USA > Missouri > Nodaway County > A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography > Part 54
USA > Missouri > Atchison County > A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography > Part 54
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As the city approached metropolitan re- quirements in the line of public utilities, Mr. Smith became interested in their establish- ment and' is to-day a stockholder, director and the ex-president of the Hanamo Tele- phone Company. Since 1894 he has also been the president of the Maryville Electric Light
& Power Company, his capable administra- tion of its efforts leading to its splendid success. The company was organized in 1890 and a plant constructed at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars. The first power house was erected by the side of the Wabash Railroad tracks, but the capacity of the plant was found to be insufficient to insure the best service, and in 1896 its re- construction was accomplished, at an addi- tional cost of twenty thousand dollars. The original plant was constructed by its president, William A. Ross, and the work of remodeling and enlarging was accomplished under the supervision of his successor, Mr. Smith.
Our subject has also been the administra- tor of the Ellis and Prather and the .I. T. Ellis estates, two very large and important estates, whose affairs he capably controlled discharging his duties in a maner most ac- ceptable to all concerned. He is a man of the utmost reliability in business affairs, and among those who know him his word is as good as any bond that was ever solemn- ized by signature or seal.
In Saline county, Missouri, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hu- ston, who died in 1879, leaving two children, namely : Charles Leon, who is connected with the firm of Smith & MeCord, of Kansas City; and Mary, the wife of George M. Spur- lock, of Plattsmouth, Nebraska. In 1866 Mr. Smith married Miss Mamie Ellis, of Mary- ville, a daughter of the late A. T. Ellis, a leading druggist of the city and a represen- tative of one of the pioneer families of Nod- away county.
In the whole sphere of his activity, Mr. Smith has had no desire to enter political life, nor has he contested with his fellow men for political, religious or fraternal pre-
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ferment. In manner he is cordial and kindly, and is extremely just in all life's rela- tions. For twenty-five years he has par- ticipated in the business life of Maryville, and during that time he has so conducted all his affairs as to merit the confidence and esteem of the entire community, and no word of censure has ever been uttered against his actions.
WILLIAM M. BLACKFORD.
Among the prominent and influential citizens of Atchison township. Nodaway county, Missouri, none stand higher in pub- lic esteem than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He was born in Green county, Wisconsin, May 28, 1854. and is the only child of Thomas and Rachel ( Lewis) Blackford, natives of Pennsylvania and Ken- tucky. respectively. The father was twice married and by the first wife had one son, who is still living. In the fall of 1860, with his wife and two sons. Thomas Blackford moved to Page county, Jowa, where the mother of our subject died at the age of twenty-nine years. For twenty years he en- gaged in business as a merchant in Braddy- ville, that county, and then came to Alis- souri and located near our subject, where he died at the age of sixty-nine. llis father was William Blackford, of Pennsyl- vania, while the maternal grandfather of our subject was Martin Lewis, of Kentucky.
The early life of our subject was mostly passed upon a farm, where he carly obtained an excellent knowledge of agriculture, while huis literary training was obtained in the dis- trict schools of the neighborhood. He re- mained at home until he was married, at the age of twenty one years, to Miss Alice Nich- olas, also a native of Green county, Wiscon-
sin, and to them have been born five children : Maud. John T .. Grace E .. James .A. and Lloyd.
After his marriage Mr. Blackford en- gaged in farming upon rented land in Page county, Iowa, for two years, and then bought eighty acres of wild prairie land, to which he moved a small house, making it his home for seven years, while devoting his energies to the cultivation of his land. Ile then left the farm and moved to Braddyville, where he engaged in the livery business for six years. He bought his present place of one hundred and sixty acres in Atchison town- ship. Nodaway county, Missouri, twelve years ago, which he has since converted into one of the best farms of that locality and which he now successfully manages.
Since casting his first presidential vote. for S. J. Tilden in 1876, he has always sup- ported the Democratic party, with one ex- ception. lle has always taken an active and prominent part in public affairs; has been an efficient member of the school board for some time : and was one of the organizers of the Harvest Home Association, of which he has been a director ever since : and a direc- tor of the Nodaway County Mutual Fire & Life Insurance Company seven years, of which he was also one of the organizers. Hle and his family are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and he has subscribed liberally toward the building of his own and several other churches. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Brotherhood, and at one time was also connected with the Grange. of which his father was one of the first mem- bers. Mr. Blackford is one of the most in- telligent and influential men of this commun- ity and his advice is often sought on ques-
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tions of public interest as well as private con- cern. In business affairs he is upright and honorable, and is highly respected and es- teemed for his sterling worth and strict in- tegrity. His family is one of considera- ble prominence in their community.
BENJAMIN F. GOODSON, M. D.
No compendium such as the province of this work defines in its essential limitations will serve to offer fit memorial to the life and accomplishments of the honored subject of this sketch-a man remarkable in the breadth of his wisdom, in his indomitable perseverance, his strong individuality; and yet one whose entire life has not one esoteric phase, being as an open scroll, inviting the closest scrutiny. True, his were "massive deeds and great" in one sense, and yet his entire accomplishment but represented the result of the fit utilization of the innate talent which was his, and the directing of his efforts along those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination lead the way. There was in Dr. Goodson a weight of character, a native sagacity. a far-seeing judgment and a fidelity of purpose that com- manded the respect of all. A man of inde- fatigable enterprise and fertility of resource, he carved his name deeply on the records of Nodaway county.
In preparing the life history of a man one must always take cognizance of his an- cestry, for his inherited tendencies have much to do with shaping his career. His fa- ther, Ozias Goodson, was an agriculturist and followed farming in Ohio until 1877, when he emigrated to Missouri, locating in Lewis county. He was one of nine chil- dren that attained their majority, namely : Madison and Elwood, who reside in Raven-
wood. Missouri : J. N., a practicing physi- cian of Maryville: B. F., whose name in- troduces this record; Addison ; Abner, who resides in Lewis county, Missouri ; James, who maintains his residence in Knox county, Missouri: Mrs. Mary Newlon, of Lewis county, this state ; and Lily, who is living in California.
Dr. Goodson, whose name introduces this record, was born in Clinton county, Ohio. September 27, 1851. He pursued his education in the country schools, in the seminary at Monticello, Missouri, and in the Missouri State Normal. School. His childhood and youth were passed upon a farm and he followed the plow as it turned the furrow for the spring planting for many a season. Ile did not wish. however, to make farming his life work and determined to enter professional life, to which end he began the study of medicine, at the age of twenty-two. His college work was done in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Keokuk, Iowa, where he was graduated in 1877. He opened an office in Pickering, Missouri, and at once began practice, but he remained there only a short period. He was located for a short time at Gaynor City, and from 1880 until his death resided in Hopkins.
The Doctor's ability, natural and ac- quired, gave him high rank as a representa- tive of the medical fraternity. His thor- ough understanding of the materia medica and his unfailing accuracy in therapeutics led him to immediate success, and his prac- tice early became extensive and remunera- tive. To his professional ability was added an attractive personality, and just recogni- tion of his own powers drew people to him. and with this rare combination it is not re- markable that he should become the central
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figure in his community. He not only won success along professional lines, but his in- fluence was felt throughout Nodaway county and even beyond its confines in mat- ters of public welfare. His fitness for lead- ership was soon recognized and he was never seen to better advantage than when he was earnestly uphokling some principle or advocating the cause of a friend. Ile I was very popular, and yet he had some en- emies, for no man in public life, especially those entering the political field, escape enimity, but those who opposed him did so more from a jealous spirit than because they believed in his inconstancy. Men have possessed greater ability than did he, and there have been men who could count fewer enemies perhaps, but one who knew him well said: "llis warm heart, his geniality and unfailing good nature. his gratitude, his love and loyalty to his friends, all combined with acknowledged ability and spotless in- tegrity, rendered him perhaps the most uni- versally popular man in his county."
Extraets from personal tributes from his townsmen whose confidence he possessed without reserve tend better to measure the character of Dr. Goodson than tributes from any other source. The Hon. Calvin Pierce, presidential elector for Missouri in 1900. and one of his most intimate friends, said : "lle was a man of strong convictions, a lover of truth, of right, of justice and a hater of hypocrisy and sham ; a helper of the weak and unfortunate, and his manly heart responded to every appeal for charity." B. Raleigh Martin remarked : "The envenomed chalice of deceit never touched his lips. Ile wore before his face no mask of hypocrisy or cant. His firm and self-reliant character was his anchor in life and he scorned the leering blandishments of the parasite."
Baxter Woldridge, in speaking of the Doc- tor, gave utterance to the following: "He was always ready and willing to identify himself with every movement to advance the interests of Hopkins and her people. As a citizen he was industrious and ener- getic, and, when elected a member of the board of education, became one of the most active members in bringing our schools up to their present high standard, and for which he was richly rewarded by the gradua- tion of his oldest son and daughter from the high school." M. II. Gladman said : "lle had a good heart filled with sunshine. His daily greeting had a gleam of warer that dispelled gloomy thoughts and lifted burdens from a saddened heart. lle was frank, sincere, outspoken and sensitive. His conscience was his continual guide and its decree the rule and tribunal from which there was no appeal."
The Doctor was the first president of the Nodaway County Medical Society and was a member of the Hopkins board of educa- tion. To his efforts more than to any other person was due the development of public opinion which finally demanded and secured "the new school building on the hill, of which the town of Hopkins has every reason to be proud. As the president of the board he labored untiringly to raise the standard of the schools that they might rank with the best in the state. He was an outspoken Re- publican, and by his party was nominated in 1804 to the position of county coroner. to which he was elected. serving for two years. He was then renominated. but the entire Republican ticket was defeated in
On the 1.4th of July. 1875. was celebrat- all the marriage of Dr. Goodson and Miss Alvina Vernon, of Morgan county, Ohio.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Their marriage was blessed with the fol- , New England family, grew up on the farm lowing children: Ethelbert N., who was in Indiana, and there married Miss Elizabeth Roberts, a most estimable young lady. She was the daughter of William Roberts, of Indiana. born January 4, 1877, and was graduated in the high school at Hopkins when seven- teen years of age, afterward engaged in teaching school, then read medicine with his Nathan and Elizabethi (Roberts) Saw- yer, the parents of our subject, had the fol- lowing children: William, who is our sub- ject; Eli, who resides in St. Joseph, Mis- souri; Jemima, who resides in Indiana; and Wesley, who resides in Page county, Iowa. The father died in Indiana in 1855, the mother dying in 1853, both of whom were members of the Christian church, prominent in religious work, and beloved and honored by all who knew them. father for two years, and in 1896 entered the Barnes Medical College in St. Louis, where he graduated on the 12th of April. 1899. He is a worthy successor of his father both in the professional and social life, and in his political attitude. Lulu, the second child, is also a graduate of the Hopkins high school and is now serving as assistant postmaster. Clifford, Benjamin F. and Galen are all with their mother. On the 28th of Janu- ary, 1899, Dr. Goodson departed this life, Our subject was reared on the farm and received his education in the schools of the township and learned lessons of industry and honesty in the home circle. He came to the county in 1859. In 1863 he was mar- ried to Hannah Jane Daniels, a daughter of William Daniels, who was a native of Ala- bama, where he died, in December, 1899. at the age of eighty-five, the mother of Mrs. Sawyer dying in 1896, in her seventieth year. In his last moments he realized the inevitable trend of his disease and expressed an abid- ing faith in the existence of a creator, an omnipresent spiritual guide and a belief in his ability to purify the sons of men. Throughout his long and active career he ever commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he was associated by his trustworthiness in business and his fidelity in all the relations of life. He left to his family an untarnished name, and while life remains to those who knew him he will he held in loving remembrance by all with whom he was associated.
WILLIAM SAWYER.
A prominent and well-known citizen of Lincoln township, Atchison county, Mis- souri, is William Sawyer, the subject of this sketch, who has lived in this county for forty years. He was born in Morgan county, In- diana, June 15, 1843, having the same birth- day as President McKinley. The father of William Sawyer was descended from an old'
After marriage our subject engaged in the mercantile business, which he con- ducted successfully for sixteen years, asso- ciating with it a lumber and drug business. He has proven to be a fine business man, possessing an accommodating spirit and en- deavoring to please all customers by treating every one with due consideration, his busi- ness being conducted under the firm name of McColl & Sawyer.
The family born to Mr. and Mrs. Saw- yer were : William, who conducts a hardware business in this town; Annie, who married J. M. Arnold, who is ex-county treasurer of Ness county, Kansas; Charley, who is con-
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nected with his father in the lumber busi- iness here. . lle married Lucy Teaman, and has three children,- Donald, Arnold, and Eva; and Arnokl, who died November 11. 1900.
Socially Mr. Sawyer is connected with the I. O. O. F., Loge 262, and also belongs to the Masonic fraternity. Mrs. Sawyer is a member of the Methodist church, where she is sincerely admired and beloved. Mr. Saw- yer is popular throughout the township, with which he has so long been identified in a business way and in which he has promoted so many interests looking to its benefit. Ilis genial, pleasant countenance is welcomed in every circle and he possesses the esteem and good will of the whole community.
GEORGE A. NASIL, M. D.
George Allen Nash, M. D., of Mary ville, is one of the leading surgeons in Mis- souri; one of the founders and the surgeon of St. Joseph's hospital. of the same city, is a member of the Missouri State Medical Society, the Missouri Valley Medical So- ciety of Northwest Missouri and the In- ternational Railway Surgeons' Association. Dr. Nash was born in Hendricks county. Indiana, February 1. 1850. a son of George Brown and Elizabeth ( Daniel) Nash. George Brown Nash was born in Kentucky, in 1809. a son of Thomas and Hannah ( Brown) Nash. His mother was & daughter of George and Mary ( Ball) Brown. Mary Ball was a daughter of Wil- ham Ball, who left an estate in Philadel- phia, a legal contest for the possession of which has been in progress for years. George Brown Nash took part in the Black- hawk war, in 1832, and was married March 3. the following year. In 1858 he emigrat .
ed from Indiana to Missouri with his fam- ily, and settled on a farm in De Kalb county. The pending outbreak of the Civil war and the secession sentiment which dominated De Kalb county influenced him, in 1860, to abandon his farm and move back east as far as Prairie City. Illinois, where the future physician spent the remaining years of his boyhood, and where George Brown Nash died in 1864. Elizabeth ( Daniel) Nash survived until November 1. 1807. Their children were: Alfred T .. born in 1833, who lives in Fountain county, Indiana; Sarah
I ... the wife of Benjamin H. Cord. Who was born August 25. 1835, and died July 16. 1804. leaving children ( Mrs. James Pendleton, Willis Cord, Minnie M., L. 11., and Oma S. Cord) ; Elizabeth E. Nash. born in 1837, who married Alexander H. Betts, and lives at Maryville, Missouri; Asa M. Nash, born in 1839, who lives at Wa- tonga, Indian Territory: Andrew W. Nash, born in 1842, who lives in St. Joseph, Mis- souri; Lydia Nash, born in 1846, who is Mrs. Jacks, of St. Joseph, Missouri; and Simeon E. Nash, who lives at St. Joseph.
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GEORGE A. NASH
THE
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
In 1867 the family home was re-estab- lished on the farm in De Kalb county, Mis- souri. Dr. Nash gained his literary edit- cation in the common schools. He began his preparation for the medical profession in 1876 by systematic reading without a preceptor. He did his first regular school work in the Ilospital Medical College at St. Joseph, and was graduated there in 1879; and in 1884 he took a post-graduate course at the University of Pennsylvania Medical College. He was for a time attach- ed to the Railway hospital at St. Joseph, as a house surgeon and physician. April I, 1879, he located in Maryville, where he quickly became popular and has enjoyed a large, desirable and profitable patronage. He was one of the prime movers in estab- lishing the St. Joseph hospital in Maryville, built under the auspices of the Sisters of St. Francis, and lent to the enterprise his moral and financial aid in no unstinted measure. The fact that he is the surgeon for the hos- pital, no doubt, adds much to the patronage and popularity of the institution. For twenty-one years he has been the local sur- geon for the Burlington Railway Company and holds a similar position for the Wabash road. In 1900, he erected one of the finest offices in the west, the dimensions of which are 25x66 feet, two stories, and of brick construction, with pressed brick front and of entirely modern design and equipment, at a cost of seven thousand dollars. The same is supplied with one of the most complete libraries in the state. He has also Morton's large static machine, with the X-ray at- tachment.
In politics Dr. Nash is a Republican, active and influential in party work. He was married in Gentry county, Missouri, March 13, 1870, and has a daughter named Alma. 26
Mrs. Nash was Mary C. Houston, a daugh- ter of Silas E. Houston, whose wife was Sindirilla Simmons. The Houstons are residents of Douglas county, Oregon. Dr. Nash is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias.
ROBERT STEVENS.
One of the busiest, most energetic and reliable agriculturists of Atchison county was Robert Stevens, who resided on sec- tion 2, Colfax township. He owned and worked six hundred acres of land, a valut- able property which has come to him as a reward for honorable effort and unflagging industry.
Mr. Stevens was a native of Belmont county, Ohio, his birth having occurred in Barnsville, on the 17th of July, 1827. His father. William Stevens, was born in Balti- more, Maryland, and was a son of Aaaron Stevens, who came to the United States from England at the time of the Revolu- tionary war. He spent his remaining days in the new world and departed this life in Maryland. William Stevens was reared up- on a farm in that state and served his coun- try in the war of 1812. Removing west- ward in early manhood, he was married in Belmont county, Ohio, to Elizabeth Camp, a native of Maryland and a daughter of Robert Camp, who was reared near Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, and is of German lineage. He, too, served his country in the war of 1812. Ten children were born into William and Elizabeth Stevens, namely : Mrs. Elizabeth Sadly, of Ohio; Aaron, who is now living in Ohio, at the age of eighty- one years; Mrs. Susan Smith, who died in Illinois ; Mrs. Alzira Dominy, who died in Ohio; Robert ; Mrs. Jane Stone, who also de- parted this life in Ohio; Mrs. Margaret Dix-
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on, who died in Nebraska ; Mrs. Mary Philips, of Ohio; Charles, who died at the age of nineteen years ; and Mrs. Ruth Stevens, who is living in the Buckeye state. The parents removed from Belmont county to Guernsey county, Ohio, and later took up their abode in Vinton county, that state. The father was a farmer by occupation and followed that pursuit throughout his active business career. In politics he was first a Whig, was 2 supporter of Abraham Lincoln and con- tinned to affiliate with the Republican party throughout his life. Both he and his wife were consistent Christian people, holding a membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. Ilis death occurred when he was about ninety years of age and his wife passed away when she had completed the Psalmist's span of three-score years and ten.
In Belmont and Guernsey counties, Ohio. Robert Stevens was reared, and no event of special importance occurred to vary for him the routine of farm life and work. Ile at- tended the common schools of the neigh- borhood and his parents impressed upon his mind lessons of industry, economy and hon- esty that have had marked effect in molding his entire career. Ile was married at the age of twenty-five years, to Miss Elizabeth Barnett, who was born in Pennsylvania and there remained until about ten years of age, when she became a resident of Muskingum county, Ohio. Her parents were George and Mary ( Boyer ) Barnett, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state, while the latter was of German lineage. They spent their last days in Vinton county, Iowa, and the father followed farming as a means of livelihood. In religious faith luth he and his wife were Lutherans.
In the year 1865 Robert Stevens left the Buckeye state for Illinois, taking up his
abode in Stark county, where he engaged in farming for three years, and on the ex- piration of that period he came by team and wagon to Atchison county, Missouri, bring- ing with him five horses. Here he secured one hundred and ninety acres of wild prairie land, on which not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made. His first home was a small frame structure. 16x16 feet, but it has since been replaced by a commodious residence, which stands as a momument to the enterprise of the owner. His labors were diligently prosecuted, for indolence and idleness were utterly foreign to his nature and he worked untiringly in the endeavor to procure a comfortable competence for himself and family. lle finally owned six hundred acres of valuable land, and all the modern accessories and improvements are found upon his farm. He had at one time five orchards, but hail destroyed the greater part of three young orchards, containing five hundred trees. There is a fine grove of maple trees on the place, all the necessary barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock and the latest improved ma- chinery for facilitating the farm work. The fields yield a rich return and Mr. Stevens was also successfully engaged in the rais- ing of cattle and hogs, which found a ready sale upon the market. and these greatly added to his income.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Stevens was blessed with six children, who are liv- ing. namely: Mary, the wife of David Fauntz, of Lincoln township. Atchison con- ty : Susie, the wife of Samuel Farris; Will- iam .A .. a resident of Lincoln township; R. B., who assists in running the home farm; Utilla, the wife of Joseph Noble, of Lincoln township; and E. S., who resides on a farm adjoining his father's home on the south.
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