A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 43

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 43

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).

Thomas Kennish was born in the Isle of Man on September 14, 1869, a son of William and Catherine (Callow) Kennish. The family came to America and settled in Holt County in 1870, where William Kennish acquired and developed a fine farm of 240 acres. This home- stead has since been divided, and Thomas Kennish has 120 acres, and occupies the house in which his parents lived until their death. The Kennish farm was originally all prairie, and the breaking of the virgin sod and the cultivation of fields and the other material improvements are all the result of the work of father and sons.

Thomas Kennish was married in Holt County, June 11, 1902, to Jessie Lawrence, daughter of H. B. and Mary (Curry) Lawrence. They have one child, Thomas, born April 27, 1909. Mr. Kennish is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Mound City and in politics is a republican.

ALFRED W. COLLISON. The career of Alfred W. Collison reflects practical and useful ideals and its range of activities has included farm- ing, merchandising and the promotion of education. In the achieve- ment of his personal success, he has not been unmindful of the duties of citizenship, and his assistance has never been refused to movements which have promised the betterment of his community in any way. Mr. Collison has been a life-long resident of Holt County, having been born on a farm one mile east of his present property, July 25, 1864, a son of Richard and Mary Ann (Rollings) Collison.

About the year 1855 or 1856, Richard Collison came to Holt County, and engaged in the boot and shoe business at Forrest City prior to removing to the vicinity of Maitland, at that time known as Whig Valley. The first farm on which he located was to some extent under cultiva- tion, but subsequently he bought several unimproved farms, and brought them to a state of cultivation. This country at that time was but thinly populated, and the few roads which crossed the country were designated as "ridge" roads. Since that time, however, Mr. Collison has witnessed changes that have completely transformed this region, and has himself borne a full share in bringing about this development. He still survives, in hearty old age, now retired from active life, being eighty-four years of age, while Mrs. Collison, who also survives, is seventy-nine years old. They have lived on their present farm since 1876, and are widely and favorably known throughout this part of the county, being universally esteemed for their many excellences of mind and heart. There were nine children in their family, of whom five are now living: Joseph R .;

1579

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

Edwin; Nellie, who became the wife of Charles Botley; Alice, who became the wife of Edward Kinnish; and Alfred W.

The early education of Alfred W. Collison was secured in the public schools of his native vicinity, this being supplemented by a course in the agricultural college at Manhattan, Kansas. He spent his boyhood days in agricultural pursuits, but at the age of about twenty-three turned his attention to mercantile business, being associated in partnership with his brother, Joseph. R., as merchants at Maitland. In this line Mr. Collison continued to be engaged from 1888 until 1895, in the latter year selling out to his brother and his nephew, Ralph. Later, associated with Mr. Graves, Mr. Collison built the broad-gauge store at Maitland, with which he was identified until 1906, and in that year returned to agricultural interests, taking over the management of the homestead farm. The residence now standing on this property was built prior to Mr. Collison's taking charge, but all the other buildings have been erected under his management. The property now contains 160 acres of well-cultivated land, of which the greater part is given over to general farming, although Mr. Collison has also met with much success as a cattle raiser. He has succeeded in firmly establishing himself in the confidence of his fellow citizens as a thoroughly reliable business man, and those who have had dealings with him will vouch for his integrity and honorable dealing. Mr. Collison has made no profession of religious faith. He is a member of the Maitland Lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America. In political matters, he was a republican until 1912, when at the birth of the progressive party he transferred his support to the new organization. At the present time he is capably serving as a member of the school board.

Mr. Collison married Miss Blanche DeBord, daughter of William DeBord, and they have three children: Erma, who was born in 1899; William, born in 1902; and Mary, born in 1905, all on the present farm.

JERRY DUNKELBERGER. In Holt County, Mr. Dunkelberger is one of the men who have witnessed and assisted in the transformation of a wilderness into a landscape of splendid farms, connected with improved highways, with schools, churches, and all the facilities of the twentieth century civilization. Mr. Dunkelberger has resided in Liberty Town- ship of Holt County for forty-five years, and his neighbors pay him a high tribute for his industry and good citizenship.

Jerry Dunkelberger was born in Northumberland County, Pennsyl- vania, August 16, 1844, a son of John and Lydia (Bysel) Dunkelberger, who spent their lives in Pennsylvania. Jerry Dunkelberger was one of fifteen children, and was reared and educated in Pennsylvania. He later moved to Michigan, and was married in Berrien Springs of that state to Lydia Shunkwiler, a daughter of Henry.

The date of Mr. Dunkelberger's arrival in Holt County was 1869, and in that year he located on a portion of the land which is his present farm. It was entirely wild, no plow had been set in the ground, and there was a heavy task confronting him in clearing off the woods and brush and converting the soil to a productive state. Mr. Dunkelberger now owns 100 acres, and all the improvements in buildings, cultivation and farm facilities are the result of his long continued labors.

Mr. and Mrs. Dunkelberger have six children: G. W., Cora E., William F., Iuda May, C. F., and Earl, all of whom were born on the old homestead in Holt County. Mr. Dunkelberger is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge at Mound City, and in politics is a republican. His active and serviceable citizenship is indicated in

1580

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

his work as a member of the school board, and he has always been found on the side of progressive movements.

J. M. W. CANNON, M. D. For more than thirty years Doctor Cannon has quietly performed his round of professional service and duties at Kidder and vicinity, and is not only one of the oldest but one of the most highly esteemed practitioners in that section of the state. A physician cannot live and practice his calling for thirty years or more in one locality without possessing a faithful character and a high ability and skill; qualities which have contributed to make the splendid type of family physician known both in literature and in actual life.

Dr. J. M. W. Cannon is a Pennsylvanian by birth, born in Westmore- land County January 21, 1851. He comes of a Scotch-Irish family, the stock which was so prominent in the early settlement and later develop- ment of that section of Pennsylvania. His father, Robert B. Cannon, was also a native of Pennsylvania, and his wife was Juliet Willson, born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Rev. J. A. Willson, a minister of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, a faith to which practically all the members of these families subscribed while in Pennsylvania. Robert B. Cannon and wife had four children. One of the sons is a successful school man.

When Doctor Cannon was a child his parents moved out to Louisa County, Iowa, in 1854, and settled in a community which was still on the frontier of civilization. The father was a preacher, and died at the age of seventy-nine years in Chicago. He was an abolitionist and though active as a republican was a great admirer of Horace Greeley. The mother died at the age of thirty-five.

Doctor Cannon grew up in Iowa, lived on a farm for a number of years, and was educated in the public schools, and subsequently taught in Wisconsin. In 1878 he was graduated from the Hahnemann College of Medicine and Surgery in Philadelphia, and in the same year came out to Northwest Missouri and located at Kidder. In the course of a few years Doctor Cannon had a well established reputation over all that section of country, and his buggy was regularly seen driving over the roads for a radius of many miles. Doctor Cannon has kept in touch with the modern advancement of medical science and practice, and in recent years has enjoyed a large office practice and that together with the improvement of highways and other facilities for traveling have relieved him of the heavier burdens which he carried during his first year of practice.

Doctor Cannon married in Lorain County, Ohio, Mary Foote, daughter of Rev. W. W. Foote, of Ohio. Their children are Eunice, a music teacher living in Kidder; Mary, a graduate of Kidder Institute; Willson Brookes, who finished the course in the Kidder Institute in 1914 and is now in Chicago; Harold R., aged thirteen; and Robert M., aged eleven. The children have all been given the best of educational ad- vantages and opportunities. Doctor Cannon has been active in church affairs, and for twenty-five years has served as superintendent of the Sunday School.

JOHN ALFRED LILLY. This particular branch of the Lilly family has a country home, which once visited is not soon forgotten, in Grant Township of Harrison County, on rural delivery route No. 2 out of Ridgeway. The name has been identified with this section since before the war. It has been associated with some of the most progressive features of farming enterprise, and as home-makers and people of

1581

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

intrinsic culture and upholders of morality and high ideals few families in Northwest Missouri have a better record.

John Alfred Lilly was born in Livingston County, Missouri, April 15, 1860, but has lived in Harrison County since 1861, and his present farm contains land that was entered by his grandfather as early as 1856. The family came to Missouri about 1850 and first located in Livingston County. Grandfather John Lilly had lived in several states before he came to Missouri. He was born in Maryland in 1796, was reared in Virginia, and when a young man moved to Park County, Indiana, where he married Rebecca Storms, moving later to Ross County, Ohio, and they subsequently, after the birth of some children, moved to Illinois, where she died in Hancock County. In that state he married for his second wife Rebecca Matthews, and in moving out to Missouri they came by wagon and team to Livingston County. The grandfather died in 1863, and his second wife died in Jamesport. The children of the first union were: Joseph M., who died in Livingston County; Eliza- beth, who married John T. Carns and died in Jasper County, Missouri ; Mary A., who married John Browning and died in Hancock County, Illinois; and John, who is sketched in the following paragraphs. The second wife became the mother of: Perry H., of Jamesport ; Theophilus, who died as a Union soldier in the Civil war; Milton, who died in McDonald County near Indian Springs, Missouri; and Florence, who married Henry Lee and lives at Hutchinson, Kansas.

One of the venerable and highly esteemed old citizens of Harrison County is John Lilly, son of the above John and father of John Alfred. He was born December 14, 1833, in Ross County, Ohio, and has passed the age of four score. Most of his youth was spent in Hancock County, Illinois, where he attended country schools. In early life he became a farmer, and followed it all through his vigorous career. He came to manhood in Northwest Missouri, and in 1861 enlisted in the army at Bethany in Capt. John A. Page's company of the Sixth Missouri, under Col. E. C. Catherwood. His command saw service in Arkansas, Missouri, and Indian Territory, was at Fort Smith when it was captured from the enemy, and was in the fight at Newtonia, Arkansas. He was mustered out at the close of the war, and escaped wounds and capture.

While he has spent the last nineteen years retired at Ridgeway, John Lilly has achievements to his credit as a farmer such as few other men can parallel. He had a knack of succeeding often where others failed, and came to own and control 600 acres of land and at one time was the largest fruit grower in Harrison County. He set out extensive orchards of apples, pears, peaches, plums and cherries, and also derived revenues from stock raising. His father before him had whig affiliations, and his own support was given regularly to the republican candidates, though in 1912 he followed many other republicans to the support of the progressive leader, and has since reconsidered the action and is now faithful to fundamental republican doctrines.

John Lilly married Artemissa Westfall, who was born at Quincy, Illinois, a daughter of Alfred Westfall. She died on the old Lilly homestead in Harrison County October 21, 1892. Her children are : Angeline, now the wife of Lycurgus Edwards of Howell County, Mis- souri, first married Newton Beeson, who was the father of her children ; Jane married Joel Harrold, of Blythedale, Missouri; Elizabeth is the wife of Alfred C. Sellers of Ridgeway; John Alfred is sketched in following paragraphs; Joseph Milton died at Ridgeway, leaving a family ; Clara R. married Caleb Young of Ridgeway; Catherine married Woodson Baber of Jamesport; Rose is the wife of Norman Johnson on the old Lilly homestead of Harrison County; and Charles died in child- Vol. III-19

1582

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

hood. For his second wife John Lilly married Alice Burwell, who is the mother of Vesper Ann, a teacher in Harrison County.

Jolın Alfred Lilly grew up on the farm that he still owns, and his education came from the neighboring district school. Among the pupils in that school then was Theophilus Carns, later a prominent lawyer of Kansas City, but most of them became farmers and several of them are still living in Harrison County. Mr. Lilly was with his parents until of age, and the day after his marriage in Ridgeway moved out to his present farm, with which all the memories and associations of his mature life are identified. The land, when first occupied by himself and Mrs. Lilly, was a piece of wild prairie. It had never produced a crop under cultivation, and the house they lived in for several years was a single room 14 by 15 feet. During the eight years they called that home all their children but one were born.

As a farmer Mr. Lilly has been both a grain and stock man. By purchase and additions he now owns 460 acres in this community. Twenty-five acres are planted in all varieties of fruit, and in some respects that is the most interesting feature of the farmstead. They have the much talked of Himalaya berry, which in 1914 bore its first crop in this country. This fruit resembles the blackberry, it grows on a trellis like a grape, is perfectly hardy, and bears in clusters from June to October, the fruit always coming through the leaves to the light. In spite of the extreme drought of 1914 it surprised its owners by its prolific fruiting and bearing. The family has made a specialty of flowers, annuals and perennials, and their home is a bower of beauty. and delight to those who know the flowers, shrubs and trees which grow in profusion. The lawn is shaded with maple, elm and box elder, while in the garden are found both the chestnut and the white walnut, the latter a disappointment so far as fruiting is concerned. One valuable item of their experience is that by using salt in the treatment of pear trees every year, they bear better, smoother and larger fruit, and with less blight on the tree trunk.

As a stock man Mr. Lilly has been breeding Herefords for fifteen years. He keeps up his register and is a member of the Hereford Asso- ciation of the United States. "Old Defender" of the Comstock herd was the sire of much of his stock, and he has kept the blood of prize winners circulating through his own stock. The poultry yard of the Lilly home- stead contains the Toulouse goose, the Hamburg chicken and also the pure Plymouth Rock and White Orpington, Pekin ducks, Pearl guineas, Bourbon red and slate turkeys. It is a fact that will interest many that the revenues from eggs and chickens average about four hundred dollars annually.

In his civic and social relations Mr. Lilly has been consistently a republican, though voting for Roosevelt in 1912. He declined the nomination for representative of his county in the Legislature, and for many years served on the school board. For twenty-two years he has been an elder in the Christian Church, and with the aid of his good wife has trained his children in the same faith. Their home has always been the home of the ministers and the orphan and no one is ever turned from their door who needs help.

Mr. and Mrs. Lilly began their united careers a little more than thirty years ago, after their marriage in Ridgeway on November 25, 1883. In addition to the cares of a home and family, Mrs. Lilly has shown her ability and energy in acquiring a more than local reputation as a journalist. After her marriage she took to writing for the county papers, and finally became more ambitious and skillful and has con- tributed to such magazines as McClure's, McCall's, the Century, the

1583

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

Brown Book, church papers like the Christian Evangelist and the Christian Standard, and the Sunday school journal, Front Rank. Mrs. Lilly was formerly a public school teacher, and for many years has been a deaconess in her church. She is also a graduate of the White Cross School of Nursing at Jamestown, New York.

Mrs. Lilly was born December 25, 1862, at LaFayette, Wisconsin, her maiden name being Emma Burwell. Her parents were Jedediah and Lucinda (Wilcox) Burwell. The former was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, September 1, 1826, in 1859 went to LaFayette County, Wisconsin, where he married, and ten years later moved to Missouri, locating in Daviess County and in 1872 moving to Harrison County. A cooper by trade, he followed farming in Missouri, and died January 25, 1891. His first wife was a Miss Haver, and her children were: Sarah, who married John Ethridge of Monroe, Wisconsin ; Anna, wife of Edmond Opdyke of Ridgeway; Henry C. of Reynolds, Nebraska; Ella, who married J. T. Travis, of Bethany; James H., of Loup City, Nebraska. Lucinda Wilcox, the second wife, was born in September, 1832, in Pittston, Pennsylvania, and died at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lilly December 22, 1912. By her marriage to Mr. Burwell she had the following children: John, who died in infancy; Mrs. Lilly ; Aaron G., of Lane, Kansas; Melissa, wife of George Jones, of May, Oklahoma ; Ira B., of Civil Bend, Missouri; Lewis, who died in infancy ; and Charles H., of Shattuck, Oklahoma ; also an infant son who died at birth.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Lilly are: John Ralph, a farmer near the old home, married Ida Reeder and their children are Clarence Leroy and Ernest Raymond; Nellie is the wife of Charles M. Reeder of Ridgeway, a Baptist minister, and their children are Esther Charlotte, Esta Claire and Charles Washington; Charles Burwell married Lelie Henry, lives on the home farm; and Jeanne and Joseph Westfall are also at home. The daughter, Mrs. Reeder, was educated in the Bethany High School and was a teacher in the public schools until her marriage. Miss Jeanne finished the four-year course in the Ridgeway High School at the age of fifteen, and stood second in a class of ten, later attended the Warrensburg Normal, and for three years has held a first grade certificate and is now working rapidly to the goal of obtaining a life certificate in Missouri. The two sons, Charles and Joseph, both quit school after the course in the Ridgeway high, and all the sons are enterprising young farmers.

E. FRANK DARBY. Anyone familiar with the business and com- munity life of the City of Cameron during the last thirty years will recognize the name of E. Frank Darby, who was one of Cameron's most substantial men. His death on July 9, 1909, took away one of the strongest and influential figures from the community. For many years he was a merchant and his business habits were so methodical that it is difficult to think of the business community without his active presence. Outside of business he took a keen interest in civic affairs, but was especially devoted to his home and family. The fine Darby residence in the south end of town has been a conspicuous landmark in the little city for many years and the family have always been among the leaders in social affairs.

E. Frank Darby came to Cameron in 1880, and for twenty-five years was a member of the harness firm of Ford & Darby, which did the largest business of its kind in Cameron. Mr. Darby was a native of New York State and was born in Oneida County September 27, 1852. His family were of substantial Quaker stock, of English origin, and

1584

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI :

furnished soldiers to the war of the Revolution, the War of 1812 and good citizens in every generation. Mr. Darby was the son of Edward and Helen Darby. The parents moved from New York to Maryland in 1865, and in 1892 came to Missouri, where they spent the rest of their lives. The late Mr. Darby had two brothers who are living in the North- west, owners of fruit ranches, another whose home is in Mendota, Illinois, and is a railway mail clerk, while a sister lives in St. Joseph.

E. Frank Darby was married October 18, 1883, to Ella P. Newberry, a daughter of Hon. Oliver P. Newberry, who died in 1874 at the age of forty-three. He was a prominent and successful lawyer at Cameron, and was a brother of the late Hon. Walter C. Newberry, of a family long prominent in commercial and public affairs in this county. Walter C. Newberry gained the rank of brigadier general by service in the Civil war, became identified with Chicago business affairs in 1876, had the management of the extensive Newberry estate in that city, held the office of postmaster at Chicago and was also a member of Congress. Mrs. Darby's mother was Lydia McCorkle, who was born in Clay County, Missouri, in 1834, and belongs to the prominent McCorkle family, one of whose members, Judge MeCorkle, laid out the town of Cameron.

Mr. and Mrs. Darby were the parents of four children: Helen, who finished her education at Monticello College, Godfrey, Illinois; Walter Newberry, one of Cameron's most popular younger business men, who was educated in the local high school, in the University of Missouri at Columbia and in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; Cornelia and Amasa Franklin, deceased. Mrs. Darby and her family still occupy the old homestead in Cameron, and the son, Walter, is now the active head of the family.

RALPH O. WOODWARD. In the community of Cainsville in Harrison County, one of the oldest citizens is Ralph O. Woodward, whose home has been there since childhood for more than sixty years. Both his father and grandfather were early settlers in this vicinity, and as several of his own children are residents here, the activities and influences of four generations of the Woodward family have contributed to the growth and betterment of this locality. Ralph O. Woodward was a soldier during the war, had considerable experience following that struggle in the life of the Western plains, but the greater part of his life has been identified with the quieter vocations of teaching, milling and farming. His grandfather was Rev. Chesley Woodward, a Baptist minister, who moved from Kentucky and was one of the frontiersmen in the wooded country of Decatur County, Indiana. After his son had gone to Missouri in 1852 he followed on and spent about twenty years of his life in this state until his death when more than seventy years of age. Besides farm- ing he did religious work, and preached for the Cainsville congregation and other churches in this part of Missouri. While a man of no educa- tion, he was a ready speaker and a thorough student of the Bible. Chesley Woodward married Elizabeth Blankenship, and both are buried in the Cainsville Cemetery. She was a devout woman, had the Christian graces, and exemplified them in her relations with her own family and her neighbors. Their children were: Reverend John, father of Ralph O .; Nellie, who married a Mr. Fuqua; Margaret, who married Peleg Baker; Dolly, who married a Mr. Fuqua and died at Mercer County, Missouri; Chesley, who died at Fullerton, California; Susan, who mar- ried James T. Cooper; James M., who spent his life as a farmer and preacher in the vicinity of Cainsville.

Rev. John Woodward, of the second generation, was born in Indiana January 11, 1821. He had few opportunities when a youth, and made

1585

HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

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 43

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