USA > Missouri > A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III > Part 12
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Rev. Mr. Burrows' talents as a preacher place him in demand for funerals, and he has preached more of them, far and wide, than any other minister of his section of the state. He also delivers addresses at celebrations, patriotic gatherings, Fourth of July meetings and old soldiers' reunions, and at all of them acquits himself with much credit. Rev. Mr. Burrows is the possessor of a most interesting "den," filled with books, geological specimens of rocks and woods gathered from different regions, stacks of old sermons he preached when young in the ministry, curios of historic interest, and walking sticks associated with the life of General Washington, together with other objects to which attach the greatest interest. This workshop he makes his sanctuary, where he loses himself in communion with the thoughts of men who now rest under passionless mounds.
EDWARD S. HUBBARD. Representing both through his father and his mother the good old pioneer stock of Harrison County, Edward S. Hubbard has spent practically all of his fifty-four years' in this community, where he has been an honored and successful business man, chiefly in farming and stock raising. He is well known in Bethany and vicinity, where he has been buying and shipping stock for a quar- ter of a century.
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His father was the late Edgar L. Hubbard, who settled in Harri- son County more than sixty years ago. He was born in the state of Connecticut, October 3, 1816, and gained his education in the country schools at Higganum. As a young man he started out as a book sales- man, beginning in Alabama and traveled over the country, finally reaching Barton County in southern Missouri in 1846. There he bought horses and drove them through to Connecticut. Soon afterward he returned to Missouri and established himself at old Pattonsburg, where he was a merchant several years. While there he acquired a reputation for staking California goldfield emigrants who were passing through, and finally made the trip across the plains himself. He went the southern route, taking teams, his destination being San Diego, but he finally reached Sacramento and engaged in mining in that district. It is a fact of some significance that of all the men he "grubstaked" for the mining venture, he never heard from more than ten per cent of them, though the common report is that frontiersmen of that time were strictly on the square and lived up to their obligations scrupu- lously. He was absent in the west about two years, returning home by the Panama route. At Panama he laid out his money in Panama hats, shipped them to New Orleans, and there sold at a good profit. From that city he came up the Mississippi, and on reaching Pattonsburg resumed merchandising.
From Pattonsburg he moved to Harrison County in 1853, and con- ducted one of the pioneer stores in Adams Township. On his farm he opened a stock of goods, and also established a postoffice called Pleasant Ridge, of which he was postmaster as long as it existed. He lived there, improving his government claim, selling merchandise, and erected one of the best farm residences in northwest Missouri. This farm is now the property of his son Edward S.
Edgar L. Hubbard was a man of small means when he moved to Harrison County, and his slow and continued progress brought the pros- perity which he finally achieved. He became one of the principal stock- men of the county, and was one of the first in this vicinity to feed and fatten stock for the outside markets. In the beginning he drove his cattle across country to Springfield and Bloomington, Illinois, and later marketed in Chicago, where he became one of the familiar figures among the commission men at "the yards." He not only took his own cattle but bought extensively from his neighbors, and his experience enabled him to profit himself and help his friends get better prices. In 1868 he moved to Bethany and engaged in merchandising as one of the firm of Hubbard & Price. This was a general store, and was continued until 1880, when W. H. Hillman succeeded to it by purchase. The remaining active years of his career Mr. Hubbard devoted to his farming interests. His death at Bethany on July 21, 1910, took away one of the most inter- esting and useful of the old-time citizens of Harrison County.
During the war he was noted for his strong Union sympathies, but at that time was near fifty years of age, and gave no service except through moral support. His large country home was a sort of rendez- vous for the "war widows," and his substantial aid went out to them as he discovered its need. He was not a leader in politics, though a republican, and his only public position was as merchant and postmas- ter. His store was the central meeting point for the community, and much wisdom was expended there in the discussion of all manner of public questions. The merchant himself was not noted as a talker, though his convictions were well known and positive, and he was never known to essay speechmaking. He was identified with no church,
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though his leanings were toward the old school of Presbyterians. He was a Mason.
Edgar L. Hubbard was married at old Pattonsburg, Missouri, to Miss Elizabeth Brown, who died April 1, 1903, at the age of seventy-seven. She was a daughter of Major John B. Brown, a pioneer of Daviess County in 1843, and a granddaughter of John Brown. The latter was a revolutionary soldier, enlisting from New Jersey and serving with the Jersey Line. He was wounded at the battle of Cowpens, and afterwards drew a pension. After the war he moved out to Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, and died there. His wife was a Miss Bridges, and among their several children, Major Brown, who bore the name John Bridges, was the only one who lived for any length of time in Missouri. Major Brown was born in 1794 at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, had little education, and was a soldier in the War of 1812. He was married in that portion of Virginia now West Virginia, and from there came to Missouri. He brought a raft of salt down the Ohio and sold it at St. Louis. In Kentucky he had worked as a blacksmith, but after coming to Missouri was a farmer. During the war he was major of a regiment in the Union army, and saw some active service, and was ever afterwards known as Major Brown. He was interested in public matters, and was a republican, and his death occurred at Coffey, Missouri. His ten children were: Sarah A., wife of Boone Ballard; William, who lives near Springfield, Missouri ; Eliza A., who married Elijah Hubbard, of Jameson, Missouri ; Austin, who died at Chadron, Nebraska; Elizabeth J., who married Edgar L. Hubbard ; Napoleon B., who died at Gallatin, Missouri ; James, who died in the state of Nevada; Marion, who died at Coffey, Missouri; Mary, who married H. M. Cuddy and died in Bethany; and Eveline, who married James Ellis, of Liberal, Kansas.
The children of Edgar L. and Elizabeth J. Hubbard were: Wallace, who died in Chicago, leaving a family; Emily, who died in infancy ; Henrietta, who died unmarried; Ann, wife of George W. Barry, of Bethany ; Charles, who died unmarried in 1881; Edward S .; and Emma, wife of W. S. Walker, of Bethany.
Edward S. Hubbard was born on the old homestead in Adams Town- ship of Harrison County October 23, 1861. His boyhood home was close to town and he attended the Bethany schools, and for three years was a student in the University of Missouri. In a small matter of haz- ing he and others were detected, and on that account left school before graduating. He then located at Albany and associated with his brother Wallace made a set of abstract books for Gentry County. Failing health took him away from the activities of office and store, and he applied his productive years to farming in Harrison County, until his retirement in March, 1914. Mr. Hubbard owns the homestead, a fine place of seven hundred acres, devoted to stock farming. He has been an extensive feeder as well as a dealer in stock. Outside of the farm his interests have been few. He is a stockholder in the Harrison County and the First National banks of Bethany. Politically he is a republican, and is affiliated with the lodge, Royal Arch chapter and Knight Templar com- mandery of Masonry at Bethany.
Mr. Hubbard was married in Harrison County in 1903 to Miss Hallie McDaniel. Her grandfather, Horatio McDaniel, was one of the early settlers of Harrison County. Her father, Josephus C. McDaniel, mar- ried Anna Matthews, and their children are: Harry, of Nodaway County ; Hallie Hubbard; Lawrence, of Elba, Colorado; Hazel, of Akron, Colorado; and Marguerite, of Elba, Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard have a son, Edward Leander, born in 1908.
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JOHN M. DUNSMORE, M. D. Having early familiarized himself with the rudiments of medicine and surgery, John M. Dunsmore, M. D., of Saint Joseph, is constantly adding to his knowledge by study and earnest application, and sterling merit has gained a position of note among the more skilful and successful physicians of Buchanan County. A son of John McArthur Dunsmore, M. D., he was born in Mitchell, Perth County, Province of Ontario, Canada, coming from Scotch-Irish ancestry.
His great-great-grandfather on the paternal side was born in Scot- land, but as a young man settled in Londonderry, Ireland, where he spent his remaining days, and where his son John, the next in line of descent, was a lifelong resident.
John Dunsmore, Jr., the doctor's grandfather, was born and reared in Londonderry, Ireland. Immigrating to America when young, he lived for awhile in Huntington, Province of Quebec, Canada. Subse- quently removing to Perth County, Province of Ontario, he purchased a large tract of land, the improvement of which he superintended until his death, at the age of four score years. He married Mary McArthur, who was born in Scotland, a member of the well-known McArthur clan, and of their union eight children were born and reared.
John McArthur Dunsmore was born at Huntington, Province of Quebec, in 1835. An apt student in his youthful days, with a decided preference for the medical profession, he was given excellent educational advantages, and was graduated from the McGill University, in Montreal. He was subsequently successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in Perth County for a full half century, continuing thus engaged until his death, at the age of seventy-eight years. The maiden name of his wife was Julia Hill. She was born at Mitchell, Perth County, a daugh- ter of James Hill, who was born in Yorkshire, England, and on coming to America settled in Perth County, Province of Ontario, where he con- tinued in business the remainder of his life. Mrs. Hill was born at Stirling Castle, Scotland, and with her parents came to Perth County, Province of Ontario, Canada, when a child. Mrs. Julia (Hill) Duns- more died when but forty years of age, leaving five daughters and one son.
Brought up in Mitchell, his native city, John M. Dunsmore there' attended the public schools and the Collegiate Institute, after which he entered, the Medical Department of Trinity University, in Toronto, where he was graduated with the class of 1898, and was admitted as a fellow of the Toronto College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1901 Dr. Dunsmore located in Saint Joseph, where he has since been actively engaged in the practice of his chosen profession, making a specialty of the treatment of nervous diseases in which he has achieved marked success.
Dr. Dunsmore married, in 1900, Frances Louise Gayfer, who was born in Ingersoll, Province of Ontario, Oxford County, Canada, a daughter of John and Mary (Clarke) Gayfer, both natives of the same county. The doctor and Mrs. Dunsmore have three children, Ruth, Jean, and Frances. The doctor is a member of the Buchanan County Medical Society; of the Missouri State Medical Society; and of the American Medical Association. Both he and his wife are members of Christ Episcopal Church.
HON. RUFUS A. HANKINS. No man in Colfax Township is more sub- stantially and honorably identified with the agricultural growth of his part of De Kalb County than is the Hon. Rufus A. Hankins, ex-asso- ciate judge. Opportunity in the conditions of the life of this progressive and enterprising agriculturist has never been allowed to knock more
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than once at the door, but has been turned to the best possible account both from a personal and community standpoint, and from modest beginnings and without the encouragement of financial assistance, he has come to be the owner of a handsome estate, which, in its tillage and general improvement, compares favorably with any in this part of the township. Judge Hankins was born in Monroe County, East Tennessee, January 19, 1856, and is a son of Edward E. and Julia A. (Stephens) Hankins, the latter the daughter of Absalom Stephens. His parents were born in the same state and county, where they were reared and married. At the outbreak of the war between the North and the South, Edward E. Hankins enlisted in a Tennessee regiment for service in the Confederate army, and served until nearly the close of hostilities, win- ning a captaincy by brave and faithful services, and finally meeting a soldier's death on the field of battle. In December, 1872, the mother brought her family to De Kalb County, Missouri, and here she passed the remaining years of her life. There were nine children in the family, of whom six still survive: Rufus A., of this review; John A., who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Colfax Township; Sophronia, who is the wife of N. J. Hunnicutt, of Texas; Martha C., who is the wife of John C. Marr, of Texas; Alice W., who is the wife of Vernon Rumsey, also a resident of the Lone Star state; Cordelia, who is the wife of Thomas H. Sparks, of Osborn, Clinton County, Missouri; Amelia A., who became the wife of Lloyd Grubb, and is now deceased; Edward, who died in De Kalb County, and one other child who died in infancy.
Rufus A. Hankins was sixteen years of age when he accompanied his mother, brothers and sisters to De Kalb County. Here he completed his education which he had commenced in the public schools of his native state, and as a youth took up farming as his life work, remain- ing at home until he reached the age of twenty-four years. When he started out upon a career of his own, he was just even with the world as to his finances, as his capital consisted of his ambition, his determina- tion to succeed and his inherent ability. At first he became a renter, and carefully saved his earnings so that by 1907 he made his first pur- chase of eighty acres of land in Colfax Township, on which he now resides, having put in numerous improvements of a modern and hand- some character, including his new residence, built in 1910, his commo- dious and substantial barn, erected in the fall of the same year, and his well-built outbuildings. In addition to general farming, he has success- fully handled hogs, cattle and mules, which he buys and feeds and ships to the various markets. As a business man, Judge Hankins is held in the highest esteem by all who have had transactions with him, and throughout this section he bears the reputation of a man of the highest integrity.
In 1880 Judge Hankins was married to Miss Emma A. Squires, of De Kalb County, Missouri, and they have had the following children : Fred, who was given good educational advantages, was a telegraph operator for three years, and is now successfully engaged in farming in Colfax Township; Lee, who is a graduate of the Chillicothe Business College, and now bookkeeper with the packing firm of Swift & Com- pany, at Kansas City, Missouri; Bryan E., who resides at home and is assisting his father in the operations of the homestead; Nova B., who is the wife of William M. Roberts, a farmer and stockman of Colfax Town- ship ; Lulu Grace, who is the wife of Andrew R. Seaton, of Grand River Township; and Florence and Bessie, who are unmarried and reside with their parents.
The members of this family are affiliated with the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and Judge Hankins is a member of the official board and Vol. III-6
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has been active in church work. Fraternally, he is connected with Osborn Lodge No. 317, Free and Accepted Masons. A democrat in politics, he served capably for one term as associate judge of De Kalb County, has been assessor of his township on several occasions, and at all times has been influential in local affairs.
COL. THOMAS E. DEEM. To become an expert in any line of business, and attain the full measure of success, demands special study, training and experience, all of which Col. Thomas E. Deem, of Cameron, has had in mastering the art, or profession, of auctioneering. A young man, yet in manhood's prime, he has become widely known in many parts of Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois, where he has been identified with large and important stock sales, his genealogical knowledge of pedigreed horses, cattle and hogs being of great value to him as an auctioneer. He was born on a farm in Daviess County, Missouri, and is a birthright auctioneer, his father, Col. D. D. Deem, having been an auctioneer for thirty-two years, and being one of the best known men in that line of business in Northwestern Missouri.
Brought up on the home farm, Thomas E. Deem received excellent educational advantages, and as a youth developed a strong liking for his father's occupation, and at the same time cultivated a clear, strong voice, which can be plainly heard a long distance, and is very effective. In addition to taking lessons from his father in auctioneering, Col. Deem made a special study of the different breeds of cattle, horses and hogs, becoming familiar with all the different pedigrees, and obtaining prac- tical information in regard to stock of all kinds. Thus equipped by study and training, he is considered one of the best judges of stock in the county, while his fair and square dealing as a crier of sales has made him one of the most efficient and popular auctioneers of this section of the country. He has made sales in many states adjoining Missouri, one of the largest having been at Peoria, Illinois. Col. Deem is only twenty-nine years of age, being one of the youngest men in his line of business, and one of the most successful, having already acquired an enviable reputation as a salesman of stock.
Fraternally the colonel is a member of the Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Order of Masons; of the chapter, Royal Arch Masons; of the commandery, Knights Templar; and of Moila Temple, of Saint Joseph. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias.
ISAAC R. WILLIAMS has been a member of the Savannah bar forty years. Combined with the strict interests of his profession, he has been engaged in business affairs, particularly in real estate, and a common saying among his associates that throws light on his activities is that he has earned more money than any man in Savannah, and yet has less than many whose success has been on a moderate scale. Mr. Williams has always spent liberally, has entered heartily into many projects and plans proposed for business and civic improvements, and enjoys a reputation based on integrity and the best qualities of citizenship.
Isaac R. Williams was born in DeKalb County, Missouri, October 1, 1852, and thus represents a family of old settlers in Northwest Mis- souri. His parents were Thomas and Callista (Reece) Williams. They were both natives of Yadkin County, North Carolina. The father came to Northwest Missouri in 1845, and for several years was foreman of a hemp farm. The cultivation of hemp was in the early days one of the chief agricultural industries of this section of the state. In 1850 he returned to North Carolina, was married, and brought his bride to DeKalb County, locating near the Andrew County line, where he lived
IsaacR SKilliams
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until his death on May 1, 1906, at the advanced age of eighty-three. His first wife, the mother of Isaac R., died when the latter was an infant. The father spent most of his life in farming, and was also prominently identified with public affairs. He served as a member of the County Court from 1851 until the outbreak of the war, and held the same office after the war, and throughout his career was active in behalf of the democratic party. In religion he was a Universalist.
Isaac R. Williams is the only one living of the four children by his mother, and has two half-brothers. His early life was spent on the home farm, midway between Savannah and Maryville, and his education was acquired partly in the country schools with the freshman year at McGee's College. At the age of twenty-one he entered the law office of David Rea at Savannah, and was admitted to the bar in 1874. Since then he has been in very active general practice of the law, and is now one of the oldest members of the Andrew County bar. On March 1, 1887, he formed a partnership with Charles F. Booher, and for more than a quar- ter of a century the firm of Booher & Williams has had a recognized standing among the old and successful law firms of Northwest Missouri. Since the election of Mr. Booher to Congress eight years ago, his son, L. W. Booher, has assumed most of his responsibilities and work in the firm, but the title of the partnership remains the same as formerly. For the past twenty-eight years Mr. Williams has been financial correspondent for a number of eastern investors, and much of his time has been taken up with his extensive transactions in real estate and as an abstractor. He is a member of the St. Joseph Commercial Club, and in 1888 was one of the promoters of a street railway in that city. He has been identified with many business interests at Savannah and vicinity, and has always accepted the responsibilities of citizenship. For nearly a quarter of a century Mr. Williams served as mayor of Savannah. He has been a democrat since casting his first vote, and though his party was in a hope- less minority in Andrew County for many years, he accepted a place on the ticket in 1878 as candidate for prosecuting attorney and in 1892 for the Legislature, making the campaigns in order to keep up the party organization. For many years he has been an active member of the Christian Church.
On December 24, 1876, Mr. Williams married Miss Emma Frances, who died May 16, 1913. Their daughter, Lily, is the wife of Dr. C. E. Rainwater, Ph. D., who is identified with the University of Chicago, and both he and his wife hold the degree A. M. from Drake University of Iowa.
GEORGE T. NEFF. With the live stock business on a large scale, mean- ing thereby the feeding of large herds of beef cattle, hogs and other stock, the ownership of land in quantities that would make a big ranch even in the semi-arid districts of the Southwest, and in dealing and shipping stock by the carloads, perhaps no name in Harrison County is more closely associated than that of Neff. George T. Neff, of Bethany, has been in the business for years, but his father, who lives retired in California, is the real veteran of the industry.
George T. Neff is a native of Harrison County, born in Fox Creek Township, August 2, 1866, and has had his home in Bethany since 1912. His father is Daniel B. Neff, a brother of Isaac Neff, of whom a sketch appears on other pages. Daniel B. Neff was born in Ohio in September, 1842, and came out to Missouri some years before the war. Among his early experiences were his service in the volunteer army during the war. In 1862 he served in the Missouri State Militia in Captain Howe's com- pany, and in 1863 enlisted in Company I of the First Missouri Militia,
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a cavalry organization. Although he had never learned the trade he was detailed as blacksmith, and worked for two years in that branch of the army. When his company was consolidated with Company M of the First Regiment, he was promoted to first sergeant. Most of his service was in Missouri, he took part in the fight at Marshall, and was in the pursuit of Price's army after its final raid into Missouri. At the close of the war he was mustered out.
His life as a soldier was unmarked with wounds or capture, and on returning to civil pursuits he became a farmer and teacher, though as the latter his career was brief. He married and then established his home in Fox Creek Township, where year after year marked accumu- lating and increasing interests as a farmer and stockman. His location was in section 12, township 63, range 26, and that was the center of his substantial achievements. For a number of years he excelled in the raising of grain, but more and more turned his attention to feeding and dealing in cattle, and ranked as one of the largest shippers in Harrison County. He provided a market for other people's stock, and it is asserted that for a time about half the live stock, of all kinds, shipped out of Harrison County went through his agency as a buyer and shipper. He never gave any particular attention to pedigreed stock. When he retired it was with a rating as one of the most substantial men of the county, measured in part by his ownership of 3,000 acres of fine land. He left the farm at the age of about sixty, and somewhat later held a sale and disposed of one of the biggest bunches of stock ever offered at a public sale in the county. In November, 1912, Daniel B. Neff moved out to San Diego, California, where he has a comfortable and pleasant home for his declining years.
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