USA > Missouri > A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III > Part 20
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119
Mr. Robertson is a scion of staunch old American ancestry, and though his parents were natives of the State of New York he himself claims New England, that cradle of much of our national history, as the place of his nativity. He was born at South Coventry, Tolland County, Connecticut, on the 30th of June, 1850, and is a son of David and Caro- line (Mitchell) Robertson. He was but seven years of age at the time of the death of his father, who was a farmer by vocation, and his early education was acquired in the country schools of his native state, this being supplemented by effective individual application and by the disci- pline of the newspaper office,-a training that has consistently been termed the equivalent of a liberal education. In 1865, at the age of fifteen years, Mr. Robertson accompanied his widowed mother on her removal to Missouri, and after passing one year on a farm in Putnam County they removed to Centerville, the judicial center of Appanoose County, Iowa, where, in 1868, Mr. Robertson gained his initial experience in connection with the mysteries of the "art preservative of all arts" by assuming the position of "devil" in the office of the Centerville Citi- zen. He became a skilled compositor and general workman, and in 1872 he gave inception to his independent career as a newspaper editor and publisher, by purchasing the plant and business of the Princeton
.
1124
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
Advance, at Princeton, the county seat of Mercer County, Missouri. There he remained until 1881, when he sold the business and removed to Bethany, Harrison County, and became editor and publisher of the Bethany Broadaxe. In 1884 he disposed of his interests at that place and purchased the New Century, at Unionville, Putnam County. Of this property and business he later disposed and in 1886 he established his residence at Gallatin, Daviess County, where he purchased the Galla- tin Democrat, of which he continued editor and publisher until 1894, when he sold out and again indulged his itinerant journalistic proclivi- ties by removing to Plattsburg, Clinton County, where he appeared as editor and publisher of the Plattsburg Jeffersonian until 1897, when another sale and change was made by him. He purchased the West Plains Gazette, at the judicial center of Howell County, but only three weeks later he retired from this association, and in 1898 he returned to Gallatin, where he formed a partnership with Robert J. Ball, the present postmaster of this city, and effected the purchase of the Gallatin Demo- crat, of which he had previously been editor and publisher, as already noted in this context. With this paper he has since been identified as editor and publisher and he has brought the same up to high standard as an exponent of the interests of the city and county and of the prin- ciples of the democratic party, of which he has long been a prominent and influential representative in Missouri, each of the papers with which he has been identified having been published at a county seat, and no publisher of weekly newspapers in the state having been more zealous in the effective advocacy of the party cause. The Gallatin Democrat is one of the leading organs of the party in Northwest Missouri, is modern in letterpress and general makeup, is ably edited and receives a consistent advertising patronage, the value of which is fortified by its circulation, which is now fully three thousand copies. The news and job departments of the plant have an excellent and up-to-date equipment, including a recently installed typesetting machine, and the business has been made distinctly prosperous and profitable under the able management of Mr. Robertson, whose personal success and advancement have been won entirely through his own ability and efforts, as he has been dependent upon his own resources from boyhood. In this connection it should be noted that his mother passed the closing years of her life at Centerville, Iowa, and was about sixty years of age when she was summoned to eternal rest.
Mr. Robertson has been an appreciative and valued member of the Missouri State Historical Society from the time of its organization and is at the present time a member of its executive committee. He is specially prominent and popular among the representatives of the news- paper fraternity in his home state, this being indicated by his service as president of the Northwest Missouri Press Association and as president of the Missouri Press Association, in each of which bodies he is still an active and influential figure. For five years Mr. Robertson was secretary of the Missouri State Board of Charities, as a member of which he was appointed by Governor A. M. Dockery. He is sincere, earnest, broad- minded and genial, resolute in the upholding of his convictions, and tolerant in his judgment, so that he naturally has gained and retained a host of friends in the state that has so long represented his home. Mr. Robertson is a prominent member of the Gallatin Commercial Club, is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
In 1872 Mr. Robertson wedded Miss Martha Mitchell, who died in 1880. They became the parents of three sons, one of whom died in infancy; Albert M. is editor of the Capital Democrat, at Tishomingo,
1425
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
Oklahoma, and Gay R., who was graduated at the University of Missouri, is a mechanical engineer by profession and is now in the employ of the Atlanta Ice & Coal Company, of Atlanta, Georgia. In 1883 was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Robertson to Miss Eppie Davidson, of Gainesville, Texas. They have no children.
ROBERT J. BALL. In his rise from the position of "devil" in a print- ing shop to that of postmaster of Gallatin, Daviess County, to the half- ownership of the Gallatin Democrat, the presidency of the Commercial Club of this city, and various other positions of trust and importance, Robert J. Ball has given a notable illustration of the exercise of American energy, ability, integrity and superior mental attainments. While it has been his fortune to be identified with Gallatin during the period of its greatest growth and development, much of this development has come as a result of his contributions to its interests. At any rate, he fills a large and influential place in the community.
Mr. Ball was born at Gallatin, Daviess County, Missouri, May 25, 1873, and is a son of Alonzo Conrad and Elizabeth Frances (Boggs) Ball, natives of Kentucky. Alonzo Conrad Ball was born March 8, 1823, at Lexington, Kentucky, and in 1854 came to Missouri, settling in Boone County, where he resided one year, his advent in Gallatin occurring in May, 1855. His ancestors on his father's side were of Irish descent, while his mother was of German descent and bore the maiden name of Sheeley. Mr. Ball's grandfather, the great-grandfather of Robert J. Ball, was a Revolutionary soldier, enlisted under Washington in Virginia, and General Washington's mother was a Ball and of Irish ancestry. Alonzo C. Ball was married at Richmond, Kentucky, in 1849, to Elizabeth Frances Boggs, and the trip to Missouri was made partly by boat and partly overland. Mr. Ball was a carpenter and contractor, and one of the first of his vocation to come to Daviess County, his shop for many years being located on the southwest corner of the square, where the Fitterer grocery now stands. That he was highly esteemed in the community in which his home was made for many years is evidenced by a tribute by one of his friends, which appeared in the newspapers of Gallatin, and which said, in part, as follows: "Our friend Ball, with the impetu- osity of the Celtic race and breathing the chivalric air of the blue grass of Kentucky, could not be anything else than a unique character. Whilst Mr. Ball has occupied no public positions of trust, in his sphere of action he has been an independent, fearless character, having ideas and views of his own, a strong will and inflexible purpose to do and say what he believes to be right, regardless of all consequences. For us to know a man we must meet him upon a common plane and get in close com- munion with him and in touch with his aspirations and trend of mind. We have known A. C. Ball forty-nine years, always found him to be frank and outspoken. If a friend, a true one, and always ready to punish an enemy and had no compromise to make. A typical Kentuckian, strong in his likes and dislikes." Mr. Ball died May 1, 1908, and inter- ment was made at the Brown Cemetery, his comrades of Surgeon John Cravens Camp, U. C. V., acting as honorary pallbearers. Mrs. Ball passed away October 19, 1901, having been the mother of nine children, as follows: Mollie, Sallie, Frank C. and Willie, who are deceased ; John H., who is engaged in contracting and building at Bridgewater, Massa- chusetts; Mrs. Lydia Thomas, a resident of Gallatin; Mrs. Maggie B. Edwards of Quincy, Illinois; L. D., who is proprietor of the hotel at Trenton, Missouri; and Robert J.
Robert J. Ball received his education in the graded and high schools of Gallatin and in 1887 entered upon his career as "devil" in the office
1426
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
of the Gallatin Democrat, of which Wes L. Robertson was owner and editor. From the time of his first connection with this paper a warm regard between employer and employe has been maintained. Mr. Ball rose to be foreman on the paper, then superintendent of the plant, and in 1898 bought a half-interest. As his partner, Uncle Wes Robertson, expresses it: "Mr. Ball reached the point in salary where he (Mr. Robertson) figured it would be better for him to sell a half interest and let Ball help foot the bills." With the exception of a short period when Mr. Robertson was identified with other ventures, the partnership has continued uninterruptedly to the present.
Long an active worker in democratic politics, in 1913 Mr. Ball was chosen postmaster of Gallatin by Hon. J. W. Alexander, and since May 1st of that year has ably discharged the duties of that office. His admin- istration has been marked by much improvement in the service, and he is proving one of the most efficient and popular officials that Gallatin has known. For some years Mr. Ball was secretary of the Democratic County Committee. Fraternally he belongs to the Royal Arch Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World. He is a member of the Northwest Missouri Press Association and its first vice president, and in January, 1915, will become its president by succession. He also holds membership in the Young Men's Christian Association and the Gallatin Commercial Club, and in 1914 was appointed president of the latter organization. The following is quoted from the Gallatin North Missou- rian, issue of November 19, 1914: "From the 'devil' in a print shop to the presidency of the Gallatin Commercial Club. That is what we call making good, and such was the sentiment of every member of the club at the 6:30 luncheon on Tuesday evening, when Robert J. Ball, post- master and junior editor of the Gallatin Democrat, was chosen the active head of the Gallatin Commercial Club, succeeding C. M. Harrison. The committee is to be congratulated upon their selection, as a better man could not have been chosen. Ball is a live wire, energetic, a tireless worker and a splendid fellow. The club can rest assured that their interests will be carefully safeguarded and that the organization will move along with plenty of the right kind of enthusiasm and spirit. Mr. Ball is a 'gingery' man and whatever he undertakes he puts 'ginger' into it and makes it a success. Then, too, he is self made and has come up the line through his own efforts."
On March 5, 1896, Mr. Ball was married to Miss Theo M. Welden, of Gallatin, a daughter of C. H. Welden, a pioneer, ex-county official and prominent citizen of Daviess County. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ball: Marjorie, Eleanor, Robert Welden and Conrad Luckey. Mr. Ball is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
Too much credit cannot be given to Mr. Ball. He started at the bottom, without means, and through thrift, intelligence, perseverance and clean living has risen to a place high in the esteem of his fellow citizens. It is to such men that the community must look for its further devel- opment.
JOHN W. MCCLASKEY. In the spring of 1914 the citizens of Gallatin chose to the office of mayor a local business man who for upwards of thirty years had been known for his integrity and energy in pushing his individual enterprises, and it was on the basis of his thorough fitness for the office rather than any activity in politics that he was chosen to give Gallatin a thoroughly businesslike administration of its municipal affairs. Mayor McClaskey has spent practically all his life in Daviess County, represents families that were associated with pioneer things in
1427
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
this locality, and his own career has added some important particulars to the family record.
John W. McClaskey was born at Auldberry Grove, in Daviess County, October 4, 1851, a son of Albert and Martha (Koger) MeClaskey. Both his parents were natives of Kentucky. When Daviess County was still a wilderness, in 1838, there arrived as one of the pioneers James Koger, grandfather of the Gallatin mayor. He stopped at a place five miles north of Gallatin, in the midst of the woods, and made entry to and purchased 160 acres of land from the Government. Then followed the building of a log house in the midst of the timber, the felling of count- less trees to make an area for his plow, and gradual improvement along one line and another until he had perfected a homestead sufficient to provide all the material wants of the family. James Koger was a good business man, increased his land holdings, and lived in that locality until his death about 1859, his wife having died in 1856. The old Koger home- stead is now owned and occupied by a grandson. All the twelve children in the Koger family are now deceased except Joseph Koger, of Gallatin, and Mrs. Martha MeClaskey died November 30, 1906. The McClaskey family has an interesting origin. Two brothers came from Scotland and crossed from the Atlantic seaboard over the mountains into Kentucky about the time Daniel Boone led the emigration into the western wilder- ness. It is believed that nearly all the MeClaskeys in America are descended from either one or the other of these two brothers. Students of genealogy have come to the conclusion that the original name was Claskey, who were established in the lowlands of Scotland, and later a branch of the stock went into the Scotch highlands and in order to dis- tinguish themselves from the lowlanders took the prefix "Me" and thus the American McClaskeys are descended from a highland clan of Scot- land. It was about 1845 that Albert MeClaskey, with his brother, Joseph, emigrated from Kentucky to Daviess County, Missouri. These McClas- key brothers were millers rather than farmers, and they added to the pioneer industry of Daviess County by establishing a sawmill at Auld- berry, while later Albert operated a mill in Livingston County and lived there several years. In 1853 he went out to California as a gold seeker, making the trip overland, and died there about eighteen months after he left Missouri. Albert McClaskey and Martha Koger were married in Daviess County, and the latter lived continuously in this county from the arrival of her parents in 1838 until her death in 1906. The Gallatin mayor was the second of three children. His sister, Eliza Jane, first married Mr. Duskin and is now the wife of Joseph Lee, of Gallatin. His brother is James M. McClaskey, of Gallatin.
John W. McClaskey grew up in the country district of Daviess County, and has some interesting memories of the first schoolhouses that he attended. The first temple of learning in which he was a pupil was a log cabin, at one end of which was a broad fireplace, and at the other end a log was left out of the wall to admit light and air. The floor was covered with puncheons, and the boys and girls sat on benches which were heavy slabs supported by pins driven into the under side. All the furnishing was crude, and he wrote his first copy lesson with an old- fashioned quill pen. During his school days and early youth he lived at home with his mother, who owned a farm, and when not in school was active in performing the chores and doing the work in the fields and at planting and harvest times. When he had learned all the local schools could supply in the way of education, he secured a certificate and took up the work of teacher, which he followed during the winter seasons, and continued to lend a hand at the farm during the summers.
Mr. McClaskey established a home of his own by his marriage on
1428
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
August 22, 1876, to Miss Virginia A. Smith. She was a daughter of George A. Smith, a resident of West Virginia, and was visiting relatives in Daviess County when she met and married Mr. McClaskey. After his marriage Mr. McClaskey began farming as a renter, and for several years continued to combine the vocations of agriculturist and school teacher. In 1881 he bought a farm four miles northwest of Gallatin, and conducted his own place until 1886. In that year he sold out, moved to Gallatin, and after one year in the lumber business, began buying and shipping live stock. In 1893 he established a bus and transfer line and was in that business until 1910. For the past five years Mr. McClaskey has been in the grain, feed and milling business.
Mrs. McClaskey died September 20, 1888. She was the mother of four children : Forest D., Holly, Everett C. and Cloris. Holly and Cloris are now deceased. On January 8, 1909, Mr. McClaskey married Mrs. Fannie Estis Smith. By this marriage there is a daughter, Martha Y., born in January, 1910. Mr. McClaskey is a member of the Methodist Church, while his wife is a Baptist. He has been associated with the Masonic fraternity since 1883.
While in politics his support has been regularly given to the demo- cratic party since casting his first vote forty years ago, Mr. McClaskey has never in any way indicated a desire for office, and it was only at the solicitation of his many friends that he consented to become a candidate for mayor, and all citizens have reason for congratulation on his election for a term of two years.
SAMUEL RATHBUN. Almost a lifelong resident of Caldwell County and for many years a progressive farmer in Davis Township, Samuel Rathbun has enjoyed the best elements of success, having acquired a good home, having given his family the comforts of living and education, and having steered an honorable and straightforward course throughout his own career. Mr. Rathbun owns and occupies a fine homestead of 222 acres in Davis Township, and it is land on which he was born, and which his father entered from the Government, paying 121/2 cents an acre. A fair valuation of the land at the present time would be over a hundred dollars an acre. Mr. Rathbun has the distinction of having been born in a log cabin, and that was the typical home in Caldwell County sixty or seventy years ago. The log cabin has long since disappeared, and in its place is now found a handsome modern country home of six rooms, fur- nished and equipped with taste and comfort. A beautiful lawn, with shade and evergreen trees and flowers are among the attractive features which are at once noted by the passing traveler. Other features of the equipment are commodious barns and sheds, and the farm is divided between pasture, meadow and grain fields, with thirty acres of good native timber, furnishing abundance of fuel. It is a model rural home, and there Mr. Rathbun and his good wife enjoy the comforts of life. As a farmer he has paid much attention to the raising of high grade hogs and cattle, and his success illustrates what can be done by the agriculturist in Northwest Missouri.
Samuel Rathbun was born in Caldwell County, October 20, 1847. His father, Allen Rathbun, was one of the earliest pioneers, having come to Caldwell County in 1837, about the time the Mormons were driven out of this section of Missouri. He took up a tract of Government land, and the title to that farm has never been changed in name since it was deeded direct from the Government. Allen Rathbun was born in Cayuga County, New York, and comes of a family of mingled Scotch and English descent. Members of the Rathbun family have participated in practically all the wars of the American nation, beginning with the Indian troubles
MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL RATHBUN AND DAUGHTER, MRS. LULU HUDSON
1429
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
and in the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican war, and the Civil war. From New York the family moved to Ohio spent some years there, where the father of Allen Rathbun died and is buried. Allen Rathbun married in Ohio for his first wife Mary Ann Edmonds, and the four children of that union are all now deceased. His second wife was Eliza- beth Anderson, a woman of much strength and nobility of character, who became the mother of five children. The son, John, was a soldier in the Thirty-third Missouri Infantry, and gave up his life for his country in 1863, when only eighteen years of age. The daughter, Martha Phillips, is now deceased. The son, Robert, is also deceased, leaving Samuel the only survivor. Allen Rathbun was born in 1805 and died on May 17, 1862, and his second wife, Elizabeth, was born in 1819. Allen Rathbun's third marriage was to Mary Mann, on August 16, 1855. The one daughter of this union, Sarah L. Phares, is still living, and twin boys died in infancy. Allen Rathbun was a man of intelligence and good judgment ; his word was regarded as sacred as his bond, and in the early community of Caldwell County, where he lived, he enjoyed the highest esteem of all who knew him.
Samuel Rathbun grew up on the old homestead, was taught the value of hard work, and has always been a useful and independent member of the community. Mr. Rathbun recalls the first school he attended, which was kept in an old log house, with slab benches, a puncheon floor, and a fireplace at one end. There he received instruction in the three R's, and has since advanced his education by generous reading and by dealings ' with men and affairs. Mr. Rathbun has been frequently honored with positions of trust and responsibility in his community, and served for several years as a justice of the peace and kept a court before which all men were equal and treated with absolute impartiality and fairness. In 1866 Mr. Rathbun left Caldwell County and spent a couple of years in farming in Dallas County, Iowa, but with that exception his residence has been practically uninterrupted in Caldwell County.
In 1871 Mr. Rathbun married Miss Martha F. Thompson. Her father was Samuel Thompson, who came to Missouri from Indiana and made a fighting record as a soldier of the Mexican war. He also had two sons who were soldiers in the Civil war, named Samuel and William A. Mr. and Mrs. Rathbun are the parents of a daughter, Lulu, who was married October 29, 1914, to Ernest Hudson, and they now reside at the Rathbun homestead. A son, William Albert, was born September 1, 1873, and died November 20, 1878.
Mr. Rathbun cast his first presidential vote for General Grant in 1868, and has never deviated from the strict party lines maintained by the grand old party. He has throughout his life believed in and practiced the golden rule, and his home has always been a center of attractive hospitality. He is a member of the Methodist Church, while his wife and daughter belong to the Christian denomination.
GEORGE W. LOCKRIDGE. Probably no man in official service has done more for Daviess County during the last fifteen or twenty years than George W. Lockridge, who is the county surveyor and highway. engineer. From early youth he showed a genius for mathematics, and is a thor- oughly grounded and practical engineer, and is able not only to plan but to execute the construction of any work from a modern highway to a complex river bridge. He is a past master in his profession, and through it has contributed much to public improvement, especially in that important department, first-class highways. His home is at Gallatin.
His family has been identified with Northwest Missouri from the time when Daviess County was a wilderness except in the few localities
1430
HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
improved by the vanguard of settlers. George W. Lockridge was born November 26, 1871, on his father's old farm three miles north of James- port, in Jamesport Township. His parents were John and Caroline Poage (Miller) Lockridge, both now living retired in Jamesport. The former was born in Jamesport Township in 1846 and the latter in Rappa- hannoek County, Virginia, in 1845. The paternal great-grandfather, Lancelot Loekridge, was a native of Virginia and of an old family of that province, where he owned many slaves and employed them to work his extensive plantation. Grandfather Andrew Lockridge, who was born and married in Rappahannock County, about seventy years ago put his possessions in a covered wagon and made the long migration over the mountains and through the valleys and across the plains of the Central West to Daviess County. The land he located and secured from the Government in section 15 of Jamesport Township, is still owned by his descendants. There the grandparents spent their remaining years, and both died in the same year, in 1854.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.