A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 26

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

USA > Missouri > A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III > Part 26

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).

In 1825 General Wilson was married to Margaret Snoddy who died in 1836, leaving him three children, John, who was graduated from Yale in 1847 and who died in St. Joseph in 1858; James, who was edu- cated at Centre College, Danville, Kentucky, and who died in St. Joseph in 1906, and Mary Ann who in 1855 was married to Rufus L. McDonald of St. Joseph and who still survives.

PERRY NICHOLS, M. D. As one scans the progress of medical science during past ages and more particularly during the present and preceding century, amazement and admiration are aroused and faith grows where doubt once prevailed. While marvelous things have been accomplished in the domain of medicine there have been a few ills that afflict mankind that, until recently, have seemed entirely resistent to every treatment and perhaps none have been more dreaded and fatal than cancer. The general reader is not unacquainted with the progress of research along the line of cure for this cruel disease, which attacks every class, irrespec- tive of wealth or station, and, if humane and sympathetic, must feel keenly regret and disappointment when one heralded cure after the other has been swept aside as entirely inadequate. Hence great interest all over the country has been aroused by the astounding success which has attended the scientific treatment and cure of cancer by one who has made the study of this scourge of mankind his life work, Dr. Perry Nichols, founder of the Nichols' Sanatorium, located at Savannah, Missouri.

Perry Nichols was born at Shellsburg, Benton County, Iowa, March 20, 1863, and is a son of Ira S. and Anna (Carrier) Nichols. The father was born in New York and the mother in Vermont. They were married in Wisconsin and then moved to Benton County, Iowa, and there spent the rest of their lives. They had two sons, Frederick and Perry, both residents of Savannah.

1464

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

The duties pertaining to the cultivation of the home farm claimed Perry Nichols until he was about twenty years of age. He had, however, excellent educational opportunities, attending school at Iowa City, after- ward spending two years in the Iowa State University, in the meanwhile pursuing his medical studies and in 1901 was graduated from the medical department of the University of the South. He immediately entered into practice at Watertown, South Dakota, three years later removing to Hot Springs and three years afterward came to Savannah. For the past eighteen years he has devoted his attention almost entirely to the treat- ment and cure of cancer and maintains his sanatorium at Savannah, Missouri. The sanatorium was incorporated June 25, 1914, with a capital stock of $500,000. It is under the management of the following staff: Perry Nichols, B. S., M. D., formerly professor of malignant dis- eases in the Lincoln Medical College, Lincoln, Nebraska, president ; W. A. Stearns, vice president ; J. H. Reaugh, treasurer ; Edith Eason, secretary. The board of directors is made up of the above officials and also W. H. Bailey, M. D., Ella Nichols and Lydia Reaugh. Dr. W. H. Bailey is medical director.

Doctor Nichols lives a busy life, but will never complain as long as he sees the beneficent results arising from his enterprise and his scientific discoveries. It was only after many years of research and diligent study that he discovered a safe and sane cure for the malignant disease of cancer without the use of the surgeon's knife and the miraculous cures that he has performed entitle him to the gratitude of thousands of patients and should give him eminent standing among the benefactors of mankind. His institution is modern in every way, with skilled medical practitioners and corps of trained nurses, and the location of the building is in a section where may be found every requirement of health. Al- though Doctor Nichols has built up this enormous business in but a few years and has comfortable accommodations for many patients, coming from every section of the country, at the present writing (1915) he is contemplating further extension, which means still further humanitarian usefulness.

Doctor Nichols has three children and all are pupils in the high school. They are George, Helen and John.

HARRY PHILIP WOODSON has been a constant factor in the upbuild- ing of the City of Richmond for more than thirty years. As the directing head of important mercantile enterprises bearing his name, and later in the management of his father's estate and the manifold interests of his own, he has given employment to many men and has directed their energies into channels that have brought adequate rewards to themselves, to their employers and to the city in which they have lived and labored. Mr. Woodson belongs to an old and honored family, whose· members have been prominent in various walks of life, and a short review of its members follows.

H. P. Woodson was born March 23, 1859, and is a son of Thomas D. Woodson, the latter a son of Robert S. and Hulda Ann (Young) Wood- son. Thomas D. Woodson was born at Woodsonville, Hart County, Kentucky, March 10, 1828, and died at Richmond, Missouri, August 28, 1902. His father was born in Goochland County, Virginia, Novem- ber 26, 1796, and moved with his parents to the present site of Wood- sonville, then in Barren County, Kentucky, in 1804. The great-grand- father, Thomas Woodson, was born in Goochland County, Virginia, on the River James, twenty miles above the City of Richmond, Virginia, December 2, 1772, and died in Woodsonville, Kentucky, February 14, 1857. He was the founder of Woodsonville, once a bright and attractive village situated on a high plateau overlooking the surrounding country,

1465

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

on the south bank of Green River, in Hart County, Kentucky. The great-grandmother of H. P. Woodson was also a native of Virginia, born May 2, 1776, and died in the same village in Kentucky, July 21, 1844. His grandmother was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, and died at Richmond, Missouri. Matthew Woodson, the great-great- grandfather of H. P. Woodson, was born in 1731, and married Elizabeth Levilian, the only child of John Peter Levilian. Jesse Saunders, the great-great-grandfather through his maternal grandmother, married Mary Levilian, the only child of Anthony Levilian. The paternal great- great-grandparents, the great-grandparents and the grandparents were all members of the old school Baptist Church. Mr. Woodson's grand- parents had a family of nine children, of whom three died in infancy, the others being: Jane Ann, who married John H. Ardinger, a mer- chant of Woodsonville, Kentucky, who later .moved to Lexington, Mis- souri, and there became a prominent citizen; Philip J .; Martha A., who became the wife of Austin A. King, governor of Missouri from 1848 to 1852; Elizabeth L., who became the wife of Dr. Shelby A. Jackson, of Ohio County, Kentucky; Robert Hyde, who joined the Confederate army at the outbreak of the Civil war, was wounded at the battle of Champion Hills, Mississippi, fell into the hands of the enemy and died ; and Thomas D.

Thomas D. Woodson volunteered for service in 1847 in the Mexican war, joining the Fourth Kentucky Infantry, in the company of which first Pat Gardner and afterwards Thomas Mayfield were captains. At the close of his service he received his honorable discharge and came to Missouri, locating at Kingston, Caldwell County, where he established himself in the mercantile business. In the spring of 1852 he left Kingston and crossed the plains with a train of ox-wagons to the gold fields of California, but in January, 1854, returned to his Missouri home and again entered mercantile pursuits at Kingston. Like many other formerly successful men of his day, Mr. Woodson was ruined by the Civil war, and he accordingly disposed of what small interests he still had at Kingston and in 1863 came to Richmond, which city continued to be the scene of his activities during the greater part of the balance of his life. For one year he clerked for the firm of Wasson & Hughes, and then went into business on his own account, conducting a store until 1878, in which year he sold out to Holt & Hughes. In 1868 he assisted in the organization of the Ray County Savings Bank, of which he became president, a position which he continued to retain for ten years, and in 1878, when he decided to concentrate his entire energies upon the banking business, he was made president of the institution and continued as such up to the time of his death. He was also actively engaged in farming and stock raising and was the owner of large tracts of land in Ray and adjoining counties. A man of excellent business abilities, he bore a sterling reputation for honesty, uprightness and hon- orable dealing. On December 5, 1854, Mr. Woodson was married to Miss Sabina L. Hughes, a native of Clark County, Kentucky, who was born in 1830 and died April 11, 1871, and to this union there were born three children: Lydia A., who was born September 27, 1855, single and a resident of Richmond; Harry Philip; and Virginia Elizabeth, born September 11, 1870, and now the wife of Dr. Robert Sevier, a prominent physician and surgeon of Richmond. Thomas D. Woodson was a devout and constant worker in the Methodist Church, South, attended all gen- eral conferences and annual conferences for years, and was a power in the upbuilding of the church at Richmond, being a member of the board of curators for years. He donated $12,000 for the purpose of building Woodson Institute, succeeded in firmly establishing it by un- tiring effort, and it was finally named in his honor. He was one of Ray

1466

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

County's grandest men, his name was untarnished, his friends were legion and his life was not lived in vain.

H. P. Woodson was reared in Richmond, where he secured his early education in the common schools. He then went for one year to the University of Missouri, following which he entered his father's store as a clerk, having determined to learn the business from the bottom. In 1879 he went to Carrollton, Missouri, and purchased an interest in a store with John Guitar, but after one year, on account of failing health, was compelled to go to Texas. After one year spent in the Lone Star State, Mr. Woodson returned to Richmond and purchased the interest of Mr. Hughes of the firm of Holt & Hughes, and about twelve months later Mr. Holt sold his interest to W. H. Darneal, the firm then becoming Darneal & Woodson. Subsequently, three years later, Mr. Woodson bought Mr. Darneal's interest, but still later this was sold back to him, and the firm of Woodson & Darneal continued in active business until 1905. Mr. Woodson then disposed of his share to Mr. Darneal, who still conducts the business, and since that time Mr. Woodson has devoted his attention to looking after his father's estate and his own large interests.

On November 16, 1881, Mr. Woodson was married to Miss Stella H. Galtney, a native of Mississippi, who at her parents' death came to Mis- souri to make her home with her sister, who was the wife of Capt. James L. Farris. She died June 6, 1912, at the age of fifty-two years. Four children were born to this union, namely: Thomas D., a graduate of Richmond High School, Woodson Institute, the University of Missouri 'and the medical department of Washington University, St. Louis, spent one year at Washington, D. C., taking a medical course of one year to fit himself for army work, and is now stationed at Washington, D. C .; James R. and Harry P., Jr., who are successfully engaged in the lumber business in Texas; and Clara G., who resides with her father.

Mr. Woodson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, is a member of the church board of trustees and stewards, and has attended several general conferences. He is a member of the board of curators of Central College, and in every movement for the advance- ment of education, religion, morality and good citizenship takes an active and helpful part. His entire career has been marked by constant advancement, and he is proving himself a worthy representative of the honored name he bears.

ROY E. POWELL. A man of less than forty years, yet with fully twenty-five of them spent in the trade and profession of newspaper work, Roy E. Powell has a high standing among the press fraternity of North- west Missouri. He is editor of the Holt Rustler, and has been connected with various papers in this section of the state and in Nebraska.

Roy E. Powell was born at Fillmore, Andrew County, Missouri, May 21, 1875. His father Job Powell was born in Massachusetts, July 29, 1829, of good New England stock, and is now living at the venerable age of eighty-five in Fillmore, Missouri. A blacksmith by trade, he had a career filled with the vicissitudes of the world. When eleven years old he was apprenticed or bound out to his uncle, a blacksmith. In a few years the boy was a capable workman, but the uncle, who was somewhat of the avaricious type, withheld from his apprentice his small wages, and the youth rebelled at the age of seventeen and ran away from his master. In 1858 he came west to St. Louis, and thence came by boat into Northwest Missouri, locating in Andrew County. He responded to the first call for three-year men in the Civil war, and enlisted on August 21, 1861, in the engineer corps of the Twenty-fifth Missouri. Later he was

1467

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

transferred to the regimental band, and served until honorably dis- charged shortly before the close of the war at Atlanta, Georgia. He was offered $150 to re-enlist as a substitute, but refused and came home to resume his business as a blacksmith. For many years that trade con- tinued his source of livelihood, and he was located at Fillmore, Mary- ville, Cameron and again at Fillmore, where he finally retired in 1899, but at this writing is still hale and hearty. Many years ago he served as a justice of the peace in Andrew County, has been a republican since the party came into existence, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. His first wife was a Miss Hart, a Massachusetts girl, who left one child, Laura E., wife of W. W. Spicer, of Fillmore, Missouri. By his second marriage there was also one daughter, Rosa A., wife of B. F. Middaugh, of St. Joseph, Missouri. His third wife was Elizabeth Nodie, who was born in Maryland September 9, 1839, and is still living. Her five children are: Ursula A., wife of James E. Bell, of Maryville ; Bes- sie L., wife of Elmer Calhoun of Richmond, Oklahoma; Roy E .; John E., of Kearny ; and Lucy, widow of George Thompson, of Kansas City.

When Roy E. Powell was five years old his parents moved to Cam- eron, Missouri, in 1883 to Gallatin, and from there to Maysville. In these places he acquired his common schooling, which terminated when he was thirteen, and he then began working for himself. Five years of practical apprenticeship with D. F. Jones of the DeKalb County Herald gave him a foundation equipment as a printer and newspaper man. He then went to Nebraska and for five years was connected with the Pawnee City Republican, then spent a year on the Daily Call at Excelsior Springs, and on June 20, 1907, came to Holt and leased the Rustler. At the end of nine months he bought the plant, and has since continued this well known Clay County journal, which has been estab- lished about twenty-five years and is now more prosperous and influen- tial than ever.

On April 12, 1899, Mr. Powell married Kate Good. She died De- cember 10, 1911, aged thirty-six, leaving two children: Lena and Catherine. On August 11, 1912, Mr. Powell married Miss Jeanette Reece, who was born at Lathrop, Missouri, daughter of Thomas J. and Alice (Eby) Reece. Her parents are now living in Holt. Fraternally Mr. Powell is affiliated with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is a Democrat and he and wife are members of the Christian Union Church.

HON. FRANK REILEY. Of so forcible and stirring a personality as Hon. Frank Reiley, the biographer speaks the most who says the least. An outline of his career needs no furbishments or extravagant embel- lishments, his life having worked itself out simply and harmoniously and being a record of opportunities recognized, grasped and made the most of. Entering upon his career when but a lad, through his own efforts, he has worked himself to a position where he plays an import- ant part in the commercial and agricultural life of his community and to the enviable office of presiding judge of De Kalb County.

Judge Reiley was born in Johnson County, Iowa, February 18, 1869, and is a son of William and Ann M. (Ellenberger) Reiley, natives of Pennsylvania. They were reared in their native state, and after their marriage, during the early '60s migrated to Iowa, where they passed the remaining years of their lives in the pursuits of the soil. Judge Reiley was twelve years of age at the time of his father's death, and his educational advantages were limited to attendance at the public schools up to that age, when he entered upon his struggles with the world.

1468

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

As a youth he learned the trade of machinist and became a stationary engineer, a capacity in which he was working at the time of his mar- riage to Miss Mary C. Miller, of Andrew County, Missouri. In 1901 Judge Reiley came to De Kalb County and invested his capital of $150 in a mercantile business, but two years later came to Clarksville, where he bought out an established business, and has continued to conduct it to the present time. In addition to this he is the owner of 120 acres of farming land in De Kalb County, and all of his earnings have been accumulated through his own individual effort. In politics he has ever been a stalwart republican, and has taken an active part in the public affairs of this part of the state. He was elected judge of the District Court, and after serving as such two years was elected presiding judge of De Kalb County, a position he has continued to retain. In his judicial capacity Judge Reiley has shown himself a fair, impartial and thor- oughly informed jurist, whose services upon the bench have been of a nature such as to commend him to his fellow-townspeople and to firmly establish him in general confidence. He has been foremost in the sup- port of all measures and movements which have contributed to the wel- fare of his adopted locality, and education and religion have found in him an active co-worker. With his family, he attends the Methodist Episcopal Church. He has been interested in fraternal affairs for some years, and at present is a valued member of Lodge No. 476, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Widely known throughout De Kalb County, he has friends in every locality, and as official and citizen is held in the highest esteem.

Judge and Mrs. Reiley have three children: William A., Violette and Mamie, all of whom are students in the Clarksdale public schools.

NOAH R. SPILLMAN. Not only is Noah R. Spillman the architect of a substantial fortune, acquired through enterprise and earnest endeavor in the field of agriculture, but in its acquisition he has maintained the reputation for industry and reliability established in Worth County by his pioneer father, Charles W. Spillman, who journeyed Missouriward from Kentucky about 1845, since which time the family has been well and favorably known in this locality. Noah R. Spillman was born in Worth County, Missouri, January 11, 1861, and is a son of Charles W. and Susan (Walker) Spillman.

Henry Spillman, the grandfather of Noah R. Spillman, was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, where he passed his entire life, being en- gaged in the pursuits of the soil. He was the son of Henry Spillman, who emigrated to Virginia with his two brothers, George and William. The grandfather married Annie Tapp, the daughter of a soldier of the War of 1812 who was given a land warrant by the Government for 5,500 acres, which has never been adjusted in the interest of his posterity, although it is believed that the grant was laid near Lexington, Ken- tucky, and that a part of that city now covers the ground. Henry and Annie (Tapp) Spillman were the parents of the following children : William, who died single; Robert, who married a Satterwhite; George, who married Catherine Abbott; John, who married Nancy Harris; James, who married Nancy Shepherd; Henry, who married Nancy Webb; Thomas, who married Elizabeth Whiteside; Francis, who mar- ried Eliza Abbott; Charles, who married for his second wife Susan Walker; Nancy, who married Elisha Robertson; Mary, who married William Satterwhite; and Annie, who married Jackson Fletcher.

Charles W. Spillman was born in Virginia, in 1824, and at the age of five years was taken to Trimble County, Kentucky, where he grew to manhood, securing a somewhat limited education and learning the

1469

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

trade of stone mason. About 1845 he came to Worth County, Missouri, to devote himself to agricultural pursuits, settling on a property located in section 25, township 65, range 30. He was a democrat on his political views, but did not hold office nor take an active part in public life, nor did he have any military record. He was just a plain, unassuming, hard-working citizen, a man of intense loyalty to his friends and a devout member of the Missionary Baptist Church. His death occurred in March, 1907. He was married to a Miss Rowlett, who died leaving five children, of whom the first born was Newton, who became the father of William P. Spillman, a review of whose career will be found on another page of this work. Mr. Spillman's second wife was Mrs. Susan (Walker) Murphy, the widow of Joseph Murphy, by whom she had two children : Amanda, who married, and died at Hominy, Oklahoma ; and Martha, who married Henry Franklin and resides at that place. Mrs. Spillman was a daughter of Harris Walker, who came from Ken- tucky as a pioneer to Worth County, where he was engaged in agricul- tural pursuits until his death at the age of seventy-six years. Mrs. Spillman passed away in April, 1891, being the mother of the following children : Noah R., of this review; Cordelia. the wife of Ransom Stormer, of Harrison County, Missouri; Elizabeth, who married George Webb, also of that county; Harris, who is engaged in farming in Worth County ; Alice, who is the wife of James Owens of Worth County ; Kittie, who is the wife of John Owens, also of this section; Missouri, who married Frank Stufflebean, of Worth County ; Gertrude, who mar- ried William Van Hoozer, of Martinsville, Missouri; Arabella, who mar- ried Jacob Stormer, of Harrison County; and Melissa, who became the 'wife of Charles Bowen and died in 1911.

Noah R. Spillman grew up on the old homestead where his father had settled upon coming to Worth County, and his education was secured in the district school. A lad of industry and ambition, during the long summer months he worked faithfully on the home place, and before reaching his majority began to make his own way in the world, first accepting employment as a farm hand at $15 per month, and later earning promotion to $20 for the same period. While thus working he added to his meagre income by trading in stock, and so successful was he in this line that he was able to purchase his first tract of land in section 36, on which he made a number of improvements and there re- sided for several years. At the time of his father's death he purchased the interests of the other heirs of the estate and moved to his old home, but later went to New Hampton, Missouri, where he was associated with his brother in the business of shipping and dealing in stock. Finally, in 1910, he came to his present farm, in section 36, Allen Township, where he has improved a handsome and valuable property. His hard and persistent labors have been rewarded with a full measure of success, and today he is recognized as one of the substantial men of his community, a title honestly earned.

Mr. Spillman was married in Gentry County, Missouri. October 9, 1880, to Miss Matilda Adams, a daughter of William and Delila (Wood) Adams, who came to Missouri from Illinois. The children in the Adams family were: Mary, who is the wife of William Hunter, of Harrison County, Missouri; Clark, a farmer of that county ; Mrs. Spillman, who was born November 13, 1858: John W., a resident of Gentry County, Missouri; Willis, also of Gentry County; Wood, of Harrison County; Lizzie, the wife of Reverend LeGroom, a Methodist Episcopal minister of Gentry County ; Bella, the wife of John H. Shoffner, of Worth County : Charles F .. of Gentry County; and Miss Della. Mr. and Mrs. Spillman have had the following children : Pearley, who is the wife of Vol. III-12

1470

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

Joseph North of Worth County, has a son-Wilbur ; Charles C., a farmer of Worth County, married Miss Lou Wilson, and has three children- Jellene, Velma and Clifford ; William W., who married Maggie McNeace and has three children-Ruth, Verdie and Merl; Emmet, a farmer in Worth County, married Jennie Zimmerman and has a son-Garnard; Vernie, the wife of Benjamin Lykins; Laura, the wife of Jesse Allen, of Gentry County ; and Lawrence C. A democrat in politics, Mr. Spill- man began his political activities as a young man in the county conven- tions of the earlier times, and is now an influential factor in his party's activities in Worth County. He is a devout member of the Missionary Baptist Church of New Harmony, and takes a helpful part in its asso- ciation work.

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.

A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 26

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