USA > Missouri > A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2 > Part 71
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On the 11th of April, 1883, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Plains to Miss Lillie Miller, who was born and reared in Howard, this state, and who is a daughter of Henry B. and Permelia (Brown) Miller, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Howard county, Mis- souri, where her parents settled in the pioneer days. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller passed the closing years of their lives in Howard county and the father devoted the major part of his active career to the voca- tion of farming. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Plains: Mabel is the wife of M. W. Woods, of Fayette; Henry B. maintains his home at Evanston, Wyoming; Fred and Frank are twins, the latter being his father's assistant in the post- office and the former being engaged in blacksmithing, at Fayette, Mis- souri; Effie likewise is a clerical assistant in the postoffice; and the younger children, who still remain at the parental home, are William E., Kate, Laura and Winston. The family is popular in the social life of the community and the attractive home is known for its gracious but unostentatious hospitality.
Guss E. HOWELMAN. The popular and efficient postmaster of the thriving little city of New Franklin, Howard county, is a representative of one of the well known and highly honored families of Northeastern Missouri, and he has been the incumbent of his present responsible office
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since the 1st of February, 1911, when he succeeded William E. Coolidge as executive head of the local service of the United States mail.
Mr. Howelman was born in Warren county, Missouri, on the 1st of October, 1878, and is a son of Ernest and Federeke (Koutner) Howel- man. The father was born in Germany and was a child at the time of the family immigration to America. He has passed the major part of his life in Missouri and is now numbered among the substantial farmers and highly esteemed citizens of Howard county, where he is the owner of a well improved landed estate. He is a Republican in his political proclivities and both he and his wife hold membership in the Evangelical church. They have four children,-Emma, Otto, Emil and Guss E.
Reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm, Guss E. Howel- man early learned the lessons of practical industry, and he is indebted to the public schools for his educational training in his youth. He speaks with practically equal fluency both the English and German languages, and his knowledge of the German is of distinctive value to him in his present office. After leaving the farm Mr. Howelman identi- fied himself with business activities in New Franklin, and here he built up a most prosperous enterprise as a dealer in agricultural implements and machinery. He continued in this business until his appointment to his present office, and his scrupulous fairness and honor in all trans- actions gave him even stronger hold upon the confidence and esteem of the people of the community.
Mr. Howelman is an acknowledged leader in the local ranks of the Republican party and has given efficient service in behalf of the prin- ciples and policies for which the party stands sponsor. He has served as chairman of the Republican central committee of Howard county and also as committeeman of New Franklin township. He is affiliated with the Royal Neighbors and the Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Evangelical church. Frank, genial and kindly, Mr. Howelman has gained a wide circle of friends in his home county, and his able administration in his present office has brought to him uniform commendation on the part of the local public.
On the 13th of June, 1907, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Howelman to Miss Paulina Schwartz, who was born and reared in Howard county, and who is a daughter of Fritz Schwartz, one of the substantial farmers and honored citizens of Franklin township. Mr. and Mrs. Howelman have a fine little son, Earl, who was born on the 13th of March, 1908.
C. C. FURR. One of the oldest and most reliable land firms in cen- tral and Northeast Missouri is that conducted under the name of Furr. Father and son have continued this business for a quarter of a century, and Fayette has come to regard the office as one of the valued assets of the business community. General real estate, farm loans, exchange and insurance comprise the principal branches of the business, and Mr. Furr maintains a fine suite of offices in the Bank of Commerce building at Fayette.
Mr. C. C. Furr is a son of the late Maj. A. J. Furr, one of the ablest and best known citizens of Howard county, a man whose business and official record remains to be cherished by his son. The family were originally from Virginia, where Major Furr was born on his father's plantation, where before the war five hundred slaves were employed in the various activities of one of the largest of country estates typical of the Old Dominion. When A. J. Furr arrived at the age of fifteen, the war came on and he enlisted in the Confederate army. He went
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through the various campaigns, receiving a wound as a token of his service, and came out an officer. He soon afterwards came west, locat- ing a short time in St. Louis, and then in Howard county. At Boones- boro he was engaged in teaching school for some time, and married one of his pupils, Miss Betha F. Ashcraft, who represented one of the old families of Howard county. Otho Ashcraft, her father, was a pioneer of Howard county. Mark Cole, our subject's great-great-grandfather on his mother's side, was with Daniel Boone at Boonesboro and fought the Indians in the early days. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Furr three children were born who reached adult age. Of these, Lucile was a young woman of education and ability, and her death at the age of twenty-three was deplored by a large acquaintance. A son, named B. F., was also at the beginning of a useful career, when at Denver he submitted to a surgical operation, and lived only a few months after his return home, being twenty-two years old at the time of his death.
The late Major Furr served as county treasurer and county col- lector of Howard county, and was otherwise identified with the public- spirited activities of this community in which he spent so many years. He was a man of commanding presence, and also because of his official record in the army, was often called upon at the larger public occasions, especially as grand marshal.
Mr. C. C. Furr was born in Boonesborough on April 2, 1876, and has spent practically all his life in Howard county. As a boy he attended the public schools and later Central College, and early began his experience in real estate, first in a real estate firm and then in business for himself and with his father. Mr. Furr married Miss Vir- ginia Lee Hammack, daughter of William H. Hammack, who was formerly a banker at Salisbury, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Furr have two children, named Otho Kemp and Jane Elizabeth. Politically Mr. Furr is a Democrat, is a member of the Methodist church, while his wife is a Baptist.
J. W. ARMSTRONG. Among the pioneer real estate men of Fayette, to whom must be given the credit for much of the material advance- ment of this section during the past several decades, the name of J. W. Armstrong holds a position of prestige. Coming here in 1892, he has so identified himself with the realty interests of the city and county as to build up a large business and at the same time gain and retain the respect and esteem of those who believe that he best serves himself who serves his community. Mr. Armstrong was born near Columbia, in Boone county, Missouri, August 24, 1850, and is a son of Abner E. and Susan (Nols) Armstrong.
The Armstrong family has been long noted as one whose members have been able in business, skilled in the professions, public-spirited in peace and courageous in war. Of Scotch-Irish descent, members of this family took part in the early settlement of Kentucky, where Abner E. Armstrong was born and reared. During pioneer days; Mr. Arm- strong moved to Boone county, Missouri, where he participated in the Black Hawk war, and on the completion of his military career returned to Columbia, where he took up carpentering and contracting and built many of the very first structures in that city. He was a man of integ- rity and industry, and in his death, which occurred when he was seventy-eight years of age, Boone county lost one of its best citizens. His wife passed away in 1899, when seventy-eight years of age, having been the mother of four children, three of whom are now deceased.
J. W. Armstrong was reared at Columbia, and was given good educational advantages, attending the public schools and the Univer- sity of Missouri, at Columbia. On graduating from the latter institu-
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tion, Mr. Armstrong took up the profession of teaching during the winter terms and farming in the summer months, and was thus engaged for ten years, becoming a well-known educator and many of his pupils now being successful business men and women. On coming to Fayette, in 1892, Mr. Armstrong established himself in the real estate business, and since that time has handled numerous properties, residence, busi- ness, farm and factory, and has gained a comprehensive knowledge of realty values. Quick to grasp an opportunity, and possessing the ability to carry his enterprises through' to a successful conclusion, his activities have always been directed along legitimate lines and no stain or blemish mars his long and useful career.
In 1873 Mr. Armstrong was married to Clara Osborn, daughter of George Osborn, whose death occurred at Honolulu, Hawiian Islands, and to this union there were born six children, as follows: Mrs. F. M. Ragsdale, of Mexico, Missouri; Roy ; Evans, living in Portland, Oregon; Austin, also of that city; Susy, of Fayette; and Malford. Mrs. Arm- strong died April 24, 1894, a faithful member of the Baptist church, and loved and esteemed by all, and Mr. Armstrong was married (sec- ond) to Anna Richards, of a well known family of Howard county that originally came from Kentucky. Mr. Richards is now deceased, but Mrs. Armstrong's mother still survives and makes her home at Fayette, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong have one daughter, Ula Frances. Mr. Armstrong is a Democrat in political matters, and has twice been candidate for county clerk and for assessor. He is secre- tary of the Fayette Building and Loan Association, and is fraternally connected with the Odd Fellows, in which he has numerous friends. He has been very active in church matters, being a deacon in the Baptist church and superintendent of the Sunday-school, and is a liberal supporter of all measures making for the advancement of edu- cation, religion and morality. A man of pleasing address and per- sonality, he makes friends among all classes, and it is doubtful if Fayette can boast of a more popular citizen.
A. B. CLEMSON. One of the prominent citizens who was for a num- ber of years engaged in the coal business in Moberly, was the late A. B. Clemson, in whose death Moberly lost one of its citizens who always had the best interests of his community at heart. For more than twenty years he was closely identified with the industrial life of Moberly, so conducting his affairs as to win the respect and esteem of his fellow men, and to insure him a place in the ranks of successful self-made workers. Mr. Clemson was born on a farm in Randolph county, Missouri, and was a son of J. S. and Hannah (Rutherford) Clemson, the former a native of Missouri and the latter of Kentucky. J. S. Clemson came to Missouri in early manhood, and after his mar- riage located on a farm in Randolph county, but subsequently disposed of his property there and purchased land in Macon county, where occurred the death of himself and wife. He was one of his locality's sterling citizens and possessed the regard of a wide circle of acquaint- ances. He and his wife had a family of ten children.
Educated in the district schools, and reared to the life of a farmer, A. B. Clemson grew to manhood on the home place in Macon county, where his early life was spent in agricultural pursuits. He continued to remain a tiller of the soil until 1889, when he grasped an oppor- tunity that presented itself, and during the rest of his life had no reason to regret the change. His death occurred March 2, 1910. Inter- ment was made at Oakland cemetery. A hard-working, thorough-going business man, of the strictest integrity and probity, Mr. Clemson well
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merited the esteem in which he was universally held. He took a prominent part in the work of the Christian church, and could be depended upon at all times to support movements of a progressive or beneficial nature, whether of a religious nature, and was a stanch supporter of education, morality and good citizenship.
In 1887, Mr. Clemson was married in Macon county, Missouri, to Mrs. N. J. Miller, widow of the late J. P. Miller, by whom she had three children : Effie T., wife of C. J. Warmouth, of Macon county, Missouri; A. D. Miller, living in Randolph county; and Elizabeth B., widow of the late J. W. Callahan, now living in St. Louis, Mis- souri. Mrs. Clemson still survives her husband, and makes her home in the old family residence, on West Coates street.
FONTAIN MERIWETHER MINOR, of the Twice-a-Week Times, a popu- lar semi-weekly paper of Louisiana, is a native of Pike county, born May 10, 1867.
His father was Judge Nicholas Peter Minor, who came to Pike county from Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1834. He was born in 1825, near the home of Thomas Jefferson and within the precincts of this sage of American statesman he was nurtured and educated. His father was Samuel Overton Minor, who brought his family and slaves down the Ohio and up the Mississippi river and located in Lincoln county, Missouri, during the childhood period of Missouri history. This modest pioneer and planter remained in that portion of the state during his closing years and reared a family of ten children. Those who accompanied him away from Virginia were Samuel O., William, Judge N. P., Garrett and Miss Lou Minor, the only survivor of that family. The mother of these children was formerly Miss Lydia Lewis.
Judge Peter Minor completed his education at a college at Jack- sonville, Illinois, a popular institution at that time, after which he engaged in teaching school and later took up the study of law. In 1853 he was appointed district attorney to fill a vacancy and was subsequently elected to the office, and in 1854 he was appointed judge of the court of common pleas of Louisiana. During the war between the states, his sympathies were with the slave holders, and he joined the Confederate army where he served under General Price. He accepted the results of the war as settling forever, the question over which the four-year contest was fought. Owing to his enlistment he was prohibited from practicing law in Pike county, just after the war, due to the provisions of the Drake constitution and he therefore went to Callaway county, where its constitutional provisions were not so strictly adhered to, and there remained in the practice of law until the state supreme court annulled the objectional constitution. In 1867 he returned to Pike county and resumed his legal work and in 1878 he engaged in farming near Louisiana, but in 1882 was called from it to resume the office of probate judge of the county, to which he was elected in 1882, and in which capacity he served until 1890. While in Bowling Green he was a law partner of the Hon. A. H. Buckner, an ex-congressman, and also published, with him, the Pike County Gazette. He died in 1892, two years after his term of office expired.
Judge Minor's first wife was Miss Sarah Lewis, of Virginia, who married while visiting in Missouri. She died in 1860. His second wife was Elize Rootes, a daughter of Capt. Thomas R. Rootes, a grad- uate of West Point and a United States naval officer until the out- break of the war, when he joined the Confederate States navy. Cap- tain Rootes lived in Fulton, Missouri, but both he and his wife died
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in Bowling Green. The widow of Judge Minor survived until 1905, when she passed away at the age of sixty-seven, her only child, Fon- tain Meriwether, being with her in Louisiana, at the time.
Fontain Meriwether Minor's education was obtained in the Louis- iana and Bowling Green schools. He learned the printer's trade and in 1887, established with James B. Simpson, the Daily Evening Call, in Louisiana. Later he disposed of his interest to Ralph Stewart and went to Clarksville and subsequently to St. Louis, where he became a journeyman for a few years. He returned to Louisiana following the death of his father and in 1893 moved to the farm, where he lived until 1909, when he purchased a half interest in the paper with which he is now connected, and of which corporation he is president.
Mr. Minor was married January 4, 1893, to Miss Fora May Fisher, a daughter of John Fisher, of Clarksville, whose wife was Miss Emma Cornelia Long.
Mr. and Mrs. Minor have three children: Nicholas Peter, who is one of the force of the Twice-a-Week Times, and was born in 1894; Margaret May, born in 1896; and Elizabeth Pinkey, born in 1902.
Mr. Minor is a strong Democrat and his paper was one of the orig- inal "Champ Clark-for-president" organs, and began its agitation for the speaker many years ago.
In his fraternal connections Mr. Minor is a Mason, Odd Fellow (also a member of the encampment), Woodman, Red Man and Eagle. He is also a member of the Episcopalian church.
WV. O. HAWKINSON, M. D. One of the most able and skillful physi- cians of Howard county, W. O. Hawkinson, M. D., has built up an exten- sive and lucrative practice in Roanoke, where he has been located since 1884, a period of twenty-nine years. He has the distinction of having been employed in his professional work for a longer time according to his age than any other physican in the United States, and during the time has won for himself a prominent and honorable name in medical circles. He was born September 1, 1863, in Roanoke, Howard county, Missouri, of Swedish ancestry.
Louis Hawkinson, the doctor's father, was born and reared in Sweden, where he acquired his education, and likewise served an appren- ticeship at the carpenter's trade. Immigrating at the age of nineteen years to the United States, he located in the northeastern part of Chari- ton county, where he successfully followed his trade many years. Now a hale and hearty man of seventy-eight years, he is living retired from active pursuits in Roanoke. He married Miss Mary Green, of Chariton county, and to them two sons and three daughters were born, all of whom, with the exception of one daughter, are now, in 1912, living.
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Having acquired his rudimentary education in the public schools, W. O. Hawkinson entered the Missouri Medical College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1884, receiving the degree of M. D. Soon after receiving his diploma, Dr. Hawkinson located in Roanoke, where he has since been actively and successfully engaged in his chosen work. He made rapid strides in his profession from the start, display- ing a wisdom and skill in the treatment of difficult cases that gained for him the confidence of the entire community, and has placed him in a high position among the physicians of repute in this vicinity.
Dr. Hawkinson married, January 15, 1885, Jennie Wicks, a daughter of N. D. Wicks, of Roanoke, Missouri, and into their household two chil- dren have been born, namely : James, of Billings, Montana, and Ethel. The doctor is an active member of the Chariton County Medical Society,
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and belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and A. F. & A. M. Religiously, both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
WILLIAM M. DECAPITO. One of the men who may be found continu- ously "up and doing" in a business way in Milan is W. M. DeCapito, who with his son, Wilson, under the firm name of W. M. DeCapito & Son, conduct a live business in livery, dray and transfer, as well as being especially active in the buying of horses and mules in Milan and vicin- ity. Their enterprise is one that has been in existence under their super- vision since 1910, and its proprietors are known among the ablest and most successful business men of the city. The establishment is located on Third street, near the southeast corner of the public square, and has long enjoyed a popularity and patronage that make it one of the best business concerns in the community.
W. M. DeCapito is a native Californian, born in San Francisco. His father, who was a blacksmith by occupation and also operated a farm, was of French ancestry, as the name would indicate, and died when forty-six years of age. The early life of Mr. DeCapito was passed on the home farm and the public schools of his community afforded him such education as he has received, barring that which he has added to his fund as the results of keen observation and practical experience. In 1884 Mr. DeCapito located in Sullivan county, this state, and here he has since made his home. In 1910 he established his present business, with what success has already been delineated in a preceding paragraph.
The barn occupied by the DeCapito business is a commodious building, one hundred and twenty by forty-four feet, and has accommodations for as many as one hundred and fifty head of horses and mules. This barn is the acknowledged headquarters of the horse and mule trade in the city, and DeCapito & Son are always found ready and willing to make a deal, and have a reputation for paying the highest prices current in the market for good horses and mules. As a business man, his reputation is of the highest, and Mr. DeCapito has a wide reputation throughout the state in horse and mule trading circles. A man of liberal views and up-to-date in his thought and method, his place in the community is most secure, and his value to the city as a citizen and business man could not be over-estimated.
Mr. DeCapito is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Macca- bees as well. He married Miss Susan Boyd in May, 1890, and one son has been born to them,-Wilson, who is now the business partner of his father, and gives promise of being the able second of his father in matters of business in the coming years. Mr. DeCapito is a Democrat in his political affiliations.
JONATHAN COWHERD BROCKMAN. Mrs. McCully, wife of the present county superintendent of schools of Randolph county, belongs to one of the old and well-known families of Northeast Missouri. Martha Florence (Brockman) McCully was born January 7, 1875, near Clifton Hill, Mis- souri, in Randolph county, a daughter of Jonathan Cowherd and Mary (Lindsay Green) Brockman, both of whom are still living and have their home at 805 West End Place in Moberly.
Jonathan C. Brockman was born near Huntsville in Randolph county, July 8, 1854. In politics he has always been a Democrat and his church is the South Methodist. His parents were James Lindsay and Susan (Graves) Brockman. The former was born in Virginia in 1815, followed the trade of brick-mason and farming, and died in 1860 near Hunts- ville, Missouri, where he had spent many years of his life. His church
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was the Baptist. His wife was born in Virginia in 1821. James L. Brockman and wife were the parents of five daughters and four sons named as follows: Camoria, Mariette, Livingston, Rosely, James, Susie, Johnnie, Jonathan and Jennie.
Mary Lindsay Green, the mother of Mrs. McCully, was born near Clifton Hill, Missouri, December 18, 1854. Her father was Evan Green, who was born in Howard county, Missouri, in 1819 and was reared there and in Randolph county. He was a substantial farmer through- out his career and a Democrat in politics and a member of the Metho- dist church. His death occurred near Clifton Hill in 1895. Evan Green married Nancy J. Ramsey, who was born in Howard county, Mis- souri, January 16, 1824, and was married to Mr. Green October 14, 1841. They were the parents of three daughters and six sons, whose names are : James, John, Sarah, George, Mattie, Mary, Charles, Wilbur, and Ellis.
Jonathan C. Brockman and wife were married near Clifton Hill on March 12, 1874, and their family of three daughters and five sons are named as follows, with the respective birth of each: Florence, born January 7, 1875; Orah, born March 1, 1876; Carrie, born February 22, 1878, died March 4, 1911; Willis, born June 22, 1880; Ellis and Evan, twins, born April 5, 1884; Soc, born August 24, 1888, and Howard, January 6, 1894.
REV. THOMAS PRESTON HALEY was born April 19, 1832, near Lexing- ton, Kentucky, the son of Benjamin and Eliza (Carver) Haley. Rev. Mr. Haley attended school in Randolph county, Missouri, and later was for some years a student in the University of Missouri, then under the presidency of Dr. James Shannon. In his twenty-second year he was ordained to the ministry of the Christian church and during a long and useful life served as pastor of churches in Missouri and Kentucky. As a pulpit orator and author he was one of the most eminent in his denomination. He took a large interest in public affairs and was con- stantly in demand as speaker on important public occasions.
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