A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 68

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

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Brought up in Fayette, William J. Megraw acquired his preliminary education in the public schools, and later attended Central College, where he took an active part in athletics, as a member of the Central Base Ball Team, winning a good record. At the age of seventeen years he began learning the trade of a mechanic with his father, and when familiar with all of its details was admitted to partnership with his father, and became prominent in advancing the building interests of Fayette, erecting many of the leading public building and private resi- dences of the town, and of the surrounding country.

Mr. Megraw increased his operations from time to time, becoming the leading manufacturer of cement blocks, and taking large contracts for block work and street paving. He has filled large contracts both for the town and for private parties, building many of the cement walks in the town, and paving streets, among the more important of his contracts having been the paving, for three-fourths of a mile, of Davis street, a splendid piece of work, which is the pride of Fayette and her people, it having been completed in 1910. Mr. Megraw employs twelve men in the busy season, and endeavors at all times to have his work done on time, and in a satisfactory manner.

Mr. Megraw first became identified with the Fayette Fire Company as captain of the Hook and Ladder Company, but was afterwards elected chief of the company, a position in which he has since served most intelligently and satisfactorily, taking no salary for his work. This com- pany has done efficient work on many occasions, through its efforts hav- ing saved from destruction by fire the courthouse, the First Methodist Episcopal church, the Collar & Kelley block, and other public buildings and private residences. Mr. Megraw gives close attention to his busi- ness, is prudent in the management of his affairs and strictly honorable in his dealings, and has won to an eminent degree the confidence and respect of his friends and associates. He has a firm belief that Fayette will continue its advancement in financial and industrial movements, and has invested to a considerable extent in Fayette property.

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HARRY MCCULLOUGH. The Sunny Hill Stock Farm, in Richmond township, Howard county, four and a half miles southwest of Fayette, is a center for the industry which has made Missouri famous. Harry Mccullough & Sons are the proprietors of this fine farm of six hun- dred acres, and they are keen business men and fine citizens of one of the finest old counties of Northeast Missouri.

Harry Mccullough was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, on April 25, 1852. His grandfather, John McCullough, was born in Scotland, came to America with his parents in 1792, and from Pennsylvania finally moved to Ohio. Alexander McCullough, the father, was born in Ohio, and married Bethann Hammond, a native of Ohio and of English and German ancestry. The parents moved to Howard county, Mis- souri, in 1872, and spent the rest of their lives here, the father dying at the age of sixty-four and the mother at the age of sixty. They were the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, namely : David, Mary, Harry, Clara, George, Charles and Margaret. The father was Republican in politics, and a member of the Episcopal church. A man of vigorous constitution, weighing two hundred pounds, he spent a lifetime of industry and gained the thorough esteem of every community in which he lived. His oldest son, David, had volun- teered from Jefferson county, Ohio, and served as a Union soldier.

Harry Mccullough was reared and educated in Ohio, attending public school and college, and afterwards taught school for awhile. On December 9, 1880, he married Miss Ella Lientz, who was born in Boone county, Missouri, and received her education in the college at Columbia. After more than thirty years of married companionship she passed away in March, 1911. She had been a devoted wife and mother, and took much interest in the work and welfare of women in this state. Her three children are: Montgomery L., who married Erla Potts, of St. Louis, and they have two sons, Montgomery and John Harry; Bethann, the wife of Harry Dale, of Springfield, Missouri; and Carlos Harry, a student in the Kemper Military College at Boon- ville.

In politics Mr. Mccullough is independent. He is affiliated with the Masonic order, and his son, Montgomery, is a thirty-second degree Mason. This son has had occasion to travel extensively through old Mexico, and speaks the language of the country fluently.

The Sunny Hill farm is noted as a producing center of jacks, jen- netts, cattle and sheep. Old Mexico is a market for many carloards that leave this farm. For the past twenty-five years they have also kept herds of fine bred Swiss and Holstein cattle. During the season of 1912 Mccullough & Sons have sent upwards of twelve carloads of fine stock to Mexico, and every animal that goes off their place gets the best market price. The proprietors have been in the stock business many years, and have built up a reputation such that they could not afford to handle anything but the very best in their line. Personally they are genial gentlemen, and the hospitality of the Sunny Hill home is known far and wide.

N. CORDELL TINDALL. To the city man who has never had the opportunity of visiting a modern Northeastern Missouri country home- stead, the mention of farming brings to mind a team of hot, tired horses, a scorching, sun-baked field, and a horny-handed son of the soil toiling laboriously behind a hand plow from sun-up to sunset. Those who hold such ideas of agricultural life would be considerably sur- prised should they visit Walnut Hill Farm, the property of N. Cor- dell Tindall, in Howard county. True, industrious labor is still a

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necessary part of farm work, but power farm machinery has taken the place of the crude instruments of the pioneer settlers, the vocation of farming is now paying good profits to those who follow it intelligently, and the agriculturist finds that he can better prosecute his activities and obtain more satisfactory results if he observes reasonable hours and enjoys periods of recreation.

N. Cordell Tindall, who belongs to the modern, progressive class of farmers, was born in Howard county, Missouri, November 15, 1852, and is a son of Cordell Tindall, a grandson of Obediah Tindall, of Cul- pepper county, Kentucky, and a great-grandson of Obediah Tindall of Virginia. The Tindall family was founded in Howard county, Mis- souri, in 1818, the grandfather passing his life in agricultural pursuits near the old Trails Road, where he died. Cordell Tindall was born in that vicinity, and was married to Lucina Kingsbury in 1844, she being a daughter of Jerry Kingsbury, of Massachusetts, and Elizabeth Scot- ten Kingsbury, of North Carolina, who came to Howard county in 1817. Cordell Tindall settled on Walnut Hill farm after his marriage, and there continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, May 18, 1855, when thirty years of age, his birth having occurred March 8, 1825. He and his wife had the following children : Henry C., who died in 1894; Milton K., who passed away in 1883; M. F., who is farming a part of the old homestead; Lucy Elizabeth, deceased ; and N. Cordell. The mother of these children, who died in 1898, was a woman of education and refinement, being a graduate of Mt. Pleasant Acad- emy, where her principal was Prof. Wm. Switzer.

Reared to agricultural pursuits and taught to be honest and relia- ble, N. Cordell Tindall grew to manhood on the home farm and was given excellent educational advantages, attending the public schools, William Jewell College and Central College. He was married April 11, 1883, to Ella Eaton, a woman of intelligence and many social graces, who was educated at Howard Payne College, a daughter of George C. and Mary (Patrick) Eaton. After their marriage they settled on Walnut Hill Farm, a tract of 240 acres of valuable land, on which are located a modern residence, large barns and substantial outbuildings, located five miles from Fayette and near Mount Moriah church. In addition to general farming, Mr. Tindall carries on horse breeding and raises fine Angus cattle, which bring top-notch prices in the markets. Mr. Tindall is known as a scientific farmer, one who realizes the benefit of modern methods and the use of power machinery, and as a citizen he is held in high esteem, his name ever being connected with movements which have for their object the betterment of the community.

Mr. and Mrs. Tindall have had the following children: Frank E., born June 16, 1884, who died December 19, 1888; Cordell H., born May 4, 1890, who was married September 25, 1912, to Nora B. Wayland, of Fayette, Missouri ; and Robert Kingsbury, who is a student in Columbia University. Mr. Tindall is a Baptist in his religious belief, while his wife is a member of the Christian church. During their long residence in this county they have gathered about them a wide acquaintance, among which they number numerous sincere friends.

J. ROMEO HUGHES. Howard county is admirably located for the successful prosecution of farming, for the soil is exceedingly fertile, the climatic conditions almost ideal, and transportation facilities unsur- passed. However, although the agriculturist here has these advantages, he cannot compete successfully with others unless he carries on his oper- ations according to modern ideas, and uses improved machinery and up-to-date methods in his work. That the majority of the farmers here

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are progressive men is proven by the number of finely developed farms to be found all over Howard county, a fact that has very materially raised the standard of excellence here and placed Howard among the leading counties in agriculture in Northeastern Missouri. One of the men who has assisted in bringing about this desirable consummation is J. Romeo Hughes, proprietor of Plum Grove Farm, and a man who has been closely identified with the agricultural history of Howard county. Mr. Hughes was born on the farm on which he now lives in Howard county, Missouri, August 30, 1833, a son of William Hughes, Jr. His paternal grandfather, William Hughes, Sr., was of Welsh ancestry, and was for many years engaged in conducting a plantation in Jessamine county, Kentucky. There his son, also named William, grew to man- hood and married Anna M. Morison, who was born in Kentucky, daugh- ter of William Morison, and a sister of Judge Alfred W. Morison, for- mer state treasurer of Missouri. William and Ann M. Hughes came to Missouri in 1818, locating on the hill where J. R. Hughes now has his home, and there William Hughes built a tanyard and did an excellent business, having the contract for tanning all the boots and shoes that were manufactured in this section during the early days. He was also engaged in farming and stock raising and was rapidly becoming one of his community 's leading citizens, when his death occurred in 1837, when he was but forty-five years of age. His widow survived him until 1863, and was sixty-five years old at the time of her death. They had the fol- lowing children : A. F., who was a soldier in the Mexican war; William, who died in 1892, was also a Mexican war veteran, and passed away in San Francisco, California; John L., who died in Howard county in 1901; Mrs. Leland Wright,' deceased; Mrs. A. L. Davis, deceased ; George R., living in Southwestern Oklahoma; J. Romeo; and J. T. J., living in California.

J. Romeo Hughes has spent his entire life in agricultural pursuits and is one of the leading farmers and stockmen of his part of the county. Plum Grove farm, a fine tract of 426 acres, is situated four and one-half miles from Fayette, and has the best of improvements, including a brick residence, surrounded by stately shade trees and a wide and well-kept lawn. The substantial barns and outbuildings, the well-repaired fences, the flowing fields and wide pastures of blue grass, all testify to thrift, industry and able management, while the generous hospitality that is tendered to visitors suggests the old pioneer or the Southern planter.

Mr. Hughes was married November 26, 1857, in Howard county, to Miss P. A. Wilcoxson, who was born on a farm in this section, daughter of Joseph N. and Amanda (Stapleton) Wilcoxson. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are parents of the following children : Judge J. W., who is serv- ing his third term on the bench of the superior court of Sacramento, California; William, representative of the New York Life Insurance Company, at Kansas City, Missouri ; two daughters, Minnie and Gussie; and two sons : Morrison, who is assisting his father on the old homestead, and J. Romeo, Jr., a well-known attorney of Sacramento, California. Mrs. Hughes was born May 23, 1837, and died September 3, 1892.

Mr. Hughes and his son are engaged in raising pure-bred Polled Angus cattle, with which they have met with gratifying success. They are known as leaders in all movements tending to benefit Howard county and its people, and are earnest supporters of good citizenship and education.

ALFRED W. MORRISON. The pioneers of Howard county have done their work, and the result of their efforts is shown today in the magnifi- cently developed farms, flourishing towns and cities, splendidly kept

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roads and perfectly equipped schools. All this was not brought about in a day, but is the result of years of unceasing endeavor, coupled with constant faith in the locality and appreciation of its possibilities. One of the representative farmers of this locality, who belongs to an old and honored pioneer family, is Alfred W. Morrison, who is engaged in operating the well-known Morrison homestead, Lilac Hill, where he was born.

Judge Alfred W. Morrison, grandfather of Alfred W., was born in Jessamine county, Kentucky, and there resided until he was eighteen years of age, at which time he came to Howard county with his mother, step-father and sisters, about 1818, settling on the present farm of Mr. Morrison. He became one of the most prominent stock raisers and farm- ers of his locality, and served three terms as state treasurer of Missouri, being the only man to serve three consecutive terms in that capacity. Judge Morrison married a Miss Jackson, daughter of Capt. John Jack- son, of an old and highly respected family of Howard county, and they had these children : William, John L., Capt. Samuel C., who was a gal- lant officer during the Civil war, James P., and Preston E. After the death of Judge Morrison's father, his widow married Lawrence Jones Daly, a teacher and college graduate, who was of Irish parentage, and they had daughters as follows: Louisa, who married Judge John Sebree, and became the mother of Admiral Sebree of the United States Navy ; Mrs. Samuel Major, who became the mother of General Major, and Samuel Major, the latter a noted attorney of Fayette; Mrs. William C. Boone; and Mrs. Dr. John A. Talbot, the mother of Bishop Talbot of the Episcopal church. Judge Morrison left a farm of one thousand acres and was decidedly successful from a material standpoint, but his true worth was shown by the respect and esteem in which he was held by members of all political parties, and by the warm affection of his hosts of friends.

James P. Morrison, son of Judge Morrison, and father of Alfred W., was born in 1832, on the old homestead, was there reared and educated in the schools of Fayette, and at the age of twenty-four years was mar- ried to Carrie Stewart, daughter of Hugh Stewart, who came at an early day to Howard county, from Kentucky. Seven children were born to this union : Alfred W .; Bessie, the wife of W. W. Ferguson of Rich-Hill, Missouri ; Minnie ; Mary ; Rena, wife of Warren Bailey, of St. Louis; Dr. C. S., of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and James B., of San Antonio, Texas. The mother still survives and makes her home on the old home- stead.

The whole career of Alfred W. Morrison has been spent on Lilac Hill farm, so called because of the beautiful lilac bushes which were planted some eighty years ago, and which still flourish. The two-story brick resi- dence on this property overlooks the city of Fayette, being but one mile therefrom, and is an ideal country home, equipped with all modern con- veniences and comforts. Like his father and grandfather, Mr. Morrison is an enterprising, industrious and highly skilled agriculturist and stock- raiser, and bears a firmly-established reputation for integrity and up- rightness of character. Few men have a wider acquaintance in this part of the county, and none have a wider circle of personal friends. Mr. Morrison has never married.

JOHN E. STAPLETON. In Howard county the name Stapleton has for years been associated with agricultural operations on a large scale, and the Stapleton homestead in Richmond township easily takes rank among the best to be found in Northeast Missouri.

John E. Stapleton represents the third generation of this family in

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Howard county. He inherited large landed possessions, and has used his fine business ability both in the use and extension of his large prop- erty. His home farm was his birthplace, where he was born on Septem- ber 25, 1861. His father, George W. Stapleton, Jr., was born at the same place. The founder of the family name and fortunes in this old Missouri county was George W. Stapleton, Sr., who was a native of Fay- ette county, Kentucky, whence he moved to Missouri and did an import- ant share in the pioneer development of Howard county. His wife's name was Eliza, and they were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, all of whom grew up, but are now deceased.

George W. Jr., the father, was a lifelong resident of Howard county. He married Martha Cornelison, a native of Richmond, Madison county, Kentucky. They were the parents of only two children, and one of the sons died young. The mother died in 1866 at the age of twenty-seven, and the father lived to the age of sixty. At his death he left fifteen hun- dred acres of land as the heritage of his son John. As a farmer he had been an extensive producer of hemp and tobacco, and before the war worked his land with many slaves. His tobacco he shipped direct to Liverpool, England. He was one of the largest tax payers in Howard county. He was a man of vigorous constitution, and firmly adhered to the substantial principles of business conduct. He was a Democrat in politics, liberal in religious affairs, while his wife was a member of the Christian church.

The old farm in Richmond township has many associations for John E. Stapleton, for his earliest recollections concern the environment there during the sixties and seventies. He enjoyed liberal advantages as a boy and after his public schooling attended the Central College.

In 1903 he married Miss Florence Condron, a daughter of James and Elizabeth Condron, who had five children, one son and four daughters. Mrs. Stapleton was educated in Howard Payne College, and before her marriage was a popular teacher in the local schools. Mr. Stapleton and wife have two sons, John E. Jr., and James C.

Mr. Stapleton's farm lands comprise about two thousand acres, in sev- eral different farms, all well improved. He raises cattle, usually keeping about three hundred head. He has a number of tenants, and through their labors his land produces a large amount of grain.

URIAH S. WRIGHT, M. D. For more than forty years has this vener- able and honored physician and surgeon been actively engaged in the practice of his profession at Fayette, the judicial center of Howard county, and no citizen of this section of the state has a more determinate hold upon popular confidence and affection. He has long controlled a large and representative practice, widely disseminated, and his indefatig- able devotion to his work has shown his deep appreciation of the dignity and responsibility of the exacting and humane profession to which he has given himself with all of zeal and ability. He is one of the leading members of the medical profession in Northeastern Missouri, has served as president of the Missouri State Medical Society, and as a citizen he has ever stood ready to aid those measures and enterprises which tend to promote the general welfare of the community. He has been "guide, philosopher and friend" to many of the leading families of Howard and adjoining counties, and to him has come a gracious reward in the love and esteem of so wide a circle of friends as comes to few men in the com- mon walks of life. There is special pleasure in being able to present in this publication even a brief review of the career of Dr. Wright, and further interest attaches to such consideration by reason of his being a

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scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of the county in which he has lived and labored to goodly ends.

Dr. Uriah Seabree Wright was born in Richmond township, Howard county, February 1, 1847, in Fayette. He is a son of Leland and Cath- erine (Hughes) Wright, the former of whom was born at Madison Court- house, Virginia, a representative of one of the old and influential families of that historic commonwealth, and the latter of whom was born at Lexington, Kentucky, a daughter of William Hughes. The marriage of Dr. Wright's parents was solemnized in Howard county, Missouri, and upon coming to Missouri they established their home in Howard county, where the father became a prosperous farmer and stock-grower. He was a man of superior intellectuality and strong individuality, earnest and sincere in all of the relations of life and kindly and toler- ant in his judgment of his fellow men. He was a stalwart and effective advocate of the principles of the Democratic party and both he and his wife were most zealous members of the Baptist church, in which he served many years as deacon. The family name has been one that has stood exponent of productive effort in times of peace and utmost loyalty in the warfare in which the nation has been involved, representatives of the family having been valiant soldiers in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution, as well as the War of 1812. John Wright, grandfather of the Doctor, was a prominent and influential citizen of Madison county. Virginia, and one of his sons, Uriah, was for many years one of the representative members of the bar of St. Louis, Mis- souri. Leland Wright continued to reside in Howard county until his death, at the age of seventy-nine years, and his loved companion and helpmeet passed to the life eternal at the age of eighty years, secure in the love of all who had come within the sphere of her gentle and gracious influence. Of the three children Dr. Uriah S., of this review, was the first in order of birth; Nancy is the wife of Robert S. Walker, of St. Louis, Missouri, prominent judge of that city, and Katie died at the age of about twenty-two years.

Dr. Uriah S. Wright passed his childhood days on the home farm and after duly profiting by the privileges afforded in the common schools of the period he entered Center College, at Fayette, this state, where he pursued high academic studies. He began the study of medicine at Salisbury, Chariton county. Missouri, under effective private pre- ceptorship, and for a period of about five years he was independently engaged in the drug business at Salisbury. In 1871 he was graduated in the St. Louis Medical College, from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine, and during the long intervening period he has been engaged in active general practice in Howard county, with resi- dence and professional headquarters in the county seat, Fayette. He has endured many hardships and vicissitudes in ministering to those in affliction. as he has traversed many weary miles, in summer's heat and winter's tempests, often over roads nearly impassable, in order to succor those in distress and suffering. His has been a life of self-ab- negation and utmost faithfulness to duty, and well it is that he holds to himself the loving regard of those in whose homes he has been a veri- table messenger of mercy and help. He has found satisfaction in keep- ing himself abreast of advances made in medical and surgical science, and his medical library is one of select and comprehensive order. embracing the best of standard and periodical literature of technical sort. He is a member of the American Medical Association, has served as president of the Missouri State Medical Society and was one of the organizers of the Howard County Medical Society. Genial and con- siderate at all times, he has the high regard of his professional con-

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freres as well as of the entire populace of his home city and county, where not to know him is virtually to argue one's self unknown. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias, is a stanch Democrat in his political allegiance, and has been for many years a deacon in the Baptist church of Fayette, in which his first and his present wife likewise proved most faithful workers.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 68

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