A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 116

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

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In politics the judge has ever accorded unswerving allegiance to the Democratic party and he has been an influential factor in its councils in this section of the state. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias.

On the 11th of June, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Lamb to Miss Catherine Hood, who was born in Saline county, this state, on the 20th of January, 1875, and who is a daughter of J. T. P. and Ann S. (Geysiner) Hood, sterling citizens of that county. The one child of this union is a winsome little daughter, Louise.

GILBERT LAMB, who was formerly associated with his brother in practice, is recognized as one of the representative younger members of the bar of Chariton county and is still engaged in active and successful professional work, at Salisbury, one of the thriving little cities of this favored section of the state. He was born on his father's farm, ten miles north of Moberly, Randolph county, on the 4th of July, 1883, and under its sturdy discipline he passed his boyhood days, in the mean- while gaining his rudimentary education in the district schools. He con- tinued his higher studies for one year at Prairie Hill, Chariton county, and passed one year as a student in Pritchett College, of Glasgow, How- ard county. He then began reading law in the office of his brother, Judge Fred Lamb, at Salisbury, and he was admitted to the bar in January, 1907. He has since continued in active general practice at Salisbury, has well appointed offices in rooms over the People's Bank, and has served two terms as city attorney. He has an excellent prac- tice and subordinates all other interests to the work of his profession, in which he has won definite precedence and success. As previously noted, he was associated in practice with his brother until the latter assumed the office of circuit judge. The Democratic party finds in him a stalwart supporter, and he is affiliated with the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood- men of America. Mr. Lamb still remains on the roster of eligible bachelors, and he is a popular factor in the business and social circles of his home city.

JOSEPHUS MCCALLISTER. A history of Northeast Missouri would be incomplete and must fail of its purpose if mention were omitted concern- ing the career of Josephus McCallister, who is essentially one of the fore- most and more prominent men of Milan. Many of the best and most telling enterprises of the county and city have felt the guiding hand of Mr. McCallister, and his influence has been an undeniable factor in the shaping of much of the industry of Milan and vicinity. As cashier of the Milan Bank, he is conspicuously identified with the financial activities of the city, and he is known for a man of unusual ability and keen business judgment in fiscal circles in the county.

The McCallister family is one that was for a number of generations identified with Virginia and Kentucky. Garrett McCallister, the great- grandfather of Josephus McCallister of this review, and the first of the men of whom there is authentic record, was born on the present site of Lexington, Kentucky, and as a young man married Miss Caroline Craig. They moved to Mason county, Virginia, where twin sons, Will- iam and James, were born. There Mrs. McCallister died, after which the bereaved husband returned to Lexington, Kentucky. Here he sold the old homestead where he had been born and which comprises the site of the present city of Lexington, receiving in exchange as part payment

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for the 160 acres a buckskin hunting shirt and leggins. Of Garrett Mc- Callister little is known by the family today beyond the meager facts here given and it is impossible to give the date either of his birth or death. His son, William, was born in Virginia in 1788 and in his young manhood served in the War of 1812. He married Bellena Frazer, a woman of Virginia birth and ancestry and reared in the same county in which he had passed his young days, and to them was born, on May 21, 1825, in Mason county, Virginia, Thomas McCallister, who became the father of the Milan bank cashier.

Judge Thomas McCallister was born in Mason county, Virginia, and in 1836, when he was eleven years old, went to Madison county, Indiana. When he was twenty-four years old he married Mary, the daughter of Josephus and Sidney (Conner) Poindexter. The name of Poindexter has been associated with the history of the country from the earliest ter- ritorial days in Virginia. The first Poindexter to land on these shores bought land in Virginia and there meeting with success in his farming and tobacco raising, sent for his fiancee, who had remained behind in England, while he demonstrated his ability as a home-maker in the new world. She made the voyage in the same vessel that carried John Rolfe, who later married Pocahontas. Tradition says this first settler was George Poindexter, who went to England from France with his father and fell in love with a girl of lower rank. To separate them the father supplied him with sufficient money and sent him to America, which was in fact, the wish of the son, who settled in what is now known as Hanover county. On page 37, volume III, Historical Magazine of Virginia, may be found the following: "George Poindexter in 1667 bought a large piece of land from Edward Wyatt, known as the Middle Plantation." In Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia, page 42, volume II, appeals: "Mongst the papers found (later than 1742) in the English Church Vestry was the Oath of Allegiance in the time of King George II, and of the twelve prominent men of Virginia who signed the oath was John Poindexter, son of George Poindexter, of 'Middle Plantation.' " In Hennings Statutes at Large, pp. 1600 to 1800, volume V, chapter XXIX, mention is made of a piece of land originally owned by the Poindexter family in Hanover county, and known as Poindexter's Neck, which was sold by William Meriweather.to other parties. In William and Mary Quarterly page 206, volume II, is found mention of George Poindexter, born in 1739, in Louisa county, grandson of George Poindexter of the "Middle Plantation." George Poindexter, the son of George of Louisa county, was governor of Mis- sissippi from 1819 to 1821, as may be seen by a perusal of the Historical Magazine of Virginia, page 81, volume XI. In Johnston's Memoirs of Virginia clerks, mention is made of James Poindexter, also son of George Poindexter of Louisa county, who was clerk of Powhattan from 1802 to 1816. He was known as the brother of Park Poindexter, the old clerk of Chesterfield county, the beau ideal of an old Virginia gentle- man in character, bearing and personal appearance. Josephus Poin- dexter, the father of Mrs. McCallister, was a son of James Poindexter, and settled near Charleston, in Mason county. In 1837 he moved to Madison county, Indiana, and there reared his family.

Eight children were born to Judge Thomas and Mary (Poindexter) McCallister, named as follows: Josephus, the Milan bank cashier ; Madlum Milledge; Lois Taylor, of Lane county, Oregon; Sidney A. Reger, of Harris, Missouri; William, who died in Chautauqua county, Kansas, leaving a widow; Thomas O., who also died, in Long Valley, Idaho, leaving a widow and five children ; and Garrett and Charles, both of whom died when young. Judge Thomas W. McCallister died on No- vember 9, 1898, esteemed and held in the kindest regard by all who

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knew him. He was a veteran of the Civil war, having served three full years as a member of Company A, Twenty-third Missouri Infantry, with Captain Dunlap in charge of his company, and serving under Colonels Tindle and Robinson. Judge MeCallister enlisted as a private in July, 1861, and was an active participant at Shiloh and Atlanta and in many other engagements. He was taken prisoner at Pittsburg Land- ing, and confined for months at Montgomery, Alabama, and Macon, Georgia. He was shot in the shoulder at Atlanta and was in hospital for some time afterward, but returned to his regiment as soon as he was able to enter active service, and finished his three-year enlistment period. He was honorably discharged from the service in September, 1864, and was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic from the time it was organized until death called him. He was also a member of the Masonic fraternity, and an appreciative and interested one to the last. The wife and mother died on the plantation home in Sullivan county, on May 10, 1882.

Josephus, or "Joe" McCallister, as he is familiarly called, was born in Madison county, Indiana, near the town of Pendleton, on August 7, 1855, and one year later his parents moved from Indiana and located on a farm near where the town of Harris now stands, in Sullivan county. Here Joe McCallister spent the early years of his life. He attended the public and select schools of the country, and he was still young in years when he began teaching the local schools in the winter months, his sum- mers being given to the work of the homestead farm. Of the ten suc- cessive terms he taught, eight of them were in his own district. It was with the beginning of his teaching that he began to assume a leading place in the business activities of his county. In 1894 his first public service was inaugurated when he was elected to the office of county recorder, serving two terms in that office in the most efficient and cred- itable manner. In October, 1903, he assisted in the organization of The Milan Bank, L. L. Orear becoming president; Dr. J. C. Kessenger, vice-president; Mr. McCallister, cashier, and L. E. Harris, assistant cashier. The bank has a capital stock of $35,000, with a surplus of $10,000 and takes its place among the leading fiscal institutions of the county. No greater accommodations or courtesies are extended at any bank in Northeast Missouri than are dispensed at The Milan Bank, of Milan, and the executive ability of Mr. McCallister in his position as cashier has been a potent factor in the progress and prosperity of the institution.

Other interests claim a share in the thoughts of Mr. McCallister, and he has done worthy duty as a trustee of the Missouri Wesleyan College of Cameron, Missouri, for some years, and in 1898 was a delegate to the general conference at Baltimore, Maryland, the Methodist Episcopal church being the one with which he affiliates and in which he is a mem- ber of the official board. As a farming man he is known throughout the county for the quality of the stock that flourishes upon his fine farm of 440 acres in the vicinity of Harris. The finest breeds of cattle, horses and hogs are there found, and the farm is undeniably one of the best equipped and conducted in the county. Mr. McCallister resides in Milan and his home, located on a seventeen-acre plot, is one of the finest in the city.

Ever a man of the most solid worth in the character of his citizen- ship, it is safe to say that no enterprise or movement has ever found place in Milan, worthy of the support or encouragement of the best people of the county that has not found in Mr. McCallister a hearty sec- ond and an able advocate, whether those enterprises were of a civic, social or religious nature. It was sufficient for him to know that they had for their object the betterment of the community, in order to win his support and allegiance.

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In July, 1884, Mr. McCallister married Miss Sarah A. Higgins, a woman of the most estimable character, and one who has been a devoted wife and mother. She was a daughter of A. J. Higgins and his wife, Louise B. Barbee. The father died in January, 1912, but the mother still survives. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McCallis- ter, concerning whom brief mention is made as follows: Mark, the eldest, married Ramah June Halliburton, and they have one daughter, Amber Dean. Mr. McCallister is now connected with the firm of Reeves & McCallister, who make real estate and loans their business. Mary L. McCallister, who was assistant principal of the Milan schools for three years, and was a graduate of the Missouri Wesleyan College at Cameron, Missouri, is now deputy county recorder. Claire Dean was assistant cashier of the Milan bank and was educated at Kirksville Normal and the State University of Missouri. She is now at home. Verne D., like her elder sisters, was graduated from the Milan high school and she attended the Christian College, at Columbia for a year. She is now assistant cashier of the Milan Bank.

Mr. McCallister is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the A. F. & A. M., while his family have membership in the Order of the Eastern Star. The family is one that has long occupied a secure place in popular esteem and takes a leading part in the best social activities of the community.

WILLIAM PARSONS, M. D., has been identified with Green Castle, Missouri, in the practice of his profession, since 1890. In addition to a wide general practice in medicine and surgery, Dr. Parsons is the pro- prietor of one of the finest drug stores to be found in Sullivan county, the same being a splendid source of revenue to him, and one of the most popular places in the city.

Doctor Parsons is a native of Indiana, born in a log cabin in the vicinity of Elrod, Indiana, on August 2, 1862. He is a son of Ephraim Parsons and his wife, Eleanor (Sutton) Parsons, both of whom are yet living, at the respective ages of seventy-eight and seventy years. They came to Missouri in 1866 from their native state, Indiana, and located near Green Castle, where the father took up the vocation of a stockman and general farmer. He was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war and was wounded in action at Chickamagua. He is a pro- gressive Democrat and one of the well known men of his community, where he enjoys the esteem and respect of a wide circle of friends who have shared in his neighborly qualities for many years. His good wife has an equally agreeable following in her community, and the family as a whole has always enjoyed the good will of the best people of their respective communities. Five children were born to these parents, of whom four are now living, David, Elizabeth, Josiah and William.

William Parsons was reared on the home farm, and early conceived an ambition to enter the medical profession. He was seconded in his wishes by his parents, who saw to it that he received educational advant- ages suited to his ideas, and after finishing with the high school course in the schools of Kirksville, he entered the American Medical College in St. Louis and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1890, with a high standing securing his degree of M. D. at that time. Dr. Parsons almost immediately engaged in practice in Green Castle, where he has since continued, and where he has won a high place in the esteem and regard of an ever increasing circle of people who have known him in his professional capacity, as well as socially. As has been already men- tioned, the doctor has established himself in the drug business in Green Castle, doing so in order to supply the want for a thoroughly modern and up-to-date drug store in the city, and here a complete line of drugs and druggists sundries are to be found at all times.

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The prominence of the doctor is due as much to his interest in every- thing that pertains to the upbuilding and advancement of the city as it is to his professional attainments, however great they may be, and he is regarded as a citizen of the most commendable type. The educa- tion, religious and social development of the community have long held his deepest interest and he has done much to promote their growth and appreciation in Green Castle. He and his family are prominent socially, and the doctor himself is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of Milan, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Green Castle, and of the A. F. & A. M., Green City, Missouri. He is a man of pleasing manner and appearance, and finds friends wherever he turns.

On April 24, 1884, Dr. Parsons was married to Miss Angeline Shepley, and they have four children. Bertha, who is the oldest, is the wife of Ray Steele; Francis married W. R. Crump; Everett is a druggist, and Clyde the youngest, is engaged in the automobile business.

CLARENCE W. GARHART. The growth and development of Chariton county, Missouri, has been rapid and sure and the present general pros- perity of this section is due to the efforts of citizens who have been stead- fast and earnest in promoting the county's welfare. One who has made his home in this locality all of his life, and whose activities have served materially to advance the march of progress in matters agricultural, is Clarence W. Garhart, the owner of a finely-cultivated tract of land situated three and one-half miles west of Salisbury. Mr. Garhart was born in Chariton county, eight miles north of Salisbury, September 21, 1877, and is a son of John and Sarah A. (Aumiller) Garhart, natives of Ohio.

After their marriage in Ohio, in 1872 the parents of Mr. Garhart emigrated to Missouri, settling first on a new farm, entered from the government. In 1878 they made removal to an improved farm located on Long Branch, four miles north of Salisbury, and in 1900 retired from active life and settled in Salisbury. In 1902, while assisting in a barn raising on the farm of his son, Clarence W., John Garhart was injured by a falling timber, and death resulted from his injuries three days later, when he was fifty-seven years of age. His widow still sur- vives him and makes her home with a daughter at Collinsville, Illinois. John Garhart came to Missouri a poor man, with little capital and no influential friends. From this humble position he fought his way to the front rank of Chariton county agriculturists, and at the time of his death was the owner of five hundred and sixty acres in Missouri, all highly improved land, one hundred and sixty acres of partly cultivated soil in South Dakota, and also seven hundred and twenty acres of land in Kansas. In politics he was a Democrat, but his business affairs de- manded all of his attention, and he never found time to actively enter public life. He took a great deal of interest in the work of the Holiness church, which he supports liberally and attended consistently. From the time of its organization, he was a director in the Peoples Bank of Salisbury. He and his wife were the parents of three children, as fol- lows: Cora A., who is the wife of J. H. Jaco, a lumberman of Salis- bury ; Clarence W .; and Grace J., who is the wife of Aubrey Fellows, assistant superintendent of the St. Louis Smelter and Refining Works, at Collinsville, Madison county, Illinois.

Clarence W. Garhart was educated in the common schools of Chari- ton county, and in 1899 started farming on his own account. He came to his present property in 1902, this being a tract of two hundred and sixty acres, on which may be found the finest improvements of every kind. General farming has occupied his time and he has been very suc-

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cessful along this line, as also in raising thoroughbred cattle, sheep and hogs. Like his father, Mr. Garhart has interested himself in matters of a financial nature, being president of the Peoples Bank of Salisbury, and a director of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Prairie Hill since its organization. His fraternal connection is with the Modern Wood- men of America, and he has numerous friends in the local lodge, as he has, indeed, in every walk of life.

On December 21, 1898, Mr. Garhart was united in marriage with Miss Anna Pearl Mofett, of Sangamon county, Illinois, and they have had five children : Brummall, Mabel, John, Clarence W., Jr., and Julia Jane. The children are being given good educational advantages and fitted for whatever position in life they may be called to fill, Mr. and Mrs. Garhart being earnest supporters of education, religion and good citizenship.

JAMES A. WILLIAMS is a member of the mercantile firm of Williams and Hanna, of Perry, and has been a resident of this city since 1880. He was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, August 12, 1858, and grew up in Scranton, being educated in the schools of that city. As a boy he had some experience as a clerk, but subsequently learned the moulder's trade and worked in stove foundries at various points after he became a journeyman. He acquired his trade in Spring City, Penn- sylvania, and did service as a stove-moulder in Cincinnati, St. Louis and Keokuk, Iowa, before he came to Perry and was induced to abandon his trade for a commercial life. The presence in Perry of a maternal uncle caused Mr. Williams to seek this point and this relative, Marcus Payne LaFrance, was in a position to offer inducements to the young mechanic which were attractive to him. At first he was given an opportunity to demonstrate his prowess as a clerk, and when his uncle was ready to retire from the firm and leave it to the younger heads, Mr. Williams was able to meet the requirements and he became a partner in the concern. It was in 1884 that Mr. Williams became financially interested in busi- ness in Perry. His adaptability and the standing of the firm to which he attached himself both conspired to develop a business house second to none in Ralls county and the firm of Williams and Hanna maintains the reputation of its predecessor and forms one of the gems in the com- mercial setting of Perry.

Mr. Williams' father, John Williams, was born in Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania, in 1834, learned the trade of stove, brass and machine moulder, and has the distinction of having done, in Seranton, the first moulding for the Baldwin Locomotive Works. He followed his trade until death, save for the time he was a volunteer soldier of the Union army. His education was of the common order, but he possessed an inquiring mind and a strong fascination for books and periodicals. His reading covered the field of history, politics and the current news and conversation with him uncovered a fund of general information rarely found in a man of his trade. He enlisted, in 1862, in the One Hundred and Nineteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was a unit of the Army of the Potomac. He was in the battles of Antietam, Fredericks- burg. Gettysburg, Chancellorsville and Cold Harbor, and was wounded in the foot by a shrapnell. He served in General Meade's corps, like- wise General Hooker's, and contracted rheumatism in the service, from which he suffered long and finally died. He was a man with little assumption of knowledge or personal worth, always had a good citizen's interest in politics and was a Republican. He married Mary J. LaFrance, a sister of Marcus P. LaFrance, mentioned on another page of this work. John Williams died in 1897, and his widow passed away in 1911. Their

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children were: William T., of Spring City, Pennsylvania; James A., of Perry; John, of Spring City; Ida, who passed away unmarried; Blanche, who resides in Spring City, Pennsylvania, and is the wife of Harry Beckhart; Olivia, deceased, who was the wife of George Diehl; Mae, who lives at the old home in Spring City, Pennsylvania, and James A. The Williams family is of English origin and was founded in Penn- sylvania by Thomas Williams, the father of John. The old forerunner was born on the Wales-England line and married a Welsh lady. They settled in Danville, Pennsylvania, and died there, and their children were: Thomas; George; Sarah, who married Chas. Small; Mary, who married Thomas Fry and removed to Rock Island, Illinois; Elmira, who married a Mr. Vincent and resides in Denver, Colorado; Emma, the wife of Mr. Shawver, of Kirksville, Iowa; and John.

In 1884, in Perry, Missouri, James A. Williams was married to Miss Fannie Ward, daughter of Joshua and Mary E. (Hawker) Ward. Mrs. Williams' parents came to Missouri from Illinois, and she is the only child of their union. Mr. Ward was once a merchant of Perry, subse- quently a farmer and stockman of Pike county, and died at Bowling Green. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Williams are: Aaron Ward, of Perry, who married Bess Hendrix, of Fort Worth, Texas; and Blanche, who married Evert H. Dooley, of Stoutsville, Missouri, and has one son, John Williams Dooley. Although reared under patriotic and Republi- can influence, Mr. Williams cast his lot upon coming to Missouri with the Democrats. His inclinations are averse to political activity, and his household is identified with the Christian church.

JOSEPH F. GANTNER & SON. Among the successfully eondueted industrial plants of Howard county special mention should be made of the Brick and Tile Works owned and operated, in Fayette, by the enter- prising firm of J. F. Gantner & Son, men of great activity and ability. J. F. Gantner was born March 7, 1864, in Boonville, Missouri, and was there reared and educated. After leaving school he began learn- ing the trade of brick maker with Dengalesky Brothers. Becoming proficient in his trade, he followed it for thirty-six years, and is now devoting his attention entirely to the management of his large brick and tile works in Fayette, a plant which he erected in 1908. His business has rapidly increased, and owing to its demands he and his son keep ten or more men constantly employed during the busy season in order to fill their contracts, the products of their factory being shipped to differ- ent places in this part of the state, within one hundred miles radius. besides which the firm has a large and luerative home trade. The J. F. Gantner & Son brick and tile plant is up-to-date in every respect, being equipped with the most modern approved machinery, including Waist heat dryers and so forth.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 116

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