A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 14

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

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James Henry. Morroway was born in Tama County, Iowa, Septem- ber 23, 1879. His father is James Morroway, a railway contractor, who for many years has been identified with that line of business. James Morroway was born near New York City, of German-Austrian parent- age, the family having come to the United States about sixty years ago and settled in the vicinity of New York. James Morroway found his life work early in his career, began as foreman in construction work, and one of his early employments was as foreman in the construction of the New York postoffice. Coming west, he has since been identified with railroad contracting in Iowa. He still lives in Tama County. In politics he is a republican. James Morroway was married in Tama County to Mary Black, who came from Maryland. Their children are : James H .; John, of Tama County ; Frank, of Tama County ; Mrs. George Kinney, of Iowa; Mrs. James Lamer of Belleplaine, Iowa; and Mrs. Philip Sevcik of Iowa.

Dr. Morroway grew up in Tama County, finished his high school course in the county seat, and continued his education in a local acad- emy for two years. After a year of medical reading with Dr. H. H. Sievers at Tama, Dr. Morroway entered the Milwaukee Medical College, was there for one year, took a year of laboratory work in Chicago, and finished his course at the Creighton University in Omaha, where he was graduated M. D. in 1900. Dr. Morroway received the first prize in gen- eral surgery at Creighton, and in 1904 took postgraduate studies in the same institution.

Dr. Morroway began practice at Ridgeway, and has since been stead- ily climbing into the first rank of Harrison County physicians and to influence as a citizen. He is a member and has served as secretary and treasurer, vice president and for two years as president of the Harrison County Medical Society. For a number of years he has been city physi- cian of Ridgeway and also sanitary inspector of the town.

In politics Dr. Morroway is a stanch republican, and from that posi- tion has never been led astray by the arguments of so-called progressive- ism. While he would perhaps claim no distinction as an originator, he has kept himself thoroughly posted on matters of current politics, and besides his capacity for leadership among men has competent views on state and national issues. He has attended various county, congres- sional and state conventions, and was a member of the famous Excelsior Springs convention of 1912 for the selection of presidential delegates to the National convention. In that campaign his party nominated him for Congress from the Third District, and he was renominated in 1914.

Dr. Morroway is affiliated with the Masonic Order and the Knights of Pythias. In Tama County, Iowa, October 22, 1902, he married Miss Emily, daughter of John and Agnes Kozisek.

LAKE BREWER, M. D. The success and efficiency of women in the field of medicine are too well established to require any comment. While women physicians are not numerous in any one county, they are usually regarded as among the ablest and most successful in the field of local practice, and the few who are identified with the profession in Northwest Missouri are no exception to the rule. At Ridgeway in Harrison County, Dr. Lake Brewer is enjoying a large and growing practice and competes on equal terms with her brothers in the profession. Dr. Brewer repre-

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sents one of the first families at Ridgeway, and was the first child born in that new town.

Dr. Brewer's ancestors were Ohio people, who lived about Zanesville in Muskingum County. The grandfather was William Brewer, whose widow, Nancy Brewer, is still living at Springfield, Missouri. They had a family of five sons and a daughter. George W. Brewer, father of Dr. Brewer, was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, May 12, 1840, and was educated in the country schools. He came out to Missouri before the Civil war, and lived for a time near Independence. While there he entered Company H of the Thirteenth Missouri Cavalry, and subse- quently transferred from the militia to the regular volunteer army. He was a member of Colonel Sigel's regiment, and spent more than four years in the army, spending one year on the plains after the close of the war. He was bugler in his company. After the war George W. Brewer returned to Illinois, finished his education in the University of that state, and was a teacher in the public schools both' in Illinois and in Missouri. Mr. Brewer finally returned to Missouri, and located at Ridgeway when the town was founded, and followed merchandising there for a number of years. He was never identified with politics except as a republican voter.

George W. Brewer was married in Champaign County, Illinois, Jan- uary 22, 1868, to Miss Delia Warner. She was born in Ohio, a daughter of Amasa Warner, also a native of that state. Amasa Warner was a son of Nathan Warner, who saw service as a soldier in the Revolutionary army. Amasa Warner married a Miss Lowery, a daughter of James Lowery, who was likewise a Continental soldier during the Revolution. The Warner family were farming people in Wayne County, Ohio. Mrs. George Brewer was reared in Champaign County, Illinois, was liberally educated, taught school in Vermilion County, and while there frequently saw Joe Cannon, then and afterwards one of the foremost leaders in the republican party. George W. Brewer and wife had one child, Dr. Brewer.

Dr. Lake Brewer was graduated from the Ridgeway public schools in 1899 as valedictorian of her class. The same fall saw her entrance into the University of Missouri, from which she was graduated with her A. B. degree in 1903, and at the same time received a life certificate to teach. She continued her work in the medical department of the uni- versity, and during her junior year was assistant in the department of physiology. Dr. Brewer finished her medical course and was given the degree of M. D. in 1908. With this thorough training, Dr. Brewer returned to her native village, and opened an office for practice in the fall of 1908. Her work as a physician has been steadily growing in this community for the past six years and her ability in diagnosis and treat- ment is beyond question. Dr. Brewer is a member of the County Med- ical Society and its vice president, and is also a member of the Missouri State Medical Society and American Medical Association. Dr. Brewer recently erected one of the brick business blocks in Ridgeway and has her offices there.

ALBERT OSCAR LAIR. One of the most earnest and enthusiastic pro- moters of the stock business as a buyer and shipper, and of agricultural pursuits at Ridgeway, Harrison County, is Albert Oscar Lair, who, aside from any prestige he may have received from connection with a fine old family, has mapped out his own fortunes with a certainty of intent and purpose which could have no other result than substantial suc- cess. He has lived in the state and county since 1892, when he came

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here from Illinois, where his birth occurred in Macoupin County, near Carlinville, March 9, 1860.

The Lair family is of German descent and is frequently found in different parts of the country and in various spellings, one of the most popular of which is "Lehr." The grandfather of Albert Oscar Lair was Charles Lair, a Tennessee man by birth, who came to Macoupin County, Illinois, as a pioneer, took up agricultural pursuits, and passed his remaining years in the same vicinity where he is buried. He mar- ried Miss Louisa Morris, and their family comprised sixteen children, twelve of whom reared families, namely: John, the father of Albert O .; Elizabeth, who married James McGinnis; Rebecca, who married Richard Nedrow; Jeremiah ; Betsy, who became the wife of Mr. Murray ; Thomas ; Richard; Polly, the eldest daughter, who became the wife of George Bridges ; Charles, who fought as a Union soldier during the Civil war; Marion ; and James Buchanan. Jeremiah Lair of this family was also a wearer of the Union blue during the war between the forces of the North and South.

John Lair, the father of Albert Oscar Lair, was born in Macoupin County, Illinois, July 3, 1832, passed his life as a farmer, and died in the community of his birth, December 28, 1911. He married Miss Mar- garet Hart, a daughter of Nathan Hart, who was also a farmer, as well as a teacher and preacher of the Christian Church. He came from Kentucky to Missouri and passed his last years in the latter state. The children born to John and Margaret Lair were as follows: Jane, who became the wife of William Golding, of Portland, Oregon; and Albert Oscar. The mother passed away at Portland, Oregon, at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, in June, 1912. John Lair was a good, industrious and steady-going agriculturist, keeping steadfastly after what he started out to accomplish and winning success through per- sistence rather than by any brilliant coups. He had the reputation of being a man of strict integrity, and as a citizen was known to be a supporter of good men and progressive measures.

Albert Oscar Lair spent his childhood and youth on a farm and acquired his education from the country district school. His home was under the parental roof until he was past his majority and at the time of his marriage he entered upon a career of his own as a farmer. About this time he moved from Macoupin County, Illinois, to the fertile farm- ing region of Sangamon County, in the same state, and there main- tained his home on a tract in the vicinity of Virden, where he con- tinued to carry on operations until he came to Missouri in 1892.

When he reached Missouri, Mr. Lair purchased the Judge Reeves farm of 200 acres, the first farm sold in Harrison County at forty dollars an acre. This was generally thought to be the limit of land prices, and his neighbors declared he would never be able to sell it at that value, although Mr. Lair felt confident that he had not made a bad bargain. This was a well improved tract at that time, and is now one of the most beautiful properties in Grant Township. There he resumed his career as a general farmer and stockman, and entered upon a career in stock feeding. While he was on the farm he entered the business of stock shipping, his first experience in the business, and began it by shipping the stock from his own farm. This experience was of a nature calculated to encourage him in extending his business and he subse- quently entered this venture exclusively. In addition he added to his acreage, purchasing 195 acres adjoining his farm, known as the David Allen farm, and 395 acres now constitute his holdings in a body there. For the Allen farm he was forced to pay almost fifty dollars an acre. Mr. Lair left the farm in 1907 and moved to Ridgeway, where he has

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since continued to buy and ship stock as a business, having taken but two vacation trips during these years, one to Canada and one into our Northwest Pacific Coast country.

Mr. Lair's connection with Ridgeway, aside from his regular indus- try, has been as a butcher and market man, and as a contributor to the social and material affairs of the place which must, of necessity, have public support. He was reared a democrat and this ticket he has voted for as a man. He has filled the office of township trustee of Grant Town- ship, served his country school district as a director, and in each of his offices has displayed excellent executive ability and an earnest desire to aid his community's interests and those of its people. Like his wife, he is a member of the Methodist Church, and at this time is a member of the official board of the church at Ridgeway.

Mr. Lair was married October 1, 1884, to Miss Mary Jessamine Johnston, a daughter of Henry and Emeline (Adkins) Johnston. Mr. Johnston was a native of Virginia, born May 13, 1815, near Natural Bridge, while Mrs. Johnston was born March 11, 1835. The father's death occurred in Macoupin County, Illinois, in December, 1912, while Mrs. Johnston passed away there in October, 1902. Their children were as follows: Elvira, a resident of Chicago, Illinois, and the wife of Ferd Richards; George, who died in Macoupin County, Illinois, without issue ; Nancy, who became the wife of Oliver Lorton and resides at Virden, Illinois; Mary Jessamine, who became Mrs. Lair, and who was born November 5, 1859; Andrew, a resident of Springfield, Illinois; and Sophia, who is the wife of William Fenstermaker, also of Springfield.

To Mr. and Mrs. Lair there have been born the following children : Nathan Earl, who is his father's assistant in cultivating the old home- stead farm, married Bessie Carson and has a daughter, Avis; Cyrus Albert, also carrying on farming on the homestead place, married Lela Taylor, and has one son, Forest Leroy; Sophie Emeline, who is the wife of Earl Sanford, of East End, Saskatchewan, Canada, and has one son, Oscar Kenneth; and John Frederick, the youngest, a lad of twelve years, who is attending the Ridgeway public schools.

REV. FIELDING MARVIN, D. D. One of the prominent ministers of the Methodist Church, South, Conference in Northwest Missouri is Rev. Fielding Marvin, now pastor at Savannah. Reverend Marvin is a son of the late Bishop Marvin, who for many years was regarded with peculiar veneration and respect by all members of the Southern Methodist Church and by his faith and works was a tremendous power for good in Mis- souri and all over the South.

Rev. Fielding Marvin was born at LaGrange, Missouri, November 1, 1849. His parents were Enoch M. and Harriet Brotherton (Clark) Mar- vin. The late Bishop Marvin was born in Warren County, Missouri, June 12, 1823, and his wife was born in St. Louis County of this state August 13, 1820. The Marvin family was established by two brothers who emigrated from England in 1635 and located in Connecticut. The grandparents on both sides came to Missouri about 1820 when Missouri was admitted to the Union and were prominent early settlers in St. Louis County and Warren County. The grandfather Marvin was a native of Connecticut, and left that state and lived in New York a short time before coming out to Missouri. The late Bishop Marvin was reared in Warren County and when about seventeen years of age began preach- ing in the Methodist Church and afterwards affiliated with the southern branch of that denomination. He had charge of a church in St. Louis and while there met Miss Clark, who had been reared in that vicinity, and they were married September 23, 1845. Many years of the active

Marvin

Fielden

and family

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career of Bishop Marvin were devoted to the ministry. He was an itinerant worker and during the war was a chaplain in the southern army. In 1866 at the general conference at New Orleans he was elected a bishop, and gave his time to the duties of that office in various parts of the South and West until his death at St. Louis, November 26, 1877. His widow survived him and died at Fredericktown, Missouri, March 16, 1882. Rev. Fielding Marvin was the only son, and the four daugh- ters of the parents are now deceased.

Fielding Marvin was educated in the noted Pritchett Institute at Glasgow, Missouri, graduating A. B. in 1870, and afterwards receiving the degree of Master of Arts from the same institution. Mr. Marvin first prepared for the profession of law, studying law in the University of Virginia, and was admitted to the bar at St. Louis about 1875. After a few years' practice at St. Louis he joined the Missouri Conference of the Methodist Church, South, in 1889, and has filled many pulpits and appointments in the Missouri Conference during the past twenty-five years. Reverend Mr. Marvin came to the church at Savannah in the fall of 1913 and has done an effective work in building up his congregation and organizing all departments of church activity. While Rev. Willis Carlisle was pastor here a Bible Class was organized about two years ago, and this has been one of the best features of the church and a power for good in the community. At the present time it has about ninety mem- bers, composed of many of the prominent men in the town, and the teacher is Mrs. Sam W. Wells.

Reverend Mr. Marvin is affiliated with the Masonic order. On October 31, 1895, he was married by Rev. Charles H. Briggs at Franklin, Mis- souri, to Miss Georgia Casey. They are the parents of two sons: Mather Casey and Edwin L.

JAMES WALTER SCOTT. Throughout his life James Walter Scott has been a resident of Gentry County, and for many years has been accounted one of its leading, influential and progressive agriculturists, financiers and business men. Among the great forces that bring success in life, one of the principal is unyielding tenacity of purpose. Action may be created for a time by dash and audacity and superficial cleverness, but these generally achieve no lasting success. Those who achieve the most satisfactory results are they who have gained their position through diligence and thoroughness in all things, and of this class Mr. Scott is an excellent type. He was born on the farm on which he now makes his home, September 22, 1870, and is a son of William Marshall and Cathe- rine M. (Combs) Scott.

The late William Marshall Scott, who passed away near Ford City, Missouri, August 17, 1889, was one of the ante-bellum settlers of Gentry County, coming hither in 1866 from the mountain regions of the far West, whence he had gone in 1859 and spent some seven years in Cali- fornia and Nevada in mining operations. On his return to Missouri, he followed the trade of blacksmith as well as being engaged in agri- cultural operations, and in both lines was able to achieve success because of his persevering industry. Mr. Scott was born in Belmont County, Ohio, April 26, 1833, a son of Robert Scott, born in Ireland. and Mary (Stansberry ) Scott, a native of Frederick County, Maryland. Among the issue of this old couple were: James B., who died near Ford City, Missouri, leaving a family ; Moses and Fletcher, who met a soldier's death during the Civil war as a member of the Missouri militia ; Belle, who married Porter Fore and died at Gentryville, Missouri; Elizabeth, who married M. M. Embree and died at Albany, Missouri; William M .; and a daughter who died at Albany in young womanhood. William Mar-

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shall Scott came to manhood with a common school education and learned the trade of blacksmith in Belmont County, receiving twenty dollars for his first year's work, forty dollars during the second, and sixty dollars for the work of the third year. In the spring of 1855 he went to Muscatine, Iowa, and in 1856 came to Missouri, stopping at Weston, Platte County, where he worked at his trade. In May of that same year Mr. Scott first visited Gentry County and remained here three years, and then proceeded to the gold regions of the West, as heretofore stated. In 1866, on his return to Missouri, he located on the farm which his son now owns, and here the remaining years of his life were passed. He confined his blacksmithing largely to his own work after locating near Ford City, and was numbered among the extensive farmers of his time, having 440 acres two miles east of the town.

In his political beliefs William M. Scott was a republican. He was identified with no church, although he was a believer in the benefits of church work, but failed to ally himself with any religious denomination. Mr. Scott was married in Belmont County, Ohio, to Miss Catherine M. Combs, a daughter of Elijah Combs, July 3, 1866. Mr. Combs was a Missouri farmer and came from Ohio, but was originally from Fleming County, Kentucky, where Mrs. Scott was born, as was also her mother, who bore the maiden name of Deborah Muncy. Mrs. Scott died in 1901, having been the mother of the following children: Mary L., a resident of Ford City ; James Walter, of this review, and the owner and occupant of the old homestead; Frank L., a resident of Fredonia, Kansas; and Maude, who is the wife of Benjamin Newman, of Whitesville, Missouri.

James Walter Scott has spent his entire career in the Ford City community. Following his course in the public schools of this vicinity, he entered the Stanberry Normal School, and when he laid aside his studies he began farming in earnest. While she lived he managed his mother's place, and since the death of his father he has done a vast amount of substantial improving. His generous home is of twelve rooms, is modernly heated and equipped, and its immaculate white ex- terior makes it a conspicuous mark for miles around, the residence standing on an eminence. Mr. Scott received his early lessons in cattle raising from his father, and he has been a growing factor as a feeder for years, shipping his own stock and securing excellent prices in the markets. He is also widely known in financial circles of Gentry County, being president of the Ford City Bank, which was organized in 1914, with a capital of $10,000, its vice president being Ben Boley and its cashier Don C. Dougan. In politics, Mr. Scott has always been a repub- lican, and fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, in which he has filled all the chairs in his lodge. In his community he is held in the highest regard by those who have had occasion to come into contact with him in any way, and as a citizen he has done much to advance the interests of Ford City and Gentry County.

Mr. Scott was married in Gentry County, February 27, 1895, to Miss Ethel E. Easterly, a daughter of Philip and Alpha (Pennington) East- erly. Mr. Easterly came to Missouri from Tennessee, and was the father of the following children: Ida, who is the wife of Lewis Butler of Lewiston, Montana; Maggie, who is the wife of Marion Burke, of the same city; Ethel E., who is the wife of James W. Scott; Grace, who is the wife of S. R. McConkey, of Albany, Missouri; Donna, who is the wife of Alexander Barger, of New Hampton, Missouri; John R., a resi- dent of Gentry County; Hugh, a resident of the State of Idaho; and Philip, Jr., a resident of Lewiston, Montana. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Scott, namely : Stella K., Blanche E., Mildred, Marshall and Marion.

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REV. ALFRED NOAH CAVE. As a minister of the Methodist Church and a farmer the Rev. Mr. Cave has been actively identified with Harri- son County since 1858, most of the time in Daviess and Harrison coun- ties. His father located on Sugar Creek in Harrison County in the spring of 1860. Rev. Mr. Cave was a soldier during the war, and comes of a family with a notable military record, beginning back in the days of the Indian wars in the colonies.

Alfred Noah Cave was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, October 25, 1840. His father, Alfred Noah, Sr., was born in Harrison County, Kentucky, April 25, 1814, and when a child his parents took him to Ohio and in 1833 settled in Fairfield County. In that state he grew up, with limited educational advantages, but with a superior intelligence and a gift for influencing people which he early employed in the work of the Methodist ministry. He was ordained by Bishop Waugh at Delphi, Indiana, and was soon in the ranks of the circuit riders who carried the message of Christianity to so many isolated communities in the early days. He rode circuits in Tippecanoe, Clinton, Montgomery and Jasper counties, Indiana, and attended many of the Indiana con- ferences. His work as a preacher continued almost to the month of his death. He was a man of talent, and gifted beyond the ordinary preacher. His sermons showed exact familiarity with the scriptures, and his knowledge of the old testament was almost as great as of the new. It is said that he could instantly name the verse and chapter of almost any quotation he heard from the Bible.

It was in 1847 that he located with his family in Tippecanoe County, and later in Clinton County, Indiana, and from there some years later set out for Missouri. The journey was made by wagon, the caravan consisting of a horse team and a yoke of cattle, and during a season of hot rainy weather. Central Illinois, through which they passed, was almost as thinly settled as Missouri, and offered good opportunities for settlement, but the family came on to the fringes of civilization in North- west Missouri. The Mississippi was crossed at Quincy, and the first permanent location was a farm in Daviess County. The senior Cave, though living on a farm, practically devoted all his life to the min- istry. He was a factor in the erection of several Methodist churches in Harrison County, particularly that at Bethany, and was pastor there while it was in his circuit. His work was mainly in the rural churches of Daviess, Harrison and Gentry counties.

As a young man Rev. Mr. Cave, Sr., was a whig, but joined the repub- licans at the organization of the party, gave his vote to Mr. Lincoln in 1860, and regularly supported other nominees until his death. He was rather prominent in public affairs, served as county treasurer of Harri- son County from 1868 to 1870, was defeated in the latter year, but in 1872 was the successful candidate and served four years more. During the Civil war he joined the Twenty-third Missouri Regiment at Rolla in the capacity of chaplain, and was with Sherman's army until the fall of Atlanta, when he resigned on account of ill health and returned home.

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A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 14

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