A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 10

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864-1935 editor
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 912

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Joseph Stern George, the father of Henry Lewis George, was born in the City of Philadelphia, January 21, 1827, and was a natural me- chanic, working at one of the skilled trades as a young man and later becoming prominent as a city official of Philadelphia, where he spent his entire life, dying at the age of seventy-seven years. He married Har- riet Elizabeth Mulford, who was born of English parents, and she died at the early age of twenty-five years, Henry L. and Harriet being their only children.

Henry Lewis George was reared and educated in Philadelphia and New York, and commenced his active career as a grocer's clerk at the age of fourteen years, when he received a salary of $2 per week. After one year he became employed with a firm engaged in the manu- facture of patent medicines, but when about fifteen years of age com- menced business with wholesale dealers in hosiery, underwear and gloves, and continued with them for more than five years. At that time Mr. George came to St. Joseph, Missouri, in which city he arrived on the 9th day of September, 1869, and immediately entered the employ of R. L. McDonald & Co., with whom he continued for a period of twenty- seven years. In 1896 he engaged in the business of representing dif- ferent mills in the sale of their products, and this has continued to be his line of endeavor to the present time. The industry, purpose and ideals of Mr. George have tended to the most substantial in commercial, industrial and business life, as well as to the most elevating in ethical, educational and civic growth. He belongs to the constructive class of men, and to the non-visionary conservatives who hold fast to old truths until the excellence of new ones has been demonstrated. On the other hand, he is progressive and enterprising, keeps in close touch with the progress of the world, and has the courage to grasp opportunities and the ability to make the most of them.

Mr. George was married January 23, 1884, to Miss Maggie Beattie McDonald, who was born in St. Joseph, daughter of Rufus L. and Mary (Wilson) McDonald, and to this union there have come three children: Mary Marjorie, who is the wife of Frazer L. Ford; Rufus Lewis, who died in infancy; and Harriet Louise, who is attending school. Mr. George is a member of Charity Lodge, F. & A. M .; Mitchell Chapter No. 89, R. A. M .; Hugh de Payne Commandery No. 51, K. T .; St. Jo- seph Council No. 9, R. & S. M .; St. Joseph Lodge of Perfection No. 6; Moila Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., St. Joseph; St. Joseph Chapter Rose Croix No. 4, A. A. S. R .; Albert Pike Council of Kadosh No. 4, A. A. S. R .; St. Joseph Consistory No. 4, A. A. S. R. He is the oldest past master of his lodge, and is past high priest of Mitchell Chapter. Mr. George is a member of the Commercial Club, of which he was for four years president, is a member of the Sons of the Revolution, the Good Government League, and is also connected with the Benton and Country

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Clubs, in all of which he has been chief executive. He is an official member of the First Presbyterian Church, which he has served as deacon and elder for many years.

Mr. George is the owner of the most valuable collection of Indian relics privately owned in the United States, an account of which recently appeared in the Kansas City Star, from which we quote the following: "Because a small basket, purchased ten years ago from an Indian res- ervation, merely as a souvenir of his Western trip, turned out to be a rare specimen, Harry L. George, of St. Joseph, Missouri, realized that the original Indian types of industry and art were rapidly passing and he began his collection of specimens of the North American tribes' handiwork, which is recognized as one of the most complete private col- lections in the United States. Mr. George places no price upon it. 'I could only estimate the sum of money I have spent in obtaining my specimens,' he says, 'and that gives no idea of the real value. Many of the pieces were made by tribes now extinct, and of course all of them will increase in value with time. In starting my collection I found that fifty-eight different tongues were spoken among the North American Indians, and my original intention was to get representative baskets from each of these families. But several of these are now extinct and among the fifty-three now in existence some, owing to their geo- graphical location, are not now basketmakers. Thus, in order to get relics from each tribe, I have been forced to add pottery and bead-work to my collection. I have picked up many of my specimens during my travels through the West and Southwest, but most of them I have bought through agents and friends. I have obtained my specimens from every reservation in the United States and Alaska.' St. Joseph has no public museum and Mr. George has had a part of his collection placed in cases in the main public library. One of the central public schools has another portion of it, and the remainder Mr. George has in his home. The collection shows clearly to what almost unlimited uses the basket was put by uncivilized man. It was used for holding water, food and other precious objects in use in everyday life, for gather- ing articles of commerce and transporting them, for furniture and cloth- ing. The woven receptacles played an important part in the love affairs of the dusky people, in their religion, in their family life, and in the weird ceremonials they produced. Before the coming of the white man, basketry supplied nearly every necessity. The wealth of an Indian family was reckoned by the number and the beauty of the baskets they owned, and the highest virtue of woman was in her ability to make them. It was the most expert woman in basketry who brought the highest price when sold in marriage.

"Among the ceremonial baskets in Mr. George's collection, perhaps the most interesting are his twenty-four tiny witch baskets, the largest of which, feather trimmed and greatly ornamented, measures two and one-half inches in diameter, and the smallest one, woven with a black and white design, is five thirty-seconds of an inch. It is indeed mar- velous basketwork when one realizes what short, fat fingers have woven the intricate and smoothly perfect little models. These special baskets were made by the Pomo tribe of Northern California. In the collection are a number of their religious baskets which show the care and pains- taking labor which must have been expended upon their construction. There are several specimens used by the Hopi Indians of Northeastern Arizona in their famous dances. There are several ceremonials made by the Hupa Indians of California, of which there are no dupli- Vol. III-5

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cates and which are therefore very valuable. There is a basket with peach-stones carved and marked for dice. The game was played exclu- sively by the women. For a dice tray they used a large fine basket tray. Baskets played an important role in the etiquette of the red men. The Choctaw girls, in sending a gift of fruit or flowers, used a heart-shaped or double basket to convey a sentiment of sincerity. Mr. George has love baskets from several tribes and an exquisite specimen of the wedding basket of the Pomos. Specimens of cooking baskets no longer obtainable are found in the collection. They were of course not put over a fire. The food was placed in them and then clean, hot stones were put in. The heat from these stones, combined with constant stir- ring, cooked the food. These baskets are made of split cedar roots. Among the most fantastic specimens are baskets trimmed with shells, and other hard substances. The feather seems to have been one of the. most used basket decorations. The plant materials used vary with the geographical location of the tribes. Dyes used in basket making were made from roots and pigments of the earth. Among the most beautiful and interesting of the carrying baskets are the pappoose baskets. There are nineteen cradles and several miniature cradles which the Indian chil- dren used to carry their dolls in. Two Pima carrying baskets, one for a child and one for an adult, are beautiful examples of lace work among the Indians. These burden-bearing baskets consist of a framework of poles, about which a bag or bowl is woven of Yucca palm strings. The sticks are carefully wrapped with hair. These baskets are fastened to the forehead when carried by a beautifully beaded band.

"Mr. George's object in the beginning was the collection of only baskets, but he found so many rare and beautiful Indian specimens of other articles, that his collection of these is as large or larger than that of the baskets. He has specimens of every sort of ornament, imple- ment and dish used by the Alaska Indians. His collection of Indian necklaces, each with a history of its own, some of them known, is almost complete in itself. The claws and bones of animals and birds, beads and bits of abalone pearl and bright feathers, are the materials used in the making of these."

JOHN E. SMITH. The career of John E. Smith in Harrison County covers the period between the era of the log cabin and the undeveloped prairie, and the present day of the most modern improvements and fine fertile farms. Mr. Smith is now engaged in successful agricultural pur- suits in White Oak Township, his home being located in section 11, town- ship 63, range 29, Harrison County, and was born in a log cabin in the same community, December 30, 1866, his parents being Edward and Frances R. (Claytor) Smith.

Edward Smith was born in 1826, in the State of Missouri, and acquired a scant education in the country schools. He came to Harrison County prior to the outbreak of the war between the North and the South, but did not serve in that struggle, although he had previously had military experience as a soldier during the Mexican war. Mr. Smith came to Harrison County from one of the counties of this Northwest Missouri section, perhaps Daviess County, where he had been brought up from a child, and where he had entered land which he exchanged with his brother for his first home in section 11, White Oak Township. His final home was in section 2, and he came to be one of the large landholders of his township, was chiefly engaged in stockraising and feeding and was an occasional shipper to market. In politics he was a democrat, but never sought public office. His religious affiliation was

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with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he took an active part in religious affairs, being an officer in the Shady Grove Church. Edward Smith was united in marriage with Miss Frances.R. Claytor, a daughter of Henry Claytor, and she is now seventy-three years of age and lives at New Hampton, Missouri. Mr. Smith died in 1900, the father of the following children: Adaline, who married James Coleman, and died at Saint Joseph, Missouri; Price, who is a farmer of Bethany Township, Harrison County; Sarah, who died single; John E., of this notice; Thomas V., a resident of New Hampton; Martha, also of New Hampton ; Samuel A., a farmer of White Oak Township; Mary and May, twins, the latter of whom lives in New Hampton, while the former died unmar- ried.

Edward Smith was a son of Vincent Smith, who passed away in Harrison County prior to the Civil war. He married Miss Sarah Wright, who died at Blue Ridge, Harrison County, when nearly eighty years of age, and they became the parents of the following children: Vincent, who died in Harrison County and left a family; Thompson, who passed away in Greene County, Missouri, leaving one child; Edward, the father of John E .; John W., a resident of Harrison County; Oregon, who mar- ried Andrew Graybill and lives near Hatfield, Missouri ; Isabel, who mar- ried Alfred Thomas, and died at Blue Ridge; Benjamin, a resident of Greene County ; Sarelda, who married Noah Dotson and died in Harrison County ; Solomon, who is also deceased; Columbus, who lives at Saint Joseph; Susan, who married Thomas Shackelton, of Excelsior Springs, Missouri ; Marcus, of Springfield, Missouri; and George, who died near Springfield, the next to the youngest child.

John E. Smith received his education in the schools adjacent to his childhood home, and as he grew up performed the services of a sort of cowboy in caring for the family herds. When he entered upon his own career he was past his majority and began life as a farmer, and so ably have his affairs been conducted that he is now the owner of 238 acres of fine land in section 11 and 285 acres in section 12, and it is practically all in cultivation. His buildings are modern, commodious and substan- tial, his machinery of the latest manufacture, and the entire appearance of the farm is a reflection of its owner's enterprise and excellent man- agement. Mr. Smith handles stock quite largely as a feeder and occa- sional shipper, and is known as a good judge of cattle. He has a number of business interests, these including holdings in the stock of the Bank of New Hampton and of a mail order house in Minneapolis. Politically he is a democrat, but his activities in this line have been confined to voicing his preferences through his vote. With his family he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Mr. Smith was married April 5, 1904, to Miss Hattie Bender, a daughter of John W. and Margaret (Funk) Bender. Mr. Bender came to Missouri from Indiana, and is of German stock, as was also his wife. Of his twelve children, Mrs. Smith is the fifth in order of birth. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, namely : Clifton, Frances and Kenneth.

WILLIAM VAN LEAZENBY. A resident of Harrison County since 1880, and now a farmer near Ridgeway, William Van Leazenby came to this part of Northwest Missouri from Pickaway County, Ohio, his native place, he having been born near the town of Mount Sterling, Ohio, in the same house in which his father's birth occurred, July 29, 1857. He is the eldest son of Isaac Leazenby, who married Mary Tanner, a daugh- ter of David Tanner, an agriculturist of Ohio. Isaac Leazenby was a

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son of Joshua Leazenby, mentioned elsewhere in this work, in the history of the old, well-known and honored family.

Isaac Leazenby was an agriculturist by vocation, and was an exhorter and class leader of the Methodist Church. He was decidedly a man of peace, and did much toward the prevention of trouble or animosity in his neighborhood. An extravagant instance of his endeavor to accommo- date a neighbor is shown in his loaning of his own wagon-when he was really using it-to a neighbor and then sending his sons off to borrow one elsewhere that his own work might be completed. He came to Mis- souri in 1881 and lived near Ridgeway during the rest of his life, dying January 21, 1887. His children were as follows: William Van, of this review ; Amanda, who married Jacob Frost and died at Grant City, Mis- souri; John W., of Ridgeway, who has served as county representative to the Missouri General Assembly twice; Charles C., of near Cainsville, who is accounted one of the leading auctioneers of Harrison County ; and George, who is a resident and business man of Idaho.

William Van Leazenby grew up in his native locality and was edu- cated in the district schools, and learned the vocation of his father, that of farming. After his marriage, as long as he remained in Ohio, he lived on the property adjoining his old home, but, in 1880, having friends and relatives in Missouri, he came West as a means of improving his condition and located first near Cainsville, in Harrison County. He had a wife and child and money enough to make a payment on an eighty-acre farm that he purchased in that locality, buying an eighty-acre tract which was partly improved. He remained on this land and farmed it until it became worth double what he had paid for it, and he then disposed of his interest therein and bought 280 acres in Marion Township, section 24, township 65, range 27. This farm was likewise started by settler Rey- burn, an Illinois man, but Mr. Leazenby purchased it of the Hall estate. In this locality Mr. Leazenby lived continuously for sixteen years, and when he left it it was a well-ordered place. Mr. Leazenby made deals and changes in land, disposing of some and buying other during the time, and still owns 240 acres there. He also erected barns, built fences and cross-fenced it, and made numerous other intelligent improvements, and left it as one of the handsome and valuable country places of that com- munity.

From the Marion Township farm, Mr. Leazenby came to his father's old home, which he purchased, within a mile of Ridgeway. It contains eighty-one acres and he has restored it to a splendid state of cultivation and substantial improvement. Here he provided a separate home for his mother and cared for her during her last years, she dying March 6, 1912. Here he is continuing his general farming in addition to carrying on the other farm. In a modest way he has been growing Short Horn cattle and his Norman horses have scattered themselves, through his sire, about over a wide territory adjacent to Ridgeway. His exhibits of stock for prizes have occurred at local fairs and stock shows and he also holds annual farm sales to dispose of his surplus stock, which have become quite a yearly event and are largely attended.

Mr. Leazenby is a Methodist. He was converted at the age of twenty years and is a trustee of the Ridgeway Methodist Church, and has ever given his strength to the work of the Sabbath school, which he has led in the capacity of superintendent and class leader. He was born a repub- lican, and while on several occasions he has scratched his ticket it has been in the interest of good men for local offices always. He has been a justice of the peace in both Marion and Grant townships, serving eleven years in that capacity, and entered thus officially into the regulation of public morals. Mr. Leazenby is one of the stockholders of the Harrison

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County Fair Association of Ridgeway, and for twenty years has been a Master Mason.

Mr. Leazenby was married in February, 1879, his first wife being Sallie Keys, a daughter of Thomas Keys and Elizabeth (Beatty) Keys. They were farming people of Ohio and early settlers of Pickaway County, that state. Their children were as follows: Mrs. Leazenby; Jane, who died single; Amanda, who married Albert Miller, of Columbus, Ohio; and Ida, who married Mr. Smith and resides near that city. Mrs. Leazen- by passed away as a resident of Marion Township, having been the mother of the following children: Lizzie, who became the wife of Ed Girdner, and resides in the vicinity of Cainesville, Missouri; Ethel, who became the wife of William Norwood, and resides at Ridgeway; Minnie, who became the wife of Mack Burgin, is a resident of Marysville, Mis- souri; Wilda, who became the wife of Herman Wasso, and is also a resi- dent of Ridgeway ; and Miss Laura, who is a student of the normal school at Marysville, Missouri.

Mr. Leazenby was married the second time, August 26, 1900, to Miss Mary Harrison, a daughter of Henry and Catharine J. (Milligan) Harri- son, who came to the State of Missouri in December, 1871, from their native East Tennessee and were farmers in Harrison County. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Leazenby, Truman and Ray. The boys are being educated in Ridgeway High School. Mr. Leazenby has educated his daughters liberally, graduating them from the Ridge- way High School and preparing them for effective spheres of usefulness in church and society where they live.

GROVE E. KELSO. A newspaper which has had a fine and vitalizing influence in its community is the Hardin News in Ray County. Its editor and proprietor, Grove E. Kelso, is a newspaper man with ten years of successful experience, was for a number of years identified with educa- tional affairs in Chariton County, and is one of the prominent citizens of his section of the state.

A native of Chariton County, Grove E. Kelso was born near Mussell- fork, December 8, 1868. His father, Samuel S. Kelso, who is now living retired and one of the venerable citizens of Chariton County, was born in Richland County, Ohio, October 8, 1841. The mother's maiden name was Luella Frayer, who was born in Huron County, Ohio, August 15, 1848, and died January 2, 1907. They were the parents of nine children, and there are seven now living, in widely diverse portions of the country, who are named as follows: Grove E .; Mary, wife of William G. Pfeiffer, of Hugo, Colorado; Olive A., wife of Cornelius DeWese of Huntsville, Missouri ; L. E. A. of Madison, Wisconsin ; Warner E. of Missouri ; Miss Meryl, of Hugo, Colorado; and Isaac E., of Quincy, Illinois.

Samuel S. Kelso, the father, grew up on an Ohio farm, attended the public schools and was educated perhaps more liberally than the average boy of his time. His career was identified with his home locality until the outbreak of the war. His record as a Union soldier was one of ex- ceptional experiences, hardship and length. He assisted in raising a company and enlisted in Battery D of the First Ohio Artillery. During a campaign in Kentucky he was captured, but was soon paroled and returned to his command. Later after the fall of Atlanta he was one of fourteen men who were captured on the morning that Sherman started his march to the sea. Then followed thirteen months of imprisonment and the endurance of almost unspeakable conditions at Libby and Ander- sonville, and when he was released in August, 1865, he was the only one of the fourteen prisoners captured with him who survived the terrible hardships and exposures of those notorious prisons. When he was re-

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leased he was naked and too weak to walk. Returning to Ohio, he soon left that state and came west and located in Chariton County, Missouri. Having made some money and unsatisfied with his experience in this state, he then went back to Ohio, was married on December 26, 1867, and brought his bride to Chariton County, where he bought land and engaged in the substantial business of agriculture. Subsequently he was identified with merchandising at Mussellfork, and for several years held the office of postmaster there. He is now living retired and enjoying the fruits of a long and well-spent career.

Grove E. Kelso, the first child of his parents, and born soon after the establishment of the home in Chariton County, grew up in his native locality, attended the country district schools, and early became ambitious for an education and for a larger life than could be found on a farm. At the age of sixteen he left home, and spent one year in attendance at the Stanberry Normal School, and then found work as a teacher and as a farm laborer. With the means thus acquired he paid his way for two years in Central College at Fayette, leaving there in June, 1893. Then followed a period of work on the farm, and beginning with July, 1894, he entered upon a long and successful experience as an educator, being identified with school work for eleven years in Ray County, and much of the time at Hardin with one year in Rayville.

Finally Mr. Kelso's energies were directed from education to journal- ism, and on January 2, 1904, he bought the Hardin News from Walter L. Bales. Since then he has given all his time to the publication of one of the livest papers of Ray County. Mr. Kelso as a result of his own experience and his broad outlook on life is in a position to afford a fine influence on local opinion through the columns of his paper, and main- tains a journal which not only publishes the news but exercises a high standard of civic and public morality. Politically his paper maintains a neutral position, though personally Mr. Kelso is republican. He has an active part in the improvement of commercial and civic conditions in his home town, and is a member of the trade extension committee of the Hardin Commercial Club, a director of the Hardin Building & Loan Company, and besides his newspaper he has the agency for several fire insurance companies and writes a large amount of business in and around Hardin.

Mr. Kelso has fraternal affiliations with the Masonic order, the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. On August 14, 1901, he married Mrs. Pernie Swinney, a widow, who died August 10, 1904. By her first marriage she had one son, Oliver K. Swinney, who now has his home in Ray County. On August 1, 1907, Mr. Kelso mar- ried for his present wife Miss Ida Kellenberger, who was born in Ray County, a daughter of George W. and Bertha (Hileman) Kellenberger. Her parents were both natives of Germany and now live at Hardin. Mr. Kelso and wife have one child, Bertha Luella, who was born Novem- ber 27, 1909.

WILLIS G. HINE. Senior member of the law firm of Hine, Cross & Wells and vice president of the Wells-Hine Trust Company at Savannah, Willis G. Hine has had a long and successful career, beginning in the restricted sphere of farmer, student, teacher, and for more than twenty years as a lawyer of increasing distinction and business duties and civic responsibilities. Mr. Hine has a secure place in professional and business circles in Andrew County, and has done much for their advancement.

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A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 10

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864-1935 editor Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 912

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864-1935 editor
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 912