USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people, Vol. II > Part 7
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His father, Benton Piercy, came to Jasper county from northern Missouri, where he had lived a number of years, and was one of the pioneer farmers of Marion township. A farmer by occupation, he was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, at the com- paratively early age of forty-five years. He married Ivy Dickson, who passed to the life beyond in 1908, leaving three children, namely : F. H., Alta and Zericho.
Growing to man's estate on the paternal homestead, F. H. Piercy ac- quired a thorough knowledge of the different branches of education taught in the public schools while young, and on the home farm was early initiated into the mysteries of agriculture. Having stood well in the examination given by the United States Government to applicants for positions as rural carriers of mail, Mr. Pierey was for four years a substitute on the different routes leading out from Carthage, and gave such good satisfaction to both his employers and his patrons that he was given a permanent position on December 1, 1910, being appointed car- rier on Route No. 5. His route extends south and west, mostly through Jackson township, to Fair View, covering a distance, all told, of twenty- six and one-half miles, and accommodating by mail service about one hundred families. Being especially careful and painstaking, as well as genial and accommodating, Mr. Piercy has gained the good will and friendship of his many patrons, who speak of him in the highest terms of praise and commendation.
Mr. Piercy married, December 30, 1904, Ivy MeKelvy, who was born in Union township, Jasper county, a daughter of John C. McKelvy, of whom a brief biographieal sketch may be found elsewhere in this volume. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Piercy has been brightened by the birth of three children, namely : Loton Frederick, Mack J. and Milton D. Mr. and Mrs. Piercy have a most pleasant home on the street car line extend- ing from Carthage to Joplin. the conveniently-arranged house and the
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substantial barn being located on a large lot, one hundred by two hun- dred feet, and is appropriately named Sunshine Place. Fraternally Mr. Piercy is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and of lodge No. 244, A. H. T. A.
JOSEPH F. ROSE .- Prompt in his service, genial and courteous in man- ner, kind and obliging in disposition, Joseph F. Rose, mail carrier on route No. 8 from Carthage, is recognized as one of the most efficient and faithful employes of this branch of Government service, with which he has been actively associated since October, 1901, being numbered among the veterans. Each day he travels a little more than twenty-six miles in serving his patrons, attending to over one hundred boxes along his route, which extends northeast from Carthage through Madison township and adjoining territory. When he was first appointed as carrier, Mr. Rose traversed route No. 5, which extended through Jackson township, and is now served by Mr. F. H. Piercy, of whom a brief account appears on another page of this volume. He assumed charge of his present route December 3, 1910, and is filling the position with eminent ability, and to the satisfaction and pleasure of all concerned. A native of Jasper county, Mr. Rose was born in 1880, on a farm lying three miles south of Carthage, and has spent his entire life in this vieinity.
His father, Silas Rose, was born in Ohio in 1835, and was there reared. Coming to Missouri, he bought land in Jasper county, not far from Carthage, and was there successfully engaged in tilling the soil until his death, in 1903, at the age of sixty-seven years. He was a man of sterling worth, and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Catherine Flowers, who was born in Illinois, and of the five children born into their household Joseph F. was the fourth in succession of birth.
Brought up on the homestead, Joseph F. Rose acquired a good com- mon school education, and as a boy and youth did his full share of the labors incidental to life on a farm. Desirous of entering the employ of the government, he was appointed rural carrier from Carthage, as pre- viously mentioned in this brief sketch. Mr. Rose is now in the prime of a vigorous manhood, standing six feet in height, and is of a manly and pleasing personality, and is highly esteemed as a man and a citizen.
Mr. Rose married, in Jasper county, Maud F. Breeze, a daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Mildred (Robinson) Breeze, both of whom are de- ceased, the mother's death having occurred in 1903 and the father's in 1911. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Rose, namely : Lloyd Benjamin, Ernest Eugene and Catherine Mildred. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rose are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are among its aetive workers.
MARION STAPLES, one of the distinguished and representative men of Joplin, Missouri, whose activity in publie affairs has won him recognition as a leader in business and political cireles, was born at Belfast, Maine, on the 22nd of September. 1843. The aneestral history of the Staples family can be traced baek to an early period in the development of New England, representatives of the name having participated in the colo- nial wars and in the great struggle for independence. Mr. Staples, of this review, has been a prominent and influential citizen of Joplin since 1877 and he has long been an important factor in the real estate busi- ness of the southwest. His intrinsie loyalty and public spirit have made him a eo-operant factor in many important projects carried forward for the progress and improvement of this seetion of the state and he is
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everywhere accorded recognition for his sterling worth and unques- tioned integrity.
Captain Alfred Staples, father of him to whom this sketch is dedi- cated, was a native of Maine and a scion of an old and honored family. He was a well known sea captain, who followed his vocation for a great many years. He married Miss Abigail Crowell, who was likewise born in Maine and who traced her ancestry back to old Revolutionary stock. The father was summoned to the life eternal in the year 1901, at the venerable age of seventy-nine years. Mrs. Staples was of English ex- traction. After completing the curriculum of the public schools of Bel- fast, Maine, Marion Staples went to sea with his father, sailing in South American waters for a number of years and thus dissipating his boyish craving for excitement and adventure. In the year 1874 he settled down at Rockland, Maine, where he was engaged in the restaurant business for a period of three years. In June, 1877, he decided to seek his for- tunes in the west and accordingly came to Missouri, locating in the city of Joplin, where he immediately became interested in the real-estate and insurance business as a member of the firm of Hutchinson & Staples. In 1879 this business was purchased by J. H. Neal & Company, Mr. Staples becoming a partner with Mr. Neal in the abstract and real-estate busi- ness, a connection which was maintained until 1880. In that year Mr. Neal disposed of his interest in the above concern and Mr. Staples be- came a partner of Major F. M. Redburn in the abstract and real-estate business. In the following year Mr. Staples purchased Major Redburn's interest and the firm of Claycomb & Staples was formed, his partner being S. H. Claycomb, later lieutenant governor of the state of Missouri. This mutually agreeable partnership alliance was continued until 1893. when the abstract department of the business was disposed of. They continued to deal in real estate for two years longer but in 1895 the business was sold out to J. H. Dangerfield. On the 1st of January, 1896. Mr. Staples launched into the real-estate business on his own account and his thorough knowledge of this line of enterprise as connected with his splendid executive ability has enabled him to achieve marked suc- cess. It is quite probable that during his long continuance in business he has disposed of more land in Joplin and its immediate vicinity than any other man in the southwest. A few years ago he sold, at a low fig- ure, a large amount of mining lands which are now of immense value. In addition to successful transactions conducted for his numerous cli- ents who have entrusted their real-estate dealings to his judgment he is the owner of a great deal of valuable property in Jasper county.
In his political convictions Mr. Staples is aligned as a stalwart sup- porter of the principles and policies for which the Democratie party stands sponsor. He has never shown aught of ambition for the honors or emoluments of public office of any description but has on various of- casions been importuned to run for different offices. He has served as chairman of the executive committee of the Democratic party and in 1904 was president of the Commercial Club of Joplin. His counsel and advice are frequently called for and he can always be counted on to do his part in campaigning and in helping to forward the good of his party and of the general welfare. No man in Joplin commands a higher de- gree of popular confidence and esteem than does Marion Staples and his life here since 1877 has resulted in a great deal of good both for Joplin and for Jasper county at large. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
At. Joplin, in the year 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Staples to Mrs. Mary D. (Striker) Wood, who was born and reared in
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Iowa and who is a daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Minor) Striker, natives of New Jersey and Vermont, respectively.
A man of high impulses, strong moral fiber, fine judgment and keen foresight, Mr. Staples helped to build the community and city in which he lives and as such he is honored and esteemed by all with whom he has been associated. Although he has passed the prime of life, he is as energetic physically and mentally as in his early youth and is very well liked among the younger generation.
CAPTAIN DOUGLAS E. McDOWELL .- So great and varied have been the accomplishments of the sons of Indiana in recent years that some one has said, "If he's a Hoosier look out for him." One of the Hoosiers who have found their way to Joplin and who have manifested ability of a high order in many fields of endeavor is that representative citizen, Cap- tain Douglas E. McDowell. Ile has maintained his residence here since 1899, for two years thereafter devoting his activities to the work of a mining promotor, but since 1901 he has conducted a ginseng nursery, which has proved a most successful enterprise, growing from small be- ginnings to a great industry whose products are sent all over the civil- ized world. For a good many years previous to coming to Missouri Cap- tain McDowell was a prominent representative of the fourth estate, sev- eral states being the scene of his journalistic endeavors. He won his title as a gallant soldier in the Spanish-American war, of which more later.
The birth of Douglas E. McDowell occurred at Bluffton, Wells county, Indiana, on the 6th day of March, 1862. He is the scion of an old Vir- ginia family, his father, George McDowell, having been born in Culpeper county of the Old Dominion, and his grandfather, David McDowell. having been a native and life-long resident of the state. As is indicated by their name, the MeDowells are of Scotch ancestry, and the family enjoyed great prominence in Virginia. The father of the subject was an architect, and in his younger days he removed from his native state to Greenville, Ohio, where he remained for several years. He then went to Bluffton, Indiana. the subject's birthplace, and there engaged in busi- ness as a contractor and builder. He was residing there at the time of his death, at the age of fifty-seven years. The maiden name of the mother was Eliza Henning. She was born in West Virginia and her parents were natives of Pennsylvania and of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. She was summoned to the Great Beyond at the age of fifty-five years, her demise occurring in the same year as that of her husband. The children born to these worthy people were six in number, namely : Erastus B .. Thomas J .. Kate. Eugenie. Douglas E. and David D.
Captain MeDowell received his preliminary education in the public schools of his native place and subsequently attended school at the North- ern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana. He pursued a sei- entific course and was graduated from that institution with the class of 1885. Ile received the degree of LL. D., and, having an exceptional talent for public speaking, he studied elocution at Valparaiso and was also graduated in that. The following year he was employed as an engineer in the work of building the ditches and pikes in Wells county, Indiana. He then went to Ness City, Kansas, where he first engaged in newspaper work and for two and a half years published the Sentinel. Following that he removed to Middleboro, Kentucky, and while a resident there he was connected with leading newspapers in Cincinnati, Indian- apolis, Louisville (Kentucky) and Nashville (Tennessee), and he assisted in establishing the Louisville Dispatch. His ability in journalistie fields was of no inconsiderable order, but his career in the same was interrupted
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by the Spanish-American war. When affairs reached a crisis at that ime Mr. McDowell enlisted in Company I, Sixth Regiment of United States Volunteer Infantry and was commissioned captain of his company, his commission being signed by President Mckinley. He went with the army to Porto Rico, and there for eight months he was acting major with a major's pay and was in charge of the Fifth Post. At the end of a year of military service Captain McDowell received honorary dis- charge and returned to the United States.
Captain McDowell again took up the threads of civilian life in Jop- lin, Missouri, having been attracted by the accounts of the unusual activ- ity in this city, and after being identified for a time with the mining industry, with which Joplin is synonomous, he engaged in ginseng grow- ing, in which he has met with great success, being one of the most impor- tant growers in the country.
Captain MeDowell established a household of his own in July, 1909, making Miss Alta M. Clark his wife. She is a native of Illinois and a daughter of Jacob and Sophia (Wilkinson) Clark. They maintain an attractive and hospitable home in Joplin.
Captain McDowell is a prominent member of the ancient and august Masonic order. He is a member of Pinnacle Lodge, F. & A. M., of Mid- dleboro, Kentucky. He belongs to the Commandery, the Chapter, the Consistory and the Temple. He is also an Elk and a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, in all of which he enjoys well-deserved popularity. He cast his first presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden, and has always affiliated with the Democratic party. IIe has served as presi- dent of the Bryan Club four years. IIe was the candidate of the Demo- cratic party for State Senator in 1910, and was defeated by only fifty- nine votes in a district that usually has upwards of one thousand ma- jority for the Republican party. In financial affairs he is president of the Joplin Trust Company.
AMOS D. HATTEN, one of the most successful men in the mining business, made a very modest beginning. The men of his acquaint- ance are so accustomed to thinking of him as being way up at the top notch that they almost forget he was not born that way. We fall into or climb up to close-fitting positions in the activities of life according to our varying sizes and values. All cannot be generals : indeed, most of us find ourselves in the ranks of soldiers. In either capacity there is full incentive for our best endeavor as well as fitting recompense for the highest grade of service. Civilizations in their early stages maintain a premium on brawn and perseverance. As they grow older physical supremacy gives way to intellectual. America is rapidly emerging from the rule of muscular force and untutored in- telligence to the sway of the trained mind. In this age men are valued by the amount of cash they can produce. The amount of cash pro- duced is governed by the intelligence brought to bear upon it. Mr. Hatten has produced and is producing cash. He has acquired and is acquiring prominence amongst the men who know. He is a born general and could not be made to stay in the ranks. His success has not been brought about by accident, but it is due to his natural busi- ness instinets, combined with an unlimited capacity for work.
Milo Hatten, father of Amos D .. was born in West Virginia and belonged to an old West Virginia family. His life was apparently uneventful, as he was born, lived and died on the same farm. IIe saw the changes brought about by the Civil war, but they did not affect him personally very much. He died in 1908, in his ninety- third year, and was active up to the time of his death. His wife
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(formerly Emmeline Newman, born in the state of West Virginia) is still (1911) living.
Amos D. Hatten was born September 7, 1859, in the West Vir- ginia farm house that had been the scene of his father's birth and life. He was educated in the country schools of the state and he helped his father about the farm work. At a very early age he evinced an unusual intelligence and was always seeking improved methods of doing things. When he was nineteen years of age he came to Nevada, Missouri, being desirous of making his own career rather than to stay by the old farm, which really did not need his services. For one summer he worked on a farm near Nevada and then came to the mining districts near Webb City and Joplin. At that time, in 1878, there was not much doing in the mining field and he was not able to obtain profitable employment. He remained in that district, however, for some time and learned everything he could about the district and considered its possibilities. He next went to Colorado, where he stayed three years, but he saw nothing that he felt could beat Jasper county. He came back and decided to make Webb City his headquarters. He and his uncle Alvin bought out the mines and interest of Grand Ashcraft, which was the modest beginning of his wonderful mining career. He has developed many valuable properties and organized many important companies. In 1904 he, Tom Coyne of Webb City, and S. R. Snook of Rochester, New York, organized the Osceola Lead & Zinc Mining Company, of which he is the treasurer. In 1907 the same three men organized the Rochester Land & Leasing Company, of which Mr. Hatten is a director. He is one of the organ- izers of the well-known C. C. & H. Mining Company, of which he is the president. In conjunction with a number of Pittsburg capitalists, he organized the Royalty Land & Mining Company, of which he is the president. He organized the Emma Goodwin Mining Company, of Ottawa county, Oklahoma. This is one of the largest and most valu- able mines in the country. At one time Mr. Hatten owned the entire mine, but he sold a large portion of the stock. He is at present treas- urer of the company. He was instrumental in organizing the Ideal Mining Company, in which he has a controlling interest in the two hundred and forty acres of land, owned by the company near Joplin. Mr. Hatten is treasurer of this company. He organized the Home, Land & Loan Company, which is a real estate and loan company. He has laid out the Hatten Sub-Division on Villa Heights, Joplin. One might imagine that having accomplished all this Mr. Hatten would be content to rest on his oars, wearing the laurels he had won, but that is not the case. He has in mind certain plans which will tend toward the further development of both Webb City and Joplin.
On November 8, 1888, Mr. Hatten married Miss Sadie C. Coyne, daughter of Patrick Coyne, of Webb City. Mr. Hatten and his brother- in-law, Thomas Coyne, have been associated in a business way as closely as they are by family relations. Mrs. Hatten is as well known a figure in the social worlds of Webb City and Joplin as her husband is in a business way. She is a society leader and is not only respected but loved by her numerous friends. She is a woman who would grace any position. Nor is she merely a society butterfly, but she is very domestic in her tastes and absolutely devoted to her husband and children. Mr. and Mrs. Hatten have three children. Alvin D .. Geneva Lucille and Arthur Coyne.
Mr. Hatten is a Mason, having taken all the degrees up to the thirty-second. He is a member of the Abon Ben Adam shrine at Springfield, Missouri. In all Mr. Hatten's dealings he is absolutely vol. II -- 4
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straightforward, and his word is as good as his bond. A dealer in mines and mining stock has gained a bad name; he has the reputation for making his fortune out of the failures of others. This is not the way Amos D. Hatten has obtained his money and position. Shrewd business man though he is, he is not hard in his dealings. Many a man who was down on his luck has been given a boost by Mr. Hatten. He is genial and whole-souled, a man whom it is a delight to meet. His loyalty to Jasper county and above all to Webh City is unbounded. He never loses an opportunity to put in a good word for either one, nor does Webb City or Jasper county fail to reciprocate in kind. They are proud of him as he is of them and they have been mutually helpful.
CHARLES WESLEY MCABEE .- A prominent and distinguished business man at Joplin, Missouri, is C. W. McAbee, whose persistency and energy have been exerted along various lines of enterprise and who, as a result of his own well directed endeavors, has succeeded in making of success not an accident but a logieal result. The major portion of his time and energy thus far have been devoted to the great powder industry, in which connection he was one of the organizers of the Independent Powder Company of Missouri. He disposed of his holdings in the above concern in September, 1909, and is now interested in a number of important pro- jects which tend to advance the general progress and improvement.
Mr. McAbee was born in York county, Pennsylvania, on the 17th of June, 1859, and he is a son of Thomas H. and Mary (Seehrist) MeAbee, the former of whom was born in Scotland in 1831 and the latter of whom was a native of York county, Pennsylvania, born in 1831. The father came to America as a young man and located in York county, Pennsylvania, where he was long engaged in the railroad business and where he was summoned to the life eternal in 1892. The mother passed into the great beyond in 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. McAbee were the parents of fourteen children, ten of whom are living, in 1911, and of whom the subject of this review was the fourth in order of birth.
In the public schools of Pennsylvania and Maryland Mr. MeAbee, of this notice, received his preliminary educational training, the same con- sisting of but meager advantages. Through contact with men and af- fairs he has broadened his mental horizon and he is now considered one of the best informed men in this section of the state. He left home when he was a youth of eleven years of age and since that early period has been absolutely self-supporting. His first employment was in connection with farm work and he followed that occupation until he had attained to the age of nineteen years. He then became interested in railroading, first as a foreman and later as a telegraph operator on the Pennsylvania road. In 1886 he decided to seek his fortune in the more promising west. and in that year removed to Iola, Kansas, where he remained but one year, at the expiration of which he came to Joplin, Missouri, where he has since resided. Shortly after his arrival in this city he became agent for the Acme Powder Company, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and he also invested money in a number of mining propositions, only disposing of his interests in the latter enterprise in 1910. In 1897 he left the Aeme Company and accepted a position with the Dupont Powder Company, retaining the latter for a period of two years, at the expiration of which he accepted the agency for the Independent & Keystone Powder Com- pany. When the last two concerns became consolidated under the name of the Dupont Powder Company, he organized the Independent Powder Company of Missouri, that being in June, 1902. Mr. MeAbee has done a great deal for the mining interests of this section, having furnished the various prospectors with supplies and powder on a liberal scale often
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when the hopes of return were not bright but no worthy man was ever turned down. He made a great deal of money, which he spent liberally among the miners, having no regret for his losses. When he first came to Joplin he could have purchased the corner on which the Keystone Building now stands for sixteen hundred dollars. At that time a cus- tomer who used ten boxes of powder a week was considered a very good one. In 1886 powder with forty per cent glycerine was twenty-four cents per pound. Mr. McAbee fought the combination which kept up the price with the result that it eventually came down to nine cents per pound. He is known throughout this district as the man who brought the price of powder down, and it may be said without fear of contradic- tion that no man has accomplished more for the mining interests of this section than has he. He is a big-hearted, liberal man and he has always contributed in generous measure to every project advanced for the well being of the city and county at large. He has four brothers in Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, all in the powder business.
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