USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people, Vol. II > Part 4
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arrayed as a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Republican party. and he has been an effective exponent of its principles and policies. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and other civic organizations and was identified with the Typographical Union until he began the practice of law.
On the 3d of February, 1904, Mr. Andrews was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Finch, who was born and reared in Joplin and who is a daughter of P. F. Finch, now a resident of Oberlin, Ohio.
EAYRE OLIPHANT BARTLETT is one of the noblest examples of unusual business ability, of well balanced judgment and perseverance, of high in- tegrity and extreme philanthropy of character, and all in all of virility and symmetry of manhood such as are without example in the middle west. He set forth on his journey of life fully seventy-five years ago and from the date of the beginning of his business career at an early age, un- der the rapidly shifting skies of success and adversity, from commercial activity in the east during the early years to deeds of high emprise in Jasper county, Missouri, in the latter half of his life, and through years burning with intense energy and devotion to the manifold affairs of life, he has come to a ripe old age with undimmed alertness and clearness of mentality and judgment and rejoices that he can still carry the burden which would overwhelm most men of half his years. The history of his active career begins with a beautiful resolution and nobility of purpose and strength of character have marked his life to the end.
Born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 10th of Feb- ruary, 1836, Eayre Oliphant Bartlett is a son of Nathan and Sarah Ann (Oliphant) Bartlett, the former of whom was born at Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, and the latter in Burlington county, New Jersey. The father was reared and educated in Burlington county, New Jersey, and for a number of years he was a builder and contractor at Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania. In 1837, however, he removed to New Lisbon, New Jersey, where for a period of ten years he was engaged as a miller. He next moved to Newark, New Jersey, where he assumed charge of the New Jer- sey Zinc Works, which he conducted with all of success for the ensuing six years. In 1853, at the solicitation of Gilbert & Wetherall, he went to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he constructed the Lehigh Zinc Works, serving as superintendent of that concern for the following ten years, at the expiration of which he became financially interested in the establish- ment of the Bartlett Zinc Works at Bergen Point, New Jersey. He su- perintended the latter concern and maintained a financial and advisory interest therein until his demise, which occurred in the year 1896. He married Miss Sarah Ann Oliphant and to this union were born nine chil- dren, of whom the immediate subject of this review was the first born.
In the public schools of Philadelphia Mr. Bartlett, of this notice, re- ceived his preliminary educational training and later he supplemented the same by attendance in an academy at. Westtown, near Westchester, Pennsylvania. He left school at the early age of sixteen years and en- tered the employ of the Lehigh Zinc Works, which was at that time su- perintended by his father, under whose able preceptorship he familiarized himself with all the details of the zine business. He aided and was an important factor in the various experiments carried on by the elder Bart- lett and in this way laid the firm foundation for his subsequent success in the zinc enterprise. After attaining to years of maturity he accepted the position of superintendent of the Keystone Zine Works, in Blair county. Pennsylvania, remaining incumbent thereof for a number of vears. In 1870 he established his home in Birmingham, New Jersey, where for the ensuing six years he managed a grist-mill. In the fall of
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1876 he located permanently at Joplin, Missouri, and here engaged in the lead smelting business, a large portion of his time and attention being given to the perfecting of the process of utilizing the waste fumes from the lead furnaces and converting them into one of the most enduring pig- ments known to the commercial world. This process, known as the Bart- lett & Lewis process, is that employed in the works of the Pitcher Lead Company, at Joplin, of which Mr. Bartlett has been general manager for a long number of years and to his inventive genius that establishment owes much of its reputation. The method pursued consists of the collec- tion of the fumes from the many "Scotch Eyes" in the smelting depart- ment, their conveyance by pipes to a condensing apparatus, the subse- quent elimination of all foreign substances and consequent production of absolutely pure sublime and white lead, ready for shipment and use. This substance is particularly valuable for marine use, especially upon the hull and outside cabin work of ocean-going vessels, being superior, in that particular connection, to any other pigment known, as it is the only one not seriously affected by salt water. The plant of the Pitcher Lead Com- pany is the only one of its kind in the United States and the only similar establishments are those at Bristol, England.
The Bartlett & Lewis process is in great demand by other white-lead manufacturers and Mr. Bartlett has frequently been offered positions in other concerns but he continues to remain faithful to the establishment in which he won fame and success as a worker and inventor. In addition to his interest in the Pitcher Lead Company Mr. Bartlett is represented financially in a number of other enterprising concerns in this section of the state. He is president of the Cottonwood Hollow Mining Company, the Monarch Mining Company, the Bingo Mining Company, the Joplin Prospecting Company and Mining Company ; is vice president of the Jer- sey Land & Mining Company; and is a director in the Western Patent Company of Colorado and in the Miners Bank at Joplin. His various interests have assumed gigantic proportions and in all his business tran- sactions Mr. Bartlett has gained a reputation for fair and honorable methods and straightforward dealings. He is a man of remarkable execu- tive ability and tremendous vitality and no enterprise to which he gives his support fails of success.
On the 13th of March, 1860, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Bart- lett to Miss Elizabeth A. Lippincott, who was born and reared at Mount Holly, New Jersey, and who is a daughter of Arney Lippincott. This union was prolific of three children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated,-Mary, who is a twin sister of Sallie, is the wife of Dr. Frank Speer, superintendent of a hospital in the city of Pitts- burg, Pennsylvania, and they have one child, Myra Ryland; Sallie is the wife of Jerome B. Grigg, an attorney at Mount Holly, New Jersey, and they have four children, Elizabeth, John, Eayre and Jeram Bartlett; and Anna Bell, the youngest daughter, became the wife of W. P. Cleaveland, of Joplin, concerning whom a sketch appears on other pages of this work.
At the inception of the Civil war, Mr. Bartlett became a soldier in the Union army and among other important engagements he served as emergency man at the battle of Antietam. In his political con- victions he is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor and while he has never manifested aught of ambition for political preferment of any descrip- tion he has ever been on the alert to do all in his power to advance the best interests of Joplin and Jasper county at large. He is a valued and appreciative member of the Joplin Business Men's Club, which has been so influential in advancing industrial and mining interests in this part of the state and in which he has given most efficient
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service as president. He is deeply and sincerely interested in educa- tional affairs and for a time was president of the Joplin school board, having been elected to that position by unanimous vote. Religiously he was reared an old-time Quaker and in a fraternal way he is affili- ated with the time-honored Masonic order. Mr. Bartlett is a man of broad mind and extensive learning. He is deeply interested in the various branches of science and through extensive reading and thor- ough investigation has developed a phenomenal intelligence. He is charitable in thought and deed, is ever considerate of others' feelings and opinions and in all the relations of life has so conducted himself as to command the unalloyed confidence and esteem of all with whom he has been associated. Although he has now attained to the ven- erable age of seventy-five years, he is as active as when in the prime of life and his mental and physical qualities remain unimpaired.
LEWIS J. STEVISON .- Beginning life for himself in the humble ca- pacity of chore boy on an Ohio farm, Lewis J. Stevison has made rapid progress along the pathway of brilliant achievements, winning wealth and fame in mining pursuits, and now, as president of the Merchants' and Miners' Bank of Webb City, is conspicuously identified with the financial interests of Jasper county. He was born November 3, 1861, in Jackson county, Ohio. His father, John W. Stevison, a well-known farmer of Jackson county, Ohio, served in the Civil war in an Ohio regiment, and was afterwards engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death in 1902. He married Lucinda Howe, who spent her entire life in Ohio, dying there in 1894.
As soon as old enough to labor Lewis J. Stevison was taken from school and until nineteen years of age was employed as a farm hand. The following three years he worked in the coal mines of his native county, and was afterwards similarly employed in Kansas, first in Pitts- burg and later at Fort Scott. Coming to Webb City, Missouri, in 1886, Mr. Stevison secured a position as pulley boy at a mine, receiving a dollar and a quarter a day for pulling the buckets of ore out of the shaft. Although the work was strenuous, the mine being eighty feet deep, he stuck to the job, and by prudent thrift managed each week to save a part of his wages. When he had accumulated a sufficient sum, Mr. Stevison bought an interest in a mine, and made enough in the opera- tion to warrant him in taking unto himself a wife. When work in that mine ceased he found employment in another mine, continuing work in this manner until 1890.
In that year, in company with Joseph Aylor, Will Coil and Mack Bergner, Mr. Stevison leased some lots on the Eleventh Hour land, and in the subsequent striking of pay dirt made his first real start in life, and after buying and successfully working other properties found himself beyond the reach of poverty, and not far from the millionaire's mark. He then, with James Stewart and other men of prominence, pur- ehased at Duenweg, Jasper county, a mine which they operated in 1904, 1905 and 1906, obtaining ore of great value. In the fall of 1900 Mr. Stevison leased some lots of the Conner land, south of Webb City, and. with Charles Moore. of Joplin, developed the mine, taking out ore to the value of twenty thousand dollars, and subsequently, all within the short space of nine months, sold the mine for the snug little sum of thirty-three thousand dollars.
Mr. Stevison also, in 1901, secured a lease on the L. II. Baker land, and leased forty acres of the Mussleman property, on each of which he opened mines which he worked profitably until 1904. Subsequently buying seventy acres of the Smallhouse Fee at Neek City, he organized
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the Reliance Mining Company, capitalizing it at three hundred thousand dollars, and the company's three properties have since paid in dividends amounting to two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.
In the spring of 1905 Mr. Stevison, who has gained distinctive rec- ognition as a financier, organized the Merchants' and Miners' Bank of Webb City, with a paid up capital of fifty thousand dollars, and opened up in an old building on Main street. Buying then a lot at the corner of Allen and Daugherty streets, he sold it to the bank proprietors who erected the magnificent building in which the bank is now housed. In 1906 he organized the Stevison-Rogers Lead and Zinc Company, which has control of several hundred acres of rich land, with some very good producing mines. This brief chronicle of the business career of Mr. Stevison shows conclusively that our nation offers every opportunity to men of worth and ability to rise by their own efforts to positions of influence and affluence, and may, perhaps, be an inspiration to some of the younger men of the present generation.
Mr. Stevenson married, February 3, 1887, Mary P. Hatcher, of Webb City, a daughter of H. E. Melissa Hatcher. Six children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Stevison, namely : Edwin F., born April 20, 1888, was graduated from the Webb City High School with the class of 1907, and subsequently entered the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where, while sailing with one of his classmates, the boat was overturned and he was drowned, his death occurring May 12, 1908; Elmer G., born March 20, 1891, was graduated from the Webb City High School, and from the University of Missouri with the class of 1909, and is now employed in the bank of which his father is president; Earl C., born July 6, 1893, was graduated from the Webb City High School, and from the Welsh Military School, being a member of the class of 1911; Clara, born May 28. 1894, died May 1, 1902; Harold, born April 27, 1903; and Mary Louise, born May 26, 1905.
Fraternally, Mr. Stevison belongs to Webb City Lodge, No. 512. F. & A. M .; to the Chapter, R. A. M .; to Joplin Commandery, K. T .; and to Webb City Lodge, B. P. O. E. Politically he is an uncompromising Republican. Mrs. Stevison is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, and belongs to the Christian church.
FRANK L. YALE .- A representative business man and highly es- teemed citizen of Joplin is Frank L. Yale, who has had the happiness to contribute materially to the city, which since 1889 has been the scene of his enlightened and successful activities in the mining, real estate and insurance business. Upon occasion he has given excellent service in public office and he is entitled to additional distinction as a veteran of the Civil war, his services in the great conflict of fifty years ago having been of the most gallant and active sort.
Mr. Yale was born April 14, 1848, in Lynn township, Knox county, Illinois, both of his parents. Gad Lowery and Abbey (Reed) Yale, hav- ing been natives of the state of Connecticut. They removed from the Nutmeg state when young people, the father, who was a farmer, dying in Illinois. The boyhood days of Mr. Yale were passed in Illinois and they were shadowed in some degree by the approach and outbreak of the Civil war. But thirteen years of age at the time the first guns were fired upon Fort Sumter, the impatience of the high-spirited young boy to take a real part in the struggle and to give his support to the cause with which he was in sympathy increased with the passing of the months, and in March, 1864, he enlisted in Company G, of the One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Infantry, and served until August 13, 1865, when he was mustered out. In this time he was plunged into the thickest of the
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conflict, seeing much fighting and covering much territory, but he never missed a day's service. He was with Sherman on the march from Chattanooga to Atlanta and thence to Nashville, during that time serv- ing with Schofield corps.
Upon the termination of the war and the return to civilian life Mr. Yale sought congenial occupation and having gone to Barton county, Missouri, there taught school for several years and subsequently served as county surveyor. The momentous step of his removal to Joplin was in 1889 and his career here has been of a character to amply justify the step. Prosperity and consideration have come to him as the logical outcome of character and attainments, while he has always taken an active interest in public affairs and every movement for the welfare of Joplin has found in him a stanch supporter.
Glancing at Mr. Yale's service in a public capacity we find that pre- vious to his coming here, while a resident of Barton county, Missouri, he acted for some time in the important capacity of county surveyor, and since coming to this city he has received signal mark of public favor by being made a member of the Joplin City Council. At the time of the World's Fair in Chicago he was appointed a member of the Missouri board by Governor Stone and was made chairman by that body, a move particularly appropriate on account of his familiarity with the industry and his high standing as a citizen. For years he has been an active and valued member of the Commercial Club and at the present time holds the office of president, and, many excellent movements look- ing toward civic betterment have been born of his initiative.
In August, 1868, Mr. Yale was united in marriage to Miss Zerilda A. Tobler, daughter of Mr. Tobler, of Newton county, Missouri. The life of this admirable lady met an early termination May 22, 1873. The three daughters of this marriage are Luella, now Mrs. S. H. Montgomery, of Belle Plaine, Iowa; Maria, now Mrs. J. W. Williams, of Omaha, Ne- braska; and Cora B., wife of P. W. Inger, of Joplin. On July 4, 1876, Mr. Yale was again married, Miss Rachel Mann, daughter of B. F. Mann, becoming his wife and the mistress of his household. Their two chil- dren are Luna O., now Mrs. C. M. Marks, of Los Angeles, California ; and Walter O., who is in the service of the Burlington Railroad at Omaha.
Mr. Yale is liberal in his views, both political and religious, and ac- cords to every man the right to think and act for himself. He is a pop- ular and highly respected gentleman, who has always given his best and most whole-hearted efforts towards the welfare of the community and the advancement and prosperity of Joplin.
ERNEST B. JACOBS .- Life is a voyage, in the progress of which we are perpetually changing our scenes. Ernest Jacobs has now arrived at a port where he can stop a while and look back at that part of the voyage he has already successfully made. He has seen the good and the evil that are in the world,-the ups and the downs, and he has learned to be uneensorious, humane. He has learned to attribute the best mo- tives to every action and to be chary of imputing a sweeping and cruel blame. He has no finger of scorn to point at anything under the sun. Along with this pleasant blandness and charity there is a certain grave, serious humor. From this same port he can see an expanse of waters covered with a mist. If there are rocks ahead he cannot see them; if there are whirlpools he hopes to be able to avoid them with the aid of the same pilot that has guided him heretofore and by steering with the same steady hand that has up to this port kept his course straight.
Lannehed on the sea of life July 20, 1858, in the port of Chicago,
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Illinois, Ernest B. Jacobs set sail. To leave metaphor for a while, his father, John W. Jacobs was born in New York state in Watertown. He was educated there and studied for the ministry. He entered the Methodist church, his first charge being in his native state. Then he was stationed in Chicago, Illinois, where he was very well known on ac- count of his eloquent oratory and his earnest, conscientious work. While he was still living in New York he married Lucy Young, a native of Ohio. After the death of her husband in Kansas City she went back to New York, where she is living with one of her children.
Ernest B. Jacobs went with his parents from Chicago to Carthage when he was very young. He went to the public and high schools in Carthage. Upon leaving school he taught for a number of years. Although he was a successful teacher, he did not intend to make teaching his life work. In 1877 he was tendered the position of assis- tant postmaster in Carthage; he accepted the office and held it for eight years, at the end of which time he became associated with the First National Bank of Carthage. Desiring to learn the banking business thoroughly in all its branches, he started in at the bottom of the ladder, but quickly mounted the rungs until he became cashier. He has held this position for a number of years and is considered one of the vet- eran financiers of Carthage. During the twenty-six years of his con- nection with the First National Bank there have been a number of panics, but in that period the bank has never been obliged to borrow a dollar, nor has it been in financial straits at all. He is a director of the banks at Alba, Reeds and LaRussell and it is a significant fact that all three banks have been in a flourishing condition since his connection with them.
In 1884 Ernest B. Jacobs drifted into the matrimonial sea, taking with him Miss Carrie Farwell, belonging to an old Carthage family. The course was steered clear of the breakers which impede the progress of so many sailors in the same sea. They have two children Ernestine, born in Carthage, January 3, 1895, has just (1911) completed her course at the Carthage high school. Jay W. Jacobs, born in Carthage January 7, 1899, is attending the grammar school.
Mr. Jacobs' connection with the Masons has been a very pleasant one. He is a member of the Carthage Blue Lodge, a Royal Arch Mason, a Knight Templar and a Shriner. He is a member of the Elks Club at Carthage. He is a Republican and by reason of his position and his wide circle of acquaintances is very influential in the political world. Brought up in the Methodist faith, he has continued with the same beliefs. He encourages his wife in her desire for continual self culture and most heartily approves of the literary club of which she is a prominent mem- ber. Mr. Jacobs believes that everybody must work and may play ; he throws as much enthusiasm into the one as into the other. He is an ardent and successful sportsman. He is a member of the Carter County Hunting & Fishing Club, of the Miami, Oklahoma Hunting & Fishing Club and of the Vernon County Field Club. When he takes a vacation he generally employs it in the indulgence of one or the other of his fav- orite pastimes, hunting or fishing. Whether in business, the world of sports or private life Mr. Jacobs is very popular and has the confidence of all who know him.
HENRY M. RAMSEY .- The subject of this sketch was born in Craw- ford county, Missouri, September 14, 1860. He is the son of John H. and Nancy (Britton) Ramsey. His grandparents, the Ramseys and Brittons, were among the first settlers on the Meramec river in the east- ern portion of the state. Mr. Ramsey was left an orphan at an early
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age, his mother having died when he was two years old and his father when he was nine. He was educated in the rural schools, his educational advantages being very limited. He was elected clerk of the county court of his native county in the year 1888 and served an unexpired term of his predecessor for two years, and was defeated for re-election in 1890. He established the Bank of Cuba at Cuba, Missouri, in the year 1891 and served in the capacity of cashier till 1904, at which time he sold his interest in the bank and established the Citizens Bank at Union, Mis- souri. He served as cashier of that bank for two years and came to Jop- lin and organized the Joplin State Bank, of which he is the cashier, hav- ing held the position since its organization.
Mr. Ramsey has a family of nine children, seven boys and two girls. He was first married, in 1883, to Miss Laura A. Evans, of Steelville, Missouri, who died in Cuba, that state, in 1895, leaving surviving her two sons, William F. and H. M. Ramsey Jr. William F. Ramsey, the oldest son, is now claim agent for the Frisco Railroad Company, with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, and H. M. Ramsey Jr. is assistant cashier of the Joplin State Bank at Joplin, Missouri. In November, 1898, Mr. Ramsey was married to Miss Sarah E. Eaton, from which union there has been seven children born, five boys and two girls. His greatest ambition is to live to see his children grown up and become well educated and fitted to fight the battles of life.
HARRY T. BOYD .- Success along any line of endeavor would never be properly appreciated if it came with a single effort and unaccompanied by some hardships, for it is the knoeks and bruises in life that make success taste so sweet. The failures accentuate the successes, thus mak- ing recollections of the former as dear as those of the latter for having been the stepping-stones to achievement. The career of H. T. Boyd but accentuates the fact that success is bound to come to those who join brains with ambition and are willing to work. Being orphaned at the age of thirteen years, he was thus thrown upon his own resources early in life, and in view of that fact the phenomenal success attained by H. T. Boyd is the more gratifying to contemplate. Beginning his active career with practically nothing to back him except a goodly store of phiek and a determination to sneceed, Mr. Boyd, through shrewd dis- cernment and keen foresight, has made the most of every opportunity that has come his way and today he is the owner of a fine landed estate of some eight hundred aeres, the same being located near Maple Grove, in Jasper county, Missouri.
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