USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people, Vol. II > Part 26
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After completing the curriculum of the public schools of Spring- field, Missouri, whither his parents had removed. Carlton H. Plumb was matriculated as a student in Drury College, at Springfield, in which ex- cellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1895, duly receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Subsequently his alma mater bestowed upon him the degree of Master of Arts. He studied eivil and mining engineering while working in the business and his first position in connection with that profession was with the Santa Fe Railroad Company, at Carrollton, Missouri. In 1898 that company sent him to Las Vegas, New Mexico, where he remained for a period of two
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years at the expiration of which he became engineer for the Ratoon Coal & Coke Company, at Ratoon, New Mexico, remaining there for another two years. He then entered the engineering department of the Colo- rado Fuel & Iron Company. at Denver, later working for the same concern at Trinidad, Colorado, where he was division engineer for six years. In 1907 he resigned his position with the last-mentioned com- pany and came to Joplin, where he opened offices and began business on his own account as a eivil and mining engineer. Beginning as he did in the panic year, he required an unusual amount of courage and perseverance to make a success of his new venture. His marked ability and tremendous vitality, backed by confidence in himself, how- ever, enabled him to make of success not an accident but a logical result. He has made good in the most significant sense and it may be stated without fear of contradiction that no man in the same profession at Joplin controls a more extensive or more lucrative patronage than does he. He is a steady, industrious and perfectly reliable man, always to be found at the post of duty.
At Grinnell, Iowa, in the year 1898, occurred the marriage of Mr. Plumb to Miss Mary C. Parsons, who was born at Chillicothe, Missouri, and who is a daughter of Charles T. Parsons, a descendant of the Par- sons of York, Maine, and a representative citizen and prominent busi- ness man at Chillicothe. To Mr. and Mrs. Plumb have been born four children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth,- Charles Parsons, Dorothy Richmond, Mary Elizabeth and Flora Ade- laide.
In connection with the work of his profession Mr. Plumb is a valued and appreciative member of the American Institute of Mining Engi- neers; in the time-honored Masonic order he is affiliated with Fellowship Lodge, No. 345, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and he is a member of Joplin Lodge No. 501, B. P. O. E. He is also a member of the Mayflower Society of Massachusetts and is also connected with the Sons of the American Revolution, while his wife is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In his political proelivities he endorses the cause of the Progressives and he is ever on the alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with all measures and enterprises projected for the material and civic advancement of Joplin and Jasper county. The religious faith of the family is in harmony with the tenets of the Congregational church.
FRANK H. BRAECKEL .- There is no one nation that has contributed to the complex composition of our American social fabrie an element of more sterling worth or of greater value in fostering and supporting our national institutions than has Germany. Germany has given us men of sturdy integrity, indomitable perseverance, high intelligence and much business sagacity, the result being the incorporation of a firm and strength-giving fiber, ramifying through warp and woof. Germany has furnished one of the most important figures in the indus- trial life of Joplin-Frank H. Braeckel. who is at the head of the Jop- lin Sash & Door Company and who manufactures many kinds of build- ers' materials, this business being one of the largest in all the Southwest in its particular field.
Mr. Braeckel was born in Hanover, Germany, August 1, 1868. He received his early education in the schools of the Fatherland, and after the termination of his school days he served an apprenticeship in Amsterdam am Utrecht, learning the jewelry manufacturing business with N. Halle & Company. a very large concern with branches through- out Holland. Like so many young men of his country, attraeted by
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American progress and opportunity he crossed the Atlantic and located in St. Louis, Missouri, where for several years he worked in different fields. He eventually accepted a position with the W. G. Frye Manu- facturing Company, makers of sashes and doors. His association with this important St. Louis company probably determined his present business, for when he came to Joplin in 1907 he bought out the sash and door works here and broadened the scope of the plant, manufac- turing all manner of building materials and commodities used by car- penters and contractors. His fine judgment and executive capacity have assured his success and in the few short years of his residence here he has done much to contribute to the prosperity of the city, while at the same time being personally successful.
In addition to his ability as a manufacturer and business man, Mr. Braeckel has pronounced gifts as an inventor and the Dunham con- centrator for the concentration of ore has proved of the greatest im- portanee in mining and is bringing his name before the scientific world in the most gratifying manner. A list of the users of this splendid device include the most important mining and smelting companies in Missouri, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arkansas and Mexico. This machine has had a particularly strong appeal from the fact that it will increase profits, yielding better quality and larger quantity. This valuable apparatus is manufactured by the Braeckel Concentrating Company, of Joplin, Missouri. It has been especially appreciated in Mexico, Victor M. Braschi & Company of Mexico city, being sales agents for that country.
Mr. Braeckel's parents, Peter and Elizabeth (Reeploeg) Braeckel, were both natives of Hanover, Germany, and were people of consider- able prominence. The father was a wholesale grocer by occupation. He was born in 1827 and died in 1909. He came to America with his family in 1891, established himself advantageously in Joplin, where he became a representative German-American citizen. His wife pre- ceded him to the Great Beyond, her demise occurring in 1895. She was born in 1836.
Frank H. Braeckel laid the foundation of a happy marriage on January 16, 1897, when Miss Nellie Brockschmidt, a native of Germany and a daughter of Fred and Minnie (Braeckel) Brockschmidt, became his wife. They are the parents of a promising quartet of children, as follows: Marcus, born November 26, 1897, in attendance at Lafayette school, as are the next two in order of birth. Helen, born December 22, 1899, and Francis, born December 23, 1902, and Herman was born March 29, 1909. All but the youngest member of the family, who claims Joplin as his birthplace, were born in St. Louis.
Fraternally Mr. Braeckel is a member of the Independent Order of Elks and he is independent in politics, esteeming the best man and the best measure far above mere partisanship. He and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church and are zealous participants in its good works. He is, like most well balanced natures, very fond of all out-door pursuits, and diversions and when he can find the leisure, thoroughly enjoys living "near to Nature's heart." He is, in short, a very well-known and highly respected business man, of the type in which Joplin takes just pride.
FRANK A. FIELD .- Born, reared and educated in New England, and for twelve years after reaching his maturity connected with the social and business activities of that section of the country, Frank A. Field, manager of the Joplin Five & Ten Cent Store, came naturally by the fine business capacity and thrift for which he is noted. He inherited from
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long lines of English and Seotch aneestry the solid and substantial basis of a good business character and many of the more admirable elements of acumen and eleverness in catering to the wishes of the publie in trade. These traits were developed in an atmosphere congenial to their growth, New England thrift and shrewdness being known and admired through- out the world. Transplanted to the West, Mr. Field's faculties and ae- quisitions have not changed in nature, but have only found a larger and more open field for their exercise. It is not surprising that he has es- tablished himself in the regard and confidence of the people of Missouri as one of the most capable business men among them, as well as one of the most worthy and serviceable citizens of the community in which he lives and labors.
Mr. Field's life began at Greenfield, Massachusetts, on October 26, 1871. His parents, Frank E. and Maria R. (Smith) Field, are also New Englanders by nativity, the father having been born at Northfield, Massachusetts, on February 23, 1845, and the mother of Gill in the same state on April 19, 1840. They are now living at Clinton, Massachusetts, where the father is engaged in merchandising. His ancestors were of English blood, and those of the mother were Scoteh-Irish. The Ameri- ean progenitors of the family on both sides were early arrivals in this country and pioneers in Massachusetts, and the present representatives of the house who are living in that state are among its most respected and useful eitizens.
Frank A. Field and his sister Lillian M., who is now the wife of Wal- ter W. Wright, of Clinton in her native state, were the only children born to his parents. He attended the publie sehools, completing both the elementary and the high school courses, and was graduated from the latter in 1890. He then pursued a course of special training at the Wor- eester Business College, located in the city from which it derived its name. He left school at the age of eighteen and for a year served as private stenographer to the New England manager of Swift & Company, one of the great meat packing corporations of Chicago.
While his work as a stenographer was interesting and instruetive in many ways, it was not altogether to his liking, and at the end of a year he gave it up, entering the department store of Jordan, Marsh & Com- pany, of Boston, for the purpose of learning the business. He remained with that firm eighteen months, then passed eight years in the employ of Blanchard, King & Company, and Noyes Brothers, two of the leading haberdashery firms in Boston, under whose careful training he became thoroughly proficient in all branches of their business.
Desiring to still further eultivate his knowledge of mereantile life in its numerous phases, he became associated with F. F. Woolworth & Company as superintendent and assistant manager in their large store in Worcester with a view to learning all he could about the management of a ten eent emporium. After passing two years in its service in Wor- eester, he was sent by the company to Joplin, Missouri, to take charge of its store in that city. He arrived in Joplin in October, 1904, and has had control and management of the ten cent store belonging to the Wool- worth Company there ever since. Under his management the business has shown a steady increase of more than twenty-five per eent annually, it being last year seven times as great as it was in the year immediately following his arrival in the city.
Mr. Field has allied himself also with other business interests in the eity, much to their and his own advantage, among those with which he is connected being the Joplin Trust Company, of which he is a stockholder and one of the directors. In his early manhood he also took an active part in politieal matters, serving as a member of the Republican city
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committee two years during his residence in Boston. He still belongs to the Republican party, but for a number of years has taken no active share of its work upon himself, or given its affairs any attention beyond what is due from every good citizen in the way of exercising his suffrage for the promotion of what he considers the best interest of the people. His zeal in behalf of the business and social activities of the city finds expression in his membership in the Commercial Club.
Outside of his business the religious affairs of the community claim the greatest amount of his time and attention. He is a member of the First Congregational church and superintendent of its Sunday-schools, which include the main school at the church and three branches. He is a great believer in and promoter of religious training for poor children, and full of devotion to all kinds of charitable work. Always and every- where he is one of the most courteous and considerate of mnen.
On October 10, 1900, he was united in marriage with Miss Gertrude Colby, a native of Boston, the marriage being solemnized at Chelsea.
WILLIAM H. LANDRETH .- An essentially representative citizen and business man at Joplin, Missouri, and one who has maintained his home in this city for more than two decades, William H. Landreth is sole owner of the decidedly successful enterprise known as the Landreth Machinery Company, which he began in a small way in 1901 and which has since grown to gigantic proportions. Mr. Landreth is unusually progressive in his civic attitude and no measure projected for the good of the general welfare fails of his most ardent support.
A native of Illinois, William II. Landreth was born at Dawson, that state, the date of his birth being the 24th of October, 1872. He is a son of George W. Landreth, who was born and reared in the state of Vir- ginia, where his family was long one of standing and influence. As a young man the father emigrated from the Old Dominion commonwealth to Illinois, whence he later removed to Kansas, going thence to Colorado and coming, in 1889, to Jasper county, Missouri. He was identified with mining operations during the major portion of his active business career and in that field of endeavor he was unusually successful, eventually gaining a competency. He is now living virtually retired at Joplin, passing the evening of his life in enjoyment of former years of earnest toil, and endeavor. He married Miss Mary Wheeland, and to this union were born nine children, of whom the subject of this review was the first in order of birth.
William H. Landreth was a youth of seventeen years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Joplin, in the public schools of which place he completed his preliminary educational training, later effectively supplementing that discipline by a course of study in the Joplin Busi- ness College. In 1893 he accepted a position as bookkeeper in a Joplin business concern, remaining in the employ of that company for two years. He then determined to go into business for himself, and accordingly en- gaged in the wholesale fruit business, with which he was identified for a period of three years, at the expiration of which he devoted his atten- tion to the mining business for two years. He then, in 1901, launched out in his present enterprise, the Landreth Machinery Company. He began operations in a small way but with the passage of time his busi- ness has increased in scope and importance until it is now one of the largest and most successful concerns of its kind in Jasper county. Mr. Landreth has developed unusual ability as a business man and his straightforward, honorable methods have gained to him the unalloyed confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens.
On the 17th of February, 1897, at Kansas City, Missouri, was cele- Vol. II-12
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brated the marriage of Mr. Landreth to Miss Edith Cotton, whose birth occurred in Kansas, where she was reared and educated. She is a daugh- ter of J. B. Cotton and is a woman of rare charm and unusual gracious- ness. To Mr. and Mrs. Landreth have been born two children,-Helen and Ruth, both of whom are attending sehool at Joplin.
Politieally Mr. Landreth is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the eause for which the Republican party stands sponsor. He has never been an office-seeker, although he is deeply and sincerely interested in all mat- ters that affect the well being of Jasper county at large and the city in particular. For three years he gave most efficient serviee as a member of the Park Board Commission, in connection with which he was largely influential in the work carried forward for the further beautifying of the city. In the grand old Masonie order he has passed through the cirele of the Scottish Rite braneh, having attained to the thirty-second degree. He is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Proteetive Order of Elks, his family are zealous members of the Presbyterian ehureh. Mr. and Mrs. Landreth are popular and prominent in connection with the best social activities of their home community and their spacious and attraetive home is a recognized center of refinement and generous hospitality.
JAMES T. HAGGART, who occupies a representative position among the men of affairs at Joplin, Missouri, looks back to the Hoosier state at the place of his nativity. He was born at Madison, Indiana, March 7, 1866, a son of James Haggart, a Scotch Highlander. James Hag- gart was born in 1820. In early life he left Scotland and with his par- ents came to America, their settlement being among the pioneers of Indiana. When the Civil war was inaugurated he enlisted as a mem- ber of Company G, Fortieth Indiana Infantry, and served under Cap- tain S. Kirkpatrick and General Thomas, participating in numerous engagements and remaining with his command until the close of hostili- ties. He did not long survive the war, however, dying in 1867. His wife, Angeline (Jacobs) Haggart, a native of Ohio, was also a child of Indiana pioneers, her parents having moved from Ohio to the Hoosier state at an early day. Her death occurred about two years after that of her husband. Thus James T., the subject of this sketch, lost both his father and mother before he was old enough to realize his loss. IIe was then taken into the home of his grandmother. Mrs. Cornelia (Jacobs) Austin, who had married a second time, and who tenderly cared for him until her death, in 1877. His first school days were spent at Madi- son. From the time he was twelve until he was eighteen years of age he worked as a farm hand, after which he spent two winters in at- tendance at school. He returned to farm work and continued thus occupied until he reached his majority, when he engaged as clerk in a grocery store at Brooksburg, Indiana. After elerking at that place two years he came west to Wichita. Kansas, and settled down to gar- dening and farming, which, however, proved to be unprofitable, and he gave it up and went back to elerking. For one year he elerked in Mr. Herron's grocery store at Wichita. Then in 1892 he came to Joplin, which has since been his home. Here for two years he was in the em- ploy of J. D. Kane, plumber, after which he worked for the Miller Lum- ber Company in its yard. About this time he bought two teams of good horses, and did hauling for the company. This work netted him a sufficient amount to enable him to lay aside some of his earnings, and three years later, with a partner, he engaged in prospecting. They located a valnable mine, which they worked to advantage and from which they took out ore to the value of seventeen thousand dollars.
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Then the ore vein gave out and Mr. Haggart turned his attention to the coal and ice business, which he has since profitably continued.
On June 4, 1898, Mr. Haggart was united in marriage with Miss Annie May Fricki, and to them have been given two children: Howard Eugene, born April 3, 1900, and Lilly May, December 20, 1908.
Mr. Haggart has fraternal relation with the I. O. O. F., M. W. A., A. H. T. A. and the Royal Protective Insurance Company. He is Demo- cratic in his political affiliation, and his religious creed is that of the Baptist church, of which he is a worthy member. In Mr. Haggart's makeup are found the attributes of the manly man. He was never known to utter an oath. He is devoted to his family, loyal to his friends, and "on the square" in all his business deals. His word is as good as his bond. Fond of sports, such as hunting and fishing, he makes a practice of spending a few weeks each year in vacation, tak- ing his family with him.
WILLIAM H. FRICKELTON .- While the lessons of adversity are not always salutary, sometimes indurating and souring the nature subjected to them, but when they fall on a healthy and well balanced organism they are likely to produce their proper fruitage in a strong and re- sourceful vitality, an independent spirit, self-reliance and readiness for any emergency. The case of William H. Frickelton, president of the Joplin Supply Company and now one of the leading merchants in southwestern Missouri, furnishes a striking instance of their good effects on a man of the right mettle. His lot was one of great hardship and privation in boyhood and youth, and forced him to laborious exertion at an early age. Yet he confronted his difficulties with an unquailing courage, and overcame them all by persistent and well applied indus- try and the exercise of good judgment and foresight.
Mr. Frickelton is a native of the province of Ontaria, Canada, and was born at Wardsville on August 2, 1856. His parents were David and Rebecca (Jackson) Frickelton, the former born in the north of Ireland and the latter in London, England. The father came to Canada with his parents in his boyhood. He grew to manhood and obtained a limited education in the new home to which they brought him, and after he grew to manhood followed the hotel bakery and confectionery busi- ness. He died in Canada in 1875. The mother survived him thirty years and passed away in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1905. They had nine chil- dren, of whom William was the fifth born. He attended the common schools of his native town until he reached the age of twelve, and was then sent into the timber region to do a man's work in cutting timber for the lumber markets. The work was hard and the conditions of life attending it were in many respects deplorable. The range of food was narrow and the supply often scant. Climatic conditions were severe at times and shelter was meager and uncertain at the best, while sufficiency of clothing was a thing almost unknown to the hardy woodsmen. Mr. Frickelton had for years only one pair of boots at a time, and he wore these only in the winter months so as to make each pair last several sea- sons. But he bore his burden bravely and performed his duties faith- fully for three years.
At the end of that period he was apprenticed to the tinner's trade for three years. On the completion of his apprenticeship he came into the United States and sought opportunities for greater advancement in the undeveloped West, locating in Fort Scott, Kansas, for a year during 1876 and 1877, and working at his trade there. From 1877 to 1880 he conducted a flourishing hardware business at Osage Mission, Kansas, in which he was very successful. He sold his business in the year last men-
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tioned and moved to Cherryvale in the same state, and there he again engaged in the hardware trade for a year. In 1889 he sold his store at Cherryvale and changed his residence to Joplin. Here he at once or- ganized the Joplin Hardware Store, incorporated, and was made the secretary and general manager of the corporation. He managed its af- fairs successfully until 1897, then became manager of the Halyard Hard- ware Company, with which he remained three years, doing a good busi- ness and extending his acquaintances. In 1900 the Joplin Supply Com- pany was reorganized, and under the new arrangement Mr. Frickelton was made president of the company, a position he has filled from that time to the present (1911). The Joplin Supply Company is the largest business enterprise of the kind in the West. It has a branch house in Webb City and employs regularly a large number of local and traveling salesmen in addition to a complete office foree, doing an extensive busi- ness in both wholesale and retail lines, and covering in its operations a very large territory. Mr. Friekelton is the active head and controlling spirit of the company, and its sueeess is due in large measure to his great business capacity and his ceaseless industry in the use of it, together with his wide and accurate knowledge of the trade.
Mr. Friekelton takes no very active part in political affairs except to vote as his judgment dictates for the good of the public. He leans strongly to the Democratic party, but is not bound by partisan consider- ations against what he believes to be for the general welfare, and is there- fore classed as an Independent in politics. He is positive and constant in his interest in the advancement and improvement of his city and county, and is one of the most effective and helpful supporters of all pro- jects he thinks likely to work for their betterment. As a member of the Order of Elks and the T. P. A. he renders valuable aid to the fraternal life of the community, and as an active worker in the Episcopal church he contributes largely to the influence and good results of all the moral agencies at work among the people around him.
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