A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 5

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

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HON. GUY MCCUNE. Although a resident of Vandalia for only five years, Hon. Guy McCune is widely known in business and financial cir- cles of the city, and is also recognized as one of the leading public men of Audrain county, where he has served capably as a member of the county bench. In addition he has been heavily interested in farming and stock raising, and is one of the largest land owners in this part of the state. Mr. McCune belongs to an old and honored family of north- eastern Missouri, and was born on the old McCune family homestead in Pike county, midway between Curryville and Frankfort, October 16, 1858, a son of John and Louisa (Tapley) McCune.

John McCune was also a native of Pike county, having been born

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near Elk Lake, April 22, 1827. During the greater part of his life he was engaged in agricultural pursuits, but he also devoted a great deal of attention to financial matters and was one of the organizers of the Farmers' Bank, of Bowling Green, of which he was president at the time of his death, having developed it into one of the most substantial banking institutions in the northeastern part of Missouri. For a period covering something like twenty years he acted in the capacity of county judge of Pike county, at all times displaying abilities of the highest order, and having a comprehensive conception of the responsibilities of his high office. His politics were those of the Democratic party, and religiously he was connected with the Cumberland Presbyterian church, being at all times active and liberal in its support. Prior to the Civil war he cultivated his broad acres with slave labor, and was considered one of the heaviest land holders in northeastern Missouri. His death occurred November 23, 1891, and burial was made at the old Mount Arrarat church, near the family homestead in Pike county. Judge Mc- Cune was married to Louisa Tapley, who was born in 1832, in Pike county, but near Frankfort, Ralls county, and she died October 15, 1903, and was buried beside her husband. They had a family consisting of nine children, namely : Hannah, deceased, who married W. J. Wright, now a resident of Pike county; William Green, mayor of Vandalia, farmer and stock raiser, and vice-president of the Vandalia Banking Association ; Neppie, who married R. J. Shell, and resides at Carstaris, Alberta, Canada; Guy; 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, Missouri, who married Ella Price; Joseph, who is single and lives on the old home- stead farm in Pike county ; and Lula, the youngest, who married George Price, one of the leading grocery merchants of Vandalia.

After completing his preliminary studies in the public schools of Pike county, Guy McCune entered an academy at Spencersburg, Mis- souri, and when he had graduated therefrom returned to the home farm and assisted his father until he was twenty years of age. At that time he was given a farm of 400 acres adjoining the tract of his brother, William G., by his father, and to this he has added from time to time until he now is one of the largest landholders in the state. In politics he is a Democrat, and has served as school director of his district for a number of years, in addition to which he has acted capably in the capac- ity of county judge of Audrain county. Fraternally, he is connected with the Odd Fellows, and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. For some time he was cashier of the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank, of which he is at this time a director, and he is also interested in the Vandalia Banking Association. In 1907 he erected a handsome modern home in Vandalia, and since that time has made his home in the city, where he has many warm friends and admirers.

On January 22, 1889, Mr. McCune was united in marriage with Miss Fannie Shaw, who was born August 19, 1867, in Pike county, Missouri, daughter of John and Maggie (Wright) Shaw, pioneers of the county. Two children have been born to this union: Villa Guy, born March 29, 1890, who is attending Randolph-Macomb Women's College; and Maggie Geneva, born February 24, 1893, a member of the literary department, Missouri State University, class of 1913.

JAMES G. MCCUNE. During all the years that there have been McCunes in Pike county and other portions of eastern Missouri, the fam- ily has been of great influence in every line of action-business, politics, and religion. James G. McCune, a man prominent in the banking

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circles of Vandalia, is one of the members of this respected family, and has achieved prominence in his community as did his father and his grandfather before him. Mr. McCune was born on the 13th of May, 1857, on the old McCune homestead. His father was Charles S. Mc- Cune, a man of much note in his section of the state.

Charles S. McCune was the son of "Billy" MeCune, whose father, John McCune, came to Missouri from Kentucky in the earliest pioneer days. John McCune settled on Peno creek at the upper end of Pike county in the neighborhood of what is now known as McCune Station, there laying the foundation of the family in what was then almost untouched wilderness. He had five sons all of whom did hun great credit. These were "Jack" McCune, who became known up and down the Mississippi river as one of the biggest steamboat men of St. Louis; Huey, who went to California in the general exodus of forty-nine, and remained in that state; Harvey, who gave his life at Springfield, Missouri, in the service of the Lost Cause; Joseph, who spent his life at the old homestead ; and William, more familiarly known as "Billy."

"Billy" McCune, when it came his turn to make his way in the world, settled on the western edge of Pike county, on Spencer creek, and there remained during the rest of his life, engaged in farming and stock raising on a large scale. He married Nancy Guy, and died at the age of sixty, leaving a family. Those of his sons to reach maturity were five in number. They included John McCune, who did good service as judge of the Pike county court, and Charles S. McCune, who was the father of the subject of this brief history.

On the 10th of February, 1829, Charles S. McCune was born on his father's farm on Spencer creek. When he was twenty-one years of age, he followed the lure of gold to the California gold fields driving a mule- team across the prairies. Some success attended his efforts at mining, and he returned home via Panama, to settle again in his native haunts. Soon after his establishment in the locality of his birth, in the year 1852. he was married to Virginia Tapley, a daughter of the old Tapley family which migrated to Pike county from Virginia. At the time of her mar- riage, Mrs. McCune was only seventeen years of age, and she and her husband enjoyed a long wedded life together, having been married al- most sixty years at the time of Mr. McCune's death, which occurred on the 5th of August, 1911, when he was eighty-two years of age. As they had not been separated in life, Mr. and Mrs. McCune were not long separated in death, for she followed her husband to the last resting place on June 24, 1912.

When Mr. MeCune the elder died, he left behind him a very large estate. He had received a portion of the old homestead from his father, and using this as a nucleus, he had accumulated from twelve to fifteen hundred acres of land, all by his own untiring effort, in the locality of his birth. In addition to this, he had acquired some land in Ralls county. On the Pike county property he had erected a fine brick house-one of the handsomest in that section of Missouri. The brick and lime for the structure were burned right on the farm, and are of the best possible quality. Part of his land he had devoted to raising crops, but a large portion was devoted to stock-principally mules, as a grower, feeder and shipper of which animals, he achieved some well-deserved prominence.

Not only as an agriculturalist and stock man was Mr. McCune noted in his community. A slave holder before the war, and an earnest sym- pathizer with the South during the struggle, the losses of property he sustained before peace was declared did not help to lessen the strength of his political belief, and he remained an ardent Democrat all his life, and one who made his influence felt throughout Pike county. The

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strength of his example was also felt in religious affairs. Both he and his wife were members of the Mt. Ayr Presbyterian church, which is situated in Pike county north of Curryville. Of this church his brother Guy also was a member, serving as an elder in the congregation for fifty years. In financial circles, Mr. McCune gained some prestige as presi- dent of the Bank of Frankford, Missouri, which institution he was in- strumental in founding. Accordingly, having been known in almost every field of activity in his county and neighborhood, the death of Charles S. McCune left a gap not easily filled.

Of the six sons that were born to Mr. and Mrs. McCune, only two reached maturity. These are Jeff Davis McCune, who now lives on the old homestead in the brick house which his father built, and James G. McCune, the subject of this short history.

James G. McCune entered this world on the 13th of May, 1857, as mentioned above. He grew to manhood on the farm of his father, enter- ing the State University of Missouri at the early age of sixteen. After three years spent in that institution, he entered the bank at Frankford, as its cashier. His health failing, he moved to Vandalia with his father, and is now a prominent personage in banking circles, being one of the six directors of the Vandalia Banking Association. Besides his banking interests, Mr. McCune gives considerable attention to farming, on prop- erty in Ralls county which he received from his father. By inheritance, he is a Democrat in politics, and a Presbyterian in religion, and adheres faithfully to the best principles of party and church in matters of tem- poral and spiritual welfare.

On June 8, 1905, Mr. McCune was united in the bonds of matrimony with Mary L. Middleton, of Audrain county, the daughter of W. B. Middleton, of Kentucky. Mr. Middleton was also, like the father of Mr. McCune, a "forty-niner," crossing the plains to California. He died in Audrain county, in the year 1880. Mrs. Kate Middleton, the mother of Mrs. McCune, who died at Vandalia in 1907, had some inter- esting experiences during her long life. She was one of twenty-eight persons to emigrate from Pennsylvania in 1837. These included William Sox, William Mervine, Timothy Barney, Conrad Enslen, Jake Herlinger, the father of Mrs. Middleton, and others, with their wives and families. During their long journey westward, the Pennsylvanians met three hun- dred Indians en route for Washington to get paid for their lands, but they were not molested, and proceeded in safety to the Missouri river. They drove one day after crossing the river, and then, finding good land, wood and water, they settled seven miles southwest of New London, in Ralls county. Two years later they all moved to Audrain county, to a point on Cuivre creek, about eight miles north of Wellsville, and the same distance south of the present site of Vandalia.

At the time of coming to Missouri, Mrs. Middleton, who was the oldest child of Jake Herlinger, was just two and one-half years old, so she grew up in the early pioneer atmosphere, for the part of Missouri to which the Pennsylvanians came was totally unsettled until their advent. In 1844, Jake Herlinger, not knowing anything of farming, since he was a tailor by trade, left the little community in Audrain county, and moved to Ralls county, to a point on the Salt river one and one-half miles east of New London. There he operated a ferry, which paid him so well that he was enabled to buy two stores in New London. Eight years after this, in 1854, the mother having died, the family returned to Audrain county, and settled near the site of the Mt. Carmel church.

In 1856, Kate was married to W. B. Middleton, who a few years before had crossed the plains to California in company with Brad Crow, of

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Bowling Green, and others. He returned from the west via sea to New York. On arriving in his home community, he settled on land near Mt. Carmel. He paid a dollar and a quarter per acre for his land, which at the present time is worth seventy-five dollars an acre. His parents having died while he was in the west, he took his two brothers and his sister to raise. His sister afterward became Mrs. Betty Pharr; one of his brothers, Joe, spent his life as a farmer in the vicinity of Vandalia, and the other was the Rev. George Middleton, a Presbyterian minister, who died several years since. The nine children of Mr. and Mrs. Middleton are as follows : Ferris, Will, Mrs. Laura French, Mrs. Fannie Stewart, Joe, A. J., Mrs. Mollie McCune, and Ephraim.

Previous to her death, Mrs. Middleton liked to look back over her ex- periences of pioneer days, and related many of the circumstances nar- rated above to her children. Among the things that stood out most strongly in her mind was the fact that the religious people of early times were not worldly. She said that they were not as fond of dress as the people of the present day, and that they showed, on the whole, a much more devotional and truly religious spirit than modern Christians exhibit.

Mr. and Mrs. McCune are happy in the possession of twin girls, born November 5, 1908. Of these, one bears the name of her maternal grand- mother, Catherine, and the other is called Virginia, after her grand- mother McCune.

DAVID P. DANIELS. The occupation of dairying is a profitable one if carried on in a scientific manner, and as it is so closely allied to the busi- ness of farming, the two are conducted together by many of the lead- ing farmers of northeastern Missouri. One who has met with more than ordinary success in this branch of agricultural work is David P. Daniels, proprietor of the old Kirkland farm, located three miles southwest of Vandalia, in Audrain county, which was the first property to be cul- tivated on the prairie. Mr. Daniels, who is a veteran of the Civil war, has been a farmer throughout his career, and the greater part of his life has been spent in Missouri. He was born in Pike county, Illinois, May 14, 1846, and there was engaged in working on the home farm until his enlistment, in the spring of 1865, at the time of President Lincoln's last call for troops. He was mustered out under the first order of dis- charge of convalescents, being in the hospital when the company went to join the Forty-seventh Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but was honorably discharged just before the assassination of President Lin- coln. He was married in 1867 to Miss Lucinda Jeffers, of Pike county, Illinois, and continued to farm in the Prairie State until 1871, in that year coming to Missouri and settling in Ralls county. In 1880 he pur- chased the old Kirkland farm, located three miles southwest of Van- dalia, the first farm to be settled on the prairie, its original owner com- ing here about 1850. 'The property was widely known in former years, its owner, Mr. Kirkland, operating a blacksmith shop which was the only one for miles around, and the plowshares that turned most of the prairie sod were sharpened here. Its high hedge was a landmark that could be seen for many miles in every direction. Mr. Kirkland met his death when his horses ran away and he was severely cut in a reaper, about the year 1872.

Mr. Daniels was fortunate in securing his land, 160 acres, at $5.50 per acre, for but about two years later land was selling in the vicinity for $30 an acre, and is now valued at $100 an acre. On his property may be found buildings of modern material and architecture, compar- ing strikingly with the old frame buildings of pioneer days, built of Vel. III-3

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heavy sawed timber, with heavy nails that had been made in Kirkland's blacksmith shop. Mr. Daniels came to this property about the time of the last cattle herding here. He has carried on general farming and stock raising, but has made a specialty, during the last twelve years, of dairy keeping, and has fifteen to twenty cows of thoroughbred Guern- sey stock. He makes butter for regular customers, and has built up a large and lucrative trade, the excellence of his product having gained him customers throughout this part of the county. A large, modern silo is located on the farm, and another modern improvement to be found is a high power gas engine, which simplifies much farm labor.

Water in abundance is furnished for all purposes by a 250-foot well. Mr. Daniels is considered one of the leading farmers of his section, and certain it is that he has accomplished much since coming to Audrain county, not only in accumulating a competence in a material way, but in gaining and retaining the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens. In his political views he is a Republican, but has not been interested in public matters to the extent of entering the arena as a candidate. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, at Vandalia, while fraternally he is affiliated with the Masons.

Mr. Daniels has two sons Marcellus M., who has been assistant post- master at Vandalia for twelve years; and Frank A., who is in partner- ship with his father in the stock and dairy business, a graduate of the State Agricultural College, with a wide and practical experience as a butter maker.

AMOS SUTTON. Among the native sons of Audrain county who are engaged in agricultural pursuits, many have attained high positions in their chosen vocations and have gained from the soil independent for- tunes through scientific development of its resources. Few, however, have been so successful in their operations as has Amos Sutton, who from earliest boyhood has devoted his attention and energies to the cultivation of the soil, and who stands today as one of his section's leading agri- culturists. In addition to the knowledge that years of experience in agricultural work have given him, Mr. Sutton is possessed of much more than ordinary business capacity, being able to recognize and grasp op- portunities when they present themselves, and having the ability to carry his ventures through to a successful conclusion, while as a citizen he has always so conducted his affairs as to redound to the benefit of his community and to gain the respect and friendship of his fellow- townsmen.

Amos Sutton was born on the old Sutton family homestead in Audrain county, Missouri, two and one-half miles south of the town of Farber, November 13, 1861. He secured his education by attending the public schools of his district several months during the winter terms, while the summer months of his boyhood were spent in working on the home farm with his father. At the age of twenty years he purchased a tract of 320 acres of land, being assisted by his father on account of the high price (or what was then considered so) of six dollars per acre. Mr. Sutton still owns this half section of land, which he has developed from prairie land into highly productive farm property. While getting this land ready for crops, Mr. Sutton lived as a bachelor for three years, and when he was twenty-three years of age was married to Miss Nettie C. Ball, who came from Bellflower, Montgomery county, Missouri, and she died April 10, 1906, leaving two children, namely: Leona, who mar- ried Will Hostetter, and resides near the home of her father; and Iota, born in 1903, who lives at home and is her father's housekeeper.

In addition to this Audrain county land, Mr. Sutton is the owner of

The Srlplain

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thirty acres of mixed timber land located south of Farber, and has 160 acres of irrigated land in the state of Colorado, where he raises alfalfa, wheat and sugar beets. His owns mortgages in Colorado, and is interested as a stockholder in the Bank of Fort Morgan, Morgan county, that state. In politics Mr. Sutton is a Democrat. He has never given much time to public matters, being absorbed with his farm and business interests, but is always in favor of good government and supports what- ever measures he believes will work out for the best interests of the community at large. His farm is conducted according to the latest improved methods, giving convincing testimony to the thrift and good management of its owner. As a man who has done his share in develop- ing the great northwestern part of Missouri, Mr. Sutton is fully entitled to the respect in which he is universally held, while his many admirable qualities of mind and heart have earned him the sincere esteem of a wide circle of friends.

MAYOR W. S. ST. CLAIR is one of those fortunate administrators of public affairs who bring to their civic tasks both a finely trained mind and a nature adjusted to the human quality of their responsibilities. His fifty-two years have covered a wide field, both geographically and vocationally.

The Virginia family of St. Clair is that represented by Columbia's present mayor, whose parents were John D. and Eliza Jane St. Clair, natives of Virginia. The parental line was originally French, and the maternal ancestry German. The members of the family who are of W. S. St. Clair's generation were four in number: Franklin Pierce, Edwin Mendel and Harry, all being deceased, the mother and W. S. of this review being the sole surviving members of this family. Mrs. St. Clair makes her home with her son in Columbia.

W. S. St. Clair was born at the parental home in Wellsburg, Vir- ginia, on the 20th day of January, 1860. Higher education, the good fortune of comparatively few young men of the period of Mr. St. Clair's youth, was vouchsafed to him, his alma mater being famous old Bethany College, of Bethany, West Virginia. In 1882 Mr. St. Clair received his Bachelor of Arts degree, in 1883 received his Bachelor of Letters degree, and these degrees were followed in the next year by the Master's degree, which was awarded by the same college.

In his career as a clergyman which followed, Rev. St. Clair held pastoral charges successively at the following places-Clarence, New York; Granville, Pennsylvania; Pueblo, Colorado; and Denver, Colo- rado. Both in the pulpit and in personal relations Mr. St. Clair's work was always of a most practical nature. While the abstractly theological phases of religion held attraction for him, his interpretation of the eternal verities always definitely merged itself into questions of moral integrity and civic righteousness. So sound was his logical basis in all his preaching and personal argument for the cause of right, con- cretely visioned, that his call to another, but closely related field of activity was a natural sequence.

This other field of work was the class room in Christian College, where Mr. St. Clair's scholarly presentation of ethical problems was desired for the students of that institution. He accepted the chair of ethics in 1893 and retained it until 1895. At a later date he became general agent for Christian College, a position which he held for about three years.

Mr. St. Clair served several terms as councilman from the First ward of Columbia, and in 1911 he entered upon his duties as the chief executive of Columbia, in which capacity he is still serving the city.

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Mr. St. Clair's social relations are, by his own preference, of an informal rather than a formal nature. The purpose of certain fraternal organ- izations have, nevertheless, his approval and interest; among them being the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which claims him as an hon- ored and prominent member, and the Masonic order, in which he is a Knight Templar and a past master of that body.

Mayor St. Clair's residence is presided over by Louise (Climenson) St. Clair, his wife, formerly a native of Topeka, Kansas, and her mar- riage to W. S. St. Clair was solemnized on December 17, 1890.

JOHN E. NORTHCUTT, who is numbered among the enterprising and industrious agriculturists of Audrain county, belongs to that class of citizens who have gained a position of prominence among their fellows through the exercise of natural ability, untiring perseverance and strict integrity. Although he was forced to work hard in his boyhood, and thus was able to secure but meagre educational advantages, his persist- ent effort and strict attention to the details of his work have resulted in the accumulation of a fine farm of 230 acres, while much observation and constant reading have made him thoroughly conversant with all the live topics of the day, especially those pertaining to the welfare of his township and its people. Mr. Northcutt was born July 25, 1866, in Warren county, Missouri, and is a son of John W. and Mary R. (Kite) Northcutt.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 5

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