USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people, Vol. II > Part 24
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Carthage, March 10, 1902. The mother, Harriet Elizabeth (Jackson) Davison, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and her demise occurred in Carthage in 1882. Mr. Davison's forefathers on both sides of the family were British, some English and some Scotch, and remote anees- tors figured prominently in the early history of England and Scot- land.
On January 20, 1904, Mr. Davison was happily married, the young woman of his choiee being Agnes Regina Donahoe. Their union was celebrated in Kansas City, Missouri, the home of the bride, and it has been blessed by the birth of three children. Theresa Frances was born March 3. 1907, at Cassville. Missouri; Regina Elizabeth was born December 16, 1908, at Joplin, Missouri ; and Paul Leslie, born January 5. 1905. died June 14, 1905.
Mr. Davison has ever subscribed to the articles of faith of the Democratie party, in the superiority of whose principles and policies he believes, and his wife is communicant of the Catholic church. He is particularly fond of hunting and fishing and finds great pleasure in good literature, believing that "he who lives a book. never lacks a friend." He has, however, more than his share of the latter and is a gracious host in his beautiful home. He enjoys general esteem and is accounted one of Joplin's most substantial citizens.
CHARLES H. SIEVERS, JR., is one of the best known figures in JJop- lin, but by reason of the nature of his business his advent in a home cannot fail to be regarded as a calamity. His is not a cheerful line of work, and yet Mr. Sievers contrives to be contented. As long as there is death in this world there will be need of the undertaking business. It is the aim of the undertaker to try and do away with the repulsive- ness of death, such as existed in former years, before the embalmers had attained such proficiency as they have now. Mr. Sievers is a most ten- der hearted man; he visits the homes into which affliction has come and does everything in his power to relieve the sorrowing ones of all anxiety concerning the last rites for their dear ones.
Charles II. Sievers. Sr., was born in Germany about 1842. He came to this country when he was a very young man and finally became con- nected with the Hannibal Sash & Door Manufacturing Company, hav- ing an interest in the firm. On his arrival in America he had tried to get a footing in New York state, but felt that the west was the place for a young foreigner without money or influence to succeed. The re- sults justified his choice. He married Carrie Barnes, who was born in 1848 and was a native of Germany.
Charles H. Sievers. Jr., was born December 11, 1879, at Hannibal, Missouri. He went through the grammar schools of Hannibal, Mis- souri, and was in high school until he was sixteen, when he had the de- sire to go to work, rather than to study. He went into his father's mill and learned the trade of making sashes and doors. He proved to be well adapted for this business, having mastered its details in every particular, both the practical and theoretical sides. He continued in this trade until 1909, when he came to Joplin and became a member of the Frank-Sievers Undertaking Company. While a member of this firm he learned how to embalm and became a licensed embalmer and undertaker. On September 1, 1910, he withdrew from the Frank- Sievers Company and became a member of the Cunningham Undertak- ing Company, a company which was organized in July, 1909, and is the leading firm of its kind in the city. Mr. Sievers is a stockholder in this company and is its general manager and funeral director. T. W.
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Cunningham is the president and Lu Shepherd, the secretary and treasurer.
On June 5, 1901, Mr. Sievers was married to Miss Loulie Coss at Hannibal, Missouri. No children have yet been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sievers. Although Mrs. Sievers is American born and her father is American born, her maternal ancestors came from Germany.
Mr. Sievers is a Republican, but he takes no active interests in politics. He finds that his business takes up so much of his time that he has no leisure to spend on polities. The fact is he would prefer to put in his leisure time in some way that will be an entire relaxation from his arduous business. He is a member of the Moose Society and is a trustee in this organization. He is also a member of the Eagles. He belongs to the Methodist church and he and his wife are regular attendants there. Mr. Sievers has had absolutely no financial aid from any one, even his father, since he first started to work. He has suc- ceeded and his success is due entirely to his own efforts and natural abilities. He is distinctly a home man and finds his greatest pleasure in the company of his wife, by his own fireside. He is still a young man and although he has prospered as much as he might reasonably expect, his friends foresee still greater success ahead of him.
JAMES W. PERRY .- Among the prominent and influential citizens of Joplin, Missouri, James W. Perry holds distinctive prestige as an able and successful business man of the younger generation and as one whose contribution to progress and development has ever been of the most insistent order. Since 1907 he has been engaged in the real-estate busi- ness in this city and in that line of enterprise he has associated with him as a partner Mr. J. R. Pile, the firm being known as that of Pile & Perry.
James W. Perry is a native of Barton county, Missouri, where his birth occurred on the 22d of August, 1875, and he is a scion of a fine old Virginia family, the father having been born and reared in the Old Dominion commonwealth, whence he migrated to Barton county, Mis- souri, in the early '70s. William B. Perry married Miss Permelia A. Bolding, of Illinois, and they became the parents of ten children, six of whom are living in 1911 and of whom the subject of this review was the fifth in order of birth. In 1881 the Perry family removed to McDonald county, Missouri, residing there for a period of five years, at the expira- tion of which the family home was established in Newton county. In 1891 removal was made to Galena, Kansas, where the father engaged in mining operations until his death, which occurred in 1895, at the age of sixty-two years.
In the public schools of Missouri, James W. Perry received his preliminary educational training and in 1891, at which time he was a youth of but sixteen years of age, he came to Joplin, where he devoted his time and energies to the mining business until 1903, in which year he engaged in the machinery enterprise, his place of business being on East Fifth street. He became decidedly successful in that field of endeavor, putting up new and fitting out a large number of mining plants in the ensuing four years. In 1907, however, he disposed of the machine business in order to engage in real-estate operations. He was alone until 1909, in which year he formed a partnership alliance with J. R. Pile, under the firm name of Pile & Perry. They control an ex- tensive business in land and city property, having laid out several important additions. They are now opening the Galena Addition of one hundred and sixty acres and in 1910 they laid out and sold the Central Grove addition of one hundred and seventy acres, the latter Vol. II-11
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being an important suburb of Joplin. Messrs. Pile and Perry are very progressive in their business methods and they have done a great deal in the way of building up and beautifying this city.
In the year 1896 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Perry to Miss Rose Grant, who was reared and educated at Galena, Kansas, and who is a daughter of J. B. Grant, a representative citizen at Galena, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Perry are the parents of four children, namely,- Joseph, born on the 28th of January, 1898; Margaret, whose birth occur- red on the 14th of September, 1903; James, born on the 18th of Jan- uary, 1906; and Elizabeth, born on the 31st of May, 1910. Mrs. Perry is a woman of rare charm and most gracious personality and she is a potent influence for good in the home and community.
In politics Mr. Perry accords a stalwart allegiance to the principles and policies set forth by the Republican party and while he has never manifested aught of ambition or desire for public office of any descrip- tion he contributes in generous measure to all projects advanced for the general good. His religious faith is in harmony with the tenets of the Christian church, of which both he and his wife are zealous members, and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a man of high principles, marked executive ability and broad human sympathy, all of which qualities call forth the confidence and esteem of his fellow men.
F. E. STEARNS, proprietor of the Star Laundry, is one of the sub- stantial and up-to-date business men of Joplin, whose personal suc- cess is of that character which is likewise contributory to the prosperity of the whole community. He has been identified with Joplin since 1900 and before embarking in his present business was interested to some extent in mining. In his earlier career Mr. Stearns was variously in- terested in railroading, the cattle business and the building material business, and his adventures in these lines took him over a wide terri- tory of the United States.
Canaan, Grafton county, New Hampshire, was the birthplace of Mr. Stearns and the day upon which his eyes first opened to the light, August 9, 1850. His father, Henry Stearns, was born in Hebron, in the same county, in 1827 and since the year 1850 has been prominent in railroad construction work. He superintended all the construction work of the Hocking Valley (Ohio) Railroad and much contract work on many other eastern roads. This well-known gentleman is still living, crowned with years and veneration, and making his home with his son, the subject in Joplin. The elder Mr. Stearns married his wife in White River, Vermont, her maiden name having been Emily E. Snow and the dates bounding her life 1830 and September 11, 1908.
During his younger days the parents of Mr. Stearns were located at different points, and he received his education principally in Boston, Massachusetts, and in the Chillicothe (Ohio) high school. He began his business career in the same field in which his father was interested, his first position being as an employe of the firm of Frost, Stearns & Company, with which the elder man was connected. Three years later he made a hazard of new fortunes by securing a position as conductor with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and remaining in such capacity for another three years. Ile resigned to take a similar position with the Toledo division of the Hocking Valley Railroad, in whose construc- tion his father had taken such an active part, and remained with this road for one year. Desiring to see the world from a new angle, he said farewell to railroads and railroading and embarked in the cattle business in western Nebraska and from that state going to Montana,
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where he remained for eleven years. Tiring of the life of the plains, he went to Seattle, Washington, and for four years engaged in the building material business in that western metropolis. The financial stringency incident upon the panic of 1893 made it expedient for him to discontinue business and he went back to the Buckeye state, where he engaged in various pursuits until 1900, when he came to Joplin. He first devoted his energies to Jasper county s chief industry, mining -in which he proved only moderately successful, and in the fall of 1900, having discerned that a field was open for modern industries, he established the Star Laundry and the brightest of fortunes have visited the concern. He has at the same time concerned himself with the affairs of the city in a loyal, public-spirited way, so that the community accounts him one of its leading and representative citizens.
Mr. Stearns laid the foundation of a happy married life when on October 3, 1889, in Columbus, Ohio, he was united to Miss Luisa Weiny, daughter of Henry and Louisa Weiny, the former a prominent con- tractor and well-known citizen of Ohio's capital city. Their one child, Anna Luisa, was born September 11. 1895, at Tipton, Indiana, and is a pupil at the Joplin high school.
Mr. Stearns' fraternal affiliations are limited to membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and his political loyalty is given to the Democratic party, in whose men and measures he has all confidence.
LOY T. LE Bow .- During all of the last twelve years the interesting subject of this brief narrative has been actively connected with the business of manufacturing products of iron, and his attention to and thoughtful study of the industry have given him an intimate and com- prehensive knowledge of it. It is but natural. therefore, that he should be considered an expert on all practical phases of the subject and recog- nized as an authority in reference to its problems and speculative features. For his knowledge is not the result of perfunctory observa- tion or mere absorption from daily contact, but has been gained by studious analysis and deduction fortified by practical experiment and comparison, and is therefore genuine and accurate.
Mr. Le Bow is a native of Missouri, born at Mt. Vernon in Law- rence county, on April 29, 1874. His parents were Joseph L. and Anna (Woods) Le Bow, who were born and reared in Tennessee. The father is a retired merchant now living in Mt. Vernon, where he was engaged in business many years. The mother died in 1876, when her son Loy was but two years old. He was therefore reared without the care of a mother, and left almost wholly under the direction of his father, who, although as attentive to him as circumstances would allow. was kept too busy to supply the mother's place. even if nature had fitted him for the duty as fully as she gave him the desire to perform it. He served three years in the Union army during the Civil war.
The son attended the public schools in his native city, completing both the lower and the high school grades, and then completed his scholastic training at the Mt. Vernon academy, from which he was graduated in the class of 1894. After leaving school he passed five years in active work in the life and fire insurance business, having his seat of operations in Mt. Vernon. and representing a number of the old line and standard companies. At the end of the period men- tioned he removed to Aurora, Missouri, and became connected with the Aurora Foundry and Machine Works. He served this institution capably and faithfully as cashier until it was absorbed by the United Iron Works.
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In 1902 the company established a plant at Iola, Kansas, and Mr. Le Bow was transferred to the new enterprise at that place and made its manager, which he continued to be until 1905. The company then needed a man of his capacity and reliability to take charge of its works at Cherryvale, Kansas, and he was transferred to that place. He re- mained in charge of the Cherryvale plant as manager two years, then, in 1907, was made manager of the plant in Joplin, taking charge of it in July of that year and being still at this time (1911) its local head and controlling force.
Mr. Le Bow has used his opportunities to good advantage for his own benefit and also made them highly serviceable to the several com- munities in which he has found and employed them. He is a stock- holder in the company, and in addition to this portion of his accumula- tions owns valuable farm lands and city properties. Like all men of substance, and all good citizens without reference to worldly posses- sions, he has always been intelligently and earnestly interested in the welfare of his locality and zealous in his efforts to aid in improving it materially, mentally, morally and socially. His hand has ever been open and his energies on call for any worthy project involving the sub- stantial and enduring welfare of the region in which he happened to be living, and his public spirit and progressiveness have won him the lasting esteem and admiration of the people.
In political faith and allegiance Mr. Le Bow finds satisfaction in the principles of the Republican party, and he supports its candidates in all campaigns. But he is not an active partisan, and cares nothing himself for the honors or emoluments of public office. His business satisfies his desires in the way of occupation and gives him enough to do and think about to take up all his time except what the plain duties of good citizenship require in attention to local affairs and the advancement of the community.
Fraternal life has many attractions for him and he has taken con- siderable interest in it. He is a member of the Masonic order, high up in both the York and the Scottish rites, and also belongs to the Order of Elks. Outdoor sports draw him also with strong magnetism, and he indulges himself in a hunting and fishing expedition whenever he has a favorable opportunity which will not interfere with his busi- ness requirements, and these nothing but matters of the most pressing and vital import can induce him to ignore at any time.
On July 16, 1902, he was married at Mt. Vernon, Missouri, to Miss Lynette Johnson, a native of this state and a daughter of Charles P. and Alice (Jones) Johnson. No children have been born of this union. Mrs. Le Bow is as popular as her husband in social circles, and is an esteemed assistant in all good work undertaken for the general weal in the city and county of her home. Her husband's business enlists her cordial interest and makes her one of his most trusted advisers. The company he serves is the largest of its kind in Missouri, employ- ing over one hundred men in the Joplin plant and operating seven other large outfits in this state and Kansas. Mr. Le Bow is of French an- cestry on his father's side and English on his mother's, and he has inherited the best traits of both races.
JESSE G. STARR .- It is always most gratifying to the biographist and student of human nature to come in elose touch with the history of a man who, in the face of almost insurmountable difficulties, has plodded persistently on and eventually, through his determination and energy, made of success not an accident but a logical result. Jesse G. Starr, who maintains his home at Joplin, Missouri, is strictly a self-made man and
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as such a perusal of his career offers both lesson and incentive. IIe has been a resident of this city since 1897 and in 1906 he became a mem- ber of the Lanyon, Starr Smelting Company, which was incorporated with a capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. When the Conqueror Trust Company was organized, in 1905, he was one of its charter members and its vice president until and after the sale of the Lanyon, Starr Smelting Company's plant in 1910. Since the latter year he has devoted his entire time and attention to the active manage- ment of the Conqueror Trust Company, which is one of the most suc- cessful and prosperous monetary institutions in Jasper county.
In Vermilion county, Illinois, on the 25th of May, 1865, occurred the birth of Jesse G. Starr, who is a son of Simon P. Starr, a native of the state of Ohio. As a boy the father accompanied his parents to Illinois, location having been made in Vermilion county, where Simon P. Starr was a prominent farmer and merchant for a number of years. In 1878 he removed to Pittsburg, Kansas, where he continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits during the residue of his life, his demise having occurred in 1896, at the age of sixty-seven years. He married Miss Maria Partlow, a member of a well known and distinguished fam- ily in Vermilion county, Illinois, and to them were born six children, of whom the subject of this review was the fourth in order of birth. The mother is still living, seventy-eight years of age, in Pittsburg, Kansas.
Jesse G. Starr was a child of eleven years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Kansas, where he completed his educational train- ing, the same having been procured in the district schools. At the age of fifteen years he entered the employ of the Lanyon Smelting Com- pany, at Pittsburg, Kansas, continuing to work there for the ensuing nine years. Beginning at the bottom of the latter, he gradually made his way, through successive promotions, to a position of trust and re- sponsibility. In 1889 he was transferred by the concern to Aurora, Mis- souri, where he had charge of the ore-buying department of the S. H. Lanyon Company for eight years. In 1897 he came to the Joplin field, where for nine years he was in the employ of Lanyon & Sons, in the smelting business. In 1906 he, with E. V. and Dee Lanyon, organized the Lanyon, Starr Smelting Company and built a large plant at Bar- tlesville, Oklahoma. The new concern was exceedingly prosperous and Mr. Starr was vice president thereof, having charge of the ore buying until the plant was disposed of, in 1910. The Lanyon, Starr Smelting Company was incorporated with a capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. In 1905 Mr. Starr was instrumental in the or- ganization of the Conqueror Trust Company, at Joplin, being one of its charter members and its vice president until the present time. He has only taken an active part in the management of this concern since the smelting company was disposed of but he now devotes all his time and energy to its affairs. The Conqueror Trust Company was incorporated under the laws of the state, in 1905, with a paid-up capital stock of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, and it is officered as follows: William Houk, president ; J. G. Starr, vice president ; and John Gmeiner, secretary ; and Julius Becker, treasurer.
On the 17th of June, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Starr to Miss Myrtle Spicer, who was reared and educated at Pittsburg. Kan- sas, and who is a daughter of J. W. Spicer, long a representative citizen and business man in that city. To this union has been born one child, Elsie, who is now the wife of Judson Jones and who maintains her home in Webb City, Missouri.
Mr. Starr is a man of whom any community might well be proud. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and his success has
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been the result of his own well directed endeavors. His natural aptitude for the ore business was a great aid to him. A stanch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, he is ever on the qui vive to give of his aid and influence in support of all measures and enterprises projected for the good of the general wel- fare. He has never manifested aught of ambition for the honors or emoluments of public office, preferring to give his undivided attention to the management of his extensive business affairs, which have assumed such gigantic proportions. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Commercial Club of Joplin and in the grand old Masonic order has passed through the circle of the Scottish Rite branch, having attained to the thirty-second degree. He is a genial man, one whose outlook on life is of the most liberal type, and in all classes of society he is accorded that high regard which is the reward for true citizenship and fair and honorable business methods.
FRANK JOHNS .- Practical industry, wisely and vigorously applied, never fails of success; it carries a man onward and upward, brings out his individual character and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means, implying the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance. The every-day life, with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for acquiring experience of the best kind, and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and self-improvement. In the legitimate channels of trade Frank Johns has won the success which always crowns well di- rected labor, sound judgment and untiring perseverance. He is en- gaged in the retail meat business and his establishment is one of the best known in Joplin.
Mr. Johns belongs to the foreign element whose acquisition has given new strength to America. He is still a young man, his birth having oe- curred December 7, 1877, in Grulich, Austria. He received his educa- tion in the schools of his native country, attending until he was four- teen years of age. He then left his desk in the school room to become apprenticed to a master meat entter, from whom he learned the trade from its largest to its minutest details. His brother, Alois Johns, had in the meantime come to America; had found conditions in the new country much to his liking; and was prosperously engaged in the ma- chinist's business in Joplin. He wrote to his younger brother, describ- ing so eloquently the advantages of America that he was prevailed upon to come across the Atlantic to claim his share of them. He came in 1893 and shortly after his arrival secured a position with Jones & Sons, prom- inent meat market proprietors of the city. He was associated with them for five years, or until he had accumulated sufficient money to go into business for himself. He started his first shop at Carl Junction and suc- ceeded well in the new location, but when an opportunity presented to sell out at a handsome profit he accepted, and came to Joplin, where he opened a shop, conducting business under the firm name of F. Johns & Company. His first location was at 527 Main street, but two years later (in 1901) he removed to his present location, and here prosperity has visited him. His business is operated .in the most up-to-date man- ner and he has a large and continually growing patronage.
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