USA > Missouri > A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2 > Part 101
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His birthplace was Chariton county, Missouri, where he was born on October 6, 1854, a son of Jesse B. Hudson, a native of Garrett county, Kentucky. The mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Wiley, was born in Kentucky, and later came to Randolph county, Missouri, where she was married. The father died at the age of eighty years. He was long an active member and a deacon in the Christian church. The mother died at the age of seventy-eight. Of her six children, four are living, namely : Morgan, Sarah, Berry and Simeon. Two daughters died young.
Reared on a farm, where he early learned the value of honest toil, and receiving a fair education in the public schools, Mr. Hudson began his career, with the equipment obtained by his boyhood experiences, and depended upon himself largely for the favor of fortune. When he was twenty-eight years of age he married Miss Sarah Williams, a native of Randolph county and a daughter of W. N. Williams. Mrs. Hudson died when forty-six years of age. She was a member of the Christian church. In 1899, Mr. Hudson married Annie Taylor, a native of Shelby county, Missouri, where she was born May 10, 1863. She was the only daughter of Reuben and Sarah Taylor. The history of the Taylor family is a prominent one in Randolph county, and is given on other pages of this work. Mrs. Hudson is a sister of Henry C. Taylor of Howard county. She received her education at Roanoke, Missouri, and Hardin College, in Mexico, Missouri, and is a woman of talent and refinement who affords a gracious hospitality in the beautiful Woodland Park farm.
For several years of his career Mr. Hudson followed merchandising at Roanoke, but did not continue his career in mercantile lines, prefer- ring the life of the countryman. He bought the old Major Binks home- stead, which is now the Woodland Park farm, located seven miles north- west of Armstrong. A comfortable brick house, with surrounding build- ings and their many facilities for farming, is set off by a beautiful park of ten acres containing the native forest trees. This is the feature of the estate. As a grain farm Woodland Park has a record that is prob- ably not often surpassed in Howard county. The cornfields regularly
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produce sixty bushels to the acre and thirty bushels of wheat is not an unusual crop. Cattle, mules and general stock are the other products of Woodland Park and the entire estate is managed both for profit and to furnish a pleasant and comfortable home for the family. An auto garage is another feature and his use of the automobile stamps Mr. Hudson as one of the modern farmers. Mrs. Hudson is a member of the Methodist church, while he is a Baptist. The old time Virginia hospitality prevails in the Hudson home and there are few places in Howard county which equal its popularity as a social center. Mrs. Hudson's mother is a noble, unassuming lady of seventy-eight years, whose presence is a great pleasure and an attraction in the happy home of these people. Mrs. Hudson's father died May 25, 1896.
WILLIAM MCBEE has been identified with Moniteau township of Howard county for more than forty years. Prosperous in business and influential as a citizen, he is thoroughly representative of those better elements of character and citizenship which have been notable in the development and forward achievements of Northeastern Missouri during the last half century.
Mr. McBee located upon his present fine homestead in 1869, but has been a resident of the county since 1865. His farm consists of four hundred and ninety acres, land of the quality that has made Howard county famous for its agricultural products, and its improvement and the growing of fine grain crops and the raising of good stock have offered a steady and profitable occupation for Mr. McBee through the greater part of his active career.
Tennessee is the native state of Mr. McBee, who was born there on October 25, 1844, of Scotch-Irish ancestry that had early located in that commonwealth. His parents were Jesse and Lousyndia (Pool) McBee, both of old Tennessee families. In 1856 the parents moved to Arkansas, but the mother died in Texas. They had six children, two sons and four daughters. William's brother John was a soldier of the Confederacy under General Price. The father married again and later moved to Missouri, and then to Texas, where he died near San Antonio at the age of sixty-five. He was a substantial farmer, a good provider and respected citizen, and during the war served as a member of the Home Guards.
William McBee received such educational advantages as were offered by the schools of the localities in which his youth was passed, and was still only a boy when the war came on. He enlisted, went into the Confederate army, and at Wilson's Creek was wounded, but continued to serve with Price's army through most of the war. He participated in the defense against Banks Red River Expedition, and was at Green- ville, Texas, when hostilities closed and the troops disbanded.
Mr. McBee after the war married Miss Margaret Maxwell, a member of an old and prominent Howard county family. She was born in Moni- teau township, and her father, Boswell Maxwell, was an early settler and during the war took an active part in the Confederate cause. His own extensive plantation was devastated, his barns burned and his stock appropriated by the raiders, besides his slaves being freed and scattered. Boswell Maxwell was born in Madison county, Kentucky, in 1810, and died at the age of seventy-two. His father, Thomas J. Maxwell, also a native Kentuckian, settled in Missouri in 1822 shortly after the admis- sion of the state. The late Boswell Maxwell had a fine farm in Howard county, was a man of influence in the community, and his strong con- victions and honorable dealings made him a man of no ordinary charac- ter. Mr. McBee and wife became the parents of five children, namely : John, Lennie, Edward and Edwin, twins, and Charles. Three of the sons live on the homestead and are capable farmers and stock raisers.
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The McBee estate contains three comfortable dwelling houses, first-class barns and other building improvements, and shows on every acre the evidences of business-like management. Mr. McBee votes the Democratic ticket, and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. They keep a hospitable home, and have all the fruits and accompaniments of success and happiness for their declining years.
GEORGE W. DIEMER. Probably no section of the state can boast of a more thoroughly advanced public school system than that of Brunswick, Missouri, which has kept abreast of the advancement in educational work that has taken place throughout the country during the past sev- eral years. Much of the credit for the high standard set by Brunswick's schools must be given to George W. Diemer, superintendent of schools, a man of scholarly attainments, natural talents and inherent inclination for his profession. Mr. Diemer was born in Arkansas City, Kansas, December 11, 1885, and is a son of John Purdue and Amelia L. (Syl- vins) Diemer, natives of Ohio.
John Purdue Diemer was named in honor of John Purdue, his grand uncle, the founder of Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana, by whom he was educated. He was also a student in Waterville (Ohio) College, following which he engaged in agricultural pursuits, and at this time is serving as city. assessor of Brookfield.
George W. Diemer was a child of three years when brought to Mis- souri, and his early education was secured in the schools of Brookfield, where he was graduated from the high school. He started his career as an educator at the age of nineteen years in the northern part of Chariton county, subsequently becoming principal of a ward school at Brookfield, where he spent two years. He then became superintendent of the schools of Laclede, and later was a student in the Kirksville normal school, from which institution he was graduated in 1911. Since becoming superintendent of the schools of Brunswick, Mr. Diemer has introduced a number of much needed reforms, and his administration has been filled with evidences of his ability. He has the rare accomplish- ment of being able to impart to others his own deep knowledge, and his personality is such that he has won the confidence and friendship of parents, public and teachers, Brunswick having had no more popular educator. Mr. Diemer is a member of the Missouri State Teachers Asso- ciation and the Chariton County Teachers' Association, in the work of which he takes great interest. He also holds membership in the Masonic fraternity, and has been active in religious work, being a teacher in the Sunday school of the Methodist Episcopal church. In all matters of a nature calculated to advance the cause of education and morality he has co-operated with other earnest and hard-working citizens, and his signal services to his adopted city stamp him as a man whose activities are assisting materially in the development of Northeastern Missouri.
BERRYMAN HENWOOD, the present city attorney of Hannibal, Mis- souri, has gained a position of distinctive priority as one of the repre- sentative members of the bar of the state. Prior to assuming the respon- sibilities of the office of city attorney he was assistant chief clerk of the house of representatives in the forty-third general assembly. He has gained success and prestige through his own endeavors and thus the more honor is due him for his earnest labors in his exacting profession and for the precedence he has gained in liis chosen vocation.
A native son of Hannibal, Missouri, Berryman Henwood was born April 23, 1881. He is a son of George W. Henwood, a former railroad conductor and for about twenty years general yard master for the Mis- souri, Kansas & Texas and the Wabash railroad companies at Hannibal.
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George W. Henwood and his wife, whose maiden name was Jennie Dun- ham, were both born in Illinois and they are now living in Springfield, that state. Of their six children all are living, as follows: Berryman is the immediate subject of this review ; Helen is the wife of F. C. Baker, who resides in Hannibal; Emma, a popular and successful teacher is now living with her parents in Springfield, Illinois; Jessie, formerly a teacher, is now the wife of Walter Bramlett, of Lesterville, in Reynolds county, Missouri; George Fay is now on the battleship Vermont, and Warren is employed in the city engineer's office in Hannibal.
To the public schools of Hannibal Berryman Henwood is indebted for his preliminary educational training, which included a course in the high school, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1900. Subsequently he was matriculated as a student in the University of Mis- souri, at Columbia, in the law department of which excellent institu- tion he was graduated in 1904, with the degree of bachelor of laws cum laude. After graduation he opened up law offices in Hannibal, where he has since maintained his home and where he is now recognized as one of the most skilled legal authorities in Northeast Missouri, having been selected to act as special judge in several important cases in the circuit court of Marion and Ralls counties. In 1904 he became the nomi- nee on the Republican ticket for the office of prosecuting attorney of Marion county, but as the county is overwhelmingly Democratic, he met with defeat. In recognition of his worth and ability, however, he was made assistant chief clerk of the house of representatives in the forty- third general assembly. In 1909 and again in 1911 he was elected city attorney and counsellor of Hannibal and during his incumbency in that office he has accomplished a great deal of good for Hannibal, several im- portant matters having been adjudicated during his service. The river front or Hannibal levee case, involving a number of new questions in law, came up and was eventually settled by the supreme court. The franchise granted by the city to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road Company to construct tracks across the levee was attacked on the ground that it was an abuse of the uses to which the levee was dedicated by the original donor. The court held that construction of tracks, as per the ordinance, with no obstruction to travel, did not violate the orig- inal intention and that commercial progress and the continued good of the city were thus served as contemplated by the donor for levee pur- poses. The result of this decision has been to give Hannibal better com- mercial advantages, the same including a concrete river front and one of the finest river landings on the Mississippi river. Other important serv- ices for the city, involving franchises for the Oakwood extension of the street railway system and for water and gas lighting plants, have like- wise been carried out by Mr. Henwood, who is ever on the qui vive to further all matters projected for the good of the city. In 1909 he com- piled and prepared for publication a revision of the ordinances of the city of Hannibal.
Mr. Henwood is an unswerving Republican in his political convic- tions, is an active party worker and is now a member of the Republican state committee. He has talent as a public speaker and is often called upon to address audiences in and about Hannibal. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the time-honored Masonic order and with the Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks. Since entering the practice of law in Hannibal he has been identified with the commercial club and is now a member of the board of directors of that body.
October 17, 1907, Mr. Henwood was united in marriage to Miss Adele Tucker, a native of Hannibal, Marion county, and a daughter of William H. Tucker, a prominent and influential citizen in Hannibal, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Henwood have one daughter, Ethlyn Eliza-
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beth, whose birth occurred in February, 1911. Mrs. Henwood is promi- nent in literary circles and contributed in a large measure to her hus- band's success. The Henwood family are devout members of the Meth- odist church in their religious faith and they are popular factors in con- nection with the best social activities in their home community, where they are honored and esteemed by all with whom they have come in contact.
PROF. A. S. HILL, superintendent of the Green City public schools, is the son and the grandson of well known and efficient educators, and thus represents a family that for the past three generations has given of her sons to the cause of education. John Hill, the father of the sub- ject, was a very prominent and successful teacher during his lifetime, and Jacob I. Hill, the grandfather of Professor Hill of this review, occupied the chair of mathematics in one of the leading colleges of Los Angeles, California, until 1907, and he is now in the ninety-third year of his life, surely a remarkable record.
Prof. A. S. Hill was born in Putnam county, Missouri, on June 11, 1890, and is the son of John and Kate (Rash) Hill. The father was born in Virginia, and was the son of Jacob I. Hill, above mentioned, the latter gentleman having been an officer of the staff of Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson in the Civil war. Kate (Rash) Hill was a daughter of John Rash, a native of Kentucky, and she became the mother of six children- five sons and a daughter. They are named as follows: John Jacob, named for his honored grandfather; William C .; Grover C .; Ambrose S .; and Mabel C., the wife of Jeff Davis, who is a relative of Hon. Henry Clay Dean. The family has been a strong Democratic one, and its mem- bers have been of the Presbyterian faith for generations.
Ambrose S. Hill received his early education in the public schools, followed by attendance at the Kirksville normal, and since his gradua- tion has taught five terms. As a teacher he takes a high rank in this section of the state, and those who have observed his career thus far predict an unusual career for him in the field of education. In Septem- ber, 1912, Professor Hill assumed charge of the schools of this city, and his work thus far has been of a high order, indicative of excellent results and prophetic of higher positions for the young educator. He has not confined his interest at any time to the work under his hand at the time, but has extended his notice to the broader field of educational work, and has ever been on the alert for the newer and better ideas in advanced education.
On June 16, 1912, the young professor was married to Miss C. Enyert, the daughter of Rev. T. J. Enyert, of the Methodist Episcopal church. The marriage took place at Laclede. Mrs. Hill was educated at the Kirks- ville normal, and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1912. They are prominent socially in Green City, and have added a goodly list of friends to themselves in the brief time that they have been associated with this community.
J. P. THARP. Another of the enterprising men of Sullivan county who have been quick to take advantage of the splendid opportunities held out by the mammoth growth of the automobile business, is J. P. Tharp, proprietor of the Green City Garage, one of the most popular establishments of its kind in the county. J. P. Tharp is a native of Sullivan county, born on a farm in the vicinity of Green City, some forty- five years ago, his birth occurring on September 8, 1867. He is the son of George and Ellen E. (Smith) Tharp, both born in Virginia, and com- ing to Linn county, Missouri, early in their lives. The father, a man of some sixty-five years of age, is still hale and hearty and is one of the
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prosperous farming men in his community. He is a Democrat, and is active and prominent in the work of his party in the community where he is best known. His wife is a woman of the most worthy character, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a faithful wife and mother. Four sons and a daughter have been reared in their home, all of whom have taken places of usefulness in the lives of their respective communities.
J. P. Tharp was reared on the home farm and his education was limited to the public schools of his native community. He early learned lessons of honor and industry in his home, and became an expert in the work of the home place. When he was twenty-five years old Mr. Tharp married and launched out for himself in the world. For a number of vears he was engaged in operating a threshing machine in the farming district in his county, and was successful and prosperons in the work. This later gave place to other industries on his part, and in 1912 he decided to venture into the automobile business in Green City. His enterprise has proved itself a glowing success, and Green City is indebted to him for one of the most complete garage establishments in the county. The place is a large and commodious one, forty by eighty feet, with a sixteen foot ceiling, and a cement floor. He carries a full line of repair parts for the Hupp machine, of which he is the Sullivan county repre- sentative, as well as of other machines popularly used in this district, so that he is prepared to deal with any emergency that may arise in the experience of the motorist. Mr. Tharp himself has a wide knowledge of the technical side of the business, while his son, William E., who is a member of the firm, is a graduate of the Sweeney Automobile School at Kansas City, Missouri, and is an expert mechanician, capable of handling any bit of repair work that may come to his attention. With such a combination, the success of the Green City Garage is not greater than it should be, and its proprietors are in every way worthy of the promi- nence and popularity they have won in the business.
Mr. Tharp is a man who has taken the most commendable interest in the affairs of Green City, the best activities of the place never failing to find in him a warm adherent and supporter. He is a Democrat in his political affiliations. He is a man who is fair and honorable in all his business dealings, and his reputation for integrity and all round sta- bility is one of his most valuable assets in this city.
In 1892 he was in the shoe and grocery business in Milan, Missouri, thus continuing for about two years, when he sold out there, and after- ward was on the farm until 1909, when he engaged in the shoe and grocery. business here in Green City. But after about two years he sold out again and then engaged in his present business.
In 1891 Mr. Tharp married Miss Lillie M. MeNeal, who was born in Sullivan county, and they have three children. William, the first born, is his father's business partner, and a young man of excellent parts. The others are Earl and Mary.
T. H. IRWIN. One of the live young men of Green City is its popular postmaster, T. H. Irwin, who has held that office since 1907, and has in his official capacity proven himself a capable and worthy official of the government. His first term, which expired in 1911, was a sufficient recommendation to another similar period of service, and in that year his reappointment came, with confirmation by the senate. He has been a resident of Sullivan county all his life, and since he reached man's estate has been found identified with the best interests of Green City and his county at all times and upon all occasions.
Born in Sullivan county on September 19, 1879, T. H. Irwin is a son
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of Edward K. Irwin, a prominent and honored citizen of Green City, this county, who was born near Zanesville, Ohio, and who came of thor- oughbred Irish ancestry, the family having emigrated to American shores from the Emerald Isle in about 1820. In 1859 the Irwins located in Mis- souri. Edwin K. Irwin served in the Civil war for two years, his service being in the Union army, and in other ways gave valuable aid to the progress of the nation. He married Miss L. Overstreet of Quincy, III- inois, and they became the parents of the following children: Edward W .; William C., a prominent attorney of Jefferson City; Ida, who mar- ried T. T. Thomas, now deceased ; Mrs. Elva L. Page ; Fred M. ; and T. H., who is the immediate subject of this brief review. The father yet lives and is one of the well known and honored citizens of his county. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
T. H. Irwin was reared on the home farm of his parents, and there he was early trained in the work of the farmer. He attended school with regularity and precision, and after finishing the curriculum of the Green City high school entered the Kirksville normal. He then engaged in school teaching in Sullivan county for three years, a work in which he met with pleasing success, and had he elected to continue in that field, he would undoubtedly have arisen to a position of prominence among the educators of his day. His appointment to the office of postmaster of Green City on May 14, 1907, caused him to give up his teaching work, and he still retains that office, as has already been mentioned.
On November 12, 1902, Mr. Irwin married Miss Maria Bledsoe, a daughter of Jasper Bledsoe, a woman of good family and one of the cultured women of the city. Three sons have been born to these parents : Clarence L., Wesley G. and Hadley K.
Mr. Irwin, who is one of the more popular men of his community, is fraternally identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic order, and with his family is a member of the Christian church. He is a man of pleasing manner, fine personal appearance, and possesses many characteristics that have gained for him the esteem and friendship of a wide circle of people throughout the county, wherein he has always made his home.
THOMAS T. MORGAN. The phenomenal growth of the automobile business in recent years has given rise to an industry that has opened the way to prosperity of no uncertain order for many who have been quick enough to seize upon the opportunity when it presented itself to their vision. Among such may be. mentioned T. T. Morgan, member of the firm of Morgan & Wemmer, proprietors of one of the most com- plete and modern garages and auto liveries to be found in the county. They also figure prominently as salesmen of the well known Ford machine, and the quality of their salesmanship, no less than the desira- bility of their machine, has had much to do with the measure of their success.
The senior member of this prosperous firm is T. T. Morgan, who located in this community in 1904. He is a native of Iowa, born in Boone county, that state, on January 17, 1884, where his father was engaged in the coal mining business. Mr. Morgan died at LaMott, Pettis county, Missouri, when he was sixty-nine years of age, and his wife, the mother of the subject, died at the family home in Boone county, Iowa, some time previous.
As a youth T. T. Morgan attended the schools of his county, and a common school education was the limit of his privilege in that line. Early in life he engaged in the mining business with his father, and was thus occupied for some years, until his locating in Milan.
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