he lived since he arrived at years of discretion and the power to labor and produce. He was born in Shelby county in March, 1847, and is a grandson of Kirk Gunby, a native of IVIaryland who commanded a regiment of the Colonial troops at the Revolutionary battle of HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 669 Monmouth. His youngest son, Stephen Gunby, the father of William K., was also born and reared in ^Maryland, where his life began in 1817. He came to Mis- souri in 1836, when he was but nineteen years old, and took up his residence in Shelby county. Here he became a farmer of prominence and won a substantial es- tate by his industry, thrift and good management. In 1846 he was married to Miss Mary Ann Coard, also a native of Maryland, where her father, William Coard, also was born. Of the five children born of the union only two are living, William K. and his brother, Thomas Samuel. Their mother died in 1859, and in 1860 the father married Miss Elizabeth Bynum, who is still living. By her mar- riage to Mr. Gunby she became the mother of four children : Martha, the wife of A. Crutchcoin ; Isabella, the wife of E. McEea ; Elizabeth, the wife of Wil- liam Holl^^nan, and Anna, the wife of W. H. McRea. William K. Gunby attended the dis- trict school at Bacon Chapel, and later a private school in Shelbina. He then passed five or six months in the study of law, but not finding this to his taste, abandoned the profession and became a farmer. He has adhered to his chosen occupation ever since and has been very successful in it. His farming operations are extensive and are conducted with great vigor, intelligence and a wide and accurate knowledge of the requirements of the soil and the demands of the mar- kets. The fai'm is well improved with commodious and comfortable buildings and fully provided with everything needed for cultivating it in an intensive and highly productive manner, and it makes excellent returns to the persi;asive hand of skillful husbandry which con- trols it. Mr. Gunby was married in 1869 to ]\Iiss Perthrah Jackson, a daughter of Thomas and Mary Jackson, natives of Tennessee who came to Missouri many years ago and located in Shelby county, where Mrs. Gunby was liorn and reared, and where she obtained her education. She and her husband became the parents of five children, four of whom are liv- ing: Stella Augusta, Lily Irene, the wife of Ford Brown ; Clara Ethel, and Lanius Wesley, a Methodist minister in South- ern Califoi'nia. During the Civil war the father en- listed in the Union army in Company D, Fourteenth Missouri Cavalry, serv- ing as a ]3rivate soldier. In his political faith and activity in national affairs he is allied with the Democratic party., and active in its service. But in local affairs his first consideration is the good oi che township and county, and partisan in- terests are always secondary, if they are taken into the account at all. He served faithfully and acceptably as a member of the school board upwards of five years, and was also road overseer for a num- ber of years. In religious afifiliations he is allied with the Southern Methodist church, and for many years has taken very active part in all church work, hold- ing in succession every office in the gift of the congregation to which lie belongs. His wife died on July 15, 1908, after nearly forty years of commendable do- mestic life. 670 HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY WILLIAM T. HAET. The chances and changes of location and employment are many and various in American life, and so extensively nu- merous that a man who starts in one occupation at twenty or twenty-one is very frequently found pursuing- a dif- ferent one at forty. The career of Will- iam T. Hart, of Shelbina, one of the best known and most esteemed livery men and horse dealers in this part of the state, furnishes a striking illustration of the general truth of this statement. He began life for himself as a farmer and live stock man, occupations to which he had been reared, and is now conducting an active business in the service of the public and carrying on an extensive trade in horses. Mr. Hart is of old Kentucky stock, his father and his grandfather having been born and "bred in old Kentucky," and it may be due to this fact that he is so fond of horses. The fathei', James T. Hart, came to Missouri to live in 1846. He located in Monroe county, where he taught school for a number of years. He then turned his attention to farming and also to dealing in tobacco in Shelbina. His son, William T. Hart, was born in this county on March 2, 1857. The father was a successful farmer and merchant, and a man of prominence and influence in the several communities in which he lived. He lived a useful life, was a de- vout member of the Methodist church, and died in 1898. He was married twice. The first time to a Miss Kerrick, a native of Kentucky. They had three children, all of whom are deceased. Their mother died in 1850, and in 1853 the father married a second time, being united on this occasion with Miss Elizabeth Doctor, who was born in Ohio. Six children were born of this union, all of whom are living : John T., a resident of this county; William T., whose home is in Shelbina ; W. H., who lives in Knox county, Missouri; S. P., who is a prosperous citizen of California ; Harriet, the wife of H. W. Frye, of Kan- sas City, Missouri; and F. B., who is a resident of Monroe county, this state. Their mother died in March, 1898. William T. Hart had no educational facilities except those furnished by the district schools of Monroe county, and was not allowed to attend them with strict regularity or for a very long period. The work on his father's farm required every force available, and he was obliged to take his share of it at an early age. After finally leaving school he continued to work for his father on the home place a few years, then located on a farm of 340 acres and began farm- ing and raising live stock on his own ac- count, the farm being located in ^lonroe county. His operations were extensive in both industries on this farm, but he gave especial attention to raising and feeding large quantities of stock for the markets. In 1907 he moved to Shelbina and be- gan the career as a livery and horse salesman, for which he has become dis- tinguished throughout a large extent of the surrounding country. His barn is well equi2)ped for its purposes, the serv- ice given its patrons is first class, and everything pertaining to it is up to the highest level of excellence in the busi- ness. His dealings in horses are exten- HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY 671 sive, and these, too, are governed by the most scrupulous exactness and alto- gether satisfying to those who have a share in them as purchasers. He con- ducts his business as a horse dealer in a way that removes from his transactions the reproach often attached to this line of mercantile life and raises it to a rank which has won him high approval and general popularity. On February 25, 1878, Mr. Hart was united in marriage with Miss Belle Rob- ertson, a native of this state. They have had four children, two of whom are liv- ing. James, who resides in Shelbina, and Carl, who is still at home with his parents. The father is a Democrat in politics, an Odd Fellow and a Modern Woodman of America in fraternal life, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist church in religious connec- tion. His party, his lodges and his church receive a fair share of his atten- tion, and their interests always have his earnest and helpful support. The affairs of his city and county also enlist his attention and have the benefit of his advice and assistance. No enter- prise for their improvement or the wel- fare of their people escapes his notice or goes without his aid. He is public spirited and progressive, desiring ad- vancement for his community only along wholesome lines of progress and its ele- vation only by means of enduring value. He stands well in the city and county, and is favorably known and regarded as a man and citizen in much of the adjoin- ing territory, and wherever else the peo- ple have knowledge of his worth, his en- terprise and his devotion to his state.