A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 89

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

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On the 16th of March, 1899, Mr. Lemon was married to Georgia G. Marshall, at New London, Missouri. She was born in that city and there grew to womanhood. They have no children.

HON. ARTHUR PARKER TERRILL. Among the worthy citizens of Northeastern Missouri none are more worthy of being commemorated in its annals than the Hon. Arthur Parker Terrill, ex-judge of the pro- bate court of Randolph county, and president of the Bank of Moberly and of the Chautauqua Association. For more than seventy years he has lived within the borders of Randolph county, during which time he has been prominent in its social, business, professional and public affairs, fairly earning a reputation for honorable dealing with his fellow- citizens, to such a degree as to make his name a synonym for all that is

a. P. hunnell

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honorable in business and correct in morals. He is descended from an old and honored family, his great-great-grandfather, Edmond Terrill, being a soldier during the Revolutionary war, and the husband of a Miss Willis, whose father married an aunt of Gen. George Washington. Judge Terrill was born in Greenup county, Kentucky, February 15, 1838, and is a son of William and Ann (Calvin) Terrill. William Terrill was born in the Blue Grass State, and moved to Missouri in 1844, settling in Randolph county and making his home three and one- half miles south of Moberly, where he owned a valuable farm at the time of his death, although he died in Kentucky while on a visit to that state in 1870. His wife was born in 1809, in Kentucky, and died on the home farm in Randolph county, Missouri, in 1899. Seven children were born to this union : John R., who died in December, 1911, leaving a family in Randolph county ; James B. died in 1857 ; Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife of W. S. Christian; Sallie, deceased, who was the wife of John Roberts; N. G., who lost his life while serving under Gen. Mor- gan, in Kentucky, during the Civil war; Arthur Parker; and Samuel G., who is deceased.

Judge Terrill attended the common schools of Randolph county, and subsequently became a student in Mount Pleasant College, at that time located at Huntsville, and William Jewell College, at Liberty, Missouri. At the age of seventeen years he commenced teaching school, and was so occupied at the time of his enlistment in General Price's army operat- ing in Missouri. In an engagement that took place about two and one- half miles south of Moberly, he was severely wounded, breaking his leg, and received his honorable discharge on account of disability, being at that time captain of his company. Returning home, he resumed school teaching and commenced the study of law, finally working in a law office until he was admitted to the bar in 1873. At that time he engaged in the practice of his profession and was so engaged until 1908. During the same year of his admittance to practice, he was elected probate judge of Randolph county, an office in which he served with distinction for six years. In political matters the judge has always been a stanch Democrat. For a number of years he had been vice-president of the Bank of Moberly, and on the death of the president, in 1908, he succeeded to that office, which he holds at the present time. He is a consistent member of the Christian church, and is teacher of the Terrill class in the Sunday school, named in his honor. Fraternally, he is a member of the blue lodge of Masonry, and is a member of the Commercial Club and presi- dent of the Chautauqua Association for 1912.

In 1873 Judge Terrill was united in marriage with Miss Josephine Patton, who was born in Randolph county, and died here in 1902, daugh- ter of James and Mary A. (Wilcox) Patton. Judge Terrill may well be termed a representative man; his has been an honorable career, and he is an example of honest perseverance winning the smiles of fortune and a handsome competency.

GEORGE W. BARNES. To be postmaster, it matters little whether one's home is in the city or country, is an honor that is not only highly prized, but eagerly sought, therefore when this office comes to a man unsought the honor is just so much the greater. It was thus that George W. Barnes, of Baring, Missouri, became a servant of the gov- ernment. He was not as are so many of the men who handle the mail service, a politician who had to be rewarded for his services to the party, but a business man who stood for progress and good government and eminently fitted for this position of responsibility. He has lived in Baring, Missouri for many years and is one of the men whom the

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voters of the town depend on to stand behind them in any fight they may make for civic improvement.

George W. Barnes was born on the 25th of October, 1867, at Newark, in Knox county, Missouri. His father, Jabez Barnes, was a native of Maryland, where he was born in 1812. As a young man he felt the call of the frontier and emigrated westward, locating in 1834 near the present town of Newark. In 1835 he with a number of others decided that they had settled near a good location for a town, and so became the founders of Newark, which was laid out in 1835. Jabez Barnes was a stonemason and a brick manufacturer by trade, but for many years he served his fellow-townsmen as postmaster. At this time New- ark was a town of considerable importance and a well-known trading center. The position of postmaster was therefore no sinecure.

Jabez Barnes was twice married, his first wife being a Miss Mason. Several children were born of this marriage, two of whom are living. Moses, at present in Columbia, Missouri, and Albert, a resident of Newark, Missouri. The second wife of Jabez Barnes was Caroline Oaks, who is yet living. She was born in Vermont in 1834, and is now living with a daughter near Newark. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Barnes: Mollie, now Mrs. Kelly of near Newark; John, who lives at Aledo, Illinois; George W .; Robert, a resident of Newark, and Edward T., who is a member of the editorial profession and lives in Rutledge, Missouri. The father of this family died in 1895.

George W. Barnes received the major part of his education in the public schools of Newark. Upon leaving school he went into business in Newark and in a short time received the appointment of postmaster in this town. He held this office from 1888 to 1894. From 1900 to 1906 he taught school, chiefly in Adair county, though for two years he was located in Knox county, as principal of the Gibbs school. In 1906 he turned from the school room to the editorial chair, and became the editor and founder of the Baring Messenger. He conducted this paper with considerable success until December, 1911, when he opened a general merchandise store. As a merchant he has been remarkably successful and in addition to operating this store, he also carries on a flourishing business in job printing, and the large number of his patrons attests to the unusual fact of good printing being done in a small town. On the 30th of December, 1911, Mr. Barnes received the appoint- ment of postmaster in Baring, and has since filled this office, his previous experience in the work enabling him to make the wheels of office run smoothly.

In fraternal circles Mr. Barnes affiliates with the Yeomen of America. He is a member of the Christian church and in politics is a staunch adherent of the Republican party.

Mr. Barnes is now just in his prime, and has added to a naturally keen sense of business, years of valuable experience, therefore, it is not hard to understand why he should be universally trusted and admired in that section of the country which he calls home. A man of clear and independent thought, he is one of the type to which the country now looks for succor in this political and social crisis through which she is now passing, and from the record which he has made in the past, a prophecy of future usefulness could not be far wrong.

PROFESSOR OLIVER A. BALLINGER, superintendent of schools of Nov- elty, Missouri, has spent the past eighteen years in the public school service in Missouri, and is now in the sixth year of his service in that capacity in Novelty. He is a man of progressive ideas and an able edu- cator, as is well attested by his record in the work which he has chosen.

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Born in Knox county, on March 6, 1851, he is the son of James D. and Mary J. (Yeater) Ballinger, both natives of Kentucky.

James D. Ballinger was born in Kentucky in 1826 and died in Knox county in 1902. He settled in Knox county in 1849, but came to Marion county in 1832 with his father, James Ballinger, the son of Henry Ballinger, and an early settler in Marion county. James D. was a farmer all his life, and was successful and prosperous. His wife died in May, 1903. They were the parents of eight children, namely : Oliver A., of this brief review; Rufus, a resident of the state of Wash- ington; Mrs. Emma Christian, of Chillicothe, Missouri; Pompeus C., who died in Peoria, Illinois, while in the revenue service; Mrs. Alva Cave, of Chillicothe; Joseph, who died in August, 1904; George T., of Los Angeles; and William Y., also of that city.

Professor Oliver A. Ballinger was educated primarily in the common schools of his native place, later entering LaGrange College at La- Grange, Missouri. . He began teaching school in 1871, his first work being in country and private schools in Northeastern Missouri. He continued thus until 1884, meanwhile studying continuously to advance in his profession, and in that year he was appointed principal of the schools of Chandlerville, in Cass county, Illinois. He retained that position for a period of eight years, and then became principal of schools at Easton and San Jose, Illinois, remaining there for two years. In 1894 he returned to Missouri, and has spent the past eighteen years in educational work in this state. He is now in his sixth year of service in Novelty, and he has brought to the schools of the town to state of efficiency never before reached in the history of the place. He has worked faithfully and diligently in the cause of education, and is recognized among the foremost educators of the district.

Professor Ballinger has been twice married. In 1873 he married Dora E. Withers, who died in 1896, leaving seven children: Foster A. is in Douglas, Arizona; Mrs. Daisy D. Richardson lives in Pierce, Nebraska; Lillian is a resident of Bethel, Missouri; Mary Pickett, of St. Louis, Missouri; Martha M. Bowen, lives in Bethel, Missouri, as does also Roy ; Raymond is in school in Liberty, Missouri. In 1897 Professor Ballinger married Miss Elizabeth E. Harrison, of Knox county. No children have been born of this second marriage.

WILLIAM HENRY SELBY, M. D. No learned profession demands so much of its members as that of medicine. The conscientious physician of today has little rest, as when he is not ministering to the sick he must spend a great deal of time studying along the lines of his profes- sion to keep in touch with recent discoveries and theories. Those in general practice have to give more of themselves in work than those who confine themselves to special lines or to office consultations, as regardless of all else, they must fare forth at all times to look after patients who need their care. The smaller cities and villages of North- eastern Missouri know many of these self-sacrificing men, who regard their work as a sacred duty, and none enjoys a larger amount of good will in his community than William Henry Selby, whose chosen field of practice is Moberly. Dr. Selby is a native of Moberly, Randolph county, Missouri, and was born April 20, 1874, a son of W. H. and Mary P. (Pallardy ) Selby.

W. H. Selby, father of the doctor, was born in England, and as a young man came to the. United States, settling in Missouri, where for many years he was master mechanic in the shops of the Wabash Rail- road. His death occurred in Moberly, as did that of his wife, who was a native of St. Charles, Missouri. They had a family of four children :

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J. E., a draughtsman, residing in St. Louis, Missouri; William Henry ; Charles A., in the hardware business in Moberly; and F. A., who con- ducts a moving picture theatre in this city.

William Henry Selby received his early education in the common schools of Moberly, subsequently being a student at Brookfield and St. Charles, and eventually entering Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1896. He remained there one year, following which he spent two years in the Missouri Medical College, and since his graduation has taken post-graduate courses twice in the Polyclinic at Chicago. In 1899 Dr. Selby engaged in practice at Remick, but five years later came to Moberly, and here he has continued to the present time. He has engaged in a general practice, but also specializes in genito-urinary diseases, in which field he has gained a reputation that extends far beyond the confines of his native city. During the past four years he has been city physician of Moberly. Wherever he has been located he has gained universal esteem and has steadily won friends by his relia- bility and warm sympathy. He is a close student and a skilled physician and surgeon, his remarkable success in a number of complicated cases having attracted the attention of his professional confreres on more than one occasion. He takes a decided interest in the work of the Moberly Medical Association, of which he is a valued member, and also holds membership in the Masonic order, in which he has reached the thirty-second degree. His political connection is with the Democratic party.

Dr. Selby was married December 28, 1898, to Miss Sadie Simpson, who was born in Moberly, daughter of John and Mary (Gravely) Simp- son. One son, William Henry, Jr., has been born to Dr. and Mrs. Selby.

FELIX G. ELSEA. The farmers of Randolph county are among the most progressive in the state, for this part of it is especially fertile and adapted to agricultural purposes, and one who has proven the profit to be had from cultivation of the soil here is Felix G. Elsea. Mr. Elsea has owned his present property only since 1907, but is an agriculturist of long and varied experience, and comes of a family whose members have almost without exception been tillers of the land. He was born in Shelby county, Missouri, May 28, 1854, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Mary (Grafford) Elsea, the former a native of Virginia and the later of Kentucky.

Benjamin F. Elsea was engaged in farming all of his life, and died in Kirksville, Missouri, September 22, 1893. His first wife died when Felix G. Elsea was about nine years of age, having been the mother of seven children, as follows: two children who died in infancy; James W., residing in Jacksonville, Randolph county; Benjamin F., Jr., also of Randolph county; Felix G .; John C., living at Hanford, Kings county, California; and Laura Bell, who died in childhood. For his second wife Mr. Elsea married Telitha Taylor, and eight children were born to them, namely : Lydia Jane, who married Leonard Hatler, of Havre, Montana; David J., a resident of Illinois; Leona Florence, wife of Warren Holbrook, of Colorado; Thomas, who died in childhood ; Lucy Victoria, the wife of Frank Henderson, of Stronghurst, Illinois; Mrs. Lena Kate Barker, of LaHarpe, Illinois; Homer E., of Carthage, Illinois; and Lottie, the wife of Mr. Stephenson, of Colorado.

Felix G. Elsea was educated in the district schools, and remained on the old homestead until he was twenty-two years of age, at which time he took up a farm of twenty-five acres, which he cultivated for one year. At that time he was married, and settled on a farm of eighty acres in Randolph county, but after continuing on that tract for ten

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years sold his interests and went to Jacksonville, purchasing the home place of one hundred and seven acres, which he was engaged in cultivat- ing for thirteen years. He then sold that property and bought ninety acres of land, to which he has since added an additional twenty acres, and also owns a whole block in the south part of Moberly, where he has resided since September, 1907. Always a hard worker, intelligently applying the training of a lifetime to his calling, Mr. Elsea has devel- oped a fine property and has something substantial to show for his efforts. He has also gained and retained the friendship and esteem of his neighbors and business associates.

On May 10, 1877, Mr. Elsea was married to Miss Lucy Noble, who . died April 20, 1884, and to this union there were born two children: Delila Jane, born June 4, 1878, who died July 28, 1879; and Victor Noble, born June 4, 1880, and now residing in Randolph county. On September 18, 1894, Mr. Elsea was married (second) to Miss Rachel C. Holbrook, and they have one son : Roy Holbrook, born August 17, 1898, and now resides at home assisting his father. In political matters Mr. Elsea is a Democrat, and has served capably in the office of road over- seer. With his wife and son he attends the Christian church.

WILLIAM ANDERSON IRON, a prominent retired farmer residing on rural route No. 5 in the vicinity of Moberly, Missouri, comes of staunch Scotch ancestry on the paternal side and is of English lineage by maternal descent. His father, Thomas Iron, emigrated from Scotland to America in 1828 and located in Virginia. There he met and mar- ried Nancy Given, a native daughter of Virginia descended from Eng- lish ancestors. On December 18, 1843, William Anderson Iron was born on the Virginia homestead and when yet an infant, or in 1845, his parents removed from Virginia to Monroe county, Missouri, where Thomas Iron, the father, engaged in farming, stock-raising and in the shipping of cattle, in which occupation he was meeting with success when the great discovery of gold was made in California. He at once resolved to become an argonaut, and in 1848 equipped himself to cross the plains and seek the El Dorado which at that time was attracting the atten- tion of the world. During the years of 1849 and 1850 he sought for gold and was engaged in placer mining in the mountains and valleys of California. He then returned to his home in Monroe county, Mis- souri, disposed of his interests there, and removed with his family to Randolph county, Missouri, where ere his death on April 14, 1876 he had accumulated a large landed estate comprising between seven hundred and eight hundred acres of fine tillable land. Thomas and Nancy (Given) Iron became the parents of the following children : Robert, de- ceased; Elizabeth, widow of John McKinzey, of Moberly, Missouri; Reuben : Mary, wife of W. H. Neil, of Randolph county; Susan, de- ceased ; Thomas, of Randolph county ; John, of Shasta county, California ; Dazarine wife of Sanford Anderson, of Randolph county; and Wesley, of East St. Louis, Illinois, and Presley, a resident of Kansas City, Mis- souri, twin brothers.

William A. Iron was reared in what might be termed the pioneer period in this state's history, hence his opportunities for securing an education were somewhat limited and, with the exception of a few months spent each year in the log schoolhouse of that day, his education has been acquired mainly in the great school of experience. At the age of twenty-three he became a cattle drover in the west. Later he returned to Randolph county and engaged as a buyer and shipper of cattle, which occupation he followed during the greater part of his active career. While he inherited two hundred acres from his father's

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estate, nevertheless he may be classed as a self-made man who through his excellent judgment in buying stock has achieved a financial suc- cess in life. He was actively engaged in farming and in stock-raising until 1909, when he practically retired from business, but he still keeps in touch with his large interests and resides on the old homestead.

Mr. Iron married Mary Oliver and they became the parents of six children: John, a resident of Randolph county; Lucile, now the wife of Samuel Littrell, of Monroe county, Missouri; Robert, deceased : and Oliver, Guy and Gaston, who at present are engaged in operating the old homestead. Politically Mr. Iron has been a life long Democrat, and in religious views he is a Baptist.

HON. FRANK WINTON MCALLISTER. Missouri has been known at different periods of her history for various products which excelled those of other states, and her most recent crop which bids fair to rival if not excel that of Ohio, is the crop of politicians that has recently sprung into existence. Among these is a man, who while he has not yet attained the nation-wide fame that has come to some of his brothers, yet in his own state has played a prominent part and is destined to play a yet more prominent part within the next few years. This man is the Hon. Frank Winton McAllister, of Paris, Missouri, a mem- ber of the state senate and president pro tempore of that body during the Forty-sixth General Assembly of Missouri. His most important work in behalf of the people of the state has been, perhaps, in his ser- vice as a member and chairman of many important committees. He is universally acknowledged to be the most likely candidate for the office of attorney general of Missouri in 1916, if he cares to run for office. His personal popularity is great. Possessed of a keen mind, one that is capable of grasping the complex subjects that the statesmen of our day have to handle, and also possessed of a firm determination to do what he considers to the best advantage of the majority of the citizens, the trust which his constituents repose in him is well placed. As a lawyer he has a broad and thorough knowledge of the law, and this knowledge makes his work as a member of the assembly much more important and valuable. A man of strong character, like all of his kind, he has enemies, but his friends are of so much greater numbers that he may rise as high in the state's offices as his ambition desires, for he has never been anything but a faithful friend and loyal repre- sentative of those who placed him in power.

Frank Winton McAllister was born in Monroe county, near Goss Station, on the 26th of January, 1873. He is a son of William Horace Mc Allister, of Nelson, Missouri. William Horace McAllister was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, November 19, 1838, the son of Gabriel McAllister, whose birth occurred in Maryland in 179 -. Gabriel Mc- Allister was married in Kentucky. He devoted all of his life to agri- cultural pursuits, moving to Missouri about 1850. Here, near Paris, he died in 1889. He and his wife were the parents of six children: Emma, who married Shelton Gosney, and passed away in Monroe county ; Nancy, who became the wife of Dr. Thomas E. Staples and died in Saline county, Missouri; James Dallas, of Eads, Colorado; Rev. Alonzo R., who died in Saline county, Missouri, in 1894; William Horace, and Thomas Alexander, of Fayetteville, Arkansas.

William Horace McAllister was educated in the country schools of Monroe county, near the county seat, and he was married in this county. When his family was young he moved into Saline county, Missouri, and has there been engaged in farming up to the present day. When the Civil war broke out he hastened to identify himself with the Confed-

Frank It, Mcallister

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erate cause, and became a soldier in Colonel Porter's regiment. On the occasion of a raid made by the regiment on Palmyra, Missouri, he was taken a prisoner by the Federals, and was thrown into prison at Alton, Illinois. He had intended to render material aid by entering the regular military service of the Confederacy, but his capture nipped his plans in the bud, and his parole forced him to maintain a semblance of neutral- ity during the remainder of the war, following his release. William H. McAllister was married to Sallie Palmer Caldwell, a daughter of Robert Caldwell, who came to Missouri during the early years of its statehood. He came hither from Benton county, Kentucky. In his political relations Mr. McAllister is as stanch a Democrat as his son. He and his wife are the parents of only one child, Frank W.

Frank Winton McAllister was a lad when his parents settled in Saline county, and he obtained his early education in the schools of this county. After graduating from them, he engaged in teaching school in Cooper county, Missouri, for two years, during which time he read law whenever he had an opportunity, in preparation for more serious study later. He went from the schoolroom to the office of Judge R. M. Reynolds, in Marshall, Missouri, and there he read law until 1894, when he was admitted to the bar of Missouri, in open court. In April, 1895, he began the practice of law in partnership with Penn Brace, in Paris. This firm was known as Brace & McAllister, but after practicing together for two years the members dissolved partnership and Mr. McAllister in 1905 formed a partnership with Judge W. T. Ragland. The firm of Ragland & McAllister became known as one of the most reliable and successful firms in this section of the state, and conducted a large prac- tice until January 1, 1911, when Judge Ragland became circuit judge of this state.

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A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2, Part 89

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