USA > Missouri > A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III > Part 18
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Aaron B. Conrow was reared in Richmond, where he attended the public schools, but on account of the war his education was limited, although in later years his observation, wide experience and much read- ing have made him a very well-educated man with a broad knowledge of men and affairs. When eighteen years of age he began his business career as a clerk in the store of his uncle, John Quesenberry, and in 1878 began to carry on operations on his own account as the proprietor of a hardware store. This he continued to carry on successfully until 1893, when under President Cleveland's second administration he was appointed postmaster of Richmond, an office which he held until 1897. In that year he was elected on the democratic ticket to the office of county recorder, and after his first term was re-elected, serving in all eight years to the satisfaction of the people of his community. When his public service was completed, Mr. Conrow returned to business life, purchasing the hardware stock of Jesse Child, at Richmond, and here he has since become one of the substantial business men of the city. He now has his own two-story building, where he carries a full and up-to- date line of hardware, stoves, harness and furniture, and through ener- getic effort and the intelligent use of modern methods has attracted a large and representative trade. Mr. Conrow is known as a public- spirited citizen who has ever had the best interests of his community at heart, and who is foremost in promoting movements for its welfare. In business circles his name is an honored one on commercial paper, and whether in business, public or private life, he has always merited the high esteem and confidence in which he has been held.
On November 17, 1881, Mr. Conrow was united in marriage at Rich- mond to Miss Ellen Menefee, who was born January 27, 1862, in Ray County, Missouri, a daughter of L. S. Menefee, a prominent attorney of Ray County who died during the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. Conrow there has been born one daughter: Forrestine, who resides with her parents.
JOHN H. ESTES. During the eighteen years in which John H. Estes has been connected with the business interests of Richmond his career has been one of advancement. Coming to this city with many hundred dollars less than nothing, a practical stranger, with no influential friends or connections, he has so ably conducted his operations and so well
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directed his efforts that today he is the owner of the largest retail busi- ness in Ray County-the Estes Department Store. His life has been one of constant industry and indomitable perseverance, and forms an- other chapter in the story of selfmade American manhood.
Mr. Estes was born on a farm in Caldwell County, Missouri, Octo- ber 19, 1860, and is a son of James and Mary C. (Ribelin) Estes. His' grandfather, William Estes, was born in Kentucky in 1802 and in 1820 came to Missouri, first locating in Saline County, although shortly there- after he came to Ray County and located near Excelsior Springs. Fol- lowing this he moved to Platte County, and in 1840 located in Caldwell County. Mr. Estes was a slave owner and a successful farmer, and one of the fine old characters found among the sturdy pioneers of that day, a progressive, enterprising and observant citizen. In 1850 he went to California in quest of gold, but was only moderately successful, and his trip was saddened by the death of two sons on the plains. Shortly after coming to Missouri Mr. Estes was married to Miss Susanna Hiatt, . who died in April, 1865; while he survived until 1894, and passed away at the advanced age of ninety-two years.
James Estes, father of John H. Estes, was born in Ray County, December 23, 1828, and was reared in Caldwell County, where he at- tended the rural schools. He has spent his entire life in agricultural pursuits and has been successful in his ventures, being known as one of the substantial citizens of Polo, where he is living in quiet retirement. He married Mary C. Ribelin, who was born in Kentucky, October 30, 1835, and died in 1902; and they became the parents of seven children, of whom five are living; William M., a resident of Polo; Louisa, the wife of D. W. Hill, of Polo; Laura C., the wife of Silas Conway, of Liberty ; Cora L., the wife of A. J. Smoot, of Polo; and John H.
John H. Estes was reared on his father's farm in Caldwell County, and there attended the rural schools, subsequently being a student of the graded schools of Kingston. In' 1882 and 1883 he attended the University of Missouri at Columbia, and then returned to his home and farmed until 1884, when he went to Lathrop, Missouri, and obtained a position as clerk, which he held for three months. Following this he went to Turney, Clinton County, Missouri, and purchased a one-half interest in the store at that point belonging to his employers, the firm then becoming Bohart, Goff and Estes; but after eight months at that place they moved the stock to Kingston, Missouri. In 1887 Mr. Estes formed a partnership with W. H. B. Carter under the firm style of Carter & Estes, and in 1889 they moved the stock to Polo. The business was conducted at that point until 1895, when through hard times and a loose credit business the firm was forced to cease operations. This would have been enough to totally discourage the majority of men, but Mr. Estes was made of sterner stuff; and January 20, 1896, he arrived in Richmond with several wagon loads of merchandise which he had moved overland from Polo. At this time he was far in debt and the goods were not even paid for, but he courageously settled down to re- habilitate his fortune and to restore his good name in the business world. His first place of business was a small room on West Main Street, two doors east of his present location, where he started under his father's name. In two years time, so faithfully had he labored, that he had cleared himself of debt and purchased the John C. Brown mercantile stock. His original quarters he found much too small for his rapidly increasing business, and he moved to his present establishment, where he occupies a double storeroom, 40x150 feet, with a basement 40x90 feet, and a balcony in the rear of the main floor 31x40 feet. He carries a stock valued at $50,000, including dry goods, men's furnishings, chil-
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dren's clothing, ladies' ready-to-wear, shoes, hardware, graniteware, china, crockery, paints, wallpaper and millinery, the latter in the bal- cony. Twenty skilled clerks are regularly employed in this large enter- prise, and at rush times many more are added. Mr. Estes is a well- read, broadminded man and a booster for his city, his county and his state, being amply capable and ever ready to convince even the most skeptical why this is the best community in the world. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Association of Missouri Municipalities, which has been since its organization a state-wide association for the bet- tering of conditions in the smaller towns and cities and to give publicity to the great advantages of the State of Missouri. He has various outside interests and is the owner of valuable farming property in Colorado.
On January 1, 1890, Mr. Estes was married to Miss Sophronia Isabelle Madden, who was born in Clinton County, Missouri, a daughter of James C. and Nancy (Hardwick) Madden. To this union there has been born · one son, Earl C., a graduate of the University of Missouri, class 1913, and now engaged in business with his father.
JOHN MOUNT. A former soldier of the great Civil war, John Mount has lived in Northwest Missouri since 1871, when he_ located in Ray County, but for many years has been a practical farmer of Davis Town- ship, in Caldwell County, and is now living retired at a comfortable home in Braymer. The same fidelity which marked his career as a soldier has characterized his later years of citizenship, and he is one of the highly esteemed men of Caldwell County.
John Mount is a Tennesseean by birth, grew up in that state, but when the integrity of the nation was submitted to the fortunes of war he took the Union side, and in 1862 enlisted in Company K of the Second Ten- nessee Infantry, under Capt. J. D. Underdown and Col. James Carter. He saw his first active service at Cumberland Gap on April 25, 1862, and continued with the regiment until his honorable discharge on June 15, 1865. For part of the time he was in the army of General Burnsides. On November 5, 1864, Mr. Mount was taken prisoner, and for several months suffered all the horrors and destitutions of Northern men in Southern prisons. He was confined for a time at Belle Isle, was in the Andersonville Stockade, and later at Florence, South Carolina. When he went into the army he weighed 160 pounds, but starvation, exposure and other sufferings reduced his weight. to 90 pounds before he was released and rejoined his comrades. At Andersonville he saw dozens of his comrades die of starvation and exposure, and he was a prisoner there when the commander was Major Wurtz, who was afterwards, because of his brutal treatment of the prisoners, tried and hanged by the United States Government. After his honorable discharge Mr. Mount returned to his Tennessee home.
John Mount was born in Tennessee in 1840, a son of Samuel and Isabel (Underwood) Mount. His father was a native of North Carolina, but the family came from Pennsylvania, and the mother was a daughter of George Underwood, who saw active service in the War of 1812. Samuel Mount died at the age of seventy-six. The children were: John; Ella McKnight, whose husband was a soldier ; Mary Petty ; Humphrey ; Martha Estes; Henderson; I. P., now deceased; George, deceased; Margaret; Napoleon B .; and Rebecca.
John Mount, a few years after the close of the Civil war, in 1871, located in Ray County, Missouri. In 1867 he had married, in Tennessee, Ella Thornburgh. She was born in Tennessee in 1842, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Moody) Thornburgh. Her father died at the age
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MIR. AND MRS. JOHN MOUNT
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of eighty-four years. He was a farmer, and a member of the Methodist Church. After living in Ray County for a time Mr. and Mrs. Mount moved into Caldwell County, where he acquired a good farm four miles from Braymer, comprising 130 acres. He still owns this farm, but now rents it and has retired to a comfortable residence in Braymer. His farm is well improved, with good house and barn, and its cultivation gave him the prosperity which has enabled him to pass his later years in retirement. Mr. Mount is an active member of the Grand Army Post at Braymer, and is a strong republican in politics. His church home is the Methodist Episcopal.
Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Mount only two are now living. A daughter, Clara Phillips, died in Oklahoma, leaving one child, William Earl. The son now living is Doctor Mount, a successful physician at Polo, Missouri. The daughter is Almeda Phillips, who lives in Caldwell County. Doctor Mount has one son, while Mrs. Phillips has three chil- dren, Roscoe, Velma and Ira.
WILLIAM G. CARTER. A pioneer of Northwest Missouri and a farmer near Martinsville, William G. Carter has resided on the hill where is located his home since 1867. He came here from Gentry County, Mis- souri, where, near Lone Star, he was born October 23, 1841. His father was Vinson Carter, who settled in that county in the spring of 1841 and after the land was surveyed and sectionized he entered a tract and there spent the remaining years of his life in the peaceful pursuits of the soil, devoting himself to mixed farming. Vinson Carter died at the age of seventy-five years, in 1889, having been born January 4, 1814, and was buried in the Carter Cemetery, near his old home, his wife lying beside him. Before her marriage she was Patience Glendenning, a daughter of William Glendenning, who came to Missouri from Ohio in 1841, and died about 1851, leaving two sons and four daughters.
Vinson Carter was a native of Tennessee, born near White River, in which vicinity he resided until a young man. He married his wife in Putnam County, Indiana, for Greencastle was one of the Indiana towns of which he spoke familiarly. He was a man of fair farmer's educa- tion and the nearest he came to having a military experience was when he assisted in scaring the Indians out of Gentry County. When the republican party was organized he became an adherent of its principles and continued to support its candidates until his death. His only pub- lic service as an official was in the capacity of school teacher, but he is remembered as a citizen always ready to bear his share of respon- sibilities. In his religions faith, Mr. Carter was a Methodist and did his part in erecting the place of worship in his locality, in those times the community schoolhouse. He had no fraternal connections and was op- posed to secret orders, which were contrary to his belief.
The children born to Vinson and Patience Carter were as follows: Elizabeth, born June 9, 1840, became the wife of Wesley Mock, and now resides near the home of her brother William G., in Harrison County, Missouri ; William G., of this review; Susanna, born January 27, 1844, who became the wife of Jackson Dye and died in the vicinity of Grant City, Missouri ; Elijah Albert, born January 13, 1846, who is now a resi- dent of New Hampton, Missouri; John Lewis, born July 7, 1849, who resides near Lone Star, Missouri; a twin brother of John Lewis, who died in infancy ; Martha, born September 28, 1852, who became the wife of William Clellon, engaged in agricultural operations in the vicinity of Martinsville, Missouri; Milton Riley, born October 16, 1854, who is now a resident near New Hampton, Missouri; Hiram Frank, born April 27, 1857, who is carrying on farming on the old Carter homestead near
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Lone Star, Missouri; Jane, born September 1, 1861, who became the wife of Filmore Needles, and died in Gentry County.
Vinson Carter was a son of Elijah Carter, who came to Missouri with his son, by way of ox-teams, and settled near the Carter Cemetery, in Gentry County, one of his daughters being the first person to be buried in that graveyard, the grave being made by her brother, Joseph. Among the children of Elijah Carter were: Betsy, who became the wife of John Glendenning; Vinson, the father of William G .; Leta, who married Richard Glendenning, a brother of John; Joseph; Nancy, who became the wife of John Glendenning, a brother of the mother of William G. Carter; Katie, who married Hugh Ross; a daughter who became the wife of Cubbige Needles; Lewis; Nathan, and Martha, who was first the wife of George Ross and after his death married Mr. Swank.
William G. Carter received his education in the district school near Lone Star, his only schoolhouse being one of logs. During his first term in search of educational training he was forced to travel through the timber for a mile and one-half, following a "blazed" path, and as there were many wild hogs and other menaces to children roaming in the woods at that time, the neighbors were wont to accompany the chil- dren to and fro. Mr. Carter's first call from under the parental roof was when he entered the army for service during the Civil war, in 1861. He first enlisted for six months in Colonel Cragnor's regiment, which rendezvoused at St. Joseph, and after his time had expired he spent a few months on the home farm and then entered the three-years service. His company was B, belonging to the Thirty-fifth Regiment, Missouri Volunter Infantry, and his first captain was Captain Scott, who, however, proved so incompetent that he resigned and the company was without a captain until near tlie close of the war. The first colonel of the Thirty- fifth was Kimball, and the second a West Point man named Foster, but the boys of the regiment did not like Foster's red tape and they succeeded in getting rid of him without an investigation, he being succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Fitch.
The Thirty-fifth Missouri Infantry was organized at St. Joseph, and was sent to St. Louis for drill at Benton Barracks. The regiment went from there to Jefferson City for thirty days, then returning to St. Louis, and going thence down the Mississippi River to Columbus, Ken- tucky, and on to Helena, Arkansas. At the latter point it did guard duty for a long time, or until an expedition was formed to go down on the Yazoo River, in Mississippi, but was there but a few days when ordered back to Helena. It made next a trip to DuVall's Bluff and on its return was sent up the Red River from Helena, was mustered out at Little Rock, Arkansas, and was finally discharged at St. Louis, in 1865. Mr. Carter participated in the battle of Helena under General Prentiss, and there, as elsewhere, proved himself a brave and faithful soldier.
When his military career was finished, Mr. Carter returned to his home and resumed his agricultural pursuits, becoming a farmer and stockman. At the time of his marriage he was possessed of $400 in money, a team of horses, two cows and a heifer. He lived on a rented farm the first year, in Gentry County, and in the spring following began his career as a farmer in Harrison County. Mr. Carter paid $3 an acre for 100 acres in section 5, township 64, range 29, and built a loghouse, twelve feet square, just opposite his present dwelling, and to this cabin he brought his wife, it continuing to be their place of dwelling for perhaps ten years. This primitive home was succeeded by a frame structure, in keeping with the progress of the times, and just before his youngest child married, Mr. Carter erected his present commodious and extensive home, this now being accounted one of the splendid residences of the county.
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When Mr. Carter started farming in Harrison County, he broke the sod and planted corn, and about the only way he had of getting cash was from hogs and cattle, although even then little was secured as only meager prices were obtainable. He was energetic, thrifty and persevering, how- ever, and came to be the owner of 1,000.acres of land, and as his sons married, he helped them substantially to a start in life. Mr. Carter was one of the organizers of the Bank of Martinsville, of which he has been a director since its inception, and of which he is now president, managing its affairs with an ability which has done much to make it one of the strong financial institutions of Harrison County. He has also other business interests, and is a stockholder of the New Hampton Lumber Company.
In political matters Mr. Carter is a republican, but has confined his activities in politics to casting his vote. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is active, and has served his congregation at Martinsville as an official.
Mr. Carter was married February 22, 1866, to Miss Martha Wilson, a daughter of Adam and Matilda (McDonald) Wilson. Mr. Wilson came from Albany, Kentucky; to Missouri and settled first in Gentry County, but passed his final years in Harrison County, and died Sep- tember 12, 1897, at seventy-eight years of age, having been born May 30, 1819. Mrs. Wilson passed away April 24, 1914, when almost ninety-two years of age. Their children were as follows: Elizabeth, who married William Clopton and lives at Jefferson, Iowa; Mary Ann, who died in childhood : Mrs. Carter, born February 3, 1846; James, a resident of Carlyle, Kansas; Harriet, who married Silas Ebersole, of Big Springs, Kansas; John, of St. Joseph, Missouri; Catherine, who married Sam Meredith, of Martinsville, Missouri; Ellen, who died as Mrs. Harvey Spillman ; and Phebe, who became the wife of Tobe Coleman and died . while a resident of Harrison County.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Carter have been as follows: Lewis P., born July 11, 1868, a resident of Lake City, Iowa, married Carrie Thailor, and has six children, Dean, Edith, Frank, Gertrude, Sam and Fay ; Adam H., born September 26, 1870, a farmer near Martinsville, married Fannie Young, and has five children, William Y., Raymond, Thomas, Edgar and Velma ; Vinson A., born February 6, 1873, a farmer near Washington Center, Missouri, married Maud Scott, and has four children, Ray, Gladys, Alice and Mildred; Charles O., born November 23, 1876, is a farmer near the homestead of his father, married for his first wife Rebecca Adair and for his second Myrtle VanHoozier, and had four children by his first wife, Clarence, deceased, Marie, Cora and Jessie, and one child by his second wife, Wayne; John R., born July 31, 1879, a farmer of Harrison County, married Femma Young, and has three children, Roy, Loren and Vondalena; and Silas Franklin, born Novem- ber 5, 1881, a farmer on the property adjoining that of his father, married Fannie Creekmore, and has five children, Goldie, Lloyd, Lois, Gracie and Leslie.
WILLIAM DAVIDSON. For more than forty years William Davidson has been identified with the splendid country about Worth. His earlier years were spent in the strenuous activities of the Middle West and Far West, and always as a busy and industrious citizen. Mr. Davidson has passed the age of three score and ten, and has a retrospect over the years that have gone that can be contemplated only with satisfaction, since in that time he has gained those prizes which are the dearest ambi- tion of mankind-ample material prosperity, provision for home and family, and the respect and esteem of a community.
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William Davidson was born in Putnam County, Indiana, February 22, 1841. His birthplace was near Mount Meridian, situated on the old National Road, a noted thoroughfare constructed before the time of railroads, from the eastern side of the Alleghenies across the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois to the Mississippi River and surveyed even as far as Jefferson City, Missouri. His grandfather was William Davidson, of Scotch-Irish stock, who was perhaps a native of Ireland and came to America prior to the Revolutionary war. He afterwards settled in Erie County, Pennsylvania. He was an uncle of Captain Lewis, noted in American history as one of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Coast in the early part of the eighteenth century. Among the children of William Davidson were: William, Thomas, Polly and Joseph. Some of his children lived near Zanesville, Ohio.
Joseph Davidson, father of William, was born in Erie County, Pennsylvania, grew up there, and was educated in the schools of that section. When a young man he started West, locating in Illinois, and was identified with the early survey in that section of the country. While there he was first married. The children of this marriage were: Simon, who spent his life as a farmer and died at Boulder, Colorado, leaving a family ; Ann, who married a railroad man and is believed to have died in Nodaway County, Missouri; Medina, who married Robert Mann and spent most of her years in Iowa, but died at Boulder, Colorado; Joseph, who went out to California and died at Sonoma; Allen, who also went west and died at Willis, California, leaving a family. Joseph Davidson removed from Illinois to Putnam County, Indiana, about 1838, and there married, after the death of his first wife, Elizabeth Albin. She was at that time the widow of John Collins. Her father, William Albin, came from Pennsylvania after living there many years to Ken- · tucky, was one of the pioneers, and then settled in Putnam County, Indiana. The second Mrs. Davidson died in Worth County, Missouri, in 1885 at the age of seventy-six. Her children by Mr. Collins were : Thomas H. ; Sarah J., who married Jesse Wright and lives in the Province of Alberta, Canada ; T. H. Collins, who practiced law in Missouri twenty years and at Denver, Colorado, sixteen years, died in the State of Wash- ington, leaving a family. The children of Joseph and Elizabeth David- son were : William; Angeline, who died in Gentry County, Missouri, as Mrs. Warren Hill; Frances, who married Fred Cassins and died at Cisco, California, leaving two sons; and Laura, who died unmarried. Joseph Davidson and family removed from Indiana in 1851 to Iowa, locating in Fremont, eight miles south of Sidney, where he spent the rest of his years, passing away in 1854, when about seventy years of age.
William Davidson, who was ten years of age when the family came to Iowa, spent most of his early years on the frontier, where civilization had established few institutions, and his schooling was extremely limited owing to the absence of regular instruction in most of the neighborhood where his youth was spent. He lived for some years both in Iowa and Nebraska, but became of age in Missouri. He was in Gentry County, Missouri, at the beginning of the Civil war and in 1862 joined Company E of the First Missouri Cavalry of the Missouri State Militia under Captain Joseph H. Little and Colonel McFarran. This regiment acted under special orders for the guarding of the state after the Confederates had been driven off, and for a time it was stationed along the St. Joseph and Hannibal Railway, and had one small skirmish at Kirksville. They were then south of the Missouri River, and remained at Lexington or in that vicinity until Mr. Davidson was discharged after having served eleven months.
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