A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 102

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

USA > Missouri > A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III > Part 102

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

1976

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

of the next year removed to Lincoln Township, which was subsequently the scene of his exceptionally successful efforts as a farmer and land holder. His first purchase was 120 acres, and for several years he combined his trade with the tilling of his fields and harvesting of his crops. In the meantime he prospered and his surplus capital was rein- vested in additional lands, until within less than twenty-five years after his service as a farmer he was the owner of nearly eight hundred acres in Andrew County.

Gottlieb Steeby was not a man to restrict his influence and efforts to his own interests, but was a man of power in the community. In November, 1880, he was elected a member of the County Court for one term, and in April, 1866, had been chosen a school director in his district, and held that position for many years.

On February 12, 1857, Mr. Steeby married Miss Mary Moser of Ohio, who was reared in Andrew County. Gottlieb Steeby was an active republican and he and his wife belonged to the Presbyterian Church. He had survived more than twenty years, her death having occurred on July 26, 1893. Gottlieb Steeby and wife were the parents of fourteen children, mentioned briefly as follows: William Columbus, who died in June, 1873; Eli Franklin, of Lincoln Township, Andrew County ; Alice, wife of R. T. Turner of Andrew County; Sarah, now deceased, who was the wife of Joseph Mann; John Sherman, of Arkan- sas ; Peter Gottlieb, deceased; Alexander Lee; Henry Grant, of Jefferson Township; Ella May, wife of Ed Mann of Nodaway Township; Ida, wife of Michael Nester of Lincoln Township; Susan, deceased wife of John Martie; Lulu, wife of Oliver Martie of Lincoln Township; Ombra Davis of Oklahoma; Lena, wife of Ernest Zahnd of Lincoln Township.

ALEXANDER LEE STEEBY. One of the children of the fine old pioneer, the late Judge G. Steeby, Alexander Lee Steeby has spent his life in Andrew County and is one of the most capable farmers and public spirited citizens of Lincoln Township, his valuable homestead being located in section 8.

Alexander Lee Steeby was born January 19, 1869, near his present home in Lincoln Township. After his marriage he bought a farm in Jackson Township of one hundred acres, and increased its extent until he had over two hundred acres. He lived there twelve years and then sold and bought his present farm, comprising 221 acres. This is only part of his land holdings, however, since he owns a good farm of 140 acres in Jackson Township, which is worked on the shares under his direct supervision. He also has a quarter section of land in Palmer County, Texas. Mr. Steeby's farm shows the well ordered enterprise which has characterized his career as a Northwest Missouri farmer. He and his family reside in a large eight-room house, surrounded with barns and other equipment, and his efforts have taken the direction of grain and stock farming. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers Bank of Nodaway.

Mr. Steeby is a republican in politics and he and his family worship in the Methodist Church. Their church home is known as Union Chapel, and was erected on land donated by Mr. Steeby, and he also gave an additional $400 as part of the building fund. Mr. Steeby shared in the division of the splendid estate of 900 acres formerly owned by his father, but much of his success has come from his own efforts and capable management.

Mr. Steeby was married November 30. 1890, to Mary Elizabeth Moser, who was born in Ohio, but came to Northwest Missouri when a child with her parents, Jacob and Mary Moser, both of whom died in this

1977

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

locality. To this union have been born three children, George W., Mary and Herbert.

ELI FRANKLIN STEEBY. On other pages is recited the career and long continued activities of Judge Gottlieb Steeby, who lived in Andrew County sixty years and built up a splendid estate, aggregating about nine hundred acres of land. The oldest of his living children is Eli Franklin Steeby, who in his own career has exemplified the same rugged qualities and successful judgment that characterized his father, and now has a large stock and grain farm in section 17 of Lincoln Township.

Eli Franklin Steeby was born in Lincoln Township, Andrew County, December 27, 1859, the second of the fourteen children born to Gottlieb and Mary (Moser) Steeby. Lincoln Township has been his only home through all the years since his birth, and he continued with his parents through boyhood and early manhood, gaining his education in the local schools and disciplining his body and mind by active contact with the duties of a farm. After his marriage Mr. Steeby bought his first place of 172 acres. A number of years ago he made a specialty of apple rais- ing, and at one time had sixty acres in orchard. As the trees have become burdened with age and have largely ceased bearing, he has cut away most of the orchard and now devotes the ground to grain and stock farming, in which he has been peculiarly successful.

Mr. Steeby is a republican in politics and with his family worships in the Christian Church at Nodaway. On January 19, 1881, he married Mary Wilson, who was born in Lincoln Township October 4, 1863, and like her husband has always lived in this one locality. Her parents were Milus and Lucinda Anna (Baldwin) Wilson. Both her parents were also natives of Northwest Missouri. Her mother died in 1865, after having two children, and her father married again and had eight children by his second wife. Mr. and Mrs. Steeby are the parents of six children : Effie May, wife of Milus Wilson of Lincoln Township; William Lewis, of Lincoln Township; Alexander Ray; Aaron Ira; Milus Gottlieb; and Opal Marie.

THEODORE L. ROBINSON. The years of his life which were most fruit- ful in accomplishment and in broad and effective service to himself and his fellow men, the late Theodore L. Robinson passed at Maryville, in Nodaway County. There his memory is likely to endure long, and the inspiration of his career and its example are effective lessons that may be read with profit by all. After many years spent in battle against adversity, he lived to accomplish those things which are considered most worth while by ambitious men-honorable activity in business with satisfying material rewards, the esteem of his fellow men and a public- spirited share in the social and civic life of his community.

Theodore L. Robinson was a native Missourian, born in Callaway County February 8, 1833. Three years later his mother died, and he was left in the care of his paternal grandparents by his father, who went to Texas and whom he never afterwards saw. When eleven years of age his grandparents moved to the vicinity of St. Joseph, and at the age of twelve he began work in a hotel in that city. He made himself · useful, and soon attracted the attention of a St. Joseph merchant, in whose employ he remained for five years. The agreement as to salary was $60 per year, with the privilege of three months' schooling during each of three years. However, his school attendance all told aggre- gated only six months, and so far as books and instruction in the "lit- erary arts" was concerned he had an exceedingly limited education. When the discovery of gold in California was heralded throughout the

1978

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

world he was sixteen years of age, and at once caught the "gold fever," and went West. His employer furnished him with goods, mostly cheap clothing, to sell in the West, and in company with another young man he crossed the plains with a wagon drawn by oxen. His mercantile venture was ill-starred, since everyone seemed to have supplied himself with clothing and other needed supplies, and all the stock he carried across the plains was disposed of at a sacrifice. However, by hard work in mining and otherwise he earned enough to pay his old employer for all the goods and for the team furnished for transportation. Six years were spent on the Pacific Coast in varied experience and hardships, and in 1855 he returned to Missouri, without money, and with his con- stitution impaired by exposure and the rough existence of the West. On his return to Missouri he received news that his father had recently died in Texas, leaving his second wife a widow with three little children. His elder brother had also died in the same state, while a younger brother had died in 1844. Mr. Robinson at once reentered the employ of his merchant friend at St. Joseph, and remained until he could equip him- self with a wagon and team for the long journey to Houston, Texas. He went to that state and brought back his father's widow and her three small children, in order the better to provide for them. This was only an incident of his long career, but it illustrates remarkably well the general character of his mind and heart. Soon after returning from Texas Mr. Robinson was furnished a stock of goods by his old and always friendly employer, and in August, 1857, established a store in Mary- ville, Missouri. That little city remained his home the rest of his days, where he was honored not only as one of the early merchants, but as one of the finest citizens. He prospered in mercantile trade and also as a lumberman. In 1873 Mr. Robinson became actively connected with the Nodaway Valley Bank of Maryville, as a partner with James B. Prather, Mr. Robinson having active charge of the business. On the death of Mr. Prather in 1892, Mr. Robinson made his son, James B. Robinson, cashier of the bank, the latter having previously been book- keeper and assistant cashier. The bank was incorporated April 7, 1894, and Mr. Robinson remained its president until his death a few weeks later, on May 28, 1894.

This brief outline of facts only suggests the remarkable struggle of a poor boy against adverse circumstances and emphasizes his later suc- cess. He acquired a considerable fortune and died both wealthy and respected. Personally he was a plain and unassuming gentleman, wide awake in his attitude of affairs, and even tempered and well poised. His progressiveness and public spirit were as marked as his business ability. While he himself had succeeded in life without an education, he was none the less a stanch friend of schools and learning, and for twenty years was a member and treasurer of the Maryville School Board. Politically he was a democrat, had fraternal affiliations with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and died a member of the Christian Church.

On October 9, 1859, Mr. Robinson married Rebecca J. Ray. She was born in Bardstown, in Nelson County, Kentucky, and when a child was brought to Nodaway County by her father, James Ray, a pioneer settler and farmer in this section. Mrs. Robinson is still living and has now reached the seventy-fourth year of her life. By her marriage to Mr. Robinson she became the mother of the following children: James B., a sketch of whom is found on an adjacent page; Martha E., deceased ; Theodore L., deceased ; Fred P., a Maryville lawyer ; and Jen- nie I., wife of Dr. Charles T. Bell of Maryville. Throughout his life the late Mr. Robinson was devoted to his family, and his interest in its

1979

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

welfare and in the pleasures of home and in his many friendships was a strong characteristic.

JAMES B. ROBINSON. A son of the late Theodore L. Robinson, whose varied and interesting career as a merchant and banker has been described on other pages, James B. Robinson succeeded his father as president of the Nodaway Valley Bank of Maryville, and for twenty years has been active head of that substantial institution. He has exhibited the same quality of business enterprise and high civic ideals which characterized his father, and is one of Maryville's most prominent men.

James B. Robinson was born in Maryville, Missouri, November 24, 1864, was reared and educated in his native city, attending the public schools. His business training was begun under the direction of his father, and at the age of eighteen he entered the Nodaway Valley Bank as bookkeeper and assistant cashier. In 1892 he was promoted to the post of cashier, and on the death of his father in 1894 was elected presi- dent, which has since been his chief distinction in the business community of Nodaway County. Mr. Robinson also owns large holdings in farm lands, and is extensively engaged in agriculture and stock raising.

Though a stanch democrat politically, he has never sought any political honors. His most imporant service in official position has been as a member for fifteen years of the Maryville School Board. Mr. Rob- inson is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and is a member of the Christian Church.

In 1894 Mr. Robinson married Maggie Garrison of Albany, Missouri. Their three children are named Theodore Garrison, James B., Jr., and Chilton K. The Robinson home is one of the largest and most attractive residences in Maryville.

SAMUEL G. GILLAM. A little over twenty-five years ago Samuel G. Gillam left the home farm in Nodaway County and as a boy of fifteen began his business experience as clerk in a title and abstract office at Maryville. Few of the successful men in financial affairs in Northwest Missouri have had a more notable rise and steady progress than Mr. Gillam, who is now president of the Gillam-Jackson Loan & Trust Com- pany and with other important financial and property interests in that section of the state.

Samuel G. Gillam was born in McDonough County, Illinois, April 21, 1871, a son of Hachaliah and Amelia L. (Herzog) Gillam. His father was a native of Indiana and his mother of New York City. In 1882 the parents moved out to Iowa, and in 1884 came to Missouri and settled on a farm in Nodaway County.

It was in the rural communities of the different states mentioned that Samuel G. Gillam spent his childhood and early youth, and his educational equipment was largely supplied by district schools. At the age of fifteen he came to Maryville, took up the work as clerk already mentioned, and perhaps one of the reasons for his success, outside of his native talent and energy, has been the fact that he has applied himself almost to one line through all the years, and title and abstract work is still a part of his business. He became a controlling factor in the title and abstract business, and after a time became interested in bank- ing and is now vice president of the First National Bank of Maryville, and is also vice president of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Elmo. Mr. Gillam and Mr. Joseph Jackson a few years ago organized the Gillam-Jackson Loan & Trust Company, which was incorporated in July, 1913, and began business at once. This company is affiliated with

1980

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

the First National Bank, and both have offices in the same building. The company transacts an extensive business as a loan, trust, savings, abstract and title concern, and its growth and success are largely to be credited to the long experience and able management of Mr. Gillam. He is also the owner of farm lands, and a part of his income is derived from agriculture.

In politics Mr. Gillam is a democrat, has held several minor offices, and at one time was presidential elector for his congressional district. Governor Folk during his administration appointed Mr. Gillam a mem- ber of the board of managers for State Asylum No. 2 at St. Joseph, and during the latter part of his term he was president of the board. Governor Major appointed him the Missouri delegate to the commis- sion to investigate foreign rural credits.

Mr. Gillam was married in 1894 to Miss Emma Trueblood, daughter of William E. and Tuiza Trueblood. Mrs. Gillam was born and reared in Maryville, and is the mother of one son, Forest T. Trueblood Gillam. Mr. and Mrs. Gillam are members of the Presbyterian Church, in which he serves as a ruling elder.

JOHN FRED HULL. Few members of the journalistic fraternity in Northwest Missouri had an earlier introduction to the practical work of printing than John F. Hull, now editor and publisher of the Mary- ville Tribune, with a weekly issue, and the Maryville Daily Tribune. Mr. Hull has been connected with printing and newspaper work since thirteen years of age, practically acquired his education in that unex- celled school, and for about twenty years has been in the newspaper business at various points in Northwest Missouri.

John Fred Hull was born in Boone County, Iowa, October 10, 1874, a son of Henry W. and Kate (Swift) Hull. His father has the dis- tinction of having been the first white child born in Boone County, while the mother was a native of New York State. When Mr. Hull was about a year old his parents moved to Grant City, Missouri, where his father was successfully engaged in the practice of law until 1891. His wife having died the previous year, he went to Des Moines, Iowa, and later spent the closing years of his life in Boone County, Iowa. During the Civil war he was a soldier of the Union, enlisting in Com- pany F of the Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and for about two years followed the fortunes of his regiment in various campaigns through the South.

John Fred Hull spent most of his boyhood in Grant City, where he was educated in the public schools, and at the age of thirteen began training himself for his future career in a printing office at that town. Later he was employed for a time in Des Moines, and in 1895 returned to Grant City and was employed on the Grant City Star for three years, at the end of which time he bought an interest in the paper. In 1899 Mr. Hull moved to Maysville and bought the Maysville Pilot and con- ducted it for two years. His next location was at Gallatin, Missouri, and on June 1, 1909, he came to Maryville and became city editor of the Maryville Daily Tribune. A year later he acquired the entire plant, and has since given active direction to this well known and influential daily and weekly paper.

Mr. Hull is a republican in politics, and has fraternal affiliations with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Masonic lodge. On March 6, 1900, he married Miss Urith Matteson of Grant City. Their little family of four children are Clifford M., Robert Ray, Elizabeth Katherine and Kenneth Frederick.

1981

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

JOHN WILLIAM KENNEDY. A splendid type of progressive citizen, conservative, yet broad-minded, and a leading factor in the business, financial and agricultural life of the Maryville community of Nodaway County, John William Kennedy, president of the Farmers State Bank of Parnell, is eminently worthy of extended mention in a work dealing with the representative men of Northwest Missouri. The labor of com- piling the biographies of the living successful men of any locality is frequently made difficult by the prevailing modesty of the man of busi- ness, who almost invariably manifests a certain unwillingness to force his personality to the front, and thus in a manner discourages even friendly attempts to secure a record of the events which have led to his success. The lesson told in the lives of these men, however, is one of the greatest assistance, and there is, therefore, a due measure of satis- faction in presenting even a brief review of the life of such a man, which will not alone prove interesting because of his personal achievements, but because he is a native son of his community, and a member of a family which has been honored and respected here for many years.

John William Kennedy was born April 20, 1853, on his father's farm, five miles west of Maryville, Nodaway County, Missouri, and is a son of Samuel Thomas and Lucretia Webster (Smith) Kennedy, the former of whom died in September, 1909, while the latter still sur- vives and is a resident of Maryville. Samuel Thomas Kennedy was born in 1829, in Union County, Indiana, and when he was fourteen years of age he went with his parents to Rush County, Indiana, the family later migrating to Platte County, Missouri, and locating near Weston, this trip being made by oxen. His father, John Kennedy, rented land in Platte County for four years, and in 1849 removed to Nodaway County, where the grandfather entered 320 acres on the southwest corner of section 16, township 64, range 36, and there continued to reside until his death in August, 1864. He had been a devout member of the Baptist Church. John Kennedy was married in North Carolina to Miss Charity McMichael, a native of that state, and they became the parents of the following children: Archibald, William, James, Mrs. Margaret Bell, Mrs. Sarah Jane Kane. Mrs. Ross, and Samuel Thomas. Mrs. Ross's only son, Benjamin Ross, was adopted by his grandparents and inherited considerable of his grandfather's property.

When the family came to Nodaway County, in 1849, Samuel Thomas Kennedy entered some Government land located in section 9, township 64, range 36, four miles west of Maryville, where he built a home of logs and broke 120 acres of the 320 acres of prairie of which the tract consisted. There he continued to make his home until the spring of 1897, and at that time retired from active agricultural pursuits. Mr. Kennedy was a democrat in his political proclivities, and as such served his county as judge of the County Court for three terms, as presiding judge two terms and as township commissioner of Pope Town- ship. He was a man who took a keen and active interest in anything which promised to be of benefit to the community, and among other services acted as a working director of the Nodaway County Fair. His religious connection was with the Methodist Episcopal Church. A Mason of Maryville Lodge No. 165, he was district deputy and grand master, and organized Kennedy Lodge (named in his honor), at Elmo, Mis- souri, then called "Possum Walk." He organized a number of other lodges, was prominent in some Grand Lodge meetings, and was also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being past noble grand of Maryville Lodge. In 1850, prior to the establishment of Skid- more as a town, Mr. Kennedy was married there to Lucretia Webster Smith, who was born on a farm located on the townsite of Plattsburg, Vol. III-44

1982

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

Missouri. To this union there were born the following children: Mrs. Mary J. Wilhoyte, residing on the old home place west of Maryville; John William; Henry Newton, a resident of Keywood, Missouri; Mrs. Margaret Alice Miller, of St. Petersburg, Florida; Mrs. Dora Taylor, of Des Moines, Iowa; Mrs. Henrietta Lingenfelter, of Seattle, Washing- ton ; and Mrs. Belle Booth, of Maryville, Missouri. The mother of these children resides with the last named.

John William Kennedy attended the "Shellgrove" school, located near Maryville, intermittently until 1872, during which time he worked on the home farm, and he later attended school at Rushville, Indiana. In the spring of 1874 he bought sixty acres of partly improved land in section 24, township 64, range 37, which he sold in the fall of 1880 to John Smith, and then purchased 120 acres on section 13, township 65, range 34. This farm he brought to a high state of development, resid- ing on it for seventeen years, and still owns the property, which he has added to until it now consists of 240 acres, and is being farmed on shares by his son, Wallace. In the spring of 1891 Mr. Kennedy bought eighty acres of land near Orrsburg, in partnership with J. D. Ford, and set out seventy acres to apples. While this orchard venture was a success, Mr. Kennedy's activities were demanded elsewhere, and he has since sold his interest.

While Mr. Kennedy has been successful as an agriculturist he has not confined his activities to that field of endeavor, for he is also well known in business and financial circles. He is president of the Farmers Bank of Parnell, which was organized in 1910, and which is capitalized at $20,000, with a surplus of $10,000, with W. W. Morgan as vice presi- dent and Otis Gray as cashier. The bank is known as one of the sub- stantial and prosperous institutions of Nodaway County, and much of its success may be accredited to Mr. Kennedy's excellent abilities. He is also doing a very satisfactory business in the line of real estate and insurance, and in every way bears a high reputation among those with whom he has had dealings of any nature.

A stalwart democrat, Mr. Kennedy was elected judge of the north district of Nodaway County in 1896, and has also served capably and conscientiously as a member of the school board, having at all times displayed a keen interest in educational matters. A devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he has supported its movements lib- erally, and at this time is a member of the board of trustees. Mrs. Ken- nedy is also a member of this church and has been a helpful factor in its work, being presiding officer of the Ladies' Aid Society at Parnell.

On October 19, 1873, Mr. Kennedy was married to Miss Susan Mary Ford, daughter of Marshall and Lucy (Hutchinson) Ford, the former of whom is deceased, while the latter now lives with her son, Albert, and is eighty-seven years of age. Marshall Ford was one of the pioneers of Nodaway County, coming to this locality after his marriage in Pulaski County, Kentucky. Their children were as follows: Mrs. Catherine Shell, Mrs. Susan Mary Kennedy, Mrs. Nettie Kennedy, Mrs. Fanny Hanna, Mrs. Belle Hogan, Jefferson Davis, Albert Sidney Johnston, and Marshall, Jr. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy : Lelia, who married Herman Suter, engaged in the con- crete business at St. Joseph, and has one daughter, Mary ; and Fraulein, who is the wife of Oscar K. Herndon, in the real estate business at Kansas City, and has a son, Adolph. Wallace Kennedy, a legally adopted son, farming his father's property, married Kate Herndon, and has two children, John and Marshall E.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 102

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