A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 4

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. His wife was Elizabeth Alford, a sister of Capt. Thompson Alford, of Vandalia. George W. Waters, another son of Polly Waters, who died in Hope, Arkansas, about the year 1907, is deserving of con- siderable credit as the man who first suggested the use of the road drag, although he has suffered the injustice of having his ideas attributed to others. The other four children whom the first Mrs. George Waters bore, are Nancy J., who married Thompson Briggs, and later a Mr. Samuels of Monroe county, Missouri, and died at Perry, Ralls county ; Sallie Ann, who married Baker Harris, and passed her life in Tennessee, the old home of her father; Julia, who married Cortez Jackson, at Louisiana, Missouri, and was living in Denver, Colorado, at the time of her last illness; Mary, who was married in Tennessee to George Waters, and who passed away near Lebanon, Tennessee.

After the death of Polly Clark Waters, George Waters married Mary Coontz. Mary Coontz Waters was born in Jefferson county, Vir- ginia, in the year 1817, October 18th. Shortly afterward the Coontz family moved to Ohio, where they remained until 1830, in which year they came to Missouri, and settled near Salt River, in Ralls county. The marriage of George Waters and Mary Coontz Waters was blessed with five children : Emily, who was born in 1850, and who died in Ralls county, near Spaulding, having been the wife of H. C. Wilson, an ex-Confederate soldier; Edwin C .; Irene, who married H. W. Ogle, ex-county col- lector of Ralls county, and is still living near Spaulding, Ralls county ; Cornelia, who married J. F. Poore and died in Audrain county in 1882; and Dianna, who married W. Harry Cummins of Perry. She died in Vandalia, Missouri, in 1909. Mrs. Mary Waters died in 1858, October 20th, some time before her husband, whose burial place is in Olivet cem- etery near Center, Missouri.

The public schools of the vicinity of his home, as well as a private institution in his native county gave young Edwin C. Waters his early education. During the years 1872, 1873, and 1874, he attended the State University of Missouri, where he rounded out the cultivation of his mind by the pursuance of those courses most likely to be of assistance to him in his future life. After leaving college, he taught school for a time, and then took up the pursuit of agriculture in Audrain county, remaining upon the farm until 1886, in which year he received the ap- pointment to the postmastership of Vandalia. At the close of his term as postmaster, he remained in Vandalia, engaging in business pursuits until the year 1905, when he returned to farming, although still keeping Vandalia as his place of residence.

Mr. Waters evidenced his political aptitude early, and received many signal honors. He was a member of county, state and congressional con- ventions on various occasions, and served as a member of the Demo- cratic Central Committee. In 1892, he was a delegate to the state con- vention in Sedalia at which the greatest fight ever fought over platform in any Missouri convention was waged. On this occasion he helped greatly in making the Democratic platform. In 1908 he was elected to represent his county in the state legislature, and re-elected 1910, a crowning glory to a career of political usefulness. Mr. Waters' public work has not, however, been confined to state and county activities. He has served as mayor of Vandalia and has held other important city offices. Outside of the world of politics, his interest in the welfare of the community at large is shown by the fact that he served as a member of the board of managers of the Missouri School for the Blind.

On September 18, 1879, Mr. Waters was united in wedlock with Mattie J. Poore, in Audrain county, near Vandalia. Mrs. Waters was the daughter of Robert S. and America (Wilson) Poore. Robert Poore

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came from Virginia, and his wife was a native of Lincoln county, Mis- souri. They came to Pike county, where Mattie was born on January 20, 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Waters have had six children, two of whom are now deceased. The surviving offspring are Royal M., who was born January 20, 1883, and now lives on a farm south of Vandalia, with his wife, who was Harriet Kennedy, of Vandalia, and his three children, George Melvin, Mary Florence, and Virginia Lee; Bertha, who was born November 10, 1885, and is unmarried; Adah, whose natal day was May 25, 1890, and who is also single; Edwin C., Jr., whose birth occurred January 21, 1892, and now with the Dye Mercatine Company of Vandalia.

LILY LA MOYNE HERALD FROST. Although the Herald family is among the oldest in the history of the United States, the first American representative having come over from England with General Braddock's troops, through unfortunate events the early records of the family have been lost, so that it is impossible to give in this connection any details of the early establishment of the family in the colonies, interesting as they would of a certainty be to the reader, and important as they are in the preparation of an adequate and suitable sketch. It is known, how- ever, that the family first settled in Virginia, and that in later years they became established in Kentucky, which state represented the family home for a number of generations.

Mrs. Lily La Moyne Herald Frost was born on the 24th day of December, 1866, in Fidelity, Illinois, and she is the daughter of George Washington and Nancy Elizabeth (Richardson) Herald. The father who was the son of George and Lucinda (Allison) Herald, and was born near Paducah, Kentucky, on December 10, 1832, was for many years one of the country educators of the state of Missouri, his activities in the work being confined chiefly to the counties of Boone, Audrain and Platte. He later studied medicine, graduating from the Missouri Medi- cal College and later from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, both these institutions being located in St. Louis. He was a participant in the Civil war, his interests and activities being with the Confederacy and he served as sergeant major of Extra Battalion Cavalry, Fourth Military district of Missouri Guards, with General Sterling Price in command. He was at Vicksburg and saw his full share of active ser- vice being in the thick of the fight in many famous battles of the war. He twice suffered capture, but went through the war without injury. He married Miss Nancy Elizabeth Richardson in the early 'sixties while he was teaching school in Boone county, near Sturgeon. He made his home in Saline county from 1870 until about 1894, when he went to Bowie, Texas, where he died in August, 1910. He was a Democrat and a member of the Baptist church. His wife was the daughter of L. and Jane (Jones) Richardson, the latter being the daughter of Mosias Jones, one of the old pioneers of Boone county.

Mrs. Frost, of this review, and the daughter of the parents above mentioned in detail, was educated in the schools of her native town and in Hardin College, at Mexico, Missouri. Upon the conclusion of her college career, she married Frank Newman Frost, the marriage occurring on April 19, 1887. She had met Mr. Frost in Mexico while attending Hardin College, he being editor of the Mexico Daily Intelli- gencer. This marriage opened the way for the larger development of a strong inclination toward newspaper work, and the young wife was a constant contributor to the paper of which her husband was editor. In 1893 Mr. Frost purchased the Vandalia Leader, at Vandalia, Missouri, and there she became a most efficient helper, notwithstanding her ever

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increasing duties to her home, church and society. The death of Mr. Frost on May 6, 1907, further tested the mettle of his widow, and she made manifest her splendid capacity for newspaper work by assuming full charge of the paper, maintaining to the full its political force as a Democratic organ, and not alone that, but developing and broadening its financial strength in a remarkable degree. It has continued under her guiding hand to be one of the leading Democratic papers in northern Missouri, as well as one of the greatest stability.

Mrs. Frost affiliates with the Baptist church, and is a leading spirit in the club life of the city. To her must be accorded the credit for the organization of the Cosmos Club of Vandalia,-one of the foremost clubs in this section of the state, and it was she who took the initiative and set upon foot the movement which eventually led to the establishing of the Vandalia Public Library. Thus, in various ways, she has repeatedly demonstrated her exceptional capacity for good work in the best inter- ests of the city, and she has, by the force of her own splendid character, inspired activity in the lives of others which has led to worthy service along lines of civic improvement.

Frank Newman Frost was born in Ravenswood, West Virginia, on the 14th day of December, 1855, and was the son of William P. and Martha (Snodgrass) Frost, born in 1821 and 1826, respectively. The mother was a representative of a family of large means. She was a woman of broad culture and of splendid mental attainments, and her son, Frank, inherited her mentality in no small degree. He was edu- cated in the public schools of Mexico and finished his education at Jack- sonville and Springfield, Illinois. He was a most capable newspaper man, fitted to the work in every way, and was a writer of great strength, concise, brilliant or caustic, as the spirit moved him. He was one of the nine children of his parents, who moved to Mexico, Missouri, from West Virginia, during the 'forties. The father, William P. Frost, died some fifteen years ago, while the mother still lives, at the age of eighty- seven years. William P. Frost was for years, or practically all his life, engaged in the newspaper business, and during the war in a raid upon Mexico Union soldiers destroyed his plant, throwing all his type in the well as a quick means of effectually getting rid of it. He was an ardent Democrat, as might be expected.

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Newman Frost became the parents of four children, as follows : Frances, born March 24, 1888; Herald, born Decem- ber 31, 1889; Phyllis, born August 1, 1896; Charlotte, born July 14, 1898. The three daughters make their home with their mother, and the son is in the newspaper business with his mother. He spent the years from July, 1907, to July, 1912, in the United States Navy, going with the fleet on its famous trip around the world.

H. PINCKNEY FRENCH, cashier of the Bank of Martinsburg, Missouri, and a man of prominence in his community, owes his success in life no more. perhaps, to his enterprise, energy and perseverance, than he does to his remarkable ability to make and keep warm friends. During the ten years that he has acted in his present capacity at Martinsburg, Mr. French has gained the full confidence and esteem not only of the bank's depositors but of the community at large, and in financial circles has a reputation for ability of the highest order. He is a native of this city, having been born here May 26, 1875, and is a son of E. P. and Louise (Hatchett) French. His father was born in Christian county, Ken- tucky, from whence he came to the state of Missouri as a young man, locating in Martinsburg in 1868. where he was married to Miss Louise Hatchett, April 14, 1874. There he spent the remainder of his life,

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following various pursuits of a business nature, and being proprietor of a successful mercantile establishment and an officer of the Martinsburg Bank. He was well and prominently known, and no man stood higher in public esteem. His death occurred in April, 1912, at his handsome home in the city. Mrs. Louise (Hatchett) French was born in Missouri, moving from Montgomery county to Martinsburg with her parents when she was a child. Her death occurred in January, 1908. They had only one child, H. Pinckney.

H. Pinckney French received excellent educational advantages, at- tending first the public schools of Martinsburg, and later the military academy at Mexico, Missouri, from which he was duly graduated. Fol- lowing this he took a course in telegraphy, and on mastering that voca- tion worked for two years as an operator in the employ of the Wabash Railroad. At that time he turned his attention to banking matters, having been offered the cashiership of the Martinsburg Bank, a solid old institution which had been organized some nine years before. Here he has continued to attend to his duties to the present time. The Martins- burg Bank has increased its business extensively during the past ten years, and much of the credit for the material growth of its deposits may be accredited to the efforts of Mr. French, whose courteous, accomo- dating manner has attracted patrons from the surrounding country.

On April 28, 1901, Mr. French was married to Miss Leta Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Johnson, of Martinsburg, who still reside here, and to this union there have come three children: Clark, who was born in 1902; Leta, born in 1903; and Edward Pinckney in 1912. Mr. French has interested himself in fraternal matters, belong- ing to the Elks lodge at Mexico; the Masonic blue lodge at this place, the chapter at Wellsville, and the Commandery at Mexico.

EDWARD CASH LEMON. The Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Van- dalia is an enterprise of which every citizen of the hustling city may well be proud. It was organized in 1897 by Fred Reid and Harvey Coons-the second bank to be started in the city. At that time, the capital stock was $25,000, and J. R. Bonderant was president, J. T. Williams, vice-president, and W. L. Wright, secretary. Now after fifteen years during which the bank has always paid good dividends, there is a surplus of $5,000 in its coffers, and it continues to do a most prosperous business. The years, however, have effected some changes in the officials. J. P. Alford is the present president of the institution, Mr. Williams is still vice-president, and Edward C. Lemon, the subject of this history, is the cashier.

Edward Cash Lemon not only holds a prominent position in the financial world of Vandalia, but is also the descendant of men who made their influence felt in the past in the locality in which their pos- terity now lives. His grandfather was Jacob Lemon, who was born in Kentucky in 1776, and moved to Missouri early in the nineteenth cen- tury. He settled on the site of the town now known as Bowling Green, and is said to be the man who gave that place its name. He passed his life farming in Pike county, in later days moving from his first home at Bowling Green to a place in the vicinity of Curryville. He was very successful in his undertakings, amassing considerable land and a num- ber of slaves. His influence was felt in various ways in Pike county. Although he was not an aspirant for public office, he was known to be a stanch Democrat, always doing his duty as a voter. In church work he was of the most prominent. He was one of the pioneers who helped to organize and build the first Cumberland Presbyterian church at Mount Ayr, Missouri.

John Faufiler.

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Before he left Kentucky, Mr. Lemon was married twice. His first wife, whose name is not known, bore him four children: Thomas G., James H., Margaret Ann, and Rebecca Ann. His second wife was Anne Steward of Bowling Green, Kentucky. She bore him thirteen children, two of whom died in infancy. The others are as follows: Mary Jane, Lucretia, Robert, Elizabeth, Surlina V., Susan A., Orelia A., Joseph R., Jacob V., John N., George W. Jacob Lemon died on May 12, 1857, on his farm in Pike county. Anne, his wife, died in Bowie, Texas, in the seventies.

Joseph Rice Lemon, the father of Edward C. Lemon, was born in 1838, on the 12th of September, near Bowling Green, Missouri. He spent his youth and early manhood on his father's farm, remaining there until a year or so subsequent to Jacob Lemon's demise. At that time he moved onto some land which he bought in Ralls county, about three and one-half miles north of Vandalia. There he lived quietly until 1911, when he moved into Vandalia, giving up the active work of the farm. In addition to his Ralls county property, he also owns a farm in Pike county, near Elk Lick Springs. He stands by the beliefs of his father both in politics and religion.

On November 29, 1859, Joseph Lemon was united in the holy bonds of matrimony with Nancy J. Neel, the daughter of Wilburn and Susan Butler Neel. Mrs. Lemon was born in 1838, near Spencersburg, Pike county, Missouri, and died on November 29, 1895, in Ralls county, hav- ing been the mother of four children, Alfonso V., Pinkney K., Edward Cash, and Sampye A., who now lives at Joplin. Joseph Lemon was mar- ried a second time in 1897, to Nannie A. Butler, the daughter of Hazel Wood, and the widow of Frank Butler, by whom she had three children, Austin, Mira, and Tildy Butler. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lemon have had no children.

His father's farm in Ralls county was the scene of the birth of Edward Cash Lemon, on November 6, 1875. The boy Edward attended the district schools and later attended business college at Holton, Mis- souri, for two years. He did not, however, seek any occupation other than that offered on his father's farm, until 1903. In that year, he moved to Vandalia, where he built a home in the north part of the city. For three years he was engaged in the grocery business with his brother, A. B. Lemon, but at the end of that time, decided that he would go into business for himself, and chose the real estate field as a promising one. At present, although his cashiership consumes a good part of his time, he is still interested in the buying and selling of land.

Mr. Lemon was married August 8, 1900, to Sallie Moss, who was born on the 8th of February, 1878, the daughter of William and Eliza- beth Bank Moss, residents of Ralls county. Mr. and Mrs. Lemon have one child, Lora Vivian, who was born November 14, 1902.

Although Mr. Lemon still clings to the political faith of his fathers, and pays allegiance to the Democratic party, he is not a member of the church in the work of which his grandfather was so prominent, but he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. Mr. Lemon. belongs to two fraternal organizations, the Knights of Pythias, and the Modern Woodmen.

JOHN FAESSLER, JR. When a life full of years and usefulness comes to its close, it is but fitting that a record should be made of those events and characteristics which made the life successful and made its end- ing a sorrow to those who value the best and noblest qualities among their associates. In the death of John Faessler, Jr., Moberly lost one of its most energetic and public-spirited citizens and a business man

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whose career added to the prestige of northeastern Missouri's indus- tries. Coming to this country from Switzerland, with trained experi- ence to guide his efforts he entwined his active energies with the very life of the growing town, and helped the community in a degree that in these later days of organized effort few individuals can hope to equal, in the meantime accumulating a handsome competency. There have been business men who have been spoiled by prosperity, but Mr. Faessler was not one of them. He remained to the end the kindly, genial, unassuming man he was at the beginning of his career. He made friends in his business life and out of it and kept them. John Faessler was born July 25, 1838, in Switzerland, and was a son of John and Anna Katherine Faessler, natives of that country who came to the United States not long after their marriage, settling in St. Louis, Missouri, where they both died.

The oldest of his parents' nine children, John Faessler received a common school education in his native country, and at the age of nine- teen years emigrated to the United States, for a time attending the public schools of St. Louis. A machinist by trade, he followed that vocation in St. Louis for a number of years, but in 1867 came to Moberly, where he was employed in the machine shops of the Wabash Railroad, rising to the position of foreman, and continuing with the same company until 1887. In that year was formed the J. Faessler Manufacturing Company, the members being Mr. Faessler and his sons, who still conduct the business. Gifted with ability, shrewdness and good judgment, Mr. Faessler occupied an important position among the business men of Moberly, and built up an enterprise that was known throughout the state for the excellence of its product and the thorough integrity of its head official. He belonged to the A. F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F., in the work of both of which he took a great interest. In political matters he supported the candidates and prin- ciples of the Republican party, but outside of a good citizen's interest, paid little attention to matters of a political nature.

On October 7, 1877, Mr. Faessler was united in marriage with Miss Christina Klore, who was born in Baden, Germany, daughter of George Jacob and Christina Klore, natives of the Fatherland, who came to the United States in 1858 and first located in Chicago, Illinois. Subse- quently they removed to Decatur, Illinois, where both passed away. They had a family of several children. Mr. and Mrs. Faessler had three children: J. W., who is married and resides in Moberly ; Louis E., still living at home with his mother; and Lula M., wife of Harry B. Gilfillan, of Moberly. Mr. Faessler passed away March 9, 1899, in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. His widow is now a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church.

HON. WILLIAM GREEN MCCUNE. No man can attain the honor of occupying the highest office within the gift of a municipality unless he is possessed of more than the average executive ability and is capable of making his efforts count for something. Those who have had an exten- sive business experience generally make the best public officials, for indi- viduals who have proved successful in the handling of their own affairs can as a rule be counted upon to be capable of managing the large inter- ests of a city. The Hon. William Green McCune, mayor of Vandalia, Missouri, whose sound, business-like administration is winning universal approbation, has had a wide experience as a farmer and stock-raiser, and has also gained a position of prominence in financial circles, being vice-president of the Vandalia Banking Association. He was born An-

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gust 22, 1856, on the old home farm in Pike county, Missouri, and is a son of John and Louisa (Tapley) McCune.

John McCune was born near Elk Lick, in Pike county, April 22, 1827, and during the greater part of his life was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He assisted in the organization of the Farmers' Bank, of Bowling Green, and was president thereof at the time of his death, hav- ing developed it into one of the leading financial institutions of North- eastern Missouri. For a period covering something like twenty years he acted as county judge of Pike county, at all times upholding the dignity of the bench. He died November 23, 1891, and was buried at Mount Ayr church, near the old homestead in Pike county. He was married to Louisa Tapley, who was born in 1832, in Pike county, near Frankfort, Ralls county, and she died October 15, 1903, and was buried beside her husband. They had a family of nine children, as follows: Hannah, de- ceased, who married W. J. Wright, now a resident of Pike county ; Wil- liam Green; Neppie, who married R. J. Shell, and resides at Carstaris, Alberta, Canada; Guy, ex-county judge, extensive land owner and finan- cier of Andrain county ; Ollie, who married George Gill, of St. Louis; John S., cashier of the Bank of Laddonia, who married Maggie Shaw ; Jeff T., cashier of the Farmers' Bank of Bowling Green, who married Ella Price; Joseph, who is single and lives on the old homestead in Pike county ; and Lula, who married George Price, engaged in the grocery business in Vandalia. John McCune was one of the largest land holders in this section of Missouri, and cultivated his property for many years with slave labor. His politics were those of the Democratic party, and religiously he was affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterian church.

William Green McCune received his education in the public schools of Pike county, and McGee College, in Macon county, Missouri, after leaving which he continued to remain on the home farm, assisting his father, until he was nineteen years of age, at that time embarking in agricultural pursuits on his own account, on a tract of 560 acres just east of Vandalia, on the county line of Audrain and Pike counties. On November 27, 1889, he was married to Belle Sisson, born in June, 1858, near Bowling Green, Missouri, daughter of William and Mary (Brown) Sisson. After his marriage, Mr. McCune continued to reside on his farm until February, 1905, at which time he moved to Vandalia and imme- diately interested himself in the city government. A stalwart Democrat in his political proclivities, Mr. McCune was elected mayor of Vandalia, and has proven one of the best officials the city has known. An excel- lent business man himself, he has endeavored to conduct the city's business along the lines of sound principle, and his success has been remarkable. Among numerous other improvements may be mentioned the paving of fourteen blocks of the city's streets. He is still interested in farming and stock-raising, and is vice-president of the Vandalia Banking Association.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 4

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