USA > Missouri > A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2 > Part 10
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121
WILLIAM J. MASON is one of the solid and prosperous citizens of Mexico. He owns a comfortable home on North Jefferson street, and has a rich farm northeast of Mexico planted with a choice orchard. Most of his time is given to the care and superintendence of these trees.
Mr. Mason was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, April 16, 1846, but came to Missouri with his parents in 1857, and settled on the edge of the prairie two and a half miles north of Mexico. His father, William J., was born in Culpepper county, Virginia, but as a child went with his parents to Kentucky where he later married Amanda Hedges, a native of Kentucky. After his marriage he moved to Mexico, Missouri, buying a farm with a new house on it, paying $25.00 per acre. On his arrival in Mexico the North Missouri Railroad had just reached the town. Mr. Mason had been a minister of the Christian church in Kentucky, and he continued his profession in Missouri, preaching in the Sunrise church near by although he belonged to the Mexico church. He kept on with his work until he was an old man, preaching all through the adjoining counties, and not retiring until in 1881 when he took up his residence in Henry county, Kentucky, with one of his daughters.
William J. Mason, Jr., had two brothers and two sisters, Enoch, who married Ellen, the daughter of Alexander Carter, and who until his death in 1892 at the age of fifty-two, was a farmer in Audrain county; John Wickliffe, a commercial salesman living in Mexico; Susan, the wife of James O'Bannon, who was captain of a state company, but who re- turned to Kentucky in 1863; William J. lived at home until 1873 when his marriage to Clara Cunningham took place. Miss Cunningham was the daughter of E. P. and Cynthia (Slocum) Cunningham. The father, although a native of Massachusetts, had moved to Boone county, Mis- souri, before his marriage. He was a contractor by trade and built the first state university building whose six old classical columns are still standing and are often used for an emblem on the university class pins. In 1853 he moved to Audrain county, two and a half miles northeast of Mexico where he engaged in the stockgrowing business. Cynthia Slocum was a daughter of Riley Slocum who lived in Boone county. Cynthia was born near Nashville, Tennessee, was married in 1845 to Mr. Cunningham in Boone county, Missouri. She survived her husband, who died in Mex- ico in January, 1885. They were the parents of four children, Elmer, a farmer living northeast of Mexico; Earl, who is the owner of and lives on the old Cunningham home northeast of Mexico; Emmett, a resident of Kentucky; and Clara, the wife of William J. Mason.
After his marriage William J. Mason settled on a tract of open prai- rie near the Cunningham farm which had been given him by the wife's father. He stayed here until 1889, making a big success of the farm,
1352
HISTORY OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI
when he moved to Mexico and built his present home on North Off street. He is still the owner, however, of the fruit-bearing farm mentioned earlier in the article. One of the most exciting events of his life was one which took place during the Civil war. He enlisted in 1864 toward the close of the war, and was in the service under Capt. Francis Marion West. His company was supposed to join Price's army, but as the latter had been driven out of Missouri, unusual measures had to be resorted to. The company became scattered, leaving Captain West and a few others in- cluding W. J. Mason, in a small party. They went by way of Iowa and Kansas expecting to join the Confederate army in Texas. At the Iowa line they separated into pairs, Mr. Mason making the trip with Mark Shearman. They had only gone as far as Bloomfield, Iowa, when they were arrested and taken before the provost marshal. In the meantime Captain West and his companion, Bob Chalk, were stopped as suspicious characters. In the attempt to arrest them Captain West killed one man and wounded others. so that he and Chalk were allowed to escape. Captain West's commission, however, was in his hat which fell into the hands of the Federals. This was produced before the provost marshal at Bloomfield, and in consequence Mr. Mason and Shearman were sent to Alton as prisoners. Mr. Mason was kept there until the April of 1865, just a short time before General Lee's surrender, when he was pardoned by President Lincoln.
Mr. Mason is a Democrat although he has never sought office. He and his wife have had four children, Elliott J., a graduate of the Univer- sity of Missouri, and at present a mechanical engineer with a manufac- turing company in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Olive E., a graduate with the class of 1896 of Christian College, married Will H. Morris, ex-circuit clerk of Mexico, Missouri, now of Stockton, California ; Ralph H., a grad- uate in the class of 1908 from the agricultural department of the Univer- sity of Missouri, now connected with the dairy division of the United States agricultural department ; and Ruth E., a senior member enrolled in the classical course at the state university. The family belongs to the Christian church.
ROBERT S. WALTON, editor of the Armstrong Herald for the past twenty-one years, and three times the representative of his district in the Missouri state legislature, was born on a farm near Armstrong, Howard county, Missouri, on October 9, 1869. Like many another farmer's son, he has risen above the conditions of his youth and reached a state of prosperity and success commensurate with the hard work and untiring effort that he has put into his business. He is the son of Capt. Thomas Walton, who came to Missouri at an early day and settled in Lincoln county with his parents. In his young manhood he served under Gen. Sterling Price during the Civil war. He later married Miss Stella Ter- rill, the daughter of Joshua Terrill, M. D., for many years a practicing physician and later in life a minister of the Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Walton became the parents of four children, Robert S. being the second child and only son. While the children were yet very young both parents died, and the maternal grandparents of the children, Dr. and Mrs. Joshua Terrill, reared the little orphan family of their daughter.
Robert S. Walton was educated in the district schools and in William Jewell College, at Liberty, Missouri, and during his vacations was em- ployed at work upon the farm. After leaving college he engaged in school teaching in the Armstrong district for one year. Not pleased with the work, he decided to try the vocation of a printer, and he accordingly set about to establish himself in the business. In the little home town there had been established a small newspaper, with an army press of
I Remain yours S.S. Rich
1353
HISTORY OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI
small capacity and a handful of type. Having no capital with which to buy the plant, financial aid was received from ten farmers who signed a note for the purchase price of the plant. Having had no experience as a printer or editor and with no capital, the prospects for success in journalism were not particularly encouraging, but by hard work and because of his energy and determination to succeed, the business in- creased from year to year, and today the Armstrong Herald, which has been under Mr. Walton's management for twenty-one years, ranks as one of the leading country newspapers of the state. Mr. Walton had the distinction of being the first country editor in Missouri to install a Standard linotype machine, and also has the further distinction of being located in the smallest town in the world in which a linotype machine is used. He was elected to represent Howard county in the Forty-sixth general assembly, and as a member of the legislature he served on a num- ber of important committees. He was re-elected to succeed himself, and in 1912 was nominated for a third term in the office of representative.
During the twenty-one years in which Mr. Walton has published the Herald he has consistently advocated the principles of Democracy, and has waged a relentless war on the liquor traffic. He has been a potent factor in the interests of public school education, and it was largely through the influence of his newspaper that Armstrong secured its pres- ent high school building, Armstrong being the smallest town in Missouri that maintains a full four years accredited course in its high school.
On November 26, 1890, Mr. Walton was married to Miss Carrie Pres- ton. They have five children, two sons, Ralph and Ferris, and three daughters, Naomi, Ada and Jewell. The eldest son was graduated from the University of Missouri in June, 1912. Mr. Walton is a member of the Baptist church, and of the Masonic fraternity, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
SAMUEL S. RICH. ( One of the old and honored citizens of north- eastern Missouri who will be well remembered by the citizens of Moberly, was Samuel S. Rich, who for a number of years acted in the capacity of station agent at Moberly. Mr. Rich was born near Covington, Ken- tucky, August 22, 1844, the oldest son of the nine children of Samuel and Mary (Stower) Rich, both natives of the Blue Grass state. On September 9, 1861, Mr. Rich enlisted in Company K, Fourth Regiment, Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, for service in the Civil war, from Ken- ton county, and was mustered into the service at Robinson on the 9th of October following. He received his honorable discharge at Chat- tanooga, Tennessee, January 18, 1864, and reenlisted in the same com- pany as a veteran, being mustered in as sergeant of his old company. He was subsequently commissioned second lieutenant for brave and efficient services, and on June 7, 1865, was made first lieutenant of his company, being mustered out of the service as such, August 17, 1865, at Macon, Georgia.
On his return from the war Mr. Rich was engaged in agricultural pursuits for a number of years in his native state, but eventually, in 1875, came to Missouri first to a farm in Shannon county, but after a short time became an employe of the Wabash Railroad, for which he worked during the remainder of his life, being station agent at Moberly at the time of his death. He is remembered as a courteous and effi- cient official, ready at all times to promote his company's interests and to oblige its patrons. He held some local offices in Moberly and took active interest in public offices. He was a Republican in his political views and a member of the A. O. U. W., in which he held the rank of select knight.
Vol. III-5
1354
HISTORY OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI
On December 23, 1868, Mr. Rich was united in marriage with Miss Missouri A. Williams, and to this union there were born two children: Lydia, who is the wife of W. S. Harris, of St. Louis, Missouri; and Alfred, who is now deceased. Mrs. Rich died October 16, 1885, and on November 21, 1889, Mr. Rich was married to Miss Mattie E. Mckinsey, daughter of James L. and Lucy (Hume) Mckinsey, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. McKinsey had a family of ten children, as follows : William P., Jefferson T., Amanda, Nancy, James E., Jane and John R., all of whom grew to maturity but James E. who died in infancy ; Mary A., who is the wife of E. G. Deskin, of Moberly, Mis- souri; George G., who is deceased; and Mattie E., who married Mr. Rich. Mr. and Mrs. Rich have no children, but they adopted a daughter, Gladys, who is now a graduate of the Moberly high school.
Mrs. Rich has been very active in the work of the W. R. C. and acts in the capacity of secretary of this organization, of which she was formerly state president. She belongs to a family that has been prom- inent in military circles, her father, James McKinsey, having been first lieutenant of the Ninth Missouri Cavalry, while her two brothers were soldiers in the Union army during the Civil war. Her great-grand- fathers, Aldrich and Lampton, served in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war, in which struggle the latter acted as an officer. Mrs. Rich now resides in her comfortable home at No. 1004 South Wil- liams street, and has a wide circle of warm, personal friends in Moberly.
THOMAS A. BROOKS. Serving on the bench of the county court of Callaway county, Judge Brooks is a representative agriculturist of this section of the state, and his finely improved landed estate, which com- prises 160 acres, is situated five and one-half miles west of Fulton, the judicial center of his native county. He is a scion of one of the best known and most honored pioneer families of Callaway county and his character and services are such as to have given no blemish to the family escutcheon. He was born on the old homestead farm, about eight miles east of Fulton, on the 29th of July, 1841, and there he continued to re- side until 1885, the place having finally come into his individual posses- sion. He gained his early education in the common schools of the locality and period, and has effectually supplemented this through self-discipline and through the valuable lessons gained under the direction of that wisest of all head-masters, experience.
Judge Thomas Andrew Brooks has never severed his allegiance to the great basic industry of agriculture, of which he has long been an able and successful exponent, and he has resided upon his present home- stead since 1885, in the meantime having made many admirable improve- ments on the place, which gives every evidence of thrift and prosperity. He is broad-minded and progressive as a citizen and has ever stood ready to lend his influence and co-operation in the promotion of all measures tending to advance the best interests of the community, both civic and material. In politics the judge has ever given an unequivocal allegiance to the Democratic party and he has been called upon to serve in various offices of public trust,-preferments indicative of the high esteem in which he is held in the county that has always been his home. He served about five years as justice of the peace of Round Prairie township, and was for two years superintendent of the county infirmary. In 1910 he was elected to the bench of the county court, and in this office he has since continued to serve with marked discrimination and acceptability. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Baptist church, he serving as clerk of the church at Salem. His wife belongs to the Baptist church at Car- rington.
1355
HISTORY OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI
On the 17th of December, 1868, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Brooks to Miss Mary M. Hutts, who was born in Auxvasse town- ship, Callaway county, on the 12th of July, 1847, and who is a daughter of Blueford and Rebecca W. (Heppenstall) Hutts, who came to this county from Franklin county, Virginia, about the year 1836, the Hutts family having been one of prominence and influence in connection with the industrial and social upbuilding of the county. Judge and Mrs. Brooks have five children, concerning whom the following brief record is given : Alice May is with her parents; Eric Claudius, who wedded Miss Ella W. Bullard is a Round Prairie farmer by vocation and resides in Callaway county; Andrew Deckerson married Miss Mabel Gowen and they reside in Round Prairie, Callaway county, he being a prosperous farmer by occupation; Homer Blueford, the maiden name of whose wife was Ida May Garrett, is a resident of Calwood township, and is engaged in farming; and Ila Belle is the wife of William R. Sampson, of Mus- kogee, Oklahoma.
Adverting to the family history of Judge Brooks it may be noted that he is a son of Pleasant Dickinson Brooks, who was born in Franklin county, Virginia, in October, 1812, a son of William Brooks, and his wife having been born in the same county, in May, 1812. Her maiden name was Frances Smith Gilbert and she was a daughter of Kemuel Gilbert. Pleasant D. Brooks and his wife came to Callaway county, Missouri, about 1835, and numbered themselves among the early settlers of Nine Mile Prairie township, where the wife and mother died in 1869, the children being seven in number, namely: William, Stephen, Thomas A., Jane, Martha, Fanny and Samuel. Of these children six are now living. After the death of his first wife Pleasant D. Brooks married her sister, Mrs. Sarah W. Lovelace, widow of Elhannan Lovelace, no children being born of this union. Mr. Brooks passed away in 1886 and his wife survived him by several years, both having been members of the Baptist church. He developed a fine farm of 320 acres, the most of which he reclaimed from the wilderness, and he was long numbered among the sterling and honored citizens of the county in which he es- tablished his home in the early pioneer days. He was a Democrat in politics and served many years as justice of the peace.
ADDISON L. ROBINSON. As one of the representative agriculturists and stock-growers of Callaway county, as one of the sterling and honored citizens of this favored section of the state, and as a scion of one of the. prominent pioneer families of Callaway county, Mr. Robinson is spe- cially entitled to consideration in this publication. The family of which: Mr. Robinson is a representative was founded in Callaway county nearly ninety years ago, and this statement bears its own significance. The name has been worthily linked with the social, religious, educational and industrial development and upbuilding of the county, and is worthy of consideration in every historical work touching said county.
Capt. John Robinson, father of him whose name initiates this article,. was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, in 1796, and as a youth he ac- companied his parents on their removal to Kentucky, where he was reared to maturity and where, in 1823 or 1824, was solemnized his mar- riage to Miss Mary B. Ayres. In 1826 he came with his wife to Missouri and numbered himself among the pioneer settlers of Callaway county, which was then on the very frontier, with but few white families within its borders. He located about a mile southwest of the present village of McCredie and there secured from the government a tract of wild land. to which he subsequently added, by the purchase of adjoining land until he was the owner of a landed estate of about six hundred acres. He re-
1356
HISTORY OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI
claimed a farm from the virgin wilderness and, as indicating the primi- tive conditions at the time, it may be noted that his first log cabin was erected without the use of a single nail or a sawed piece of wood. In 1832 he erected a substantial frame house, and the same is still stand- ing, in an excellent state of preservation and now occupied by Watson Wallace. Captain Robinson was a man of prominence and influence in the pioneer community and was a citizen of marked energy and enter- prise. He erected and equipped one of the first flour mills in this section of the state, the same being operated by horse power and drawing its trade from the settlers over a wide radius of country. Captain Robinson was a cooper by trade and found much requisition for his services in this connection in the early days. He was a Whig in politics, served as captain in the state militia, was a strong temperance advocate, and both he and his wife were charter members of the Richland Baptist church. His death occurred in 1852, and his wife long survived him, as she was summoned to the life eternal in 1882, at the venerable age of eighty years. They reared eight children, whose names are here given in respective or- der of birth : Judith Ann, Agnes J., Walter A., Nancy W., John Edward, Michael Waller, Addison Lewis, and Mary Elizabeth.
Addison Lewis Robinson, the only representative of the family living, was born on the old homestead farm, about one mile south of his present place of abode, on the 8th of July, 1840, and his present place includes a portion of the land entered by his father many years ago, as already noted. It comprises four hundred and sixty-seven acres of excellent land and is eligibly situated about one-half mile from the village of McCredie, in McCredie township. He has devoted his entire active career to the basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing, and through the medium of the same has attained to distinctive independence and prosperity,-representing the tangible results of long years of earnest toil and endeavor. His present dwelling was erected by him in 1884 and is one of the attractive homes of this part of Callaway county. His early educational advantages were those afforded in the common schools of the locality and period, and in later years he has duly profited by the lessons learned under the direction of that wisest of head-masters, experience. He has had no desire for public office but accords a staunch allegiance to the Democratic party and is progressive and liberal as a citizen. Both he and his wife are prominent members of the Richland Baptist church, and he is serving as a deacon in the same. He is affiliated with the lodge of Free and Accepted Masons at Fulton, and is well known and highly esteemed in the community that has been his home from the time of his birth.
On the 14th of September, 1876, were pronounced the words that united the life destinies of Mr. Robinson and Miss Nannie McCredie Sharp, who was born at Fulton, Callaway county, on the 5th of October, 1852, and who is a daughter of John and Nannie (McCredie) Sharp, the town of McCredie, this county, having been named in honor of the family of which her mother was a member. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson; George is associated in the management of the home farm; Lewis B. died at the age of twenty-one years; Jean B. is now a resident of Springfield, this state; Myrtle is the wife of James B. Houf, a prosperous farmer of Mc- Credie township, Callaway county ; and Bessie Sharp and Leslie remain at the parental home.
WILLIAM D. BUSH. Many are the salient points of interest in the personal career and ancestral history of this venerable and honored citi- zen of Fulton. He was for more than half a century engaged in the
1357
HISTORY OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI
mercantile business and he has maintained his home at Fulton for the past thirty years. Here he developed a large and prosperous business as one of the representative merchants of the county, and here he is now living retired, in the enjoyment of the gracious rewards of former years of earnest endeavor. Mr. Bush is a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Missouri and the name which he bears has been iden- tified with the annals of American history since the time of the original settlement in Virginia. Thus it may readily be understood that the fam- ily record is one of emphatically interesting order, and even the brief data incorporated in this sketch will give tangible evidence of this fact.
William Douglass Bush was born on the old family homestead, on Dry Fork, in Montgomery, Missouri, and the date of his nativity was November 19, 1827. He is a son of Green Berry and Sally (Cundiff) Bush, both of whom were born in Kentucky and both of whom were children at the time of the removal of the respective families to the wilds of Missouri, which state was then on the very frontier of civilization. Green Berry Bush was born in 1807, and thus was a lad of nine years at the time of the family removal to Missouri, in 1816. He was a son of Ambrose and Nancy (Douglass) Bush, whose marriage was solemnized in Fayette county, in which state both were born and reared. Ambrose Bush was descended from one of the five brothers, who settled in Clark county, that state, they in turn being the sons of Philip Bush of Vir- ginia. These five brothers came with Daniel Boone from Virginia, and founded Bush settlement near the present town of Boonesboro, Clark county, Kentucky, where they were intimate friends and associates of the adventurous pioneer, Daniel Boone, and where one or more of the brothers assisted in rescuing the latter's daughter after she had been cap- tured by the Indians. It is needless to say that the representatives of the Bush family lived up to the full tension of the pioneer life on the "dark and bloody ground" of Kentucky, where civilization at that time main- tained a precarious foothold but where the pioneers eventually laid the secure foundations for a great and noble commonwealth. The founder of the Bush family in America was John Bush, who came from England to the new world in company with Capt. John Smith, of historic fame, and who settled on a grant of land given him by the British sovereign, near Norfolk, Virginia, this grant of land having been the nucleus of the fam- ily estate in the historic Old Dominion. It will thus be seen that repre- sentatives of the Bush family have followed the star of empire on its westward course and have been in the ranks of those who have bravely pushed forward into the wilderness. Such records as this should be a source of pride to every loyal American, and especially to one who can claim such an ancestral history as he to whom this sketch is dedicated.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.