USA > Missouri > A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2 > Part 103
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Professor Seitz is a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he is an active and enthusiastic worker. His activities in the Sunday- school are of a high order, and in his capacity as superintendent of that body he wields a further influence in the lives of many of the young people who are under his supervision five days of the week in the pur- suit of an education. He is a member of the Masonic order and of the Knights of Pythias. Since coming to Milan it may well be said that Professor Seitz has displayed a most healthy interest in every good work that has been inaugurated for the advancement of the best inter- ests of the city, in every aspect of life, and his labors have met with the support and encouragement of the best people of the community at all times. He is at present secretary of the Milan Commercial Club.
On August 20, 1907, he was married at Milan to Miss Hazeldean Bolt, a young woman of many fine qualities, and the daughter of an old and estimable family of this section of the state. They have one daughter, Ruth Seitz.
E. S. PORTER, M. D., has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Milan, Missouri, for fifteen years, and is well known and highly esteemed throughout Sullivan county.
Doctor Porter's remote ancestors were Scotch Highlanders, but many generations of the family have lived in America, their first settlement in this country being in Virginia. A. J. Porter, Doctor Porter's father, Vol. III-44
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was born in Virginia. When a young man he came from there to Mis- souri, and in Clay county engaged in farming and stock raising. He is still living, now in his seventy-sixth year. In Clay county he married Miss Susan Dyce, a native of Kentucky and a member of an old Ken- tucky family; and they are the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters, of whom seven are now living.
On his father's farm the subject of this sketch grew to manhood, where he had instilled into his make-up the principles of honesty and industry and where he developed a fine physique. He studied medicine and surgery at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, and grad- uated there with the class of 1893. Following his graduation he was for four years employed as assistant surgeon for the Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad Company. During this time he continued his studies and received a diploma from the Post Graduate Medical College.
June 1, 1898, Doctor Porter and Miss Nora Durham were united in marriage, and their union has been blessed in the birth of two children, Joseph Edward and Helen Ruth. Mrs. Porter is a granddaughter of John Durham, of North Carolina.
Doctor Porter settled at Milan in 1898, and from that time to the present, a period of fifteen years, he has successfully practiced his pro- fession. He has made many friends throughout Sullivan county, both professionally and otherwise, and by all who know him he is held in high respect. He is a member of both the Sullivan County and the Missouri State Medical societies, and has fraternal identity also with the A. F. & A. M., both York and Scottish Rite, and also with the Knights of Pythias. His religious faith is that of the Christian church.
GEORGE A. MAHAN is a son of George A. and Jennie (Griffith) Mahan, and he was born on a farm in Marion county, Missouri, on August 6, 1851. He attended the district schools of Marion county and was gradu- ated at Bethel College, later attending Washington and Lee University . at Lexington, Virginia, taking the academic course. He read law in the office of Redd and McCabe at Palmyra and was graduated from the law department of the University of Indiana, taking the degree of bachelor of laws in the class of 1872. He was admitted to the bar by Judge W. P. Harrison at Hannibal, Missouri, and opened an office in that city in January, 1873, and he has continued in the practice of law in that city ever since. In 1885 he formed a partnership with Judge William P. Harrison, which continued until the death of the judge. He was elected city counselor of Hannibal in 1875 and in the following year was elected prosecuting attorney of Marion county, holding that office until 1885. In 1887 he was the representative of Marion county in the general assembly of Missouri.
On May 24, 1883, Mr. Mahan was united in marriage with Miss Ida Dulany, daughter of the late Col. Daniel M. Dulany, a resident of Han- nibal. They have one child, Dulany Mahan, born on May 25, 1884. He is a graduate in arts of the University of Missouri and in law in Harvard College at present being a member of the firm of Mahan, Smith & Mahan.
The general character of Mr. Mahan and the high esteem in which he is held in this section of the country is indicated in the article which appeared in the University Missourian, of recent date, under the caption, "Makers of Missouri." So well put are the sentiments of the article, and so comprehensive the facts in regard to the further details of his career, that it is regarded as wholly consistent that it be quoted here almost verbatim. The article, which was written by Walter Williams, well known in this section of the state, follows :
"George A. Mahan, of Hannibal, says he is 'just a lawyer.' Others
go A. mahan
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think differently ; hence this sketch. There are lawyers and lawyers. The woods are full of them; the law schools grind them out by the thou- sands every year. There is nothing worthy of especial notice about the mere fact of being a lawyer.
"It is because he is not 'just a lawyer' that Mr. Mahan was chosen to represent Northeast Missouri in the list of 'The Makers of Missouri.' 'If Mr. Mahan had started in St. Louis instead of Hannibal he would be one of the greatest lawyers in that city,' said Joseph N. Fining, sec- retary of the National Citizens' League in Missouri, of which Mr. Mahan is president. As it is, he is accounted one of the best lawyers in the state.
"Much of Mr. Mahan's business is in St. Louis. He has a general practice both in and outside the state. That he should have built up such a business in a comparatively small city is evidence of his ability as a lawyer. Mr. Mahan's friends have been urging his name as a pos- sibility for the governorship. The boom has had little encouragement from him, for he is too busy just now with his practice and other affairs to spend much time in politics. He was prosecuting attorney for Marion county for three terms and up to January, 1886, and representative from the county in 1887-88. Aside from these two ventures into political fields, Mr. Mahan has played the game of politics from the outside.
"Mr. Mahan was educated at Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia, and was graduated from the law school of the Uni- versity of Indiana. He has always been a stanch friend of the Uni- versity of Missouri and rarely makes a speech in Missouri or on his visits east that he does not say a kind word for the state school. A son, Dulany Mahan, was graduated from the University of Missouri a few years ago and is now in partnership with him at Hannibal.
"Mr. Mahan is a member of the executive committee of the State Federation of Commercial Clubs and is active in boosting the commer- cial interests of the state. Ever since the organization of the now fa- mous Hannibal Commercial Club, he has been a member of that body and has helped introduce live methods into the work of the club.
"At the solicitation of the business men of the state he became presi- dent of the National Citizens' League for the Missouri branch. . The organization was founded for the purpose of promoting a sound banking system. Mr. Mahan was in Columbia recently in the interest of this league and made a speech that set the business men of Columbia to think- . ing. The work of this society now takes up much of his time and Mr. Mahan has refused to accept fees from the national headquarters as a speaker, preferring to work in Missouri in his own way and at such leisure time as he could, without remuneration. The purpose of the organization is the establishment of banking reforms that will prevent the frequently recurring panics in this country.
"In his address here Mr. Mahan declared that he was not espousing the bill of the National Monetary Commission as the best hill that could be drafted, but he urged that it be carefully studied to see if it offered a solution to the banking problems. He believes it does, and the society of which he is president for Missouri is endeavoring to get the fundamental provisions of the bill before the people for intelligent consideration. Under Mr. Mahan's direction the National Citizens' League has been organized in four hundred cities in Missouri and in practically every county in the state. Practically all of the time he can spare from his law work is spent in furthering the work of this organiza- tion by making addresses before commercial organizations and in other like ways. He has made a deep study of the banking business and is in
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possession of much valuable information on the economic side of our present financial system.
"Personally, Mr. Mahan is a congenial, affable man, a clear thinker who goes quickly to the vital point of any subject under discussion. He is an optimist and a thorough student of human nature. He is a real Missourian and an asset to the state.
"Recently Mr. Mahan presented Mark Twain's boyhood home to the city of Hannibal, and when asked why he did so, replied: 'The life of Mark Twain teaches that poverty is an incentive rather than. a bar, and that any boy, however humble his birth and surroundings, may, by hon- esty and industry, accomplish great things. This is the reason why his modest boyhood home should be preserved.' "
B. F. GUTHRIE, postmaster of Milan, Missouri, and proprietor of the Milan Republican, is recognized as one of the most influential of the leading citizens of the town.
Mr. Guthrie is a native of Illinois. He was born October 3, 1863, near Salem, in Marion county, and has a mixture of Scotch and Irish blood in his veins, receiving the former from his paternal ancestors and the latter from his maternal, his mother, whose maiden name was Cald- well, having been born in Ireland. The Caldwell family came to this country in 1861 and settled near Milan, in Sullivan county. William Guthrie, the father of B. F., was a representative farmer and a man of high standing in his community. A few years after his marriage he moved to Marion county, Illinois, and in 1872 moved to Sullivan county, Missouri, where he spent the rest of his life. He died on his farm in Sullivan county, Missouri, eight miles northwest of Milan. In his relig- ious faith he was a stanch Presbyterian and for many years was an elder in that church. His good wife survives him and is now eighty-two years of age. In their family were three sons, B. F., R. J. and W. H.
B. F. Guthrie was reared on his father's farm. Honesty and indus- try were among the first principles instilled into him by his worthy parents. He attended the public schools near his home and the Kirks- ville (Mo.) Normal School, and also spent two years in the Uni- versity of Chicago. In his early manhood he devoted several years to educational work. For two years he was superintendent of the Prince- ton schools, at Princeton, Missouri, and he was two years principal of . the public schools of Trenton, Missouri. In Colorado he was superin- tendent of the Ridgeway schools, Ridgeway, was principal of the Park City schools, Park City, Utah, and his last connection with school work was at Anaconda, Montana, where he was principal. In 1903 he pur- chased the plant of the Milan Republican, where he has since conducted a prosperous business, publishing an up-to-date newsy sheet that is popu- lar with the people of Sullivan and adjoining counties. He was ap- pointed postmaster of Milan in 1905, and has since filled this office, which is ranked as third class and has six carriers. In various other ways also is Mr. Guthrie identified with the business activities of Milan. He is president of the school board, president of the telephone company, and a director of the Citizens International Bank, and thus in differ- ent channels is his influence felt in the community. He is interested also in farming and stock raising, owning and superintending the opera- tions of two fine farms in Sullivan county.
Mr. Guthrie's political affiliation is indicated by his paper and his incumbency of office. He is not only a Republican, but he is an ardent Republican. As a speaker he is fluent and interesting, and as a writer he is clear and concise. He is interested in every movement that tends
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toward the uplifting of humanity. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, in which he is an active worker.
C. E. MCGREW. One of the most capable and successful of the auto- mobile men of Sullivan county is C. E. MeGrew, who conducts a modern and complete garage in Milan and handles the sale of the Studebaker cars in this section of the state. He has proved himself the man for the business in which he is now occupied, and his popularity and prom- inenee in automobile cireles is steadily increasing.
Mr. MeGrew was born in Adair county on April 11, 1870, and is the son of Samuel and Elizabethi (Smoot) MeGrew. The father was a native of Indiana, who migrated to Missouri in his early days, and died in Sullivan county when he was seventy-five years of age. He was prominent in the county as a farmer and stock dealer, and enjoyed a generous measure of success in his operations during his lifetime. In his polities he was a Demoerat, staneh and loyal, and was a devout Baptist. He lived in the respect and esteem of all who knew him, and the family was one that ever enjoyed a good standing in his community. The mother died at the age of seventy-two years, secure in the love and respeet of all who shared in her acquaintance.
C. E. McGrew received a somewhat limited education in the publie schools of Adair county, and in his young manhood left the home farm and engaged in the hardware business at Greeneastle, in Sullivan county, where he succeeded in building up a substantial trade during the years of his connection with that place. In 1912 he disposed of his business in Greencastle and entered the garage and auto sales business in Milan. He secured one of the finest show rooms for his purpose that might be found in the county, a place 35 x 80 feet in size, with a repair room of 20 x 60 feet. He shows the Studebaker cars in all their varied models, and he has a splendid sale for them in this part of the state. He is a demonstrator of the first quality, and employs a force of the most expert mechanics for his repair and show rooms. He carries a full line of automobile accessories and repairs, and is in every way equipped to handle in the most satisfactory manner any elass of trade to be found in the county.
Mr. MeGrew is one of the strong Democrats of the county, and takes a man's part in the activities of the party in this distriet. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but has no other fraternal affiliations.
In 1893, Mr. MeGrew married Miss Josephine Morton, who was born in Kansas, and they have one son, Wm. E., who is now fourteen years of age. The family is one that enjoys the friendship of the best people in the city, and they take an active part in the social activities of Milan, where their pleasant home is maintained.
WILLIAM COCHRAN, JR., in the city of Milan, Sullivan county, Mis- souri, is one of her pioneer citizens, and one of the highly honored and respected men of the city, in which he has long been identified with the best interests that have entered into her development and onward progress. He has seen almost sixty years of life in this county and has a larger acquaintanee and intimaey with conditions and things here- about, than many an older man who might be mentioned in the same community.
Born in Pennsylvania on October 20, 1854, William Cochran, Jr., is a son of William Cochran and Elizabeth Hyndman, natives of Ireland. The Cochran family, it may be said here, is of Seotch ancestry, and the first American ancestor of this immediate branch of the family
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located on these shores in about 1837. The father of the subject was born in 1827 in Ireland, and was himself a son of Robert Cochran. William Cochran and his wife reared a family of five children, of whom four yet live, and the mother died in 1863, the father surviving until 1897.
Sullivan county represented the district in which William Cochran, Jr., now city clerk of Milan, was reared largely. He attended the schools of his native community and finished his educational training in the Kirksville State Normal, beginning the work of teaching when he was twenty years of age. Sullivan and Bates counties, Missouri, witnessed most of the pedagogic labors of this young man, while he car- ried his work into South Dakota for a brief time. Teaching continued to occupy his time and attention principally until the year 1889, when he was elected postmaster of Milan under the administration of General Harrison, and he served four years in that office, giving a faithful serv- ice and a capable and efficient one as well. In 1902, Mr. Cochran was elected to the office of city clerk of Milan, and he still retains that office, his continued service being a sufficient recommendation as to the char- acter and worth of his activities in that field.
On June 6, 1886, Mr. Cochran was united in marriage with Miss Allie Swanger, of Sullivan county, the daughter of Jefferson and Sarah Swanger, well and favorably known in and about Milan. Mr. and Mrs. Cochran have two daughters, Beulah G. and Marian, now deceased. The former was educated in music under the instruction of Carl Bush, of Kansas City, and prior to her marriage to Mr. T. A. Ballridge was a well-known teacher of music in these parts.
Mr. Cochran is an enthusiastic member of the Masonic order and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, while his wife affiliates with the Methodist Episco- pal denomination, and is prominent in church circles. Mr. Cochran is a man who has always taken a prominent part in the best civic activi- ties of the city in which he makes his home and may ever be depended upon to wield a healthful influence in the consideration of all move- ments calculated to produce a better condition in any phase of the life of the community. He is, in short, a genuine citizen, a statement that sums up the character and calibre of the man as no other words could.
CLARENCE F. EUBANKS. Well and favorably known in his capacity of private citizen and equally prominent as an official of Sullivan county, Clarence F. Eubanks, judge of probate for the county since 1902, is most appropriately included in this historical and biographical publication. He is the representative of one of the old families of the United States, his first American ancestor, tradition says, having been one of the three brothers who emigrated from England to the colonies while they were yet the dependencies of the British Empire, and many of the name have been identified with the early wars of this country, taking prominent places in the making of history from the time of their locating on these shores. Men of the house of Eubanks have gained prominence in many of the higher walks of life, and have been noted for their love of country, their splendid courage at crucial times, and for the excellency of their characters.
C. F. Eubanks was born on the 23d of February, 1868, in Audrain county, Missouri, and came to Sullivan county when about one year old, where he was reared and where he has spent his life, with but little variation. He is the son of David B. Eubanks and his wife, Eliza Ann (Russell) Eubanks. The father, David B. Eubanks, was born in Ohio. His father was born in Kentucky, and later moved to Ohio, where he reared his family, and in later life moved thence to Audrain county,
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Missouri. He was the descendant of one of the three Englishmen who located in the Virginias, and from whom sprung the many families of the name now extant in the United States. David B. Eubanks became the father of seven children. Those now living besides the subject are Lee Scott, Mrs. Sonorah J. Agee, Lemuel and Webster W. W. T. died at Fall Leaf, Kansas, in 1911, at the age of fifty-seven, leaving a widow and two children; and M. G., who was a leading attorney of Milan, died December 19, 1908, also leaving a widow and two daughters, Leota and Leolin, both teachers. The father of this family died in Sullivan county when he was sixty-three years of age. His wife was a native of the state and a daughter of one of the old pioncer families. A member of the state militia during the Civil war, he gave valued service to the Union. He was a Republican, always taking an active interest in politics.
C. F. Eubanks was reared on the home farm which his father occupied and operated during his life in Sullivan county, and received an eduea- tion beyond that afforded to the average country youth. The publie schools contributed to his early training in book lore, and this experi- ence was supplemented by a course in the Green City College. For thir- teen years prior to the time when he was called to publie service of an elective order, Mr. Eubanks was engaged in other public work, in the eapaeity of school teacher, and in that field of activity came to be reekoned one of the valuable teachers of the county. He gave his best to the work in hand at all times, and lent a character to his service that contributed much to the general good of those communities where his services were requisitioned. Mr. Eubanks was first elected to the office of judge of probate in 1902, and his term of four years was followed in 1906 by his re-election. So well did he carry out the duties of his office that in 1910 the people of the county felt they could do no better than to retain him in his position, and in line with the familiar sentiment that "one good term deserves another," he was again elected to the office, and is now serving his third four-year term of office as probate judge. No better commentary might be offered with reference to the efficiency and capacity of Judge Eubanks than this simple statement, and no further attempt is made to set forth his excellent qualities, the fact of his record being sufficient evidence in itself.
A strong Republican, Mr. Eubanks has been long regarded as one of the leaders of the party in the county. He is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church and fills a prominent place among its officials, while both he and his good wife are active members of the Sunday school, and perform their full share of the work of the organizations of the churehly body. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and in that order has passed all chairs and is also member Knights of Pythias.
In August, 1892, Mr. Eubanks was united in marriage with Miss Don L. Rice, a woman of intelligence and one who was highly educated in the best schools in the state. She comes of one of the old families of Missouri, and is well and prominently known in Sullivan county. Prior to her marriage she was engaged in teaching, and like her husband, was known for one of the efficient educators in the county. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Eubanks-Fern I., Ralph Mckinley, Faith E. Eubanks and two died in infancy.
The family is one that enjoys the esteem and friendship of the best people in Milan and the county, and is in every way worthy of the posi- tion it maintains in the representative social circles of the community.
FRANCIS MARION GRIMES, JR. A business man of pronounced ability and one who by his business activities has drawn mueh public attention
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to the city of his location, Fayette, Missouri, is Francis Marion Grimes, Jr., the largest poultry dealer of Northeastern Missouri and an extensive shipper to central and eastern markets. He is a native son of Howard county and a representative of one of its most sterling families, by rea- son of which and of his own worth he well deserves mention among the prominent men of Northeastern Missouri.
Born in the year 1875, he is a son of Francis Marion Grimes, Sr., whose nativity occurred March 30, 1829, in Scott county, Kentucky, and who was a lad of eleven years when his parents removed from Ken- tucky to Missouri and entered government land in Howard county. The latter was the only son in a family of six children born to William and Rebekah (Snell) Grimes, both of whom were native Kentuckians. Both of his parents and his five sisters have all passed to the great beyond, the father having died at the age of seventy-three and the mother at the age of seventy-two. Both were devoted members of the Baptist denomina- tion, of that branch or sect familiarly; termed "Hard-shell" Baptists, and their pioneer home was one that was noted for warm and generous hospitality. Francis Marion Grimes, Sr., grew to manhood on the old Missouri homestead and received a good education for that early day. At sixteen he began teaching and later in his career was assessor of How- ard county for sixteen years, becoming acquainted with almost every citizen of the county during that long service. In 1856 he wedded Miss Addie McBride, daughter of Judge P. H. McBride, one of the prominent Missourians of his day. Judge McBride, a Kentuckian by birth, served for years as judge of the northeastern circuit of Missouri, was at one time state secretary, and later sat on the bench of the supreme court of Mis- souri. He passed away in Columbia, Missouri. Francis Marion and Addie (McBride) Grimes have now traveled life's journey together the remarkable period of fifty-six years and of the ten children that came to their union, all are living at this date (1912) and are as follows : Mary ; Ella, the wife of Stephen Brown; Emma, who married B. M. Rockridge; Addie, now Mrs. J. B. Snell, of this county ; Fanny, the wife of J. Hughes, a florist at Fayette; Presley, a contractor at Columbia, Missouri; Will- iam, a citizen of Fayette; Misses Laura H. and Elizabeth Grimes, at the parental home; and Francis Marion Grimes, Jr., the immediate sub- ject of this sketch. The mother, now in advanced years, has been an invalid for several years and is confined to her room. The father, now eighty-four years of age, is well preserved and remarkably active for his years, with a mind seemingly; unimpaired by the lapse of this long extension of his physical and mental faculties. He has been an elder in the Christian church for more than thirty years and has kept a walk in life consistent with the faith he professes.
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