USA > Missouri > A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2 > Part 7
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On March 3, 1880, the year after he had settled on his present farm,
mr. Lilly
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Mr. Shannon was united in the bonds of wedlock with Sallie Salena Holliday. Mrs. Shannon is the daughter of William Adair, and Jaily Finley Holliday, of Grassy Creek, near Louisiana, Missouri, and her brothers married sisters of R. M. Shannon. Six children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Shannon. Of these, Easton Adair is a prom- inent attorney of Mexico, Missouri, and a sketch of his life may be found elsewhere in these volumes. Buckner McCune is a farmer at home. Anna Margaret graduated in 1912, from the State University of Mis- souri, with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. She is also a graduate of the Teacher's College, and has received a life certificate enabling her to teach in the schools of the state of Missouri. Richard Orwin is a student in the medical department of the State Uni- versity, and Salena Minnie, who graduated from the Vandalia high school in 1911, is attending the same institution. Edwin Holliday, like his brother Buckner, is a farmer at home.
MAJOR JAMES LILLY, a practicing attorney of Moberly, Missouri, is a native son of Randolph county, this state, born here in 1872, on the 25th day of March. He is the son of James Madison and Margaret (Orr) Lilly, the father being a native of Kentucky and the mother of Virginia. James Madison Lilly was born in Oldham county, Kentucky in 1816 and came to Missouri in 1836, locating first in Marion county and two years later settling in Randolph county, which has represented the home of the family since that early day. He was a pioneer of Randolph county in its truer sense, and passed his life engaged in agricultural pursuits, interspersed with a certain activity in the black- smith and stone mason business. He died in Randolph county on August 8, 1900. The mother who was born in Washington county, Virginia, on January 2, 1835, died on September 15, 1903. They were the parents of six children, five of whom are living today. Charles W. is a farmer in the county in which he was born and reared; Joseph Campbell is superintendent of schools of Moberly, and of his life and work a more detailed account will be found in other pages of this his- tory ; Henry L. is also engaged in farming in this county; Nora is the wife of Omer Hendricks of Monroe county.
Major James Lilly was educated in the schools of Randolph county, and the state Normal school at Kirksville, Missouri. In 1890 he began teaching, and continued in that profession for six years, two years of which time he was engaged as school commissioner of Randolph county, and at the same time engaged as teacher in the high school of Moberly. Later he was superintendent of public schools of Unionville, Missouri.
In 1898 Mr. Lilly was elected clerk of the circuit court of Randolph county, and in that office he served two terms of four years each. He studied law in the meantime, and in April, 1901, was admitted to the bar. On the expiration of his second term as clerk of the circuit court he entered upon the practice of law, and since that time has been engaged in active general practice; in which he has experienced a pleas- ing degree of success in a professional way. Mr. Lilly is a Democrat, and as to his religious affiliations, is a member of the Presbyterian church. He is a Mason, and has occupied all chairs in the Blue lodge, Chapter and Knights Templar and is now representative of the Grand lodge of Louisiana. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks and is past exalted ruler of Moberly lodge No. 936.
On July 17, 1901, Mr. Lilly was married to Irma Ragland, in Monroe county, Missouri. She is a daughter of Frank B. and Letitia (Bassett) Ragland, both of whom are residents of Monroe county, where they have been for years identified with the agricultural inter-
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ests of the distriet. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lilly-Margaret and Frank.
FRED H. NAYSMITH. A native son of the locality in which he lives, Fred H. Naysmith has beeome one of the leading and most progressive farmers of the distriet, as well as a public official of whom the com- munity may well be proud, for to his efforts the excellent condition of the public roads in the vicinity of Audrain county is largely due. Mr. Naysmith was born October 8, 1870, on the farm three miles south of Vandalia where he still makes his home. His father is John Naysmith, a prominent citizen of Missouri, whose strong personality and sturdy Seoteh traits of honesty and industry are firmly implanted in his son. John Naysmith was born in Livingston county, New York, May 28, 1829, the son of John and Mercy A. (Priee) Naysmith. John Nay- smith was of Seotch birth, coming to this country at an early age. In the year 1845, when young John was sixteen years of age, the family moved to the fertile valley of the Grand River in Kent county, Michigan. Here his father followed his trade, which was that of wagonmaker, and in addition found time to cultivate a fine farm on the river border.
In August of 1860, when he was thirty-one years of age, young John Naysmith was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Stoeking, who was born in Genesee county, New York, but who was living with her par- ents at Grattan, Michigan, at the time of her marriage. Shortly after their nuptial rites had been solemnized, Mr. and Mrs. John Naysmith, Jr., removed to California, where they secured a splendid farm in the renowned San Jose valley, a few miles from Pasadena. Climatie eon- ditions caused their return east, however, so they came to Missouri, where, in the year 1868, John Naysmith bought a seleet tract of native prairie, and began to improve what has proved to be one of the most profitable and productive farms in Audrain county.
One of the first to settle on the broad expanse of prairie, for a long time Mr. Naysmith's enclosure was the only one to break up the miles of rolling plains where wild animals abounded, and where countless herds of eattle fed and fattened. During the years he has lived and labored in Audrain county, John Naysmith has seen the community fill up with settlers, until the entire prairie is broken into portions by the fenees which criss-cross its extent. He himself has praetieed a clean and systematic system of farming that has gained fame throughout the coun- tryside until his methods serve as an example to a great many who have investigated them and found them highly satisfactory. .
Not contented with aeeumulating wealth and property for himself alone, John Naysmith has always been Democratic in precept and prac- tiee, and has used his best efforts in the interests of good government. He aeted with Zueh Chandler and others in exposing the rottenness that existed in the conduct of publie affairs, and was active in those meetings and discussions that resulted in the formation of the Republican party under the oaks at Jackson in 1854. He always remained faithful to every tenet of the party. When it espoused the cause of human liberty, and cast the shackles from the slave, he was in sympathy with the action, and the Republican advocacy of the protective tariff has always appealed to him as a commendable and advisable policy.
An active eharter member of the Masonie lodge of Vandalia, John Naysmith has always squared his life in accordance with the highest principles of the order. Now, already past the allotted span of years, with failing physical powers, but undiminished mental faculties, he awaits the stroke of high twelve, serene in the confidence of a well- spent life, and unafraid to see and salute the Grand Master of the universe.
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John and Mrs. Naysmith have been blessed with four children: Clara E., Frank M., Fred H. and Effie. Of these, only Clara has. answered the eall of inexorable death. All who knew her remember her as a woman of exceptional beauty of mind and character. For some years, she was a teacher in the schools of Audrain county, and, unselfish to a fault, was sparing of no self-sacrifice in the attempt to alleviate misery and suffering. Her heart went out to the distressed, and in at least one instance the life of an infant was saved by weeks of close and devoted eare on her part. She was always ready to answer the call of the sick and needy, shedding comfort, sunshine and hope wherever she went. Her own brief but beautiful life was terminated abruptly on the 21st of April, 1901, when she succumbed to what had seemed at first to be but a slight stroke of paralysis, and her sweet and gentle soul passed to the more kindred air of Heaven.
Fred H. Naysmith has passed his life under the excellent influence of his father, and has proved a most worthy son to that excellent man. Like his father, he excels in the practice of agriculture. He keeps his farm in excellent condition, and has very fine erops. He is also a success- ful mule grower, and in a district famous for its mules, has won a good place as a breeder of those animals. He is alive to all the questions of the hour, and plays a prominent part in the business, social and politi- cal life. of his community.
On September 21, 1904, Fred H. Naysmith was married to Ethel Lamme, the daughter of George and Elnora (MeGilton) Lamme. Both the Lamme and McGilton families were natives to Ohio, coming to Illinois when the parents of Mrs. Naysmith were both in their early youth. Mrs. Naysmith was born in Illinois and came to Missouri in 1896, with her father and mother, who bought the Signer farm on Indian creek about three miles southeast of Vandalia. They finally traded this farm for the Jim Caldwell farm of 560 acres, which is located near Curryville. Mr. Lamme still operates this farm, and is considered one of the most successful farmers of Pike county. Mr. and Mrs. Naysmith have been blessed with two children, Vernon Frank, who was born January 15, 1906, and Mary Elnora, whose natal day is June 29, 1911.
ALLEN B. SHATTUCK. One of the old and honored families of north- eastern Missouri, members of which have lived in the vicinity of Audrain county for more than half a century, is that of Shattuck, a worthy rep- resentative of which is found in the person of Allen B. Shattuck, who is conducting operations on a part of the old family homestead, where he owns 120 acres. He was born on the Shattuck tract, September 27, 1878, and is a son of Artemus Locke and Areminta E. (Bratcher) Shattuck.
Artemus Locke Shattuck, Sr., the grandfather of Allen B. Shattuck, was born March 21, 1810, in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and. as a young man removed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where for a number of years he was engaged in the mercantile business. In 1858 he came to northeastern Missouri and purchased a section of land of Aaron McPike, located on the headlands of the northwestern branch of Indian ereek, in Pike county, near the Audrain county line. There he built a large, comfortable home, a handsome residence for that day, which was built of frame and was two and one-half stories in height, and because of the high winds that swept the prairie at that time, was called by his neighbors "Shattuck's Folly." He continued to reside on his farm throughout the remainder of his life, and died there December 20, 1878. Mr. Shattuck was married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Au- gust. 1832, to Catherine Hickey, who was born in January, 1807, and she died August 15, 1891, having been the mother of these children:
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Warren, Sarah, Ellen, Artemus Locke, Jr., Carrie and Walter, and three who died in infancy. The death of Mrs. Shattuck occurred at the home of Sarah Barnett, just south of Vandalia. Grandfather Shattuck was originally a Whig and later a Republican, and in his religious views was a Universalist. Although he operated large tracts of land and hired a number of employes, he never was a slave owner, having never become convinced of the justice of that institution.
Artemus Locke Shattuck, Jr., was born in 1843, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was fifteen years of age when he accompanied his parents to Missouri. He was still a youth in his 'teens when the Civil war broke out, and he enlisted for service in Company I, Third Regi- ment, Missouri State Militia, and saw four years of service, receiving an honorable discharge after a gallant service. On his return to the pur- suits of peace, he purchased a part of the old homestead, to which he added from time to time until he had a farm of 120 acres, and this he was engaged in cultivating until his death, which occurred May 12, 1907. He was an active and enthusiastic Mason, and in politics was a Republican, serving capably and faithfully as a member of the school board of Prairie View township. Mr. Shattuck was twice married, his first wife being Mary Mitchell, who died in 1868, having borne him one child : Hattie. Mr. Shattuck's second marriage was with Areminta E. Bratcher, who was born in 1848, and still makes her home with her son, Allen B., daughter of F. A. and Jane (Branstetter) Bratcher, and their only child. Her father was married a second time to Helen Barret, who survives him and lives at St. James, Missouri, and they had six children, namely : Allen, Helen, George, Monroe, Elsa and Alice.
The only child born to his parents, Allen B. Shattuck, was reared to agricultural pursuits, and received his preliminary education in the district schools, following which he spent some time in the Kirksville Normal School. For eleven years he was engaged in teaching school in Audrain county, holding a state teacher's certificate, but at this time is engaged in farming, owning a well-cultivated tract of 120 acres. He is progressive in his views and methods and is recognized as an able agri- culturist and as a man who has the welfare of his community at heart. For three years he served as superintendent of agriculture for the Van- dalia Carnival, handling its affairs in such a manner as to insure its com- plete success. He is a valued member of the Odd Fellows and the Mod- ern Woodmen of America, is a stanch Republican in his political views, and with his wife attends the Methodist church.
On April 5, 1905, Mr. Shattuck was married at Laddonia, Missouri, to Miss Myrtle Lake, daughter of James and Ella (Adams) Lake, the latter of whom became the wife of I. J. Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Shattuck have two children : Artemus Lake and Rothwell Wayne.
. THOMAS RICHARD. The subject of this history is one of the enter- prising farmers and stock raisers of northeastern Missouri who have undertaken to show to their own satisfaction and to that of others, what can be done by using the most scientific methods of agriculture. He is a native son of Audrain county, having been born one mile south of Vandalia, one of the third generation of Richards to make his home in that section of the state.
The grandfather of Thomas J. Richard was William Richard, who was born at Ballymoney, County Antrim, Ireland, in 1804. Living at a time when the famous Irish linen was woven in the cottages of the peasants, he became an expert weaver, and plied his trade while a young man in the old country. He became discontented, however, with the barrenness of his lot, and left the "ould sod" in 1830, to seek his for-
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tune in that land of promise-the United States. He settled in St. Lawrence county, New York, and set to work to clear a farm in what was then a heavily wooded district. This involved the very severest labor, and in addition, times were very hard; so William Richard was forced to eke out his precarious income with the sale of black salts, which were secured from the potash in ashes gained by burning what · would now be the most valuable timber. In 1867 he moved to Missouri with his two sons, William Henry and George C.
William Richard is widely remembered in the vicinity of Vandalia as a pleasant and companionable old man-a splendid illustration of the better class of citizen furnished to our country from the north of Ireland. His rigid Presbyterian training had fortified an already strong character, and he was enabled to fight bravely against the hardships of pioneer life. His uprightness, and keen-sightedness were so well known in the community where he last lived, that a word of approbation from him was highly valued by his neighbors. In his boyhood he had enjoyed the tutelage of a master of the violin, and had himself become quite proficient in the art of playing that instrument. It had proved a source of both cheer and income to him in the wilderness of New York, when he was still a comparatively young man, and in his old age, he found in it perpetual solace and enjoyment. Even when his hands were drawn with rheumatism, he did not lose his skill, but continued to play the soft old Scotch and Irish tunes, so laden with tender memories to all hearers. His heart kept ever young, and he took delight in furnishing others with enjoyment from his store of old songs, and in joining in with others in the playing of the ancient melodies that have gladdened the hearts of generations. Although he now sleeps in the quaint New Harmony cemetery, under the quiet shade of the trees, his gentle spirit still lives in the hearts of those who knew him and loved him.
George C. Richard, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, on July 26, 1835. He shared the hardships of his worthy father in his youth, and helped wrest a living from the stubborn soil. In 1862, he left the farm for the first time to join the Union army, and he served until the end of the war in a com- mand which saw much of the fiercest fighting that took place in Virginia. He himself suffered some severe wounds from which he has never recov- ered.
In 1865, as mentioned above, he accompanied his father and brother to Missouri. Upon his arrival in that state, he worked the Captain Modisett farm which is located about one mile south of Vandalia, for some years. Finally he bought some land on Indian creek. Here by strictest economy, careful management, and hard work, he managed to place in operation one of the finest and most improved farms in his section of the country. For forty years now, he has been active in the raising of stock, and many of the excellent mules for which Audrain county is justly noted, are the results of his careful endeavors in breeding.
Mr. George Richard has not devoted his life solely to his own ad- vancement. He has always worked for the betterment of the entire community, and has proved a worthy example to the younger genera- tion by reason of his steadfastness in right living. As age creeps on apace, he is able to look back with satisfaction on a well-spent life, and can wait the call of the Master in quiet enjoyment of his declining years.
Two years before coming to Missouri, Mr. Richard was married in St. Lawrence county, New York, to Maria C. Allen, who remained his faithful helpmeet for over forty years. Mr. and Mrs. Richard have
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two sons, Thomas and Arthur G., the latter of whom operates the old homestead.
Thomas Richard, the eldest son of his parents, has spent his entire life in the vicinity of Vandalia. Having spent his early years on his father's farm, he acquired a thorough knowledge of farming before most young men have decided what their future occupation is to be. Since coming to his majority, he has kept augmenting his information® concerning agriculture, with a study of the latest and most advanced methods. Like his father, he has been interested in breeding high- grade stock, and at present has in his possession a choice head of Jerseys with which he has carried off high honors at various exhibits. He was the first man in the vicinity to erect a silo, and has demonstrated its efficiency in the preparation of stock feed to the entire community. He has also tested out the cream separator, and has found it invaluable in up-to-date farming. Altogether, he stands for progress, and it is his readiness to accept modern conditions, together with his extraordinary business sagacity, that has enabled him to achieve the success which he has gained. At present he has about 240 acres in pasture and grain, and from sixty to eighty acres in corn, and he operates the whole lot in a thorough manner, yet with the least possible expenditure.
Mr. Richard was married on July 3, 1889, to Miss Millicent Nora Madison. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Richard has been blessed with one daughter, Helen M. Richard.
BROOKS W. B. MADISON. On a golden October day, in the year 1889, all that was mortal of one of God's noblemen, Brooks Wellington Blucher Madison, was laid away in the cemetery at Vandalia, amid the heartfelt mourning of his friends and relatives. Still, the sorrow- ing hearts of those who assisted at the last rites of him whom they had loved, were not without comfort, for they felt that he had fought a good fight, and had passed to his reward, leaving the world better be- cause he had lived.
Brooks W. B. Madison was born in the lovely old New England village of Hill, on June 28, 1817. He was the descendant of Puritan ancestors, whose names may be seen on the moss-covered stones of the old burying ground at Ipswich, Massachusetts, in which town they settled in 1735. They, and the generations which followed them, con- tended against the stubborn wilderness of the new land, and against the perils of the wild beasts and wilder and more treacherous redskins, until they developed natures hardy and courageous in adversity, and strong in prosperity-traits which they handed down to their posterity.
The father of Brooks Madison was Col. Luther Knowlton Madison. Imbued with the pioneer spirit of his ancestors, Colonel Madison, as the Erie canal opened up a route to the west, traveled to Rochester, New York, then the terminus of the canal, in 1824. When the waterway was completed, he sought the newer state of Michigan, where he made his home at the town of Ithaca. There, in the year 1830, he erected a hotel, which is still used for the same purpose for which it was dedicated almost ninety years ago. In addition to being proprietor of the hos- telry, Colonel Madison was also a teacher, and an influence toward progress and uprightness in his community.
In 1845, Brooks Madison was married in McComb county, Michigan, to Helen Scranton, who, as was her husband, was from New England. Her parents were Vermonters, and her ancestors fought in the famous battles of Bennington and Ticonderoga. In the year of his marriage, Brooks Madison moved to the Grand River country, which was then just opening up, and was one of the first to make settlement in its endless
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forests. With no capital save a pair of strong and willing hands, he built himself a log cabin, and set to work to make a fruitful farm out of the wilderness. No one who ever has known Mr. Madison will doubt that he succeeded. He remained on the farm which he cleared for twenty-five years. At the end of that time, finding the winters in Michigan too severe, he followed the tide of emigration westward, and settled in Missouri.
In 1869, Brooks Madison bought a fine tract of raw prairie land about two and one-half miles southeast of the present site of Vandalia. The district in which he made his home was called "New Michigan," for a good many Michigan men had located there. These included Abram and Demas Satterlee, John Naysmith, Del Demarest, and others who had bought adjacent farms on the waters of Indian ereek. At that time, Vandalia had not yet come into existence, although the construc- tion of a railway grade across the prairie was causing the possibility of establishing a station somewhere in the vicinity to be eagerly discussed. It is hard for anyone now familiar with the thickly settled region to believe that less than fifty years ago, a man standing on that point of the prairie where Vandalia now is, could look over broad, uninhabited plains, with only two dwellings breaking the monotony of their expanse, the McCune house, situated two miles to the east, and the Fritz Schriever homestead, located the same distance southwest. Then hundreds of deer furnished sport for the hunters, and during fall and winter nights, the wakeful person could hear the horns of the fox hunters, mingled with the deep baying of the hounds.
Coming into this primitive district, Mr. Madison took an active part in bringing the benefits of civilization into the community. He was instrumental in the establishment of schools, and in the construction of roads and bridges. His was the hand that turned the first furrow for the road which enters Vandalia from the east. Publie spirited in the truest, deepest sense of the word, he was yet of a very retiring dispo- sition, and modest as a child, so he aspired to no office or distinction of any sort, but was content to wield his influence in an unpretentious manner, that was nevertheless profoundly felt throughout the country- side. He possessed a remarkable sense of justice, and always east his weight of opinion into the balance of the right. He was ever ready to help those who were needy or in trouble by deed or by word of advice and encouragement, and his eounsel was sought after eagerly, and his opinion highly prized. The young rejoiced in his commendation, and the aged found consolation in his broad, optimistic outlook upon life. In the conduct of his own affairs, he was rigidly honest, and his word was considered as good as his bond.
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