A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography, Part 58

Author:
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 726

USA > Missouri > Nodaway County > A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography > Part 58
USA > Missouri > Atchison County > A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography > Part 58

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This prominent and highly regarded citi- zen of Green township, Nodaway county (postoffice, Wilcox), Missouri, in the prime of vigorous life, is in appearance only well started on what promises to be a long and most successful career. Mr. Holt is a son of J. M. Holt, of Quitman, a well known man who came to Nodaway county among the pioneers and has been a leader among the men of his time in every period of the county's subsequent history.

Mr. Holt was early taught how to farm

and given practical lessons in industry and honesty. He cannot remember when he did not like stock and take pleasure in caring for and handling it. He gained a public- school education and began the work of the world on his own account as soon as he attained his majority, on his father's home farm, giving his attention largely to stock of the value of which he had become an exceptionally good judge. Later he gave some years to the agricultural implement business, with headquarters at Maryville, and met with much success. He also con- tinued to handle horses and cattle largely, and with satisfactory results.

In 1898 he sold out his business in im- plements and purchased the old homestead farm, known as Shell Grove, but which he named Walnut Dell. He bought it of Judge Solomon Shell, whose daughter, Miss Sarah Shell, he had married at the age of twenty- one, Judge Shell having removed to Effing- ham, Atchison county, Kansas, and having frequently expressed a desire to place the homestead finder Mr. Holt's able personal management and control. Walnut Dell is one of the most valuable and most beautiful farms in Nodaway county, comprising three hundred and ninety acres of fine, rich land, in plow fields, meadows, blue-grass pastur- age of the best grade and timber land cov- ered with beautiful walnuts and elms. Mr. Holt owns a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, making his aggregate landed possessions seven hundred and ten acres. He feeds two hundred head of cattle and a large number of Poland China hogs, and his farm- ing operations are prosecuted on a large scale and under a well devised and well administered system that brings the very best results.

Mrs. Holt was born and married in

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Green township and educated there and at Maryville. There are two interesting chil- dren in the family, named Clarence E. and Blanche E., and aged seventeen and fifteen years, respectively. Mr. Holt is a member of the Modern Woodmen, and is always identi- fied with all measures tending to advance the important interests of his township and county. Though his life has been a busy one, time has dealt gently with him and he presents an appearance surprisingly youthful considering the importance of his enterprises and the success with which his excellent management has crowned them.

LEWIS KIRKPATRICK.

One of the reliable and intelligent citi- zens of Dale township. Atchison county, Missouri, who has resided here since 1880, is Lewis Kirkpatrick, the subject of this sketch. He was born in Blackford county, Indiana, in January, 1848, and is descended from a fine old family whose ancestors as- sisted in the Revolutionary war, and one of them distinguished himself under General Washington. The name has been prominent in every war that the United States has been engaged in. The parents of our subject were Francis and Polly ( Albin) Kirkpatrick, the father of the latter being a Revolutionary Bero who endured the privations of the American army at Valley Forge. She came of good old Dutch stock, the father's fam- ily being of Scotch ancestry. The paternal grandfather, David Kirkpatrick, was also a Revolutionary soldier. So the subject of this sketch enjoys a distinction not common to men of his age, that of having had two grandfathers in service during the Revo- lution.

The children born to Francis and Polly

Kirkpatrick were: John, who was a soldier in the Civil war: Allen, who is dead; Mrs. Nancy Wilman: Mrs. Rachel Fordnay : David, who is dead: Thomas, who was a member of an Indiana regiment and died during the Civil war; Henry : Lewis, who is our subject .- these being the names of a family which has been respected wherever known. The parents died on the old home- stead. having celebrated their golden wed- dling some years before.

Our subject was reared a farmer boy and received a good common-school educa- tion, which he has since supplemented with much reading. thus fitting himself for the profession of teaching. This he has since followed, teaching through the winters, for fifteen years, until 1880, when he began farming, where he now lives. Mr. Kirk- patrick removed to Holt county, Missouri, in 1873. settling near Oregon, and in 1879 bought the fertile farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Dale township where he lives. This is a very attractive place. our subject having improved it with excellent buildings of all kinds and set out orchards and shade trees, making an ideal country home.

Our subject was married, in Grant coun- ty. Indiana. to Miss Rachel Oren, an intel- ligent and accomplished lady, a daughter of Jesse Oren, of Indiana. She had been a sue- cessful teacher in that state and formed the acquaintance of our subject while he was following the same profession there. One son. Oren, has been born of this union. Mr. Kirkpatrick has been called upon to mourn the demise of his beloved wife, her death recurring in 1880. She was a good and worthy Christian woman, who was beloved by all who knew her. He was married a second time, in 1893, to Elizabeth Boden-

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hammer, who lived only seven months long- er, dying in June, 1894.

In politics Mr. Kirkpatrick is a stanch Republican and is one of the zealous workers for his party and friends. He was made justice of the peace in 1898, and was a very popular officer. Socially he is connected with the 1. O. O. F., where he is highly es- teemed. Throughout Dale township he is well known.

WILLIAM R. ERWIN.

William R. Erwin, the county recorder of Atchison county, is one of the popular and valued residents of northwestern Mis- souri. He has resided in this county only since 1892, but he has already attained a prominent place in public affairs, and that he enjoys in a high degree the public confidence is indicated by his election to the office which he is now filling and of which he has been the incumbent since 1898.

Mr. Erwin was born in Monroe county, West Virginia, March 28, 1871, and is a son of C. P. Erwin, who resided in Monroe county and was a millwright by trade. He represented one of the old families of Vir- ginia, founded during the pioneer period of the development of the colony. The repre- sentatives of the family have ever been in- dustrious and honorable citizens, whose worth to the communities with which they have been connected has been widely rec- ognized. James, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was a farmer by occupation and spent his entire life in Monroe county, West Virginia. He was born and reared in the south and his sympathies were with that section of the country during the war of the Rebellion. C. P. Erwin, the father, was united in marriage to Miss Delilah Van

Staver, a daughter of a leading merchant of Monroe county, West Virginia, and a de- scendant of the early Belgian ancestors who came to America. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Erwin, of whom our sub- ject is the eldest and the only one not liv- ing with his parents. The others are Mary, Robert, Benjamin. John, Hubert and Ewell.

William R. Erwin spent his boyhood days in his native village of Second Creek, West Virginia, where he attended the dis- trict schools. He entered upon his business career as a clerk in the store of his grand- father, B. Ban Staver, with whom he re- inained until his twenty-first birthday, also acting as a clerk in the postoffice of the vil- lage, his grandfather holding the position of postmaster. After attaining his majority he accepted a position, at an increased salary, in the general store of C. L. Morris, of Pick- away, West Virginia, where he continued un- til December, 1892, when he came to the west, locating in Fairfax, Missouri. Here he became interested in conducting a barber shop in connection with Mr. Ottman, carry- ing on that enterprise until 1894, when he was appointed deputy postmaster of the town, serving in that capacity until the change in the administration caused his st- perior to be removed. During the succeed- ing three months he occupied the position of salesman with the Doggett Dry Goods Com- pany. On 'the Ist of January, 1898. lie opened the "racket" store in Fairfax, which he managed until his election to the office of county recorder on the Fusion ticket.

On the 16th of May, 1894, Mr. Erwin was united in marriage to Miss Lottie Beal, whose parents were from Albemarle county. Virginia. He is a young man of marked individuality and strong force of character, who in public office has demonstrated his

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fidelity to duty, showing that the confidence and trust reposed in him have not been mis- placed. He has a wide acquaintance in Atchison county and is held in the highest regard by all who know him.

W. H. WRIGHIT.

W. H. Wright, well known as a stock- raiser and farmer of Atchison county, Mis- souri, is a native of Randolph county, In- diana, and was born August 16, 1840, a son of Empson and Rachael ( Ruble ) Wright. Fmpson Wright was born in Virginia, but removed to Indiana, where he was a success- inl farmer. Politically he was a Whig and filled the office of county commissioner for several years. His parents died in Indiana. leaving three children,-AAmos, David and Samuel. Rachael Ruble was one of four chil- dren, the others being George, Walter and Lovitt,-all of Randolph county. Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Wright, our subject's parents, had as children Mrs. Susan Oram: Delilah Tlaines: Thomas, of Mound City, Missouri ; Mrs. Sarah Diggs: Laura, who was Mrs. James Bates, and died in Indianapolis, Indi- ana : Samuel, who served in the war of the Rebellion and died in 1800, in Indiana : Mrs. Ellen Greenstreet, of Indianapolis; Jona- than, of Hastings, Nebraska; W. 11 .. the subject of this sketch; and Mrs. Emily Salsberry, of Indiana. The parents were members of the Christian church.

W. Jl. Wright, the subject of this per- somal biography, received a common-school education in his native county, and at the death of his parents was obliged to begin work for himself. He was employed as a form hand, and also learned the carpenter trade. At the beginning of the war he en- listed in Company 1. Third Indiana Cavalry,

for three years. This company was assigned to the Army of Tennessee, where it was under different commanders, though most of the time General Kilpatrick had command. Mr. Wright was in several skirmishes and hotly contested battles, among them being the battle of Corinth, Stone River, Chicka- mauga and Missionary Ridge. They were in several battles around Atlanta, and en- countered Forrest's cavalry near Nashville. Tennessee. Mr. Wright and a few others were taken prisoners in July, 1862, but were soon afterward paroled and sent to Colum- bus, Ohio. Soon afterward he received a prisoner's furlough, and returned home, re- maining there until he was exchanged. The following winter he joined his regiment, and after the fall of Atlanta, his term having ex- pired, he was mustered out and received an honorable discharge, at Indianapolis. Dur- ing November, 1864, he was the corporal of his company. After receiving his dis- charge Mr. Wright returned to Randolph county, Indiana, where he resumed his trade of carpentering and farming.

Mr. Wright remained in Randolph coun- ty until 1800. when he moved to Missouri, spending one year in Holt county. He then bought a tract of land in Atchison county, on which he built a house, and after break- ing the ground began farming. He first bought one hundred and twenty acres, forty of which he sold soon after buying, and by hard work and careful management he was gradually able to add more each year. until now he has a farm of two hundred and twen- ly-eight acres, all of which is in a good state of cultivation. The house is one of modern improvements, the orchard yields a fine amount of fruit each year, and Mr. Wright has reason to be proud of his well earned success. He also owns another farm, of

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one hundred and twenty acres, which he rents. He has raised and handled stock for many years, and still holds a stock lease on his farms. In 1884 he bought his present home in Fairfax, where he has since resided, having retired from active business life. He is a stockholder in two of the banks in Fair- fax, where he is considered one of the solid business men of the county. Mr. Wright has always been a member of the Republican party, and in 1894 was elected county judge. serving in that capacity for four years. In 1898 he was again elected to the office, which he still continues to hold, filling the posi- tion with dignity and honor and with credit to himself and the community.

In 1865 Mr. Wright was married, in Randolph county, Indiana, to Letitia Mer- cer, a daughter of John and Mary Mercer. John Mercer was born in Ireland and was a cooper by trade. He died in Randolph coun- ty at the age of sixty. His wife survives him, making her home with a daughter in Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Mercer were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Hester Howell; Margaret, now Mrs. W. T. Hubbard, of Atchison county; Letitia, de- ceased, who was the wife of our subject ; James, of Ohio; William, of Indiana; Mrs. Clara Moore ; Mrs. Rebecca McClellan ; Mrs. Emma Williams; and Mrs. Florence Cable, with whom the mother resides. Mr. and Mrs. Wright were the parents of five chil- dren, who are: Edna, the wife of J. W. Laird, of Oklahoma; Emman, the wife of J. R. Wolkup, of Atchison county; Bertha, the wife of J. R. Dewall, of Oklahoma; Clyde, the bookkeeper and assistant cashier of the Farmers' Bank of Fairfax; and Olive. Mrs. Wright died in March, 1885. She was a constant attendant of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, where she was an active

worker. Mr. Wright remarried, in 1898, this time choosing Mrs. Daisy E. Gray, a widow with two sons. She was a daughter of Mr. Taber, of Kentucky. She has one brother, John Taber, a miner living in Will- iams, Arizona. Mr. Wright has no children hy this second union.

MRS. LYDIA S. WALKUP.

Mrs. Lydia Sanders Walkup, the subject of this sketch, now residing at Dale, Atchi- son county, Missouri, is the widow of the late James Walkup, who was one of the first settlers of Dale township and an honored and respected citizen. He was born in Boone county, Missouri, in 1822, and was a son of Robert and Mary ( Laughlin) Walkup. both of whom were natives of Kentucky. The Walkup family came to Missouri and in 1818 settled in Boone county, at which place the mother died, and later the father went to Texas, where he passed away in his sev- entieth year.

James Walkup was reared in Boone county and assisted his father to improve and cultivate his land. Enlisting in the Mexican war, he served till its close. His marriage was in Platte county, Missouri, to Lydia S. Woodhouse, a woman of superior intelli- gence and agreeable personality. She made a happy home for her husband for many years and is devoted to his memory. The birthplace of Mrs. Walkup was in North Carolina, she being a daughter of Hadley and Abagail (Hunnings) Woodhouse, of that state. Mrs. Walkup was but five years old-when the family moved to Montgomery county, Indiana, in 1838, and accompanied her parents to Jasper county, Missouri, and later to Platte county, where her parents died, both of them having been worthy mem-

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Lers of the Methodist church and beloved and respected by all who knew them.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse were : Mrs. Walkup, who is our subject ; Jonathan, of Platte county; Will- iam, of Platte county : Sarah Chesnut : Dor- cas. deceased: R. C., the postmaster vi Dotham; and Louisa, deceased.

After his marriage James Walkup set- t'ed in Holt county, where he remained for twelve years, and came to Atchison county in: 1860. A tract of land in this county was named Walkup Grove, in his honor. About this time Mr. Walkup bought eighty acres near Craig and remained there five years in order to give his children educa- tional advantages. but returned to the farm in 1878, at which time he built the present comfortable and commodious residence in which his widow now lives. These children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Walkup: Thom- as, of this township; George, who resides in Clark township: Albert R., of Rockport : Mary Lawrence, who is deceased: Sarah Kelly, who married Dan Kelly: Eliza, who married George Carter, of this township; Martha Bryan, of Fairfax: Caroline, who died at the age of fifteen ; and James, who is at the homestead.

James Walkup. Sr .. passed out of life on November 26, 1898, at the age of seven- ty-six. He had been a very successful busi- ness man, owning a farm of five hundred acres, which had been improved until it was one of the most attractive in the township. Mr. Walkup was a remarkably fine-appear- ing man, being fully six feet in height and weighing two hundred pounds. In manner he was genial and pleasant and it was al- ways a delight to him to welcome his friends under his hospitable roof. Throughout Dale township Mr. Walkup was honored, re- achieved.

spected and beloved for his many fine traits of character. Socially he belonged to the Masonic and 1. O. O. F. organizations, where he found congenial asociations. An ardent Democrat, he actively supported all measures which seemed to be of benefit to his party and was particularly zealous in looking after the interests of his friends.

James Robert Lee Walkup, the son of cur subject, who resides at the homestead with his mother, was born October 18. 1866. and reared on the farm. In 1887 he mar- ried Miss Mary E. Wright. the estimable daughter of Judge Wright, of Fairfax, and two interesting children, Lydia Letitia and Carrie Florence, have been born to them.

Mrs. Walkup, our subject. has been touched lightly by time and now enjoys a peaceful comfortable life in the midst of her devoted family and is highly respected throughout the community.

FRANK BARMANN.

The financial and commercial history of Missouri would be very incomplete and in- satisfactory without a personal and some- what extended mention of those whose lives are interwoven so closely with the industrial and financial development of the state. When a man, or a select mimber of men. have set in motion the occult machinery of business, which materializes into a thousand forms of practical utility, or where they have carved out a fortune or a name from the common possibilities, open for competition to all, there is public desire, which should be gratified, to see the men so nearly as a por- trait and a word artist can paint them, and examine the elements of mind and the cir- cumstances by which such results have been

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The subject of this sketch finds an ap- propriate place in the history of those men of business and enterprise in the state of Missouri, whose force of character, whose sterling integrity, whose fortitude amid dis- couragements, whose good sense in the man- agement of complicated affairs and marked success in establishing large industries and bringing to completion great schemes of trade and profit, have contributed in an emi- nent degree to the development of the vast resources of this noble commonwealth. His career has not been helped by accident or luck, or wealth or family or powerful friends. He is, in its broadest sense, a self-made man, being both the architect and builder of his own fortune.

Mr. Barmann is a native of the Buckeye state, his birth having occurred in Chilli- cothe, Ohio, in September, 1849. His fa- ther, George Barmann, was a native of Ger- many and when only two years of age was brought by his parents to the United States, in 1810. Throughout his active business career he was identified with the interests of Chillicothe, Ohio, and in that city was married to Miss Josephine Gertizen. The parents of our subject both died in that place, the mother in 1887 and the father in 1890. They had nine children, three of whom reside in Missouri, namely: Frank, who is the eldest surviving son; Joseph, a resident of Andrew county, this state; and Charles, a farmer of Nodaway county.

Frank Barmann spent the days of his childhood and youth in his native town and to its public-school system he is indebted for the education which fitted him for life's practical duties. In his youth he learned the blacksmith's trade of the mechanics of Chil- licothe, and after he had completed his ap- prenticeship and become an expert workman

in that line he left his home in Ohio for the west in search of a suitable location. He first went to St. Joseph, Missouri, but did not remain long in that city, arriving in Maryville in the spring of 1872. The out- look seemed favorable here and he decided to locate at this point, becoming identified with its business affairs by purchasing the blacksmith shop of H. E. Avery. He brought with him from Nodaway county a capital of about one thousand dollars, and after purchasing the smithy invested the re- mainder of his money in securing an equip- ment for the manufacture of buggies and carriages. He did the iron-work himself and a partner constructed the woodwork. This constituted the entire force for some time, but the character of his work and the increasing demand for vehicles caused his industry to thrive and flourish until his place of business became too small for the conduct of his industry. In 1882, therefore, a new building site was secured on the same block and a two-story brick structure was erected. It is sixty-six by ninety feet, furnishing ample accommodation for the workmen and for storing the finished products. The sales amounted to about eight hundred vehicles annually and about twenty mechanics are employed, so that the business has become one of the most extensive industrial con- cerns of Maryville. The patronage of the factory comes largely from Nodaway and adjoining localities, but in filling orders ship- ments have also been made beyond the state limits to the north and west. The firm of Barmann & Wolferts was organized in 1891, Mr. Wolferts having been previously in the employ of Mr. Barmann. In connection with the management of this extensive and profitable business Mr. Barmann lias owned and conducted a shoe store in Maryville for

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five years, and his income from this house has materially increased his capital.

On the 11th of January, 1882. Mr. Bar- mann was united in marriage to Miss Al- lena Kuenster, who formerly resided in Glenhaven, Wisconsin. Four children grace the union of our subject and his wife : Earl .1., Laura, Ora and Frank Barmann. Our subject and his family attend St. Mary's Catholic church, of which he is one of the prominent members. In his political affilia- tions he is a Democrat and for one term he served the second ward in the city council ; but, though he keeps well informed on the issues of the day, as every true American citizen should do, he has always avoided of- fice-holding, preferring to give his time and attention in an undivided manner to his busi- ness affairs.

JOHN C. DONNELL.

"Blood will tell." has often been said and written by those who have not com- prehended one-half of the meaning of the saying. The value of good ancestry is be- coming more and more apparent to Ameri- cans as we grow okler as a nation. Titled ancestry, however, is not meant. A title does not imply honesty, and honest ances- try is good ancestry, and its influence and traditions can never be lost on even an un- worthy son of a worthy sire. Good, straight- forward men and women, whose "yea" has been yea and whose "nay" has been may, men and women who have been exemplars to the men and women around them and a per- ennial influence for good to their posterity. are the kind of men and women who con- stitute "good ancestry," and such was the ancestry of the gentleman whose name is above and a brief sketch of whose antece-

dents and career it will be attempted to give ini succeeding paragraphs.

John C. Donnell, of the firm of Donnel Brothers, leading grocers of Maryville, is one of the honored and highly respected young business men of the city, and is now the mayor of the city. He was born a Oak Ridge, North Carolina, February 3 1861, as the ominous clouds of war wer hovering thickest and blackest over ou country and when the Union was suffering dissolution almost weekly by the secession of individual states. He is a son of one o the pioneer families of the "old North' state and one whose local prominence wa brought about by its influence in the busi ness, educational and social circles of Val Ridge. Mr. Donnell's father, William Don nell, whose life had been passed at that plac as a merchant and farmer, was born ther in 1824. Aside from his business connec tions, he was one of the founders of th Oak Ridge high school, an institution o much local prominence, with which he ha been identified on the managing board sine its organization. He was a son of Samme Donnell, the grandfather of the subject this sketch, who settled in North Carolin at an early date.

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A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography, Part 58

Author: Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 726

Author:
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 726