USA > Missouri > A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III > Part 110
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119
George Emmett Walter was born in Holt County, Janury 12, 1866, the third in a family of four children born to Frederick and Mary Walter. There are two brothers, Len and Andrew, and one sister, Alice, all of whom were born in Holt County. His father was one of the early settlers of what is known as the Corning Settlement in Holt County, and is still living, the owner of a fine home and farm near Corning, where he has for a number of years conducted a general store, and is the owner of extensive lands both in Holt and Atchison counties. Mr. Walter's mother died August 12, 1901.
George E. Walter spent his life to his twenty-fifth year on his father's farm, and takes a pardonable pride in the fact that his youth was compassed by the wholesome environment of rural surroundings. While developing his muscle in the fields at home he also attended school at Corning, and later graduated from the National Business College at Kansas City, Missouri. At the age of twenty-five he began farming for himself, and has since acquired a fine property of 320 acres, located in sections 1 and 2, township 63, range 41, with forty acres in section 5 of the same township and range. On his farm he has a seven-room house, a substantial barn, 40 by 80 feet, with a full equipment of sheds, cribs, scales, and all the improvements found on the best farms in North- west Missouri. His arrangements for feeding stock are specially excel- lent, and he is one of the large stock feeders and shippers in Atchison County, usually sending about one carload of fat cattle to market every year, and from one hundred to two hundred head of fat hogs. Among other improvements on that model homestead is an orchard and vine- yard, affording an ample supply of fruit for family use.
Mr. Walter also owns a well appointed and modern residence in Rock- port, where he has made his home and business headquarters for a number of years. On July 2, 1890, Mr. Walter married Miss Elizabeth Bowers. Mrs. Walter, the third in a family of seven children, was born March
2031
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
30, 1868, a daughter of Benjamin and Wilhelmina Bowers. Benjamin Bowers came from Hanover, Germany, and located in Atchison County in 1845, as one of the early settlers and prominent German farmers of Benton Township. He died in 1892 and his widow now lives in Corning. Mr. and Mrs. Walter are members of the German Lutheran Church, and in politics he is a democrat, has taken much interest in political affairs, though chiefly for the benefit of good government, has served as delegate to various conventions, and in 1900 was elected county collector of Atchison County and reelected in 1902. For ten years, while living on the farm, he was a director and clerk of the school district. He was also at one time a director of the Creamery Company of Corning, and vice president and assistant cashier of the Farmers Bank of Corning.
In the Farmers Bank of Rockport Mr. Walter is one of the chief stockholders, a director, and his genial and accommodating services as cashier have proved invaluable to the institution since its organization. The Farmers Bank of Rockport was organized in 1905, by Doctor Strick- land, John H. Traub, J. S. Bennett, J. J. McCartney, C. O. Robinson, G. E. Walter. Originally its capital stock was $20,000, which has since been increased to $30,000. The president is John H. Traub, J. S. Bennett is vice president, H. G. Cooper is second vice president, G. E. Walter is cashier and S. M. Clark is assistant cashier.
JOSEPH DURFEE. One of the most prominent names in banking circles in Atchison County is that of Durfee. The present Joseph Dur- fee, cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Rockport, is a son of the late Col. A. B. Durfee, who was one of the founders and for many years president of that institution. In the broader fields of citizenship, as well as in business, the late Colonel Durfee performed much useful service, which has properly identified him for all time with the history of this locality. Colonel Durfee was a type and example of one who succeeds in life, though his youth was passed in comparative poverty, and with only such advantages as he could procure by his own labors and ambitions.
The late Col. Aaron B. Durfee was born at Marion, Ohio. When he was quite young his father died, and he and other children were assisted in gaining an education by an uncle. Aaron's brothers, Joseph and Charles, were soldiers during the Civil war, Joseph being a lieutenant- colonel. Aaron B. Durfee in early years was a civil engineer and also a lawyer, and was a man of thorough scholarship, though acquired through self study, possessed splendid financial judgment, and was noted for the thoroughness with which he carried through every under- taking. He was one of the early members of the Rockport bar, and identified himself actively with all the important developments of the town. Though coming to Missouri a poor young man, by admirable foresight and business methods he acquired a fortune. He was one. of the pioneer bankers of the county, and the old private banking house of Durfee, McKillop & Wyatt was the first firm that furnished a general. banking service in Atchison County. Colonel Durfee died June 11, 1891.` His wife, whose maiden name was Sallie Todd, died in Feb- ruary, 1881.
Joseph Durfee, who since his father's death has succeeded in large- part to the management of the financial affairs formerly conducted by his father, was born in Rockport, September 16, 1870, being the fourth in a family of eight children. All his life has been spent in Rockport, he was educated in the high school, and at the age of sixteen entered the Citizens Bank as bookkeeper. His father was at that time president,. and the son acquired a thorough knowledge of banking in all its details.
2032
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
At the death of his father Joseph Durfee was about twenty-one years of age, and then became the largest stockholder and a director. For several years he served as assistant cashier, and was then elected cashier, a post he now fills, and looks after a large share of the executive details.
Mr. Durfee is a member of the Presbyterian Church and a deacon in that organization. His fraternal associations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias at Rockport, and in politics he is a republican. He is a member of the executive board of the Rockport Lecture Association, and his interest in local affairs brought him the honor of election in 1905 as mayor of the city without an opposing candidate.
Mr. Durfee married Miss Leona Oliver on June 9, 1892. She was born Docember 2, 1872, and has spent practically all her life in Rock- port. She is a graduate of the high school, and was also a student in the Hardin College at Mexico, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Durfee have had two children: Otis, born April 9, 1893, and died April 29, 1900; and Joseph Eugene, born September 11, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Durfee reside in one of the most elegant homes of Rockport.
CLAUDE M. DONOVAN. The cashier of the Citizens Exchange Bank at Orrick in Ray County is one of the ablest bankers in that section of the state and is familiar with every practical detail of banking from the work of janitor and office boy up to the responsibilities of executive management. Mr. Donovan is also a popular citizen and has some interesting family connections with the earlier times in Northwest Missouri.
Claude M. Donovan was born at Missouri City, in Clay County, July 30, 1875. His parents were A. K. and Elizabeth (Marsh) Donovan. His father was born at Maysville, in Mason County, Kentucky, and died in 1906 at the age of sixty-three. The mother was born in Lafayette County, Missouri, and is still living at Kansas City. There were eight children in the family, and the four still living are: Elmer A., married and living at Kansas City; Claude M .; Luke E., of Missouri City; and Francis, of Kansas City. The parents of these children were married in Clay County, Missouri, and the father owned a small farm near Missouri City. He was known as a breeder and a dealer in live stock, and that was his chief vocation through his active career, though for years he was in the boot and shoe business at Missouri City. He was a man of quiet and retiring disposition, and though a loyal democrat never sought office.
Claude M. Donovan was reared in Missouri City, attended the public schools there, and began his career as clerk in a grocery store. November 13, 1893, he began his banking career, when he found work in a humble position for the Norton Brothers Bank at Missouri City. From the fall of 1893 until the following April he worked without any pay, getting experience only. He then began drawing a salary of $15 a month, and that was gradually increased and his responsibilities like- wise, until his promotion to the post of cashier. He held that office eight years, and was cashier both for the bank at Missouri City and the Citizens Exchange Bank at Orrick, both of which banks were then con- trolled by the Norton brothers. Mr. Donovan had to divide his time between two banks, spending a part of each day at the two places, and when the press of business required it often worked far into the night. This was a thorough apprenticeship, and few Northwest Missouri bankers have had a more practical and valuable experience. In 1906 Mr. Dono- van was made cashier of the Citizens Exchange Bank at Orrick, after
2033
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
the change of management and ownership, and has held that office ever since.
On June 30, 1902, Mr. Donovan married Edna S. Ralph. Mrs. Donovan was born at Missouri City, June 23, 1874. They have two children: Ellen E., born November 5, 1904; and Margaret R., born March 14, 1909. Mr. Donovan votes with the democratic party and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Church.
Mrs. Donovan's father was the late Dr. Arthur B. Ralph, one of the prominent old-time physicians of this section of the state. He was born near Orrick, in Ray County, February 29, 1836, and died at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Donovan February 17, 1911. Doctor Ralph married Fllen Hardwick who was born near the present site of Excelsior Springs, in Clay County, April 9, 1844, and is now deceased. Her parents were Lewis and Elizabeth (Smith) Hardwick, her father born in Virginia, June 20, 1807, and died November 7, 1863. Elizabeth (Smith) Hardwick was born in St. Charles County, Missouri, October 15, 1805, and died June 29, 1888. Of the ten children in the Hardwick family the two still living are Mrs. Margaret Moffett, a widow, at Kansas City, and Mrs. Caroline Sublett, also a widow, of Kansas City. Lewis Hardwick and wife were married in St. Charles County, Missouri, and were among the earliest pioneers who settled in Clay County, locating here in 1829. He was a farmer, and in 1860 removed to Missouri City, were he died. The late Dr. A. B. Ralph was a son of Dr. A. B. and Mary E. (Brasher) Ralph, both natives of North Carolina, where they married, and in 1829 came to Northwest Missouri and located in Ray County. The senior Doctor Ralph was born December 25, 1800, and died June 9, 1888, while his wife was born in 1809 and died June 8, 1870. They had three sons and four daughters, and the two still living are: Lucy, widow of Dr. William Campbell of Kansas City, and Belle, wife of J. B. Gant of Kansas City. The late Doctor Ralph, father of Mrs. Donovan, was reared in Northwest Missouri, was well educated for the time, and in 1865 graduated M. D. from the St. Louis Medical College. His first location for practice was at Camden. He was mar- ried October 7, 1868, and a year later removed to Missouri City, where he was long engaged in the practice of his profession, and gave his services to the people of that entire vicinity. After his wife's death he spent his remaining years with his daughter at Orrick. Doctor Ralph was a member of the Masonic fraternity and for years belonged to the Christian Church. He was a strong democrat in politics, was honored several times with the office of mayor of Missouri City, and was other- wise prominent in that locality. The two children of Doctor Ralph and wife were : Lois, wife of E. L. Hunt, of Orrick, and Mrs. Donovan.
WILLIAM L. PIGG. Few Ray County families have longer and more interesting connections with this section of Missouri than the one repre- sented by the above named farmer and banker of Orrick. It was fully three quarters of a century ago that the pioneer arrived on the banks of the Missouri River, and the flowing waters of that stream have since witnessed many transformations in the fortunes of the family and in the country.
William L. Pigg, who was born August 6, 1860, on the farm he still occupies, is a grandson of Lewis Pigg and his wife, Sallie (McWhorter) Pigg, both natives of Kentucky, whence they came on to Northwest Missouri in 1839, to Ray County. He located a quarter section of school land on the banks of the river, and being a blacksmith by trade estab- lished a little shop and, while clearing off the brush and timber sup- ported his family by doing custom blacksmithing for the neighboring
2034
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
settlers. Five years after the arrival, came the historic flood of 1844, inundating the entire Missouri Valley. When it passed all the improve- ments and possessions were gone, too, and the family was left destitute. The grandfather in the face of this misfortune permitted the land to revert to the county, and moved to Southpoint, where he found work at his trade to provide a living for his family. In the spring of 1845 he returned to his former location, but in April of the same year died. His wife, who was a daughter of John McWhorter, a member of the North Carolina Volunteers during the Revolution, after the death of her hus- band petitioned the county to allow the farm to be put up at auction. Her request was granted, and she bid in the 160 acres at $2.00 an acre, and had it deeded to her oldest son, Reuben. It was heavily timbered land, and it was a tremendous task to clear it up and prepare it for cultivation. A house built of logs was the family residence until 1871, when it was replaced by the present modern home. Mrs. Lewis Pigg died November 5, 1857, and all her five sons and five daughters are also deceased.
Reuben Pigg, the oldest of the second generation and the father of William L., was born in Casey County, Kentucky, November 3, 1821, and died on the homestead December 24, 1900, being then in his eightieth year. He was old enough to take an active part in the task of pioneering when the family came to Ray County, and took charge of affairs and became head of the family after his father's death, which occurred when he was about twenty-three years old. He had learned the blacksmith trade under the eye of his father, and for many years kept a shop on the farm. Owing to his heavy responsibilities he did not marry until the age of thirty-five, when Miss Susan Writesman became his wife. Her family was one of the first in Clay County, where she was born February 23, 1834, a daughter of Peter and Polly (Officer) Writesman, who were natives of Virginia and came out to Clay County in 1823 or 1824.
Reuben Pigg was noted for his vigorous activity, which he maintained almost to the end of his life. In the early days he was known for his skill and eagerness as a hunter and fisherman. This pursuit did not prevent him from clearing up and improving the 220 acres in his farm, and he gained much of his profits from the raising of stock. He was an active member of the Christian Church, and though a strong democrat was loyal to the Union during the war. He once said: "I have seen my fences lined with MeClellan's men, who helped themselves to what they could find, and my family was obliged to take what was left." Of his eight children, three sons are living: William L., George H. and Charles, all in or near Orrick.
William L. Pigg grew up on the farm which his father had improved, and as a boy became acquainted with all branches of farm management, and did not a little clearing on his own account. His education came from the country schools and one year in the State University at Colum- bia. When schools days were over he elected to remain on the farm, and has found farming the most satisfying and independent as well as a very profitable vocation.
November 26, 1884, Mr. Pigg married Miss Maggie Kirkpatrick. She was born in Virginia, March 15, 1864. Her father, Charles Boyd Kirk- patrick, was born in the same state October 13, 1819, and died there March 12, 1875, while his wife, whose maiden name was Isabelle McDowell Kerr, was born in Virginia April 25, 1822, and died April 25, 1873. The Kirkpatricks came out to Ray County in 1869, but after- wards returned to Virginia. There were four sons and three daughters in their family. Mr. and Mrs. Pigg have one son, Elmer L. He is
2035
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
cashier of the Missouri City Bank, Missouri City, and has a son, Elmer L., Jr., born September 30, 1911.
Mr. Pigg's homestead, comprising 280 acres, has a beautiful location along the banks of the Missouri, with a fine view over that valley. In 1890 Mr. Pigg assisted in the organization of the Citizens Exchange Bank of Orrick, and was one of its directors until the death of A. D. Brasher, the first president, since which time he has held the post of president. Mr. Pigg is one of the most popular and progressive citizens in Ray County. He is a Democrat, and with his wife a member of the Chris- tian Church. His mother is still living and makes her home with him.
JOHN M. PIGG. The career of John M. Pigg, a farmer and banker at Orrick, began with excitement and adventure during the Civil war, when he was only a boy, but the later years have been marked with a steady and quiet industry, with steadily rising prosperity, and a secure place in the esteem of his community.
He was born on a farm located three miles north of his present place, November 8, 1846, a son of Jefferson and Julia (Roy) Pigg. His father was born in Casey County, Kentucky, a son of Lewis and Sally (Mc- Whorter) Pigg, who, when he was a boy, moved to Ray County and settled a tract of school land on the banks of the Missouri. They came in 1839, and five years later Lewis Pigg died, leaving the development of the homestead to his sons. Jefferson, who was one of five sons and five daughters, all now deceased, grew to manhood in Ray County, was a farmer for many years, and later started a general store and was also in the hotel business at Orrick, where he died.
Julia Roy, the wife of Jefferson Pigg, was born at Independence, Missouri, a daughter of Joseph and Mary Louise (Shackleford) Roy. Both were of French ancestry, and their families lived near St. Louis in St. Charles County. When they married there in 1813, there were thirty-six witnesses at the wedding, and not one could read or write, signing the marriage record with "their marks." The wedding was a thirteen-day celebration, and it required a barrel of whisky and a fat hog every day. Joseph Roy was one of the early French traders in Western Missouri, locating at Independence, where he owned more than six hun- dred acres of land. Jefferson and Julia Pigg were the parents of four children : Mary, widow of Charles Freeman, of Ray County ; John M .; N. B., of Orrick; and George W., of Oklahoma.
John M. Pigg had his education in the country schools with two terms in high school, and was less than fifteen years old when the entire country became involved in civil war. On account of the war he left home in the spring of 1862 and went to the far West with a freighting outfit to Utah. Of the twenty-six in the party, only two are now alive. After two years of roughing it in the West, he returned to Missouri, and for six months was driver of a stage out of Independence. Such were the strained relations growing out of the war that he was warned to leave the country, and did so in a hurry. On his last trip a woman had given him $3.00 to buy her some fruit cans. There was no time to per- form the errand, and he kept the money and after his return lost track of its owner. The interesting part of the incident is that about two years ago Mr. Pigg learned of a man bearing the same name as the woman who had given him the money, and by correspondence found that he was a son of the woman, and that the latter was still living. Thus after a lapse of forty-eight years he was able to restore the $3.00 with which he had been entrusted. On leaving the second time he again went to Utah, and stayed in the West until all hostilities had ceased.
February 22, 1872, Mr. Pigg married Nellie Tucker, who was born
2036
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
September 16, 1853, in the same house that was her husband's birthplace. Her father, Daniel H. Tucker, was born in Marion County, Kentucky, October 21, 1816, and came with his parents to Ray County in 1835. On November 10, 1836, he married Milly Elliott, who was born in North Carolina November 21, 1820, a daughter of John and Susana Elliott. There were fourteen Tucker children, and those now living are: James L., of Ray County ; Mrs. Martha Grider, of Ray County; Mrs. Lena Bryan, of Oklahoma; Ben F., of Ray County; Mrs. Pigg; Andrew, of Ray County; Daniel, of the same County; Mrs. Eliza Wolf, of Ray County ; Mrs. Sallie Hall and William, of Ray County.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Pigg were born twelve children, and the eight living are: Julia, wife of T. E. Dudgeon of Ray County ; Sallie, at home; Joseph, a physician practicing in Alaska; W. B., of Ray County ; Eliza, wife of H. E. Potter of Orrick; John M., Jr., Louis F. and Maggie, all at home.
The greater part of his career since the war Mr. Pigg has spent as a farmer, though for six years he was in the hardware business at Orrick. He has occupied his home farm for thirty years, and nearly all its improvements represent his individual energy and management. In 1890 he was one of the financiers who organized the Citizens Exchange Bank of Orrick, and for twenty-five years has served as its vice presi- dent. He was also one of the organizers and has since been treasurer of the Patrons Telephone Company of Orrick. His farm comprises 160 acres. Fifty acres are in alfalfa, and he has been one of the most suc- cessful in introducing this crop in Ray County. Another large crop with him is potatoes, and he has long been a raiser and feeder of cattle and hogs. In politics a democrat, he is serving as a justice of the peace, and has been a member of the Christian Union Church since he was twenty-two years of age.
WILLIAM N. KIRKHAM. The quiet life and substantial accomplish- ment of the farmer have been the lot of William N. Kirkham, whose home is in the Orrick neighborhood of Ray County. Besides his farm holdings he is a banker, and has accumulated sufficient against the days that are to come, and the respect in which he is held is not less than his material accomplishment.
A Missourian by birth, he was born in Montgomery County Novem- ber 1, 1847, a son of David and Ann M. (Freeland) Kirkham. His grandfather Kirkham was a native of England, and on coming to Vir- ginia settled on the James River and followed the vocation of fisherman. David Kirkham was born at Petersburg, Virginia, in February, 1820, and died May 8, 1873. His first wife, above named, was a native of Rockingham County, Virginia, and died in 1850 at the age of twenty- four, leaving the two sons, William N. and Charles R., both of Ray County. Later the father married at St. Louis Adelaide Cowen, a native of England, and of the four children of this union two are living, one in New York City and the other in Galveston, Texas. David Kirk- ham after moving to Missouri was a merchant at Portland in Callaway County, in 1864 became a tobacco dealer in St. Louis, and in the same year came to Ray County, where he bought and sold and manufactured tobacco, and remained here until his death.
William N. Kirkham received most of his schooling in St. Louis, and also in Montgomery County. He was reared for the most part by his mother's parents, the Freelands, who lived in Montgomery County. Since his boyhood he has been largely dependent on his own exertions. On December 22, 1869. he married Miss Susan A. Gooch, and they have now lived together as man and wife for forty-five years. She was born
2037
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
October 2, 1852, on adjoining farm now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Kirkham. Her father, Alexander Gooch, was from Kentucky, and an early settler in Ray County. The three children comprising the family of Mr. Kirkham are: Emma A., wife of Will R. Vanhoozer, of Orrick ; Archibald, a physician practicing in Jasper County, Missouri; and Maggie, at home.
In the prosperous agricultural district around Orrick Mr. Kirkham has spent his active career as a farmer, and since 1880 has occupied his present farm of 200 acres, situated in the rich alluvial bottoms of the Missouri. He has inaugurated many improvements, and has found both the comforts and the profits of life in country communities. His farm is now rented, and he enjoys the leisure of semi-retirement. At the organization of the Bank of Orrick he contributed some of the funds, was one of its directors from the beginning, and for the last twelve years has served as vice president and now president. Politically he is a democrat.
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.