USA > Missouri > A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III > Part 105
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In 1888 Mr. Gabbert and W. C. Wells, the well known banker of Platte City, organized the Bank of Dearborn. Dearborn then had a. depot and one store. Mr. Gabbert recalls how he drove to the village with a stalk cutter, using it to clear off the stalks from the old corn field which was the site of the proposed bank building. The bank was soon in operation, and in 1889 Mr. Gabbert bought the interests of his asso- ciate, and conducted a private bank until 1908, when it was reorganized under a state charter and Mr. Gabbert resigned the presidency. For twenty-five years he has stood ready on every occasion to forward any- thing of advantage to this locality. He owns much of the real estate of the village, and the principal owner of stock in the canning factory. Politically he is a stanch democrat, was affiliated with the lodge of Odd Fellows.
On March 21, 1865, Mr. Gabbert married Miss Alice Layton. Mrs. Gabbert was born in Platte County, November 27, 1843, a daughter of J. H. and Sarah (Smither) Layton, both natives of Mason County, Kentucky. Her father was born in 1813 and died in February, 1867, and her mother was born January 8, 1818, and died April 24, 1903.
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Mrs. Gabbert was one of eight children; of these Mrs. Mary Kirk- patrick lives in Weston; D. B. in Platte County ; Mrs. Gabbert ; P. S., of Weston; Amney, wife of M. L. Newby, of Lees Summit, Missouri; Elvira, wife of Edgar Hull, of Platte County; Judge J. W., of Platte County. The Layton family came to Platte County in the fall of 1843, by boat as far as Weston. J. H. Layton pre-empted land, became a suc- cessful farmer, was one of the prominent early democrats, and held the office of county judge when there was only one such official for the entire county.
Mr. and Mrs. Gabbert are the parents of four children: Eva, wife of E. E. Pumphrey, of Dearborn; William H., of Dearborn; S. J., at home; and L. C., an attorney engaged in practice of law at St. Joseph.
The golden wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Benton Gabbert was appropriately celebrated in Dearborn last Sunday. The condition of the roads made it impossible for their many friends to reach their country homestead, so, for their convenience Mr. and Mrs. Gabbert received their friends here.
The festivities began with a family dinner at the home of their eldest son, W. H. Gabbert, and this beautiful home was artistically decorated in honor of the event. The colors in the dining room were yellow, the centerpiece being a huge wedding cake, and suspended from the chan- delier were golden wedding bells, with a profusion of jonquils in the room. At this table the honor guests, with their brothers and sisters were seated.
In the parlor a table was spread for the children. The decorations were white and yellow, a cluster of yellow roses being the centerpiece on this table, over which was suspended white wedding bells.
In the reception room around a large square table fifteen grand- children and one great grandchild were seated, the centerpiece being a beautiful shepherdess basket of jonquils. On each table were yellow candles in crystal candelabras and the favors were yellow daisies.
A four course dinner was served, the ices being in the form of wed- ding bells.
At 2 o'clock the Gabbert family assembled at the Gabbert Hall where during the remainder of the afternoon they were greeted and congratu- lated by several hundred friends. A string band from St. Joseph furnished music. "Silver Threads Among the Gold" was beautifully sung by Mr. Fred S. Hamm, leader of the orchestra. Mrs. L. C. Gab- bert, of St. Joseph, served each guest with the bride's cake, and Misses Mildred and Nadine Gabbert served punch from a beautiful hand painted punch bowl, done in white and yellow, the work of our talented artist, Mrs. C. M. Ward.
Wednesday, March 21, 1865, at 7 o'clock P. M., with Mr. Benjamin Vineyard and Miss Fannie Barbee as attendants, the Rev. Oliver Steele united in marriage Miss Alice Layton and Mr. Benton Gabbert, and we dare say they were no happier on that day than they were in celebrat- ing their fiftieth anniversary.
Mr. and Mrs. Gabbert began their married life by creating a happy home. There have been no thistles in this home vase, but always flowers of love and sympathy and cheerfulness have been there in great pro- fusion. Their genial and lovable nature, their cheering smile and unchanging amiability has attracted friends to them always. Nothing could have proclaimed more surely and emphatically the high regard and affection of our people for Mr. and Mrs. Gabbert than the response to the invitation to the celebration of their fiftieth anniversary. At the request of Mr. and Mrs. Gabbert there were no presents. The only gift Vol. III-45
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was a handsome gold brooch with pearl settings from Mr. Gabbert to his beloved wife.
Among the visitors were Dr. Ira Gabbert, of Caldwell, Kansas, and M. H. Gabbert, of Weston, brothers of Mr. Benton Gabbert; Mrs. M. H. Gabbert, W. B. Calvert and wife, George H. Calvert, Mrs. Mary Farra, Weston; L. C. Gabbert and family, W. P. Hoehen, V. D. Hawkins, J. D. Heffley, Albert S. McGee, Mrs. Margaret Smythe and children, St. Joseph ; Mrs. Olive J. Carlton, Kendrick, Idaho; George R. Lewis and wife, of Kansas City.
The following poem was received from Miss Lindsey Barbee, of Denver, Colorado, a niece of Mrs. L. C. Gabbert :
As those who journey 'long a winding way,
Who gain at best the mountain's lofty crest-
And weary, pausing for a moment's rest, View there the beauty of departing day- To you, dear aged ones, 'neath sunlight's ray,
'Neath shade, have traveled far. Each joy, each test Has urged you onward-taught you what is best, Till now in Life's last season you delay And silently behold the rainbow clouds Of yesterday. With eyes uplift, you see Beyond the winter's cold and snowy shrouds, Into the endless promise of eternity ; And as the ev'ning shadows fade away,
"The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day."
WILLIAM H. GABBERT. Mention of the name Gabbert in Platte County at once suggests business enterprise as farmers, stock men, bankers and large property owners. As has been related in a sketch of Benton Gabbert on other pages, the thriving little Town of Dearborn owes its chief impetus and upbuilding to that prominent farmer and stock man and banker. While Benton Gabbert is still one of the efficient factors in local affairs about Dearborn, the banking interests of the family are now largely in the hands of his son, William H. Gabbert, who is cashier of the Bank of Dearborn, in the founding of which his father had so important a part.
William H. Gabbert was born near Woodruff in Platte County, Mis- souri, July 1, 1867. As the history of his family has been recounted on other pages it will be unnecessary to refer to it in this connection. Mr. Gabbert grew up on the farm of his father, was educated in the common schools, and spent three years in the University of Missouri at Columbia, finishing his preparation for a business career by a course in the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois.
In 1890 he entered the Bank of Dearborn as assistant cashier. His father and Mr. Wells had established this as a private bank about two years before, and in 1889 it became the property of Benton Gabbert. William H. Gabbert continued his active connection with the institution as assistant cashier until 1906, when he was chosen cashier, and has remained with the institution since it was incorporated under a state charter a few years ago. Mr. Gabbert for a number of years has been closely associated with his father in the latter's various enterprises as a farmer, a noted Hereford cattle grower and also a tobacco raiser. He and his father also own the controlling interest in the Dearborn Canning Factory, which was organized in 1895 for the chief purpose of packing tomatoes, apples and pumpkins.
Mr. Gabbert has affiliations with the Masonic Order, the Knights of
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Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and like his father is a democrat. On February 24, 1898, he married Miss Anna Bone, who was born in Platte County, Missouri, August 22, 1879, a daughter of Rev. D. F. and Ellen (Devlin) Bone. Rev. Mr. Bone was born in Carroll County, Missouri, January 5, 1843, and is still active in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, his present residence being at St. Joseph. For what he has accomplished and the service he has rendered in this profession his has been a truly remarkable career. He was self educated, having attended school regularly not more than three months in his life. That was at Mt. Vernon, Missouri. Most of his education came from close study and diligent reading in the night hours by the light of a pine knot. He has been an active member of the Missouri Conference of the Methodist Church for forty-four years. During the war between the states he served four years in the Confederate army as chaplain of a regiment under the command of General Price. On one occasion he was taken prisoner and kept under guard by northern soldiers for some time. Ellen Devlin, his wife, was born November 11, 1851, and died in June, 1884. Her father, Rev. J. M. Devlin, was also a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and one of the pioneer circuit riders in Missouri. Rev. Mr. Devlin died at Lawson, Missouri, in 1879 at the age of seventy-eight, and his wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Cable, was born at Wilmington, Delaware, and died at Richmond, Missouri, in March, 1908, at the age of ninety-four. She had a recollection covering almost a century of our national history, and recalled among other incidents of early times the visit of Lafayette to the United States, and was among the school children who greeted him on his triumphal tour, and was one of those upon whose heads he placed his hand in benediction.
Mr. and Mrs. Gabbert are the parents of four children: Nadine, born February 6, 1901; Rosemary, born on Friday the 13th of March, 1903, and by a peculiar coincidence the thirteenth grandchild of Ben- ton Gabbert; George, who was born June 6, 1907; and Lewis, born December 15, 1911.
JOSEPH JACKSON. For more than seventy years the Jackson family have been identified with the growth and development of Nodaway County. One of the first officials of the county was the father of Joseph Jackson, who has himself lived in this county since infancy, gave nearly four years of valiant service to the Union during the Civil war, was afterwards honored with various official positions, and for more than forty-one years has been prominent as a banker, being now president of the First National Bank of Maryville.
Joseph Jackson was born at Smithfield in Jefferson County, Ohio, September 20, 1842. His parents were John and Harriett (Dunn) Jack- son. His father was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, October 10, 1810, and was a son of John and Rachael (Orr) Jackson. Harriet Dunn was born in Jefferson County December 19, 1819. From the old home in Eastern Ohio John Jackson brought his family out to Northwest Mis- souri, and first located at Newmarket in Platte County, while in October, 1843, they moved to Nodaway County, locating near Maryville, where John Jackson was one of the real pioneers and soon showed himself a leader in community affairs. The chief scope of his business activity was as a farmer, and he lived a life of usefulness and honor until his death on January 27, 1875, on his farm a mile and a half north of Mary- ville, the place he had settled in 1843. The history of Nodaway County will always preserve his name from the fact that he was the first county treasurer, and was elected three times to that office and served alto-
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gether six years. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and in politics a democrat. John and Harriett Jackson were married in 1840, and she was a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Colvin) Dunn, both natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Jackson died July 9, 1892, at the age of seventy-three. When the family came to Northwest Missouri they brought two children, Sarah and Joseph, and in Nodaway County ten others were born. Four of the children died in infancy, and the eight reared to maturity were: Sarah Holt, Joseph Jackson, Louise Trueblood, Rachel Bentley, Benton Jackson, Sophrona Hawkins, Ada Manuel and Oliver Jackson. Sophrona and Oliver died in 1904.
Joseph Jackson grew up in Nodaway County from the time he was a year old, has many interesting recollections of this country when it was almost a wilderness, and until the age of eighteen lived just north of Maryville, and attended school in town during the winter and worked on the farm in the summer. In October, 1861, during the first year of the war, he enlisted for service in the state in Kimbles Regiment of the Union army for six months, and afterwards enlisted in the Thirty-sixth Missouri Militia, with which he served a year and a half, and finally in the Twelfth Missouri Cavalry. He was orderly sergeant in Company F. His chief service outside of the state was with the Twelfth Missouri Cavalry, in which he enlisted on October 3, 1863. The regiment was a part of General Wilson's Cavalry, and went South and joined the army of General Thomas at Gravel Springs, Alabama. This was soon after the ' fall of Atlanta, when General Thomas was in pursuit of Hood's army back through Tennessee. From that time Mr. Jackson was in active service and saw a great deal of hard campaigning. The two great battles in which his regiment participated were those at Franklin, on November 30, 1864, and at Nashville, on December 15, 16 and 17, 1864. During the third day's fighting at Nashville, as the Confederate army was falling back, he was shot through the right arm and the right leg, and his leg was amputated just above the ankle. He was in a hospital at Franklin until January 20, 1865, and at Nashville until April 4, 1865. He was mustered out on July 1, 1865, and returned home.
On September 1, 1865, Mr. Jackson was appointed county clerk of Nodaway County, Dr. G. B. Ford having resigned in his favor, and for this help in a time of need Mr. Jackson has always cherished a high regard for that estimable citizen. He was elected to the office in the fall of 1865 at a special election, and thereafter was retained at his post year after year until he had completed 1312 years of efficient service as county clerk, finally going out of office on January 1, 1879.
Mr. Jackson has been more or less actively identified with banking at Maryville for forty years. In July, 1873, he and John C. Terhune bought out H. C. French, of the banking firm of Fisher & French, and reorganized as Fisher, Jackson & Company. The bank at that time stood on Third Street where the Democrat Forum office is now located. In 1874 the site now occupied by the First National Bank of Maryville was secured and the firm erected the building there. In 1877 H. C. Fisher sold his interest to Messrs. Terhune and Jackson, and the bank was then reorganized as the Farmers Bank. In 1884 another reorganiza- tion occurred, and the bank became the First National Bank of Mary- ville, with a capital of $100,000. The first directors and officers were: Joseph Jackson, president; John C. Terhune, cashier; and William Per- dew, C. F. Carr and James W. LaMar. In January, 1886, J. C. Terhune sold his interests to J. W. McAlister and others of St. Joseph, and after that there was no change until 1904. At the expiration of the charter, Mr. Jackson bought the McAlister interest, and with the exception of the shares owned by H. W. Richmond the bank became a family cor-
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poration. As a banker and business man Mr. Jackson has won and merits the thorough confidence and respect of his fellow citizens, and by his counsel and practical assistance has done much to help men struggling to get a firm foothold on the path to success.
Mr. Jackson was married April 29, 1866, at the home of Washington Downing, three miles east of Hopkins, to Amanda Broyles. She was born in Andrew County, Missouri, December 9, 1847, the daughter of William W. and Sarah Broyles. Both her parents were natives of Ten- nessee and came to Northwest Missouri in 1845. After 1867 Mr. and Mrs. Jackson lived for twenty-four years on the site now occupied by the Methodist Episcopal Church in Maryville, and in the meantime had bought five acres in Southwest Maryville and in 1891 moved to the home which has since been the center of family associations and hospitality. Mrs. Jackson died in January, 1912. She was the mother of six chil- dren, one of whom died in infancy, the others being: Lola C., wife of J. F. Colby ; Laura, now Mrs. Miles Saunders; Mary, wife of Paul Ream ; Nellie, Mrs. George E. Alexander; and Joseph, Jr., who is cashier of the First National Bank of Maryville. In politics Mr. Jackson is a republican, and since August, 1880, has been a member of the Presby- terian Church of Maryville.
ALBERT P. FRY. This family name is one of the most familiar in Clinton County, it is associated with many pioneer memories and activi- ties, and has been closely associated with farming, stock raising and com- munity affairs in that section of Northwest Missouri for more than three- quarters of a century.
The family was established here by Solomon Fry, one of the most re- markable of the pioneers of Clinton County. He came to the county in 1838, and made his first entries of Government land soon after the Platte Purchase was acquired. He has especial distinction in the history of both Clay and Clinton counties, since he built the first jail at Liberty and also the first at Plattsburg. He acquired by entry and purchase about three thousand acres of land in Clinton County, and for a number of years was one of the largest land holders and planters in that section. Solomon Fry was born November 24, 1794, in Virginia, and came of an old Vir- ginia family. His father was Isaac Fry, born June 14, 1765, a son of Benjamin Fry, also a native of Virginia, and the first settlers were of German stock. Solomon Fry was reared in Virginia and in Kentucky, his family having located in the latter state in Shelby County when Solomon was three years of age. At the age of twenty he followed the line of frontier advance as far as Clay County, Missouri. Solomon Fry married Susie Snapp, who was born at Old Vincennes, Indiana, and came of one of the French families that comprised the original colony about Vincennes. Her father was Abram Snapp. The children of Solomon Fry and wife were: Helen; Abram S., who died at the age of eighty-five; Harriet Hockaday ; Lewis S., who died at the age of seventy. five; Anna, who married Speed Thurman; India, who married Rev. Thomas Todd; Emanuel Shelby. Solomon Fry died when eighty-two years of age. He was a member of the Baptist Church. A man of rugged physique though not large in build, he was as noted as a hunter as farmer and land owner, and in the early days of Northwest Missouri killed many deer and other wild game. Solomon Fry acquired his land in Northwest Missouri at prices ranging from 121/2 cents to $1.25 per acre. He showed unusual business ability and was an excellent manager of both men and affairs. The old home in Clinton County throughout his life and his descendants was and is noted for its hospitality, and had all the manners and customs of old Virginia and Kentucky, and
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many of the old time practices and genial characteristics still survive into this later generation.
The present proprietor of the old homestead and one of the most active and successful farmers and stock men of Clinton County is Albert P. Fry, a grandson of the pioneer Solomon. Albert P. Fry owns 600 acres in two farms located in Clinton Township, and is one of the best managed and equipped estates in the county. His home is located seven miles south of Plattsburg. Much of his enterprise is directed to the raising of stock, and he keeps about one hundred and fifty head of cattle and two hundred hogs, besides a number of horses and mules.
Albert P. Fry was born on the old homestead May 30, 1867. His father was Abram S. Fry, who was born in Clay County, Missouri, in 1828 and died in 1913 at the advanced age of eighty-five. Abram Fry married for his first wife Anna Bland, sister of Dr. Bland, another Clinton County pioneer. The child of that marriage was William, who died in infancy. For his second wife he married Alice Lindsy, and they had one child, Perry H., who was a druggist in Plattsburg for a num- ber of years and died in 1898. Abram Fry later married Emma Simp- son, who was born in Kentucky. The children of this marriage were: Cora, wife of J. Bland; Emma, wife of W. R. Wright; Albert P .; Mary H., wife of O. A. Adams, of Smithville, Missouri. Albert P. Fry's mother died at the age of forty-six. She was a member of the Presby- terian Church. Abram Fry was four times married, and his last wife was Margaret Trimble and is still living at Plattsburg. He was one of the well known citizens of Clinton County, a successful business man, and left an honored name. Politically he was a democrat.
Albert P. Fry was reared on the old farm, was educated in the public schools, and after reaching manhood began life as a farmer on 105 acres of land, representing a portion of the old homestead. Since then he has acquired land to the total of 600 acres, and now owns the old homestead. On January 16, 1890, Mr. Fry married Bertha Ann Fro- man, a daughter of Abram and Eleanor Froman. Mrs. Fry was one of a family of children named as follows: Ida Brown; Lillian, who lives in Kansas City; Mrs. Fry; Rose, of Kansas City; and Perry, who lives in DeKalb County, near Cameron. Mrs. Fry's father is a republican.
Mr. and Mrs. Fry have two children: Alice, wife of P. C. Brecken- ridge of Turney, Missouri; and Eleanor, now a student in Randolph College, Virginia. Mr. Fry has a delightful home, a residence of ten rooms, well furnished and in modern style, surrounded by large shade trees and a fine orchard. The farm equipment also comprises well built barns and there is no more attractive place in Clinton Township. Mr. Fry is affiliated with the Masonic order, a member of the Knight Templar Commandery No. 162 at Plattsburg, and of the Moila Temple of the Mystic Shrine, of St. Joseph.
FRANK DUNCAN. The conclusion of the negotiations resulting in the Platte Purchase and the advent of the Duncan family to this section of Western Missouri occurred in the same year. While a number of "squatters" had come into this district in preceding years, the Duncans may properly claim credit as among the very first prominent pioneers. A residence of more than three quarters of a century has been accom- panied by the hard working diligence and the capable citizenship which make the presence of any family a useful factor in the community. The present presiding judge of the County Court of Platte County is Frank Duncan, whose grandfather in the early days also sat as a member of the County Court, and was otherwise distinguished as a justice of the peace and for two terms a member of one of the early state legislatures.
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Frank Duncan is one of the prominent farmers in the western part of Platte County, and was born a mile south of his present residence near Dearborn on September 23, 1860. His grandfather, Edward P. Duncan, a native of Virginia, came out to Platte County with his family in 1838, making the long journey overland with wagon and team. He located on land near the present town of Dearborn, and lived there until his death. Richard Frederick Duncan, father of Judge Duncan, was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, November 14, 1830, and was a boy of about eight years when brought to Western Missouri. He grew up . in the then existing wilderness conditions of Platte County, and after his marriage began farming on 160 acres lying a mile south of Judge Duncan's home. He was a man of considerable business ability, thrifty and energetic, accumulated much property, and at the time of his death in 1907 was owner of 600 acres. He possessed a characteristic fondness with many southern gentlemen of the time for fine horses, and the older residents many of them can identify his personality most distinctly in association with the fine team which he always drove about the country. While not a member of any church he assisted in the building of several local places of worship, and was kindly neighbor and in every way a model citizen. Politically he was a democrat. Richard Frederick Dun- can married Sarah Ann St. John, who was born in Tennessee November 14, 1838, and is now living at a good old age in St. Joseph, Missouri. She was a small child when the St. John family emigrated to Clay County, Missouri. She became the mother of nine children, named as follows: Frank; A. B., of St. Joseph ; William, deceased; Mrs. Etta Carson, of St. Joseph ; R. E., of Platte County : B. W., of Sedalia, this state; C. B., of Edgerton Junction, Missouri; J. R., also of Edgerton Junction; and Mrs. W. B. Smith, of Colorado Springs.
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