USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people, Vol. II > Part 14
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When a boy he attended the country school near his father's farm in Callaway county when he could be spared from the work at home, and later pursued a full course of instruction at the Kirksville State Normal School, from which he was graduated in 1880. After his grad- uation he devoted several years to teaching rural schools in Callaway and Audrain counties, but during a portion of the time was also en- gaged in the study of medieine. In 1884 he matriculated in the med- ical department of the State University of Missouri, and during the last year of his medical course he was at the Missouri Medical Col- lege of St. Louis, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1887.
On leaving the Medical College Dr. Craig at once accepted a posi- tion as assistant prison physician in the state penitentiary in Jefferson City, which he held three years and a half and then resigned. On August 19, 1890, he located in Webb City, where he has ever since been engaged in a general practice of his profession with steadily increas- ing claims on his time and skill and a continued rise in public esteem. His profession has been the chief matter of coneern to him, and he has made every effort he could to master as much of its boundless range of knowledge as possible in order that he might give the people around him the best service in his power. He has been a diligent and reflective student of its literature, and in 1907 he took a post graduate course of instruction and clinical practice at the College of Physicians and Sur- geons in Chicago. He has also been for years an active member and a regular attendant of the meetings of the County, State and American Medical Associations, contributing materially to the interest and value of the sessions and deriving decided benefit from them. He has been railroad surgeon for the Fort Scott & Memphis and the Frisco Rail- roads for ten years, and has long been recognized as one of the leading physicians and surgeons in the southwest.
The Doctor's political faith and allegiance are given to the Demo- cratie party, and he is always deeply interested in its success, although he has not taken an active interest in its campaign work for a number of years. Fraternally he is a Master Mason, an Odd Fellow, a Wood- man of the World and a member of the order of Knights and Ladies of Security. He is attentive to his duties in all these fraternities and in some of them has filled with credit several offices, passing through all the chairs in the Odd Fellow's lodge to which he belongs. He has passed
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on through all the higher degrees of the order, and endeavors in the daily walk to live up to their strictest tenets. He also holds official stations in others, much to their advantage and greatly to the satisfae- tion of their members. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, South.
On October 31, 1888, Dr. Craig was united in marriage with Miss Lucy D. Wren, a daughter of John Reeder and and Caddie (Harris) Wren, esteemed residents of Callaway county, this state, where Mrs. Craig was born. She and her husband are the parents of two children, their sons Charles Maurice and Joseph Franklin, both born in Webb City, the former on September 23, 1895, and the latter on October 12, 1901. The elder is now a student in the high school.
Dr. Craig was a poor boy and had his full share of privations and trials in early life. He not only made his own way in the world from an early age and worked his passage through school and college, but he also helped to support the family, even at that time, as he has done since. For, although his father was moderately successful, according to the scale of his day and locality, the family was large and ready money was not a plentiful experience with it, as with many others, in the neighborhood. Wherever the family has lived its members have been important factors in the life of the communities of their residence.
JOHN P. WALKER .- Success in any line commands the attention of the public and if it has been achieved through legitimate channels and in honorable, straightforward ways, it not only commands the atten- tion but also the respeet of the public in general, for it means that unusual ability, zeal and enterprise have been brought to bear upon the enterprises undertaken. John P. Walker, agent and ore buyer of the Edgar Zinc Company of Joplin, is not only one of the greatest mineral experts in the state, but is able to present a splendid record in that high calling-good citizenship. He is also one of the brave young Americans who sprang to the defense of the Union in her days of peril some fifty years ago, and his military record is one of great interest.
John P. Walker is a Hoosier by the circumstance of birth, his eyes having first opened to the light of day on November 4, 1841, in Wells county, Indiana. His father, David S. Walker, who answered to the double calling of cabinet maker and farmer, was a native of old Vir- ginia, having been born in that state in 1802 and being summoned to the "bourne whence no traveler returns" in 1892, in Henry county, Missouri. The mother whose maiden name was Mary Ann Jones, and who is now deceased, was also a native of the Old Dominion and she and her husband became the parents of eleven children, the subject being seventh in order of birth.
Mr. Walker spent his youthful days amid the rural surroundings of his father's farm and received his early education in the country schools of Wells county. The more important part of his education. however, was secured through his own efforts. He did not propose that meager opportunity should handicap him and he studied at night and in all the spare moments at his disposal to such good effect that he was soon in the possession of an excellent mental equipment. His first adventures as an active factor in the work-a-day world were upon his father's farm in Indiana and latterly in Henry county, Missouri, where the family removed. He remained beneath the parental roof-tree until after the attainment of his majority, when he rented a farm in Henry county and followed farming on his own account until the year 1873. The natural course of his youthful career was interrupted by the out- break of the Civil war. Shortly after the affair at Sumter he enlisted
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in the Missouri Home Guards from Henry county and eventually be- came a member of the Twelfth Missouri Cavalry, participating in sev- eral battles,-Twin Hill, Springfield and others. The fortunes of war were kindly and he was never wounded nor taken prisoner, although in making an inventory after one of the battles in which he took part he discovered that no less than nine bullets had passed through various parts of his clothing. He was honorably discharged at the close of the conflict and is now an enthusiastic member of the Grand Army of the Republic, finding great pleasure in the renewal of old associations with the comrades of other days.
It was in 1873 that Mr. Walker made a radical step by abandoning the great basie industry of agriculture and securing a position as agent and ore buyer for Robert Lanyon & Company of Pittsburg, Kansas, and Nevada, Missouri, and it is in eloquent commentary on the value of his services that he remained in this company's service for eighteen years. The growing importance of Joplin as a mining eenter im- pressed him and his next move was to come to this city, where he accepted a position with the Edgar Zine Company, of Joplin, similar to that which he had previously held and in which his remarkable knowl- edge of minerals and their value came into play. His residence here has covered a score of years and from the first he has been recognized as an honorable and useful citizen. He is very active in church circles, the Methodist Episcopal being his denomination, and he is more than a mere layman, giving valuable service to the cause as an exhorter or local preacher. Since the age of fifteen years he has always held some office in the church.
Mr. Walker established a happy life companionship when, on March 31, 1864, he was united in marriage in Henry county, Missouri, to Miss Sarah Catherine Hillegas, who is a daughter of Joseph Hillegas and a native of Ohio. To this union have been born five children, four of whom are living at the present time. Joseph S. was born January 29, 1865, in Henry county, and is now engaged in buying ore in Joplin for Mr. Edgar; Harriet Ann, born in St. Clair county, Missouri, is the wife of James R. Nichols and resides in Joplin; Elmer E., born in St. Clair county, is a resident of Oakland : William H. was born in Jasper rounty and is now engaged in ore buying at Joplin ; George R. born in Jasper county, is deceased.
The paternal ancestry of the subject is Scotch in origin, the first American Walker having settled in Virginia in which state the grand- father, Austin Walker. was born. He served in the war of 1812. The great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The mater- nal ancestors were English and were early settlers in Virginia. Mr. Walker is a fine representative of the honorable Christian gentleman, enjoying the highest respect where best known and having reared his children in strictest adherence to his own ideals.
WILBUR J. OWEN .- In view of the high standard maintained by the bar of Jasper county it is no equivocal distinction to be designated as one of the representative members thereof. Special prestige is accorded to Mr. Owen as one of the able and honored exponents of the legal profession in this county, and not only has he attained to leadership at the bar but he is also prominently identified with the mining inter- ests of this section of the state and has other capitalistic interests of important order. He is one of the influential, progressive and publie- spirited citizens of Joplin and is held in high esteem as a man of sterling attributes of character.
Wilbur Jarnagin Owen is a scion of old and distinguished southern
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families and the ancestry in the agnatic line is traced back to sterling Welsh stock, the original progenitors in America having come to this country in the colonial epoch of its history. Mr. Owen was born in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, on the 17th of August, 1866, and is a son of James II. and Elizabeth (Jarnagin) Owen, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Tennessee. James H. Owen was a prosperous planter and cotton grower in the state of Mississippi at the time of the inception of the Civil war, through the ravages of which virtually his entire property was swept away. He was loyal to the cause of the South and was a valiant soldier in the command of General Forrest in the Confederate service during the major part of the great internecine conflict. He died in 1876, at the age of fifty-four years, his wife having been summoned to the life eternal in 1868, so that the subject of this review was doubly orphaned when but ten years of age. Elizabeth (JJarnagin) Owen was a representative of one of the prominent pioneer families of Tennessee, and members of the same have been prominent in public and social life both in that state and in Mississippi. Judge Jarnagin, grandfather of him whose name intro- duces this review, was an eminent legist and jurist for many years. The mother of Wilbur J. Owen was a niece of Spencer Jarnagin, who served as United States senator from Tennessee, and it should also be noted that Hon. David Barton, the first United States senator from Missouri, was a kinsman of the Jarnagin family.
As already noted, the estate of the Owen family was greatly depleted during the progress of the Civil war, and the orphan boy gained his early educational discipline under the careful and effective direction of his eldest sister, Mrs. S. O. Shelby, as there were no schools in the district in which they resided. To the care and counsel of this devoted sister during the formative period of his 'character he has ever con- sidered himself deeply indebted, and her solicitude remains as one of the most gracious memories of his life. At the age of fourteen years he was sent to Culleoka Academy, a training school for boys, at Culleoka. Maury county, Tennessee, where he continued his studies for a while. He later attended the MeTeer Institute, at Mckenzie, that state, where he continued as a student until he had attained to the age of seventeen years. Soon afterward he secured a position as general utility boy in the establishment of the Edward Moon Grocery Company, in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, and was afterwards assistant bookkeeper for the concern. Subsequently Mr. Owen went to the state of Missis- sippi, and he there read law under the preceptorship of the firm of Moore & Jones, of Rosedale. He made rapid and substantial progress in his absorption of the science of jurisprudence, and in 1889 he was admitted to the bar of Bolivar county, of which Rosedale was the judicial center. He did not, however, initiate the practice of his pro- fession at this time, but entered a general-merchandise business at Ter- rene Landing, Bolivar county, and in 1891 came to Jasper county, Mis- souri. where he has since maintained his home. He first located at Webb City and for several months he looked about for desirable in- vestments in mining properties. On the 5th of September, 1892, after his arrival in the county, he was admitted to practice in the courts of his adopted state and forthwith began the practice of his profession at Webb City. He continued to reside at Webb City until 1906, when he removed to Joplin, the metropolis of the county, and in this city he has since 1909 continued in the active work of his profession. in which he controls a large and representative practice and has appeared in connection with a large amount of important litigation in the various courts of the state. He has well demonstrated his professional powers
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and is a strong and resourceful advocate as well as a counselor of mature judgment and broad and exact knowledge of law and precedent.
While zealous in the work of his profession, Mr. Owen has made some investments in mining ventures and enterprises, besides which he has given his co-operation in connection with other business con- cerns. He has been identified in a financial way with many of the min- ing enterprises in this famous district, and he is at the present time secretary and a director of the O. F. & L. Mining Company, besides which he owns a half-interest in the Minor Heir Mining Company and is president of the Jack Possum Mining Company. He is vice-presi- dent of the Joplin Stove Company, a mercantile concern, is president of the Florenda Mining Company, and has investments in mining prop- erties in Kansas.
Within the period of his residence in Webb City Mr. Owen served as city attorney for a period of eight years, and as city counsel for two years. He also was corporation counsel for Carterville, Alba, Purcell and Oronogo, other towns of Jasper county, and was once the Demo- cratic nominee for prosecuting attorney for the county, but was de- feated by a small majority, owing to normal political exigencies. He has ever been a staunch advocate of the basic principles of the Demo- cratie party and has given effective service in behalf of its cause. Mr. Owen is ever ready to give his co-operation to all enterprises projected for the general good of the community and is a liberal and public- spirited citizen. He is a member of the Joplin Commercial Club and is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights and Ladies of Security.
In 1889 he was married to Miss Myrtle Sinclair at Litchfield, Illi- nois, who is a daughter of Abraham J. Sinclair. Mr. and Mrs. Owen have four children. concerning whom the following brief record is entered : Callie Vivian is the wife of Harry H. Borders, of Kansas City, Missouri; Ethel is a member of the class of 1911 in Cottey College, in Vernon county, this state; Elizabeth is attending Beacon Hill school for young ladies, in Kansas City ; and Wilbur Sinclair, the youngest of the number, is attending the public schools of Joplin.
JAMES G. MARCUM .- Trained to habits of industry and thrift, and possessing in unstinted measure the intelligence and sound judgment necessary for success in this busy world, James G. Marcum has acquired an assured position among the substantial business men of Joplin. being one of its leading contractors and builders. A son of G. P. Marcum, he was born September 11, 1871, in Smithville, Arkansas.
Born in middle Tennessee, October 20, 1846, G. P. Marcum moved to Arkansas when young, becoming a pioneer settler of Lawrence county. By trade he was a millwright and a mill builder, and he also fol- lowed contracting for many years. Removing to Washburn, Missouri. he continued work there until he located in Joplin, Jasper county, Missouri, where he has since been actively engaged in business, having acquired a competeney and distinction in his profession. During his earlier days as a contractor he built numerous flour, lumber and cotton mills, which were operated by water power, the use of steam at that time being exceedingly limited. A millwright in those days had to be thor- oughly conversant with every detail of his trade, in the construction of mills being forced to begin at the very foundation. Going to the forest, he selected the trees most suitable for the purpose, and after felling them hewed the timber for the mill. and also constructed the huge water wheels used. During the progress of the Civil war. G. P. Mar-
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cum, with five brothers, enlisted in the Forty-fifth Arkansas Cavalry. and served in the Confederate army until the close of the conflict, coming out without a scratch, although he had numerous hair-breadth escapes.
The maiden name of the wife, of G. P. Marcum was Mary E. Parks. She was born in Lawrence county, Arkansas, February 4, 1851, being a member of a well known and highly respected family of that state. Ten children blessed their union, as follows: James G., the special subject of this sketch; Mrs. Pearl Hayes, of Joplin, Missouri; Mrs. Naomi Thorpe, also of Joplin; John, deceased; Lucas, deceased; Lonah, deceased; Byron, deceased; Mrs. Cody Thomas, of Jasper county ; Mrs. Myrtle A. Haswell, of Joplin; and Joseph L., a graduate of the Joplin high school and now associated with his brother James G. He is to finish his education in a higher academic institu- tion, to fit himself for the business they have adopted for their life work.
James G. Marcum married, at Fort Scott, Kansas, June 16, 1895. Demie C. Park, a daughter of James and Maggie Park, well known members of the farming community of Washburn, Missouri. Dono- van Jere Marcum, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Marcum, was born in Washburn, Missouri, July 7, 1897, and is now attending the Jack- son school in Joplin. Two other children were born into their home. namely : Murl, born March 5, 1896, died July 20, 1896; and Mona, born July 21, 1899, died in September, 1899.
Mr. Marcum uniformly supports the principles of the Democratic party, but is not an active politician. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks; and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a skilful hunter and fisherman, and enjoys automobiling, having a handsome car and being a daring, but an expert driver. Mr. and Mrs. Marcum are free and happy entertainers, ever welcoming to their hospitable home their many friends and acquaintances.
REDING & CLARK .- The name of no business concern in Jasper county is more familar to its people than that which initiates this paragraph, and none stands more essentially exponent of integrity and honor. The splendid enterprise controlled by this firm had its inception in Jasper county nearly sixty years ago, and thus the eligibility of the concern for pioneer honors in connection with the business activities of the county can not be denied. Reding & Clark, whose business headquarters are located in the city of Joplin, are wholesale dealers in flour, meal, feed, seeds, stoneware, and bee and poultry supplies, and they are also agents for the Shoalsburg mills, the products of which are of the highest quality. The reputation of the firm constitutes its best commercial asset, and the business controlled reaches an enormous annual aggregate. In a pre- liminary way may well be reproduced, with but slight paraphrase, a brief description of the concern that was published in a local industrial brochure of recent date.
"The business was founded in 1844 by John S. Reding, individually, as a miller, four miles south of Joplin, on Shoal creck. The present firm is composed of Matthew D. Reding and Albert P. Clark, both scions of honored pioneer families of Jasper county. The present enterprise bases its operations upon a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars. The ancient mill. located on Shoal creek, was eventually replaced by the pres- ent fine modern mill which is operated by the firm, and its product, of high standard, is in steady demand at home and abroad. The Reding & Clark milling plant has a capacity for the output of one hundred barrels of flour daily, although the original capacity of the same was but forty
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barrels a day. The value of the product has been increased from thirty thousand to seventy thousand dollars annually, the demand keeping pace with the augmented facilities. Now two salesmen are employed where one formerly was sufficient to handle the local demand, and the firm gives steady employment to a traveling salesman, who covers the ter- ritory within a radius of one hundred miles from Joplin. The firm em- ploys a corps of twelve men in various capacities. By conservative methods and fair dealing it has increased its business from a former an- nual total of thirty thousand dollars to one hundred and fifty thousand, and is one of the most successful and popular business concerns in the entire southwest."
Albert P. Clark was born at Bentonville, Arkansas, on the 15th of March, 1849, and his early educational discipline was secured in the common schools at Bentonville, Arkansas. At the age of twenty-four years he initiated his independent business career, and during the long intervening period he has pressed steadily and surely along the pathway to definite success as one of the world's great army of productive work- ers. Integrity of purpose has characterized his course in all its relations and he has not been denied the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem. He has been a resident of Jasper county since 1873 and has been identified with his present business enterprise during all this time. Concerning him the following appreciative statements have been made: "Although highly honored in the community and with political preferment easily in his grasp, he has never held a public office nor been a candidate for one, although some of the most important public move- ments have been entrusted to his guidance. He is a staunch Democrat in politics and is prominently identified with both the lodge and en- campment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as with its adjunct organization, the Daughters of Rebekah, both Camp and Can- ton. He is president of the Joplin State Bank, and has other local cap- italistic interests of important order. Mr. Clark is an ardent advocate of public enterprise, is one of the most loyal and public-spirited citizens of Joplin, and his services and funds are always at the disposal of the community in any worthy project to advance the city or the public wel- fare."
At Joplin, in the year 1873, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Clark to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Reding, a sister of his present business associ- ate, and both are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church, as well as popular factors in connection with the social life of their home city. Concerning their children the following brief record is entered : Maude is the wife of T. K. Oakley, a prominent ranch owner in the state of Oregon ; James Albert is one of the prominent business men of Joplin, where he is president of three large mining companies; Ethel, a graduate of Holden College and a young woman of most gracious personality, re- mains at the parental home; Edward Pierce, who is associated with the business of his father's firm and is one of the popular young business men of Joplin, in 1909 was here married to Miss Hazel Harrison, and they have one daughter, Katherine Elizabeth; Belle died at the age of about twenty-four years; and Clarence died at the age of three years.
Matthew D. Reding was born at Shoalsburg, Jasper county, Missouri, in 1854, and is a son of the late John S. Reding, one of the sterling pi- oneers and influential citizens of this county. Mr. Reding was afforded the advantages of the public schools and for fifteen years he was as- sociated with his father in business. He learned the milling business in all its details and as a practical miller of marked ability he has the ac- tive supervision of the mills operated by the firm of Reding & Clark. his honored father having been the founder of the business, as has already Vol. II-7
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