USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people, Vol. II > Part 48
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After marrying the fair maiden of his choice, Mr. Kennel lived for a short time in Indiana, from there coming, in 1869, to Jasper county, locating in Union township, where he has since been pleasantly and profitably employed in agricultural pursuits, his estate, "Buckeye Farm," containing ninety-seven acres of choice land, on which he has made improvements of value. A few years ago he had a fire loss amount- ing to about three thousand dollars, on which he had but an insurance of five hundred dollars.
Mr. Kennel married, when twenty-five years old, Rachel E. Hamilton, who had one brother, George Hamilton, killed in the Civil war. On March 1, 1911, after a happy wedded life of forty-three years, Mrs. Kennel passed to the life beyond, aged sixty-eight years. Seven chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kennel, namely : Lulu; Verne and Jean, twins; Bert; Malroy ; Joseph F .; and Edith.
Joseph F. Kennel, Mr. Kennel's youngest son, was born in Union township, in 1879, and has here spent his entire life, receiving a prac- tical education in the public schools. Becoming a farmer from choice, he is successfully engaged in his independent occupation on "Shady Slope" farm, which he purchased in February, 1905. He is a breeder of thoroughbred cattle, having a fine herd of Herefords, at the head of which is "Onward," 33, of the Funkhisen herd, one of the best known herds in the entire state. Mr. Joseph F. Kennel married, in 1904, Ollie Driver, a daughter of Thomas and Ann Driver, and they have three children, Leta May, Ollie Ann and Rachel Pauline.
SIMEON C. HECKATHORN .- Many people gain wealth in this world, many gain distinction in the learned professions, and many are hon- ored with publie offices of trust and responsibility,-but to few is it given to attain so high a place in the esteem and affection of their fellow citizens as that enjoyed by Mr. and Mrs. Simeon C. Heckathorn, who are known throughout Jasper county for their honorable, exen- plary lives. Their spacious and comfortable residence in Marion town- ship is widely renowned for its generous hospitality and on his three hundred and sixty-four acres of most arable land Mr. Heckathorn is engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock.
The Heckathorn family is one of old standing in Virginia, where John H. Heckathorn, grandfather of the subject of this review, was born, his birth-place having been near Winchester. His parents were of Pennsylvania stock and represented an old Colonial family. John H. Heckathorn passed his youth and early manhood in the Old Domin- ion, whence he eventually removed, with his family, to Pickaway county, Ohio, later settling on the Wyandotte Indian Reserve in Wyan- dotte county, Ohio. In 1828 he entered a tract of eighty acres of gov-
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ernment land in the latter county and there he and his wife passed the residue of their lives. Mrs. Heckathorn, whose maiden name was Sham- ball, preceded her honored husband in death, he having passed to the higher life in 1852. They were survived by seven children-four sons and three daughters, namely-Philip, Henry, Daniel, Aaron, Bar- bara, Eva and Betsy. Daniel Heckathorn was the father of Simeon C., to whom this sketch is dedicated. He was born in the year 1818 and when he had reached his legal majority, in 1839, he entered a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Hardin county, Ohio, on which he settled shortly after his marriage, April 15, 1841, to Mary Rubins, of Marion county, Ohio. He improved his land and in time became very prosperous. Of his six children Simeon C. was the second born, and four of the number are now living, as follows,-Henry, whose birth occurred on the 18th of July, 1852, is identified with agricultural operations in Wyandotte county, Ohio; Thomas A., born on the 24th of May, 1855, is a farmer in Hardin county. Ohio; Juduthan C., born on the 6th of March, 1860, resides on the old homestead farm in Wyan- dotte county, Ohio.
Simeon C. Heckathorn was born on the 27th of June, 1845, in Har- din county, Ohio, and he grew to adult age on the old home farm, in the work and management of which he early became associated with his father. His early educational training consisted of such advan- tages as were afforded in the neighboring district schools. When the dark cloud of Civil war obscured the National horizon he was fired with a desire to become a soldier in the Union army. Accordingly, on the 18th of August, 1862, when but eighteen years of age, he enlisted for service in Company A. One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio Volun- teer Infantry. He rapidly won renown as a valiant and faithful soldier and served with distinction during the remainder of the war. He participated in the following engagements,-Winchester, Virginia, September 19, 1864; Fischer Hill. September 22, 1864; Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864; Snickers Gap and in all skirmishes and battles from Maryland up and down the valley in the summer of 1864, his regi- ment having been a part of the Eighth Army Corps, under General Crook. After General Sheridan's last fight the Eighth Army Corps camped near Harpers Ferry, whence they marched, on the last of De- cember, to City Point, camping there until the 24th of March, 1865. Later Mr. Heckathorn's regiment joined the Army of the Potomac, under General Gibbon, as the Twenty-fourth Army Corps and then established line on Hatch's Run and was under fire for three days. March 30-31 and April 2, 1865, when by order of General Grant the whole line made a charge. In driving out General Lee the Twenty- fourth Army Corps captured one thousand prisoners, four guns and one of the Confederate forts. The following day this section of the Union forces began to follow Lee's army on retreat but on the 6th of April, before daylight, the One Hundred Twenty-third Ohio and the Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania were sent to burn the South Side Railroad bridge across the Appomattox river but on arrival at that point were met by General Rosser with his cavalry and a fierce battle, lasting sev- eral hours, ensued. During this engagement Lee's army cut off the retreat and the federal forces, being outnumbered by the cavalry, were captured and kept as prisoners with Lee's army until the final surrender of that General at Appomattox, on the 9th of April, 1865. The foregoing amply illustrates what an intensely exciting time Mr. Heckathorn had during his military career. After the close of the war he returned to Camp Chase, in Ohio, as a prisoner of war and there was discharged on the 12th of June, 1865, by special order of the war department.
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When peace had again been established throughout the country Mr. Heckathorn turned his attention to farming in Ohio. Shortly after his marriage, in 1869, he left for Missouri, locating in Jasper county on the 14th of October, 1869. For a year he rented a farm and in the fall of 1870 he purchased a tract of one hundred and fifty- four acres, on which he has since resided. He has added to his origi- nal estate until he now possesses three hundred and sixty-four acres, his modern and splendidly equipped farm ranking as one of the finest in the entire county. He is one of the most substantial citizens of this section of the state and by reason of his affability and genial kindli- ness is esteemed by all with whom he has come in contact. He believes that everyone should make a point of leading an honorable and up- right life and his own career has been characterized by square and straightforward dealings and the utmost kindliness of spirit. In poli- tics he votes the Republican ticket and he manifests a deep and sin- cere interest in all matters put forward for the good of the general welfare.
On the 12th of August, 1869, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Heckathorn to Miss Elazine Frazer, who was born and reared in Wyandotte eounty. Ohio, and who is a daughter of Thomas Frazer, long a representative farmer in the old Buckeye state. Mr. and Mrs. Heckathorn became the parents of two children,-Louis D., born No- vember 23, 1870, was summoned to the life eternal on the 16th of October, 1910; and Jean D., whose birth occurred on the 10th of March, 1884. is now engaged in farming in Jasper county. The latter son married Miss Jessie Wingfield, a native of this county. Mrs. Hecka- thorn is a woman of unusually sweet personality.
I. F. NICKELL .- Prominent among the pioncers in the rural mail de- livery service is I. F. Nickell, of Carthage, Jasper county, who has been identified with this branch of the United States service since 1901, his route being Number One from Carthage. It extends twelve miles or more northeast of the city into Madison and Sheridan townships and has one hundred boxes on the route. He came to this county in 1897, and has since been a valued and highly respected citizen, while as a mail carrier his prompt and careful attention to his duties has won for him the sincere regard, high esteem and confidence of the people along his route. A son of Thomas Nickell, he was born December 10, 1846, in Jackson county, Ohio, but was brought up and educated in Henry county. Iowa.
Thomas Nickell was a native of the Old Dominion, his parents, who were of Scotch-Irish descent, having been early settlers of Virginia. His birth occurred in 1800 and his death in 1885. He was a man of strict integrity and a consistent Presbyterian in religion. He married Isabel MeDowell, who was of Scotch ancestry, and later moved to Ohio and lived in Jackson county. Subsequently he moved with his family to Henry county, Iowa, going there when it was a frontier state, in 1848, before there were any railroads west of the Mississippi. Mrs. Nickell died at the age of seventy-six years. Ten children were born of their union, three sons and seven daughters.
In the rural schools of Henry county, Iowa, I. F. Nickell obtained a practical knowledge of the common branches of learning, completing his early studies at Mount Pleasant Academy. In March, 1864, he enlisted in Company K, Fourth lowa Cavalry, and served under Colonel Wins- low, who after the close of the conflict became widely known as a railway president. The Fourth Iowa Cavalry, known as the Rough Riders of the West, made a brilliant record in the early part of 1865, as a part of the
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band of horsemen commanded by General James H. Wilson raiding sev- eral Alabama cities and capturing Selma, Columbus and Macon, and in addition taking many prisoners, pieces of artillery, and destroying two gunboats and property of all description. In August, 1865, Mr. Nickell was honorably discharged from the service in Henry county, Iowa, and there continued his residence several years, for four years of the time serving as county recorder, filling the office with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents.
Going to Beadle county, South Dakota, in 1883, Mr. Nickell took up a homestead claim and was for some time employed in the pioneer labor of clearing and improving a farm. A man of intelligence and public- spirit, he inevitably became prominent in local affairs and for two terms of two years each rendered appreciated service as county superintendent of schools in Beadle county. Coming to Jasper county. Missouri, in 1897, Mr. Nickell embarked in educational work and for a year was principal of the schools in the town of Prosperity. Locating then in Carthage, he made wise investments of his money, buying six valuable lots on Grand avenue, and there erected the large and substantial resi- dence which he has since occupied, his home being one of the most at- tractive and pleasant in the neighborhood. In 1901 he was appointed to his present position as rural carrier and has filled the office with characteristic ability and fidelity.
Mr. Nickell married, in 1869, Mary Sayles, who was born in Ohio, but was reared and educated in Henry county, Iowa, where her parents, Ahab and Isabelle Sayles, were for many years engaged in farming. Mrs. Sayles died in Henry county, when but fifty-eight years old. Mr. Sayles spent his last years, however, in Jasper county, Missouri, dying, at a good old age, in Carthage. Mr. and Mrs. Nickell are the parents of four children, namely: Walter S., of Joplin, Missouri, a conductor on the Kansas City & Southern Railway; Lina, a popular and successful educator, having taught in the Carthage public schools for the past nine years; Thomas A., a well-known dairyman of Carthage; and Mary E .. wife of Harry Jackson, bookkeeper in the Central National Bank of Carthage. Politically Mr. Nickell zealously supports the principles of the Republican party by voice and vote. Socially he belongs to Stan- ton Post, No. 16, G. A. R .; and religiously Mr. and Mrs. Nickell are valued and trustworthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOHN WICKSTROM .- A progressive agriculturist and one of the lead- ing stock raisers and dealers of Jasper county, John Wickstrom is busily employed in his profitable occupation in Union township, his farm being situated eight miles east of Carthage. Born in Sweden sixty years ago, he grew to manhood on a farm and was educated in the public schools. On attaining his majority, he immigrated to the United States, being fourteen days in crossing the ocean in a sailing vessel.
Going directly to Michigan, he was employed on a railroad for four years, after which he came to Missouri, locating in Lawrence county, near Pierce City. Subsequently locating in Jasper county, Mr. Wick- strom took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Union township, and began the pioneer task of redeeming a farm froin the for- est. He succeeded well in his efforts, and subsequently added to his orig- inal tract by purchase, becoming the owner of a large estate. He has since sold to his sons two hundred acres of land. and has his own home- stead well improved, having a substantial dwelling house, a good barn, thirty feet by sixty-three feet, and a fine windmill for pumping water for his stock. Paying especial attention to stock breeding and raising, Mr. Wiekstrom founded in 1905 his present herd of cattle, which contains
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twenty head of the best Hereford cattle to be found in Southwestern Missouri, at the head of the famous herd being "Dandy Edward," No. 322,836, while in the herd are four fine bulls. Mr. Wickstrom also raises thoroughbred Angora goats, having thirty-five head in his bunch.
Mr. Wickstrom married, near Pierce City, Missouri, thirty-six years ago, Hannah Lawson, who came from Sweden to this country when a young girl, and they have five children, all of whom are married, namely : Frank, Willie, Harry, Greta and Martha. Politically Mr. Wickstrom is identified with the Republican party. and religiously both he and his wife are valued members of the Lutheran Church.
FERDINAND OZMENT .- A well known and highly respected citizen of Madison township, and one of the most progressive and prosperous agri- culturists of this part of Jasper county, Ferdinand Ozment is a fine representative of the descendants of the early pioneers of Missouri, his father, Richard Ozment, having dauntlessly pushed his way into an uncultivated country away back in 1839, following the pioneer's trail to the extreme western border of civilization and taking up a tract of wild land in this vicinity. The son Ferdinand was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, October 13. 1835.
Richard Ozment, also born in North Carolina, of German lineage, came to Missouri in 1839, locating in section 23, Madison township, Jasper county, and immediately began the arduous task of converting the raw prairie land into a productive farm, having been one of the first to take up Government land in this part of the state. In 1849 he made a brave endeavor to win some of California's hidden wealth, and after traveling across the plains for five months with ox teams he ar- rived on the Pacific coast. He there mined for gold eighteen months, but not meeting with satisfactory returns for his labors with pick and shovel returned home by way of the Isthmus, and subsequently lived on his homestead until his death, at the age of three score years. He was a Jacksonian Democrat in politics and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife, whose maiden name was Lydia Millis, sur- vived him, passing away at the age of cighty-two years. Eight children were born to them. as follows: Martisha, Elizabeth, Susan. Mary, de- ceased ; Emily, residing in Los Angeles, California; Ferdinand, the special subject of this brief sketch ; Thomas, of Kansas; and Mrs. Sarah E. Foss, of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Ferdinand Ozment, who was reared on the home farm, acquired a practical education in the public schools, and was well drilled in agri- culture on the parental homestead. Succeeding to the ownership of a part of the home farm, he has now one hundred and twenty acres of well improved land in section 22, his estate, which is known far and wide as Cedar Mound Farm, being one of the most attractive and de- sirable in the township. His dwelling house, standing on a natural building site and overlooking the surrounding country, is shaded by a large number of beautiful spruce and cedar trees, presenting to the passer-by a beautiful picture of rural comfort and happiness. Politi- cally Mr. Ozment is a stanch Democrat, and religiously he is a mem- ber and an elder in the Presbyterian church, to which his wife also be- longs. During the Civil war he served in the Confederate army, under General Joseph Selby. Detailed as a scout, he had many thrilling ex- periences, at one time being left for dead by his companions, and on another occasion being taken prisoner and only escaping death by elud- ing his guards and rejoining his command.
Mr. Ozment married, at the age of twenty years, Elizabeth Cox, who was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, a daughter of Henry Cox, who
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came from Illinois to Missouri in pioneer days. Mr. Cox was a veteran of the Mexican war. Of the five children that blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ozment three have passed to the higher life, Jefferson dying at the age of thirty-two years; Julia Tramer, at the age of eigh- teen years; and Florence Stuckey, when twenty-eight years old. The two children now living are Anna, wife of Charles Melon, of Carthage. Missouri, and Burr H., mentioned in a succeeding paragraph. Mrs. Ozment, the mother of these children, died in 1892, and Mr. Ozment subsequently married Ruth A. (Fargarson) McVay, who was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, September 9, 1851, a daughter of Jonathan and Catherine (Tulloss) Fargarson, natives of Ohio. Mrs. Ozment's first husband, Mr. McVay, was also born in Ohio, but lived near Afton, Iowa, for several years, and then came to Jasper county, Missouri. He was also a resident of Jasper county, this state, for several years, until his death in 1901. Mr. and Mrs. McVay reared five children, all of whom are now married, namely : Mrs. Grace Forst, Fred O., Mrs. Ethel Carr, Mrs. Ella Neely and William G. Mrs. Ozment was for- merly a Methodist, but is now a member of the Presbyterian church.
Professor Burr H. Ozment was born on the home farm, July 26. 1876, and as a boy and youth was given excellent educational advant- ages. After leaving the public schools he attended Baker University, in Baldwin. Kansas, and the University of Missouri, where also for six years he was an instructor in music. He is now a member of the faculty of the Agricultural College at Manhattan, Kansas. He stands high in Masonry, being a Knight Templar and a thirty-second degree. He is a member of his college fraternity, and is now a resident of Manhattan, Kansas. Professor Ozment married Harriet Maher, a lady of refine- ment and culture, who was graduated from Baker University and prior to her marriage was a successful teacher in the state of Kansas.
HOWARD GRAY .- A record of well-won success has been made by How- ard Gray, judge of the Jasper Circuit Court and one of the three judges of the Springfield court of appeals. He is also known as a legis- lator of enlightened order, having served as state senator from the Twenty-Eighth Missouri District, including the counties of Jasper, Bar- ton and Vernon. He was equipped to succeed and has made a record for efficiency and judicial bearing that has gained for him the admira- tion of the bar. Judge Gray is an eminent example of that typically American product,-the self-made man, his success being the result of his own unaided efforts.
Howard Gray was born June 5, 1861, at Masonville, Iowa. The family is one which has existed in this country considerably over a century. Asa Gray, a native of Vermont, English by descent and a farmer by occupation, settled in Saratoga county, New York, in 1799. His son, the subject's grandfather, namely, Enoch Gray, was born in Hadley, New York, and was one of the pioneers of Jasper county, where he owned large farming properties. He died in Jasper county on November 17, 1881, when about ninety years of age. He married Sylvia Wilcox, who was born in Greenfield, New York, in 1799, of parents na- tive to Rhode Island, and her demise occurred January 23, 1864. They were the parents of fourteen children. The subject's grandparents on the maternal side were Vermont people. His father, Ira Gray, was born in Hadley, New York, in 1822 and died in Carthage, Missouri. He re- ceived a good education and was a Wesleyan Methodist minister, being in the work for fifty-five years. in New York, Illinois, Iowa and Mis- souri. He was a Republican in political conviction. This good man came to Missouri from Towa in 1870 and located on the prairie some four miles
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northwest of Oronogo, in Jasper county. In addition to his ministerial duties he taught school several years in this county. The mother, Eliza Gray, was born in 1823, in Saratoga county, New York, and her de- mise occurred in Webb City, Missouri, January 13, 1910.
Like most ministers' sons young Gray can look back over several scenes of residence in his younger days. The greater part of his educa- tion, however, was received in the schools at Fort Scott, Kansas. Much of his boyhood was spent on the farm in Jasper county, where his father located in 1870. The early days might have appeared meagre to any but a happy. whole-sonled young fellow, for his father was in poor health and served for many years in the new country almost without pay. Finances were at low ebb, and there was a family of nine children to house, elothe and feed. It is needless to say that there was no pamp- ering done in that household, but it may also be hazarded that those early years taught the subject that self-reliance and courage which is one of his most valuable assets. He attended the district schools during a part of the winter term and when he became twenty-one he went to work in the mines at Carterville as a day laborer. His work was under the surface and he was injured three times by falling rock. His great ambition was to gain a good education, and he knew it must come through his own efforts. He was able to save enough from his wages to attend a normal school at Fort Scott, Kansas, for three terms and after that his path led to snecess. His versatility is apparent in the following epitome of his career. He farmed, taught school, mined, sold goods on the road as a traveling salesman, worked on a newspaper as a reporter, practiced law and is now one of Missouri's eminent judges. By no means an ordinary history.
Politically Judge Gray is a Republican, ever having been loyal to the party's tenets and since his earliest voting days having marched be- neath the standard of the "Grand Old Party." He served with signal ability as attorney of Carthage and Carterville, Missouri. He is not connected with any church, but is none the less a moral and charitable man and has always given a substantial part of his income to the individ- nal poor and to charitable institutions. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
On June 20, 1890. Judge Gray was married in Hinsdale, New York, his chosen lady being Genie Snyder, who received her education in the schools of Cuba, New York. Her father was a farmer and a Union soldier in the Civil war. Her mother was Helen Snyder. They have one son, Laurence Gray, born at Carthage, Missouri. June 25, 1891, now a student in the State University of Missouri.
THOMAS K. MCKINNEY .- An honored resident of Union township. Jasper county, T. K. Mckinney is busily and prosperously employed in agricultural pursuits on section twenty-seven, his estate. "Oak Leaf Farm," being one of the most attractive and desirable of any in the neighborhood. The descendant of one of the older families of Vir- ginia, he was born February 25, 1858, in Mercer county, Virginia.
Ilis father. James Harrison MeKinney, was born in Virginia, on the James river, and grew to manhood in his native state. About 1860 he came with his family to Missouri, settling in Barry county on a farm. During the Civil war he served as a soldier in the Union army, being under command of Major Wilkes and Colonel John Allen. His regiment was assigned to the division commanded by General Lyons. and was at the front in the engagement at Wilson's Creek, where the brave general lost his life. The regiment was also under fire at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and at Scipio and Madrid. Receiving his honorable
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