A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography, Part 68

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 68
USA > Missouri > Atchison County > A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography > Part 68

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Yeisley has been twice married, first to Olivia Elsworth, of Ohio, a daughter of John Elsworth, of New York state. He was a farmer and trader and located in lowa, and in 1857 in Missouri, where he bought a farm, on which he lived until his death. His children were: Freeman ; Dan- iel; Eliza; Jonathan; Henry ; Hester; Al- myra ; Olivia, the wife of our subject ; Han- nah, the wife of J. H. Smith ; and Mary C .. the wife of T. Boyston. Mr. Yeisley has the following children by his first wife: John, living in Washington; Mary S., the wife of C. Patterson ; Henry and David. His wife died in 1865.

Mr. Yeisley remarried in 1870, this time wedding Mrs. Medina Clark, a daughter of Solomon Sherer. Solomon Sherer was a native of North Carolina, but moved to Ohio, and later to Indiana, where he bought land. Later he sold his farm and moved to Illinois, thence to Iowa and later to Mis- souri, where he has since resided with his daughter. He is now a hale, hearty old gentleman of ninety-seven years. His chil- dren were: Manassa, Matilda, Sino, Me- dina (the wife of our subject), Sarah, Jo- siah, Anna, Hariet, Louisa, Ilerman, Hulda and Barbara. Mrs. Yeisley was the wife of .A. S. Pitts, by whom she had two children,

-Jennie and James. Her second husband was James Rich, and they had one son,- Nathan. By her third husband, Samuel Clark, she had one daughter,-Dora. Mr. and Mrs. Yeisley are the parents of two chil- dren,-Nora and Walter.

Mr. Yeisley is an honest, upright citi- zen and has many friends in the county.

ALBERT T. ELLIS.

In the field of commercial activity Al- bert T. Ellis, now deceased, won distinct:on and was classified among the leading, in- fluential and honored citizens of Maryville. He possessed the enterprising spirit of the west, which has been the dominant factor in producing the wonderful development of this section of the country. Brooking no obstacles that honest effort could overcome, he steadily worked his way upward until he left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few. He was a man of keen discrimination and sound judgment, and his executive ability and excellent management brought to the concern with which he was connected a large degree of success.

Mr. Ellis was born in Lexington, Ken- tucky, August 20, 1843, and was a repre- sentative of one of the pioneer families of Missouri. His father, Leander T. Ellis, came to this state in 1843, settling on the Platte purchase. Ile served as the sheriff of Buchanan county and later removed thence to Nodaway county, where he took up his abode about 1848. Albert T. Ellis was the eleventh child in his large family of children. Although his father was promi- nently identified with the earlier educational interests of Nodaway county, the son was denied, through force of circumstances, al!

523

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

opportunities for intellectual advancement in the schools beyond the mere fundamental knowledge, which he acquired before attain- ing his ninth year. Broad reading. experi- ence. observation, a retentive mind and active connection with the practical affairs of life. however, brought to him considerable knowl- edge and he became a well informed man. thoroughly conversant with the leading questions of the day. When a little lad of nine summers he began work as a farin hand. and for ten years he was thus engaged, earn- ing little more than what sufficed him for his livelihood. His physical and mental strength, however, were being developed and prepared him for the arduous duties of busi- ness life in later years. At the age of nine- teen he became connected with mercantile interests and worked his way upward until he ultimately became one of the most prom- inent representatives of commercial pursuits in Maryville. Hle first entered the employ of Adam Terhune and then entered the em- ploy of Beal & Robinson. prominent dry- god's merchants, who gave him fifty dollars per month. With that firm he continued three years, enjoying their confidence and respect in an unusual degree.

But he was ambitions and wished to en- gage in business for himself. He had little in the way of capital save experience. but he had established public confidence, was en- ergetic and determined, and, relying upon these qualities, which in business life are more substantial than capital, he resolved to start upon an independent business career. He chose a line with which he was entirely familiar, investing a few hundred dollars in at stock of drugs and opening his store in 1805. on the west side of the square. After three years, in which he became permanently established in business, his patronage having

steadily increased throughout that period, he entered into partnership with James B. Prather, their business relations continuing uninterruptedly for a period of twenty-eight years, with mutual pleasure and profit. The partnership was remarkable for its length of duration, its perfect harmony and the con- tinuous and gratifying success which at- tended their efforts. Both partners were men of well known reliability and possessed the unqualified confidence of the residents of Maryville and vicinity. They possessed unusual business sagacity and cach was per- sonally qualified to meet the social and busi- ness requirements of the other. They erected a store building just north of the Nodaway Valley Bank buikling and instituted a job- Long business, at the same time conducting the leading retail drug house in Maryville.

As his financial resources increased Mr. Ellis made judicious investments in real es- tate. Ile purchased both city and country property, the value of which increased as time advanced, thus guaranteeing the finan- cial independence of his family. H's prop- erty holling's became extensive, and in ad- dition to the land and the buildings which he erected he was the owner of a plat of ground on Main street on which, in 1883. he erected one of the first brick residences of the city, making it his place of abode un- til called to the home beyond.

On the 21st of December, 1865, in Mary- ville. Mr. Ellis was united in marriage to Amanda, a daughter of John Allen, who came to Nodaway county from Richmond, Kentucky. She was born in Bloomfield, lowa, in 1850, and by her marriage became the mother of three children, namely : Mrs. J. Woodson Smith; Mrs. E. S. Hovt, of Minneapolis, Minnesota : and Albert T .. who married Eina Jesse and resides in Minne-

529

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

apolis. He is interested in the Hanamo Tel- ephone Company, of Maryville.

Mr. Ellis died March 31, 1890. He was tall in stature and when in health weighed about one hundred and fifty pounds. He possessed unfailing good nature and a very genial manner, and was fond of a practical joke. Some one said of him, "Everybody liked Al Ellis, and when he was gone he was sincerely missed." When twenty-one years of age he joined the Masonic fraternity and became a Knight Templar. As a citi- zen he was very popular. He identified him- self with no questionable and unworthy en- terprises or movements, and his patriotic in- terest in the town and county was sincere and permanent. He gave to every interest calculated to prove of public benefit his earn- est support and co-operation. He was reared in the faith of the Democracy and of that party was an earnest supporter, but never was an aspirant for public office. With him friendship was inviolable, and his greatest happiness was found in the midst of his fam- ily at his own fireside.

Such in brief was the life history of Al- bert T. Ellis. The character of the man has been shadowed forth between the lines of this review, and in the summary of his career we note only a few of the salient points,-his activity and sound judgment in business affairs, his conformity to the ethics of commercial life, his loyalty to his coun- try and his genuine friendship and regard for true worth of character. These are the qualities which made him a valued citizen in the community in which he made his home.

JAMES SCARLETT.

James Scarlett, a representative farmer and pioneer settler of Atchison county, Mis- souri, is a native of Orange county, Indi-

ana, and was born October 20, 1827. He was a son of Samuel and Jemima ( Charles) Scarlett. Joel Charles, our subject's ma- ternal grandfather, was a well known farmer of Indiana, where he owned considerable property. He owned the land on which the famous resort of French Lick is located. His children were Azer : William, who was killed by the Indians while working on his farm; Elizabeth Wilson : Frankie Holbert ; Cynthia Pinnick : Jemima, who married Samuel Scar- lott. Samuel Scarlett, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of North Carolina, born August 22. 1798, and in an early day moved to Indiana, where he carried on farm- ing. Ilis children were John, Samuel, James, William, Stephen. Elizabeth and Virginia. Samuel Scarlett, Jr .. the father of our sub- ject, was born in Orange county, North Car- olina, where he received his education. Ile married and then moved to Indiana, and in 1852 settled in Iowa, where he bought a claim and began farming. He died in Clar- inda September 3. 1869. and his loss was greatly felt, as he was a good citizen and a prominent worker in the Methodist church. He was married three times, first to Jemima Dunbar, who was a widow with three chil- dren .- Elizabeth, Mary and Margaret. She bore him two sons, one being William W .. who went to California in 1860 and died there in 1899. He next married Mrs. Rachel Hankins, a daughter of Mr. Blagraves, of Tennessee. She was born January 8. 1804, and died May 24, 1860. She was the mother of four children by her first marriage, name- ly : Elizabeth, Abraham, Harrison and David. Mr. Scarlett was the father of four children by his second marriage, namely : Mary, the wife of M. Damewood : Rebecca, the wife of William Williams; Samuel, of Colorado ; and Sarah, who married W. Reed,

530

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

of lowa. Mr. Scarlett had no children by his third wife. She bore the maiden name of Ann Reed and was born April 18, 1806, while her death occurred January 19. 1892.

James Scarlett, whose name heads this sketch, was reared and educated in his native place and remained under the parental roof until he had grown to manhood. He farmed in Indiana until 1853, when he sold his farm and moved to Iowa, remaining there until 1863. He then sold his property and located in Atchison county, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, and. after making many good improvements, carried on farming on a large scale. He handled a great many head of cattle and was very suc- cessful. He gradually added to his property until he was the owner of eight hundred and forty acres of splendidly cultivated land. Ile gave several hundred acres to his children and now owns but one hundred and eighty acres, on which he lives. In 1898 a cyclone struck his farm and destroyed all the build- ings, demolishing the orchard and fieldls and leaving the place completely wrecked. Mr. Scarlett at once rebuilt his house and barns. and, though they are not as elaborate as be- fore, he has just cause to be proud of his home. He is a broad-minded man and keeps up with all the improvements of the day. He was a Democrat for many years, later a Re- publican, and is now a Populist, having held several minor township offices. Mr. Scar- lett married Caroline Pace, a daughter of Edward and Susan ( Faster) Pace, Who were among the early settlers of Indiana, having moved there from Tennessee. Mr. Pace was a good business man and a leading member of the Methodist church. He had three children by his first wife: Cynthia. the wife of 1 .. Wiemyer: John and Daniel. For his ser and wife He married Susan For-

ter, and the following children were born to them: Richard, of Iowa ; William, who died in Texas; Wesley, of Colorado, who was the captain of a federal company: Elisha C., who served in the Rebellion: Rebecca, the wife of D. Hawkins, who died in Col- orado: Caroline, the wife of our subject : Mary, the wife of H. Scarlett: Lewis, a Methodist minister and prominent citizen of Lincoln, Nebraska; and Elizabeth. Mr. Scarlett and Caroline ( Pace ) Scarlett were the parents of the following chil Iren : Rach :1, born in Indiana, in 1851. is the wife of Charles Scarlett, a distant relative: Susan, born in łowa, in December, 1853. is the wife of A. Vangundy, of Nebraska: Re- becca, born in lowa. in 1855. is the wife of John Huston, a Methodist minister. Mrs. Scarlett died in 1860.

On the 28th of March, 18 H. Mr. Scar- lett was united in marriage to Sarah Van- gundy, who was born February 5. 1843. in koss county, Ohio, a daughter of John and Lea Vangundy, of Pennsylvania. Her fa- ther was born January 13, 1799, and was twice married. On the 24th of March, 1821, he wedded Margaret Search, whose death

occurred July 6, 1833, and on the tith of January, 1835. he was again married. His second wife, Lea Vangundy, was born May 17,1809. John Vangundy the father of Mrs. Scarlett, moved to Ross county, Ohio. where he lived until 1859. when he located in Clark township. Atchison county. built a large gristmill at Milton, which he ran for several years and then sold to a soll. He also owned large tracts of land. Ile was a Methodist minister and in Missouri was a local preacher. He die 1 August 7. 1874, at Milton, and his death was greatly " ourned by all who knew him. His second wife died October 4. 189%, at the age of

531

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

ninety years. The children by his first wife were: Jonas, James, John, and Jane, who married Mr. Cartlich, a Methodist minister. His children by his second marriage were : Samuel, of Kansas; Margaret, the wife of N. Little: Sarah, the wife of our subject; and William, a farmer of Atchison county. By his second marriage Mr. Scarlett is the father of four children, namely: W. W., born January 14, 1862; John G., born No- vember 4. 1863; Sammuel V., born November 14. 1865; and James F., born January 12. 1867. Mr. Scarlett is a Royal Arch Mason.

JAMES H. LEMON.

The adaptability of Americans to busi- ness, to politics or to warfare has been often commented on by foreign writers. It is this fitness for the duty of the hour, whatever form it may take, that makes the American character so strong and the patriotic com- bination of men so characterized that ren- ders America so successful and victorious in all her undertakings whether of war or of peace. The farmer soldier in time of war becomes the farmer statesman in time of peace, and he fights in the political and economic battle for general prosperity as arduously and as patriotically as he fought on the tented field. Among the soldier- farmers of Nodaway township none is more highly esteemed than the successful man whose name is above.

James H. Lemon was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, August 16, 1842, and comes of a family noted for sobriety, indus- try, honesty and patriotism. He is a son of Elisha and Phebe ( Hartman ) Lemon and is descended, in the paternal line, from Scotch and Quaker ancestry. His father was a farmer and served his country as a

soldier in the war of 1812. His maternal grandfather, Michael Hartman, was of that sturdy Pennsylvania Dutch stock which has produced men and women of ability through many successive generations. His parents were both born near the place of his own nativity. They had six children. named as follows: James H. : Clara, deceased : Aman- da, a resident of Illinois: E. H .. living in California : and Martha S. and Charles W., of Goodhope, Illinois. The father of these children died at Goodhope, Illinois, at the age of forty-five years. He was a farmer by occupation and in politics a stanch Dem- ocrat. His widow survives, at the advanced age of eighty years.

The family moved out from Pennsyl- vania to Illinois when James was a mere lad, and there he was brought up at farm work and given such education as was avail- able to him, time and place considered. After leaving the public school at Prairie City he taught country schools some time. with good success. How long he might have pursued this career will never be known ; for the Civil war began and advance I to startling proportions, with no prospect of early ter- mination. The country needed soldiers and President Lincoln called for "three hundred thousand more." and young Lemon, then twenty years old, was one of those who re- sponded. August 13. 1862, he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Nineteenth Regiment. Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served three years. taking part in the fight- ing at Nashville, Mobile and Pleasant Hill, accompanying Banks' Red river expedition, and participated in the warfare at Tupelo and Yellow Bayon. He was honorably dis- charged from the service as sergeant of the provost guard. First Brigade. Third Di- vision, Sixteenth Army Corps, and with a

532

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

record so excellent that any soldier might we'll be proud of it.

Returning to Hlinois, he engaged in farming in MeDonough county. He mar- ried. in 1869. Emily Kautz, a daughter of Jacob and Mary A. ( Walker ) Kautz. a woman of much ability and culture, who had been born in Indiana and reared and edu- catel in Illinois and had done much good work as a teacher. Jacob and Mary .1. ( Walker) Kautz had six sons and three daughters, and one of their sons, George. had been a soldier in the war of the Rebel- Bon in Mr. Lemon's regiment. Both died at Kingston, Missouri, at the age of eighty- « ne years. Mr. Kautz was a farmer, a man of fine character, who was respected by all who knew him. and Mrs. Kautz was beloved during her long and useful life by many who had found in her such "a friend in need" as is truly "a friend indeed." Mr. and Mrs. Lenon have six children, named as follows in sequence of birth : William 1. Charles W., Sadie K. 1. Amy. Nellie J. and Hervey . Allan.

Mr. Lemon came, with his family. to Missouri in 1875 and located in Nordaway township. He began farming in a moderate way on one hundred aeres and now owns 's farm- aggregating one thousand and forty acres of rich and productive land. adapted to all the purposes and demands of farming in this par. of the country and well cupped with building - of all kinds comm in to tarms, including windmills for drawing water and all other appliances and machinery essential to successful cultivation. He farms and raises stock on a goally scale and by modern methods, and his management of his affairs is such that he has been always and mercisingly successful.

Mr Lemon is a stanch Republican, fully

in sympathy with the most advanced prin- ciples of his party. He has, since young manhood. been an influential worker in the local political field. having often been a del- egate to important party conventions, and in 1898 the nominee of his party to represent his district in the state legislature, meeting defeat, however, by a strong combined Dem- ocratie-Populist vote. He has kept his okl army associations alive so far as has been possible by membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is an ardent supporter in all its aims and interests. . I.s a justice of the peace he has served his fel- low citizens well and faithfully and won reputation for the justice and fairness of his decisions. He is a devoted friend of edu- cation, a believer in temperance in all things and in all ways a public-spirited and helpful citizen. Standing a good six feet in height and well and strongly built. he looks every inch a soldier. Mr. and Mrs. Lemon are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

JAMES A. BICKETT, M. D.

Foremost among the representative phy- sicians and surgeons of Nodaway county, Missouri, stands the gentleman whose name appears at the opening of this sketch. Well equipped, both mentally and physically. to Battle with the trials peculiar to his profes- Sin. he has managed to gain a practice. which in itself speaks for his splendid ability and urtiring energy.

Dr. Bickett was born in Marion com- ty. Kentucky, on February 8. 1838, a son of Hieromy J. and Cynthia ( MeBey ) Bick- ett, both natives of Kentucky. He can trace his ancestry back to Manfred, who went to England with William the Conqueror. Ilis great grandfather. Anthony Bickett, who

JaBickett M.D.

THE

1 NEW YCIM

0. PUBLIC RA Y

Fou

533

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.

came to America in the colonial days, served in the war of the Revolution. Dr. Bickett has the silver buckles which his great-grand- father wore during the battle of Yorktown. After the war he settled in Maryland, where he died some years later. Anthony Bickett, our subject's grandfather, was united in marriage with Miss Ann Knott in Kentucky, in the year 1813. In the Knott family was J. Proctor Knott, once governor of Ken- tucky and a cousin of our subject. Ann Knott was the oldest daughter of Thomas and Frances ( Ray) Knott, who were mar- ricd in 1790. Thomas Knott, the father of Thomas, was born in England and came to America in 1765, locating in Maryland. In 1768 he was married to Miss Jane Hart, the elder sister of Lord Percy, who died in 1871, at his country seat, Winterton Castle, leav- ing an estate valued at eleven million pounds. Anthony and Ann ( Knott ) Bickett were the parents of a large number of children, as follows: Hieromy J., the father of the subject of this sketch, Thomas, Evaline, Pur- cilla, Joseph. W. Anthony, Fanny, Sarah and Nancy A. Fanny and Nancy are yet living, and reside in Maryville. The Bickett family have always been members of the Catholic church. The Knott family were Presbyterians.

Hieromy J. Bickett, the father of our subject, became a school teacher in early life and taught for thirty-six years. He was a highly educated man, being a grad- uate of St. Mary's College, in Kentucky. He moved to Illinois and in 1858 to Missouri, where he began farming. Later he sold his farm and began gathering evidence that he ·was the heir to the estate left by Lord Percy, whose will read that the estate was to go to the oldest heir. While in pursuit of this evi- dence Mr. Bickett died at the home of his

son in Kansas, October 18, 1884. at the age of seventy-one years. His wife had passed away from this life in 1863. Politically Mr. Bickett was a Democrat, but he never as- pired to office. Our subject, James A. Bickett, being the last heir to the Lord Percy estate, is confident that in a few years he will be in possession of the estate.

Dr. James A. Bickett moved with his parents to Illinois, and later to Missouri, and, arriving at the age of twenty-one, be- gan reading medicine. In those days it was the practice of all students of medicine to thoroughly master the science of medicine and surgery, and Dr. Bickett gave his time and attention to the study for over seven years. Early in 1861 he joined the militia, his uncle being colonel, and after six months' service became a member of the Thirteenth Regiment of the Missouri Volunteer Infan- try. This company was assigned to the western department and their first battle oc- curred at Lexington, Missouri, where Mul- ligan's command was captured. Within two days all were paroled and left for their re- spective homes. Dr. Bickett returned to Maryville. During the winter of 1861 the company reorganized and took the name of the Twenty-fifth Regiment of the Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and were assigned to the Army of the Tennessee. Dr. Bickett was in the battle of Shiloh, which continued for two days, their company being the first to be fired upon. While acting as riding or- derly for the brigade he was taken ill and sent to the hospital at St. Louis, where he remained for twelve months, after which he received an honorable discharge and returned to his home in Maryville, Missouri.

In Maryville he resumed his studies and also began practicing. In 1865 he began with Dr. Dunn, and after receiving his cer-

534

BIOGRAIPIIICAL HISTORY.

tificate of registration went to Hamburg, where he opened an office. For the next few years he made several changes, moving from Hamburg to Rockport, where he remained one year, thence to Braddyville, Iowa, where also he remained a year, then back to Mary- ville for a few months, next to Bridgewater for two years, and in 1872 he located in Conception, Nodaway county, but only re- mained one year when he returned to Mary- ville, but afterward again came to Concep- tion, where he has successfully practiced ever since. He has a large and lucrative practice and has won the confidence of all in the community.

In 1865 Dr. Bickett was married to Miss Isabelle Dunn, a daughter of Judge Dunn, of Iroquois county, Illinois, but formerly of Tennessee. Judge Dunn was a prominent Democrat and held many offices for that party while residing in Iroquois county. His death occurred there in 1850 ad he was mourned by all who knew him. His wife moved to Nodaway county and made her home with her son, Dr. S. M. Dann, of Maryville. It was there she died in 1870. Her children were: Joseph, M. D .: Eliza- beth : S. M., M. D. : T. J., M. D. ; Lucinda, now Mrs. Buford : David W., M. D. : Jane: Martin V., M. D. : Mary, now Mrs. Wool- 5 3. M. D .: and Labella, who is the wife of our subject. She is a cousin of John Mor- gan, of Confederate fame, and a nece of Brigadier General Walker. Dr. Bickett and his wife have been blessed with six children : Mary 11., who is Mrs. J. 1 .. Kinsela : Mand. pow Mrs. William Helpley : David I'., at he me : George F., who married Catherine Sim ming and is now in business at New Conception, Missouri: Florence, who died in February, 1800, at the age of sixteen; and J. Frankhn, who i at home.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography, Part 68

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