A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 11

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864- , ed
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 912

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Ambrose Bush was one of the first to establish a permanent home in Montgomery county. He continued to reside in that county until his death, as did also his brave and noble wife, who shared with him the hardships and vicissitudes of pioneer life. Ambrose Bush attained to the patriarchal age of ninety-two years and was one of the oldest citizens of that section of the state at the time of his death, which occurred in 1873. He was for many years extensively engaged in the raising of horses and mules, which he shipped to the southern markets. He was a man of strong character and inflexible integrity, and he was influential in pro- moting civic and industrial advancement in the section of the state in which he lived.

Green Berry Bush was reared under the conditions and influences of the pioneer days in Missouri and his early educational advantages were necessarily very meagre, save those gained through the associations of a home that was not lacking in evidences of mental power and refined

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though primitive environments. He became one of the prosperous farm- ers and representative citizens of Montgomery county, where he well up- held the high prestige of the honored name he bore, and was a citizen of prominence and influence in his county, where he ever commanded un- qualified popular esteem.

As a young man Green Berry Bush wedded Miss Sally Cundiff, who was reared in Missouri and whose father, William Cundiff, had come to this state from Kentucky, his home being established in. Montgomery county. His father, Richard Cundiff, was killed while serving in a war with the Indians in Virginia. Mrs. Bush survived her husband by sev- eral years, and her memory has ever been revered by her children. It should be noted that Green Berry Bush gained a good practical educa- tion, principally through self-discipline, and that as a young man he was a successful teacher in the schools of his home county. He was called upon to serve in various public offices of trust, including those of assessor and county sheriff, and he also represented Montgomery county in the state legislature. Though he had been a slave-owner he was loyal to the Union at the time of the Civil war and he identified himself with the Republican party at the time of its organization, after having been pre- viously aligned with the Whig party. His religious faith was that of the Baptist church.

Green Berry and Sally (Cundiff) Bush became the parents of ten children, all of whom were reared to years of maturity and of whom the subject of this sketch, William Douglass, was the first in order of birth. Concerning the others the following brief record is given: Ambrose is the owner of a valuable farm near Girard, Kansas, and is also a commer- cial salesman; Walter was a merchant at Fayette, Missouri; Clay died when a young man ; Mary is the wife of John T. Nunnelly, of New Flor- ence, this state; Susan is the wife of Manlius R. Suggett, of Montgomery City ; Eliza, who died at the time of the Civil war, became the wife of Judge Walter Lovelace, who was one of the leading members of the bar of Montgomery county for many years and who was a justice of the su- preme court of Missouri at the time of his death; Nancy became the sec- ond wife of Judge Lovelace and after his death she married Judge Will- iam Clark, of Montgomery county, where her death occurred within re- cent years; Jennie became the wife of John Mosley, a farmer of Mont- gomery county, and was a young woman at the time of her death; and Caroline became the wife of John Hayes, who was a farmer of Callaway county.

William D. Bush, whose name initiates this review, was reared on the old home farm and early began to contribute his quota to its work and management. The major part of his early education was acquired in a private school conducted by Professor Robinson, at Danville, the capital of Montgomery county, and he continued to assist in the operations of his father's farm until he had attained to the age of twenty years. In 1849 Mr. Bush assumed a position as clerk in a store conducted by his former preceptor, Professor Robinson, at Danville, and finally he en- gaged in the mercantile business on his own account, as junior member of the firm of Stewart & Bush. This was a general store and was located at Danville, where successful enterprise was conducted until the estab- lishment was destroyed by fire of incendiary origin during the war. The firm lost heavily as a result, the books and other records of accounts having been destroyed as well as the stock of goods, but Mr. Bush bravely faced the situation and in due time discharged his entire indebtedness. He served one year under Col. Patrick Dyer, as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war, in which he enlisted as a member of the Forty-ninth Mis-

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souri Volunteer Infantry, being first lieutenant and regimental quarter- master.

After the close of the war Mr. Bush again engaged in the general mer- chandise business at Danville, and his original store was an old carpenter- shop, the main portion of which had been burned. There he built up a prosperous enterprise, based alike upon fair and honorable dealings and personal popularity, and in 1882 he removed to Mexico, Audrain county, whence he came to his present home city of Fulton in the following year. Here he opened a well equipped establishment and the enterprise eventu- ally developed into an exclusive dry-goods business of broad scope and profitable order. Save for an interval during the Civil war Mr. Bush was continuously engaged in the mercantile trade for more than sixty years. He resigned his business activities in 1911, and his record as a merchant is without blemish or mark of injustice or equivocal methods. He never had a failure in business, never was compelled to compromise with creditors, and his only loss by fire was that of his original establishment, which was burned by the notorious Bill Anderson at the time of the war.

He is a Republican in his political allegiance but has never cared to enter the arena of so called practical politics or to seek the honors of pub- lic office of any order. He is a zealous and liberal member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, as was also his loved and devoted wife, and he has long served on the official board of the church.

On the 13th of November, 1860, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bush to Miss Emma Owings, who was born in Warren county, this state, in 1835, and who was a daughter of John and Hettie (Magowan) Owings. Her parents were born and reared in Kentucky and were numbered among the pioneers of Warren county, Missouri, where Mr. Owings died. The mother died in Boone county. The great loss and bereavement in the life of Mr. Bush was that which came in the death of his devoted wife, who had been his companion and sympathizer during the long years of their wedded life. She was summoned to eternal rest on the 5th of June, 1910, secure in the affectionate regard of all who come within the compass of her gentle and gracious influence. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Bush the following brief record is entered in conclusion of this review : Nellie is the wife of Joseph K. Smith, of Fulton; Eva is the wife of Don P. Barkley; Ada and Ida, twins, remain with their father; Charles W., a resident of St. Louis, is a traveling commercial salesman ; and Arthur W. is identified with the shoe manufacturing business in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

MRS. RACHEL F. YOUNG. Still residing upon her fine homestead farm in Medicine township, Putnam county, Mrs. Young is the widow of John Young, who was long numbered among the honored citizens and representative farmers of this county, and she herself has been a resident of Putnam county since her childhood days, so that this section of the state is endeared to her through the hallowed memories and associations of many years.

Mrs. Rachel (Fry) Young was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, on the 13th of February, 1845, and is a daughter of Jacob and Frances Fry, the former of whom was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Guernsey county, Ohio, a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of that section of the state. In 1850 Jacob Fry removed with his family to Illinois, where he remained until 1865, when he came to Missouri and settled on a tract of land adjacent to the present village of Lucerne. He developed a productive farm from the wilderness and became one of the prominent and influential members of the pioneer community. He obtained from the government one hundred and sixty

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acres of land, for which he paid one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre, and later he added forty acres to his homestead place. He disposed of his farm in 1864 and removed to Hamilton county, Iowa, where he died in March, 1872, his wife having survived him by nearly a quarter of a cen- tury and having been a resident of Hamilton county, Iowa, at the time of her death in May, 1885. Concerning their children, the following brief statements are entered : Mrs. Margaret Ann Wilgamuth is now deceased, as is also Mrs. Mary Ann Baldridge; John died at the age of thirty-eight years; James B. resides at Terre Haute, Putnam county, this state ; Crosby and Thomas are residents of the state of Oklahoma; William lives in Webster county, Iowa; Rachel, of this review, was the next in order of birth; Andrew is a resident of California ; and Amanda Ann is deceased.

Mrs. Rachel Young was ten years of age at the time of the family removal to Missouri, and she had the distinction of attending the first district school in Medicine township, Putnam county. This school had for its teacher Amanda Couchhorn, and it may be mentioned here that her school was opened in a smokehouse on the farm of a Mr. Spriggs, one of the early settlers of the county. Mrs. Young continued to attend school as the opportunity was afforded, and through reading and other self discipline she has rounded out an excellent education. On the 8th of November, 1863, she was married to John Young, born in Scotland on August 24, 1834, the son of William and Jeannette Young, both natives of Scotland, whence they emigrated to America after their marriage. In 1885 they settled in Putnam county, Missouri, and here they passed the remainder of their lives.

At the time of his marriage John Young had as tangible resources a cow and seven calves, and it was through his own indefatigable energy and good management and the effective assistance and counsel of his de- voted wife that he gained a start on the road to independence and pros- perity. He never severed his allegiance to the farming and stock-raising industries, and he eventually accumulated in Putnam county a fine landed estate of eleven hundred and twenty acres, of which his widow still retains four hundred acres, the remainder of the property having been given to the children, each of whom received eighty acres. Mr. Young was a man of excellent business ability and his sterling integrity won to him an unqualified place in the esteem and confidence of his com- munity. He was a Republican and was affiliated with the Masonic order. His religious faith was that of a Presbyterian, while Mrs. Young is a member of the Christian faith. When the Civil war came Mr. Young loyally supported the cause of the Union and served as a member of Com- pany C., Third Provisional Regiment of Missouri. He died on November 12, 1905, secure in the high regard of all who knew him. He was one of the world's productive workers and he ever maintained high ideals of his stewardship, accounting well to himself and his fellow men.

In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Young, and it may be well said that each has honored the fam- ily name: Frances Jeannette is the wife of F. P. Ames, of Sullivan county, this state, and their children are Charles Everett, John Earl, Marvel, George Walker, Annabel, Mark, and Lyman. James Wilford Young, the second child, is a farmer near Powersville, Putnam county. He wedded first Miss Alma Jones, and they had two children,-James W. and Bertha. After the death of his first wife he married Eva Draper, and they have one child,-John Young. Jacob, who remains on the old home- stead with his mother and has the active management of the same, was born November 20, 1869. William Thomas and Arthur are prosperous farmers in Putnam county. William Thomas married Josie Newell and they have one son, Clifford ; Arthur married Mabel Greene and they have

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two children, Thomas and Lorena. Melissa is the wife of H. V. Tarcy, residing near St. John, Putnam county, and they have four children,- John, Ivy, Nellie and Myrtle. Georgia is the wife of A. E. Maxwell, resid- ing west of Lucerne, Putnam county, and they have two children, Opal and Helen. Margaret is the wife of W. A. Roberts, a farmer near the old homestead of the family, and they have three children,-John Thomas, Lucy Ann and Virgil. Maude is the wife of William Thomas, and likewise lives near the old homestead, their only child being Rachel Ellen. Joan, the youngest of the children of Mrs. Young of this review, died on October 22, 1900, in the fifteenth year of her life.

Mrs. Young may well feel that her lines have been cast in pleasant places, for in the loss of her husband she has been sustained and com- forted by the love and devotion of her children and her children's chil- dren, and by the friendship of the entire community in which she has so long maintained her home. From the foregoing list it will be noted that she has twenty-three grandchildren.

MARTIN YATES, M. D. One of the most distinguished of northeastern Missouri's practicing physicians and surgeons, Martin Yates, M. D., of Fulton, began his professional labors in this city in 1876, and during the time that has followed has steadfastiy maintained an eminent posi- tion among his fellow-practitioners and gained the unqualified confi- dence of the public. Thirty-six years is a long professional life, and a record of that duration, together with such distinguished merit, becomes one of general public interest. Dr. Yates was born at Williamsburg, Callaway county, Missouri, January 3, 1852, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Dawson) Yates.

John Yates was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, and came to Mis- souri about 1819, locating on what was called Hanes Prairie, where he established himself as a merchant at Elizabeth, the old county seat. In 1826 he came to Fulton, and with a former St. Louis merchant opened the first store here, continuing in business until 1833. At that time he removed to a farm on Nine-mile Prairie, near Williamsburg, where he accumulated seven hundred acres of land and cultivated his property with slave labor. He became one of the prominent men of his locality, and was appointed judge of the county court, but resigned from his office before his term had expired. His death occurred in 1853. In 1833 Judge Yates was married to Elizabeth Dawson, who was born in Nelson county, Virginia, and came to Callaway county as a girl with her parents, who were farming people. After the death of her hus- band, she managed to keep her children together, rearing them on the old homestead, and teaching them habits of industry and economy. Her death occurred in 1871, when she was fifty-seven years of age. The family was as follows: George, a retired druggist, who lives at Aux- vasse, Missouri; Benjamin D., who was a farmer of Nine-mile Prairie and died at the age of seventy-three years; William, who engaged in farming all of his life near McCredie, and died when sixty-three years of age; Martha V., the widow of Samuel Grant, living on Nine-mile Prairie; Thomas, who was a farmer of that section and died at the age of fifty-eight years; John, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits on the Prairie; and Dr. Martin, of this review.

Martin Yates attended the public schools of Callaway county, and remained on the home farm until attaining his majority. He had decided, however, upon a professional career in preference to that of a farmer, and on leaving home entered William Jewell College, at Liberty, and later took a medical course in Bellevue Hospital, New York City, where he was graduated in the class of 1876. Since then he has taken

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two post-graduate courses, one at the Polyclinic Hospital, New York, and the other at Chicago Polyclinic. Immediately after his graduation, he entered on the practice of his profession at Fulton, and for thirty- six years has enjoyed a deservedly large practice. He is a member of the Linton District Medical Society, the Callaway County Medical Soci- ety, the Missouri State Medical Society and the American Medical Asso- ciation, and is ex-president of the first and second-named organizations and secretary of the county society. He takes a deep and active interest in the work of each, is a close and careful student, and has a high regard for the unwritten ethics of the profession. Religiously a Bap- tist, Dr. Yates is deacon of the church of that denomination at Fulton, Missouri.

. In 1879 Dr. Yates was united in marriage with Miss Virginia Harri- son, who was born at McCredie and educated at the Christian College, Columbia, daughter of William Harrison. Five children have been born to this union: William H., who is engaged in farming in Auxvasse township; Martin, dealer in real estate at Artesia, New Mexico; Jailey, wife of W. B. Harris; John, a farmer at Auxvasse; and Virginia, wife of Harry Reed, of Fulton.

JAMES SANDISON, now retired, was one of the best known builders and contractors of masonry in northern Missouri and is a resident of the city of Moberly, where he owns an attractive home and is a citizen of high standing. In the end thoroughness and excellency give the workman his status, whether he be of the trades, the professions or of whatever vocation, and it was through these qualities that Mr. Sandi- son won his reputation in his chosen trade and business. He is Scotch by birth and by many generations of ancestral inheritance and has exhibited in his career the staid and sterling qualities that have long been held characteristic of his nationality.

He was born in Scotland, December 29, 1843 to William and Jean Sandison, the latter born Dawson, and was the fifth of their ten chil- dren. Ellen is now Mrs. George Coshire, of Edinburgh, Scotland; Wil- liam is a resident of Huntsville, Missouri; John, who remains in his native Scotland resides in Inverness; Ann is the wife of James Simp- son, of Huntsville, Missouri; James is the subject of this sketch; Jean also is a resident of Huntsville, Missouri; Arthur and Charles are de- ceased ; Mary is now Mrs. John Murphy, of Paducah, Kentucky; and Christina is the wife of. William Bohn, of Huntsville, Missouri. Wil- liam Sandison, the father, was a stone mason by trade and came to his death in 1852 as the result of being severely crushed in an accident. The mother brought her family to the United States in 1867 and located in Huntsville, Missouri, where she survived until 1909 and passed away at the advanced age of ninety-two years. Upon the father's death James became a member of his grandfather's household in Scot- land and remained there seven years herding sheep and assisting in other of the farm duties. He then began to learn stone masonry, his father's trade, and in 1867 accompanied his mother and her family to this country, where he spent forty years in his chosen occupation and at the time of his retirement in 1907 had achieved no uncertain degree of success. Mr. Sandison built all of the brick and stone work of the Wabash railroad west of the Mississippi river and was the first man to engage in the manufacture of vitrified brick on this side of the Mis- sissippi, finally disposing of his plant, however, to the Metropolitan Paving Brick Company of Canton, Ohio. In the course of these years Mr. Sandison has acquired considerable property of value in and near Moberly. His home is on a thirty-acre tract at Gilman Heights, a

James Sandison

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suburb of Moberly, where he has a fine two-story brick residence, mod- ern in all of its appointments and conveniences, the brick used in its construction being that of his own manufacture and the interior finish- ings being all of quarter-sawed white oak. He also owns several lots on Gilman street besides other property in the city of Moberly. Mr. San- dison has crossed the Atlantic eleven times and has also gained an extensive knowledge of our own country, especially of the middle sec- tion. In Randolph county, Missouri, of which he has now been a resi- dent more than forty years, he is known to almost every citizen and has so lived as to be esteemed as one of that county's most worthy men. In political views and adherence he is a Republican. He is a member of the Masonic order and of its auxiliary branch, the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and in church faith and membership is a Presbyterian .:

On July 27, 1872 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sandison and Miss Mary Morrison, daughter of George and Margaret (Russell) Morrison. Both parents of Mrs. Sandison were born in Scotland and were married there but subsequently came to the United States and located at Moberly, Missouri, where Mr. Morrison passed to the life beyond. Mrs. Morrison, who has now reached the age of eighty-six years, is still living and resides with Mrs. Sandison. To these parents were born the following children: Mary, the wife of Mr. Sandison; James, deceased; Elizabeth, now Mrs. William Sharp, of Moberly, Mis- souri ; and George, Margaret, Jean and Jessie, all deceased. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Sandison has been blessed with five sons and one daughter, viz .: James George, at home; William, superintendent of the Brick Works at Moberly, Missouri; Margaret, who died in infancy ; John and George, at the parental home; and Arthur, who is now located at Alberta, Canada.

CHARLES WILLIAM DAVENPORT NALLEY is a widely known and success- ful stock farmer of Pike county and belongs to one of the early families of this county. His forefathers were not of the real pioneer class, but his father and grandfather came out in 1840, a date sufficiently early to locate them with the planters of civilization along the west bank of the great Father-of-Waters. His father was Rev. James Simpson Nalley and his grandfather was the old shoemaker, Hezekiah Nalley, who died at the outbreak of the Civil war, and further mention of whose life and work appears in the sketch of Thomas J. Nalley, to be found in other pages of this historical and biographical work.

James S. Nalley was ordained a minister of the Methodist church and his religious field of labor was largely administrative and mission- ary rather than pastoral. He was a Bible student, knew the great plan of salvation and could tell the story of the cross and the lessons of it as one having authority. He married Matilda Rector, a daughter of Vin- cent Rector, whose family history is also briefly told in the Thomas J. Nalley sketch herein. Mr. Nalley died February 22, 1875, and his wife survived him until December 4, 1889. Their issue was Charles W. D., born September 8, 1851, and Thomas Jefferson, who owns an adjoining farm to that of his brother.

Charles W. D. Nalley was educated in the district schools and has the unique distinction of having never "left home." He continued in the vocation taught him by his father, saw the inevitable result of a sane participation in the stock and feeding business, became one of the noted dealers and shippers of Pike county, made a marked success of his industry and is yet actively identified with that business. He owns various tracts of land in the Salt River community aggregating 735 acres.

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His acquaintance with the stock market and with the possible profit earned as a commission man in the East St. Louis market made him not unwilling to enter the field himself. He joined his brother in the pur- chase of the Steel-Wells Live Stock Commission Company, which firm changed its name to the Nalley-Wells Live Stock Commission Company. The new owners continued to maintain the popularity of the old one and the investment proved the accuracy of the judgment of the proprie- tors. Mr. Nalley sold his stock to his nephew, who was the active man in the enterprise, and has since, as before, remained simply a patron of the house.

In a brief and simple sketch of this nature it is impossible to enum- erate more than a few of the varied incidents which enter into the active life of a man of character such as Charles W. D. Nalley, and which serve to mark him as an unusual man. His peculiar mental processes in forecasting results of business ventures, his quiet and thoughtful manner, his silent attitude, generally toward the social and political fabric of daily life, only touch the surface in describing him and give but a superficial idea of the man. He is a church member, affiliating with the Presbyterian congregation at the corner of "the three churches." He is a Democrat without political ambition for any sort of public office, and would avoid political complications at all hazards.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 11

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864- , ed Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 912

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864- , ed
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 912