USA > Missouri > Nodaway County > A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography > Part 30
USA > Missouri > Atchison County > A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography > Part 30
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JAMES TODD
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· an active Democrat and firm in that faith, he carefully avoids making himself person- ally offensive to even the most opinionated of opponents. For the past year he has held the position of state Democratic committee- man from the fourth congressional district.
WILLIAM H. CLESTER.
Ohio, the objective point and tarrying place of the pioneer emigrants to the old "west" has sent its quota of adventurers to the new "west" and they have proven by their lives and their prosperity that the nucleus of civilization planted there and transplanted in a more distant locality has lost none of its vitality and is productive of all that makes for good citizenship. One of the many sons of Ohio who have found homes in Missouri and done their full share toward its development, is William II. Clester, some account of whose busy and worthy life it will be attempted now to give.
William H. Clester, Nodoway township, Nodaway county (postoffice Burlington Junction ), Missouri, is a progressive and well-to-do citizen, who came to the county in 1872. He was born near Zanesville. Muskingum county, Ohio, December 8. 1851. a son of Joseph and Margaret (Grace) Clester. His father, of German ancestry. was born in Union county, Pennsylvania. His mother, a daughter of Thomas Grace, was also a native of the Keystone state. The children of Joseph and Margaret (Grace) Clester were six in number, named as fol- lows: Thomas (dead ) : Daniel, of Blanch- ard, Iowa; George, deceased, who served his country in the war of the Rebellion; Will- iam II., the immediate subject of this sketch : Rev. Samuel, of the Free Methodist church, a resident of Nodaway county; and Peter,
of Athens county, Ohio. Joseph Clester was a good farmer and a Democrat. who died at the age of thirty-five years. His widow married Thomas Kennan and is living at Berlin, Ohio, aged fifty-eight. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
William H. Clester was reared in his early home in Ohio and there educated in the public schools. He was taught to be honest. industrious and saving. He ac- quired a knowledge of farming and took up the trade of blacksmith and wagon-maker and pursued it until he was able to build a wagon, iron and paint it and turn it out complete, a strong, well made. good-looking vehicle, adequate for long and hard service. While yet a young man he emigrated to Illi- nois and located on a farm in Tazewell coun- ty, near Pekin, where he lived, until in 1872. as has been stated, he took up his residence in Nodaway county, Missouri. He began farming here on one hundred and twenty acres and has increased his holdings until he now owns two hundred and thirty acres of fine prairie and bottom land, well im- proved and equipped with good and ample buildings. He has plow land, well fenced pastures, meadows and rich blue-grass pas- ture land good as any within the limits of the famous "Blue Grass" state. He feeds much stock and each year markets a goodly quantity of farm produce.
October 7, 1876, Mr. Clester married ; Ida Hoffman, and their children are : Carrie. who married Charles Drain and has one child and who lives on the Clester home- stead; and Jessie, Joseph. Nellie and Etta -all members of their father's household.
Still in the prime of life, Mr. Clester is in the full enjoyment of the fruits of his foresight and industry, a strong, influential Democrat, a patriotic and public-spirited
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tizen. a firm friend and good neighbor in the best sense of these terms. It goes with- ont saying that such a man is popular with his fellow citizens and that his counsel is « night and followed in many matters of the first importance.
MRS. GEORGE R. CARPENTER.
Mrs. George P. Carpenter has a wide acquaintance in Nodaway county and her circle di friends is very extensive. Since her husband's death she has managed the property which he left her, displaying there- in excellent business and executive ability. and strong force of character, added to her true womanly and gentle qualities. Her husband. George 1. Carpenter, was one of the leading and influential men of the com- minity and belonged to a prominent family. His father became one of the pioneer set- fler- of Nodaway county and was actively identified with the work and improvements that led to its mpbuikling and substantial development. He was born in Kentucky, November 30, 1813, and there spent his boy- hood days, becoming familiar with the work of the farm. Throughout his life he car- not on agricultural pursuits, and though he came to Nodaway county with little cap- 1. In- energy, diligence and perseverance had there scented to him a comfortable com-
He lett 1's home in 1831 and after vis- He parde places in the state returned to Inte .. In 1837. For nineteen years De ihre dent of that state and thence cit . youty, Missouri. This dul tos then largely unimproved and hel tek m partant part in reclaiming the 1 001 1 . supporting mamy mestres Vlach mitted to the mille good. In
1856 he went to Kansas, but soon returned to Nodaway county, entering three hundred and twenty acres from the government. which he transformed into highly productive fiches; and this now has been the family homestead for forty-four years. He was married April 17, 1839. in Indiana. to Miss Nancy Guillams, a native of that state.
who died there, leaving to her husband's care their four small children. Only one of this number is now living. Mrs. B. 1. Moore. At length, after long and active connection with agricultural interests in Nodaway county, Mr. Carpenter retired to private life and spent his last years in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. He served as school director of Clearmont district for several years and at all times was faithful to his duties of citizenship. He passed away at the age of seventy, respected by all who knew him.
George 1. Carpenter was born in Hendricks county, Indiana, on the 14th of December. 1847. and was therefore a youth of nine years when the father came with his family to Missouri. Here he was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life, at a period when improvements were scant alle widely scattered and when villages were in- tounded and railroads had not yet been built. Although his advantages in this pioneer region were few his training at farm labor was not meager, and thus he was well quali- fied for the occupation which he made his life work. He possessed keen discrimina- I'm in business affairs, sound judgment and unflagging energy, and those qualities chabled loan to gain a place in the ranks of the substantial citizens of the community. He became the owner of five hundred and thirteen acres of valuable land, much of which he placed under cultivation, other por-
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tions of the land being used for pasturage : and in his stock raising interests he was very successful. He lived upon the home farm until the time of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company C, of the Fourth Missouri State Cavalry.
On the 12th of September. 1867. Mr. Carpenter was wedded to Miss Jennette Ringgold, who was born in Scott county. Indiana, a daughter of George and Eliza- beth (Mccullough ) Ringgokl. Her father was born in Kentucky, came to Missouri in 186r and died in Nodaway county, at the age of seventy-six years. His wife was a native of South Carolina and reached the Psalmist's span of three-score years and ten. She became the mother of twelve children. of whom seven are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have had seven children, six of whom survive, namely : Willard G., Ollie N., Alma E .. Molly M., Addie S. and El- vira M. The children have been provided with good educational privileges, thus add- ing mental culture to their innate disposition to refinement.
In matters of public importance Mr. Carpenter took an active interest, and in his ! community was recognized as a leader. He served as a school director of his district and was also road overseer, discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity. The Carpenters were Whigs in ante-bellum days and afterward became Republicans. Like the others of the family. George P. Car- penter became identified with the Republi- can party and east his first presidential vote for General Grant in 1868. He held mem- bership in the Baptist church of Clearmont. to which his wife also belongs, and his re- ligious faith was manifest in his honorable dealings in business and his relations with his fellow men. In him were noticed the
characteristics of the early pioneers-stead- fast purpose, strict integrity and religious zeal-characteristics to which the splendid civilization of America is indebted for its wonderful development and its glorious prosperity. Ile passed away October 2, 1887. but the memory of his upright life is still enshrined in the hearts of all who knew him.
Mrs. Carpenter still survives her hus- band and resides upon the farm in Atchison township. She was educated in the old-time subscription schools. To her husband she became a devoted helpmeet and since hi. death she has managed the extensive prop- erty interests which he left to her, with th, aid of her son. To this she has added and has made many substantial improvements upon the farm, which is now one of the most desirable and attractive country places of the county. She has oversight of the vari- ous business interests upon the place. re- garding both general farming and stock raising. Mrs. Carpenter finds in her son Willard an able assistant and he is a young man of marked executive force, whose judgment in business matters is reliable. He, too, is a Republican, having supported the party since casting his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison. He is now serving as census enumerator for the year 1900, and is a member of the township Republican committee. The family is one whose educational attainments, sterling worth and upright lives have gained for the members of the household a very prominent position in social circles.
SAMUEL H. TOWNSEND.
After a useful and well spent life. in which he has prospered, this gentleman is now living in retirement from active labor
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BIOGR. IPHIIC.IL HISTORY.
at Maryville, Missouri. He was born in Jo Lavie- county, Illinois, February 10, 1840 & son of H. S. and Vina ( Carver ) Town; send, who were natives of New York, but Vere married in Indiana. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Townsend, was also born in New York, and at an early day moved to Jo Davies county, Illinois, Where he died at the age of eighty-five years. Ile was a soldier of the war of 1812 and a fariner by occupation. In his political views le was a Whig. His children were George. who died at the age of eighty-eight years; Il. S .. the father of our subject: Elijah; and Elmira. Our subject's great-grandia- ther Townsend was born in England, and served as a captain in the Colonial army during the Revolutionary war.
llon. 11. S. Townsend, father of our subject, was sixteen years of age when the family moved to Illinois, where he still con- tinuer to make his home. He is a farmer and speculator and is a um of prominence in the community where he resides. As a Republican he has taken an active interest 16 public affairs, has held many local offices and has represented his county in the state legislature three terms. He is broad-minded and intellectual and commands the conti- derce and respect of those with whom he come- in contact. Fraternally he is a mem- lot of the Masonic order. His wife died in 1805, leaving the following children : R. K. : resident of Oklahoma; 1. E. and Samuel H., both of Nodaway county, Missouri; Mr- Matilda Hooker: Mrs, Sarah S. Man- leg: John M., of Illinois: Mrs. Cynthia i apbell! and Mrs. Della Osborn.
Reared on a farm, Sammel Il. Town-end va- educated in the common schools of the nechborhood and Mount Morris Semin rv, -und remained with his parents in HHi-
nois until after the Civil war broke out. In 1862 he enlisted in Company E. Forty, frith Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee, and was commissioned second lieutenant of his company. He participated in the battles of Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh, and saw some hard service. Al- though he was never wounded he was com- pelled to resign on account of sickness and returned home in the latter part of 1863. Hle was ill for a year and then went to Idaho, where he remained for four years. At the end of that time he returned to Illinois, and in 1869 came to Nodaway county, Missouri, where he has since made his home. He purchased a tract of unbroken prairie land, which he transformed into a good farm of two hundred and eighty acres, and success- fully engaged in its operation until 1888. since which time he has practically lived a retired life in Maryville, though he still inanages his place. Ile has always given considerable attention to stock as a dealer and raiser, and has found that branch of his business quite profitable. By his ballot he supports the men and measures of the Re- publican party, and he takes a deep and commendable interest in public affairs, though he has never been an aspirant for political honors.
Mr. Townsend has been twice married. In 1871 he wedded Miss Catherine Hess, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of John Hess, a business man and hotel-keeper, who spent his last days in Milan, Sullivan county, Missouri. She was the third in or- der of birth in his family of four children, the others being Belle, the wife of G. Werst ; Mrs. Margaret Baldridge: and Mrs. Fanny Tatterdale. Mrs. Townsend died Septem- ber 23. 1898, leaving one daughter, Della,
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who was born in March, 1872, and is now the wife of John Koch, a druggist of St. Joseph, Missouri. On the 10th of Decem- ber, 1899, Mr. Townsend married Mrs. Susan S. Green, who had three children by her first marriage, all now grown. Hler parents, William and Elizabeth ( Padgett ) Frizear, were natives of Kentucky and early settlers of Missouri, where both died. In religious belief they were Baptists. The father was a farmer by occupation and a man of prominence in his community. He was twice married and by his first wife had two children : Melvina, the wife of J. Crane; and Sarah, the wife of J. Fort. By his second union he had nine children, namely : Louisa, the wife of J. Kemp; Susan, the wife of our subject : Mary J., the wife of G. Shelly; Thomas, a farmer ; Charles and Martha, twins, and the latter the wife of William Fort ; William, a farmer; Monroe, a resident of Iowa; and Ellen, the wife of T. Fort. Mrs. Townsend is a most es- timable lady and a member of the Methodist church.
STEPHEN D. LARGE, M. D.
The successful physician must be a man of good business and executive ability. Added to this he must possess a compre- hensive and accurate knowledge of the prin- ciples of the medical science. He must have in his makeup a discriminating and ana- lytical power that will enable him to apply his knowledge to the needs of those who re- quire his services, and above all he must possess a broad, humanitarian spirit that will enable him to look upon his work not from the financial or scientific standpoint but from the ground of brotherhood, his labors being permeated by an earnest desire to be of service to his fellow men. In none
of these requirements is Dr. Stephen Doug- las Large lacking, and therefore he has at- tained a position of due relative prominence as a representative of the medical fraternity of Nodaway county. He resides in Hop- kins and has spent his entire life in this por- tion of the country.
He was born just across the state line in Taylor county, Iowa, and has passed his lite within a radius of fifty miles of his birthplace. His natal day was June 30. 1861. His father, William Large, was an early settler of Taylor county, and has long been numbered among the successful farm- ers residing east of Bedford, Iowa. He was born in Ohio in 1822, and in 1849 he emi- grated from Highland county, that state, to Taylor county, Iowa, where he has since continued to make his home, his life being that of an industrious, thrifty tiller of the soil. During the Civil war he espoused the cause of the Union and with the one-hun- dred-day troops joined the army. He votes the Democratic ticket. His wife bore the maiden name of Lavina Hankins, and their children are the following named : Dr. A. F. Large, a physician of Braddyville, Iowa; Mary E., the wife of Dr. F. E. Potter, of Corning ; Ann S .. the wife of Melvin Reed. of Alta, Iowa : John W., who is living on the old homestead: Stephen D., of this review; and Mrs. Herbert Ramsay, of Waterloo, Iowa.
Dr. Large remained upon the home farm until he had attained his majority, and in the high school of Shenandoah he completed his literary education. Entering upon the study of medicine his reading was directed by his brother-in-law, Dr. Potter, and when ready for the lecture course he entered the Keokuk College of Physicians and Surgeons. com- pleting his studies in that institution in
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188 ;. After his graduation he opened an office in Shambaugh, lowa, where he re- mained for three years, and in 1800 he lo- cated in Corning, that state, where he con- ducted a drug business in connection with his practice. In 1804 he came to Hopkins and purchased the drug stock of Dr. Girard and disposed of it in 1900. He is, however, the owner of a stock of drugs in this city, the business being managed by Charles Fry.
As a physician. Dr. Large occupies an enviable position, and the firm of Large & King, of which he is the senior partner, is well known throughout a wide region. He keeps in constant touch with progressive methods and has all the medical and sur- gical appliances necessary for the success- Jul conduct of his practice, having lately added an X-ray instrument, whereby he has been able to effect some really marvelous Cures.
The Doctor was married in Bedford, lewa, in April, 1848. to Mrs. Della Broyles, a daughter of George W. Downing, now deceased. In politics he is a Democrat. and fraternally he is connected with the Masons and Odd Fellows. His pleasant, genial mauer wins him friends wherever he goes. Haughtiness and ostentation find no place m hi- composition. He is a typical repre- tentative of the age in which he lives and of the city which is his home; and truly his life may be termed a success, for he has not only Required a comfortable competence but has : 's taken part m a noble work-the aller ia- tin of human suffering.
JAMES ANDY FORD.
Marsville, Vodaway county, Missouri. reason to be proud of her enterprising bung men of affairs, several of whom are
represented in this work. The intense en- ergy and unswerving purpose of such men as the one whose name is above maintain a business activity in the little city in some respects remarkable. Many men with greater capital and less ability and energy would have failed : but Mr. Ford has made standing room for himself, against all com- petition and in spite of many obstacles, and Maryville is the richer for his success.
James A. Ford was born on the "High- land Park" farm, near Maryville, December 20. 1800, a son of Elijah and Catherine (McClain) Ford. Elijah Ford was the son of a farmer and was born in Kentucky in 1827. While yet a young man he came to Nodaway county, where he became acquaint- ed with and married a daughter of John McClain, a prominent citizen here, who had emigrated from Kentucky to the Platte Purchase in 1836 and who moved to Noda- way county in 1842. John McClain was a slave owner, a large stock raiser, and dur- ing "war times" a pronounced and out- spoken southern Democrat. In the infancy of Maryville he was the owner of one- eighth of the block on which the First Na- tional Bank now stands, and it is related, as an incident of the days of small things, that he traded this now valuable property for a yoke of oxen and thought he was getting a good bargain. lle spent his last years in Platte county, Missouri, and died there in 1899, aged eighty-seven years. Elijah Ford located in Nodaway county in 1858 and for some years was engaged in farming until his removal to Maryville. He is well and fa- vorably known to the citizens of Polk town- ship and has always been a man of good in- fluence.
James Ford was the only child in his fa- ther's family, a typical country lad, but with
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an uncommon inclination for business, which he was destined to follow to success. He acquired a fairly good English and business education at Maryville, and at the age of twenty engaged in his first business venture in this town. It was in the retail grocery line, and Clark Andrews was his partner. His capital was so small that it may be said to have consisted chiefly in his ability to make friends and secure their patronage. After two years Mr. Ford relinquished his grocery business and became a liveryman. His business in this line grew into a thriv- ing trade in horses and mules and he soon be- came one of the most extensive shippers of such stock in northwest Missouri. Dur- ing the past sixteen years his energies have been directed entirely to building up at Maryville a market for farm stock of this character, and the fact that in a single year recently be handled four thousand head of stock indicates the extent to which he has succeeded in developing a conspicu- cus business at home along lines of his own choosing and by methods the wisdom of which is attested by their efficiency. He is also a partner in the Union Bus Line of Maryville, a large business which is the only one of its kind in the eity.
Mr. Ford married Miss Ollie Maupin, in Nodaway county, in July, 1885. She was born in Harrisonville, Missouri, and reared at St. Joseph. Her father, Robert Maupin, came originally from Kentucky. Her only brother, Howard Maupin, is a United States railway mail clerk, whose route is over the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. James A. and Ollie (Maupin) Ford have three children: Hazel, fourteen years old; Harold, twelve years old ; and Helen, five.
Mr. Ford is personally very popular and has a large acquaintance throughout all the
territory tributary to Maryville. He is an enthusiastic Mason, a member of blue lodge No. 470, Free & Accepted Masons, of Mary, ville : Owens Chapter, No. 96, Royal Arch Masons, of Maryville ; Commandery No. 40, Knights Templar, of St. Joseph ; and Moilah Consistory, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of St. Joseph.
JOHN HAGEY.
In the border states between the extreme north and south, more than in any other part of our country, it is evident that the people of the two sections have jomed hands over the "bloody chasm" that long separated them, and united in a true brother- hood of Americans, knowing no section and solicitous for the advancement of the nation in its broadest sense. Such a state is Mis- souri, and there the men who wore the blue and the men who wore the gray are neigh- bors and friends, pushing forward shoulder to shoulder in the march of material and so- cial improvement. The man whose name heads this article is one of those who risked their lives and saw their kindred die for that historic "lost cause" which to the old soldier is now but a saddening memory.
John Hagey, a well-known old resident of Green township, Nodaway county ( post- office Burlington Junction ), has been a citi- zen of the county for nearly half a century. He was born in Harrison county, Ohio, July 18, 1843, a son of Abraham and Mary Hagey. His father was of Pennsylvania Dutch stock and a native of Franklin county, that state. Mr. and Mrs. Hagey emigrated from Pennsylvania to Harrison coun- ty, Ohio, making the trip mostly by water. They continued their journey in the same way in 1852, and entered Missouri by
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way of St. Joseph. On reaching Nodaway o unty they settled for a time in Lincoln township. whence they removed to Green township, where they lived out their days, each dying at ninety. They had five children, as follows: Maria, who married Henry Bowl- man and lives at Burlington Junction : Isaac. a soldier in the Confederate service, who was killed at Corinth in September, 1863 ; Jacob. also in the Confederate army, who was killed at Champion Hills : John, the subject of this sketch ; and Abraham.
John Hagey was nine years old when the family came to Nodaway county. The succeeding nine years he spent as a pioneer boy and youth. If his lot was such as to be judged by any one as in any sense a hard one, it was to grow harder. The war of the Rebellion came on and he espoused the cause of the south and took part during the next few years in the determined but unavailing fight for southern independence. As a member of Captain MeKiddy's com- pany of Samuels' battalion, he participated in the battles of Blue Mills, Lexington, Pea Ridge, Elkhorn Station, Memphis, Inka, Corinth, Champion Hills and Vicksburg. After the fall of Vicksburg he was made : prisoner and was kept at Demopolis, Ala- bama, four months. Later he saw service on the Confederate ram Tennessee. Cap- tain Buchmar, operating against Union vessels under the command of Admiral Far right. He was captured by the Federals and taken to New Orleans, whence he Was transferred to Elmira, New York, where he was held until the end of the war. He was given Ins liberty May 28, 1865, and returned without delay to Missouri.
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