A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 115

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

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Massena Garrard came to Missouri in 1833, as already noted, and he located in Marion county, where he purchased one thousand acres of wild land, just west of Hannibal. He erected the present McMaster residence about 1840, the same being constructed of timber, which was cut with a whip saw run by an ox. He brought with him a large num- ber of slaves from Kentucky, all of whom were under the command of Uncle Jim Clay, an old slave, who died only a few years ago. Massena Garrard was one of the first elders in the Presbyterian church at Han- nibal and it was largely the result of his influence and energy that the first church was erected here. He died in 1850, aged fifty years, and his cherished and devoted wife passed away in 1838. They were the par- ents of five children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated : Ann Eliza became the wife of Samuel H. K. McMaster, as previously stated; Maria married David Stevenson, of Maryland ; Edward was a farmer in Marion county for a number of years but eventually removed to Nevada, Missouri, where he died; James J. at- tained prominence as a merchant in St. Louis, whence he removed to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where his demise occurred; and William P. died in Nevada, Missouri.

After his father-in-law's death, Mr. McMaster purchased a portion of the old Garrard estate near Hannibal, and with the passage of time became one of the most prominent and influential farmers in Marion

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county. His mother resided in his home until her death, in 1858. Mr. McMaster was a leader in all matters projected for progress and improve- ment and was the first farmer in his section of the state to have a Mc- Cormick mower and reaper. His landed estate amounted to seven hun- dred acres of land, a large portion of which was under cultivation. He was a man of the utmost generosity and kept open house, constantly entertaining guests from various parts of the state and old friends from Kentucky. His latch string was always out. He was active in the in- terest of good roads in Missouri and was a stanch advocate of higher education, giving his hearty support to Miss Elizabeth Horr, a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, in her efforts to maintain a private school in Hannibal. In his political convictions he was aligned as a stalwart Whig, and while he never sought political preferment of any sort he was ever on the alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with all measures and enterprises advanced for the good of the general welfare. His soul was summoned to eternal rest June 10, 1861, and his death was uni- formly mourned throughout Marion county and the surrounding country. He was a man of great philanthropy but there was a modesty and lack of all ostentation in his work as a benefactor. In this day, when disin- terested citizenship is all too rare a jewel, it is helpful to reflect upon a course of high-minded patriotism such as that of Mr. MeMaster. His deep sympathy and innate kindliness of spirit make his memory an en- during monument more ineffaceable than polished marble or burnished bronze. "To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die."

For years after her husband's demise Mrs. McMaster assumed the responsibility of the tremendous landed estate accumulated by him and conducted the same with unusual success. She passed away August 26, 1879, at the age of fifty-four years. She was a woman of most gracious personality and was deeply beloved by all who came within the sphere of her gentle influence. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Master, as follows: Charlotte Elizabeth, born in the house in which she now lives, December 12, 1846, is the wife of J. E. Fisher, a member of the Standard Printing Company of Hannibal; Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have two sons, Charles Samuel and Phineas McMaster; James Massena McMaster was a bachelor and he spent practically his entire life on the old homestead farm in Marion county, where he died in 1902, aged fifty- three years; Charles Edward died at the age of seventeen years in Vicks- burg, Mississippi; Joseph H. died at the old home in 1893, aged forty years; William and Virginia both died in infancy; and Edwin Garrard is a bachelor and maintains his home on the old farm with his sister and brother-in-law, the Fishers.

WILLIAM J. M. TATLOW. Among the progressive, highly-esteemed agriculturists of Monroe county, who have devoted their entire attention to the tilling of the soil, William J. Morris Tatlow occupies a foremost place. He is a son of Prof. Joseph D. Tatlow, a man of superior intel- lectual attainments and of classical learning and with great powers as an educator, who settled in the forepart of the last century in Monroe county, where he made local history in both the professional and agri- cultural fields. He came into Missouri from a Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, schoolroom, and resumed his calling as a teacher in the country schools of this state. The addition of such a capable man to the teach- ing profession of Missouri at that time was a most fortunate circum- stance for the schools. His own education was collegiate in character and he was able to give instruction in the classics as well as in higher mathematics, a standard by which teachers of that carly day were nearly always measured. His long and efficient connection with school

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work over Marion, Ralls, Monroe, Boone and other counties of North- eastern Missouri indicates strongly his peculiar fitness and adaptability for his chosen field, and boys who were students under him half a cen- tury ago are among the leading and influential men of many communi- ties today. -

Prof. Joseph D. Tatlow was born at Wilmington, Delaware, in 1814, his father being of French stock. He came out to Missouri in company with a brother, Thomas Tatlow, and a negro slave, and first settled near West Ely, in Marion county, where his brother spent the remain- der of a successful life in farming and stock raising, among his children being the late Rev. Thomas Tatlow. Although of rather diminutive stature, being but five feet two inches in height, and weighing not much over one hundred pounds, Professor Tatlow was athletic and was fond of various out-door sports. He was reared in the faith of the Episcopal church, but was not of strong religious temperament, was a Democrat in his political views, and, being himself a slave owner, was in sympathy with the south in its efforts to maintain the Confederacy. He was married in Ralls county to Miss Mary J. Underwood, a daughter of James Un- derwood, a native of Virginia, who came to Missouri by way of Kentucky and married a Miss Burbridge. The Underwoods came to Missouri about 1829, crossing the Mississippi at St. Louis, and the old ox-wagon was their means of transportation. The other Underwood children were : Judge James H., who was widely known in Ralls county ; and Julia, who married Alvin Powell, and is now deceased. Joseph D. and Mary J. Tatlow had the following children: George M., who was accidentally killed in Los Angeles, California, in 1909, and left no family; Lydia, who died single; Miss Elizabeth, who resides on the farm in Monroe county ; Miss Minnie, of Perry, Missouri; Miss Emily, of the Monroe county farm; William J. Morris, of this article; and J. Underwood, a farmer and owner of the old homestead in Monroe county, the only one of the family to marry, whose wife was Julia Stuart, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Powell) Stuart. Professor Tatlow died in June, 1893, and his widow followed him to the grave in 1902.

William J. Morris Tatlow was born at the family residence on the farm in Monroe county, Missouri, September 6, 1860, and all the years of his minority were passed there. His education was of the public school order, and his tendencies all toward the auxiliaries of the farm. There seemed no disposition among the second generation toward the pro- fessional work of the father, and William J. M. took to farming as a vocation and has continued it adjacent to his birthplace. Like other farmers of the locality, he entered the stock business, has carried on an era of trading and feeding upon a portion of the old Joseph Stuart farm, which he owns, and his ventures have proven uniformly success- ful. His life has been devoid of political connection, but he votes the Democratic ticket and takes a good citizen's interest in matters per- taining to the welfare of his township. Mr. Tatlow has remained single.

HON. WILLIAM W. RUCKER. Judge Rucker, who has been repre- sentative of his congressional district of Missouri in the United States congress since 1898 and who has there rendered distinguished service to his home state and the nation, has long been numbered among the leading legists and jurists of Missouri, and he maintains his home in Keytesville, the judicial center of Chariton county. He has served as prosecuting attorney of this county and presided on the bench of the twelfth judicial circuit of the state for six consecutive years. He has been one of the prominent figures in public affairs in the state of his adoption, and his course, ever guided and governed by the highest prin-

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ciples, has been so ordered as to gain and to retain to him impregnable place in popular confidence and esteem.

Judge William Waller Rucker was born near Covington, Alleghany county, Virginia, on the 1st of February, 1855, and is a scion of old and patrician families of that historic commonwealth. He is a son of Major William Parks Rucker, M. D., and Margaret Ann (Scott) Rucker, both of whom were born in Virginia in the year 1832 and both of whom were reared to maturity at Lynchburg, that state. Major Rucker was a man of strong individuality and fine intellectual attainments. He was gradu- ated in the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, and later in cele- brated old Jefferson Medical College, in the city of Philadelphia, from which institution he received his degree of doctor of medicine. He was engaged in active practice as a physician and surgeon in his native state until the inception of the Civil war, when he promptly tendered his services in defense of the cause of the Union. He served as major of a Virginia regiment, took part in many of the important engage- ments marking the progress of the great conflict between the north and south, and made a gallant record as a soldier. After the war he engaged in the practice of law, in which he became a leading representa- tive of the bar of the western part of Virginia. He was engaged in practice for some time at Covington, in his native county, and later at Lynchburg, Campbell county, where he continued in the active work of the legal profession until his death, in 1895. His widow now maintains her home in Virginia, and is venerable in years. Of their four sons, Judge Rucker, of this review, is the eldest, the others being Hedley Scott, James T., deceased, and Edgar P.

Under the able direction of his honored father, Judge William W. Rucker gained his early educational discipline, which was of most sym- metrical order and which was supplemented by collegiate work in his native state. In 1872, when seventeen years of age, he came to Chariton county, Missouri, where he was employed about two years as a teacher in the district schools. He began the study of law under effective pre- ceptorship in Huston, his preceptor later becoming a member of the state senate, and he was admitted to the bar in 1876, upon examination before the presiding judge of the twelfth judicial circuit, on the bench of which he himself was destined to serve with signal ability and dis- tinction. After his admission to the bar Judge Rucker formed a part- nership with his former preceptor, Mr. Huston, under the firm name of Huston & Rucker, and for some time they maintained offices both at Keytesville and in Brookfield, Linn county, building up a large and representative professional business. In 1886 Judge Rucker was elected prosecuting attorney of Chariton county and he held his office for three successive terms of two years each. His service in this capacity gave him added prestige as a specially versatile and successful trial lawyer and was of such effective order as to mark him as eligible for higher official honors. Soon after his retirement from the position of prose- cuting attorney he was elected to the bench of the twelfth judicial cir- cuit, and upon the same he presided with dignity, discrimination and ability. His broad and exact knowledge of law and precedent combined with his naturally judicial mind made him an ideal jurist, and his rulings were signally fair and impartial, so that few of his decisions met with reversal by the courts of higher jurisdiction.

In 1898 Judge Rucker was made the nominee of his party for rep- resentative in congress, and in the autumn of that year he was elected by a most gratifying majority. By successive re-elections he has since continued the incumbent of this important office, and admirably has he represented the interests of his constituents, the while he has been a

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strong factor in the furthering of legislation for the general good of the nation. He has been active and influential on the floor and in the committee room, and has introduced and championed to enactment a number of important measures. He is author of the bill for insuring publicity in the matter of financial contributions for political campaign purposes and also the bill providing for direct popular election of United States senators. He is at the present time chairman of the com- mittee on election of president, vice-president and representatives in congress and is one of the ranking members of the all important judicial committee of the house.

While serving on the circuit bench Judge Rucker presided at the trial of the Taylor brothers, charged with murder, and this was one of the most bitterly contested murder trials in the history of the state, the same being reported in Volume 134 of the judicial reports of the state. The judge has ever been a stanch and effective advocate of the principles and policies of the Democratic party and is one of its acknowl- edged leaders in the lower house of the national legislature. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he has served as steward of the church of this denomination in his home town of Keytesville.

In the year 1880 was solemnized the marriage of Judge Rucker to Miss Fannie Applegate, who was in Chariton county, Missouri, on the 15th of December, 1862, and who is a daughter of the late Lewis M. Applegate, a representative citizen of this county. Judge and Mrs. Rucker have no children, but in their home they have reared with marked solicitude their nephew, Roy W. Rucker, a son of James T. Rucker, de- ceased brother of the judge. Concerning this nephew individual men- tion is made on another page of this work. Mrs. Rucker is a woman of most gracious personality and is a popular factor not only in the social activities of her home community but also in those of the national capital.

ROY W. RUCKER. Reared in the home of his uncle, Hon. William W. Rucker, a present representative in congress from Missouri, Mr. Rucker is recognized as one of the able and representative younger mem- bers of the bar of Northeastern Missouri and is now serving as prose- cuting attorney of Chariton county, his residence and field of profes- sional endeavor having been continuously at Keytesville, the judicial center of the county mentioned. A review of the career of Hon. Will- iam W. Rucker appears on other pages of this volume and to the same reference may be made for data concerning the family history.

Roy Waller Rucker was born on the 12th of May, 1884, near Lewis- burg, Greenbrier county, West Virginia, and is a son of James T. Rucker. Mr. Rucker was taken into the home of his uncle, Judge William W. Rucker, who has established his residence in Keytesville, Chariton county, Missouri, and here the nephew was afforded the advantages of the excel- lent public schools. When his uncle was elected to congress Mr. Rucker accompanied him to the national capital, and there he completed the curriculum of the high school, after which he continued his academic studies in the University of West Virginia. In preparation for the work of his chosen profession he then entered the law department of the historic old University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1905 and from which he received his degree of bachelor of laws. In 1907 he was admitted to the bar of Missouri, and he then engaged in the practice of his profession at Keytesville, where his recognized ability and personal popularity soon gained him an appreciable clientage of representative order. His

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success marked him as eligible for official preferment along the line of his profession, and in 1910 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Chariton county. He made a most effective record as a resourceful and successful public prosecutor, and the popular estimate placed upon his services was significantly shown in his re-election in the autumn of 1912. for a second term of two years. In politics Mr. Rucker is a stanch sup- porter of the cause of the Democratic party, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, South, at Keytes- ville, in which he is now serving as steward. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

On the 20th of October, 1909, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Rucker to Miss Elizabeth G. Estle, who was born in November, 1884, and who is a daughter of Edward E. and Lulu M. (Gilbert) Estle. The marriage ceremony of Mr. and Mrs. Rucker was performed in Chicago, by the distinguished clergyman and educator, Dr. Frank Gunsalus. Mr. and Mrs. Rucker have a winsome little daughter, Elizabeth Jane, who was born on the 23d of September, 1911.

FRED LAMB. Presiding on the bench of the circuit court of the twelfth judicial circuit of the state, Judge Lamb has gained prestige as one of the representative lawyers and jurists of Northeastern Mis- souri, and prior to his elevation to the bench he gave his undivided atten- tion to the work of his profession, with residence at Salisbury, Chariton county, where he was associated with his younger brother, Gilbert, as a member of the law firm of Lamb & Lamb, until his election to his present important office, the duties of which he is discharging with marked ability and with special discrimination in keeping the calendar of the court well in hand. The judge is a member of one of the old and hon- ored families of this section of the state, where he is a scion of the third generation of the name.

James Lamb, grandfather of the judge, was a native of Kentucky, as was also his wife, and about the year 1842 they drove through with a horse and buggy from the old Blue Grass State to Missouri. They established their home on a tract of land on Brush creek, in Randolph county, and Mr. Lamb devoted virtually his entire active life to agri- cultural pursuits, though for a comparatively brief period he conducted a general store in the vicinity of Macon, the judicial center of the county of the same name. He returned to Randolph county and there gave his attention to diversified farming and stock growing during the resi- due of his worthy and useful life. He was born in 1823 and his death occurred in 1885, his wife surviving him by several years. Prior to the Civil war he had been an adherent of the Whig party, but at that cli- macteric period in the nation's history he transferred his allegiance to the Democratic party, of whose principles and policies he ever after- ward continued a stanch supporter. Both he and his wife were zealous and consistent members of the Christian church, and the lives of both were marked by integrity, kindliness and well ordered endeavor. They reared four children, of whom Hugh Franklin was the eldest; Susan is the wife of J. T. Carlyle, of Randolph county; John T. and Evan Harvey, both now deceased, formerly resided in Randolph county.

Hugh Franklin Lamb was born on the old homestead farm in Ran- dolph county, this state, on the 22d of December, 1845, and in that county he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in September, 13, 1912. He gained his early educational training in the common schools of the locality and period and through later association with men and affairs he became a man of broad views and mature judgment. Through energy and indefatigable industry he attained to secure prestige as one of the substantial and representative farmers and stock growers of

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Northeastern Missouri, and he gained specially high reputation in con- nection with his extensive operations in raising the best grades of live stock, including registered horses of standard and draft breeding. He had the distinction of being the first or second to bring a herd of Here- ford cattle into Randolph county. He was a successful exhibitor of fine cattle and horses at various county fairs, as well as state fairs. His finely improved farm, comprising two hundred acres, is located three miles north of Cairo, Randolph county, and by him was given the name of Ashland Park Stock Farm. He was a man of progressive ideas and marked public spirit, and he was at all times ready to give his influence and co-operation in the support of measures and enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of the community. He was one of the organizers of the Jacksonville Fair Association and was influ- ential in making the same an unqualified success in its operations. He was also one of the organizers and first stockholders of the bank at Cairo, with which he continued to be identified until his death. His political allegiance was given to the Democratic party and he was a sincere and zealous member of the Christian church, as is also his widow, who still resides on the old homestead.

As a young man Hugh F. Lamb was united in marriage to Miss Margaret S. Halliburton, who was born in Randolph county, in 1847, and who is a daughter of Simeon and Eliza (Council) Halliburton, hon- ored pioneers of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Lamb became the parents of eight children, all of whom are living except one, and the names arc here entered in respective order of birth: Charles, Fred, Hugh, Porter, Mary, Richard C., Gilbert, and Addie. Richard C. died on the 12th of April, 1908, at the age of twenty-six years.

Judge Fred Lamb, second of the eight children of Hugh F. and Margaret S. (Halliburton) Lamb, was born on the homestead farm in Randolph county, on the 11th of January, 1872. After availing him- self of the advantages of the district schools he attended Salisbury Acad- emy for one year, and thereafter he was engaged in teaching in the district schools of his native county for two years. He then began read- ing law under the preceptorship of Martin M. Terrill, of Moberly, one of the leading members of the bar of Randolph county, and he made rapid progress in his absorption and assimilation of the science of jurispru- dence, so that he proved himself eligible for and was admitted to the bar in July, 1896, when twenty-four years of age. In April of the fol- lowing year Judge Lamb established his residence at Salisbury, Chariton county, where he entered into a professional partnership with W. S. Stockwell, with whom he continued to be thus associated until 1902, when the alliance was dissolved by mutual consent. In the meanwhile he had effectually shown his powers as a well fortified advocate and counselor. and had appeared in much important litigation in the various courts of his judicial circuit. He continued in individual practice until 1909, when he entered into partnership with his brother, Gilbert, with whom he con- tinued to be associated in active and successful practice at Salisbury until his elevation to the bench of the twelfth judicial circuit, on the 1st of January, 1911. Through his zealous and efficient labors he has given dignity and distinction to the office of which he is the popular incum- bent, and his decisions, marked by fairness and judicial acumen, have met with few reversals in courts of higher jurisdiction.

Judge Lamb still maintains his home at Salisbury, and he is the owner of a fine farm of 280 acres, three and one-half miles southeast of this town, besides which he has two other farms, of less area. Judge Lamb personally supervises his farming operations, having one of the best improved and equipped stock and grain farms in the county and at all times carries to its full capacity the best grades of live stock. On

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the bench, passing on the merits of mules, cattle, horses or hogs or dis- cussing the questions incident to agriculture or stock dealings the judge is equally at home.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 115

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