USA > Missouri > A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III > Part 2
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John Costin was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, on the 18th of September, 1830, and is a scion of sterling pioneer families of that fine old commonwealth, within whose borders were born his parents, Lewis and Catherine (Smock) Costin, both of whom passed the closing period of their lives in the State of Indiana. In the year 1843, when the subject of this review was a lad of about thirteen years, the family removed from Kentucky to Owen County, Indiana, where the father pur- chased a tract of wild land and instituted the reclamation of a farm. John Costin, owing to the vicissitudes and conditions of time and place, received most meager educational advantages in his boyhood and youth, but fully has he profited through self-discipline and association with the practical affairs of life, with the result that he is a man of broad mental ken and mature judgment. As a mere boy Mr. Costin gained close fellowship with toil, in connection with the work of the home farm, and he became also a wage-earner when he was but eight years old, modest recompense being given him for the work of cutting cornstalks for neighbors near the old home in Kentucky.
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At the age of twenty years Mr. Costin made his first independent investment, by purchasing a tract of land in Decatur County, Iowa. On this place he remained only one year, at the expiration of which, in 1855, he came to Worth County, Missouri, which has represented his home during the long intervening years. Here he purchased 160 acres of swamp land, and he applied himself to the arduous work of providing a proper system of drainage and to bringing the land under effective cultivation. On his originally uninviting farm he eventually produced very fine crops of wheat, corn and other cereals, and with increasing prosperity he added to his landed estate from time to time, until he is now the owner of a fine demesne of 1,000 acres, in sections 13, 65 and 32, Worth Township.
In 1860, while still giving careful supervision to his farm, Mr. Costin established a general store at West Point, the nucleus of the village now known as Oxford. He sold this store and business eleven months later, and thereafter he continued successfully in the mercantile trade, by establishing, in turn, stores at Grant City, Worth and Smithton. He eventually disposed of each of these establishments, the one at Worth having been sold to his son, Nicholas F., who still continues the enterprise and who is known as one of the successful business men of Worth County, individual record concerning him being given on other pages of this work.
In response to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers to aid in maintaining the integrity of the Union, Mr. Costin enlisted as a member of a regiment largely recruited in Worth and adjoining counties, and after serving about thirteen months, principally in Missouri and Arkan- sas, he received his honorable discharge. In politics Mr. Costin has ever been arrayed as a staunch supporter of the cause of the democratic party, and he has been called upon to serve in various positions of local public trust. In 1864 he served as treasurer of Worth County and in 1868 he was elected county sheriff and collector, to which dual office he was elected in 1870, so that he served, and with marked ability, for four consecutive years, later having been the incumbent of the office of county coroner. He also served for a number of years as a member of the school board of his district, and his influence and aid have at all times been given in the furtherance of measures tending to conserve the educa- tional, moral and general civic welfare of the community, in later years his zeal having been specially notable in connection with the promotion of the good roads movement in this section of the state. Mr. Costin and his gracious wife are most zealous and devout members of the Christian Church, in which he is now an elder of the church at Worth, his service having previously been given for a number of years in the position of deacon.
At Greenup, Cumberland County, Illinois, in the year 1852, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Costin to Miss Louisa Asher, daughter of Lewis and Alice (Brown) Asher, who were residents of Illinois at the time of their death, Mrs. Costin having been born in Warren County, Indiana, on the 24th of August, 1835. Mr. and Mrs. Costin became the parents of five children, concerning whom brief record is given in conclusion of this review : John D., who was born March 4, 1877, and who wedded Miss Leora Barnes, of Worth County, is one of the prosperous farmers of this county ; Nicholas F. is engaged in business at Worth and is the subject of an individual sketch on other pages of this volume; Martha Jane, who died in December, 1896, was the wife of James Martin, who is a representative farmer of Worth County, and she is survived by three children, Zula May, Gettis and Maggie Vera. The second daughter, Florence, born in 1864, is the wife of Reuben Swain, and they live in Nodaway County and have had three children, Arthur,
John J. Smith
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Minnie and Blanche, but Arthur died in 1913. Zula May, youngest of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Costin, was born March 27, 1873, and is the wife of Ira Wells, engaged in farming near Ravenswood, Nodaway County, and they have one son, Darl Ford.
NICHOLAS F. COSTIN. Bearing a name that has been most honorably and prominently linked with the history of Worth County for more than half a century, Mr. Costin is in every sense upholding the high prestige of his patronymic and is numbered among the progressive merchants and loyal and enterprising citizens of his native county, where he is engaged in the general merchandise business in the Village of Worth, as successor of his honored father, John Costin, concerning whom con- sistent and more specific mention is made on other pages of this publi- cation, so that further review of the family history is not demanded in the present connection.
Nicholas Ford Costin was born on the old homestead farm, in Middle- fork Township, Worth County, Missouri, on the 25th of December, 1878, so that he became a right welcome Christmas guest in the family home, as the youngest of the four children. The public schools afforded to Mr. Costin his early educational advantages, and this discipline was supple- mented by a course in the Gem City Business College, in which he was graduated in 1896. In pursuance of higher academic training he entered Stenbury College, in 1892, prior to taking his course in the business college, and he there pursued the normal or teacher's curriculum until 1894, when he returned to his home and became actively associated with the work and management of the farm. In the same year also he became his father's coadjutor in establishing the general store at Worth, and he continued as his father's partner in the business until 1910, since which time he has been the sole proprietor. He has brought to bear most progressive policies and has made his store effective in service, with a stock carefully selected to meet the demands of the trade and with punctilious care to fair and honorable treatment of all patrons. On the 11th of October, 1913, Mr. Costin removed from his original building to new and more eligible quarters in an adjoining building, the second floor of which is nicely fitted up as a village opera house or theater.
Mr. Costin has strong vantage-place in the confidence and esteem of the people of his native county, and it may legitimately be said that here his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances. At the county seat he is affiliated with Grant City Lodge No. 66, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, besides which he holds membership in the adjunct organization, the Order of the Eastern Star, and is a member of Worth Lodge No. 614, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is unswerving in his support and advocacy of the cause of the democratic party and he has served as clerk of various elections held in the county.
On February 22, 1903, Mr. Costin was married to Miss Adella Mc- Cray, who was born in Nodaway County and who is a daughter of James A. and Amanda E. (Mullen) McCray, whose fine homestead farm is situated near Gilman City, Daviess County, where they have resided for many years, Mr. McCray being a prominent democrat of that county and having served as its sheriff. Mrs. Costin completed special course in literature and music at Grand River College, and is a woman whose gracious personality makes her a favorite in the social life of her home community. Here both she and her husband are affiliated with Hall of Sunshine Chapter No. 222, Order of the Eastern Star, and she is eligible likewise for membership in the Society of the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Costin have no children.
JOHN S. SMITH. There is no financial institution in Northwest Missouri which more thoroughly deserves and enjoys to a greater degree
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the confidence of the community which it serves than the Holt County Bank, at Mound City, which has had a long and prosperous career of more than thirty years. The bank was organized in February, 1880, by Hugh Montgomery, Albert Roecker and Robert Montgomery. Its first president was Robert Montgomery, and its first cashier was Hugh Mont- gomery. This bank began as a small private institution, started more for the convenience of a limited patronage than as a general public utility, and its growth has been in proportion to the development of the com- munity and the constantly growing patronage voluntarily accorded it. Its first location was in the rear of the William Hoblitzell store, now the Welirli store, subsequently it was moved to the corner where the Riffe & Company's store is now located, and after that building burned was moved to its present location.
It is an axiom that the strength of any banking institution depends upon the personnel of the men behind it and in its organization. To an important degree the success of the Holt County Bank has been due to Mr. John S. Smith, who is now serving as its president, and was its cashier from 1887 to 1900, when promoted to his present office.
John S. Smith has made a typical American success. He started life as a section hand and has risen to leadership in his community, both as a banker and citizen. His father was killed during the Civil war, and his widowed mother had six small children dependent upon her. In such conditions it was necessary for the son John early to take up work that would help support the household, and all the education he received was acquired by self study during the meager opportunities of hard labor.
John S. Smith was born in Holt County, April 11, 1855, a son of Moses and Sarah Louise (Currier) Smith. Diligence, ambition and integrity have been the characteristic features of Mr. Smith's career. He worked only a few years as a common laborer, then found employ- ment in a hardware store in Mound City, from that got into the lumber business, and had a small independent establishment of his own. The people of this community from the first had recognized his thorough integrity in all his dealings, and as he was prosperous himself and a man of rare judgment, many found it convenient to intrust him with the task of looking after their financial surplus. In this way Mr. Smith was led to engage in banking in a small way, and his institution was one of the constituent elements in the formation of the Holt County Bank. From the position of cashier in that institution he was promoted to the presidency, and is the owner of most of the stock in the bank. His nephew, B. P. Smith, was for several years cashier, and is now vice president, while the present cashier is B. H. Watson.
Besides his interest as a banker, Mr. Smith is the owner of a thousand acres of land in the vicinity of Mound City, and is easily one of the most substantial citizens of that section. He also has extensive business interests in Kansas, Colorado and other states. He has attained thirty- two degrees in Scottish Rite Masonry and is affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World. His chief public service has been as a member of the school board, and for more than thirty years he has served as its president. Since he began as a business man at Mound City no enterprise affecting the welfare of the community has been advanced without his loyal support and fre- quent cooperation. He is a well-known citizen in Northwest Missouri, and particularly in banking circles of this section of the state.
Mr. Smith was married July 19, 1874, to Miss Mary N. Denmark, who was born at Black River Falls, Wisconsin. To their marriage have been born nine children, and the four still living are: Bertha B., at home; Charles C., who married Margaret Corsant and lives in Mound
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City, engaged in the oil producing business, operating chiefly in the Oklahoma fields; Helen H. is the wife of C. T. Hall, assistant cashier of the Holt County Bank; and Colene, a student in Rockford College at Rockford, Illinois.
MILLARD FILLMORE STIPES. This Jamesport editor and publisher has lived actively and usefully in Northwest Missouri forty-five years, at first as a teacher and surveyor, and close on to thirty years in journalism. A newspaper man is also in an important sense a public man, and Mr. Stipes has in addition given much time to the formal duties of office in his city and state.
Millard Fillmore Stipes is a lineal descendant, twelfth in line, from Sir Edward, Lord North, the first baron of that name, created by Henry VIII of England. Capt. George North, an officer in the Pennsylvania line during the American Revolution, who fought so valiantly against his kinsman, the British premier, was the great-grandfather of the Mis- souri editor.
Mr. Stipes was born at the old Cruzen home in Saline County, Mis- souri, November 12, 1851. Growing up on his father's farm, he attended district school near by except for a year or so during the Civil war, and during 1867-68 was a student in the Miami Male and Female Institute, a private school conducted by John C. Hamner, A. M., of Virginia. In the spring of 1869 his parents removed to a new home in Carroll County, and he began work on a farm and as a surveyor, a calling he had learned under the instruction of Professor Hamner. For two years he was deputy county surveyor, and in January, 1870, began teaching, his regu- lar occupation for the next fifteen winters and for about half of the intervening summers. Mr. Stipes was a student in the Kirksville Normal during the spring and summer of 1873 and again in 1874. His teaching was chiefly in the country districts of Carroll and Saline counties, but for three years, 1880 to 1883, he was at the head of the graded schools in Norborne, and at Jamesport the following year and at Jameson the next, all in Missouri.
On January 1, 1885, Mr. Stipes took charge of the Jameson Reporter, which he edited and published until September 1, 1886, when he pur- chased the Jamesport Gazette, of which he has been editor and publisher continuously to the present writing. Few members of the profession in Northwest Missouri have held an editor's chair with one paper for a longer time.
While not a professional politician, Mr. Stipes has for a number of years been interested in politics and the problems of government. In 1892 he represented his county in the democratic state convention at Sedalia and again at Kansas City in 1894, and has often been called to preside over democratic county and local conventions. By appointment from Governor Folk, he served four years, February 1, 1907, to February 1, 1911, as a member of the board of control of the State Industrial Home for Girls at Chillicothe, and during that time was treasurer of the institu- tion. In his home city Mr. Stipes served for twenty-one years on the school board, all the time as president or secretary.
December 28, 1881, he married Emma Lee Kieffer, at the home of her parents near Miami. Her death occurred April 22, 1891, and one child survives, Mrs. Opal Arnold. He married Amy Louise Ried, June 6. 1893, at the home of her parents in Kirkwood, Missouri. Three children were born to them, two of whom, Ruth and Florence, survive.
SOPER J. TAUL. One of the comparatively young men in Clay County citizenship, Mr. Taul has achieved the success which consists in accumulation of a substantial share of the world's goods and in an
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honorable position among his fellows. Largely through his own efforts he has prospered as a farmer, and for the past four years has justified the confidence of the community through his work in the office of county collector.
Soper J. Taul was born in Platte Township of Clay County, November 22, 1877. His parents were Ben I. and Patsy Ann (Spencer) Taul. His father was born in Clark County, Kentucky, in 1821, and the mother in Nicholas County of the same state on August 26, 1832, and is still living, while the father died July 26, 1886. They were married in their native state-came out to Missouri before the war, the father com- ing through by land-working cows-and they settled in Clay County, but owing to the troubles incident to war times returned to Kentucky. When peace was restored they found permanent homes in Missouri, and the father took up farming east of Smithville. He started with 390 acres, and had an estate of 270 at the time of his death. For this time he was reckoned among the successful farmers. He was a democrat, and with his family worshipped in the Methodist faith. Of the eleven children, nine 'are still living, as follows: Elizabeth, wife of S. H. Lewis of Paradise, Missouri; James, of Clay County ; Mollie, wife of Noah Neff, of Liberty ; W. K., of Kearny ; Margaret, deceased ; J. T., who is farming on the home place; R. C., living at Paradise; Maxie, wife of Hayden Settle, of Kearny ; Benjamin, of St. Joseph ; C. D., deceased ; and Soper J.
The youngest of the family, Soper J. Taul was only nine years old when his father died, and as the necessities of the homestead demanded all hands, he stopped his schooling at an early age, having attended several winter terms in the country. He worked at home until his mar- riage, and when that event was celebrated at the age of twenty-one he started out to provide for his own family. On December 21, 1898, he married Minerva Davis, who was born in the same neighborhood November 12, 1877, a daughter of Cephas and Falitta Jane (Britt) Davis. Her mother is still living at the age of sixty-five.
As a part of his earlier experience Mr. Taul had worked for three years, between the ages of fifteen and seventeen, at wages of 50 cents a day, so he had a thorough apprenticeship in the school of labor. After his marriage he continued on the home place a short time, then rented land for three years, after which he bought a place adjoining the old homestead. For about ten years he carried on his enterprise as a progressive farmer citizen, and still owns and operates a farm of 160 acres north of Liberty.
Mr. Taul has taken considerable part in democratic politics, and was the choice of his party and many friends for the office of county collector in the fall of 1910, and after four years of capable work was renominated and elected without opposition in 1914. Mr. Taul belongs to the Knights of Pythias and Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife are Methodists. They are the parents of two children : May Neff and Dorothy Eleanor.
G. W. STONER. Noteworthy among the oldest and best known real estate men of Northwest Missouri is G. W. Stoner, of Cameron, who has been a resident of that city since 1868, and during the time that has since elapsed has been conspicuously identified with the highest interests of town and county, ever using his influence to promote the public welfare. Mr. Stoner was born, January 13, 1835. in South Bend, Indiana, and when he was about twelve years old the family removed to Montgomery County, that state, locating not far from Crawfordsville.
Jacob Stoner, his father, was a native of Virginia, was of German descent, and inherited in a large measure the habits of thrift and indus- try characteristic of his forefathers. Migrating with his family to
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Indiana in pioneer days, he bought land in Montgomery County, and in addition to carrying on general farming, he for many years had a well producing sugar orchard on his place. He married, in Botetourt County, Virginia, Polly Beath, who was of English ancestry, and to them five children were born, two sons and three daughters, and of these three children are living, as follows: David, a resident of Kansas; Mariah Brawton, of Lathrop, Missouri; and G. W., the subject of this review. Both parents died on the home farm in Indiana, the father dying at the age of seventy-seven years, he having survived his wife for a number of years. He was a republican in politics, and both he and his wife were members of the Christian Church.
G. W. Stoner acquired his education in the district schools of his native county, and developed into manhood on the parental homestead, where he was trained to the habits of industry and thrift that became the foundation of his present success in business and have gained for him the respect of the community in which he lives. As a young man he was ambitious to take advantage of the opportunities offered in a new and undeveloped country, and in 1857 located in Daviess County, Mis- souri, where he followed farming for a few years. Settling in Cameron in 1868, he established himself in the real estate business, which he has since followed with deserved success, his dealings being extensive and profitable. Mr. Stoner has an intimate acquaintance with land values throughout the central west, his dealings in realty extending to all parts of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
He married, in 1862, more than fifty years ago, Susan Rogers, of Daviess County, Missouri, who has, indeed, proved herself a true help- mate and a most congenial companion. Three children blessed their union, namely : Jacob, Ida and B. F., but the last named, the youngest of the three, died in 1868. Jacob Stoner, the first born, died in April, 1912, his death being mourned as a public loss. He was one of the best known traveling salesmen of the state, and was also active in local affairs, having served his constituents most faithfully and ably in various offices, more especially as mayor of Cameron. For many years he was drum major in the Cameron Military Band, which was one of the finest musical organizations in this section of the country, and was often in demand throughout Missouri, playing in all its large cities. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias. He married Alice Smith, a native of Missouri.
Mr. G. W. Stoner is public spirited and a highly useful member of the community, active in advancing the things which make for the welfare and progress of town and county, being especially interested in the cause of education and religion. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stoner united with the Christian Church when young.
GENERAL BENJAMIN M. PRENTISS. For many years one of the most distinguished citizens of Missouri as well as of the nation was the late Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss, who for twenty years lived at Bethany, where his death occurred on February 8, 1901. General Prentiss was a soldier of two wars, rose to the rank of major general, U. S. Volun- teers, during the Civil war and was the hero of the great battle of Shiloh. In his political career he was an associate of Lincoln and other distinguished leaders of Illinois, and in the later years of his life was one of the most admired orators and leaders in the republican party of Missouri.
Benjamin M. Prentiss was born at Belleville, Virginia, November 23, 1819. He was a direct descendant from Valentine Prentiss who
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came to America from England in 1620. Another direct ancestor was the noted Elder Brewster, of the Mayflower colony. Valentine Prentiss (1) with his wife, Alice, came to Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1631. and died about 1633. His son John Prentiss (2) born in England, came over with his parents in 1631, married Hester -; died in 1691. His son Jonathan Prentiss (3), born July 15, 1657, married Elizabeth Latimer ; died July 28, 1727. His son John Prentiss (4), born 1705, married Sarah Christophers; died January, 1746-47. His son John Prentiss (5), born November 23, 1740, married Esther Richards; died November 22, 17 -. His son Henry Leonidas Prentiss (6), born July 4, 1788, married Rebecca Mayberry ; died December 24, 1849.
Henry Leonidas Prentiss, father of General Prentiss, was born in New London, Connecticut, in 1788, and died at Quincy, Illinois, in 1849. He was a public-spirited man and a politician. At one time he was a member of the Legislature from Wood County, Virginia. He married Rebecca Mayberry, and General Prentiss was one of two sons, the other being Henry Clay, who died in Knox County, Missouri. The daughters were Mrs. Amelia Adair, Mrs. Lucy Bowles, Mrs. Mary Goodno.
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