A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 51

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

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a few years later, and both were buried at Eagleville. Their children were as follows: Arthur, a Mexican war soldier who died at Eagleville, Missouri; Elizabeth, who married Joseph Horn and died in Texas; John R., who was a teacher and died in Mercer County, Missouri; Calvin, who was a teacher and died in Harrison County, Missouri; Sarah, who married Harry Barnes and died in Southern Illinois; Mary A., who became the wife of Mr. Scott; and William, of Ridgeway, Missouri, the youngest, who became a Union soldier during the Civil war.

The children born to Moses and Mary A. (Graham) Scott were as follows: Elzumer, who as before stated was a soldier during the Civil war, and afterwards engaged in farming in Harrison County, Missouri ; Aaron Graham, of this review; Sarah J., who married Frank Loy, of Ridgeway, Missouri; Oliver, a resident of that place; Alzira, who mar- ried John A. Jones, and died in Mitchell County, Kansas; Mary, who married William Brinigar, a farmer and well-known breeder of blooded stock, near Blythedale; and Carrie, who became the wife of Porter Reeves, and now resides at Cainsville, Missouri.

Aaron Graham Scott was a child when brought to the vicinity in which he now makes his home and here he secured a somewhat limited education in the district schools. Starting out as a farmer just before reaching his majority, he worked for a time as a hand at a salary of $15 per month, his employer being Mr. Bandy, whose daughter he mar- ried after several years. He first rented a small property known as the Guist Farm for several years, located near Eagleville, and later rented the Lundy place, on which he spent a short time. Next he purchased 100 acres of raw land, now the Loveless place, and this he improved and exchanged for his present farm in section 14, township 65, range 27. This was a settled place and he succeeded William Kincaid here in 1888. He owns 260 acres and has been engaged in stock and grain farming. Recently he has embarked in the Short Horn and Poland-China hog breeding, his Short Horn cattle coming from the Kansas Bellows herd and his first exhibit for prizes being made in the fall of 1914. In politics Mr. Scott is a republican, and for two years was assessor of Marion Township.

Mr. Scott was married the first time, August 24, 1871, to Miss Ann Eliza Bandy, a daughter of Pascal and Lovica Bandy, who came to Missouri from Knox County, Illinois, and here were farmers. Mrs. Scott died August 22, 1897, leaving the following children : Elzumer, cashier of the Commercial Bank of Ridgeway and one of its organizers, married Carrie Sallee; and has three children, Kenneth, Winogene and Roland ; Charles, traffic manager for the Pioneer Cooperage Company, of Chicago, Illinois, married Annie Hughey, and has four children, Beulah, Aaron Graham, Jr., Geraldine and Annie Hughey; W. Ota, of Towner, Colo- rado, married Mary Morris, and has three children, Ronald, Morris and Estalene; Oscar, a farmer of this county, married Myrtle Israel, and has three children, Vera, Truman and Lucile; Minnie, the wife of Ruthy Jacobs, of St. Anthony, Idaho, has four children, Olin, Evelyn, Hazel and Charline; Zene, associated with the Interstate Commerce Commis- sion, at Washington, D. C., married and has a child, Mildred; Edna and Eva, twins, the former unmarried and a resident of Indianapolis, In- diana, while the latter is the wife of Ernest Grubb, of Maryville, Mis- souri, and has two children, Roberta and Marion; Ruth, who is the wife of Kenneth Weary, of Cainsville, Missouri, and has no children; Mary, who is the wife of T. W. Mckinnon, who is associated with the United States Government service at Washington, D. C .; and Ralph, who is the youngest of the children.

Mr. Scott was married a second time September 7, 1898, to Miss Eva

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Alice Eyerly, daughter of George W. Eyerly and Martha A. (Howell) Eyerly. Mr. Eyerly came to Missouri from Ohio, but now resides at Winterset, Iowa, while his wife is deceased. He is a veteran of the Civil war, and has passed his life in the pursuits of farming. Of his thirteen children, eleven have grown to maturity, but only two, Mrs. Scott and Mrs. Louella Cocklin, reside in Missouri. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Scott: Howard, Russell, Raymond, Fern and Ione. Mr. Scott is the father of sixteen children, all living, and is the grand- father of twenty.

FRED HARTLEY. For thirty-eight years Fred Hartley has been identi- fied with the monument business, and for twelve of these has been in business for himself at Savannah, Missouri, where he is one of the repre- sentative and enterprising men in other lines and is numbered with the most useful citizens of the county seat of Andrew County. He was born in Putnam County, Indiana, May 31, 1861, and is a son of Rufus and Jennie (Beard) Hartley. Both parents were natives of Indiana and resided there until 1865 when they moved to Ringgold County, Iowa, and from there in 1872, to Worth County, Missouri, settling permanently in Andrew County, Missouri, in 1877. The father was engaged in the monument business at Savannah during the rest of his active life. His death occurred in 1907, at the age of seventy-seven years. The mother survives and lives at Savannah. They had five children: John, who is a resident of New Mexico; Charles, who is in business at St. Joseph, Missouri; Fred; Samuel, who is associated with his brother Fred at Savannah; and Minnie, for the past fifteen years a teacher in the public schools at Savannah, who is now the wife of Samuel Cline.

Fred Hartley obtained his education in the public schools and began to learn marble cutting in his father's shop in boyhood and later mas- tered every detail of the business. For twelve years he was superin- tendent for the Des Moines Marble and Mantel Company, a large con- cern doing business in several states, but for twelve years he has con- ducted his own monument works at Savannah, which city he has claimed as his home since 1877. He has large yards and employs skilled work- men, conducting his business according to his ideas of a business man's responsibility. His public spirit was manifested in the establishing here of the Globe Theater, a moving picture house and the first of its class in the place. The building was opened April 20, 1914, and he operates it himself. It is proving a very successful venture. In politics Mr. Hartley is a republican and is serving as one of the city's aldermen and is credited with looking after the interests of his own ward with the same care that he gives to his private affairs.

In 1888 Mr. Hartley was united in marriage with Miss Anna M. Smith, who is a daughter of Henry M. and Katherine Smith. Mrs. Hartley was born in Pennsylvania but was reared in Andrew County, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Hartley have one son, Harry S., who is a very talented young man and is a graduate of the class of 1913, of the Art Institute, Chicago. At present he is a popular cartoonist, working under Cartoonist Darling, on the Register and Leader, of Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Hartley belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and to the Knights of Pythias.

O. N. THOMPSON, M. D. More than twenty years of practice as a physician and surgeon have brought Doctor Thompson special dis- tinction and success as an able and skillful doctor and as a man who devotes himself conscientiously to the duties of professional life. Doctor Thompson has been located at Breckinridge as one of the leading physi-

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cians and surgeons since 1908, and previous to that for a number of years practiced at Lock Spring in Daviess County. Doctor Thompson is a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, Iowa, in the class of 1891, and his wife, a graduate of the same institution, is also a successful physician and an able coadjutor to his own efforts, and through their cooperation they have performed a large amount of capable service in this section of Northwest Missouri.

Dr. O. N. Thompson was born near Chillicothe in Livingston County, Missouri, on a farm, December 23, 1866. His father was Archibald Thompson, who was born in Tazewell County, Virginia, a son of Archi- bald Thompson, Sr., a native of the same state, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and of Presbyterian stock. Archibald, Jr., with two brothers served in the Confederate army during the Civil war. He married Millie Perry, who was born in Virginia. Archibald Thompson, who died at the age of seventy-seven in Livingston County, was one of the leading men of his section and served as judge of the county court. He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and was affiliated with Lodge No. 408 of the Masons of Lock Spring. His widow passed away at the age of fifty-six. In their family were five. sons and five daughters, seven of whom are still living: Mrs. L. S. Dorsey ; Mary R. Thompson ; Oscar N .; Archibald, a dentist at Gallatin, Missouri; C. E., a physician at Enid, Oklahoma; and W. P., a farmer and stockman at Lock Spring, Missouri.

Dr. Oscar N. Thompson was reared in the country on a farm, attended the public schools, and began the study of medicine under Doctor Dorsey. At the age of twenty-three he married Miss Emma Boyington, who had been a successful teacher and as already stated was a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, Iowa. Since her mar- riage she has been particularly helpful in actual practice and consulta- tion work on diseases of women and children. Her father was Robert Boyington, now living in Oklahoma. Doctor Thompson and wife have four children : Leaffa, who is a graduate of high school and is now in her second year at the Howard Payne College at Fayette, Missouri; Mary M., also a graduate of the high school and in her first year at Howard Payne College; Helen, a high school student; and Mildred Catherine, still in the grade schools. The two older daughters have taken special musical instruction in instrumental and voice, and all the family are more or less talented musically. Doctor Thompson is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge at Lock Spring, and also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His church is the Methodist Episcopal South. Doctor Thomp- son has served five years as a member of the public school board, and besides his work as a physician has also performed much public spirited labor in behalf of the community where his home has been.

C. E. GRAFF. Farming and stock raising naturally engage the atten- tion of well informed, practical men in Andrew County, nature having here provided rich pasturage and fertile soil, and one who has profited by these advantages is C. E. Graff, a well known grower and dealer of Nodaway Township. He has also proven that this section is particularly well adapted to the growing of fruit and the yield of his orchards brings him a satisfactory income.

C. E. Graff was born in Clay Township, Andrew County, Missouri, September 30, 1860. His parents were Peter and Catherine (McElroy) Graff. His father was born May 26, 1825, at Bingen on the Rhine, Germany, and died on the farm now owned by his son, C. E., December 5, 1907. The mother was born in North Carolina and came to Andrew County with her people in 1848. She died on the home farm, September

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12, 1884, at the age of fifty-eight years, six months and one day. They were parents of the following children: Sarah Jane, who is the widow of Walter B. Tolle, lives at Savannah; J. H., who died in April, 1914, at the age of fifty-five years; C. E .; Clara Agnes, who is the widow of William H. Heren, lives at Savannah; and William Luther, who was born in 1869, died in 1892.

Peter Graff, the father, remained in his own land until he was twenty- one years of age and then came to the United States and direct to Andrew County and three years later his father followed him and to- gether they bought a farm in Lincoln Township. On that farm Peter Graff spent a short time of his life and all the rest of it in Andrew County with the exception of about six years, during which he lived on a homestead he had taken up in Kansas.

C. E. Graff has been a lifelong resident of Andrew County, with the exception of seven years, during which time he lived in Logan County, Kansas. Farming, fruit growing and stock and cattle raising have occupied his attention ever since he has been in business and he has made them all profitable. When he started out for himself he invested in Norman horses, Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs, but experi- ence taught him that for his purposes the Chester White variety of hogs was superior. He has been an extensive breeder of Percheron horses and has probably sold more high-priced horses than any other man in the county. Mr. Graff has thirty-nine acres in his home place, in the suburbs of Savannah, northwest of the town, and fifty-three acres adjoining the corporation of Savannah on the north. His residence stands on an eleva- tion that gives an extended view of the country and at all times of the year is attractive, with a background of orchards and an evergreen grove of sixty trees. He has hundreds of trees in his orchards and they yield bountifully of cherries, peaches, apples, plums and pears, while berries of all kinds do equally well. Mr. Graff has shown excellent judgment in the laying out of his grounds and has every reason to take pride in his surroundings.

Mr. Graff was married March 3, 1887, to Miss Lucy L. Gee, who was born in Andrew County, Missouri, January 30, 1863, and is a daughter of C. C. and Elizabeth (Bayne) Gee. The mother was born in Indiana and came to Andrew County with her parents, in childhood, and died in Logan County, Kansas, June 29, 1897, at the age of fifty- nine years, one month and one day. The father of Mrs. Graff was born' in Carroll County, Tennessee, February 22, 1835, and was brought to Andrew County by his parents in 1837. In 1886 he moved from this county to Kansas and now owns 480 acres in Logan County. Mr. and Mrs. Graff have no children of their own, but they are rearing James H. and Nora F. Cruse, a brother and sister, who are second cousins of Mr. Graff. He has always given his political support to the republican party, but has led too busy a life to ever entertain a desire for public office. Nevertheless he is just the type of citizen that a community often needs in public life, good judgment, sound common sense and honesty and business foresight being very desirable qualifications in those who make and those who desire a chance to carry out laws. Mr. Graff and family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church.

J. S. PETERS. One of the old and honored citizens of Savannah, who at the age of eighty years is now living in comfortable retirement from life's activities, is J. S. Peters, who for forty years was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Andrew County. Mr. Peters has led an active and useful career, which has taken him into various pursuits and strange localities, and has been an eye-witness to happenings that have made

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history in several parts of the country. Born in Preble County, Ohio, April 29, 1834, Mr. Peters is a son of John and Elizabeth (Gossett) Peters, natives of Franklin County, Virginia, where they were married. The paternal grandparents were natives of Pennsylvania, where the family was known from Colonial times. In the fall of 1822, John and Elizabeth Peters loaded their family effects into a wagon, and started from their Virginia home on the long and hazardous journey overland to the undeveloped country of Ohio. Locating on a virgin farm, they cleared a property and established a home, and there passed the rest of their existence in pastoral pursuits. They were the parents of six daughters and three sons, and two children of this family now survive : Mrs. Susanna Swihart, of Dayton, Ohio; and J. S.

J. S. Peters was reared on his father's farm, and secured such edu- cational advantages as were afforded the pupils by the early Ohio schools. He continued to assist his father in cultivating the old homestead until April of 1860, when he started on an overland journey to Colorado, with an ox-team, going through Kansas and Nebraska and on to Colo- rado on the old military trail, finally arriving at Denver, May 23d. During the years 1860 and 1861 he remained in the mining country, being engaged in prospeting, but in the fall of the latter year started on his way back to th East with ox-teams, going down the course of the Platte River, crossing the Missouri and on to Chariton, Iowa, at that point taking a coach which brought him to Eddyville, the nearest rail- road point. He went thence to Ohio. As a comparison of the methods of the early '60s and those of today, and to illustrate the wonderful progress that has been attained under Mr. Peters' observation, it is in- ' teresting to note that in September, 1914, he covered the Iowa part of this journey, but instead of traversing the country with an ox-team, made the trip in his high-powered automobile.

Mr. Peters remained in Ohio until 1874, and in that year came to Andrew County and settled down to agricultural pursuits. Through industry, perseverance and good management, he accumulated 200 acres of good land in Kansas and Missouri, but since his retirement this has been divided among his children. At the present time he is one of the valued residents of the retired colony at Savannah, and his long life of honorable dealing eminently entitles him to the respect and esteem so universally accorded him. On his return from the West, in the late fall of 1861, Mr. Peters became a member of the Ohio Militia, and May 2, 1864, went into the United States service for 100 days, as a member of Company E, One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Regiment, Ohio National Guards, under General Kelley. One of his most highly prized posses- sions is a certificate of thanks from President Lincoln, given him for his valuable war services. In political matters Mr. Peters has been a lifelong republican, but at no time in his career has he been an office seeker. He was a member of the Union League during the days of the Civil war, and still holds membership in the Grand Army of the Republic.

In 1862 Mr. Peters was married to Miss Sarah C. Swihart, who was born in Preble County, Ohio, March 29, 1836, and died May 3, 1905, at Rea, Missouri. Two sons were born to this union: O. E., who is rural free delivery mail carrier out of Bolckow, Missouri; and F. B., who is engaged in farming in Andrew County. On April 30, 1908, Mr. Peters was again married, being united with Mrs. Mary J. Seamans, who died at Savannah, January 25, 1912.

LESLIE M. DOBBS. The present efficient county superintendent of schools of Andrew County, while still a young man, has had broad ex-

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perience as an educator, for his entire career has been devoted to his profession, upon which he determined in early youth. He has been the incumbent of his present office for four years, and his well-directed labors have resulted in gaining for his county an efficient and compre- hensive school system which compares favorably with that of any county in Northwest Missouri. He has been earnest and energetic, bringing to his work an enthusiasm which, combined with his natural adaptation for his calling, has accomplished remarkable results in advancing the cause of education.

Mr. Dobbs was born on a farm five miles north of Savannah, Andrew County, Missouri, May 21, 1884, and is a son of William F. and Elva (Spohn). Dobbs. He is descended from distinguished ancestry, for his great-great-grandfather, Arthur Dobbs, was commissioned by King George III of England as royal governor of the colony of North Caro- lina, and served in that capacity for four years. He was also at the head of fifty families of Scotch and Irish who came to America during Colonial days. Arthur Dobbs had two sons, Wesley and Chester, the latter of whom went to New York and founded the town of Dobbs Ferry, while Wesley made his way to the West, and the Missouri members of the family have all descended from him. On the maternal side, Mr. Dobbs is a grandson of a minister of the German Reformed Church, who established the first congregation of that faith in the vicinity of Hills- boro, Ohio.

William F. Dobbs was born in Illinois, July 25, 1855, and as a child came with his parents to Nodaway County, Missouri, where he met and married Elva Spohn, who had been born at Hillsboro, Ohio, March 21, 1851, and had come to Missouri at the age of eighteen years. After their marriage they settled on a farm in Andrew County, on which they continued their labors until their retirement, and at the present time are living quietly in their comfortable home at Savannah. They have had four children : Inez, who is the wife of Joseph Jenkins, of Balckow, Missouri; Cyrus C., pastor of the Christian Church at Denver, Colorado; Cleo, the wife of Samuel Sears, living north of Savannah; and Leslie M.

Leslie M. Dobbs has resided in Andrew County all of his life. He was reared on the home farm and in his boyhood attended the rural schools of his native locality, subsequently supplementing this training by two years of attendance at the Warrensburg Normal School and two summers at the State University. In the meantime, he had started teaching in the rural districts, his services in this direction covering a period of ten years and attracting such favorable attention that in 1910 he was appointed county superintendent of schools of Andrew County. The people have had no reason to regret their choice, for his labors have been conscientious and persevering, and he has been able to achieve many of his commendable ideals, Professor Dobbs is unmarried. He is a republican in politics, although not a politician. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America, and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian Church.

WILLIAM FULKERSON. A life of quiet effectiveness, marked by a record of many duties well done and many responsibilities faithfully fulfilled, was that of the late William Fulkerson, who was a pioneer of Andrew County and was one of the men who developed and made that county what it is. In the round of everyday duties and in the faithful and intelligent performance of every task that was allotted to him during his long life, he left a record which may well be admired by the generations that follow him. His venerable widow is still living at

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Savannah, surrounded by children and grandchildren, and is now well past the age of fourscore.

William Fulkerson was born in Rhea County of East Tennessee April 3, 1819, a son of Frederick and Sarah (Bradley) Fulkerson. Both parents were natives of Virginia, where they were married, and soon afterwards settled in East Tennessee. About 1829 they moved out to Missouri, and located on the frontier in Lafayette County. The father was a merchant and farmer, and died in advanced years in 1841, followed by his wife in 1845. Their large family of children were: Eliza F .; Dr. James M .; Reuben Bradley ; Isaac ; Dr. Peter Perry ; William; Mary Hannah Davis; Caroline; Margaret Gordon; Frederick D .; Catherine Gordon; Emmet Bradley; and Susan Rebecca-thirteen in all, and death has claimed the entire family.

William Fulkerson was about ten years of age when the family moved to Lafayette County, Missouri, where he was reared on his father's farm, and had only the limited advantages offered by the country schools of that early day. In 1850 he joined in the great exodus from Missouri to the Pacific Coast, and spent about twelve months in California, in the mining districts. In the spring of 1851 he returned to Missouri, and thereafter was content to follow the quiet vocation of farming. In 1846 he had bought a farm in Jefferson Township of Andrew County, and was one of the early settlers in this section of Northwest Missouri. He became the owner of 335 acres, improved and cultivated it, and was steadily prosperous in his varied activities. In 1892 he retired to Savannah, and died in that city December 11, 1894, when seventy-five years of age. He was a stanch democrat in politics, and a member of the Presbyterian Church.

On October 5, 1848, Mr. Fulkerson married Miss Sallie Brackenridge. She was born in St. Louis County, Missouri, April 1, 1830, and was fourteen years of age when her family moved to Northwest Missouri and located in Andrew County. Her parents were John and Eliza (Post) Brackenridge, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ver- mont. Her mother died in Andrew County when about eighty-seven years of age, and her father passed away in Troy, Kansas, at the age of about eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Fulkerson were the parents of nine children, namely : Eliza, wife of Robert Catron of Butler, Missouri, and she is the mother of four children; Monroe, who died at the age of twenty-one; John, who died in infancy; Frederick, who died at the age of forty-seven, leaving a widow and seven children; Elizabeth, who died in infancy; Margaret, who died aged two years; Ruth, who died in infancy ; Florence, who lives with her mother in Savannah ; and William, who died at the age of twenty-one. Mrs. Sallie Fulkerson now lives in Savannah and is eighty-four years of age. She has eleven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. For more than forty years she had member- ship in the Primitive Baptist Church, but after her removal to Savannah united with the Christian Church, and both she and her daughter, Florence, are regular attendants at the services of that denomination.

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A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 51

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