A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 31

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

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Judge Turner was but a lad of ten years at the time of his father's death, but as his mother kept her family together he grew to manhood on the old homestead.' His maternal grandparents, James and Betsey Cowan, came to Boone county about the same time as did the Turners. Their first house was a brick structure but after the death of the grand- father the grandmother had that building torn down and a fine frame house put up in its stead. She had unusual executive ability and busi- ness discernment and until she passed away at the age of eighty-one she kept three negro men and three negro women with her. When remov- ing from her native state of Kentucky to Missouri Mrs. Cowan made the journey on horseback and carried a child in her arms. Judge Turner settled on his present estate at Brown's Station in 1870 and in 1871 he built the pond which has since supplied an abundance of water for his stock. He has been extensively interested in the raising of thorough- bred Jersey cattle and Berkshire and O. I. C. hogs and has frequently been an exhibitor at fairs.

He was elected a judge of the Boone county court in 1898 for four years and was twice reelected, making his service cover a period of twelve consecutive years. During this time the new courthouse was erected, though under much opposition, and a beginning of the good roads movement was made, one mile of fine road having been built. Though at first decidedly against him in his advocacy of these improve-

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ments, the people finally saw their benefit and became his supporters. He has ever stood for good roads and all other improvements that con- tribute to the upbuilding of this section or of the state and has not only advocated them but has given of his best energies to bring about their accomplishment. Judge Turner, who was presiding judge during the whole of his service, had as his associates on the bench Judge S. N. Wood, who represented the north district, and Judge John S. Bedford, of the south district, at the time the new courthouse was built and the names of all three appear on the corner stone of the building. He has always been a stanch Democrat, and during the earlier part of the Civil war he and his brother A. C. Turner served under General Price.

In 1867 Judge Turner was united in marriage to Susan, daughter of R. G. McMinn, of Boone county. To their union were born four children, of whom two are deceased, their son Emmett having died at the age of thirty. The two children living are Smith, who is identified with the "Famous Store" at St. Louis, Missouri, and Julia, the wife of Dennis Craighead, of Audrain county. Judge and Mrs. Turner have two grandchildren, Carrie Frances, aged eight, and Charles, aged three, the children of Smith Turner. Judge Turner is a member of the Reg- ular Baptist church, with which denomination the family for several generations has been identified.

DUDLEY T. BRADLEY. The rank of Randolph county as one of the leading agricultural counties of northern Missouri has been attained through the individual efforts of its farmers and stockmen. As a repre- sentative of this class of valued citizens mention is deserved by Dudley T. Bradley, one of the large land owners of Randolph county, who was born here March 25, 1846, and has been a resident of his native county all of his life. His assets with which to begin life consisted of a fair patrimony, but more largely of his own ability and his own stock of energy and resolution, and with these concomitants he has waged his contest for success and has won, for he is not only reckoned as one of the substantial agriculturists of his community but ranks high in the popu- lar confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens.

William and Sally J. (Cockrell) Bradley, his parents, were both natives of Kentucky. The former crossed the plains in 1850 for the gold fields of California and died in that state the following year. In 1853 the mother also passed to the life beyond, leaving two little sons, Benjamin F. and Dudley T., now orphaned of both father and mother. Benjamin T. Bradley passed away on June 23, 1911, and thus our sub- ject remains as the sole survivor of this family. Until thirteen years of age, Mr. Bradley lived with his grandmother and then for about three years he assisted an uncle in farm duties. By that time the storm of Civil war which had long lowered threateningly burst over the country and many of the stormy scenes and thrilling events of that conflict trans- pired on Missouri soil. Mr. Bradley gained knowledge of some of these by actual experience, for, though but a youth, he enlisted with General Price and had served about six weeks when he was taken prisoner at White River, Arkansas, and remained a prisoner about four months, or until released on petition. He then returned to Randolph county, Mis- souri, where he bought his brother's interest in an eighty acre farm they had inherited together and took up farming as his life vocation. From time to time he added to this nucleus by additional purchase and now owns three hundred and twenty acres, all in Randolph county.

Mr. Bradley was married February 14, 1873, to Miss Martha T. Jen- nings and to this union have been born thirteen children, as follows: Sally E., Emma and William, all deceased; Dora, who is now Mrs. Wiley

Mora Mais, D. V. Bradley

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Marshall, of Randolph county, Missouri; Lucy, the wife of Milton Gar- ver, of Enid, Oklahoma; Grace Jane, single at home; Maud, now Mrs. William J. Davis, and Dessie, the wife of Charles Burton, residents of Randolph county, Missouri; Dudley T., Jr., Frank, Claud and Aubra, at the paternal home; and Gussie, deceased.

In politics Mr. Bradley is a Democrat and in an official way has served as a school director of his township. His religious tenets are those of the Christian church, of which denomination he is a member, and his fraternal associations are with the Masonic order.

HON. FRANK O'REILLY. Northeastern Missouri can boast of many fine farms, but none, perhaps, are superior to that owned by the Hon. Frank O'Reilly, of Unionville, a tract of 1,000 acres lying three and a half miles southeast of Lemonville and six miles south of Unionville, partly in Putnam and partly in Sullivan counties. Mr. O'Reilly is an excellent type of his seetion's best citizenship, having risen to his present high position through the exercise of native intelligence, constant per- severance and never failing industry. As a citizen his record is equally high with that as a farmer, and as a member of the Putnam county bench his signal services stamped him as a man of marked judicial abil- ity. Mr. O'Reilly was born April 11, 1856, in Stark county, Ohio, and is a son of Patrick and Elizabeth (Sweeney) O'Reilly, natives of County Roscommon, Ireland. They were there reared and married, and came to the United States in 1848, their first settlement being made in Stark county. In 1861 they migrated to Putnam county, Missouri, settling on the present farm of Judge O'Reilly, where the father died in 1881. His widow still survives at the remarkable age of ninety-two years, and makes her home in Milan, Missouri. They reared a family of nine chil- dren, as follows: Rev. Father William, who received a good education and became a Catholic priest, taught the first schools in the Vaughn district, and had charge of the Pekin, Illinois, Catholic church, but his health failing, he moved to Denver, Colorado, where his death occurred; Mrs. Mary Daly, a resident of Chicago; Elizabeth, for seven years a teacher in the Putnam county schools, who subsequently married Dr. Ward, of Milan, Missouri, and died in 1892; Edward, who is engaged in farming on the old home place; Frank; Catherine, who taught school for a number of years and is now the wife of Dr. Berry, of Unionville; Anna, who resides with her mother; Sue, a former teacher, who died in 1908; and Joseph, who is deceased. Another child died in infancy.

Frank O'Reilly spent his boyhood on the old home place. His father being afflicted with blindness for about ten years before his death, Frank and his brother Edward remained on the home place and looked after its operation. In 1881, Mr. O'Reilly purchased his first farm, a tract of 160 acres, and to this he has added from time to time until he now has upwards of 1,000 acres, partly in Putnam and partly in Sullivan counties. He has been a big feeder and shipper of cattle, and the output of his farm will exceed $20,000 worth of live stock annually. He holds the record of shipping the best priced cattle on the market, in the fall of 1912 securing the top price of ten cents per pound. Mr. O'Reilly purchases young cattle and feeds them for the market, and is considered an excellent judge of stock. His property gives evidence of the presence of excellent management, and the modern machinery and appliances, the up-to-date methods and the substantial character of everything per- taining to the farm is an indication of its owner's views. A Democrat in politics, he has ably supported his party's candidates and principles, and was appointed county judge of Putnam county by Governor Dock- ery, in which office he fully upheld the dignity of the bench. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of Blue lodge No. 210, of Unionville.

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In 1890 Judge O'Reilly was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Johnson, daughter of Dade Johnson, and they have had six children, namely : William, who is engaged in farming on a property adjoining that of his father, is married and has two sons,-Edgar and Leo; Cecil, who graduated June 17, 1912, from St. Mary's College, receiving the gold medal for proficiency in his examination; Basil, who is a student in the Unionville high school; Marie and Francis, who are attending pub- lic school and Minnie Lurene, three years old.

JOHN FLEMING COWAN, D. D., for fifty-two years the pastor of one church, professor of German, French and Hebrew in Westminster Col- lege, at Fulton, Missouri, for twenty-four years, and president of the board of Synodical College for young ladies, at Fulton, Missouri, for the past eighteen years, may well be said to be one of the best known and most highly esteemed men in this section of the state. Coming back to Missouri after his college career, as a minister of the gospel, he took up the duties of his high calling, and through the long years he has adhered to the church to which he first gave himself,-the church near Fulton, called Auxvasse church. His sphere of activity has been widened with the lapse of time, and he has given of his mind and energy to work outside his parish, but he has been faithful to his first charge, and is now in the fifty-second year of his ministry in that community.

Born on March 8, 1837, in Potosi, Washington county, Missouri, John Fleming Cowan is the son of John Fleming and Mary (English) Cowan. The Cowan family is one of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and the founder of the branch of the family now under consideration came to America in company with three brothers. Adam Cowan came from Ireland with his brothers prior to the Revolutionary war period, and settled in Chester county, Pennsylvania, and there engaged in farm life. He was a Presbyterian, the faith of his Scotch-Irish parents, and the family has adhered to that denomination through the passing years. The three sons of Adam Cowan were Robert, Samuel and John Fleming. Robert lived in Chester county, Pennsylvania, there following the life of a farmer, and he was eighty-five years old when he died. Samuel came west, and died in Cincinnati in young manhood, his family growing up in the state of Ohio. John Fleming, the immediate ancestor of the sub- ject, took a college course, devoted himself to the study of theology and became a Presbyterian minister, passing his life in the ministry in southeastern Missouri.

John Fleming Cowan, the father of the subject of this review, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1801. He followed the trade of a printer until he was twenty years of age, then entered Jeffer- son College, in western Pennsylvania, from which he was duly graduated. He then entered Princeton Theological Seminary, and after his gradu- ation he came to Missouri, where he was pastor of Apple Creek church, in Cape Girardeau county, for seven years, after which he became pastor of Potosi church and continued in its service for seventeen years. His next charge was Washington church in Franklin county, where he con- tinued for five years, then went to Carondelet, in St. Louis county for an additional five year period. Like all his family, he was a Presby- terian, serving in that church. He was an old time Whig, stanch and sturdy in his political faith, as he was in his religious belief, and he died in his sixty-first year of life, as the result of dysentery contracted while acting as chaplain to soldiers in hospital. He married Mary Eng- lish, who was born in Englishtown, New Jersey, in 1806, where her father was a prominent merchant in that city. When a lad of sixteen some Tory troops strung him up in an attempt to make him divulge the

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hiding place of a quantity of powder which they wished to secure, but the young patriot was "game" to the last and they unwillingly released him without securing the much desired information. Dutch blood flowed in the veins of Mary English, from her mother's side of the house, her maternal grandmother having been Alice Covenhoven. Mrs. Cowan sur- vived her husband for twenty years, and both now rest in Bellefontaine cemetery, in St. Louis, Missouri.

When a boy John Fleming Cowan, the subject of this review, had a graduate of a famous Scotch university for his teacher, and he was early graduated from Westminster College, at Fulton, Missouri. He then entered Princeton Theological Seminary, and after his graduation he returned to Missouri, there to enter the ministry of the Presbyterian church, as his father had done before him. His first call was to the church in Springfield, Missouri, but the outbreak of the Civil war scat- tered the congregation of the church just as he was ready to assume the duties of pastor. He then took a country church near Fulton, called Auxvasse church and he has recently entered upon the fifty-second year of his service in that community and as pastor of that church, a most phenomenal record and one which speaks eloquently of the enduring qualities which have endcared him to his people during two generations. In 1888, because of the death of his wife, the marriage of his daughter, and the starting out of his sons in business, Dr. Cowan accepted a call to the chair of professor of German, French and Hebrew in West- minster College, which chair he held for twenty-four years and resigned in June, 1912, and in which he rendered the most able and efficient service. He has been president of the board of Synodical College for young ladies for eighteen years, and still holds that office. Twenty years ago Westminster College conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.

Dr. Cowan is what he calls simply "a plain, American citizen," voting for those men he regards as being the purest and most upright, and those who might best be expected to fulfill their duties as servants of the public, without regard or reference to party lines or considerations.

On January 30, 1862, Dr. Cowan was united in marriage near Wil- liamsburg, Callaway county, Missouri, to Miss Martha Jane Grant, who was a graduate of the Fulton Female Seminary. She was the daughter of Kentuckians, early settlers in Missouri, her father being Captain William Grant, who received his title under the old state militia laws. Her mother was Sarah Ann Warren, both having been descended from fine old Kentucky families.

The children of Dr. and Mrs. Cowan are as follows: Charles Hodge Cowan, a farmer in Callaway county; Mrs. Florence Tate Miller, wife of Herbert H. Miller, a banker in Rothville, Missouri; William Grant Cowan, M. D., practicing in Carlsbad, New Mexico; Robert Moseby Cowan, M. D., practicing in St. Louis, Missouri.

EDWARD C. KENNEN. It is always most gratifying to the biographist and student of human nature to come in close touch with the history of a man who, in the face of almost insurmountable obstacles, has plod- ded persistently on and eventually, through his determination and energy, made of success not an accident but a logical result. Edward C. Kennen, who maintains his home in Laddonia, Missouri, is strictly a self-made man and as such a perusal of his career offers both lesson and incentive. He has been eminently successful as an attorney of recognized ability, was once an extensive dealer in Missouri lands and has been financially interested in the banking business.

A native of Warren county, Illinois, Edward C. Kennen was born

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January 30, 1853, and he is a son of James and Melissa Kennen, the former of whom died when the subject of this review was a mere infant and the latter of whom is also deceased. After the demise of her hus- band, Mrs. James Kennen removed with her family to Missouri, locating on a farm in the western part of Pike county. The baby of the family, Edward C. Kennen, passed his boyhood and youth on the home estate in Pike county and there received his preliminary edu- cational training in the neighboring district schools. As a child he was very studious and although his educational facilities were of the most meager order he managed to eke out enough learning to qual- ify himself as a teacher when he had reached his nineteenth year. For four years he taught school in Pike and Audrain counties and in 1876 he came to Laddonia, where he engaged in the drug and lumber business. For the ensuing eight years he devoted himself industriously to the development of the above business enterprises by day and at night he read law. In 1884, in company with D. P. Moore, he estab- lished the Bank of Laddonia, the first bank in this place, and in that year he was likewise admitted to the bar, under Judge Elijah Robinson. He managed the above financial institution until 1892, in the meantime likewise practicing law, and in that year he withdrew from the bank and invested his money in Missouri lands. He was an extensive real- estate dealer, owning many lots and buildings in Laddonia and other cities, until he disposed of all his property, with the exception of his home in this city. Since that time he has devoted his entire time and attention to the practice of law and it may truthfully be said that he is recognized as one of the best legal authorities in this section of the state, where he has figured prominently in many important litigations in the state and federal courts.

In his political convictions he is an Independent-Republican and he has long been an active party worker. He has been a delegate to a number of state conventions and for many years he was a member of the Laddonia school board. Mr. Kennen has been a member of the time-honored Masonic order since he reached his twenty-first year. He has passed all the official chairs in that organization and has been a representative in the grand lodge of the state. He is extremely fond of hunting as a recreation and devotes considerable time to reading. In every sense of the word he is a loyal and public-spirited citizen- one of whom any community might well be proud.

In June, 1881, Mr. Kennen was united in marriage to Miss Peoria Moss, a native of Illinois. There have been six children born to this family and of the number two are deceased, one having died at the age of three years and the other, Edward C., Jr., having died as the result of injuries received in an auto accident in 1907: he was a prominent dentist in St. Louis. Concerning the living children the following brief data are here incorporated,-Maude M. is the wife of Vincent E. Wad- dock, of St. Louis; Kenneth G. was graduated in the law department of the University of Missouri in 1912 and is now practicing law at Lad- donia, Missouri; Albert L. is at home; and Neil V. is a student in the Laddonia high school.

BENJAMIN F. ESTES. A successful farmer and stock-grower in the vicinity of Clarksville, Missouri, Benjamin Franklin Estes is descended from pioneer ancestry of Pike county, this state. He was born in Buf- falo township, May 2, 1859, and is a son of Benjamin Caswell Estes, who passed away in this section of the state in the prime of life, his demise having occurred February 24, 1861. The grandfather of the subject of this review was James Estes, born near Abington, Washing-

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ton county, Virginia, June 20, 1780, of ancestry from Essex, England. James Estes drifted west as a young man and for a time resided in Nashville, Tennessee, whence he later removed to Kentucky, in which latter state he married, in 1827, Miss Martha Schooler. To this union were born the following children: Benjamin Caswell, William H. and Martha. Under General Shelby James Estes served in the Indian war against old Tecumseh and he likewise served as a gallant and faithful soldier in the war of 1812, in which he participated in the engagements of Malden and in the battle on Lake Erie, under Commodore Perry. Benjamin Caswell Estes was twice married, his first union having been to Minerva Wamsley. After her death he married Elizabeth, a daughter of Robert Estes, distant kin. To the latter union Benjamin F. and New- ton Caswell were born. Newton Caswell Estes was a prosperous farmer during the entire period of his active career and he was summoned to the life eternal in March 17, 1911, unmarried. Robert Estes, maternal grandfather of the subject of this notice, was born in Virginia, im- migrated west as a youth and after his marriage to Betsy Griffith, in Kentucky, came to Pike county, Missouri.

Benjamin F. Estes grew up in a humble home under the care of his widowed mother and received his preliminary educational training in the district schools of Pike county. Hard work was laid out for him and his younger brother and they pursued their tasks with the utmost diligence from a tender age. Sacrifices were experienced from early childhood and economy formed an important element in the family affairs. That the Estes brothers, eventually pushed their way near the top among successful farmers and stock men is evidenced by a reference to the property statements executed by them from time to time. They came to be dealers and feeders, as well as growers of cattle, naturally, as their father was identified with that phase of rural industry when he was called to eternal rest. Until 1900 Benjamin F. Estes remained a factor of the old family home where he was born. He then purchased a portion of the Brown tract, near Aberdeen, this place being now known as Brookside Farm, a stock and grain farm, which Mr. Estes still ope- rates. His most noteworthy success came to him as a hog and corn raiser and this practice continues to cling to him.

In the organization of the Farmers' Bank of Eolia, Mr. Estes became interested in the banking business, took over a share of the stock issue and was made president of the institution. He is an agriculturist and business man of unusual ability and his splendid success in life is the direct result of his own well applied efforts. In politics he is an ardent sympathizer of the principles and policies promulgated by the Demo- cratic party and while he does not care for the honors or emoluments of public office he is ever on the alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with all measures and enterprises forwarded for the good of the general welfare.

October 26, 1899, Mr. Estes was united in marriage to Miss Virginia Moore, a daughter of Albert Moore. She died in 1906, leaving a daugh- ter Mary E., born March 17, 1902. April 6, 1910, Mr. Estes married Miss Nonie Palmer, a daughter of J. W. M. Palmer, of Lincoln county. Mr. Palmer came to Missouri from Kentucky and first married Annie Harvey, who bore him a daughter, Virginia Lee, now the wife of Richard L. Dawson, at this time a representative from Pike county, Missouri. His second wife was Alice Meriwether Edwards, a daughter of Capt. Pleasant Carr Waller Edwards, a pioneer of Pike county: Mrs. Estes was the only child born to this union. For his third wife Mr. Palmer married Mrs. Margaret Woodson, a daughter of Joseph Roberts. Their children are: Joseph Roberts, a lawyer of note in Elsberry, Missouri; Vol. III-14

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and Elizabeth Roberts, wife of C. E. Mayhall, of Laddonia. Mrs. Estes is descended from Revolutionary stock through John Edwards, her great-great-grandfather, who was a soldier in the war for independence, Mr. and Mrs. Estes are popular in their home community and their home is renowned for its generous hospitality.

CHARLES FRANKLIN RIDDLE, superintendent of the Edina public schools, is an able exponent of his profession, and a commendable example of the self-made man. Mr. Riddle is of old southern blood. His mater- nal grandparents were Virginians; and his parents, James Wesley and Mary Jane (Hunt) Riddle were both Kentuckians. The latter became residents of Caldwell county, Missouri, where Charles Franklin Riddle was born on the fourth day of October, 1877.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 31

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