A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 19

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

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The construction of the trio of mills, and the uses to which they were put, and their final fortunes, have elsewhere been described, but the additional information should be noted here that the Salt River mill, "the Old Matson Mill," was purely the workmanship of local hands. All its wheels, cog and belt, were chiseled out on the ground by mill- wrights under the direction of Enoch Matson. And when everything was ready for the start, the wooden gearing, the wooden cog-wheel, the wooden lineshaft all fitted so snugly and communicated power to the run of burrs so perfectly that the usage of years found the machinery antiquated but still performing its functions.

Before the construction of the original mill Enoch Matson had fur- nished meal to the community, and also to the Indians who applied for it, from a crude mill operated by hand and consisting chiefly of two stones about eighteen inches in diameter. These stones had a history of their own. He had brought them with him from Kentucky, an important part of the pioneer equipment with which he came into the then territory of Missouri. But the stones were old and worn by usage when they came to Missouri. Originally taken from the old Lawrie mill in Virginia, they had been brought over the mountains, perhaps on pack-horses, into Kentucky by James Matson, father of Enoch. This was probably during or soon after the War of the Revolution. The slaves of the Matsons kept a supply of meal sufficient for the household, except when hungry Indians would exhaust the supply and demand more, and then the women of the house would set the stones awhirring to grind enough to feed the red men and thus preserve the friendship of their native neigh- bors. One of these interesting old mill stones is now in the possession of Alfred P. Matson and will eventually lodge among the archives of the Missouri State Historical Society.

The sawmill adjunct of the "Old Matson Mill" got out the heavy

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timber for all the early buildings of this region and all of the lumber of the quality generally demanded then for any purpose. However, Enoch Matson laid the floor of his own permanent residence with ash lumber "whip-sawed" from the log by his negro hands. This house and this floor are still in use, and the manner in which the flooring was made is not the least among the aristocratic and dignified distinctions which attach to the old dwelling.

Of the family of Enoch Matson it is sufficient to refer to the other article already mentioned. Richard H., his fifth child and the father of Alfred P., was identified with his father's milling enterprise until it disappeared. He was born September 10, 1823, and died January 12, 1893, when in his seventieth year. Until the decision of war he was owner of a number of slaves, and was one of the large planters of Pike county. His attitude toward his slaves was an intensive degree of that patriarchal kindliness with which the majority of southern men treated their colored dependents. His feelings of responsibility toward his slaves as individuals were such that he refused to sell any of them. Throughout the early half of the century the Matsons were strong Whigs, but with the new alignment of political parties caused by the issues of the war, Richard H. Matson became a Democrat. He was never in public office and belonged to no church.

Richard H. Matson married Harriet Wellman, a daughter of Col. Harvey Wellman, a Rhode Island man who had come to Missouri among the pioneers, settling at Saverton. Mrs. Matson is still living, a resident of New London. She was the mother of the following children: Alfred P .; Harvey, who was drowned in Salt river in 1875; Dr. Neal Cameron, who died at Hannibal in 1891, leaving one child; and Henry V., who died unmarried at Ashburn in 1894.

Mr. Alfred P. Matson, who was born on his father's homestead August 23, 1851, besides having a career as a prosperous farmer has also been a man of large affairs. He grew up as it were "between two corn rows" while aiding in the family support during the war and the period of reconstruction, which bore heavily upon the Matsons and upon all others in this section of the state. With such training as he could get in the country schools during his 'teens, he began his practical career, and by industry and good management in the course of years came to rank among the most prosperous men of his community. In 1903 he removed from the farm to New London. There he gave his attention to the rehabilitation of the telephone system of the town. After intro- ducing the service into nearly every house worth mentioning in town, he extended the service into the country, building toll lines to Hannibal, Frankford and Spalding. A battle of supremacy with the farmers then followed, the incidents of which contest furnished interesting reading in the local journals and exciting gossip for the public. With the collapse of the rural interests and their allies, Mr. Matson's stock leaped to a high figure on the market, and he then disposed of his inter- ests and has since given practically all his attention to his farm.

In his politics Mr. Matson has answered the roll call of the Democracy up to 1912. He was once chosen justice of the peace, but like his grand- . father in similar situation, soon tired of the office and was glad to retire. Mr. Matson grew up in Salt River township, concerning which some interesting facts stand on record. It is as though some friendly hand had guided the destiny of the township's native born, for no asylum or other charitable institution of Missouri has ever received one of its children, and no native son has ever been convicted of crime and looked out from prison bars. It is a fine type of the old-fashioned rural com-

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munity of quiet and sane living, and to have spent a considerable portion of one's life there is of itself no mean distinction:

Mr. Matson in 1875 married Miss Medora Hays, daughter of Hamilton Hays. At her death in 1883 she left one child, Floy, the wife of J. W. Roach, a farmer, and their children are Virgil, Richard, Alfred, Harold and Helen. Mr. Matson's second marriage was with Mrs. Nannie Cald- well, a daughter of William Lindsey. She died leaving a son, Wellman C., who is now in the automobile business at Keokuk, Iowa. In Novem- ber, 1899, Mr. Matson married Mrs. Narcissus T. Rule. She is a daugh- ter of John Reading and widow of the late Dr. Edward B. Rule, of Pike county. Mrs. Matson is a granddaughter of William Reading, a soldier of the War of 1812, and a great-granddaughter of George Read- ing, who was a soldier of the Revolution. Mrs. Matson's children by her first husband are: J. W. Rule, of New London, who married Emma Fishback; Jane, the wife of Charles L. Reading, a Pike county farmer ; and Anna, wife of W. O. Francis, of Keokuk, Iowa. Of the Matsons few of the men have identified themselves with any church, but their wives have been devout Christians and have assumed the spiritual direction of the household.

JOHN M. TATE, M. D. Though he has not been engaged in the active practice of his profession for many years, Dr. Tate long ago gained dis- tinctive prestige as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of his native county, and he has since given his attention to the super- vision of his valuable landed estate in Callaway county, where he is a prominent farmer and stock grower and where he is held in unqualified esteem as a citizen of sterling character and utmost loyalty and public spirit. He is a member of one of the honored pioneer families of this county and is himself numbered among its prominent and influential citizens.

Dr. Tate was born on the old homestead farm near Auxvasse, Calla- way county, on the 1st of December, 1842, and is a son of Isaac and Jane (Henderson) Tate, whose marriage was here solemnized soon after the former had come to Missouri from Green county, Kentucky, where he was born and reared. His wife's parents, Daniel and Martha (Steele) Henderson, came to Callaway county about the same time as he did, in 1837, their home having previously been in Augusta county, Virginia. James Tate, a brother of Isaac, had established his home in Callaway county about the year 1822, and was one of its very early settlers, his original homestead farm having been near that now owned and occupied by Dr. Tate of this review. The farm mentioned became the home of Isaac Tate in 1852, his brother, James, having been one of the California argonauts of 1849 and having died soon after his arrival on the scene of the gold excitement on the Pacific Coast. Calvin Tate, another brother, came to Callaway county at a later date than Isaac and his home was near Auxvasse, where he continued to reside until his death, at the age of seventy years. Of his children only one is now living, in Callaway county .- Mrs. Augustus Fry. His son Lewis and daughter Martha are missionaries of the Presbyterian church in Korea. The children of James Tate are all deceased. Milton Tate, still' another brother, likewise came to Callaway county and he passed the closing years of his life on his farm near McCredie. He is survived by one son, Rev. John C. Tate, who is a clergyman of the Presbyterian church and who is now living in Tennes- see. All of the Tate brothers were prominent and devoted members of the old Auxvasse Presbyterian church, and James was one of its charter members, having identified himself therewith at the time of its organi- zation, in 1824. Isaac was an elder in this historic old church for sixty

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years and retained this office until his death, when he was succeeded by his son, Dr. Tate, of this sketch. He lived on his old homestead until he purchased the farm of his brother James, after the death of the latter, and in the spring of 1853 he removed to the farm last mentioned, the same having included a part of the landed estate now owned by Dr. Tate. Isaac Tate owned in this homestead seven hundred acres, and near Auxvasse he owned another tract of fully one thousand acres, a prop- erty which he sold in 1852, at the rate of seven dollars an acre. He was one of the most extensive and successful farmers and stock-growers of Callaway county and owned a large number of slaves, besides which his wife inherited a considerable number. During the Mormon troubles in this section of the Union he raised a regiment of militia, became colonel of the same and commanded the regiment in the field for some time, in the suppressing of the Mormon outrages. In politics he was originally an old-line Whig, but he later espoused the cause of the Democratic party, of which he continued a staunch adherent until his death, in 1889, at which time he was eighty-one years of age. His cherished and devoted wife preceded him to eternal rest by a few years, she having been born in Virginia in 1808, and both were most zealous workers in the Presby- terian church. Mr. Tate was a trustee of Westminster College at Fulton, for a number of years, and was otherwise liberal and influential in the support of church work and institutions. His remains were laid to rest beside those of his wife in the old cemetery at Auxvasse, and the names of both merit enduring place on the roll of the noble and honored pio- neers of northeastern Missouri. They became the parents of two sons and six daughters, concerning whom the following brief data are entered : Elizabeth is the wife of George W. Washington, of Fulton, the capital of Callaway county ; Martha became the wife of William Yates and was somewhat more than seventy years of age at the time of her death; Sarah is a maiden lady and resides in Auxvasse; Dr. John M., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Clarinda is the wife of Samuel S. McCue, of Callaway county ; Mary, who became the wife of James W. Pratt, died at the age of fifty-five years; Emma became the wife of John Yates and was thirty-five years old at the time of her demise; and James N., who was graduated in Westminster College was for some time superintendent of the Missouri state hospital for the deaf and dumb school at Fulton, and is now superintendent of the state school for the deaf and dumb at Faribault, Minnesota.

Dr. John M. Tate gained his rudimentary education in the common schools of Callaway county and was graduated in Westminster Col- lege as a member of the class of 1863, under the presidency of Pro- fessor Samuel S. Laws. In preparation for the work of his chosen profession he entered the St. Louis Medical College, where he continued his studies for one year, after which he entered the celebrated Bellevue Hospital Medical College, in the city of New York, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1865 and from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. As a young man he estab- lished his home on his present farm, and from this headquarters he con- tinued in the successful practice of his profession until the early '90s, when he retired, though he still finds no little demand for his professional services at the instance of many of the representative families to whom he formerly ministered and who consider that no one can fill his place. His fine homestead place comprises about one thousand acres of excellent land, and he has given special attention to the raising of high-grade live stock, in connection with diversified agriculture.

Dr. Tate has long been a recognized leader in the local ranks of the Democratic party and has given effective service in behalf of the cause.

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He has served as delegate to the state conventions of his party and he represented his native county in the state legislature, during the thirty- seventh and thirty-eighth general assemblies,-those of 1895 and 1897. He made an admirable record as an earnest worker for wise legislation, served on various important house committees and did all in his power to further the best interests of his home county and state.

During his years of active professional work Dr. Tate was identified with various medical associations, including the Missouri State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He has been a most loyal and earnest worker in the Presbyterian church and is one of its most influential representatives in Callaway county. He succeeded his father as a member of the board of trustees of Westminster College, maintained under the auspices of the Presbyterian church, and held this office for fifteen years. He is at the present time a member of the board of trustees of the Synodical College of Fulton and has served as such for fully a decade, his appointment having been conferred by the synod. He succeeded his father as an elder in the old Auxvasse Presby- terian church and still holds this position, the combined service of father and son having covered a period of more than eighty years, besides which the Doctor's uncle, James Tate, was one of the first elders of this church, his assumption of the office having occurred nearly ninety years ago. In all that makes for ideal citizenship the name of Tate has here stood forth most prominently, and none has been more closely concerned with social and material development and progress in Callaway county.

On the 6th of June, 1876, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Tate to Miss Isabel Langtry, who was born and reared in Callaway county and who is a sister of Hill Langtry, in the sketch of whose career, on other pages of this work, are given adequate data concerning the family history. Mrs. Tate was afforded the advantages of the excellent academy at Ashley, Pike county, of which Professor John M. McAfee was then the executive head, and she herself was for some time a teacher of music in that institution. Dr. and Mrs. Tate have three children: Eliza is the wife of Emmett J. Grant, of whom specific mention is made else- where in this volume; Mary is the wife of Rev. Samuel Wood, of Auxvasse ; and Florence remains at the parental home, which is a center of most gracious and unostentatious hospitality. All of the daughters were graduated in Synodical College at Fulton.

MISS BETTIE GALWITH. Some of the heaviest property owners throughout the country are women, who have either earned what they possess themselves, or have increased the value of what has been left them by parents or husband. These women show a wise discrimination in the administration of their estates, and from them come heavy annual amounts in the form of taxes. Many of them understand thoroughly the possibilities of their properties, and make their investments wisely and advantageously. Not only, however, are they noted for their busi- ness ability, but as the heads of beautiful homes, over which they pre- side with dignity and capable execution. In religious work, they are to be found in the foremost ranks, while among the sick and afflicted their kindly sympathy and generous material aid are ever to be found. One of those who are constantly creating new reasons for added affection from their neighbors and other friends is Miss Bettie Galwith, who capably carries on extensive agricultural operations six miles east of Fulton. She was born in the same house in which she now lives, her parents being George W. and Mary F. (Fisher) Galwith, the former a native of Maryland. He was descended from Lord Cecil Calvert, one of whose sons took the name of Galwith. George W. Galwith was born March 2,

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1833, and was brought to Missouri at the age of twelve years, the family settling near Williamsburg. His father about 1844 removed to the state highway, east of Williamsburg, and there spent a year, became a noted surveyor, and died at the home of his son, George W., in 1876, being then ninety-five years of age. His wife was a Miss Elizabeth Fink, a member of an old Virginia family, who died at the age of sixty- seven years, and they had four children, namely: John, who was a merchant at New Bloomfield and died at the age of eighty years; Peter, who served during the Mexican war under Colonel Doniphan, and after its close came near to Fulton and spent the rest of his life in farming, dying at the age of sixty-seven years; George W .; and Anna, who mar- ried Judson Eckston, a farmer of near Williamsburg, and died at the age of eighty-six years.

At the age of eighteen years, George W. Galwith purchased the present home of his daughter, and started on a modest scale. He became engaged to Miss Mary F. Fisher, daughter of Scythia and Sophia (Dawson) Fisher, of English descent, who came to Kentucky and later to Missouri, settling near Fulton about 1840. Mrs. Galwith was born August 19, 1844, and was married on the farm of her birth after a six- teen-year engagement. Her father had died in California after crossing the plains in search of gold, but the mother kept the children together. George's father had spent the last two years of his life with George, his housekeeper being an old colored woman, "Fanny," who remained with him for thirty-five years. She chose to remain with him even long after the slaves had been freed, and a few years before her death visited the old place and commended Miss Bettie on her business ability. Even before his marriage, George W. Galwith began to purchase land until he owned twelve hundred acres. In addition to general farming he carried on mule and stock raising, feeding cattle and shipping cattle, mules and horses to the South, becoming one of the biggest stock- men in the county, keeping his interest all on the farm. The present home was built about 1865 or 1866. Mr. Galwith was a member of the Auxvasse Presbyterian church, which he joined under Dr. John F. Cowan, who continued to serve it fifty years and to which George belonged for thirty-three years. He was a well-informed man, but of a quiet and retiring nature, and his modesty kept him from entering public life. Failing health in his latter years caused him to call Bettie from college to assume charge of the farm. That she is an able business woman and was entirely capable of handling her father's property is shown by the fact that she still owns the 1,200 acres and has made extensive improve- ments on the land, operating it all and employing from six to sixteen men in each of the tenant houses. She grows about 100 acres of corn, several hundred acres being devoted to meadows. In addition to general farming she is engaged extensively in breeding thoroughbred horses and keeping registered mares, both saddle horses and roadsters, jacks and heavy draft horses. She is an expert horsewoman and has broken hun- dreds of animals to the saddle. On her famous saddle-mare, "Lady Eunice," which is as proud as her mistress is of her, Miss Galwith makes a handsome and striking figure. She takes a live interest in matters of local political importance, being a stalwart supporter of Democratic principles. She has reared two girls, both of whom she took at the age of four years, one being with her for nine years and the other for four. Miss Galwith enjoys a wide popularity in the vicinity of her home, and her numerous friends will readily testify to her high position in social circles.

ROBERT LEE SMITH. One of Callaway county's most successful agri- culturists, who has devoted his energies to cultivating farms, trading

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properties and raising sheep during the last decade, and who formerly engaged in various business enterprises of an extensive nature in various parts of the country, is Robert Lee Smith, of Fulton, a man whose activ- ities have served materially to advance the agricultural and industrial importance of this section, where the family has been well known for many years. His grandfather, William Smith, a native of Kentucky, was for some years a merchant at Millersburg, Bourbon county, and in 1824 drove through in a wagon to Callaway county, arriving in Millers- burg, Missouri, in the early fall of that year. Shortly thereafter, he made a trip to Booneville and entered eighty acres of land, the north- east one-half of the northeast one-quarter, section 34, township 48, range 11, which is now owned by W. H. Truitt. Later he added an additional tract of eighty acres to his original purchase. He was also engaged in the flat-boat trade between Millersburg and New Orleans, on the Missis- sippi river, and made sixteen trips in this way, returning from New Or- leans on foot, and averaging forty miles per day. A typical Missouri pioneer, he became one of his locality's prosperous men, and was known for his honesty and integrity .. He was a member of the Baptist church, and his wife was connected with the old Millersburg church, before the congregation split into the two factions. In politics William Smith was a Democrat. Before leaving Kentucky, Mr. Smith had married Betsy Elizabeth Kress, and they had seven children: Robert H .; John and William, who are deceased ; and Wilson, George, Hettie and Leander.

George Warren Smith, the father of Robert L., was born on the old homestead in Callaway county, Missouri, in 1833. During his early life he engaged in the business of driving mules to the South, and he sub- sequently became an extensive farmer and slave owner, his home place being located about two miles northeast of Columbia. Later he pur- chased a farm one mile and one-half north of Stephen's Store, where he lived about twenty years, being engaged extensively in farming, and also engaging in the milling business at Rocheport, Columbia and Hink- son, in partnership with his brother, Robert Smith. He had 440 acres of land, and devoted the greater part of his time to farming until his re- tirement some fifteen years ago, when he moved to Columbia. Mr. Smith was married (first) to Miss Amanda Carter, who was born in 1835 and died in 1866, daughter of Creed Canmon Carter, who married a Miss Clasby and came to Callaway county from Virginia in 1826, settling about three and one-half miles east of Millersburg. Four children were born to George W. and Amanda Smith; Betty, who married Oscar Black, of Fulton; Fanny, who married R. E. Kirtley, of Kansas City, Mis- souri ; Robert Lee; and Hettie, who married William Black, of North Callaway. George W. Smith was married (second) to Mrs. Phoebe E. (Carter) Crews, sister of his first wife and a widow. They were faith- ful members of the Baptist church, and Mr. Smith was a Democrat in his political views.

Robert Lee Smith was born June 9, 1863, on the farm of his father, located about three miles northeast of Columbia, and after receiving a little country schooling, attending the university for a short period. As a young man he entered land in western Kansas, but was unfortunate in being driven out by the drought in less than a year, and he began farming with his father. Subsequently he entered the livery business in Centralia, continuing in partnership with his father for two years, and following this became interested with him in the Little Valley Mills, on Flat Branch. In 1868, with a number of progressive citizens, Mr. Smith organized the Farmers' Milling Association of Columbia, but in 1890 traded his interest therein for 410 acres of land west of McCredie, in Callaway county. On this farm, of which he is still the owner, he lived Vol. III-9

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 19

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