A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 65

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

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Coming to Perry in 1891, he entered into partnership with Mr. Quinn, forming the firm of Quinn and Sterrett. This hardware firm rapidly became prosperous, a fact due in no small measure to the business ability of the junior partner and his ambition and energy. He remained a member of the firm until 1902 when he retired to go into public life. Previous to this time he was a member of the town council of Perry. In the campaign of 1902 he was pitted against three Democratic competitors for the office of clerk of the circuit court of Ralls county, but in spite of the odds against him he was elected, and in November succeeded Ben E. Hulse in that office. He was reelected after four years, and altogether gave eight years to this public ser- vice. Save for the trial of Dr. Watson, which occupied a month, and was extremely important and sensational from the character of the offense and from the professional testimony introduced, there was little to distinguish his term from that of his predecessor. At the expira- tion of his term of office he returned to Perry, and there entered upon the real estate and life insurance business, making as successful a business man as he had been a public official.

On the 17th of January, 1889, Mr. Sterrett married Miss Mary Salling, a daughter of Dr. Peter A. Salling, who came to Missouri be- fore Civil war days from Virginia, and died near Perry, Missouri, March 26, 1878. The first wife of Dr. Salling was Georgiana Tomlin- son, and their son, George A., died in August, 1912. His second wife was Margaret Dunn and she became the mother of five children: Lizzie, who married R. A. Wolfenberger, and died December 30, 1891; Mary, now Mrs. Sterrett; Lucy, wife of F. E. Westfall, of Ralls county ; William, who died in January, 1905, leaving two children ; and Susan, who is the wife of S. P. Meadows, of Homer, Louisiana. Mr. and Mrs. Sterrett were married in Ralls county, and they are the parents of two children : Lorena and Salling.

BENJAMIN J. COIL is a member of the well-known hardware firm of Coil & Fairbairn, of Perry, Missouri, and is a native of Ralls county, born scant five miles south of the city which now represents his home and the center of his business activities. His birth occurred on Feb- ruary 14, 1866, and he is the son of James A. and Barbara (Ball) Coil. The father was one of the ante-bellum teachers of this locality and many of the white haired men of the present day were pupils of his, and take pleasure in reciting to the sons of the old teacher inci- dents of their boyhood days and happenings in the school room when James A. Coil was making men of raw country lads.

James A. Coil was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, in 1829, and came to Missouri with his parents as a child. His father, John Coil,

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was a slave owner and farmer who pursued an uneventful life and died in Audrain county about 1850. His wife, who was Miss Susan Brad- ford in her maiden days, followed him to the grave in short time. Their children were five in number and were as follows: William and George, who died in Audrain county; Benjamin, who was a resident of California when he died; Mary, who married John W. Lakein, and died in 1886 in Vernon county, Missouri, and James A., the pioneer teacher.

James Coil attended the Missouri University and attained much proficiency as a scholar among the early students of the institution. His teaching did not operate against his continued mental growth, and Professor Coil, as he was known, knew many things not related to the curriculum of the district school. He gave the diseases of animals some attention and won some standing as a veterinarian. He acquired a fair knowledge of the law of forms and of legal procedure in matters commonly in dispute or contention. He was classed as a farmer and having been reared in the environment of slavery, he was decidedly southern in his inclinations during the war. Although he came under the operation of the draft he refused to enlist and chose the option of "'paying himself out."

In 1863 James A. Coil married Miss Barbara Ball, a daughter of a Kentucky family of that name who came to Missouri among the early settlers from that state, in the vicinity of Hardensburg, where Mrs. Coil was born in 1841. Mr. Coil died in 1899 and his widow yet survives him. Their children were: Bevie Lee, the wife of P. H. Gullen, a leading law- yer of St. Louis; Benjamin J., of this review; John A., a farmer near Perry, Missouri; Alma June, the wife of Elder B. G. Reavis, pastor of the Christian church of Elsberry, Missouri ; Rev. James H., a minister of the Christian church of Perry, Missouri; Dr. P. E., of Mexico, Missouri; Ernest E., an attorney at Los Angeles, California; Harry S., connected with the Coil-Fairbairn Mercantile house; and Inez, married to William Van Maitre, of Elsberry, Missouri; William U., of Laddonia, Missouri, is the child of the first marriage of James Coil, the mother having been Lizzie Underwood.

Benjamin J. Coil received exceptional educational benefits, attending the Perry Institute, the State Normal at Kirksville, and the State Uni- versity of Columbia, Missouri. He imitated the example of his father by taking up teaching, but only remained thus occupied for four years. His pedagogical work was all done in the county of his birth and when an opportunity came after four years of teaching to enter the mercan- tile field he promptly availed himself of it, becoming a member of the hardware firm of Moore & Coil in Perry. The firm was launched in 1893 and in 1899 Mr. Moore gave place to Mr. Fairbairn, the present firm being formed. The establishment has continued since under its present management and is making substantial progress in the field. It handles a general line of hardware, with an implement and machinery department sufficiently ample for the supply of the farming country adjacent to Perry.

Mr. Coil is one of the representative growth of Perry as a citizen and business man. The results of his twenty years in business in this city is represented in his store, his farm and bank stock. In the latter connection, it may be said that he is stock holder of the Perry Bank. He has given service of a public nature as a member of the city council for a time, and for eight years was a member of the board of education, in which latter position he encouraged and aided the most praiseworthy attempt to establish a school system for Perry, as well as a school equip- ment that would rank with the best in the state. Mr. Coil no doubt Vol. III-2S

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inherited his strongly marked tendency toward the Democracy, and has studiously participated in the affairs of that party as a voter.

In 1895 Mr. Coil was married to Miss Addie M. Edmonston, daugh- ter of Captain George W. Edmonston, who was born in Prince George county, Maryland. Captain Edmonston came to Missouri in about 1854, and there married Nancy, the daughter of Capt. B. F. Davis, who were also Missouri pioneers. The Edmondston children are Frank W., Robert Lee, Mrs. Susie Flint. Stonewall Jackson, Mrs. Coil, Artemesia and George A. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Coil,-Ed- monston E. and Artemesia.

Mr. Coil's relation to the church has been that of an active member of the Christian denomination, and for nearly a quarter of a century he has been interested in the work of the Sunday school. He is a member of the county board, having in charge the welfare of the various Chris- tian churches of Ralls county. His fraternal connection is represented by his membership in the blue lodge of the Masonic order, at Perry, Missouri.

WILLIAM B. ELLIS, M. D., has been a resident of Callaway county the major part of his life and is now numbered among its honored and essentially representative physicians and surgeons. He has here been engaged in the active practice of his profession for nearly a quarter of a century, with residence in the little village of Concord, and he has ministered with zeal and ability to the people throughout this section, the while he has proved a vertitable guide, philosopher and friend in many of the leading families of the county. He is an examplar of the benignant Homœopathic school of medicine, and keeps in close touch with the advances made along the line of his chosen profession. He has realized that concentration and not diffusion of effort is usually the price of success and worthy achievement, and thus he has subordinated all else to the demands of his profession, which he has signally dignified and honored by his character and services.

Dr. William Black Ellis was born in Monroe county, West Virginia, on the 4th of May, 1846, and was about eleven years of age at the time of the family removal to Missouri. He is a son of John Jay Ellis and Margaret Jane (Campbell) Ellis, the former of whom was born in Lunen- burg county, Virginia, in 1823, and the latter of whom was born in the same state,-a daughter of Archibald and Margaret (Jones) Campbell, the father having been of stanch Scottish ancestry. From the historic Old Dominion state John J. Ellis went to what is now. West Virginia, and there he followed his trade of tailor for a number of years. In 1857 he came with his family to Callaway county, Missouri, and estab- lished his home on a farm five miles southwest of the village of Concord. He remained on this homestead of 150 acres during the residue of his life, and also became the owner of 240 acres of land in the adjoining county of Audrain. He was a man of strong intellectuality and marked circumspection, sincere and honorable in all things, and ever commanded the respect of the community which was his home for many years and in which his death occurred in 1880. His devoted wife survived him and was summoned to eternal rest in 1896, at the age of seventy-two years, both having been earnest members of the Presbyterian church, the while he was known as a stalwart in the camp of the Democratic party. They became the parents of seven children, of whom Dr. Ellis, of this review is the eldest. The names of the other children are here entered in the respective order of birth: Susan, Mary Elizabeth, Martha, Mar- garet, Alice B., and Samuel.

Dr. William Black Ellis gained his rudimentary education in private

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schools in his native state, and, as previously noted, was a lad of about eleven years at the time of the family immigration to Missouri. He was reared to maturity in Callaway county, and after availing himself of the advantages of the local schools he went to Illinois, where he prepared himself for the profession of dentist, under the preceptorship of his uncle. Dr. John Campbell. After gaining a thorough knowledge of the dental art and science he returned to Callaway county, where he was actively engaged in practice as a dentist for the ensuing fourteen years. In the meanwhile, though . a mere boy at the time, he had served as a valiant soldier of the Confederacy in the Civil war. He was in the com- mand of General Price, and was but eighteen years of age when the war closed, his parole having been given him at Shreveport, Louisiana. Im- bued with an ambition for a wider field of endeavor, Dr. Ellis finally entered the Homeopathic Medical College of Missouri, in the city of St. Louis, and in this admirable institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1888 and with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He was engaged in practice nearly a year at Mexico, the capital of Audrain county, and since that time has maintained his home and professional headquarters in the village of Concord, from which point he has built up a large and representative practice. He is identified with various med- ical associations, including the Missouri Institute of Homeopathy, and in politics he accords loyal support to the cause of the Democratic party.

June 18, 1879, bore record of the marriage of Dr. Ellis to Miss Amanda Tincher, daughter of Judge Hugh Tincher, an honored citizen of Cal- laway county, and a member of a family to which specific reference is made on other pages of this work. Mrs. Ellis was born in Liberty town- ship, Callaway county, on the 27th of February, 1852, and has a wide circle of friends in the community which has been her home from the time of her nativity. Dr. and Mrs. Ellis have no children.

CLIFFORD STONEWALL GARRETT. Among the men of Northeastern Missouri in whose hands have been placed the management of this sec- tion's financial interests, there are to be found many who are products of the farm, men whose early training was in the cultivation of the soil. and who retain their interest in agricultural matters while handling these issues. In this class a prominent and honored representative is Clifford Stonewall Garrett, president of the Portland Bank, in the town of Port- land, and owner of one of the extensive and valuable landed estates of his native county of Callaway. Mr. Garrett is progressive and liberal as a citizen, is influential with activities tending to advance the civic and material prosperity of the community, and has so ordered his course as to maintain a secure place in the confidence and respect of those with whom he has come in contact in the varied relations of life. He is a member of one of the honored pioneer families of Callaway county, and thus fur- ther consistency is given to accord him specific recognition in this history.

William Booker Garrett, grandfather of Clifford Stonewall Garrett. was a native of Virginia and a representative of a family early founded in that historic old commonwealth, within whose gracious borders he was reared and educated. From Buckingham county, that state, he started for the West and after passing an interval in Kentucky, came to Missouri, his arrival in Callaway county having occurred in 1830. He had served as a valiant soldier in the War of 1812 and for this was granted a tract of eighty acres of land in the county which thus became his home and in which he also took up additional land, which he obtained from the government. His homestead was that now owned and occupied by his son, George W., in Auxvasse township. He became one of the prominent and influential citizens of Callaway county, where, in addi-

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tion to reclaiming and managing his farm, he followed to a certain extent his trade of carpenter and also established and operated the Rose- dale Mill, which he erected in 1852 and which was one of the first mills in this section to be operated by steam power. This mill, which is now a landmark, is still in operation and is owned by Mr. Garrett's son, William H. William B. Garrett was a slave holder prior to the Civil war and through the medium of his slaves he operated his extensive farm, which comprised more than eight hundred acres and on which he raised sheep and cattle upon a somewhat extensive scale. He was a Democrat of the true Jeffersonian type, and took a lively and intel- ligent interest in the questions and issues of that day. He served for some time as justice of the peace and was accorded other evidences of popular confidence and esteem. Both he and his wife were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which he gave effective service as steward and trustee. He was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and was a man appreciative of the higher ideals of life. His service in the War of 1812 was with a Virginia regiment, and he was a son of William and Mary (Coleman) Garrett, his father having served many years as justice of the peace in the Old Dominion state. William Booker Garrett was born in 1795 and thus was eighty- nine years of age at the time of his death, which occurred at his home farm, about eight miles northeast of Portland, Callaway county, Mis- souri, in 1884. His cherished and devoted wife, whose maiden name was Mary Ockerman, was born August 28, 1805, and was a daughter of David and Amy (Nunnelly) Ockerman of Virginia. She survived her husband and was summoned to the life eternal in 1892. They reared a family of nine children, as follows: Jane, Wilson, Linneus, Amada, John A., William H., Benjamin F., George W., and Monroe.

John Anthony Garrett, the third son in the above mentioned family, was born on the old family homestead farm in Callaway county, June 13, 1834, and died in August, 1901. Through the medium of the public schools he obtained a fair education and by keen observation and close study of the ordinary problems of life, he soon became a man of broad information and sound judgment. His father, recognizing the wisdom of his council and seeing his frugal habits of industry and integrity, early chose him as a partner in the milling business whch was at that time an extensive enterprise and together with a flouring mill were operated a mill for grinding corn, a mill for sawing lumber and a ma- chine for cording wood. John A. Garrett, as an agriculturist, lived some- what ahead of his day. He saw the necessity of keeping up the fertil- ity of the soil and was one of the few men of his generation who left his lands in a state of productiveness higher than when he came into pos- session of them. He believed in breeding livestock, and manifested a preference for short horn cattle, and in his pastures could be found as good steers as Missouri produced. He also kept a considerable flock of sheep, as well as other kinds of stock on a smaller scale.

Mr. Garrett served for a short while in the army of the Confederacy . during the Civil war and was a valiant soldier. The disturbance of war followed by the failure of a mercantile establishment in which he was a silent partner reduced him to indigency, but enjoying the confidence of the public he was not to be discouraged. He assumed the entire in- debtedness of the defunct company and every liability was soon liqui- dated. Having met and overcome the disasters of war and business fail- ure, he amassed a considerable estate. He owned about twelve hundred acres of land in Callaway and Montgomery counties, and was at the time of his death the president of the Portland Bank, a position which he had held from the time of its organization. Having thus lived a busy and

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energetic life, he found time to consider the affairs of state and was a stanch supporter of the Jeffersonian doctrine of Democracy. Both he and his wife were earnest and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and also during his membership he served in official capacity. He was considerate toward his fellow man, generous in his dealings, liberal in the support of his church, and stood ever ready to lend a helping hand to the afflicted and distressed. He lived the doc- trine of his church and practiced his high ideals of citizenship. The year 1864 witnessed the marriage of Mr. Garrett to Sarah A. Crump, a woman of no less courage and strength of character than her husband, who in battling the problems of life stood his ever ready lieutenant. She was born in Callaway county, daughter of James and Paulina (Martin) Crump, who came to Callaway county from Kentucky at an early day. Mrs. Garrett died June 8, 1910. She and her husband became the parents of two children: Clifford S .; and Maude M., who is now the wife of Sparrel McCall, of Fulton, Missouri.

Clifford Stonewall Garrett was born on the old homestead farm adjoining his present place, eight miles north of Portland, and the date of his nativity was May 24, 1868. He was afforded the advantages of the public schools in the vicinity of his home and supplemented this discipline by attending Central College, where he completed his educa- tion. He has been consecutively identified with agricultural pursuits, and his finely improved landed estate comprises 880 acres, and is known as a reliable, progressive and straightforward business man. In 1899 he erected his present substantial and attractive residence, which is of modern design and facilities and his place is one of the best on the beautiful Hancock Prairie, all buildings erected by him being of the most modern type. The Garrett place is a model in every respect, and its owner may well deem himself fortunate in having such an ideal home. As before stated, Mr. Garrett is president of the Portland Bank, which is known as one of the most substantial and popular country banks in Callaway county. This bank was organized by the father of the present president, and at his death he was succeeded by M. Klein, of Portland, the latter being in turn succeeded by the present presi- dent, who has effectively carried forward the progressive policies that have brought to the institution marked success. The bank was organ- ized in 1889, with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars, and its operations are now based on a capital of twenty thousand dollars, with a surplus of equal amount. The officers of the institution at this time are : Clifford S. Garrett, president; Leland L. Waters, vice president ; David C. Gilman, cashier; and Miss Bettie Covington, assistant cashier. In politics Mr. Garrett accords a stanch allegiance to the Democratic party, and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, in which he is both a steward and a trustee.

On the 19th of April, 1899, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Garrett to Miss Luna B. Allen, who was born on a farm north of Reads- ville, Callaway county, on the 19th of May, 1871, a daughter of Theo- dore and Medora (Scott) Allen, highly respected citizens of this sec- tion of the state, the former of whom is now deceased. Two children have been born to this union: Medora Katherine, born June 5, 1900; and John Anthony, born March 1, 1902, both of whom are attending the public schools.

GEORGE H. WILCOXSON. The Sugar Tree Grove, in section 19, of Richmond township, comprising 740 acres, is one of the old estates of Howard county, and has been associated with one family ownership from the early days. The Wilcoxson family in old Howard dates back

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to territorial times, their settlement being about the time of the famous compromise, under which Missouri came into the Union. Before the war it was a plantation worked by slaves, and its mansion house was a center for the fine hospitality of that period. Under the proprietorship of George H. Wilcoxson, who was himself born there long before the war, much of the good old-fashioned custom has been maintained in modern times.

On this plantation George H. Wilcoxson was born November 12, 1835. His grandfather, Isaac Wilcoxson, a native of Kentucky, married Priscilla Hackley, also born in Kentucky. In coming to Howard county in the year 1818, they first settled on the river bottom, but afterwards located on the place where our subject now lives. They built a double log cabin, and began the improvement of a home out of practically wilderness conditions. Both grandparents lived here until their death at old age, and they left five sons, besides one who had died before them. The grandfather was a large farmer and planter of hemp and tobacco and had a number of slaves to do the work of the plantation.

Joseph M., the father, was born in Madison county, Kentucky, and was a boy at the time he came to the territory of Missouri with his parents. He married Anna Stapleton, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of George and Eliza Stapleton, both of whom were early settlers of Howard county. The children of Joseph M. Wilcoxson and his wife were as follows: Mary E., the wife of Peter Austin, now deceased, of Carrollton, Missouri; George H., who was the second in the family ; Priscilla, deceased; the wife of J. R. Hughes, of Howard county ; Laura, also deceased, was the wife of George Stevens; Mrs. Josephine Smith, the wife of the well known Judge Smith of Fayette ; she is still living, though her husband, the judge, is deceased ; T. J., now deceased, was a resident of Nevada; Theodora Tindall is living in Fay- ette. The father of the family died at the age of forty-seven, in 1856, after a successful career as farmer and stockman. He was a member of the Christian church and was a liberal supporter of the schools, churches and other institutions of his community. The mother died at the age of eighty-five.

The early life of George H. Wilcoxson was alternated between the old plantation and attendance at school. At the age of twenty-eight he married Sallie Richardson, who was born and reared in Howard county, the daughter of James and Sally Richardson. The four children of Mr. and Mrs. Wilcoxson are Laura, now deceased, who was the wife of Henry C. Taylor, of Roanoke; Hattie Stovall, is a resident of Califor- nia; Anna is the wife of Dr. Charles H. Lee, of Fayette; Joseph R. resides on the old homestead. The greatest loss of his life was in the death of his wife, Mrs. Wilcoxson, who passed away on the 4th of Feb- ruary, 1904, at the age of sixty years. She was well beloved in the circle of the Christian church of which she was a member, and throughout the community.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 65

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