A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 29

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

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ALFRED BESGROVE. Pleasant Hill farm in Richland township, near Fayette. is the rural home of one of Howard county's most successful and esteemed citizens. When he began his career here forty-two years ago, he was a wage earner and hard work alone gave him his first cap- ital. Since then by good, constant and long continued industry, he has attained a solid position among men of means in the county.

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Mr. Besgrove was born in England, a native of Somersetshire, of a family who were in limited wordly goods, but healthy, industrious and honest people, who trained their children in the worthy principles of character and thus started them upon life with perhaps a better endow- ment than more material forms of capital. The parents were Charles and Eliza (Browncy) Besgrove. The six children in the family were as follows: William, who died in Howard county; Henry, who also passed away in this county; Mary Anna, whose death occurred in Eng- land; James, a resident of Illinois, near Pontiac, Livingston county ; Alfred and Charles who are successful farmers and stockmen of Howard county.

The father died at the age of forty-seven, the death of both parents occurring in England. They were members of the Methodist church.

Alfred Besgrove was reared in England, where he lived until he was eighteen years of age, and then came to the United States. His first work here was as a farm hand and after two years of that occupa- tion in Illinois, he came to Howard county. His education was obtained in England and he also attended school for a time at Fayette. For four years he was in the employment of Charles Givens. He bought the old Ditzler farm in 1875. In the meantime his industry and good man- agement had enabled him to accumulate something out of the profits of his crops and he then bought a farm of two hundred acres adjoining the Ditzler place and from this beginning continued to add to his land until eventually he had an estate of six hundred acres. Probably few men in Howard county have had so successful a record as this. To have come here a poor boy, to have in early years worked at farm labor for wages, and then, with his gradual accumulations to have obtained so handsome an estate, is a record such as few men can show. He also gave to his children $1,000 each as they married. The residence is a ten-room house, excellently furnished, and Pleasant Hill is such a rural. estate as many men of fortune might envy as an object of their own desires.

On the 6th of September, 1874, Mr. Besgrove married Miss Elgora Snyder, who was born in Sheridan county, Missouri, August 4, 1864, a daughter of Michael and Harriet Snyder, her family having come from Tennessee. Her father was a resident of Sheridan county and was killed during the war by the bushwhackers who raided that vicinity. The twelve children of the Snyder family are named as follows: William Henderson, B. F., Mary Frances, Anna, Laura, Sarah Margaret, now deceased; John Oscar, James M., Mrs. Elzora Besgrove, Olivia, Willia and Jennie.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Besgrove are named as follows: Jen- nie is the wife of Richard Walden; Charles E. has a farm adjoining that of his father; Anna Lou is the wife of Clifford Rains, county sur- veyor ; Nannie is the widow of Harry George, now deceased and formerly county surveyor ; Mae is the wife of Barnard Shield; Arthur is a farmer, his farm joining his father's; Effie is the wife of Thomas E. Harris; Ida L., a student in Howard Payne College; Elizabeth is in high school.

It has been a cause of great satisfaction to Mr. Besgrove and his wife that they have been able to afford their children such educational advantages and to start them upon their careers well equipped. Mr. Besgrove in his politics is a Democrat and a member of the Methodist church. He is one of the directors of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Fayette, and is a solid man, financially and in the way of citizenship and in the esteem of his fellow men.

HAMILTON BROTHERS. Among the men of enterprise in the vicin- ity of Mexico, probably none could be named who have made better use

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of their opportunities and have been more resourceful in making for themselves a substantial business, than the Hamilton Brothers, Jack and James, whose fine stock farm is located a mile and a half south of Mexico.

Both brothers are natives of Callaway county, where Jack was born December 13, 1879, and James on September 19, 1884. Their father, now deceased, was a native of Kentucky, coming to Callaway county in 1844 at the age of eighteen. The mother, who came from Tennessee to Missouri when five years old, in 1843, is still living in Callaway county at the age of seventy-four. The father was a successful farmer and stockman near Auxvasse, where he had a farm of three hundred acres.

Jim and Jack Hamilton have always been associated in their bus- iness undertakings. They had their share of reverses and difficulties at the beginning, but with youth and energy they made steady ad- vance in spite of lack of capital. In 1891 they engaged in the stock busi- ness on rented land, and from year to year bought land until they are now proprietors of four hundred acres in Callaway county. In the spring of 1910, to secure better advantages from location near Mexico, they bought two hundred and fifty acres a mile and a half south of town and there established a stock farm which has already acquired a fine reputation in many parts of northeast Missouri. The land had no improvements when they took possession, but they have provided the best of modern facilities for the care of their stock, including three barns, the ground dimensions of which are 100x50, 150x38, and 74x54, respectively. The Hamilton Brothers raise horses, jack and saddle horses and mules, and keep on their place from twenty-five to thirty stallions of all ages, and from twelve to fifteen registered saddle mares.

Jim Hamilton was married March 5, 1899, in Callaway county, to Miss Mildred Bell, daughter of James H. and Sallie Bell, of Calla- way county. One child, Doris, was born to their marriage in December, 1900. Jack Hamilton is still a bachelor.

FOUNTAIN ROTHWELL. A resident of Columbia since 1898, from which time to the present he has been prominent in political matters and has taken a leading part in all affairs of public enterprise and improve- ment, Fountain Rothwell, city councilman and proprietor of the city's leading livery establishment, is a self-made man in its truest and broad- est sense, having, by his own energy and untiring efforts, risen from the humbler ranks of life to the proud distinction of being one of his com- munity's acknowledged leaders. He was born in Callaway county, Mis- souri, twelve miles east of Columbia, February 1, 1868, and is a son of A. M. and Sally Woods (Price) Rothwell, the latter a daughter of the late Capť. Joseph Price. A. M. Rothwell came to Missouri from Gar- rard county, Kentucky, in young manhood, in 1866, settling on a farm in Callaway county, where he remained until 1881, that year seeing his advent in Boone county. He is now retired from active life, and he and his wife make their home at Ashland.

Fountain Rothwell received his education in the district schools of Callaway and Boone counties, and accompanied his parents to the latter when he was thirteen years of age. He continued to assist his father in the work of the home farm until he attained his majority, at which time he commenced farming on his own account, and so continued until he reached the age of twenty-five. Subsequently he followed operating a threshing machine outfit and a sawmill, but in 1898 came to Columbia. He had formerly acted in the capacity of constable of Cedar township, and on coming to Columbia was made deputy sheriff under W. R. Bald- win, but after two years in that office, Mr. Baldwin was defeated, and

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Mr. Fountain was consequently replaced by another man. However, he secured a position on the police department, on which he served four years, then being elected sheriff of Boone county, and entered upon the discharge of his duties January 2, 1905. At the end of two years he received the re-election, and during his term of office was called upon to perform numerous dangerous duties, at one time having five murderers in jail at once, two of them being under sentence to lang. Sheriff Rothwell built the scaffold and had all the preparations made for the executions, but both prisoners' sentences were commuted. As evidence of Mr. Rothwell's popularity, it may be stated that he re- ceived 4,200 votes to 700 cast for his opponent in the last election. Ever a faithful and active Democrat, he was alternate delegate at large to the Democratic national convention, held at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1912, and at this time is serving his second term as a member of the city council of Columbia. He is chairman of the committee on streets, sewers and sidewalks, and had charge of the building of Columbia's system of pavements. Since leaving the office of sheriff, Mr. Rothwell has conducted a large livery business, and has gained a large patronage among the people of his adopted city. He is an excellent example of the self-made man, and takes a pardonable degree of pride that whatever success has come to him has been brought about through the medium of his own efforts.

In 1894, Mr. Rothwell was married to Miss Anna Harrington, of. Boone county, a daughter of A. G. Harrington, a merchant of Ashland. Three children have been born to this union: Mary, Jack and Harring- ton. Mr. Rothwell's fraternal connections are with the Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all of the chairs, acted as deputy for a number of' years, and was representative to the grand lodge on several occasions. He is extremely fond of all kinds of sports, and his vacations are spent with his gun and rod in the woods of Minnesota.

FRANK R. JESSE, one of the well known members of the legal fra- ternity in Audrain county, comes of a family which has for a number of generations been closely identified with the Baptist ministry in Missouri. He was born in Audrain county on May 19, 1863, the son of Royal A. and Mary Ellen (Boswell) Jesse, both pioneer residents of this section of the country. The mother died in 1876, while the father still lives in Mexico, retired from his ministerial duties. He was an exhorter in the Baptist church for years and was one of the most prom- inent and highly respected men in the county. His father, William Morgan Jesse, was the first Baptist preacher in Audrain county, and it was he who organized the old Hopewell Baptist church; originally lo- cated two miles from Mexico and one mile distant from his early home there. He came to Audrain county in December, 1833, his long journey from Cumberland county, Virginia, the place of his nativity, to Mis- souri being marked by the brilliant meteoric exhibitions which oc- curred about that time. He continued in Missouri as a pioneer min- ister of his chosen church, and many churches living today owe their original establishment to his labors. He was a man of but little educa- tion ; indeed, he learned to read and write after his marriage, his good wife teaching him in those branches, and thereafter he gathered a gen- crous store of miscellaneous information, but could not be said to have acquired an education in the accepted sense of the term. He died on August 7, 1856, and is buried on the old home farm three miles from Mexico. His wife, who was Polly Ann Parker in her maiden days, died in 1893, having reached the advanced age of ninety-two years. Four of their sons followed him in the ministry: John P .; Thomas I .;

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William J. and Royal A. William preached at old Hopewell church for years, and was one of the popular ministers of the county in his day. He possessed a wonderfully magnetic voice and his ministry at- tracted wide attention through his gift of pulpit oratory. He died at the age of seventy-eight. His son, James R. Jesse, is now assistant cashier of the Mexico Savings Bank. John P. Jesse taught the first school in Audrain county, and a most unpretentious school it was, being conducted in the open air under the trees, with a sheep house near by to which they might repair if the clements made it too uncomfortable out in the open. He also entered the ministry, and was one of the pio- neer preachers in this district. He died in 1875 or thereabouts. Thomas I. died about the same time. Three of the grandsons of William Morgan Jesse are now engaged as ministers in the Baptist church in Audrain county, and thus the good work begun by the founder of the family in this state is being carried on in the third generation. One of them, Rev. James T. Jesse, was pastor of a prominent Baptist church in Wash- ington, D. C., when his death occurred in 1900. Rev. John S. Jesse, the son of William J., is the pastor of the Baptist church at Lebanon, Missouri.

William Morgan Jesse, the founder of the family in Missouri, had sixteen children, of which number twelve reached years of maturity,- eight sons and four daughters. One of the sons, Royal A. Jesse, was a preacher all his life. He reared seven children, all of whom are living, -three of them in Audrain county. They are Lucy, a teacher in the Mexico schools; Laura, the wife of W. L. Griffin; Melissa, the wife of Professor Rodhouse, of the civil engineering department of the State University ; Frank R., who is the immediate subject of this brief family review, was graduated from the law department of the Missouri State University in 1886, and has been engaged in practice in Mexico since that time, where he has won a pleasurable degree of professional hon- ors. He has been prosecuting attorney of Audrain county for two terms between the years of 1888 and 1892, since when he has devoted himself to general practice. He has been an ardent supporter of Champ Clark of Democratic fame.

In 1893 Mr. Jesse married Beulah, the daughter of J. V. William, an old resident of Audrain county. Three daughters have been born to them,-Ruth, Mildred and Martha.

JOHN W. BEAGLES. There is presented in the career of John W. Bea- gles, of Audrain county, a lesson for the youth of any land; something to be found in it of a nature encouraging to the youthful aspirant, who without influential friends or monetary assistance is striving to over- come obstacles in his path to reach the goal of independent position. Mr. Beagles has been one of those who have assisted materially in devel- oping the resources of his county, as when he first settled on his present property, something more than thirty years ago, it was entirely unim- proved, being covered with high wild prairie grass, which is now re- placed with waving fields of grain, well-kept pasture land on which browse sleek, well-fed cattle, and modern farm buildings, which give ample evidence of the thrift and ability of their owner. Mr. Beagles has been a lifelong resident of Audrain county, having been born here March 18, 1856, a son of James M. and Maria (Little) Beagles.

The father of Mr. Beagles was born in the state of Tennessee, but as a young man removed to Virginia, in that state, being married at the age of twenty years to Maria Little who was born in the Old Dominion State. About the year 1850 they came overland by wagon to Fulton, Missouri, where Mr. Beagles, a contractor by trade, assisted in building Vol. III-13

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the insane asylum, and on its completion the family, then consisting of the parents and two children, made removal to the central part of Audrain county. There Mr. Beagles managed to secure land at a very nominal price, and accumulated 640 acres, but in 1863 went to Cali- fornia to seek gold, his wife conducting the operation of the farm dur- ing his absence. After making two trips to the Golden State, during which he engaged extensively in trading in stock, in 1865 he resumed farming and stock raising, and has continued to be interested in agri- cultural pursuits to the present time, although he is now living a some- what retired life at Nevada, Missouri, having reached the advanced age of eighty-four years. His wife passed away in 1892, having been the mother of the following children: Mrs. Elizabeth Atkinson; J. Monroe ; John W .; Mrs. Jennie Johnston; Florence, who died in 1894; Mrs. Ella Ragsdale; Frank; Mrs. Minnie White, who is deceased; and Noah D. All the children, except those deceased, are married and have nice homes in Audrain county.

John W. Beagles was reared on the home farm and received his edu- cation in the district schools of the vicinity, remaining under the pa- rental roof until he was twenty-two years of age. On leaving home he commenced working for himself as a farmer, stock raiser and shipper of cattle, and in 1879 came to his present property, then a wide ex- panse of prairie land, consisting of 320 acres, which he was able to secure for five dollars per acre, and which is now worth in the neigh- borhood of $100 an acre. He at once started to clear the property of the high prairie grass which covered it, and gradually as the years went by more and more of the land was put under cultivation, until it is now one of the most productive in this part of Audrain county. ' He carries on grain raising, and feeds hogs and cattle, being considered an able farmer and excellent judge of cattle. He is progressive in his ideas and is at all times ready to adopt methods that promise to be of benefit in his work. Mr. Beagles has interested himself in fraternal work, being connected with the Masonic order and the Order of the Eastern Star, to which latter organization his wife also belongs. They are con- sistent members of the Presbyterian church. In politics a stanch and unwavering Democrat, Mr. Beagles has served as county committeeman of his party, and his fellow-citizens have elected him to public office on numerous occasions. He has served as justice of the peace for more than ten years, road commissioner for twenty years or over and school director for a long period, and at the November election was elected as the Democratic candidate for the office of county judge of the eastern district of Audrain county.

In 1888 Mr. Beagles was united in marriage in Centralia, Missouri, to Miss Ida Johnston, who was born in Ontario, Canada, January 18, 1860, and came with her parents and grandparents to Missouri when she was a child. Three children have been born to this union, as follows: Joseph L. L., born April 1, 1892; Flora Lucile, born October 6, 1894; and Willie V., born March 29, 1899.

HON. SAMUEL COOK GROVES. Probably there is no better known figure in Audrain county than the Hon. Samuel Cook Groves, judge of the western district of the Audrain county court, a man universally respected as a public official and known throughout the county as a breeder of thoroughbred live stock. In every walk of life Judge Groves is well worthy the respect and esteem in which he is held, and no citizen enjoys in a greater degree the warm personal friendship of so many of his community's people. Judge Groves was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, April 8, 1863, and is a son of William and Eliza (Davis) Groves,

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natives of the Buckeye State, the families originating in Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. William Groves came to Missouri in 1866, locating on the home farm nine miles southwest of Mexico, on the Co- lumbia road, where, in company with his father-in-law, Jacob Davis, he purchased 1100 acres of land. Mr. Davis spent the last fourteen years of his life on this property, and died at the advanced age of ninety years. Besides Eliza, Mr. Davis had three sons and one daughter, the latter being Miss Millie R. Davis, who still resides on the homestead, while the three sons were Johnson Davis, living on a part of the same land, and Lou S. and William C. Davis, both of whom are deceased.

William Groves secured one-third of the original tract of 1,100 acres, for which had been paid $25 per acre, this being at that time all prairie land, a part of the old Ben L. Locke homestead, the original owner being an early clerk of the county court. William Groves added to his prop erty from time to time until he had 400 acres, all of which he put in a high state of cultivation, and erected substantial buildings thereon, including the residence in which Judge Groves now makes his home. Later he secured another farm of 357 acres, and on these two properties he continued to carry on general farming and stock raising until his retirement, James A. Groves at that time receiving the original home, and Judge Groves the latter property. The father then retired to his residence in Mexico, where he still lives at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife passed away some years ago on the old homestead. In political matters Mr. Groves was a Democrat all of his life, and he and his wife were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had three children : Emma C., who married Rev. John Robsen, a Methodist Episcopal minister, and died several years ago; James A., who has spent his entire life on the old homestead; and Judge Samuel Cook.

Samuel Cook Groves was given excellent educational advantages, attending the public schools of Audrain county and the Gem City Bus- iness College, at Quincy, Illinois, following which he learned the trade of carpenter, at which he worked for eight years in Audrain county. He then turned his attention to buying stock, which he also followed for eight years, in the meantime shipping in association with Henry T. Gant, of Thompson, and he then settled down on the farm which had been given him by his father, and where he has continued to carry on operations. Mr. Groves has found agricultural work a most profitable business, but he has given the greater part of his attention to breeding Shorthorn cattle, Duroc Jersey hogs and Mammoth jacks and jennets. He has at the head of his herd "Dr. Wood, No. 1731," a Mammoth jack costing $2,000, and for the stud uses of which fifty dollars is charged, customers coming from all over the country. In addition to feeding a small herd of thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jer- sey hogs, Mr. Groves raises large numbers of sheep. In all of his busi- ness ventures he has been very successful, and he is considered one of the leading stockmen of his part of the state.

On June 21, 1891, Judge Groves was married to Miss Lillie Eller, daughter of Abe and Mary Eller, a former stockman and farmer of south of Mexico, in Audrain county, who is now deceased. Two children have been born to this union: Emma V. and Harold William, both of whom are students in the Mexico high school. Mrs. Groves is a consist- ent member of the Baptist church, and is well and favorably known in social circles of Mexico.

Judge Groves has interested himself in fraternal matters, belonging to Houston lodge of Masons, No. 580, at Gant, of which he was secre- tary for six years. During the past twenty-eight years he has been affil- iated with Mexico lodge No. 99, I. O. O. F. He devotes his vacations

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to hunting, being a valued and popular member of Coleman Hunting Club, which was named in honor of ex-Gov. Norman J. Coleman. Mr. Groves has taken a hunting trip every year for the past twenty, in southern Missouri, is a fine shot, and has a number of mounted trophies which he keeps as mementoes of the chase. Judge Groves is a stalwart Democrat, and his services to his party were recognized in 1908, when he was elected judge of the county court. When he was placed on the ticket as candidate for re-election in 1910, there was no opposition, and he is now serving his second term, to the entire satisfaction of the people of his community. His associates on the bench are Judges Alex- ander Carter and John D. Gatson, the latter being the successor of Judge Risk, who died when only two months a member of the judiciary. Many reforms have been made during Judge Grove's administration, among which may be mentioned the erection of the new county infirm- ary, which is just being completed, at a cost of $15,000. A man of judi- cial mind, with keen insight into human nature, Judge Groves is serving his community conscientiously and well, and with such a degree of faithfulness that he has won the confidence and thanks of his fellow- citizens in the fullest extent.

RICHARD WOODSON. Upwards of half a century the Wheat Glenn farm of Prairie township of Howard county has been the homestead of the Woodson family. For many years its proprietor was the late Richard Woodson, a successful business man and a keen citizen, and his widow and his children still uphold the interest and associations of the old place.

Richard Woodson, now deceased, was born in Chariton county, Mis- souri, November 24, 1822, not long after the admission of Missouri to the Union. The family has consequently been established in this state since pioneer times. His father, Richard Woodson, Sr., was born in Virginia and married Rachel Robertson, both of whom died in Chariton county.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 29

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