USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people, Vol. II > Part 47
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Politically Mr. Turk is a stanch Republican, fraternally he belongs to the Knights and Ladies of Security and to the Anti Horse Thief Asso- ciation ; and religionsly he is a member of the Christian church.
CHRISTIAN FINGERLEE .- A hale and hearty man, bearing with ease his burden of nearly four score years, Christian Fingerlee has long been prominently identified with the advancement of the agricultural pros- perity of Jasper county, for forty-seven years having owned and man- aged his large farming estate, on section eight, twenty-seven and thirty, Union township. A native of Germany, he was born in Wurtemberg in 1833, and there received his rudimentary education.
Left an orphan when but twelve years old, he came directly to Amer- ica, landing in New York city after an ocean voyage of thirty-five days. Going directly to Ohio, he lived first in Tiffin and later in Sandusky, in the meantime becoming familiar with the customs and manners of his adopted home. Adventurous and daring, he subsequently joined a little party bound for the distant West, and journeyed with ox teams to Iowa and Kansas before there were any railroads west of the Mississippi. At Westport, now Kansas City, Mr. Fingerlee joined a large party of gold hunters, with whom he made an overland trip to the Pacific coast, being four months and nine days en route, suffering privations and hardships on the way and oft times encountering bands of hostile Indians.
After mining in California for two and a half years Mr. Fingerlee ventured northward to the Washington Territory in search of the precious metal, and had the distinction of being the first to find gold in the near vicinity of the Columbia river. One of the very first to mine gold in Idaho, he located on the present site of Boise City before there had been even a log cabin there erected. Having through his vig- orous efforts accumulated twenty-seven thousand dollars in gold, Mr. Fingerlee deposited it in a San Francisco bank and spent two years in
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travelling, during which time he visited Old Mexico, South America and China.
Returning to San Francisco, Mr. Fingerlee bought twenty thousand dollars worth of goods, packed his stock on mules, thirty-eight in num- ber, and started for the mining regions of Idaho, Bannock City being his point of destination. On the way Indians stampeded his mules, cap- tured his goods, and Mr. Fingerlee, with his nine men, continued their journey to the Idaho mines. Subsequently, while looking for a place in which to settle permanently, Mr. Fingerlee came to Missouri on a pros- pecting tour. Not exactly content to stay at that time, he went to Port- land, Oregon, but at the end of four months in that locality returned to Missouri, and has since been a resident of Jasper county, and one of its most honored and respected citizens. In 1874 he bought his present farm, and has since devoted his time and energies to the raising of stock and grain, in his labors meeting with genuine success. He has made improvements of value on the place, having a conveniently arranged dwelling house, substantial farm buildings, and a windmill to furnish water for the stock, the place as a whole being a credit to his sagacity. energy and wise management.
Mr. Fingerlee married, in 1867, Catherine Spencer, who was born in Indiana, and they are the parents of three children, namely: Mrs. Jane Moss, of Carthage; Mrs. Ellen Mitters, of Arkansas; and George H. George H. Fingerlee married Ella Robertson, and their son, Kermit Roosevelt Fingerlee, lives on the Fingerlee Stock Farm, with his grand- father. Mr. Fingerlee is a stanch Republican in politics, and a most faithful, law-abiding citizen. He has had varied experiences in life, suffering all the privations and tribulations of frontier life, and having many serious encounters with the Indians, his body still bearing scars of the wounds received in battle with the savages, but notwithstanding all this he shows little trace of his burden of years, appearing much younger than most men of his age.
JAMES A. MCDERMEIT and E. S. HARRIS are the proprietors of the pieture theatre on the northwest corner of the square, the leading photo- graphic show in the city of Carthage, and one well worthy of the ex- tensive patronage it has among those who appreciate refined entertain- ment. Since December, 1910, they have been the owners of this con- cern and in the period sinee taking possession have spared no pains to make it a model of its kind. The room is large and well ventilated, fitted with comfortable opera chairs, capable of seating several hun- dred people. The stage is elevated and tastefully fitted up and in these harmonious surroundings are displayed the varied and beautiful films which Mr. McDermeit makes a point of securing.
Another feature which adds to the attractiveness of the afternoon and evening performances is the excellent orchestra, under the diree- tion of the popular musician, Miss Ella M. Fagin. Her taste and skill in the art ensure selections of real merit and this, combined with the frequent change of pictures, makes the theatre deservedly popular and in all respects a credit to its proprietors.
Before coming to Carthage, Mr. MeDermeit's home was in Fort Scott, Kansas, where he spent thirty-three years in the lumber business. His birth place was Henderson county, Illinois. As a child he saw the many seekers for gold start on the long journey with ox teams in the famous year of "forty-nine" and also the Mormon city Nauvoo. where the prophet Joseph Smith was killed. His father was John Me- Dermeit, also a farmer, born in Pennsylvania, of Scotch aneestry. He was a man whose rectitude and honor were proverbial and he instilled
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these virtues into his children both by example and by precept. He mar- ried Miss Margaret Rankin, a daughter of a well-known farmer of that name and a cousin of David Rankin, the wealthiest stockman in Illi- nois. She was born in Ilinois, but died in Arden county, Missouri, at the age of sixty-two. Her husband's decease occurred in the same place at the age of fifty-eight. The subject of this sketch was one of eight children born to John and Margaret MeDermeit. There were six sons and two daughters in the family and they all grew up on the farm. learning to work and to prize uprightness before all else. Their educa- tion was received in the distriet school, or rather begun there and con- tinued in the training of business.
In 1877 Mr. MeDermeit was married to Eliza Hardwiek, of Fort Scott, which city had been his home and place of business for five years at the time of his wedding. Mrs. McDermeit was born in Gentry county, Missouri, in 1858, and died in the state of Kansas, in July of 1910, hav- ing been a loving companion and true helpmate to her husband for thirty-three years. Their one daughter, Ertil Harris, is ticket agent at her father's theatre. She is a young woman of unusual business ability and well fitted for the position she fills so efficiently.
Mr. MeDermeit is a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- men. He has been an elder in the Christian church for years and is one of the most liberal supporters of that institution, interested in all that makes for the betterment of the community. He is no less popular socially than he is prominent in a business way and is rightly reckoned among the leading citizens of Carthage.
GEORGE W. TAYLOR .- Farming. the oldest of the industries, has in recent years presented one of the richest fields for seientifie investiga- tion and one of the progressive representatives of the cause is George W. Taylor, who has profited very materially by the use of the latest methods in the cultivation of his own land, bringing his acres to the highest possible point of productiveness. This gentleman is a native son of the state. his first identification with Jasper county, however. dating from the year 1899. when he secured a farm of one hundred and twenty acres on Spring River. In 1901 he disposed of that and became the owner of a fine eighty-acre farm in the vicinity of Sarcoxie. He is a man of sound civic principles and has the best interests of the community at heart.
Mr. Taylor was born March 5, 1855, in Osage county, Missouri, and is the son of Thomas and Susan (Haskins) Taylor, pioneer settlers of Osage county, who cast their fortunes with that part of the state in the early '30s of the Nineteenth century. The mother was born in eastern Tennessee, in 1821. and died in 1879, aged fifty-eight years. The father, who claimed Virginia as his birthplace, died in November. 1859. aged sixty-five years. The elder Taylor owned considerable land in Osage county and he became the father of a family of ten children. six of whom are now living. He died when most of them were small and the plucky mother kept the family together and reared the boys and girls to manhood and womanhood.
When Mr. Taylor reached the age of twenty-one years he married and began farming for himself in Osage county. He was successful from the start and acenmulated property until he became the owner of one hundred acres in Osage county. He disposed of this in 1899 and, as previously mentioned, removed to Jasper county and purchased one hundred and twenty aeres on Spring River. He disposed of this farm in 1901 and purchased eighty acres near Sarcoxie, his present home. In his residence of a decade here he has prospered and. like
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his neighbors, has had the pleasure of seeing his property increase greatly in value.
Mr. Taylor was married, March 9, 1876, to Eliza Roux, daughter of Andrew and Virginia Roux, natives of France. They came to America when young and located in this state at an early date. Mrs. Taylor died September 27, 1900. and her obsequies were held in the Missionary Baptist church, of which the family are members. The remains of this worthy woman are interred in the Harvey Cemetery on Spring River. To the subject and his wife were born the following six children: George Walter, born September 25. 1885, married and farming in Jasper county; Florence Ann. born April 7. 1888, wife of George Palmer: Laura May, born December 7. 1890; Sophie Pearl. born January 26, 1893: Charles Evert, born January 28. 1896: and Harvey Andrew, born October 2. 1898.
JOHN A. PETERSON, late of Union township. Jasper county, was for many years well known throughout this vicinity as an industrious and enterprising farmer, failing health finally compelling him to go further west. Born in Sweden in 1851. he lived there until seventeen years old. when he immigrated to the United States, locating first in Portage county. Ohio, near Ravenna.
Coming to Missouri in 1877, Mr. Peterson purchased one hundred and forty acres of land in Union township, Jasper county. on section thirty. about eight miles from Carthage, and immediately began the improvement of a farm. He succeeded well in his undertakings, plac- ing a large part of his land under cultivation and making improve- ments of an excellent character, having a good house. a large barn and a finely-bearing orchard, his estate becoming one of the more desirable pieces of property of the neighborhood.
Mr. Peterson married, in Ohio. Leah Bauer, who was born in Summit county. Ohio, a daughter of Dr. Jacob Bauer. Dr. Bauer was born in Germany, and after his marriage to Christiana Holzworth, of Germany, located in Ohio, where he and his wife spent their remain- ing years, he being prosperously engaged in farming. Nine children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Bauer, one of whom, S. J. Bauer, M. D., for many years a prominent physician and surgeon in Ohio, died at. the age of fifty-six years. Another son, Jacob W. Bauer, held a high Government position in North Carolina for a number of years. Dr. Jacob Baner, who lived to the advanced age of four score and four years, was for thirty or more years a deacon in the Presbyterian church. His wife preceded him to the better world, passing away at. the age of sixty-nine years.
Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Peterson five children were born. namely : Henry Earl, of Wyoming: Edith, wife of Rev. W. T. Fergu- son. of Gregory, South Dakota : Nellie May, a successful and popular teacher in Gregory county. South Dakota. where she has taken up a homestead claim: Thomas Fred, of Montana; and Deo Alfred, who resides on the home farm, of which he is the manager. Mrs. Peterson. with the able assistance of her son Deo Alfred, has continued the improvements previously inaugurated on the home estate, which bears evidence of the thrift and enterprise which first established it and by which it has since been carried on. She is a member of the Method- ist Episcopal church, and has reared her children to useful and honored men and women.
GEORGE T. COOLEY .- Possessing much native mechanical talent and ability and great inventive ingenuity, George T. Cooley has long been
Seo. J. Cooley.
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prominently identified with the promotion of the industrial interests of Jasper county, and as head of the Cooley Manufacturing Company he is one of the foremost business men of Joplin. Ile also deserves fur- ther distinction from the fact that he has built over three hundred concentrating mills in Jasper county. Ile was born May 31, 1848, in Casey county, Kentucky, which was also the birthplace of his father, Thomas Hutching Cooley.
John Cooley, his paternal grandfather, immigrated from England in early colonial days and, having settled in one of the New England states, took an active part in the Revolutionary war, being press master for the army. For his services during the struggle of the colonists for independence he received from the government a concession of three thousand acres of land in Casey county, Kentucky, his grant including the land upon which Daniel Boone had previously built his log cabin. As Kentucky was then becoming rapidly settled, Boone, who loved hunt- ing and solitude. crossed over into Missouri, locating in the forests near the present site of Booneville.
Thomas Hutching Cooley was born in Casey county, Kentucky, in 1816, and there grew to man's estate. Subsequently moving with his family to Springfield. Illinois, he was for a few years employed at the cabinet maker's trade, afterward being engaged at the undertaking busi- ness at Springfield. He spent his last years, however, in Kenney, Illi- nois, passing away in 1886. He married Letitia J. Anderson, who was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and their marriage was solemnized in Casey county. She belonged to a family of note, and was a sister of Sam Anderson, who owns Andersonville prison, in which so many Union soldiers were confined during the Civil war, and also many acres of land. She survived her husband many years, dying in 1904, in Oronogo. Missouri.
George T. Cooley spent his boyhood in Kentucky, where he made his first acquaintance with books, attending school three months in his na- tive county. The family then moving to Illinois, he continued his studies in the public schools, subsequently graduating from the State Normal School. He then entered Wesleyan University, which he at- tended three years, leaving the institution before graduation. Mr. Cooley then served an apprenticeship at the joiner's trade, which he afterward followed as a journeyman for a short time. Perceiving the need of an expert mechanical stair builder in the community, he formed a partnership with Dan Harkness. of Springfield, Illinois, and there built up a substantial business, being pioneers in that line of industry. Five years later Mr. Harkness died, and Mr. Cooley, not wishing to longer conduct the business, sold out to Messrs. Hampton and Hueston, and in the ensuing five years was employed at the Union Iron Works at Decatur, Illinois, as a millwright.
Again embarking in business on his own account, Mr. Cooley made a specialty of building grain elevators, being employed in different parts of the country, among other plants which he erected having been the famous "Schellenbacher Mills" at Wichita, Kansas. Coming to Mis- souri in 1878, he purchased a half section of land in Twin Grove town- ship and leased it for farming purposes. After the wrecking of Oronogo, Missouri, by a cyclone, Mr. Cooley assumed charge of a force of men employed to rebuild the town and when the work was completed he erected for Stolz & Illsing, in the mining district, a zinc site mill of the concentrator type, using 2 by 4 studding in its construction, in- stead of boards. The experiment proved so successful that Mr. Cooley took ont patents and made a specialty of building concentrator jigs,
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called Cooley's self-contained jigs, filling contracts in various parts of the United States. In 1900 he invented a coal washing jig, the patent of which is being universally used in all the large coal mines of the United States, and subsequently he incorporated the American Con- eentrator Company, which holds fifteen of his patents. In 1908 Mr. Cooley sold his interest in that company to F. S. Butcher, and in 1909, established the Cooley Manufacturing Company, which has since earried on an extensive and profitable business, manufacturing concentrator tables and doing general machine work. At 410-12 Penn avenue he is now ereeting the finest garage in Joplin, which will be completed by the first of the year. The building is fifty by one hundred and twenty feet, two-stories high, constructed of steel and pressed brick. This will be known as the Cooley Garage, and Mr. Cooley and his seven sons will oeeupy the same.
Mr. Cooley married, November 16, 1876, in Kenney, Illinois, Eliza- beth R. Hutchin, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Hutehin, promi- nent farming people in Illinois. Eight children have brightened the wedded pathway of Mr. and Mrs. Cooley, namely: Archie Francis, born in Kenney, Illinois; Mrs. Jessie L. Broadwich, of Oronogo, Mis- souri ; George Elmore, born in Kenney, Illinois, is in business with his father, being an expert machinist; Julian Arthur, born in Kenney and now considered one of the most skilful machinists in the state, is foreman in the Webb City Garage at Webb City ; Charles Thomas, born in Jasper county, Missouri, is associated with his father; Sidney Earl, born August 26, 1889, at Twin Grove, Missouri, is a graduate of the Joplin high school and is now attending Columbia University ; Dixon Ray, born in Oronogo, Missouri, in 1892, is also with his father; and John Norman, born in Oronogo, Missouri, in 1894. is a pupil in the Joplin Central sehool.
A Republican in polities, Mr. Cooley votes for the best man and best measures regardless of party prejudices. Fraternally he belongs to lodge No. 471, A. F. & A. M. Religiously he favors the faith of his parents, which is the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife, however, is a Christian Seientist.
THOMAS PATTERSON .- Widely known throughout Jasper and Bar- ton counties as one of the leading live-stock dealers and shippers of this part of the state, Thomas Patterson is prominently associated with the promotion of the agricultural interests of Jasper county, being the owner and manager of a fine farm situated near the city of Jasper. On his estate, which he has occupied for seventeen years, and which contains three hundred acres of rich and fertile land, he has a tasteful and convenient residence, good barns and outbuildings, and all the machinery required by a first-class, modern agrieulturist. Deseended on both sides of the family from ancestors long prominent in the his- tory of the South, he was born. September 4. 1868. in Hardin county, Kentucky, a son of Samuel Patterson.
A native of old Kentucky, Samuel Patterson grew to manhood on his native heath, and during the Civil war served valiantly as a soldier in the Union army, proudly wearing the blue for his country's sake. Coming with his family to Missouri in 1880. he located first four miles east of JJasper, but later removed to a farm lying one-half mile east of that city, and was there a resident until his death, at the age of fifty-eight years. He was an earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party; an active member of James Ward Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Jasper; and belonged to the Methodist Epis- copal church. His wife, whose maiden name was Naomi Roberts, was born in Kentucky, and died, at the age of seventy-eight years. in
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Missouri. Six children were born to them, as follows: Abraham L .; Luther N., the only member of the family to remain in Kentucky, re- sides in Hardin county ; Isaac B .; Charles Richard; and Thomas, the special subject of this brief sketch; and Nathan Henry, cashier of the Merchants Bank at Jasper, Missouri. All of these children, with the exception of Luther N., are residents of Jasper county, Missouri, and are held in high regard, being thoroughly esteemed and respected for their sterling traits of character.
A lad of twelve years when he came with his parents to Jasper county, Thomas Patterson has ever evinced a genuine interest in the progress and prosperity of his adopted county. and has contributed his full share towards its material advancement. He early chose farm- ing as his life occupation, and being by nature of an active and enter- prising disposition, and possessing a resolute will. he has let nothing escape his attention in an agricultural line that could be of practical benefit to him. Since assuming possession of his present farm, in 1894, Mr. Patterson has made improvements of great value, and in addition to tilling the soil with most satisfactory results has carried on an extensive and remunerative business as a stock raiser, shipper and dealer, having built up a large and hierative patronage, and gained an enviable reputation for honesty and integrity in his dealings with his fellow-men.
On November 29, 1893, Mr. Patterson was united in marriage with Trissa Lowenstein, who was born, reared and educated in Jasper county, Missouri. Her father, William Lowenstein, was born in Ger- many, and as a young man immigrated to the United States, becoming one of the early settlers of Jasper county, and a citizen of prominence. He married Malinda Vaughan, and of the children born of their union five are living. as follows: Francis Marion ; Ulysses S. ; Oscar ; Mrs. Patterson ; and Mrs. Sarilda Webb, of Jasper. One son, Carl Lowen- stein, died at an early age.
Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have two daughters, namely: Lena Naomi, a young lady of seventeen summers; and Grace, four years of age. Politically Mr. Patterson is a straightforward Republican, and fra- ternally he is a member of Jasper Lodge, No. 398, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Both Mr. and Mrs. Patterson belong to Hall of Peer- less Chapter, No. 75, Order of the Eastern Star, and take great interest in promoting the good of the organization.
A. D. KENNEL .- Numbered among the successful farmers of Jasper county is A. D. Kennel, of Union township, proprietor of "Buckeye Farm." and who has been a resident of this place for upwards of forty years, during which time he has established for himself a fine reputa- tion as a thoroughly honest man and a trustworthy citizen. A son of Jacob Kennel, he was born in Stark county, Ohio, near Canton, where his grandfather, Samuel Kennel, was a pioneer settler.
Jacob Kennel was born in Steuben county, Ohio, and was educated in his native state. among his instructors having been William Mc- Kinley, Sr. He married Susan Leighly, who was born and educated in Stark county, Ohio, and both spent their last days in Jasper county, Missouri. the father dying at the age of sixty-eight years. and the mother attaining the venerable age of eighty-three years. Both were members of the Lutheran church, and in his political relations the father was a Demoerat.
One of a family of eight children, A. D. Kennel received his early education in the district schools, and as a boy was initiated into the mysteries of agriculture. On June 7, 1861. he offered his services to his Vol. II-21
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country, enlisting in Company H, Sixty-seventh Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, under command of Captain J. B. Stafford and Colonel A. C. Voris. After camping for a time at Toledo, his regiment was ordered South, and he saw active service at Wheeling; at Harpers Ferry; and at Winchester, where he was under General Shields. Under command of General Butler Mr. Kennel participated in the siege of Richmond, and at the charge of Fort Wagner, his regiment of six hundred and forty- three brave men came out with but one hundred and twenty-six live soldiers. There wounded in the right side and elbow by the fragment of a shell, Mr. Kennel was confined in the hospital at Point Lookout, Maryland, from May 20, 1864, until October 30, 1864, and on being re- leased was sent to Richmond, Virginia, to join his command. Being honorably discharged from the Army October 23, 1865, he went to In- diana and resumed farming.
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