USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people, Vol. II > Part 60
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Mr. Nordberg married, June 16, 1902, Mensa Carlson, a daughter of his employer, John Carlson. Mr. Carlson was born in Sweden four score years ago, and at the age of twenty-seven years came to the United States to live. Settling in Georgetown, Texas, he subsequently enlisted in a Texas regiment, and served in the Union army during the Civil war. He afterwards located in Carthage, Missouri, where for thirty
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years he was actively engaged in business as a carpenter and contractor. He invested his surplus money in land, buying one hundred and sixty acres of land in Union township, where he improved one of the best and most desirable farms in the neighborhood. It is finely improved, on it being at the present time a thirty-five hundred dollar house, con- taining eight large rooms, with a rock-cement basement, which was constructed by Mr. Nordberg, the residence being one of the most con- veniently arranged and attractive of any in the vicinity. The outbuild- ings are substantial and well adapted for the keeping of horses and cattle and the storing of hay and grain.
Mr. Carlson married, in 1868, in Texas, Annie Christenson, a na- tive of Sweden, and of their union six children were born, namely : Mrs. Greta Johnson; Frank R., of Wichita Falls, Texas; Mrs. D. A. Nord- berg; Mrs. Nellie Lindell, of Texas; William, engaged in business in Springfield, Missouri ; and Mrs. Dora Schelin, of Chicago, Illinois. Mrs. Carlson passed to the life beyond in 1900, aged fifty-nine years.
Mr. and Mrs. Nordberg have two children, namely: Carl, born De- cember 22, 1903; and William, born July 4, 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Nord- berg are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Nordberg is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
SAMPSON SWINGLE .-- A substantial and thriving farmer of Union township, and one of its most highly respected citizens, Sampson Swingle has for the past twenty-three years served as road supervisor and super- intendent of the public highways of this section of Jasper county, his long tenure of office in these capacities bespeaking his ability and effi- ciency. The descendant of a Kentucky family of prominence, he was born in 1849, in Cedar county, Missouri.
His father, John Swingle, was born in North Carolina and went to Kentucky with his parents, thence to Illinois and from there to Missouri. He died in Cedar county, Missouri, at the age of fifty-four years. He was a man of commanding presence, six feet in height, and weighing one hundred and ninety pounds. In his early life he was identified with the Whigs, but after the formation of the Republican party was one of its stanchest adherents. He married Hannah Cordell, who was born in Illinois, of Kentucky ancestry, and they became the parents of eight children, one daughter and seven sons. Some of the sons fonght in the Civil war, as follows: Marion, deceased, served in the Eighth Missouri Cavalry; Jefferson was a member of Company I, First Nebraska Cavalry and died in the service; Jackson, deceased, served in the Fifteenth Missouri Cavalry and died in the service.
Growing to manhood on a farm in Cedar county, Sampson Swingle followed the carpenter's trade for several years, being located a part of the time in Barton county, Missouri. From there he came to Jasper county a quarter of a century ago, locating immediately in Union town- ship. Turning his attention to agriculture, he bought one hundred and thirty-five acres of land in section twenty-one, and has since fenced the larger part of it and placed in under a good state of cultivation. He has made improvements of value on the place, having a good house and all the necessary farm buildings. Twenty-three years ago, when Mr. Swingle was elected road supervisor and superintendent of the public highways of Union township, the roads hereabout were in a bad con- dition, many being almost impassible for man or beast. Under his wise supervision a marked changed soon became apparent, the roads in Union township now comparing favorably with any in the county. Mr. Swingle has control of one hundred miles of roadway, along which are
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to be found many bridges and culverts to be kept in good repair and made safe for travelers.
Mr. Swingle married, at the age of thirty-three years, Mary E. Willet, a native of Callaway county, Missouri. Her father, Nathaniel Willet, a native of Tennessee, furnished the Union army during the Civil war with four of its brave soldiers, his sons Thomas, Henry, William and Church. Mr. and Mrs. Swingle have three children, two daughters and a son, namely : Flora Ann, Minnie and Jefferson. Politically Mr. Swin- gle is a sound Republican, and fraternally he belongs to Sarcoxie Lodge, No. 293, A. F. & A. M. He has inherited in no small measure the fine physique of his father, being a large, well-proportioned man, six feet in height, and possesses a frank and genial manner that wins for him hosts of friends.
PHILO W. PARKER .- Industrious, energetic and capable, Philo W. Parker holds a place of prominence among the younger generation of Jasper county's prosperous agriculturists, being proprietor of Fair- land Farm, a fine estate advantageously located three and three-quarter miles southeast of Carthage, in Union township. He was born on "Fairland Farm" February 7, 1890, of pioneer ancestry, his paternal grandfather, Miles J. Parker, having been an early settler of this part of the state.
His father, the late Philo C. Parker, was brought up and educated in Jasper county. When ready to begin life for himself he purchased a tract of land in Union township, and was here profitably employed in agricultural pursuits until his death, December 4, 1906, at the age of forty years. He was widely known throughout the community as a man of sterling integrity and worth, and was held in high esteem by all who knew him. He married Mabel Coe, who died in early woman- hood, when her son, Philo W., was but nine months old. She was a most estimable woman, and a devout member of the Methodist Episco- pal church, to which her husband also belonged
Growing to manhood on the home farm, Philo W. Parker received a practical common school education in his native district, in the mean- time being well trained at home in habits of industry and thrift. His farm of eighty acres is one of the best in regard to its appointments and improvements of any in the township. The land is well fenced, and he has a large barn, while the house, surrounded by a beautifully kept lawn, is situated on a most pleasant and attractive building site. Although young in years, Mr. Parker his acquired a substantial knowl- edge of the various branches of agriculture, and has already won a firm position among the progressive and up-to-date farmers of his town- ship, and as a man of upright character, thoroughly honest and re- liable, is held in regard by his many friends and associates.
He married Della Frances Ralston, born in Madison township, Jan- uary 17, 1895, a daughter of Josiah and Mary (Johnson) Ralston, na- tives of Illinois and Arkansas, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Parker are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOSEPH MACK ROSS .- Having accomplished a satisfactory work as a farmer and dairyman, acquiring a competency, Joseph Mack Ross is now living retired from active pursuits at his pleasant home, on North Lincoln street, Carthage, Missouri, where he is enjoying to the utmost the well-merited reward of his many years of unremitting toil. He was born, in April, 1836, in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where the immigrant ancestor of the branch of the Ross family to which he belongs located on coming to the United States from Scotland.
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Ilis father, Samuel Ross, was born and bred in Pennsylvania, and was there reared to agricultural pursuits. A farmer by occupation, he subsequently removed with his family to Illinois, purchased land in Mercer county, and was there employed in tilling the soil until his death, at the age of fifty-one years. He was a man of intelligence and worth, and for many years served as an elder in the Presbyterian church. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth MeConnell, was born in Pennsylvania, and died in Davenport, lowa, aged seventy-two years. Three sons and eight daughters were born of their union. Two of their sons served as soldiers in the Union army during the Civil war, Joseph Mack and Randall J. The son William now lives in Alberta, Canada. Randall J. Ross, now a resident of Orient, Adair county, Iowa, was a member of the Sixty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.
Brought up on the home farm in Pennsylvania, Joseph Mack Ross received an excellent common school education, and was well drilled at home in farming pursuits. Going to Warren county, Illinois, in early manhood, he there enlisted, August 26, 1862, in Company D, Eighty-third Illinois Infantry, and served under command of Captain J. M. Snyder and Colonel Hardy, of Monmouth, Illinois. His regi- ment was first ordered to Cairo, Illinois, and afterwards was at the front in the engagements at Fort Donelson, Clarksville, Tennessee, and at Nashville, under General A. J. Smith. Mr. Ross was honorably dis- charged and mustered out with his comrades at Nashville, Tennessee, June 21, 1865.
Migrating to Marshall county, Kansas, in 1869, Mr. Ross took up a homestead claim near Marysville, and during the seven years that he was there a resident had all kinds of hard luck, his erops being destroyed either by the extreme drought or by the army of grasshop- pers that invaded the country. Locating in Adair county, Iowa, in 1876, he entered the employ of J. G. Nelson, and for awhile was a traveling salesman for the Stewart Buggy Company. Subsequently, in part- nership with his cousin, Henry Wallace, editor of the "Wallace Farmer, " which was published at Des Moines, Mr. Ross secured a farm of three hundred aeres and embarked in the creamery and dairy bus- iness, and as a manufacturer of butter and cheese built up an exten- sive and exceedingly lucrative business, making considerable money. In 1896 he came to Carthage, where he has since resided. During his varied career Mr. Ross has endured the hardships and privations of frontier life in both Kansas and Iowa, but now, in his declining years, is enjoying all of the comforts and pleasures of modern times, and as a man and a citizen has the respect and confidence of his fellow-men.
Mr. Ross married, in 1867, in Millersburg, Illinois, Mattie Tipton, who was born near Zanesville, Ohio, a daughter of W. J. and Amelia (Thompson) Tipton, and a sister of W. S. Tipton, who served in the Thirty-fifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war and spent his last years in Jamestown, Kansas. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ross, one of whom, Mary Alice, died in infancy, while five are living, namely : William; Harry ; Arvilla May, wife of B. F. Strong, of Orient, Iowa; Amelia C., wife of L. A. Jamison, of Kansas City, Mis- souri; and Frank L., engaged in the drug business in Carthage. Polit- ically Mr. Ross invariably supports the principles of the Republican party by voice and vote, and religiously both he and his wife belong to the United Presbyterian church.
GEORGE JENKINS .- A man of good business tact and judgment, George Jenkins was for many years actively identified with the agricul- tural advancement of his native state, and having, in the pursuits of his
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favorite occupation, acquired a competeney, is now living retired from active labor at his attractive home on West Chestnut street, Carthage. A son of Roderick Jenkins, he was born April 7, 1842, in Effingham county, Illinois.
Roderiek Jenkins was born in Tennessee, and when young migrated to Illinois, where he carried on general farming until his death, at the age of three seore and ten years. He was a Democrat in politics, and contributed towards the support of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife was a member. He married Sarah Goade, who was born in Tennessee, and died on the home farm in Illinois aged sixty- five years. They had a large family of children, nineteen in number, and one of the older sons, Thomas Jenkins, was a soldier in the Mexican war and was killed in the battle of Buena Vista.
Growing to manhood on the parental farm, George Jenkins obtained his early education in the distriet schools. On September 17, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, Fifth Illinois Cavalry, commanded by Captain J. A. Cox, and served until the expiration of his term of enlistment. He soon reenlisted in the One Hundred and Seventeenth Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, and served until receiving his honorable discharge, at Vicksburg, August 29, 1865. IFis regiment, at the time commanded by General A. J. Smith, reinforeed General Thomas at Nashville and fought in the two days' engagement there Deeember 15 and 16, 1864. He took part in many of the important battles fought in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, receiving several flesh wounds, and at one time his face was badly burned by a bursting shell. With his regiment he marched two thousand one hundred and eighty-seven miles, traveled via railroad eight hundred and forty miles and via steam boat five thousand eight hundred and thirteen miles. He served under Generals Grant, Sherman, MePherson, Logan, O. O. Howard, G. M. Dodge and A. J. Smith. Resuming the occupation to which he was reared, Mr. Jenkins engaged in farming after leaving the army, and was thus busily and successfully employed until his retirement from active pur- suits, finding both pleasure and profit in his independent occupation.
Mr. Jenkins married first, May 13, 1866, Angelette Owens, who was born in Saint Clair county, Illinois, a daughter of Peter and Julia (Farris) Owens. She died, leaving two children, namely: Peter L. and Julia, the latter the wife of William Sullivan. Mr. Jenkins mar- ried, May 17, 1878, Hannah Hutchison, who was born in Benton county, Arkansas, being one of the four children of William and Delia (Can- trell) Hutchison, natives of Tennessee. Her father served as a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, belonging to the First Arkan- sas Cavalry, and was killed by bushwhackers after the war. Her mother died at the age of sixty-one years. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins are the par- ents of four children, namely : John P., Roderick R., Georgia Chusman and Alta L. Shelton.
H. T. DALE .- A resident of Carthage, Jasper county, for the past twenty years, H. T. Dale has won for himself an excellent reputation as a man of honor and integrity, and has the fullest confidence of his neighbors and friends. He has an honored record as a gallant soldier in the Civil war, and is now serving most acceptably as an official mem- her of Stanton Post, No. 16, G. A. R., of which he is the adjutant. He was born March 5, 1846, in Livingston county, New York, in the beau- tiful Genesee valley, coming on the paternal side of Virginian an- cestry, and on the maternal side of substantial New England stock. His paternal grandfather was a native of Virginia and a lineal descend- ant of Sir Thomas Dale, the first governor of the Jamestown colony.
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His wife was born in Germany and came to America with her parents at the age of six years. Her parents died the same year and she was reared in an American family in Livingston county, New York. Grand- father Dale was a farmer. He died in Livingston county, New York, in 1823, and his wife died in 1852.
The father of the subject, Thompson Dale, the descendant of an old and well-known Virginian family, was born and reared in Living- ston county, New York, son of Stephen and Eleanor (Seience) Dale, and there learned the trade of a painter and grainer. He removed. from there to Winnebago county, Illinois, in 1856, and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, when but fifty-four years old. He married Eleanor Saterlee, who was born in Washington county, New York, of New England antecedents, and a daughter of Joel Sat- erlee, a native of Connecticut. She survived her husband, and died in Emporia, Kansas, in 1901, aged seventy-seven years. Seven sons and one daughter were born of their union.
Homer T. Dale received his early education in the public schools, and remained a resident of the Genesee valley until ten years of age, then going to Illinois with his parents. On March 23, 1864, he en- listed in Company G, Forty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served under Captain A. W. Clark and Colonel W. W. Barrett. With his command he went first to Camp Frey, Chicago, thence south to Tennessee, where he joined General Sherman's army, his regiment be- ing assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division, Fourth Army Corps, commanded by General O. O. Howard. He subsequently participated in many engagements of importance, including the battle at New Hope Church, where he was wounded in the right side; the engagement at Resaea ; at Peach Tree Creek; at Franklin and at Nashville. On June 27, 1865, at the close of the conflict, Mr. Dale was honorably discharged from the service.
Mr. Dale has lived in various places, for a while living in Janes- ville, Wisconsin, where he attended the high school for a year. He re- sided in Illinois after leaving the army, and in 1878 settled in Emporia, Kansas. Eight years later he took up his residence at Fort Scott, Kansas, from there coming to his present home in Carthage, Missouri.
Mr. Dale married, in Illinois, Nannie Magers, who was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, a daughter of David and Milley (Hawkins) Magers. Her brother, Sandy Magers, who served in the Seventy-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, was killed in the battle of Franklin, Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Dale have one child, Blanche, widow of Louis Hatten, and she has one son, Homer A. Polit- ically Mr. Dale is a steadfast supporter of the principles of the Re- publican party. Mrs. Dale and her daughter are members of the Christian Church, and active in its denominational work.
CURRAN C. SPENCER .- Bringing to the practice of his chosen profes- sion a mind trained to close, patient study, and an enthusiastic zeal that knows no bounds, Curran C. Spencer, of Joplin, has achieved success and distinction at the bar, and as a member of the well-known law firm of Spencer, Grayston & Spencer is enjoying the pleasures and benefits of a large and substantial patronage. A son of Galen and Mary M. Spencer, he was born February 6, 1880, in Joplin, Missouri, which he has ever claimed as his home.
Obtaining his preliminary education in Joplin, Mr. Spencer was graduated from the High School with the class of 1900. Choosing, as natural to one of his mental caliber, a professional life, he entered Wash- ington University, at Saint Louis, and was there graduated with the de-
B . Cooper
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gree of LL. B. in 1903. He forthwith entered vigorously upon the prac- tice of his profession in Joplin, and since becoming a member of the firm of Spencer, Grayston & Spencer, has been busily employed, he and his associates controlling, mayhap, the largest and best business of any law firm in this section of Jasper county, while its patronage is constantly increasing in extent and importance.
An active member of the Republican party, Mr. Spencer was chair- man of the City Republican Committee from 1909 until 1911, and in 1910 was elected vice chairman of the County Committee for a term of two years. Fraternally he belongs to the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons and socially is a member of the Joplin Commercial Club and of the Country Club. Religiously he belongs to the Protestant Episcopal church, being one of its faithful and valued members. He is also serving as vice president of the Board of Trustees of the Children's Home, and is a director of the Provident Association.
CAPT. BENNETT J. COOPER, a pioneer farmer. who is now living vir- tually retired at Sarcoxie, in Jasper county. Missouri, is a native of Tennessee and a scion of fine old revolutionary stock, his paternal grand- father, Dabney Cooper, having served as a gallant and faithful soldier in the war for Independence. His maternal grandfather, Joel Tolar, served in the war of 1812 and fought under General Andrew Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. Not to be outdone by his ancestors, Cap- tain Cooper, of this notice, at the time of the inception of the Civil war, became an ardent sympathizer with the Union cause and served as a member of Company F, First Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Infantry, from October 21, 1863, to May, 1865. He was promoted from a private to the rank of captain of his company, and he served in a number of important campaigns, marking the progress of the war, the history of his military career being coincident with that of his regiment.
Captain Cooper was born near Lafayette, in Macon county, Ten- nessee, on the 28th of January, 1834, being the son of Dabney and Luaney (Tolar) Cooper, both of whom were born in Tennessee. The former was a farmer during the greater part of his active career and he was sum- moned to eternal rest in 1844, at which time Captain Cooper was a mere youth. Being thus bereft of paternal care and guidance in early life, he began to shift for himself. His early education was of but meager order, and consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the schools of the locality and period. From 1852 to the outbreak of the Civil war he worked as a farm laborer in various parts of Tennessee, and dur- ing the latter half of the war he served as a soldier in the Union Army, as previously noted. In November, 1866, he came to Jasper county lo- cating near Sarcoxie, where, in company with four other young men, he purchased a tract of four hundred acres of land. At one time he owned as much as one hundred and sixty acres of some of the finest land in this section of the state and for a number of years he was most suc- cessfully engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high grade stock. In 1891, however, he disposed of his holdings and since that time he has lived a life of retirement in Sarcoxie, where he is beloved and respected by scores of friends all of whom honor him for his sterling integrity and numerous fine qualities.
On his trip from Tennessee to Missouri, Captain Cooper was accom- panied by his sister, Valerie J., who was the wife of G. G. Meador, formerly Captain of Company A, Eighth Tennessee Volunteers In- fantry, in the Union Army. Captain Meador was identified with agri- cultural pursuits in the vicinity of Sarcoxie. Captain and Mrs. Meador reared to maturity six children. all of whom reside in and near LaRussell.
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Captain Meador died in 1899 and his wife died in 1881. Captain Cooper has never married.
In politics, Captain Cooper is a stalwart in the ranks of the Re- publican party, and although he has never been the incumbent of any political office, strictly speaking, he has ever manifested a deep and sincere interest in all matters projected for the good of the general welfare. He retains a deep and abiding interest in his old comrades in arms, and signifies the same by membership in Curtis Post, No. 84, G. A. R., Department of Missouri, and in addition to membership in that organization, he is also affiliated with Sarcoxie Lodge No. 293, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Sarcoxie. In his religious ad- herency he is an attendant of the Baptist church, to whose philanthropical work he has contributed most generously.
Captain Cooper is a modest, unassuming man, genial and inspiring Hle is a man of quick perceptions, and while he has now attained to the venerable age of seventy-eight years, he is still upright and active, re- taining in much of their pristine vigor the splendid mental and physi- cal qualities of his youth. He is broad minded and liberal in his views. is tolerant of the opinions of others, and it has been said concerning him that his charity knows only the bounds of his opportunity.
DAVID WISE, M. D .- Busily occupied during the last seventeen years in the practice of medicine in Jasper county, and rising to the first rank in the profession in this part of the country, Dr. David Wise, of Carthage, has endeared himself to the people by his diligent and skillful work for their welfare as a physician and his breadth of view, progressiveness and influence for good as a citizen. His prae- tice has grown to very large proportions and is of a most exacting character, but he attends to it all with unremitting energy, allowing no call for his professional services to go unanswered, and no patient to fall short of the best service he ean render. He is also zealous and energetic in his aid to all undertakings designed to improve the city and county of his home, or advance the best interests of their residents.
Dr. Wise was born in Bond county, Illinois, on January 24, 1870, and is a son of David and Eveline (Blaze) Wise, the former born and reared at Hebron, New Hampshire, and the latter at Newcastle, Vir- ginia, of parents who immigrated to that state from Holland. The mother died of pneumonia in Greenville, Illinois, at the age of seventy- four years. The father was a merchant in his native state and after his removal to Bond county, Illinois, in the sixties, he became well known in the middle west and was successful in his business, winning a high reputation for integrity and mercantile knowledge. He died in 1871. Two of his brothers served in the Union army during the Civil war. and one of them, Edward Alonzo Wise, was wounded at the bat- tle of Gettysburg. He is now deceased.
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