A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 54

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

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Mr. Goodman has identified himself in a greater or less degree with other industries, but his chief concern is for the bank which he organized and has fostered through the past quarter century. He is secretary and treasurer of the Crystal Carbonate Lime Company of Elsberry, Mis- souri, and was one of the stockholders of the Buffum Telephone Com- pany from the date of its organization until its sale, and was its treasurer from its inception. Mr. Goodman has ever kept in the closest touch with the business interests of Louisiana, and has been a strong factor in its best enterprises. The demand for a business men's organization in the city met with an immediate response from him, and he is an active member of the club formed with the interests of the business men of the city in view. The fraternal relations of the man are represented by his membership in the Masonic order, in which he is a Knight Templar, and he is also a member of the Temple association here. He is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and is a member of the Episeo- pal church, and a vestryman in that body, despite the fact that he was reared in a Baptist home.

Mr. Goodman has been thrice married. In 1878 he married Miss Emma Bright, the daughter of E. C. and Martha (Biglow) Bright, who died in a little less than two years without issue. In 1884 he married Miss Eleanor Sombart and of this union there is one daughter, Louise. In 1904 he married Mrs. Agnes Thomas, the daughter of a well known

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silk dealer of St. Louis and manufacturer of Boston. No children have come to them, but Mrs. Goodman has a daughter by a former marriage, Miss Agnes Thomas by name, who is a student in Waterman Hall, Syca- more, Illinois.

JOHN W. ARNOLD. For its long years of residence, for its part in the settlement and development of Monroe county and for its conspicuous position in the agricultural and pastoral sphere of rural life, the family whose name introduces this sketch is one of the noted ones of this district. It was established as early as 1828 or 1830 by William Arnold, who set- tled upon the public domain some four miles west of Paris, Missouri, and with the aid of slave labor which he brought with him from his native state, he brought into subjection a body of land with which he was associated all the remainder of his active life.

William Arnold was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, about 1770. He was a representative of the aristocracy of the ante-bellum days, and was educated after the fashion of families of his standing. He was an old school Baptist, and his death, in 1862, removed from the community one of its noted characters. His body lies in the family graveyard west of Paris, beside that of his wife. He was the father of six sons and daughters, named as follows: James, who died in Boone county ; William, who passed his life in Monroe county, Missouri; Harvey, the father of John W. of this review ; Polly, who died unmarried; Emily, who married John Wright and died here, and Susan, who passed away as Mrs. William Lamb.

Harvey Arnold was born in 1810, and died in 1892. His life was one devoted to the business of agriculture and stock raising, and his sole public service as an official was rendered as constable of his township at one time. He was a capable business man, worthy character, and endowed with a strong and vigorous physique. He was trained in the primitive cabin sehools of his day in Kentucky, and was a youth well on in his teens when the family came into Missouri. The teachings of the Hardshell Baptists which he received at the hands of his father in his youth clung to him through life, having their mark upon his character and dictating his course in a certain measure, and in a political way his support went to the Democratic party. His life achievements were prin- cipally represented by the estate of one thousand acres which he left at his death. Harvey Arnold married Nancy Hill, whose father, Wesley Hill, was one of Kentucky's contributions to the pioneers of Missouri. She died in 1845, the mother of Mary, the wife of W. F. Moore, who died in Monroe county ; Martha, who passed away as Mrs. Henry Cartright of this county ; William, a retired farmer of Paris; and John W. of this notice. In later years Harvey Arnold married a second time, Nancy Anderson being his second wife. She bore children as follows: Robert, of Holliday, Missouri; and Nannie, the wife of John M. Holliday, of Oklahoma. A third time did Harvey Arnold venture into matrimonial seas, Mrs. Sarah Moore becoming his wife. Their children were : Susan, the wife of Robert Stone, of Paris, Missouri; Addie, the wife of Samuel Moore, of Barcelene, Missouri; Sallie, now Mrs. Thomas McKemay, of Paris, Missouri ; Charles, of Moberly, Missouri ; Sallie, Mrs. Cicero Stone, of Monroe county; George, who died in 1911, and Minnie, the wife of Enos Crow, living in Nebraska.

John W. Arnold was born on the 14th of April, 1845, in the atmosphere which his father and grandfather before him had breathed, and amid the scenes of their substantial achievements. His enforeed walk of three miles to school made difficult the gaining of more than a superficial schooling in his boyhood days, and he reached his majority

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with little capital save great physical vigor and a bent for hard work. He was a member of the immediate family of his father until he reached the age of thirty-two, or until his marriage on February 8, 1878, when his independent career may be said to have been initiated. He owns today the farm where he established his first home, and his active life as a farmer has been devoted to stock raising and hay and grain producing. In his younger days when he was learning to farm, slave labor was a prominent factor in the Arnold establishment, and he was the "young master" of a force which was ever at his command. With the lapse of years, the freeing of the slaves and the ensuing confusion in the labor market, conditions in that respect among the farmers grew steadily unfavorable, and Mr. Arnold was eventually forced to abandon to a great extent the grain business which had formed a large part of his activities. He seeded down his farms to a great extent, and for some years he has been widely known as a mule and jack dealer and raiser, which constitutes the main feature of his farming industry at the present time.

Mr. Arnold has been content to confine himself to enterprises of his own initiation, and has given little or no attention to matters of a polit- ical nature beyond voting as a Democrat when occasion offers. He is a stockholder of the Paris National Bank, which constitutes practically all his business interests outside his immediate farming concerns.

Mr. Arnold married Miss Ella D. McKamey, a daughter of David A. McKamey, a man who was widely and favorably known among the older element of Monroe county's citizenship as a successful farmer and feeder of stock. Like the Arnold family, Mr. McKamey originally came from Kentucky, his county being Mercer, which has given many of its best men to the pioneer settlement of the state of Missouri along the Big Muddy. He married Zerelda Campbell and Mrs. Arnold is one of four children who reached maturity. She was born on January 2, 1852. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold are three in number, and are here mentioned briefly as follows: Mary, the wife of Milton Craig, of Paris, Missouri ; Miss Pearl, living with the family at home; and David, who married Miss Catherine Lower and is engaged in farming in Monroe county.

CLARENCE H. BERRY. Callaway county has an effective and successful exponent of the agricultural and stock growing industries in the person of Mr. Berry, who is the owner of a well improved farm of two hundred and eighty acres in McCredie township, and who maintains his residence in the village of McCredie, about one mile distant from his farm. He is a scion of a family whose name has been identified with the history of Calla- way county from the early pioneer days, and one that has been promi- nently concerned with the development and upbuilding of this section of the state. Mr. Berry himself has shown the utmost progressiveness as a citizen and takes a deep interest in all that touches the welfare of his home county and state. He is one of the popular citizens of his native county and is eminently entitled to specific recognition in this publication.

Clarence Herbert Berry was born on the old family homestead, one mile northwest of the village of McCredie, and the date of his nativity was February 15, 1873. He is a son of Angus and Mary (Suggett) Berry, both of whom were likewise born in Callaway county, the former on the 3d of December, 1832, and the latter on the 5th of January, 1841, their marriage having been solemnized in 1857. Mrs. Berry survives her . honored husband and now resides in the village of Auxvasse, this county. She is a daughter of Mentor and Louisa (Petty) Suggett, honored pioneers of the county. Angus Berry devoted his entire active career to agricultural pursuits and stock growing and was one of the well known and highly honored citizens of Callaway county at the time of his death,

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which occurred on the 19th of June, 1876. He was a successful buyer and shipper of live stock and his homestead farm, of two hundred and eighty- five acres, is situated a mile northwest of McCredie, the buildings on the place having been erected by him and other excellent improvements hav- ing been made under his direction. He was a Democrat in politics, was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and was a member of the Presby- terian church, with which his widow also has long been actively identified as a zealous member. They became the parents of eight children, of whom John died at the age of fourteen years and Mary in infancy. Those surviving are Margaret, Sarah, Mentor, Belle A., Richard and Clarence H.

Angus Berry was a son of Edward and Sallie (Galbreath) Berry, who reared four sons and two daughters. Edward Berry was born in Wash- ington county, Kentucky, in 1807, and attained to the patriarchal age of ninety-seven years, his death having occurred on the farm now owned by his son Robert M., in Callaway county, Missouri, in 1904. He came to this county in 1820 and secured a tract of government land east of Ful- ton, where he became an extensive farmer and slaveholder. He was a man of indefatigable energy and marked business acumen, and was an influential figure in connection with the development and progress of the county in which the major part of his long and useful life was passed. He served as a soldier in the Black Hawk war and in politics he was a Democrat of the true Jeffersonian type. The farm on which he passed the closing years of his life is situated about a mile west of Reform and is owned by his son Robert, as has been previously noted.

Major Robert Mitchell Berry, the only surviving brother of Edward Berry, is undoubtedly the oldest citizen in Callaway county at the pres- ent time. He served as a soldier in the Mexican war and was a captain and major in the Confederate service in the Civil war, under Colonel Reagan and General Price. He first married Amelia Martin, who was survived by no children, and by his marriage to Emily Shool, now deceased, there are four children,-Robert P., John R., Lulu M. and Lena.

Clarence H. Berry, to whom this sketch is dedicated, gained his early education in the public schools and supplemented this by a two years' course in Westminster College, at Fulton. He has been identified with farming and dealing in cattle upon an extensive scale, and, in partner- ship with his brother, A. R., he sold hundreds of cattle to dealers each year. The brothers were also associated in the buying of lands and at one time owned eleven hundred acres. The partnership was dissolved in 1909 and since that time Clarence H. has given his attention to his admirable farm of 280 acres, which is devoted to diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade livestock. In 1911 he erected his fine modern residence in the little village of McCredie, and the same is one of the most attractive rural homes in the county, its facilities and appointments being modern in every respect, the while it is known as a center of most gracious and unostentatious hospitality. Mr. Berry is a specially earnest advocate of good roads and has taken a lively interest in other matters tending to advance the best interests of the com- munity at large. Though he has shown no predilection for political office he is arrayed as a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Demo- cratic party, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Presby- terian church.

On the 31st of January, 1901, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Berry to Miss Sarah McCue, who was born near Auxvasse in Jackson township, Callaway county, on the 3d of April, 1879, and who is a daughter of Samuel and Clarinda (Tate). McCue. Mr. and Mrs. Berry have three children,-Josephine, Claude McCue, and Clarinda.

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J. KELLY WRIGHT, institute lecturer on animal husbandry for the Missouri state board of agriculture, and the first individual to be the incumbent of such a position under salary, has for many years been prominent in educational work throughout the state, where his abilities and talents have gained him an enviable position in his profession. He was born in Boone county, Missouri, five miles northeast of Columbia, October 25, 1878, a son of Paul M. and Rebecca (Haden) Wright. He is at present writing a history of his branch of the Wright family, and his investigations indicate that he is a member of a family that traces its ancestry back to the year 1590, when John Wright of Kelvedon was made a member of the House of Lords by Queen Elizabeth. The old family estate near London is still in the Wright name.

Deacon Samuel. Wright, great-grandson of Sir John Wright, emi- grated to the American colonies in 1636, settling in Massachusetts, from whence Peter Wright went to Virginia, Augusta county. There is a tradition which has passed down through generations of the family that while Peter Wright was a frontiersman in Virginia his corn, one year, was eaten by buffaloes. He married Jane Hughart, daughter of James Hughart, in Augusta county, Virginia. The greater part of his life was spent in what is now Botetourt county, Virginia. His family consisted of thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters. The sons were: Thomas, James, William, John and Peter. The daughters were : Sarah, who married Palser Kinderland; Rebecca, who married a Mr. Kinkead; Martha, who married Capt. James Estill of Kentucky ; Rachel, who married William Estill; Jane, who married Wallace Estill; Nancy, who married Christopher Clark: Elizabeth, who married John Sprowl ; and a daughter who married a Mr. Smith.

Captain James Estill was killed in an Indian fight near Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. The fight was between Captain Estill and his company of 25 men and 25 Wyandott warriors. It was a hand-to-hand fight. Cap- tain Estill had had an arm broken. It had not become strong again, and in the combat with his Indian the arm gave way, costing Captain Estill his life. Several of Peter Wright's children removed to Ken- tucky. Among them were the sons Thomas and William. Thomas' grandson, James Kelly Wright, married William's granddaughter, Myra Jackson Wright, April 5, 1836. From this union came Paul M. Wright, father of the subject of this sketch.

In the year 1810 William Wright left Bourbon county, Kentucky, and went to Tennessee, settling about five miles from Nashville. Seven years later he, with his family, came to Missouri, locating in what is now Boone county. He was the first settler to enter land from the government, his tract being about four miles east of the present site of Brown's Station. His son, Peter Wright, became the first county surveyor of Boone county, and "laid out" the town of Columbia. He was the first representative from Boone county to the state legislature when the assembly met at St. Charles, acted as judge of the first county court, and was one of six to organize the first Presbyterian church in Columbia, Missouri. He married Jenny Edmondson, a member of a prominent Mississippi family. Jenny Edmondson's grandmother was a Buchanan, cousin of President James Buchanan. Among the chil- dren of Peter Wright and Jenny ( Edmondson) Wright, was Myra, who became the wife of James Kelly Wright. Samuel Wright, son of Thomas Wright and father of James Kelly Wright, came to Boone county, Missouri, at an early date. James Kelly Wright subsequently became a merchant at Rocheport, where Paul M. Wright was born May 13, 1849. James Kelly Wright later accumulated a large farm north- east of Columbia and there spent the remainder of his life, passing away

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February 9, 1876, sixty-seven years of age. Paul M. Wright resided on the old farm until 1910, in which year he came to Columbia, where he and his wife have since been living retired. He married Rebecca Haden, whose father and uncle, Turner and Joel H. Hladen, also came from Kentucky. To Paul M. Wright and Rebecca (Haden) Wright five children were born. Two children, Edmond and Mary Hamilton, died in infancy. J. Kelis Wright, Harriet Wright of Columbia, senior 1913 in the University of Missouri, and Turner R. H. Wright, of Manhattan, Kansas, assistant in the department of animal husbandry, Kansas State College of Agriculture, are living.

J. Kelly Wright was given excellent educational advantages, and at the age of twenty years began teaching school. He graduated from Columbia Normal Academy, and from the College of Agriculture of the University of Missouri in 1909, and also took a special course in arts and sciences. During the period in which he was engaged in teaching, he was for six years in the country and four years in Columbia, three years being spent in the Normal Academy and one year in the Uni- versity high school. For two years he served as county commissioner of schools and a like period as county superintendent, and at the close of his last term of office, in May, 1911, he was appointed institute lec- turer in animal husbandry, his work including lectures before the various agricultural institutes all over the state. A man thoroughly conversant with all matters pertaining to his special line, he has done much to advance Missouri's agricultural importance, and his campaign of education has assisted many of the farmers throughout the state to attain success.

On December 24, 1905, Mr. Wright was united in marriage with Nancy George Fish, of Callaway county, Missouri, daughter of the Rev. William C. Fish, of Stephens Store, Callaway county. Two chil- dren have been born to this union : Esther Rebecca and James Kelly, Jr.

JAMES W. WALDEN. The standard by which to judge of a commu- nity is the character of its prominent citizens. Progress is rarely, if ever, the result of chance, but always the execution of well-laid plans based on a thorough comprehension of the laws of business. It is only by keeping in view the lives of men who are ever associated with the busy marts of commerce that we can judge of the importance of devel- opment, and the possibilities of progress. Thus it is that from the commercial, more than the professional or political standpoint, the most valuable lessons of life are to be extracted. In this connection, as a gentleman whose business qualifications have proven of the best, as indicated by the numerous enterprises he has brought to a success- ful issue, a brief biographical sketch is given of James W. Walden, a prominent retired citizen of Moberly. Mr. Walden is a product of the farm, and was born in Randolph county, Missouri, June 7, 1853, a son of James A. and Amanda (Denny) Walden, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Missouri. James A. Walden came to Missouri in 1826, first locating in Howard county, and subsequently, in the early thirties, coming to Randolph county. He was a farmer all of his life and died December 29, 1887, when sixty-eight years and eleven days old. His wife passed away March 21, 1910, having been the mother of five children, namely: Aleck Z., deceased; Fannie E., widow of L. B. Hannah, of Moberly; James W .; and John C. and Thomas B., both , of Moberly.

James W. WWalden received good educational advantages in the district schools of Randolph county, and remained on the home farm assisting his father until he was twenty-one years of age. He was

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reared to agricultural pursuits, but on attaining his majority, decided to enter the business arena, and accordingly established himself as the proprietor of a dairy, which he conducted for three years. Following this he was engaged in the butcher business for several years, and then conducted a grocery store in Moberly for three years, eventually devot- ing his attention to a mercantile business, which he carried on for eight years. In 1908, having accumulated a competency, Mr. Walden retired from active business affairs, and since that time has lived quietly in Moberly, where he owns his own home and residence lot.

On January 14, 1891, Mr. Walden was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Rapple, and to this union there have been born two chil- dren : Nellie, who is the wife of A. C. Fox, of Moberly ; and James E., a telegraph operator of Iowa Falls, Iowa. A stanch Democrat in his political views, Mr. Walden has served very acceptably in the capacity of alderman of Moberly, devoting himself with conscientious faithful- ness to the best interests of his community. He has always taken a public-spirited interest in whatever concerns Moberly or its people, and . can be depended upon to lend his support and influence in behalf of all measures which he considers beneficial in the line of education, moral- ity and good citizenship. His wife is a consistent member of the Chris- tian church at Moberly; fraternally Mr. Walden was known as a popu- lar member of the Knights of the Maccabees, and Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Foresters of America and the Improved Order of Red Men. During his long business career he formed a wide acquaintance in Moberly, and no man stands higher in public confidence and esteem.

JUDGE J. M. WILLIAMS. A distinguished member of the bench of Northeastern Missouri, Hon. J. M. Williams, for the past two years judge of the eastern district of Randolph county, comes from Ken- tucky, the state that has given Missouri some of its best citizens. It is within only recent years that the judge has been in the public arena, as the greater part of his life has been devoted to business matters, in connection with which he has been largely instrumental in forwarding the growth and development of this part of the country, but the able manner in which he is discharging the duties connected with his office gives ample evidence that the layman is fully as capable of handling official matters as he who has been trained to the legal profession. Judge Williams was born March 28, 1848, in Canton county, Ken- tucky, and is a son of William T. and Julia A. (Harris) Williams, residents of the Blue Grass State. Both died in Moberly, Missouri. The Williams family originated in the Old Dominion State, Elijah Will- iams, the grandfather of Judge Williams, having been born in Hali- fax, Virginia. The parents of Judge Williams had eight children, as follows : Malinda, the wife of James Galbraith, of Randolph; Mary, the wife of William Humes, of Kansas City, Missouri; Ruth, the wife of J. W. Ragadale, of Moberly, Missouri; Judge J. M .; Eugenie, de- ceased, who was the wife of H. Smith, of Moberly; Rowanna, who is deceased; William F., who is engaged in contracting in Moberly; and one who died in childhood.

J. M. Williams was reared to the life of an agriculturist, but farm- ing did not appeal to the lad and he began to learn the trade of brick- laying, which he mastered. When only sixteen years of age, in August, 1864, he enlisted in the state militia, with which he served until the close of the Civil war, and then returned to bricklaying. After com- ing to Moberly, he took up contracting and for thirty-five years fol- lowed that line as a business, erecting numerous large buildings of every nature in this city, including a number of schoolhouses. The

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country schools were the only institutions in which he was tutored, but he was blessed with good judgment, far-sightedness and inherent abil- ity, and had the faculty for seeing an opportunity and the capacity for grasping it and carrying it through to a successful termination. Suc- cessful in his business affairs, he was chosen by his fellow townsmen to take a part in handling their business, being elected tax collector for five years for the city of Moberly on the Democratic ticket. When he had completed two years' service of councilman for the city of Mo- berly, he was then chosen to act in the capacity of judge of the eastern district of Randolph county, a position he holds at this time. He resides at Moberly, where he has a comfortable home, and with his family is a consistent attendant of the Baptist church.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 54

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