USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people, Vol. II > Part 66
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William Stagg was brought up in Jasper county, being a lad of ten years when the family came to Missouri, and was educated in the public schools. Since attaining manhood he has been active and prominent in the Republican ranks. serving as a delegate to various conventions of a political nature, and for many years being a member of the Prosperity Board of Education. Since coming to Prosperity a quarter of a century ago, he has evinced a warm interest in the advancement of the town and county. and has never shirked the responsibilities of public office. Elected justice of the peace at Prosperity in January, 1911, Mr. Stagg has since filled the position in an efficient and able manner, discharging the duties
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devolving upon him with eredit to his ability and to the eminent satis- faction of the people who elected him.
At the age of twenty-five years Mr. Stagg was united in marriage with Victoria Wamack, who was born in Jackson township, Jasper county, where her parents, Joseph and Polly Wamack, settled in pioneer days. Seven children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Stagg, namely : Mrs. Sadie Baldridge, of Seneca, Oklahoma; Mrs. Claudia Raymond, of Prosperity, Missouri; Kenneth B .; William, Jr .; Mary; Helen; and Lucile.
MRS. MARY H. BOTKIN .- It would seem, in recalling the exceedingly interesting events of the life of Mrs. Mary H. Botkin, one of the best known and most highly respected ladies of Jasper county, Missouri, and noting the capacity with which she has handled business problems, the courage with which she has faced personal disaster and trouble, and the confidence which she has inspired in all who have come within the circle of her influence, that at least in one section of the county there can be no question as to a woman's mental equipment and her ability to per- form any possible duty, whether at the fireside or in the publie arena. Born in Lincoln county, Tennessee, she is a daughter of John W. and Temperance Teele (Sullivan) McCormick, and a granddaughter of James McCormick.
James McCormick, who was a native of South Carolina, moved from that state to Tennessee in young manhood, and in the wilds of that region was killed by a bear. His wife, who had borne the maiden name of Susanna Gault, survived him many years, and she spent her declining days in Illinois. The father of Mrs. Botkin was born in Tennessee, October 15, 1817, and even as a young man became convinced of the wrongs to slavery and decided to move to the free state of Illinois. The journey was made overland with teams, Mr. McCormick being accom- panied by his wife, his two children and his widowed mother, the latter of whom covered the entire distance on horseback, and located in Sparta, Randolph county, where he established a blacksmith shop. After a time he engaged in the manufacture of plows, being the proprietor of the shop now known as the Finley Plow Factory, and assisted in organizing and was a charter member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Sparta. In 1853 he went to California in search of his fortune in the gold fields, but after a few years came back to Illinois, the journey both ways hav- ing been made via the Isthmus. Resuming his trade, he was engaged thereat in August, 1862, when he enlisted in Company G. Eightieth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, as lieutenant, and later was promoted to the rank of captain, but in 1863 he was taken ill and in April of that year resigned and returned to his home. He continued to reside in Sparta until his death, at the age of eighty-five years. Mr. McCormick married Temperance Teele Sullivan, who was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, daughter of Cornelius and Polly (Gunter) Sullivan, and she died at the age of seventy-three years, having been the mother of four sons and five daughters.
Mrs. Botkin was reared and educated at Sparta, Illinois, and at the age of sixteen years began teaching school in that community. She was there married at the age of seventeen years to James Nesbit, who was born on a farm near Sparta, a son of Robert and Jane (Little) Nesbit. Robert Nesbit, who was a native of Tennessee, moved to Ran- dolph county, Illinois, soon after the outbreak of the Civil war, and enlisted in an Illinois regiment, participating in numerous hard-fought battles and losing his life at Nashville. James Nesbit was reared to agricultural pursuits, and early in 1861 he enlisted in Company K,
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Fifth Illinois Cavalry. He was first commissioned lieutenant and later promoted to captain. and was in active service throughout the war, serving four years less five days, his death occurring in a battle at Hempstead, Texas, in 1865. His widow was left with a daughter, whom she named Mary James, but who was always known as Kittie, and the latter married Elmer Webster and died at the age of nineteen years.
On December 25, 1878. Mrs. Nesbit was married to Eli Botkin, who was born in Clark county, Ohio, March 7, 1834, a son of Charles and Dorcas (Tuttle) Botkin, natives of Virginia, and early settlers of Clark county, where Charles had received a land warrant from the Government in appreciation of his services during the war of 1812. Eli F. Botkin was reared on the home farm, and at the age of eigh- teen years left home and began to make his own way in the world. Until 1865 he was employed as a clerk in railroad offices in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, and in that year he located in Jasper county, Missouri, where he spent the winter with Captain Knight, near Carth- age, being engaged in buying and selling cattle. In 1866 he went to Baxter Springs, then the terminus of the railroad, and engaged in the livery business with a Mr. Spencer, also operating a stage line to Joplin. Later, when it became evident that the latter point was to become a place of importance, Mr. Botkin came to Joplin and estab- lished the first livery stable here, building a barn on Fourth street, between Main and Joplin. In 1877 he leased the barn and began buy- ing horses for the Indian agency, but in 1882 resumed the livery busi- ness and continued therein until his death, which occurred in 1901. Mr. Botkin was a member of the Masons and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. IIe and his wife had one daughter, Doreas, who died at the age of two years.
Since the death of her husband Mrs. Botkin has successfully man- aged the livery business founded by him, and it has grown to large proportions. She was also for sixteen years engaged in breeding thoroughbred Jersey cattle and fine poultry, and at the World's Colum- bian Exposition, held in Chicago, she was chairman of the women's committee on live stock and of the committee on mines and mining by women. She is a prominent member of the Presbyterian church. As the daughter of one soldier and widow of another, Mrs. Botkin has been deeply interested in the Woman's Relief Corps, and served as vice-president and president of the local corps, as well as treasurer and press correspondent, and in 1908 was elected president of the Department of the State of Missouri, being chosen for that office on the first ballot. She has served as delegate at large to the national encampments at Philadelphia, Boston, Saratoga, Toledo and Atlantie City, and on February 15, 1910, was appointed special aide by Jennie I. Berry, national president, and again, October 18, 1911, by the na- tional president, Cora M. Davis. Mrs. Botkin is a member of Chapter No. 177. Order of the Eastern Star, and organized James Nesbit Camp, No. 8, Sons of Veterans.
GEORGE WILLIAMS .- A splendid representative of the younger gene- ration of thriving agriculturists of Union township, George Williams, proprietor of the Fallis Stock Farm, is prominently identified with the industrial interests of his community and is conducting his farming operations with marked success. Wide-awake and industrious, he pos- sesses much energy and excellent executive ability, and is held in high regard by his fellow-associates. A son of George Williams, Sr., he was
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born October 22, 1881, in Twin Grove township, Jasper county, and was there reared and educated.
George Williams, Sr., was born near Dayton, Ohio, and while yet a young man served his country as a soldier during the Civil war, en- listing in an Ohio regiment. Becoming one of the early settlers of Jasper county, Missouri, he purchased a tract of land that was prac- tieally in its original wildness, and having improved a good farm in Twin Grove township, was engaged as a tiller of the soil until his death, at the age of seventy-three years. He was a man of sterling integrity and honesty ; a stanch Republican in politics; a valued mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republie; and belonged to the Christian church. He married Catherine Wardson, who was born in Barton county, Missouri, a daughter of John Wardson. She died when her son George was but six years old, leaving six children, of whom five now survive, as follows: Frank, Mrs. Luey Baker, George, Fred and Mrs. Dolly Flenner.
Brought up on the home farm and educated in the distriet school, George Williams took kindly to agricultural labor in the days of his youth and has made farming his chief occupation in life. His estate, Fallis Stock Farm, is pleasantly located in section two, Union town- ship, six miles southeast of Carthage, and contains one hundred and sixty aeres of land, one hundred acres of it being rich bottom land. The farmn is well watered, and is stocked with thoroughbred Short- Horn eattle, his herd containing some of the finest cattle in the county, and with Poland China hogs. He has a substantial residence, sur- rounded by shade trees of all kinds, and a large barn and a finely- bearing orchard.
At the age of nineteen years Mr. Williams was united in marriage with Ada Mottel, who was born in Brown county, Kansas, a daughter of Edward Mottel, who was of French parentage. IIer parents re- sided in Jasper county ten years, but are now living in Alberta, Can- ada. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are the parents of five children, namely : Catherine, George W., Glenn, Everett and Fay.
J. M. MARET .- A man of tireless energy and industry, possessing far more than average ability and business judgment, J. M. Maret, a leading contractor of Joplin, Missouri, has earned distinguished suc- cess in his active career through legitimate methods and by the proper employment of the distinctive talents with which he was by nature endowed. A son of Addison Maret, he was born December 25, 1858, in Garrard county, Kentucky, coming from honored French lineage.
His great-grandfather, Stephen Maret, a native of France, and one of his brothers served with Napoleon, one as a general in his army and the other as a member of his cabinet. At the defeat of Napoleon they were forced to flee from France, and, in 1804, immigrated to America, settling in Hillsboro, North Carolina.
Born and bred in Hillsboro, North Carolina, Jacques Maret, Mr. Maret's paternal grandfather, migrated to Kentucky at an early day, locating in Garrard county, where he lived until his death, in 1866, being engaged in agricultural pursuits.
The birth of Addison Maret, the subject's father, occurred in Gar- rard county, Kentucky, October 12, 1825. He became a farmer from choice, and for several years was one of the prominent farmers and stock-raisers of his community. Moving westward with his family to Missouri, he bought land in Newton county, and there carried on general farming on an extensive scale for many years. On retiring from active pursuits he located at Webb City, Jasper county, where
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his death occurred January 20, 1910. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Miller, was born in Lincoln county, Kentucky, March 23, 1836, and is now a resident of Joplin, Missouri. Her father, George Miller, married Alma Fish, a native of Lincoln county. Kentucky.
Bred and educated in the public and private schools of Kentucky, J. M. Maret came with the family to Missouri, and soon afterward embarked in the cattle business. Going thence to the Pacific coast he took a sea voyage, visiting the Sandwich Islands and Japan and on re- turning to the west he had charge of the construction of fifty miles of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company's railroad, which was built through the most mountainous country in the United States, the work thereon being very difficult and requiring great mechanical skill. At the end of one year, the work being completed, Mr. Maret took an ocean trip of six months for the benefit of his health, after which for a year he bought and shipped stock in southern Texas, supplying mar- kets in New York city and Buffalo, New York.
Returning then to Missouri, Mr. Maret operated a smelter in Au- rora, and was there engaged in mining and smelting for two years. The following two years, under Mr. A. H. Rogers, he had charge of the old horse-car line of Webb City, and in the time assisted in the organization of the Southwest . Missouri Railroad Company and for six years was superintendent of that line. He subsequently had charge of the Sandy Hill Mining Company, of Aurora, Missouri, for three years, and was thereafter engaged in mining on his own account until 1910. Mr. Maret has a beautiful home in Joplin, and is here exten- sively engaged in contract and construction work, and is meeting with characteristic success in his operations.
Mr. Maret married, December 21, 1890, in Aurora, Missouri, Laura Dustman, a daughter of Jefferson Dustman, a leading builder of that city, and they are the parents of four children, namely: Lola, born in Webb City, December 2, 1891, is a graduate of the Joplin High School, in which the other children are now pupils; Hazel, born in Webb City, February 25, 1893; Jocile, born December 18, 1894, in Webb City; and Jack, born in Joplin, October 9, 1897.
Politically Mr. Maret is a sound Democrat; fraternally he is a Scottish Rite Mason, belonging to the Joplin Blue Lodge, No. 335; to Aurora Commandery. No. 185, K. T .; and is a member of the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks. Religiously he is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Maret is fond of life in the open and is a devout follower of Izaak Walton. He is prominent in business and social circles, and has a large circle of warm friends.
RANDOLPH D. TALMAGE, who has charge of the Joplin business of the Sullivan Machinery Company, the main headquarters of which large and enterprising concern are located at Chicago, Illinois, is a representative and energetic business man whose various abilities are duly appreciated in this city, where he has ever manifested a deep and sincere interest in community affairs, and where his loyalty and publie spirit are of the most insistent order.
A son of Archibald A. Talmage, the subject of this review, was born in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, the date of his nativity being the 27th of November, 1879. Archibald A. Talmage was born and reared in the state of New York, from whence he migrated to Mis- souri in the year 1873. He was a well known and decidedly promi- nent man in the railroad service, having been for a number of years general manager of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and vice president and general manager of the Wabash Railroad Company. He was sum-
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moned to the life eternal in the year 1889, and his cherished and devoted wife is still living. She was a resident before her marriage of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and her maiden name was Mary R. Clark.
The fifth in order of birth in a family of eight children, Randolph D. Talmage was educated in the public schools of St. Louis and subse- quently he attended school at Lawrenceville, New Jersey. After leav- ing school he turned his attention to railroad work, being first in the employ of the Mexican Central Railroad in Mexico, most of his time being taken up with construction work. Later he was with the Kan- sas & Texas Coal Company at St. Louis and in 1899 he went to New York, where he was engaged in the export business for a period of three years. His natural talents, however, seem to be along machin- ery and construction work, and in 1906 he entered the employ of the Sullivan Machinery Company at Chicago. After familiarizing him- self with the details of the business of that company he was sent to Joplin, where he was soon given charge of the trade in this field. Sub- sequently he was transferred to the city of Chicago, where he remained for one year, at the expiration of which he went to St. Louis, remaining there for two years. In February, 1911, he again took charge of the Joplin field for the Sullivan Machinery Company, and here he has gained distinction as a decidedly capable business man and as a popu- lar citizen.
At St. Louis, in the year 1900, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Talmage to Miss Adele Prosser, whose birth occurred at St. Louis, and who is a daughter of Dr. A. J. Prosser. Three children have been the produet of this union, whose names are here entered in the respective order of their birth : Edward, Mary Randolph and Randolph De Witt, Jr. In their religious inclinations Mr. and Mrs. Talmage are devout members of the Presbyterian church, in the various departments of whose work they are active and zealous factors.
The interest of Mr. Talmage in everything pertaining to the wel- fare and progress of the state is deep and sincere, and in so far as he has found it possible he has co-operated in public measures for the general good. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Talmage has, through his own exertions, attained an honorable position and marked prestige among the representative men of his adopted county, and with signal consistency it may be said that he is the architect of his own fortunes and one whose success amply justifies the application of the somewhat hackneyved but most expressive title-a self made man.
JOHN W. FREY .- An essentially representative eitizen and business man of Webb City, Missouri, and one who has ever been loyal to the best interests of this section of the state is John W. Frey, who has long been a prominent factor in milling, banking and mining eireles in Jasper county.
A native of the fine old Keystone state of the Union, John W. Frey was born at Cowan, Union county, Pennsylvania, and he is a son of Charles and Sarah Frey, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania, the former in Chester county and the latter in Berks county. The father was a mechanic by trade and as a young man began to manu- facture grain drills, under the old Pennocks patent, he having been about the first person to begin operations along that line. Charles Frey traced his ancestry back to stanch Welsh extraction and the maiden name of his mother was Griffith. Mrs. Charles Frey was descended from old Swiss stoek and her mother's name, prior to her Vol. II-29
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marriage, was Zellar. Mr. and Mrs. Frey were the parents of six ehil- dren-five boys and one girl. The sister died at an early age and four of the brothers were gallant and faithful soldiers in the Union army in the Civil war, the three older ones having served throughout the whole sanguinary struggle and all four having completed their mili- tary careers without a seratch, worth mentioning.
John W. Frey was reared to maturity in Union county, Pennsyl- vania, where he attended Pike school, No. 6, until he had reached his sixteenth year. In Mr. Frey's own words: "It was the commonest kind of a common school but somehow the little old school houses of that day made what little you did get stick." His first employment was in connection with railroading and for a time he worked for the private car line known in eastern Pennsylvania as Peiphers line, which ran from New York and Philadelphia to Loek Haven. Pennsylvania. Subsequently he was in the employ of the Philadelphia & Erie Road and still later was connected with the Frisco System. Having drifted into Arkansas he organized the company that erected a mill and was vice-president and manager of the first complete roller mill built in Arkansas. While a resident of Rogers, Arkansas, he was president and manager of a company that built the water works system in that place. He subsequently established his home at Webb City, Missouri, where he has sinee resided and where he was in the milling business for a number of years. In due time he became interested in banking and was actively identified with that line of enterprise in connection with the First National Bank of Webb City, of which he was vice- president for years, later becoming a heavy stockholder and a director in the First National Bank of Carterville. When lead prospecting and mining became such important features in the business world of Jas- per county he turned his attention to that field, investing considerable money therein at Webb City.
At the time of the ineeption of the Civil war Mr. Frey became an ardent Union sympathizer and he served for nine months as a private in the Twelfth Pennsylvania Cavalry, having enlisted for ser- vice in Company E, under Captain David A. Irvin. In his politieal proclivities he is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies pro- mulgated by the Socialist party, being an active member of the Webb City Local and doing considerable writing for publication along so- cialist lines. While he has never manifested aught of ambition for the honors or emoluments of public office of any deseription, he has been honored by his fellow citizens with election to a number of important positions of trust and responsibility. At Rogers, Arkansas, he was a member of the city council and while a resident of Pennsylvania he was incumbent of the office of justice of the peace. In 1896 he was elected mayor of Webb city, and he discharged the duties connected with the administration of the municipal affairs of this place most creditably.
At Rolla, Missouri, on the 3d of February, 1875, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Frey to Miss Jane S. Hagar, who was reared and educated at Rolla and who is a daughter of John S. Hagar. Mrs. Frey was born in the state of New York. Of the two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Frey, Georgia is the widow of A. M. Wagner and Nell has been summoned to the life eternal and is buried in the Rogers cemetery, at Rogers, Arkansas.
In a fraternal way Mr. Frey is a prominent member of the time- honored Masonic order, having become affiliated therewith in 1867. He was high priest of Webb City Chapter, No. 119, Royal Arch Masons. in 1905-6. and has since been principal sojourner thereof. For three
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years prior to January, 1910, he was secretary of the Webb City Com- mercial Club, of which he is a most valued and appreciative member. Mr. Frey is a man of unusual executive ability, fine mental caliber and tremendous vitality. He carries to successful completion everything he undertakes and all his business dealings are characterized by those fair and honorable methods which command to him the unqualified con- fidence and esteem of all with whom he comes in contact.
PERL D. DECKER is recognized as one of the strong members of the Jasper county bar. He is undoubtedly one of the busiest, for his practical and steady application to their interests has won him scores of clients. Mr. Decker, who is yet to be counted among the younger generation of citizenship. is an Ohioan by circumstance of birth, his arrival upon this mundane sphere having been made on September 10, 1875, in Athens county of the Buckeye state. His boyhood and youth were passed amid rural surroundings, the scene of his residence shift- ing from Ohio to Kansas, for in 1879 his father removed to Cloud county of the latter state. There they bought a tract of wild prairie land near Concordia and the elder people have ever since resided there. The elder Mr. Decker is an excellent farmer, who has improved his land in the most thorough manner, erecting good buildings, and, in short, made of his Jayhawker homestead an exceptionally fine prop- erty. He is still actively engaged in agriculture of a general char- acter and in stock-raising. The maiden name of the mother was Sarah Ann Nye, who was born in Ohio and reared four sons, named Amasa. Melvin, Perl D. and William.
Mr. Decker, the immediate subject of this brief record, received his education in the district schools of Cloud county, Kansas, and matric- ulated for his higher training in Park College, Missouri, where he studied for eight years and was graduated with the class of 1897. A long gathering determination to adopt the legal profession had in the meantime reached the point of crystallization and to secure his training Mr. Decker entered the State University of Kansas and was graduated with the class of 1899. Attracted by the prosperous and rapidly grow- ing city of Joplin, shortly after his admission to the bar he came here to hang out his professional shingle and has ever since that time been engaged in the general practice of the law. During four years of this time Mr. Decker was a partner of Judge David E. Blair. He is a strong advocate before court or jury and not only marshalls his causes with great ability, but also brings to bear the strength of a strong and upright character, so that he has gained and held the inviolable con- fidence and regard of his fellow practitioners and also of the general public.
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