USA > Missouri > Nodaway County > A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography > Part 79
USA > Missouri > Atchison County > A Biographical history of Nodaway and Atchison counties, Missouri : compendium of national biography > Part 79
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On the 3ist of May, 1873, Mr. Spur- lock was married to Miss Louisa Pherson. Her father, John Pherson, was one of the pioneers of Topeka. Kansas, removing to that state from Ilinois. By occupation he
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was a miller. He became the father of three children, including Mrs. Spurlock, who was born in Topeka, September 20, 1855. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children, Nannie and Lorenzo, the for- mer born in 1876 and the latter in 1879. Mr. Spurlock is identified' with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and has taken a very active part in political af- fairs. In 1880 he was nominated and elected by the Republicans as the county treasurer and after filling that position for two years. he retired from office as he had entered it .- with the confidence and good' will of all con- cerneď.
WILLIAM W. HUDGENS.
The compounding of medicines and the dispensing of drugs and chemicals is one of the most hazardous, consequently one of the most important, business enterprises that depends upon public patronage for its per- petuation. It is a business that comes into direct contact with the health of the citizens and may either restore or impair conditions of the system and destroy the physical consti- tution beyond hope of restoration. It there- fore requires a special preparation of pro- fession instruction or experience to efficient- ly conduct the business; and to insure this and to protect the public health, states have enacted laws governing the practice of phar- macy. The greatest efficiency in any branch of business arises from actual practice in it, and in no line is this more true than the prac- tice of pharmacy. More than thirty years have elapsed since the senior member of the drug firm of Hudgens & Shary, of Rock- port, became actively identified with the bus-
iness, and the first ten years of that time were spent in preparation. He is to-day one of the leading merchants of Rockport and is at the head of an enterprise which brings to him an excellent financial return.
William W. Hudgens was born in Shel- by county, Kentucky, July 5, 1855. His parents. James W. and Lucinda ( Roberts) Hudgens, were natives of Virginia and Ken- tucky, respectively. They were married in the latter state and on their removal to Mis . somri located in Andrew county. Subse- quently they resided in Holt county and at lowa Point, Kansas. In 1862 the father crossed the plains to Denver. Colorado, passing a year in the capital city and going thence to Virginia City, Montana, where he remained' for three years. In 1866 he re- turned to St. Joseph, Missouri, but spent his last days in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Mr. Hudgens of this review was reared under the parental roof and in his boyhood served as page in the Montana legislature. After his return from the mountains to Mis- somri he took up the study of telegraphy in an office of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, and became pro- ficient as an operator. He secured a position in the employ of the St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad Company, remaining in their service until 1869, when he entered the d'rug trade, becoming an employe of the drug firm of Penick & Loving. For five years he re- mained with that house; next he spent three years as a traveling salesman for Samuel I. Smith & Company, wholesale druggists, of St. Joseph; from 1877 until May, 1879, he filled a similar position in the service of Sommers, Lynds & Company, of Quincy, Illinois; and in 1879 he laid aside his sample cases to assume the management of a busi- ness which he had purchased in Rockport.
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In this, from 1878 until 1879. he was in partnership with Dr. MeMichael, and in 1886 the firm of Iludgens & Shary was established, J. 11. Shary being admitted to an interest in the business. They carry a well selected stock of goods and the enterprise is one which has brought to them an excellent financial return.
Mr. Hudgens was married Angust 6, 1881. to Alice 31. Shelters, a daughter of John L. Shelters, of Monroe county. New York. Mrs. Hudgens was born in Atchison county, Missouri, in 1861, and died in May, 1882. Their only child is James W. Hudi- gens, a student in Christian College. St. Jo- seph. In his political affiliations Mr. Hud- gens is a Democrat, but has had neither time nor inclination for public office. His atten- tion for thirty years has been given to the drug business, and his excellent preparation, his accurate knowledge, his earnest desire to please his patrons, his reasonable prices and his courteous treatment have secured to him a liberal patronage and thereby he has become the possessor of a very comfortable competence.
STEPHEN G. HENDERSON.
A well known representative of the agri- cultural interests of Nodaway county. Stephen G. Henderson has successfully fol- lowed farming in northwestern Missouri for twenty years, and his prosperity is the re- sult of his own well directed efforts. He was born in Morgan county, Ilinois, October 6. 1845. representing one of the prominent and substantial families of that community. His father, Silas Henderson, was one of the pio- neer settlers there and became a leading citi- zen and a wealthy man. The Hendersons are of Scotch lineage and the ancestry can
be traced back in a direct line to Edward Henderson, who was born in 1735, probably in Virginia. He reared a large number of sons and daughters, one of the family being David Henderson, who was born August 13. 1770, and became the grandfather of our subject. He was a man of pronounced views, of strong mentality and excellent edu- cation. He was a student at West Point Mil- itary Academy with Andrew Jackson, messed with him and slept with him, and served as one of his staff officers during the war of 1812, including service at the battle of New Orleans. In that engagement, which was the last of the war. a British bullet was em- beddled in the under side of his leg near the knee. lle carried that bullet until his death. which was occasioned by the wound. The friendship between Mr. Henderson and Gen- eral Jackson continued from their days ot school life and they agreed on almost every- thing except politics. While the general took strong grounds in favor of the Democ- racy. Mr. Henderson espoused the cause of the Whigs, and was elected a circuit judge in his native state.
Ile married Miss Elizabeth Gano, who was five years his junior, and in the '20s they left their Virginia home and the friends they had known in that locality, removing with their family to Ohio. They located in Greene county, but some time afterward Mr. llen- derson decided to return to his old home for the purpose of disposing of his property and settling up his affairs preparatory to lo- cating permanently in the west. As there were no railroads he made the trip on horse- back, which was the general mode of travel. and the riding, which occasioned a rubbing of his wounded leg against the horse, created an irritation from which inflammation set in: and caused his death a few days after his
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journey was completed. His remains were laid to rest in the family burying-ground, about twenty miles from Winchester, Vir- ginia. He had a large number of children, and his descendants, now very numerous, are scattered throughout Ohio and Illinois, where many of them have become success- ful men and representative citizens of their respective communities.
Silas Henderson, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Virginia, January 4, 1815. and was twelve years of age when his wid- owed mother settled on the frontier in Illi- pois, among the Indians. He possessed' a natural curiosity, together with an adven- turous spirit, which prompted him to spend much time with the red men, and he thus acquired their language. This knowledge afterward proved of valuable aid to the gov- ernment, for which he acted as an interpreter in arranging a treaty with the Indians after the Blackhawk war. During the early part of his business career he followed the trades of millwright and carpenter, but as the coun- try became more thickly settled he turned his attention to farming. Ile was very system- atie in all his employment and was of an in- dustrious and energetic nature, and through the exercise of those qualities he accumu- lated a fine estate. He believed that a man could not successfully carry on business and engage in politics as an office-holder, and thus he was never an aspirant for political honors.
He married' Miss Sarah Gorham, a daughter of Captain Stephen Gorham, her father a native of Vermont, who was reared in the Empire state, and in early life went to sea, becoming the master of a trading vessel and a regular liner between New York and Liverpool. He afterward spent nine years in command of a whaling vessel in the Arc-
tie waters. Mr. and Mrs. Henderson had eight children: Francis M., a resident of Morgan county, Illinois : Adaline, the wife of Joseph Alderson: Lucretia, who married George Renchler, of Morgan county; Ste- phen G .; Emma E., the wife of Jacob Scovil, of Ringgold county, lowa ; Ellen, the wife of Phoenix G. Brown, of Nodaway county. Missouri ; Charles G., who is one of the en- terprising farmers near Hopkins; and Phoebe, now the wife of Charles Craig, of Kansas City, Missouri. There was one son, Allen H. Henderson, by the second marriage. The father died in Morgan county, Illinois, August 17, 1886, at the age of seventy-one years.
Stephen G. Henderson was reared to the work of the farm. He was enabled to ac- quire a good practical education through at- tendance at the public schools, through ex- perience and observation, so that when he had attained his majority he was well equip- ped for the responsibilities of a business life. During the exciting days of the preparation for war, and while the conflict was being waged, his sympathies were with the Union. He did not enlist, but rendered effective ser- vice to the government in a quiet way on more than one occasion. His father had served in the war of Mexico, as a fife major, and this fact partially accounts for the son's connection with the musical equipment of the Illinois troops. His instrument was the drum and he drilled the corps and went into the field with the troops where the hostilities occurred.
When the rebellion in the south was sup- pressed and the men throughout the country resumed the duties of civil life, Mr. Hender- son learned the painter's trade, which he followed for seven years. On the expira- tion of that period he abandoned' the brush
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and now for thirty years he has carried on farming. In 18so he was induced to come to Nodaway county, where land was cheaper and the opportunities were greater for men with small capital. He purchased a farm on section 5. Hopkins township, which he im- proved and owned for almost two decades. Recently, however, he has sold this and pur- chased land nearer the city.
Mr. Henderson was married, in Van Bu- ren county, Iowa. February 18, 1868, to Mary L .. a daughter of Joseph Stephens, for- merly of Morgan county, Illinois. They have one child, who is now the wife of Will- jam White, of Hopkins township, Nodaway county, and who has three children : May. Clifford and Etta. Mr. and Mrs. Hender- son reside upon their fine farm near Hop- kins, where they have a valuable tract of land improved with all modern accessories and conveniences, its neat, thrifty appearance in- dicating to the passer-by the careful super- vision of the owner. Persistency of pur- pove more than any other one element enters into success, and it is this that has enabled Mr. Henderson to work his way steadily upward to a position of affluence, while at the same time he has enjoyed the respect and confidence of his fellow men by reason of his fidelity to honorable business principles.
LENNOX 11. McCOMMON.
This well known citizen of Atchison township. Nodaway county, Missouri, who is now practically living a retired life, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. in November, 1833. a son of James and Nan- c: \nn (Corman ) MeCommon, also natives of l'ennsylvana and farming people. The father died when our subject was only eleven
years old and the mother departed this life six years later. They had eight children. of whom four are now living.
On starting out in life for himself Mr. MeCommon worked for his board and clothes from the age of eleven to sixteen years, and then was employed by the day and mouth until he attained his majority. In December, 1854. he went to Ilinois and located near Monmouth, where in the fall of 1803 he bought his first farm. There he was married. October 8. 1857. to Miss Nancy Ann Creswell, a native of Ohio, and a daugh- ter of John and Deborah ( Mages ) Creswell. They also were born in Ohio, and in early life the mother had the reputation of being the prettiest girl in the central part of the state. There she died, leaving five children. of whom Mrs. MeCommon is the only sui - vivor. For his second wife Mr. MeCom- mon married a most noble woman. He died in Van Buren county, Iowa, at the age of seventy-three years. Mrs. McCommon's paternal grandparents were Samuel and Sarah (Creighton ) Creswell, early settlers of Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. McCommon have one daughter. Mary J., now the wife of Marion Curry and the mother of five children. After their marriage our subject and his wife con- tinned to reside in Henderson county, Illi- nois, until 1882, which year witnessed their arrival in Missouri. They first located near Quitman, Nodaway county, where they made their home until the spring of 1899. when Mr. MeCommon purchased his present farm in Atchison township, about three miles north of Clearmont. Throughout his active busines life he successfully engaged in agri- cultural pursuits, but now rents his farm and is practically living a retired life, enjoying the fruits of former toil. In connection with
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general farming he is engaged in stock-rais- ing. and still owns some fine horses.
Politically Mr. McCommon is a stanchi Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for James Buchanan, in 1856. He and his family attend the Christian church, though his wife is a member of the United Presby- terian church, and they are highly respected' and esteemed by all who have the pleasure of their acquaintance.
WILLIAM CHAMBERS.
This prominent and well known farmer of Nodaway county is a descendant of Erin's green isle, being born in county Armagh, July 19. 1844. He was a son of James and Margaret ( Ballance) Chambers, both natives of that county. James Chambers died when our subject was a small boy, and his wife kept the family together until they were grown. James has a sister living in New York state.
Mr. Chambers, the subject of this sketch. came to America in 1868, and spent a few years in Philadelphia and the eastern states, where he followed his trade, that of weaver. He then worked in a blast furnace for a time, and in 1873 returned to Ireland, where he married: and after remaining there one year, he returned to America, where he en- gaged in work, in a packing-house in Des Moines, lowa. After saving money enough he went to Detroit, Michigan, where he held a like position for two years, and then moved to Ottumwa, Iowa. He was a great favorite of the superintendent of the packing house there, who took him to Sioux City, where he was engaged in the same business. In 1884 Mr. Chambers moved to Nodaway county. where he bought one hundred and twenty acres of poorly improved land. He remod'-
eled the house and set to work with a will and determination to succeed. There he carried on farming and stock-raising, and by hard work and perseverance has made a silc- cess of farming.
Mr. Chambers married Lucinda Jeffress, who was born in Ireland in 1848. She was a daughter of John and Anna ( Wilson) Jef- fress, both natives of Ireland. They were Presbyterians. Their children were David, Sarah, Thomas, James, Samuel, Isaac, Ann, Lucinda, Margaret, Elizabeth and John. Mr. Chambers and his wife are the parents of six children, namely : Elizabeth, born September 21, 1877; Margaret, June 6, 1880; Lucinda, December 28. 1882; William, October 7, 1884: George, January 17, 1887; and Sam- uel, February 18, 1891. The family attend the Presbyterian church. Mr. Chambers was a Republican until 1896, when he voted' for Bryan. He and his wife have been faithful workers. and have deserved the success which attended them.
JOHN WORKMAN.
Peculiar interest attaches to the life of the pioneer. He is the link that bind's the old order of things and the new together. He has been a factor in development and mater- ial progress and is a living witness of the steps that have led from the primitive condi- tions to those of the present day. Nodaway county duly honors its surviving pioneers and none more sincerely and heartily than the venerable and vigorous citizen whose familiar name constitutes the title of this sketch.
John Workman, of Nodaway township, Nodaway county, Missouri ( postoffice ad- dress, Pickering), one of the pioneers of the county and in all its history one of its prom-
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ir ent citizens, was born in North Carolina, December 12, 1815. a son of Philip Work- man, and is descended from German stock. his grandfather, born in the fatherland, hav- ing located early in the state mentioned. One of the name and family saw service in behalf of the colonies in the Revolutionary war. John was reared in his native state and carly put at full work on the farm and made acquainted with all the details of its success- inl operation. He was married September 21. 1834. when not yet twenty years old. to Miss Elizabeth Motley, born in North Carolina, of one of the good old families.
Soon after their marriage the young couple emigrated to Lee county, Virginia. Later they went to Monroe county, Indiana. whence they removed to Nodaway county. Missouri, in 1859. They made the journey with teams. Mr. Workman bringing his wife and children, several negroes, horses, cattle and other stock and such portable personal property as they deemed necessary for the establishment of a pioneer home in a new country. They located on the farm where Mr. Workman now lives and which has come to be known as the John Workman home- stead. Mrs. Workman, who was a model wife and mother and a kind and charitable neighbor, lived to the old age of seventy- seven, and was then called home to receive the reward of a life well spent. Her most distinguishing characteristics were frugality. Kindness of heart and a genial goodness, the nantestations of an unselfish love for hu- marty, which caused her to be beloved by .whoknew her. She was a member of the It m church. She became the mother (He cial clubdien, most of whom she reared t nejnl manhood and womanhood : Will- i. m. 01 Vedwas township, Vodaway coun- to where biographieed sketch is given in this
work : John, of Bates county, Missouri: Da- vid, of Nodaway county: James, of Noda- way township : Francis, of Nodaway county; Joseph, of Nodaway township: Nancy, who married a Mr. Oliphant and died in Indiana. leaving two children,-Sarah Montague and' Parthenia (Mrs. Griffin), who is a member of the household of her grandfather: Mar- garet, who married John Burch and died in Nodaway township, leaving three children : Celia, who married a Mr. Carmichael, of Union township, and died leaving ten children.
Mr. Workman's farm comprises twelve hundred aeres well improved, well equipped and well cultivated, embracing every kind of land necessary to sucessful farming and stock-raising. During all his life in Noda- way county since the pioneer days, he has been a leader in progressive enterprises. . 1. strong and unswerving Democrat. he has always adhered to the faith of his party and reared his sons in it. He has now reached the advanced age of eighty-five years, but is well preserved, hale and hearty, and seeming- Ir has a reasonable expectation of a goodly period of future usefulness. He inherited a good constitution and has seldom been ill. and was in his prime a very strong and ac- tive man. Ilis disposition is genial, friend- ly. and hospitable, and his sunny tempera- ment has doubtless done much to enable him to withstand so well the inroads of advanc- ing years.
THEODORE L. GOFF.
This prominent and successful farmer and stock-raiser of Nodaway county is a native of Menard county, Illinois, and was born November 21. 1847. He was a son of William and Mary ( Westfall) Goff. The
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mother of our subject was a native of New York state, and was of Pennsylvania-Dutch extraction. Her father died in New York, after which her mother re-married' and moved to Iowa, and later to Illinois. She was one of five children, the others being Frederick, Daniel, Nancy and Jane.
William Goff, the father of our subject, was born in Kentucky, and at the age of four he moved with his parents to Illinois. Soon after reaching that state his father died, leaving his wife with a small piece of land, and no money. By hard work, oftentimes out of doors in the field, she managed' to earn enough to maintain her small family. and when her sons were old enough they assisted her in the farm work. He remained at home until his marriage to Mary West- fall, at which time he started out with noth- ing but willing hands to aid him. He was a hard-worker, careful manager and good financier, and after accumulating enough money he bought a farm, where he carried on general farming and' stock-raising. Po- litically he was an ardent Democrat, and while he never aspired to office he was a conscientious and energetic worker in that party, and his influence was great in the county. He is now seventy-eight years old, and while not in active life he manages to keep up with the times, and is an honored and respected citizen in the community in which he resides. He is a member of the Missionary Baptist church. His children are : Theodore L., the subject of this sketch ; Percy, a well known farmer of Nodaway county : Mrs. Louisa B. Cantrell, residing in Illinois ; Leonard, who lives in Illinois ; Fred, who is farming on the homestead; Murrah, of Denver, Colorado; Mrs. Fry, of Texas; and Della, now Mrs. McNeal.
Theodore L. Goff, whose name appears
at the opening of this personal sketch, re- mained at his paternal home until he was twenty-two years old, where he was em- ployed as a farm hand. In 1872 he moved to Missouri and leased some land, on which he followed farming for three years. He then bought one hundred and sixty acres of land on time payment, but the grasshoppers ruined his crops that year and he was obliged to give up the place, losing all that he had put into it. His next farm was one of forty acres, which he afterward sold to a church for the parsonage. Ile then bought eighty acres of land and later eighty acres more, on which he was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits for six years. This land he exchanged for a place of three hundred and sixty acres, on which he now lives and which is one of the best kept farms in the state. Here he has carried on general farm- ing and stock-raising with great success, and is known throughout the county as an au- thority on agricultural matters.
Mr. Goff was united in marriage with Eliza Frick, in 1875. She was born in Indi- ana, in 1852, a daughter of John Frick. He located in Missouri in 1860, where he is now living on his farm. He is a member of the Methodist church, and politically is a Repub- lican. Ilis children are as follows : Eman- uel, of Hopkins, Missouri ; Sarah, at home; Susan, now Mrs. Gentry; Isaac, of Kansas; Josephi, at home; Jacob, who lives in the west ; and Eliza, the mother of our subject.
Our subject and his wife have two sons, -Frederick William and Emmet C.,-both living at home. Mr. and Mrs. Goff are raising an orphan child, Susie Rine, of New York state. She is now ten years of age and is attending school. In his political principles Mr. Goff is in sympathy with the Democratic party.
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WILLIAM BARRY.
William Barry, the owner of the Barry farm in Green township. Nodaway county, is a member of one of the pioneer families of this county. He is considered one of the best farmers in the county, and is a man of sterling integrity. He was born in Polo, Ogle county, Illinois, May 18, 1862, a son of Michael and' Margaret ( Vaughn ) Barry.
Michael Barry was born in county Clare. Ireland, and when a boy of sixteen came to America, settling in Ogle county, Illinois. Ile received his education in Ireland and in Illinois, and learned to be a farmer. He married Margaret Vaughn, who was born in Ireland and came with her father, Dr. James Vaughn, to Canada, where she was reared and educated. The Barry family moved to Missouri in 1866, and Mr. Barry was well known as a contractor of railroads, helping to build many prominent roads in Ilinois, lowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kan- sas and Dakota. He invested his money in a farm, buying the Charles Rogers place, where he lived until his death, which oc- curred when he had arrived at the age of sixty-nine, in March, 1899. Ile was a Re- publican and a firm suporter of the Catholic church, in which his wife and family were reared. Their children were: William. our subject : Ellen, of Pueblo, Colorado; May Flynn, of St. Joseph, Missouri; Julia; Maggie: Kate, of Pueblo, Colorado; and two children deceased, John and Honore. the both died at the age of twenty-seven. Mrs. Barry died in 1865. at the age of fifty- seven years.
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