USA > Missouri > A history of northeast Missouri, Vol. 2 pt 2 > Part 99
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worship, Mr. Tipton being a Baptist, while his wife is an adherent of the Methodist faith.
On June 10, 1896, Mr. Tipton was married to Lucinda Smith, a daughter of David H. Smith, one of the pioneers of Missouri and of Kentucky parentage. Mr. Smith married Susan A. Lucas and they had eight children: James L., Lucinda (Mrs. Tipton), Virginia, Verner B., Langdon, Margaret and Elton (twins), and Frances. Mr. and Mrs. Tipton have had six children: Mabel A., C. David, Alma, Ronald, Aleen and Lucy.
WILLIAM PHARR STARK is a grandson of Judge James Stark founder of the first nursery in the West. From this original nursery have devel- oped the largest mail order nurseries in the world, known as the William P. Stark Nurseries of Stark City, Missouri, of which William Pharr Stark is now president.
Mr. Stark for a number of years was treasurer and general manager of Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co., but later left that firm to found the William P. Stark Nurseries. This latter firm now does the largest mail order nursery business in this or any other country.
The idea which took concrete shape in the first nursery of the West originated in the brain of Judge James Stark a few years after the Revo- lutionary war. Since then the history of the 'progress of horticulture and fruit culture has been closely interwoven with the history of the Stark family. To understand one it is necessary to know the other.
The first nursery was started by Judge Stark about one hundred years ago. The project had never been tried before, and it was then considered a doubtful and unknown business. There were no land marks to go by, and the only progress made was that gained through the study and experiments of this aggressive old gentleman of Colonial days.
The ideas of the grandfather of the present manager of the William P. Stark Nurseries were far in advance of his day. Some of them bore fruit during his lifetime. Many of them were worked out at a later day by his son, William, who showed a marked taste and fondness for his father's work. Before the death of Judge Stark, in 1873, he had the satisfaction of seeing large shipments of excellent fruit going out from his orchards at Louisiana and Clarksville, Missouri. But he did not live to see the business developed to its present massive propor- tions.
Judge Stark was born in Bourbon county. Kentucky, in the latter part of the eighteenth century. His father was the son of Archibald Stark, and a brother of that gallant soldier of the Revolution, Gen. John Stark of Bennington. Judge Stark won his early fame as an officer in the illustrious regiment of daring Kentuckians composing the command of Col. "Dick" Johnson. The command is recorded as having performed splendid service during the early days of this coun- try in ridding the settlement of the northwest from the ravages of the Indians and their more savage British allies.
He took an active part in the battle of the Thames, in which the wily Indian chief, Tecumseh. was overthrown and killed from the shot of a private. He also participated in the battle of Tippecanoe. Later he continued his services during the two years of our war with Great Britain from 1812 on, retiring from active military service at New Orleans in 1815.
With the winning of independence a second time, many of the soldiers of the American army scattered along the frontier to seek still more adventure. Among these was Judge Stark and his young wife.
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"The Judge" had married Jane Watts, a daughter of Kentucky, on May 5, 1815. With the enthusiasm and enterprise born of youth, health and strength the young couple set out to seek a home in Missouri.
Among the few effects which it was possible for Judge Stark to carry on such a long and difficult trip was a bundle of scions of selected fruit. These he grafted to native stock after the manner of his Virginia ancestors. He then cultivated a nursery of his own, and this was the beginning of the famous Stark nurseries.
In the course of time neighbors came to procure trees and to receive instructions for cultivating them. So deeply impressed were they by the practical knowledge of Judge Stark that they went into the business of fruit growing with enthusiasm. This, Judge Stark contended, was a business which ultimately must pay the farmer greater returns for his effort and investment than any other farm crop. The recent profits made by farmers from their orchards, and the increas- ing number of farmers who are making fruit raising their chief occu- pation, justify Judge Stark's early contentions.
It was not long before farmers were coming to Judge Stark from neighboring states, and an interstate traffic soon developed. It was at this time that his son, William Stark, the father of the present head of the William P. Stark Nurseries, took hold of the young nursery busi- ness. Judge Stark left eight sons and eight daughters, of which William was eighth child. William carried out his father's plans and ideas, establishing the nursery business on a broad and substantial foundation.
The Hon. Champ Clark, speaker of the House of Representatives, , on the life of Judge James Stark, has this to say of his trip to Pike county, Missouri :
"Judge Stark came in the prime of his manhood from Bourbon, one of the finest counties of Kentucky, to Pike, one of the richest in Mis- souri, reared a family of sixteen-eight sons and eight daughters- which is still numerous and powerful.
"He laid the foundation for the largest nursery in the world, now conducted by the third and fourth generations of his descendants. We sometimes build more wisely than we know.
"Judge Stark little dreamed, while riding horse-back from the far- famed Kentucky blue-grass region to the rich Missouri blue-grass region, carrying in his old-fashioned saddle-bags the scions with which to start a nursery, and from which grew the first fruit trees ever propa- gated on the sunset of the Mississippi, that he was beginning a business that would render the name of Stark honorably familiar not only throughout America, but beyond; and that ninety years after he had planted his trees, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren would be shipping trees beyond the seas; but such is the truth of history.
"It is really a pity that he cannot return to earth long enough to witness the magnitude of the business which he started in 1825."
William Stark spent his early years in Pike county, where he was born. He numbered among his few teachers ex-Senator John B. Hen- derson, and during his early manhood he taught a country school. His father's success in the growing and grafting of fruit trees, and his own overwhelming interest in this work, soon caused him to give up the school house for the nursery business. From this time on, until his retirement late in life, he devoted himself to horticulture.
The first bushel of orchard seed from his nursery was sent overland by way of the old Oregon trail to his cousin, John Watts. This seed played an important part in the foundation of the great orchards which have made Oregon one of the big fruit-growing states of the nation.
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William Stark expanded his activities until they reached the stage of an export business. Packages from his now famous plant were sent to many European countries. He was far in advance of his time, and only since his death have his sons been able to develop many of his ideas to their fullest possibilities.
In the death of William Stark, in 1880, the craft sustained a great loss. His mind was stored with rare and useful practical knowledge gained from many years of research work in his nurseries, which he used as laboratories for working out his problems in the advanced culture of fruit and trees. Some idea of his wonderful store of knowl- edge is got from his writing in the Fruit Growers' Guide, published in the Missouri State Horticultural Reports for 1867 to 1878.
The activities of the late William Stark were broad, and extended beyond the nursery business. During the turbulent days of the Civil war he served as sherff of Pike county, preserving the peace as few men could do under such trying conditions. His wife was Cynthia Eliza Pharr, a daughter of Rev. Samuel Pharr, who came to Missouri with the Starks, and who lived for a time in the famous old block house which sheltered the early pioneers.
The Rev. Mr. Pharr, having come intimately in touch with a large part of the state while carrying on his church work, was selected by the United States government to establish a star route mail service. This he accomplished with considerable credit to himself and to the government which employed him. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, and came from a family of Revolutionary patriots. He himself was a vet- eran of the War of 1812.
His daughter, Cynthia, who married William Stark, was one of eight children. She died in 1881, at the age of forty-eight years, leav- ing five children-Clarence M., of Louisiana; Edgar W .; Mrs. Eva M. Forgy, of Lousiana ; William P., the subject of this sketch, and Mar- garet, the wife of Pascal D. Williamson of Lebanon, Tennessee.
William P. Stark attended the high school of Lousiana, and McCue College. He left college at the age of sixteen to help his father. At the death of his father in 1880, William P. Stark, with his two brothers, were left to manage and develop the large nursery business. At this time, William P. Stark had not yet reached his majority.
The contribution made to fruit-growing and horticultural journals by William P. Stark are full of valuable information and show a vigor- ous and pleasing literary style. His articles have appeared in many official organs in the domain of farm and orchard, in the great national outdoor magazine, Country Life in America, and in pamphlets where important subjects are treated at length for the benefit of fruit growers throughout the nation.
Mr. Stark is well known as a speaker on horticultural subjects. He has addressed countless bodies of men interested in the industry in various parts of this nation. Because of his connections with the chief horticultural societies of the country, his addresses are the disseminat- ing medium for the most advanced thought of the day along horticul- tural lines. He is a former president of the Missouri State Board of Horticulture, and a former president of the American Association of Nurserymen.
During his tenure as head of the department of horticulture, Mr. Stark visited practically all of the fruit regions of the United States in his interest, and was selected to go before the legislature of Missouri for an appropriation in the interest in this branch of farming. As chairman of the Western Nurserymen's Association he visited Wash- ington to urge federal aid of fruit growers by a Congressional appro-
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priation for government inspection of imported nursery stock. While in the capital his personal acquaintance with the speaker of the House of Representatives got the committee a personal hearing with members of the committee of the house having such legislation under considera- tion, and secured desired federal legislation.
Mr. Stark is a member of the American Pomological Society and promoted the famous Hagerman apple orchard near Roswell, New Mexico, thereby bringing into notice the Pecos valley as a fruit grow- ing region. He is an honorary member of the Arkansas State Horti- cultural Society, and was invited to address the legislature at Little Rock in the interest of an appropriation for the State University. He holds a life membership in the Kansas State Horticulture Society.
Outside of his business interests, Mr. Stark is a man of prominence in matters of public concern. He is president of the board of trustees of the Missouri Valley College at Marshall, and president of the Louisi- ana Public Library Association. For several years he was president of the board of education of Louisiana, Missouri. He is vice president of the Masonic Temple Association, and of the Mercantile Bank of Louisiana.
The vast network of communication with every section of the United States has given Mr. Stark an opportunity to mix politics with business. During the preliminary campaign for the presidency of 1912 he used every opportunity to advance the interest of his friend and fellow townsman, Champ Clark, for that high honor. "Clark men" have sprung up wherever the Starks are known.
William P. Stark was born March 16, 1862, and was married Sep- tember 26, 1884, to Miss Lucy R. Harvey, a daughter of Nicholas M. Harvey, a Lincoln county, Missouri, farmer, who came to this state from Virginia. The children of the marriage are William H., who spent two years at Leland Stanford University, and two years- at Cor- nell University in preparation for his orchard and nursery work; Amy, the wife of Earl M. Wilson of the Curtis Publishing Company, at Chi- cago; and Isabelle Eleanor.
Mr. Stark is a Scottish Rite Mason, and is a member of the Moolalı Temple, A. A. O. N. M. Shrine of St. Louis, Missouri. He is also a Knight Templar. He is an Elder of the Presbyterian church, and was a delegate to the general assembly of the church at Dallas, Texas, where he urged the union of the two Presbyterian churches.
MARTIN I. ELY is a retired farmer of Perry and is a son of one of the foremost pioneer families of Ralls county, in which he was born on February 29, 1844. His forefathers settled in the northwestern portion of the county and their posterity, who remained Missourians, have clung to this fertile and reliable locality.
The Ely family came to Missouri in 1813 and was led hither by Isaac Ely, the grandfather of the subject. They were from Boone county, Kentucky, and in preparation for this family exodus Isaac made an exploring trip here in 1809 and selected this locality for his future home. The citizenship of this old pioneer added a new impetus to things material among the scattered settlers of that early day, for he was a man of strong personality, fine business sense, and upright and loyal in all the relations of life. He was a primitive Baptist in his religion, employed slave labor and eventually amassed some valuable property. The cvil of intemperance had not in that early day fastened itself upon the people and the "morning toddy" was not an unpopular beverage. In fact, it has been said of this old patriarch that he could "drink whiskey without getting drunk." His concourse among the people
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showed him in agreeable contrast with all others, and those of his day who yet remain speak of him in the highest terms and of his unfailing popularity.
Isaac Ely was born in 1775 and was the son of one Joshua Ely, who came to Missouri about the time the other members of the family did and settled west of New London. On the old Ely farm there he and his wife lie buried. The children of Isaac Ely were: Sarah, born November 11, 1799, and married Stephen Scobbee; Benjamin, born January 25, 1801, married Martha Lane; John, born September 5, 1802, married Sarah Fike; Elizabeth, born February 16, 1804, married Aaron Boyce; William, born November 11, 1805, married Rebecca Utter- back; Jane, born November 8, 1807, married George Strode; Cyntha A., born September 14, 1809, married Joseph Rackerby; Aaron F., born June 29, 1811, married Emily Utterback; David, born August 30, 1815, married Rebecca Goodman; Mary A., born February 4, 1818, married J. S. Strode. The mother of these children was Miss Mary Judy. Her husband passed away in 1858. The parents also lie in the Ely ceme- tery named above.
Aaron F. Ely was a product of frontier Missouri in training, educa- tion and citizenship. He inherited liberally of his father's strong points, but he was taken away from his family and from the world be- fore he had established a wide reputation or achieved a business suc- cess. He died June 29, 1844, leaving his widow, who was Emily Utter- back, the daughter of Hankerson Utterback, a native of Kentucky, who settled on a Missouri farm in 1821 in the Ely community. Mrs. Ely passed away June 11, 1868, and both are buried in the Rackerby ceme- tery. Their children were Isaac J., of Yolo, California ; Hankerson W., who died near Perry, April 9, 1909; Aaron F., died in Yolo county, California; William J., died in childhood; Martin I., of this notice; T. P. Stephens is a half brother of the above children and is the young- est child of their mother.
Martin I. Ely was born February 29, 1844, as mentioned previously, and in his sixty-eight years has been privileged to see but seventeen birthday anniversaries. The log cabin school with all its primitive para- phernalia, with its winter terms and "common" teachers, so well known to the past generation, trained the mind of the youth and the pursuit of the three R's kept him busy in his early days. He made a pretense toward the study of grammar but the subject proved most unattractive to one of his mentality and his entire school period was closed before the oubreak of the Civil war.
When the Rebellion came on Martin Ely was discovered with a strong leaning toward the Southern cause. He was anxious to add his mite to the efforts of his people and he enlisted August 31, 1861, in Com- pany D of the Fourth Battalion of the Second Division as a private. On November 18, 1861, he was made a sergeant, and on February 28, 1862, he was discharged at Camp Cove Creek, Arkansas, upon expira- tion of his enlistment period. His discharge is signed by J. C. McDon- ald, captain of his company, and is approved by Samuel A. Rolings, lieutenant-colonel commanding the battalion; by Martin E. Greene, brigadier-general, and by order of Major General Price, by his assist- ant adjutant-general, W. Grant. Mr. Ely was sworn into the service at Boyle Goodwin's mill by Col. John Ralls of the Mexican war service, and the company set out from Salt River and joined the main com- mand at Lexington, Missouri. Mr. Ely was in the battle of Lexington and in the engagements at Elkhorn or Pea Ridge, this latter battle being fought a few days after his discharge. Returning home, Mr. Ely was advised by his Union friends to take the oath of allegiance and thus
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escape the annoyance and mental suffering consequent upon arrest by the Federal anthorities for his part as a Confederate. He accordingly went to Hannibal and subscribed to the oath of allegiance and took no further part in the war.
Losing his parents so early in life was the prime cause for Mr. Ely's childhood entry into life's independent activities before he reached his teens. From the years of eleven to eighteen he had provided for him- self and accumulated only $57, the fund which represented his sole capital when he married. Add to this sum $500 his guardian advanced him out of his father's estate, and thus Martin Ely began the uphill climb as the head of a family. He knew nothing but work, and he attained efficiency as a business man and a successful manager with the lapse of time. He located southeast of Monroe City and carried on mixed farming and stock raising there for fifty-seven years. He accum- ulated a vast tract of land, that, indeed, being his principal achieve- ment during the passing years, and the tract of 1780 acres was parceled ont among his children in recent years, giving them a splendid advan- tage in life's handicap, in addition to the excellent educational advan- tages which he accorded to them and which he knew so well how to ap- preciate, from the very lack of similar training in his young days. In 1907 he moved into the community southeast of Perry, abandoning farming entirely, and in 1911 moved to Perry, which now represents his home.
On November 23, 1862, Mr. Ely was united in marriage with Miss Annie E. Melson, a daughter of John D. Melson, who came to Missouri from Bedford county, Virginia. Mrs. Ely died February 18, 1902, the mother of Enphemia D., the wife of R. E. Redman, of Monroe City, Missouri; Dovie Lee married L. M. Redman and lives in California ; Samantha E., is the widow of Frank E. Orr, of Monroe City; Isaac M. is a prominent farmer near Perry; Pinkie J. married Charles Elza and they reside at Monroe City; Annie T. Ely is an accomplished musician of Monroe City and a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music ; Emma P. married Prof. T. O. Ramsey, of Phillipsburg, Kansas, and died in 1906.
On March 18, 1904, Mr. Ely married Mrs. Emily Parish, a daugh- ter of Fred Lynn, who was a native of Stockholm, Sweden.
Mr. Ely is a member of No. 64 lodge of the F. & A. M., Monroe City, and was a member of the chapter there. He has been a member of the Baptist church since 1868 and served as church clerk for fifteen years. He spent his money freely and liberally in the education of his chil- dren, all having the advantage of higher education. Some of them at- tended Hardin College, some Stephens College at Columbia, and others attended college at La Grange, while the normal school at Kirksville gave to some their advanced educational training. Several of them became teachers, previons to their marriage. Mr. Ely joined other capitalists in taking stock in the first bank organized here, the Perry bank, that being one instance in which he deviated from the regular farming business which, for the most part, occupied his entire time and attention in a business way.
Mr. Ely has amply demonstrated his capacity as a business man of acumen and good judgment, and is known throughout his community for one of the most successful men in the district. He is a Democrat, like his fathers before him, but has given no attention to public office or to political matters, beyond the demands of good citizenship.
ROBERT EMMET GRAHAM, M. D. Columbia, Missouri, has been called upon to bear the loss of some of its most brilliant men, prominent fig-
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ures in the world of finance and business and in the various professions, and one of its most recent bereavements and one that it could least afford in that the deceased was in the very prime of young manhood. with the best years of his life before him, was the death of Robert Emmet Graham, M. D., who, with the flush of youth still upon his cheek, passed away March 3, 1910. Dr. Graham was born July 19, 1869, at Millersburg, Holmes county, Ohio, and was a son of John and Nancy (Beer) Graham, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Pennsylvania.
Robert E. Graham attended the public schools at Ada, Ohio, and in the spring of 1891 joined his brother, Dr. Anthony Graham, in Warren county. During that same year he entered the medical department of the state university, where he received his degree in the class of 1894, following which he spent one term under Dr. McFarlane, studying sur- gery, in Philadelphia. In 1895 he visited Europe, taking special work in Paris and Berlin, and on his return took up the duties of bacteriol- ogist of the State University of Missouri, where he aeted as instruetor and produced the first diphtheria antitoxin made in Missouri. One year later he entered upon the private practice of his profession, although he continued his experiments in making blackleg vaccine and hog cholera vaccine. His practice extended throughout the state and he was de- pended upon by many physicians to make X-ray plates and microseop- ical examinations. He was a member of various leading medical bodies, contributing numerous papers and pamphlets to be read before organ- izations all over the country. The doctor was a great lover of horses, was active in the breeding of the famous Rex McDonald saddle horses, and was one of the organizers and the first president of the Missouri Saddle Horse Breeders Association. The last letter of the doctor's life was addressed to Rufus Jackson, secretary of the Missouri Saddle Horse Breeders Association, and editor of the Intelligencer, and in it he spoke of just having returned to his home from Texas, having fully recovered from a stroke of paralysis and being ready for business. The letter ends abruptly in the middle of a sentenee, as though death had over- come him while he was writing. He had been home but two days, the first day having been spent in the administration of vaccine to patients who had awaited his return, and he also had made a number of calls and visited his office, although it was his first day back to the office on active practice that his death oeeurred. He had remarked to a number of acquaintances that while he had enjoyed his trip immensely, the best part was getting home, he being a great family man and a lover of hearth and fireside. There was no sham about Dr. Graham. He ever looked the world squarely in the face, without apology ; nor did he seek notoriety, his actions being founded on firm conviction and his conseience being his only arbiter. Not only did he take a great interest in all that pertained to his profession, but he was at all times ready to forward movements calculated to be of benefit to his adopted community, and served as a member of the city council. He was a Democrat in his political views and was a member of the Presbyterian church, although his praetiee was often so urgent, even on Sundays, that he could barely find time to attend religious services.
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