A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 83

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

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By this time the war had ceased to disturb the little Missouri com-

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munity, although it was raging fiercely in other sections of the country. Mr. Matchet could therefore follow his trade in peace. He found employment with his old tutors, Ashcraft and Brother and remained with them for a year. He then went to Keokuk, Iowa, and after a stay there of two years, once more returned to Paris and entered the employ of his old friends. This was his last year as an employee, for having saved the money and made a reputation for good work, he determined to open up a shop of his own. It was in 1868 that he opened a shop on the site of his present one, and since that time he has employed several men to work under him and has thus been a modest contributor to the material development of the town and to its commercial pros- perity. In 1902 he lost his plant by fire, but he immediately erected a brick building to take its place and until quite recently was the sole proprietor of a flourishing business. He is now the senior member of the firm of Matchet & Maxey.

In politics Mr. Matchet is a member of the Democratic party, and has taken some interest in political matters in the town, having been twice a member of the council. He is a member of the Christian church and is one of the elders of that body. Mr. Matchet was first married in July, 1868, to Miss Maria B. Heath, a daughter of John Heath, of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. She died in 1871, leaving one daughter, Berta, who died unmarried at the age of nineteen. Mr. Matchet's second marriage took place in April, 1873, his wife being Harriet Kennedy. She was a daughter of Jacob Kennedy, an old set- tler of Howard county, Missouri. She was born in Howard county and died in 1885, leaving no children. In April, 1892, Mr. Matchet was married to his present wife, Mrs. Mollie Payne, who is a daughter of John Hutcherson, of Shelby county, Missouri. Mrs. Matchet's first husband was Dr. Bennett Payne, who died at Clarence, Missouri, in 1887. Her children by this first marriage were Orion L., of Chicago; Dr. Harry C., of Paris, Missouri, and Mrs. F. I. Guest, of Chicago. Her father, Mr. Hutcherson, was a farmer in Shelby county, and enter- ing the ranks of the Confederates was taken a prisoner and died at his home in Shelby, Missouri. Her mother was Catherine Newton, of Ralls county and she is a sister of W. H. and Lewis Hutcherson, of Owasso, Oklahoma, and of Mrs. Effie Howell, of Oklahoma City, in the same state.

Mr. and Mrs. Matchet have one son, J. Frank, Jr., who was a student in the University of Missouri and is now a clerk in the Fort Dearborn National Bank at Chicago. Mr. Matchet has always been deeply inter- ested in Oddfellowship, placing it next in importance to his church work. He has been through all of the chairs twice and in many ways has proved a valuable member of the local lodge.

JOHN LANGDON CARTER. It takes considerable amount of executive ability and force of character to be a successful educator in these days, for the public schools have awakened to the fact that like every other great institution that must be thoroughly organized. As an example of this newer type of educator, John Langdon Carter, county superin- tendent of schools of Monroe county, Missouri, stands well to the front. Progressive and energetic he has done much to improve educational conditions in his section and perhaps his crowning achievement has been to awaken a deep interest in education among the mothers and fathers of the community.

John Langdon Carter is descended from a family which was founded in this country about the time of the Revolutionary war, by Lawson Carter. The latter was accompanied to America from their old home

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in Scotland by two brothers, but they both died without children and Lawson was thus left alone to perpetuate the family name. Although he had not been long in this country, he felt the justice of the cause of the colonies when the Revolutionary war broke out, and so enlisted in the Continental army under the command of General Greene. He served throughout the war and after its close settled in Culpeper county, Virginia, where he is believed to be buried. His wife was Betsy Callaway and their children were John H., "uncle Jack," as he came to be known, and two daughters, one of whom married Dr. Greggs and the other Mr. Taylor. "Uncle Jack" Carter moved into Franklin county, Virginia, as a young man and passed the years of his uneventful life as a farmer, dying in 1858 at the age of fifty-four. He married Elizabeth Carper and John H., the father of the subject of this sketch was his eldest child. His two other sons were Langdon and James Hopkins, both of whom were killed as soldiers in the Confederate army during the Civil war.

John H. Carter was born in Franklin county, Virginia, in June, 1832. He was reared in a tobacco growing community, and since his parents were of a humble rank in life not greatly blessed with this world's goods, he grew up with very limited advantages for an educa- tion. When he married he became a tenant, which in those days made him little better than a laborer, and the opportunities for advancing himself, owing to the peculiar situation that a tenant farmer of the period preceding the Civil war was placed, were well nigh a minus quantity. When the Civil war broke out and the call for troops was issued by the Confederacy he eagerly offered himself to the cause, although he was inspired thereto, not in defense of his home or property, not because he would lose anything if the South was forced to give up her slaves, but because he loved the land of his birth and because he believed that she had the cause of justice on her side. The Civil war brought sorrow indeed to him, for both of his brothers were killed during the war, and he himself, as a member of the Army of Northern Virginia, saw the severe fighting of the four years campaign that laid waste the beautiful valleys of his state. After the war he went back to the farm as a renter, and after struggling along in this way through the hard years that followed the war, he determined to make an attempt to better his conditions by moving west. In 1882, therefore, he moved * with his family to Monroe county, Missouri, and started in again on rented land. Conditions here were not so discouraging as they had been in his old home, and after seven years of hard work he was able to buy a farm and at last to own a home. To secure this he not only worked desperately hard himself, but all of the children helped and when they were at last independent they could all feel that they had had a share in it. Although John H. Carter was himself an uneducated man, he felt keenly the value of an education and he did his best toward giving his children a good education.

Mr. Carter married Mary C. Webb, a daughter of the Rev. Theo- dore Webb, Primitive Baptist preacher, of Franklin county, Virginia. Mrs. Carter was the youngest of nine children and she died on the 11th of February, 1897. John H. Carter and Mary Webb Carter were the parents of the following children: Lodeska Ann, who be- came the wife of Robert Smith, of Monroe county; Nancy E., who married W. J. Akers, a farmer of Monroe county ; Lawson T., a farmer living near Madison, Missouri; Miranda, who is Mrs. J. T. Helms, of Madison; Rosa Lee is the wife of F. B. Helms. also of Madison; Lutie E. married S. L. James of Madison ; Mary J. died in June, 1910, as the wife of G. W. Thomas; Agnes, living in Madison, and John L.

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The birth of John L. Carter occurred on the 24th of March, 1878, in Franklin county, Virginia, so he was only a small boy when his father removed to Missouri. He began his education in the schools of Madison, and almost from the first he was determined that he would not become a farmer, but would do something that would take him away from the farm. He finally decided to work along educational lines, and he taught his first school at Mt. Pleasant, in his home district. All the time while he was teaching he was studying, and whenever an opportunity offered he took courses in the Kirksville Normal School, until he was finally graduated from that institution. He then took charge of the consolidated schools at Middle Grove, where he remained for three years. His next position was as principal of the schools in Madison, and so successful was he in this position that he was made the first county superintendent of schools in Monroe county. He was a close student, and applied himself so steadily to study that his health became impaired and he was threatened with a physical breakdown. To forestall this he spent a year among the mountains of his old Vir- ginia home, and the clear bracing air and absolute rest enabled him to return to Missouri as energetic and vigorous as one could wish.

After the enactment of the law that created the office of county superintendent of schools to take the place of school commissioner, Mr. Carter became a candidate for the new office. As a candidate of the Democratic party, he won the nomination against one competitor at the primaries in 1910 and was duly elected to office. In outlining his administration he laid stress upon district consolidation, upon the im- provement of school grounds and the erection of modern school houses to replace the old box-like buildings of a former day. He was par- ticularly anxious to make the parents see how they could cooperate with him in improving the schools, and to this end he organized in each township teachers and patrons meetings, wherein questions affect- ing the school problems in their own particular section were discussed on the programs of these meetings, both teachers and school board mem- bers are placed and the interest and enthusiasm which they have aroused among the parents is shown by the ever increasing attendance seen at the meetings, and the deepening interest in school affairs. He also made the annual spelling contest for the county and the annual corn contest, held at the same time a permanent feature and these contests, in which prizes are offered for the best speller and the finest ears of corn raised have created as much interest and enthusiasm as have the township meetings.

Mr. Carter is president of the department of county superintendents of the State Teachers' Association, and he is secretary of the State Spelling Contest. In fraternal affairs he is a member of the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows and is a Modern Woodman of America. He belongs to the Baptist church of the old school.

Mr. Carter married in Franklin county, Virginia, at Callaway, on the 11th of July, 1907, Miss Lelia C. Martin, a daughter of J. A. Martin and Electra (Payne) Martin. J. A. Martin was president of the Bald Knob Furniture Company, of Rock Mountain, Virginia, and he and his wife were the parents of seven children: Mrs. R. A. Barn- hardt, of Callaway county, Virginia; Mrs. William Thornton, of Win- ston, Missouri; Miss Carrie Martin; Samuel, chief clerk for the presi- dent of Manhattan borough, New York City; Mrs. Carter and Misses Annie and Alma Martin.

GUSTAVUS MILLER BOWER is a representative of an old and honored family in this community, his father having located in northeast Mis-

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souri before the Civil war. Mr. Bower has always taken an active part in the affairs of the community, being prominent in various fields of commercial endeavor. He has now retired from active life, but his interest in the advancement of his home town and the surrounding section is as deep as ever.

Gustavus Miller Bower is a son of Dr. Gustavus Miller Bower, who was born near Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1790, more than seventy years before the great battle was fought there, which has made the town one of the famous spots in our country. It was about one hun- dred years ago that Dr. Bower completed his medical course in the Philadelphia Medical University, and ventured out into the western wilds to find a place in which to practice his profession. Crossing the mountains he settled in Kentucky, in Georgetown, and quietly began his life as a physician.

He had, however, no sooner become firmly established than the War of 1812 broke out and there came a call for volunteers. Dr. Bower was one of the first to step forward, and he raised a company of 100 men and was captain of the company, and afterward he served as surgeon. With his command he started out on foot for the Canadian frontier, encountering, before reaching the enemy's country, many bands of hostile Indians. Accustomed as they were to the Indian methods of warfare, the band of Kentucky pioneers, had the best of every encounter, not without loss of men, however, whom they could ill spare. The weather was bitterly cold and the men were poorly equipped for with- standing it, but they pushed doggedly on, and by the time they did find themselves face to face with the British and their fiendish Indian allies, the little force were tried veterans.

The regiment of which Dr. Bower was a member, joined General Winchester's troops and met the allied forces of the enemy on the banks of the River Raisin. Then followed the battle and the United States forces were defeated. The Indians fell on the helpless prisoners that they had taken and butchered nearly all of them. Dr. Bower, who had been engaged in caring for the wounds while the engagement was in progress, was dressing the injuries of a comrade within the shelter of a log hut, when the door was suddenly thrown open, he was seized by a whooping savage, his erstwhile patient was dispatched with a tomahawk under his eyes and he himself was dragged off, a prisoner. His own clothing fell as a trophy of war to his captor and he was given an Indian blanket and started with the few of the others, who had been rescued from death only to have the worse fate befall them, for the town of Malden, Canada. The British officers attempted no control of the savages, and no man among the prisoners knew at what moment he might be dragged forth from the little column to form for the space of a few hours the victim of the cruelties and tortures of the savages, and at length to meet death in some horrible form. At last, when Malden was finally reached, only three of these brave Kentuckians were left to tell the story of the horrors which had nearly turned the hair of all of them white, and among these three was Dr. Bower.

After lying in Malden as a prisoner for some time, his identity was made known and after that time, he and a lieutenant were treated with greater consideration. They were given citizens dress, and were allowed the liberties of the grounds. Among the British families to whom they received introductions, was that of Major Hans, and very soon a love affair was flourishing between one of his beautiful daughters and the young Kentucky doctor. Suddenly the Americans seemed to have incurred the hatred of their captors, for their clothes were taken from them, and their blankets were once more returned, cotton hand-

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kerchiefs were tied around their heads, and they were taken across the Detroit river in canoes and there sold to the highest bidder. Dr. Bower was purchased by a merchant for the sum of eighty dollars. Mr. Mc- Donald, the merchant, permitted his purchase to return to Malden for his effects, and then on his return freed him. He immediately sought the girl whom he loved and informed her that he would return, but it would not be as a prisoner, but as a conqueror.

No sooner had the doctor again reached Kentucky than there came the second call for troops, and the cry under which these troops were raised was "Remember the Raisin." Dr. Bower was commissioned a captain and raised a company of one hundred, all willing and eager to follow the man who had already endured so much for the sake of his country. This company became a part of the First Regiment of Kentucky Volunteers, raised under the second call for troops in the War of 1812. Governor Shelby was in command of the troops in person, and the grim faces of the men as they marched along the route of the first expedition on their way to Detroit boded ill for any enemy they might happen to meet. They met General Proctor at Detroit and de- feated him, capturing among other British officers, Major Hans and his son, a lieutenant. Marching the captives back to Malden, the doctor had the satisfaction of having his words of a short time before come true, for Miss Hans had to see her father and brother under guard of United States soldiers and prisoners of war.

This event ended Dr. Bower's connection with our last war with England, and he returned to his Kentucky home, out-grew his infatuation for the fair British maid, and settled down to the peaceful practice of his profession, win- ning a place in the hearts of his neighbors, that all his brilliant experi- ences as a warrior could not have given him.

His record as a soldier was not forgotten by the authorities of Ken- tucky, and this together with his distinguished personality led Governor Deshea to commission him commander of the Seventy-second Regiment of Kentucky Light Dragoons in 1825. This famous body of cavalry, mounted on milk-white horses, marched to Fayette, Kentucky, to meet General LaFayette, and form his escort to Versailles. This was in 1825, when the famous French general was on tour through the United States, which he had helped to make a Union. Soon after this memorable incident the doctor determined to move further west, and so, he came to Missouri, and purchased a tract of land one and a half miles from Paris, in Monroe county. Here he again entered upon the practice of his profession, and although he was a skillful and experienced doctor, it was not his professional ability that won for him the love and esteem of the whole section, but his own character, which left an indelible im- pression on this northeastern portion of the state.

Thoroughly an American, having been one of the makers of the nation, so to speak, and having a wide acquaintance with public affairs and with public men, the people of his district determined to send him to represent them in congress. He was made the candidate of the Democratic party in 1844, and was elected. During his term in Wash- ington he was made paymaster-general under Jas. K. Polk. The events leading up to the War with Mexico also took place during his term, and although he himself could not take part, the war came very close to him, for he gave one of his sons, Robert, to the cause, who fell at the battle of Taus at Mexico.

Leaving the public service after the expiration of his term, he once more took up his professional life, and passed the remainder of his life among those he had learned to love. The last years of his life were saddened and embittered by the events of the Civil war. He was an

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ardent southern man and unhesitating in expressing his convictions. In a state where so many remained neutral, and where there was so much "sitting on the fence," Dr. Bower never hesitated to express his active sympathy and belief in the cause of the Confederacy. For this warm championship he was attacked by those who wore the garb of Federal authority, viciously maltreated, his family insulted, his integ- rity assailed. His great heart was humiliated and broken by this abso- lutely unexcusable treatment, and the last months of his life were rendered sad indeed, for he had also lost two sons for the cause.

Happiness in his family relations remained with him to the last. He was first married to Miss Crockett, a daughter of the historic "Davy" Crockett, who fell with Travis and Bowie and the other heroes of Texas at the Alamo. She died before the doctor left Kentucky and was the mother of the following children: Charles, who died in Hannibal, Missouri, where he had spent his life as captain of one of the big river boats; Joseph, who was engaged in farming near Hannibal when he died; Robert, who was killed during the War with Mexico, at the bat- tle of Taus; Ann Eliza, who married O. P. Gentry, and died in Paris, Missouri ; Martha, who married Frank Hollingsworth and died in Paris; Mary died in St. Louis, Missouri, as Mrs. Barton S. Grant; Susan B. married Thomas Miller, of Hannibal and died in Chillicothe, Missouri; Isabella first married her brother-in-law, Mr. Hollingsworth, and later became the wife of General William Y. Slack, of the Confederate serv- ice, her death occurring at Chillicothe. The second wife of Dr. Bower was Kittie Long, a daughter of James Long and a sister of Dr. John Long, who was once a prominent physician of Monroe county. The children of this second marriage were Andrew J., who was killed at the battle of Corinth, Mississippi, as a soldier of the Confederacy ; James was killed in Cooper county, while aiding the cause of the Confederacy ; Gustavus M., of Paris, Missouri; Laura, who married P. T. Boone, of Lakeport, California, a kinsman of the famous Kentucky explorer and hunter; Maria Louisa married Allen W. Hawkins and is a resident of Paris, and Michael R. passed away in Paris, leaving a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Kate.

The death of Dr. Bower came in 1865, and his widow survived him for a number of years, living until 1880, when she died at the age of eighty. There have been no finer men in the history of the country than Dr. Gustavus M. Bower. Although he may not have held as promi- nent places as some of the men of his time, he did possess a character just as fine and just as great as some of the men whose names are engraved on Fame's golden roll. His biographer, a personal friend, says he was the perfection of physical and moral courage, the embodi- ment of purest friendship, the soul of honor, the best of husbands, the kindest of fathers, soundest of Democrats, beau ideal of the old Virginia gentlemen. "He was a man of prayer in his home, he taught his chil- dren to shun all forms of evil and inspired them to noble and upright lives. "

His son, Gustavus M. Bower, was born near Paris, on the 5th of October, 1836. He was educated chiefly in the old Paris Academy, under the tutorship of Professor McBride. Upon leaving school he spent a few years on the farm, devoting himself principally to the stock-raising side of the farm, and becoming quite successful in buying and selling stock. He then turned from the farm to the lumber busi- ness, establishing the first lumber yard in Paris, before the railroad was built through the town. For twenty-two years he sold lumber here, and then in 1892 sold his yard to Joseph Browning and O. G. Powers. Since that time he has retired from active pursuits, but as a lumberman he

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was interested in many other things. He aided in the organization of the Paris Savings Bank, as a stockholder, and has been a director since that time. He was at the head of the Short Horn Association, founded in Paris some years ago, but just at that time circumstances rendered the exploitation of blooded cattle unpropitious and the enterprise died.

During the Civil war, he very naturally identified himself with the cause of the South, and enlisted in Major Porter's regiment, taking part in a few Missouri engagements. He left the army, however, and resumed civil pursuits, before the great deciding conflicts of the war took place. As a politician Mr. Bower, while an enthusiastic member of the Democratic party, has never aspired to office. He has, however, served his ward as councilman, and has ever maintained a progressive attitude toward political questions of the day.

Mr. Bower married first in 1873, his wife being Addie Ragland, a daughter of James Ragland, who came to Missouri from Virginia. She died in 1876, without any children, and Mr. Bower married again in 1878, his second wife being Miss Anna Levering, a daughter of Franklin Levering, and a sister of A. R. Levering, president of the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank of Hannibal, and the donor of the city hospital at that place. Mrs. Bower was born in St. Francisville, Missouri, in June, 1841, and her mother was Miss Alice Levering, Mrs. Bower being one of her five children. Mr. and Mrs. Bower are both members of the Missionary Baptist church. They have no children living, but had two who died in infancy.

ASHLEY C. DEAVER. As one of the heaviest feeders and shippers of stock in Monroe county, Ashley C. Deaver must be given a leading place among her successful and influential men. He has taken an important part in both the business and political world of the county, and his success along each of these lines is due to his own determina- tion and his real ability.

Ashley C. Deaver is descended from ancestors who came from Ken- tucky, his grandfather, Richard Deaver, having emigrated to that state from Maryland as a young man. Richard Deaver was of Irish blood and the adventurous spirit which led his forbears across the seas led him further westward, and he left his home in Bourbon county, Ken- tucky, to found a new one in the young state of Missouri. He came to this county in 1839, settling three miles northwest of Paris on the farm now owned by John Hall, but he subsequently moved to Elk fork of the Salt river. Our subject's father built the Deaver mill. This old mill was a combination of grist mill and saw mill, as were most of the pioneer mills, and he operated it for many years until the high water washed it away in 1875. Richard Deaver died in the seven- ties at about seventy-three years of age. Richard Deaver was twice married and had four children by his first marriage : Joseph and John; Eliza, who became the wife of William Williams and Rachel, who mar- ried Frank Bedford, both of the daughters passing their lives in Mon- roe county, while the sons remained in Kentucky. The second wife of Richard Deaver was a Miss Horn, and the children of this marriage were William Richard, James E. and Caroline, who died as the wife of Mahlon Harley. All of these children lived in Monroe county.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 83

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