USA > Missouri > A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2 > Part 33
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Mr. Bruere was an active worker in the Republican party for many years after his legislative duties ended. In 1872 he was secretary of the Missouri state convention, and in the same year was a delegate from his congressional district to the Republican national convention at Philadelphia. He attended the convention at Cincinnati as a delegate in 1876, again at Chicago in 1884, when Mr. Blaine was named for president, and at Philadelphia in 1896, when Mckinley was nominated.
Mr. Bruere was also one of the leading men in the local affairs of his home town. He was deeply interested in the cause of education, and believing that every child belonged to the state, considered that youth
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ought to be trained to its fullest possibilities, so that the man could carry out effectively the duties laid upon him later as a citizen. He was a member of the St. Charles school board for more than twenty-one years. He also prospered financially so that he soon took a prominent part in all the financial matters of the community. He was one of the found- ers of the St. Charles Car Works, one of the organizers of the First National Bank, and of the St. Charles Savings Bank. He was president of the latter bank from the time it was organized in 1867 until the time of his death, June 5, 1906.
In 1857, during one of his many trips back to his native country, his marriage to Miss Mina Yeager, a daughter of Theodore Yeager, took place, and they became the parents of five children : Bertha, the wife of Christ Daudt of Toledo, Ohio; Lena, the wife of Frank Rache of Can- ada; Theckla, of St. Charles; Laura, the wife of Dr. Carl Wagner of Chicago, and Theodore C., of St. Charles.
Theodore C. Bruere received his education in the public schools, Smith's Academy, St. Louis, and Washington University, and grad- uated from the law school of the University of Michigan in 1892. He was admitted to the bar before Judge Edwards at St. Charles that same year, and practiced two years before his political ambition led him to seek office. In 1894 he was elected by the Republicans to the office of prosecuting attorney of the county, and held that office through eight consecutive terms, retiring in January, 1911, with the record of having prosecuted more murderers than any other incumbent of the office, and more than any of them combined. When he gave up his office he re- sumed a private practice which had not suffered any from his activity as a prosecutor. In addition to his legal work Mr. Bruere has been presi- dent of the St. Charles Savings Bank since January, 1907. He was married April 15, 1903, to Miss Ada Housmann, the daughter of James D. Housmann, whose mother was a sister of Rev. Watson, the pioneer Presbyterian preacher of this section of the country. They have had five children, Theodore C., Jr., Ada Margarite, James Housmann, Carl Franz and Jean Clarisse.
JOHN W. CURRY. The state of Missouri owes her fame as a region of well tilled farms and fine stock to such men as John W. Curry, a prom- inent farmer and stock-grower of Scotland county. Starting out to make his own way in life a youth of but eighteen years, and with only a modicum of this world's goods as an equipment, by persistent endeavor and good management, Mr. Curry has succeeded in making himself more than independent, and has acquired quite a reputation in his community as a judge of blooded stock.
A native of the county in which he has passed his life, Mr. Curry came into the world in April, 1861. His father, Orville H. Curry, who was born in 1833, in Johnson county, Indiana, was a son of David Curry, who was one of the early settlers of Johnson county, going there from Kentucky, the state of his birth, and settling in the region of the present city of Franklin, Indiana, when the nineteenth century was still in its infancy. Orville Curry was the youngest of the nine children of his parents, all of whom are now dead. He spent his early days in the region where he was born, and he was there married to Miss Rachel C. Harris, who was his junior by five years. She was a native of North Carolina who had come to Indiana with her parents. After her mar- riage the Harris family moved to Iowa and Mr. and Mrs. Curry mi- grated to Scotland county, Missouri, in the year 1856.
When the unhappy struggle between the North and the South com- menced, Orville Curry enlisted in the Missouri Home Guards under
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Capt. I. P. Davis and Colonel Kutzner. He was present at the memor- able killing of the famous guerilla chief, Broomfield, the successor of "Bill" Anderson. After doing duty as a soldier during the war Mr. Curry returned to the farm he had acquired prior to the war period, and there he lived for the remainder of his long and useful life. He proved to be one of the most successful farmers of the community, and before his death, which took place in January, 1906, twenty-one years after his wife had passed to her last rest, he was the owner of more than six hundred and forty acres of fertile land in Scotland county.
Orville H. Curry and his wife became the parents of eleven children, one of that number dying in infancy. The others are as follows : James H., who is now a farmer of Scotland county; Mrs. Martha J. Hoh- stadt, whose home is in Colorado; Mary E., who is the wife of Mr. Ad- ams, a resident of Scotland county ; John W., the subject of this brief review; Margaret E., the wife of Mr. McClellan, a farmer who lives near Granger, Missouri; Charlie A., who passed away in June, 1910, in Eagle county, Colorado, unmarried; Louis H., of Fort Madison, Iowa; Dillard T., who died in 1884, aged twenty-one years; Tisdal E., who lives in Ottumwa, Iowa; and William, who is engaged in agriculture near Downing, Missouri.
Such actual book-learning as John W. Curry secured in his young days came through the avenue of the country schools of his day, and in the schools of nearby towns,-Granger and Arbela. He has never ceased, however, to be a student of affairs, and he had kept himself thor- oughly acquainted with every subject that pertains to his occupation, or to himself as a citizen. He has gained a wealth of practical experi- ence that is possessed by practically very few men, for he was thrown upon his own resources when but eighteen years of age, and by the time he had reached his majority he had already received a fairly thorough training in the "school of hard knocks." When he first commenced to farm, he possessed a tract of forty acres. The next year he added twenty-eight acres to his original property, and he has kept on steadily increasing his holdings until he is today the possessor of three hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive prairie land. Mr. Curry lives on the original forty acres, about two and a half miles northwest of Granger, and about a quarter of a mile distant from his father's old farm, two hundred acres of which he now owns.
A great stockman, Mr. Curry handles only thoroughbred animals. He is the fortunate owner of thirteen head of registered draft Perch- erons, and his large herd of full-blooded Shorthorns is one of the familiar sights of the community. He also owns a drove of fine Shropshire sheep, and specializes in the raising of full-bred, pure strain Poland China hogs.
A Democrat in politics, Mr. Curry has never sought for office, nor has he evinced much active interest in the political field save as his duty as a citizen and a voter requires. He is a valued member of the Methodist church, lending to the work of that congregation his most hearty support. His fraternal affiliations are represented by his mem- bership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
On New Year's day, 1890, Mr. Curry was united in marriage to Miss Mary I. Miller, the daughter of Americus C. Miller, an old resident of Scotland county. Mr. and Mrs. Curry have five children: Carl C., Maud, Clarice J., Ora Miller and Olive Grace.
SAMUEL S. BASSETT. For forty-four years Samuel S. Bassett was an active member of the business and educational circles of Paris, Missouri. Although he has now retired from active life he is still one of the most
S Bassett
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influential men in the community, a man to whom others naturally turn for guidance, partly because of his long experience in the world of men and affairs and partly because he is of that dominant and self reliant character that inspires confidence in everyone. With his means of earn- ing a living snatched away by the exigencies of the Civil war, he was by no means downcast, but quietly set to work to establish himself in some other line of work. IIe had been a teacher, and one does not often asso- ciate teaching with practical business ability, but in this case the success- ful educator became the successful merchant. For years he directed a thriving mercantile business, and the reputation which his honest methods and clean business policies built for him has remained with his sons since they have taken charge of the business.
The birth of Samuel S. Bassett took place on October 29, 1833, near Patrick Court House, Virginia. His grandfather is supposed to have been Burwell Bassett, and his grandmother a Miss Hunter. Burwell Bassett died early in life, leaving the following children: Alexander, who died in Virginia; Martha, who first married a Philpot and then a Morris, and passed her life in Monroe county, Missouri; Burwell, who became a citizen of Monroe county, where he died; and George H., who became one of the prominent agriculturists and stock-raisers in this county, both before and after the war.
George H. Bassett was born in Virginia, near Patrick Court House, in 1806, and after he had received what education the rather primitive schools of his district afforded, he turned his face to the west, and fol- lowing the old emigrant trail, crossed the mountains and making his way across Kentucky, reached St. Louis. From here he took the boat up the river to Hannibal, and finally settled near Madison. He was not a poor settler, who took up a bit of land and by the work of his own hands, cleared it, and after a few years was able to make a livelihood, but he brought with him from his old Virginia home, a number of slaves, and he purchased in Missouri a great tract of land containing more than a thousand acres. His mother came out to live with him a few years after he had established his home in the "Puke Commonwealth." Here he raised grain and tobacco, his plantation being typical of those of old Virginia, and he himself being a typical old Virginia gentleman. Devoted to hunting, he kept a great pack of hounds, and as long as there were any deer within riding distance a deer hunt was with him an annual affair. He was not only a wise and able manager of his planta- tion, but he was also a good business man and he became very prosperous as the years went on. Then came the Civil war, and the loss of his most valuable property, his slaves, for naturally all of his land was quite worthless without labor to work it. In addition to this loss, much other valuable property went into the commissaries of the various military establishments that were located in this locality during the long four years. His sympathies were wholly with the South and he gave two of his sons to the cause, one of whom died while in the service. He was an active church member all of his life, being a follower of Alexander Campbell, and his death occurred just eight days before his eighty- ninth birthday.
On December 6, 1832, George H. Bassett was married to Miss Colum- bia R. Staples, who was born in 1814. They became the parents of eleven children. Samuel S., Burwell B., James J., William H., George H., Thomas E., Powhatan, Tennessee M., Robert H., Alexander M., and Mary, who married Howard Jennings of Moberly, Missouri. William H. was educated in the University of Missouri and promised to become a man of brilliant attainments, entered the Confederate service, where he died at Sarcoxie, before the great war came to a close. Thomas E., who
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accompanied his brother into the army of the Confederacy, passed through safely and is living in Moberly. George H. and William H. are the only deceased members of this family.
Samuel S. Bassett was the eldest, and was only a child of three years when he was brought to Missouri. The first few years of his life were spent in Randolph county, where his father first entered land, but later he came to live in Monroe county. He received a liberal education ; after the completion of his preparatory course, entering the University of Missouri, where he spent three years. He then entered Bethany Col- lege at Bethany, Virginia, of which Alexander Campbell, founder of the church of the Disciples of Christ, was then the head. Here he took his bachelor's and master's degrees, and then returned home to teach for two terms in the district school. At the end of this period of proba- tion he took up more advanced work, becoming head of the Paris Male Academy, at Paris, Missouri, an institution which gave promise of being a great success, and of which he entertained the highest hopes. The outbreak of the Civil war and the demands of the four years following made such inroads upon the students of the school that it was doomed to decay, and so at the end of 1865, Mr. Bassett resigned from the faculty and was forced to turn his attention to making a living in some other
way than the one he had chosen. While a member of the teaching profession he had been active in the work of the profession outside of the school room and had taken an active part in many meetings of the members of the profession, being on the program of a meeting in St. Louis, at which the Hon. Edward Bates, who afterward became attorney general under President Lincoln, presided.
Taking up the search for an occupation Mr. Bassett at length went into the mercantile business in Madison, Missouri, but after a year removed to Paris, and in partnership with Mr. Eubank purchased the oldest mercantile business in the town, that of J. C. Fox. The firm pros- pered and made commercial history for the town, continuing until Mr. Bassett's sons were old enough to aid in the work, when they succeeded Mr. Eubanks and the firm name was changed to Bassett & Sons. Mr. Bassett remained with this famous old firm until forty years had elapsed, and then in 1909, he withdrew and the firm became Bassett Brothers.
The management of his store did not, however, occupy all of his time. As the country developed, Mr. Bassett was ever on the lookout for an opportunity to invest his money, and so when the Fort Scott, Tebeau & Neosho Railroad was being promoted he secured the contract for furnishing the ties and timbers for a few miles of its construction through Monroe county. He was also during this time deeply interested in the affairs of the county schools, for his reputation as a teacher of exceutive ability had brought about his election as county school com- missioner, and he filled this office for six years.
During the Civil war he remained as near neutral as possible, but notwithstanding his attitude, he was arrested and with others, tried, convicted and fined for the appropriation of some kind of property. All of the defendants save himself favored the payment of the fine, but he refused to submit to a punishment for an offense he did not commit, or admit his guilt by the payment of a fine, and consequently he declared his intention of taking the case to a higher court. His col- leagues authorized him to represent them and so he prepared his brief of the case, dictated it to his wife, and offered two solutions of the mat- ter; one a trial by a court of Monroe county ; or, a hearing of the case by a committee of three men, one of whom should be chosen by the gov- ernment. Laying the case in person before Clinton B. Fisk, then mili-
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tary commander at Macon City, the government accepted one of the alternatives, and the case was reheard, resulting in the acquittal of the accused citizens.
In July, 1856, Mr. Bassett married in Paris, Missouri, Miss Fannie T. Giddings. She was a daughter of Honorable W. Braxton Giddings, and a granddaughter of George C. Giddings of Maryland birth. The family was established in Maryland by the father of George C. Giddings, who came south from Massachusetts, his father having settled in the Bay State during colonial days, coming over from England. The father of Mrs. Bassett, W. Braxton Giddings, was born near Winchester, Ken- tucky, and came to Missouri in an early day. He first lived in Fayette, Howard county, but afterwards became a merchant in both Paris and Huntsville. He became a Democrat after leaving the Whig party, and was strongly in sympathy with the South, being a member of the Clabe Jackson legislature at Neosho, during the Civil war. He was married to Miss Mary Buckner, a daughter of Madison Buckner, from Caroline county, Virginia. He and his wife became the parents of five children, as follows: William, who served in the Confederate army, and spent all of his life in Monroe county, leaving a family at his death ; Fannie T., born on February 22, 1837; Thomas M. who died in Monroe county, leaving a family ; James, who is also deceased; and Mollie, who married Tennessee M. Bassett, of Madison, Missouri.
Samuel S. and Fannie Bassett are the parents of the following chil- dren : George B .; Tandy G .; William H., secretary and manager of the Kinlock Telephone Company, at St. Louis and an ex-assistant state treasurer of Missouri; Stella, the widow of Elliot Grimes, who resides in Paris, Missouri: Dr. Frank B .. of Chicago; Mary, the wife of George Dyson, of Rushville, Illinois; and Arthur, who has distinguished him- self in professional life. Mrs. Bassett died January 8, 1913.
It is not surprising that having been under the direct influence of Alexander Campbell, Samuel Bassett should have early identified him- self with the Christian church. He was an elder in the church in Paris for many years and was especially active in the work of the Sunday school, being superintendent for several years.
George B. Bassett, the eldest child of Samnel S. and Fannie Bassett, was born in Paris, Missouri, on the 26th of March, 1857. He was edu- cated in the Paris schools, graduating from them in time, and entering the business world, as a partner of J. W. Mounce, in the lumber business. After two years he and his brother, Tandy G., united forces and bought the interest of Mr. Eubanks of the firm of Bassett & Eubanks. Later on, with the retirement of his father, the management of the business devolved upon his brother and himself and Bassett Brothers became even more popular and successful as the town grew. Of late the third member of the firm has come in, the son of George Bassett, Ray S., and the name has again been changed to Bassett Brothers & Company. On the 18th of March, 1884, George B. Bassett was married to Eliza- beth Davis, a daughter of James B. Davis and a granddaughter of Ben Frank Davis, a pioneer of Monroe county, who came to Missouri from Kentucky. James B. Davis married Louisa Stuart and Mrs. Bassett and two sons, Frank and Fred, are their children. Ray Stuart Bassett is the eldest child of Mr. and Mrs. George B. Bassett. He was born in 1885, and after finishing his school work at home was sent to the Culver military school at Culver, Indiana. Upon his return to Paris he immediately entered into partnership with his father. and has remained in the store ever since. He was married January 13, 1909, at Waterloo, Iowa, to Miss Irene Stevenson, a daughter of a Scotch minister. Their one son is Stuart Bassett. Louise, the second child of
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George Bassett and his wife, was born in 1887 and married Charles Comboy, of Pittsfield, Illinois. They now reside in Quincy, Florida, and have one daughter, Marie, who was graduated from Christian Col- lege, Columbia, Missouri, in 1912. The youngest son of the family, Fred Davis Bassett, was educated in a military school in Booneville, Missouri, and began life as a commercial man. Like his parents George Bassett has always maintained close relations with the Christian church, and for some years has been one of the board of deacons. He is a Democrat in politics, and is a member of no fraternal organizations.
Arthur Bassett, the youngest son of Samuel Bassett, was born in Paris, Missouri, in 1878. He was graduated from the University of Mis- souri and then took a course in the law school of Washington University in St. Louis. He received the appointment of assistant attorney general and was sent to the Philippine Islands, where he remained for three years: At the end of this time he was transferred to China as attorney for the United States court in the Chinese Empire. He served under Judge Wilfley and lived during this time in Shanghai. He resigned his position here to locate in the City of Mexico, where he became a partner of Judge Wilfley in the practice of law, and the secretary of a mining company that owned and operated mines of much importance. Following the massacre of several hundred Chinamen by the followers of Madero the Chinese government placed its claim for indemnity with the law firm of Wilfley & Bassett, and the case has recently been satisfactorily adjusted with the Mexican government. Mr. Bassett married Miss Lucile Westbrook, of Lorena, Texas.
JOHN SHERWOOD HARRISON. Inheriting the abilities of a long line of agriculturists and stock raisers, John Sherwood Harrison, of Aux- vasse, is one of the leading men in his chosen field of operation within the limits of Callaway county, and has proved his right to be so named by his activities during a long period of years. He was born in Calla- way county, Missouri, November 1, 1851, and belongs to an old and hon- ored family whose members are known in the military and civil life, in business and especially in agricultural pursuits.
Samuel Harrison, the father of John Sherwood Harrison, was born in Saline county, Missouri, March 10, 1823, and his first serious em- ployment as a lad was in driving a drove of mules across the country to Connecticut, the first mules to be taken to New England, a Missouri mule at that time being a great curiosity to the people of the East. This trip consumed fifty-two days on the road, a Mr. Barnes being Mr. Harrison's partner, and they subsequently engaged in driving mules to the South. When the war started, Samuel Harrison was active in helping his neighbors who were leaving for the scene of hostilities, his coat going to one, his horse to another, and his various possessions being freely donated in behalf of the Confederate government. A friend who had his lands confiscated received much help at the hands of Samuel Harrison and his relatives. Frank Harrison, a brother of Samuel, served in the Confederate army. After the draught of 1881, Samuel Harrison distributed two car-loads of corn to his neiglibors for seed, with the pro- vision that those who were so assisted should pay when they were able, and it spoke well for the honesty of the community that all but $50 of this sum was paid in later years. Twenty-three families were thus sus- tained, and many also depended upon him for meat, as well as for the grain for their stock, and he frequently served as administrator and guardian, making absolutely no charge for his services. From 1889 to 1893 he was a member of the board of managers of the insane hospital
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at Fulton, was instrumental in starting the first store building in Aux- vasse, and was for twelve years president of the Auxvasse bank. On November 8, 1848, he was married to Mary Elizabeth Maddox, who died sixteen years later, a sister of Catherine, wife of Thomas Harrison, who died July 3, 1840, at the age of seventy-five years. Samuel Harrison died October 15, 1904, on the farm on which he had lived ever since his marriage. He had a scholarship in William Woods College, in which he educated an invalid niece, and while acting as guardian, reared two of his wards on his farm without remuneration of any kind. An elder in the Auxvasse Christian church for many years, he helped to build and sustain various other churches no matter of what creed or color. From Mexico to Fulton, Mr. Harrison's advice was sought in matters of an agricultural and stock raising nature, but he always put himself in the background, although his few modest and unassuming words always carried great weight and influence. At one time he was owner of 1,880 acres of land, and was looked upon as the father of the city of Auxvasse, whose interests he always held at heart. His wife passed away July 3, 1864, having been the mother of the following children : Adeline, who married Hillary Langtry, of Callaway county, and died at the age of twenty-five years; John Sherwood; America A., who married Carl C. Cunningham, of Audrain county; and Mary Re- becca, who married William Shields Cagett, of Kansas City, Missouri.
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