A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 61

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

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John W. Leazenby grew up on the old homestead, and has spent practically all his life within its limits. His education was supplied by the country schools, but his vigorous body and craving for outdoor life made him somewhat restless of the restraints of a school room. He

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lived with his parents until his majority, was married and then con- tinued to reside on the farm and assist in its management. Subsequently by purchase he succeeded to the ownership of the homestead, and has spent his life along lines similar to those of his father.

Mr. Leazenby was married February 2, 1895, to Miss Lillie Vander- pool. Her father, James Vanderpool, was a native of Tennessee and an early settler of Mercer County, Missouri, where he was a farmer and a man who commanded the entire respect of the community. Mrs. Leazenby was the youngest of three daughters and a son. Mr. and Mrs. Leazenby's children are: Alma, a student in the Warrensburg State Normal; Loucile, in the Cainsville High School; Ruth; John Wesley, Jr .; and James Eugene. Mr. Leazenby outside of farming has been one of the promoters of the First National Bank of Cainsville and is a stockholder in that institution. He takes little interest in politics and his contributions to the welfare of the community have been through the large results of his farming enterprise.

JOSEPH W. BARMANN. Having taken an intelligent and purposeful participation in the happenings which have made up the history of Andrew County between the time of his arrival in 1876 and the present, Joseph W. Barmann, of Nodaway Township, claims place also among the agricultural promoters and well-known and financially strong citi- zens of the county. He is a native of Ross County, Ohio, and was born November 20, 1853, a son of George and Josephine (Gertisen) Barmann.

The Barmann family was founded in the United States in 1816, when George Barmann, the paternal grandfather of Joseph W. Barmann, left his native Baden, Germany, and with his little family boarded a sailing vessel for this country. Owing to storms which took the vessel far out of its course it required eight months to make the journey across the waters, and during this trip one of the children died, but port was finally made, and the grandfather took his family to what is now Cincinnati, Ohio, he there being the owner of ten acres of land on the present site of the customs house, where he spent the remaining years of his life. In addition to the one that was lost at 'sea, the grand- parents had a family of six children.

George Barmann, son of George the emigrant, was eight years of age when he accompanied his parents to the United States, and his boyhood and youth were passed in the vicinity of Cincinnati, where he was given ordinary educational advantages. When he embarked upon a career of his own he chose farming for his work, and in this continued to be engaged during the remainder of his life in Ross County, Ohio, where he died in 1888. He was married in Ohio to Josephine Gertisen, who was also born in Baden, Germany, in 1811, and whose father, John Gertisen, was likewise an early settler in the vicinity of Cincinnati. She died in 1882, having been the mother of twelve children, of whom ten grew to maturity, while six are still living.

Joseph W. Barmann was educated in the public schools of Ross County, Ohio, and grew to manhood on his father's farm, being well reared to habits of industry and thrift and thoroughly trained in farm labor by his father. In 1876, seeking a broader and newer field for his activities, he came to Missouri, and at once located in Andrew County, where he purchased a farm of 159 acres in Jefferson Township, 41/2 miles south of Savannah. That continued to be his home for thirteen years, at the end of which time he bought his present farm in section 16, Nodaway Township, one mile south of Savannah, a tract of 165 acres which he has brought to a high state of cultivation ; in addi-

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tion he owns his father's farm, as well as a tract of 160 acres lying five miles north of Savannah. These properties total 484 acres and make Mr. Barmann one of the substantial men of his part of the county. In addition to general farming operations, he has been successfully en- gaged in the raising of blooded Holstein cattle and high grade horses and hogs, and as a stockman is known far and wide in Andrew County.

Mr. Barmann was married in 1883 to Miss Mary Jane Barr, who was born two miles south of Savannah, Missouri, April 26, 1862, a daugh- ter of Boyd and Mary Jane (Jenkins) Barr, the former born in Ireland the latter in Kentucky, and early settlers in Missouri where they located in 1848. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Barmann: George, who died at the age of twenty-nine years; Nellie, who is the wife of A. H. Zimmerman, of Southern Florida ; and Pearl and Charley, who reside with their parents.

Mr. Barmann has a number of interests outside those of an agricul- tural nature, and for the past ten years has been a member of the directing board of the First National Bank of Savannah, of which he has been vice president for five years. He is a republican, but has taken only a good citizen's part in politics, although he has always been ready to assist in movements for the public good. With his family, he attends the Catholic Church.

C. C. SCHMITT. A former county treasurer of Andrew County, C. C. Schmitt has lived in this county forty years, and while looking after his individual fortunes and proper provision for his family has also accepted the responsibilities of citizenship and has been public spirited in all his relations.

C. C. Schmitt was born in Newton County, Missouri, December 7, 1870. His father, Charles Schmitt, was born in Bavaria, Germany, April 13, 1832, and when seven years of age was brought to this country by his parents, George Jacob and Anna Elizabeth (Librach) Schmitt, who located in Illinois and spent their last years in that state. Charles Schmitt grew up in Illinois and was married in Washington County of that state to Catherine Hackett. She was born in Jefferson County, Illinois, January 28, 1841. In 1868 the family moved to Newton County, Missouri, and in 1875 to Andrew County, locating near Bolckow, where the father is still living. He has been a farmer all his active career, and though he has not been active for the past ten or twelve years still resides on a farm and retains about a hundred acres of his original estate in this section. In politics he is a republican, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which church his wife was also a member until her death on July 29, 1914. By a previous marriage Charles Schmitt had three children: Reuben, deceased; Charles J., deceased ; and William B., who lives in the State of Washington. By the second marriage there were seven children, four of whom died in infancy, the others being: J. W., who lives near Bolckow; C. C .; Mary M., wife of Asa Pettyjohn of Rea, Missouri; and Oliver E. of Oska- loosa. Iowa.

Mr. C. C. Schmitt was about five years old when his parents estab- lished a home in Andrew County, and he lived on the home farm until his marriage. Besides the training afforded by the local schools he took a course in the Northwestern Normal School at Stanberry, Missouri, and for two years was engaged in teaching country schools in Andrew County. After his marriage he bought a farm near that of his father, began to prosper in agricultural lines, and his wide acquaintance over the county and popularity as a citizen brought him into prominence

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in public affairs. In 1902 Mr. Schmitt was elected county treasurer and by reelection in 1904 served two terms or four years. He was elected on the republican ticket, and for a number of years has been active in that party. After retiring from office Mr. Schmitt bought his present farm, located two miles north of the courthouse in Savannah. It con- tains 126 acres, all well improved, and is known in that vicinity as the Plainview Farm. He is classed as a general farmer, but has made somewhat of a specialty of Poland China hogs.

Mr. Schmitt is an active member of the Baptist Church of Savannah, is a deacon and assistant superintendent of the Sunday school, and fra- ternally is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America. In 1896 he married Sarah Ann Townsend. She was born three miles north of Fillmore March 29, 1874, a daughter of J. F. and Emily (Farris) Town- send. Her father, who was born in Andrew County February 28, 1848, was the son of Elison and Catherine (Zimmerman) Townsend, who were among the pioneers in this section of Northwest Missouri. With the exception of three years, J. F. Townsend spent all his life in this county, and on the farm where he died August 27, 1900, and where Mr. and Mrs. Schmitt now reside. He was an active republican, and for one term served as county collector. Mrs. Schmitt's mother was born in Ohio in 1845, and came to Andrew County with her parents when she was a child, and died here March 26, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Schmitt are the parents of six children : Franklin O., Warren L., Loma Marie, Floyd, and Luetta and Luella, twins.

CHARLES SCHMITT is now past the age of four-score years, and has spent nearly half his life in Andrew County. While living somewhat retired, he still occupies his farm in Benton Township near Bolckow and with ample material comforts enjoys a most pleasing retrospect over his past life.

Charles Schmitt was born in Bavaria, Germany, April 13, 1833, a son of George Jacob and Anna Elizabeth (Librach) Schmitt, both also natives of Bavaria. His father was born November 28, 1798, and his mother March 6, 1800, and the father died August 8, 1844, and the mother on September 8, 1852. In 1840 the family left Germany and emigrating to the United States located in Washington County, Illinois, where both the parents died. George J. Schmitt followed the trade of butcher in the old country, but occupied a small farm in Illinois. The children were: George, who enlisted in an Illinois regiment for service in the Mexican war and died of fever while in the army; Mary Holler of Illinois; Christina Middleton, who died in Illinois in 1913; Charles; William, who died in 1913 in Southwest Missouri, was for three years a soldier in the 111th Illinois Infantry during the Civil war; Elizabeth Williams, who died at Bolckow in Andrew County: Margaret Merick of Illinois: and one child that died in infancy.

Charles Schmitt grew to manhood in Illinois, and about 1869 moved to Newton County, Missouri. After a residence there of about eight years he came on to Andrew County in 1877, and has lived here and enjoyed a measurable degree of prosperity as a farmer ever since. He originally owned 166 acres of land in Benton Township, but sold about sixty acres to his son, and though he has not been active for the past ten or twelve years still resides on the farm and retains about one hundred acres of his original estate. He has followed the general lines of grain and stock farming, and in view of the present average price of corn at seventy cents a bushel it is interesting to recall a bit of his ex- perience in buying corn at fourteen cents a bushel. He has also bought

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land in Andrew County at a price as low. as twenty dollars per acre, though the general average of real estate values in the county is now several times that amount.

Mr. Charles Schmitt, while following the quiet and industrious vo- cation of farmer, has never sought to escape public responsibility, and has been quite active in the republican party. He served as a dele- gate to a number of county conventions. In early life he had no oppor- tunities whatever for gaining an education, and only learned to read after he had a family of his own. He has long been identified with the Prairie Temple of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and served as class leader and steward twenty-five years.

Charles Schmitt was first married in Illinois in 1852 to Celia M. Parker, who was born January 1, 1835, and died November 6, 1861. Their three children were: Reuben, who died at the age of twenty years; Charles J., who died leaving a widow and six children; and William B., who lives near Seattle, Washington. Charles Schmitt was mar- ried in 1863 in Washington County, Illinois, to Catherine Hackett. She was born in Jefferson County, Illinois, January 28, 1841, and died at Bolekow, Missouri, July 29, 1914. By the second marriage there were eight children, but four of them died in infancy or early childhood. The other four are: John W., who is a farmer and neighbor to his father near Bolckow; C. C., whose sketch has been given above; Mary M., wife of A. C. Pettyjohn of Rea, Missouri; and Oliver E., a merchant of Oska- loosa, Iowa.

SAMUEL COFFMAN. Many people of Andrew County will recall this venerable. citizen, who was one of the real pioneers of Northwest Mis- souri, became a settler on government land in Andrew County more than three-quarters of a century ago, and lived there until his death on September 27, 1897, when in his eightieth year. His descendants are numerously represented in this state and elsewhere, and for his own children he not only made ample provision during their childhood and youth, but left to them the heritage of an honored name.

Samuel Coffman was born near Frankfort, Kentucky, April 21, 1818, when James Madison was President of the United States. When he was an infant his father died, and his widowed mother brought him to Missouri in 1822, locating in Clinton County, which was then a wilder- ness. Missouri had been admitted as a state only about a year, and out on the frontier he spent his boyhood and received such instruction as could be obtained at home and in the primitive schools. In 1837 Samuel Coffman came to Andrew County, and soon afterward entered in the United States Land Office a quarter section of land in section 27 of Nodaway Township. That has for nearly three generations been known as the Coffman Farm, and is still occupied by one of his sons, Pleasant Coffman. To the first quarter section he afterwards added 160 acres more, and at the time of his death still owned 320 acres. In Andrew County his life was passed in the quiet vocation of farming, and there were few men who worked with steadier industry and accom- plished more in clearing away the wilderness than this well remembered citizen. With his own hands by continuous labor day after day he cleared up most of his own farm and placed it under cultivation. In politics he was always affiliated with the democratic party, and was an active member in the Christian Church.

Samuel Coffman first married Susan Richardson, and of the six children born to that union two lived to maturity, namely: Benjamin F. of Andrew County, and Missouri Ann Butts, now deceased. Mr.

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Coffman married for his second wife Elizabeth Richards. She became the mother of eight children, mentioned briefly as follows: Newton of Andrew County ; John of Oklahoma; Sigel of Oregon; George of Wis- consin ; Susan, Alice and Dora, all of whom married brothers named Davidson, and the two first are now deceased; Lucy J., the eighth child, died in infancy.

In 1872 Mr. Samuel Coffman married Mrs. Christina (Nix) Turner. She was born in Whitley County, Kentucky, March 5, 1850, and when two years of age came to Andrew County with her parents, John and Mary (Raines) Nix, who were natives of Kentucky and spent their last days in Missouri. Mrs. Coffman by her marriage to Silas Turner had two children, who are Bell Holland of Savannah and Lucinda Rhoads of the same place. Mrs. Coffman has three children by her marriage to Samuel Coffman: Martha Holland of Helena, Missouri; Bertha Ferguson, deceased; and Pleasant. Mrs. Coffman is still living, and has the unusual distinction of having twenty-four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Pleasant Coffman was born on his father's farm in Nodaway Town- ship January 23, 1878, and grew up and has lived here with his mother since his father's death. He operates 166 acres of the old homestead, and owns a part of this farm. It is well known throughout Andrew County as the Old Homestead Farm, and most of the land has been in continuous ownership under one name for more than three-quarters of a century. Pleasant Coffman has been very successful and has a repu- tation in this part of Missouri as a breeder of saddle and draft horses and mules. Politically he is a republican, and is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic Order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

JOHN N. SCHREIER. Not only is John N. Schreier the architect of a substantial fortune, acquired through agricultural enterprise, but in its acquisition he has maintained the reputation for industry and re- liability established in Andrew County by his pioneer father, the late Nicholas Schreier. Mr. Schreier belongs to that class of Northwest Mis- souri farmers who have passed their entire lives in the vicinities in which they now live, and who for this reason have an intimate knowledge of conditions here. His life has been devoted to agricultural work, and at the present time he is the owner of an excellent tract of 240 acres, located in section 28, Jefferson Township.

John N. Schreier was born in the vicinity of the Village of Ama- zonia, Andrew County, Missouri. June 13, 1859, and is a son of Nicholas and Annie (Zimmerman) Schreier. His father, a native of Switzerland, emigrated to the United States as a young man with little capital save his zealous ambition to succeed, and located in the State of Ohio, where he met and married his wife. Together they came to Andrew County, Missouri, taking up their residence amid pioneer surroundings and experiencing all the hardships and discouraging experiences incident to such an existence. Together they labored faithfully and indus- triously, and through their untiring toil succeeded in winning an inde- pendent position and accumulating two good farms, so that their de- clining years were passed in ease and comfort. Both are now deceased. Five children were born to them, as follows: Jacob, who is engaged in farming enterprises in Andrew County ; John N., of this notice ; Emma, who is the widow of John Wiedner of Savannah; Carrie, who is the wife of Henry C. Schneider of Avenue City, Missouri; and L. W., who is a resident of Savannah.

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John N. Schreier received his education in the district schools of Andrew County, and passed his boyhood and youth much the same as other farmers' sons of this locality. He assisted his father in the work of the homestead, was thoroughly trained in farming and raising stock, and remained under the parental roof until the time of his mar- riage, when he located on his present land. This is a tract of 240 acres, lying three miles south of Savannah, and is now one of the really valuable farms of Jefferson Township. There were but few improvements on the property when Mr. Schreier first became its owner, but as the years have passed he has put in new equipment and machinery and has erected buildings of attractive design, modern architecture and substantial character. In his general farming operations, he grows the staple grains and produce, for which he finds a ready market, and he has also been successful in raising all kinds of high grade stock. Modern methods have always appealed to him and he keeps fully abreast of the advancing times, so that his labors yield him a full measure of prosperity. Mr. Schreier is a republican, but his activities in politics have been confined to performing the responsibilities of good citizenship. He has shown himself to be fully in accord with the progressive movements which are advancing the community's welfare, and lends them his hearty support and cooperation.

On June 13, 1889, Mr. Schreier was united in marriage with Miss Anna Mosser, who was born in Andrew County, Missouri, February 21, 1854, a daughter of Peter Mosser. She died October 2, 1912, the mother of two children : Alva M. and Warren, both residents of Andrew County. Mr. Schreier is a consistent member of the German Reformed Church.

JUDGE THOMAS A. REECE is one of the upstanding and forceful figures in the citizenship of Andrew County. For the past four years he has served as presiding judge of the County Court, and the people recently set the seal of approval on his administration by electing him for a second term. His chief reputation, however, is as a breeder and raiser of fine Hereford stock, and the Oakhurst Farm, six miles north of Savannah, is a model place of its kind and its im- provements and adaptation to the uses of modern stock raising are the results of an exceptional degree of enterprise on the part of Judge Reece.

Thomas A. Reece was born in Rochester Township of Andrew County December 6, 1867. His parents were William A. and Obedience A. (Hobson) Reece. His father was born in North Carolina and came to Andrew County about 1848, being then eighteen years of age. He lived for a number of years with the family of Stephen H. Hobson.

Obedience Hobson, whose parents were Thomas and Rebecca Hobson, was born in Indiana and came to Missouri with her parents during the '40s. She is now living at Bolckow in Andrew County. William A. Reece and wife were married on the place now occupied by the county farm. Her parents were natives of North Carolina, settled first in In- diana, and on coming to Missouri bought the farm now occupied by Judge Reece. Mr. Hobson bought the land from the original entrant. The house, which was built in 1848, is still standing, and Mr. Hobson subsequently acquired the land now contained in the county farm. He died in Rochester Township July 21, 1889, in his ninety-fourth year. He was the owner of four good farms at one time, comprising an aggre- gate of nearly a thousand acres. Judge Reece's father died on the farm in Rochester Township January 25, 1881, at the age of fifty-three. Prior to his marriage he had followed his trade as a bricklayer. and was afterwards a farmer. The children were five in number, as follows:

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Mary Jane, wife of Isaac Neely of Bolckow; Louisa Alice, the deceased wife of William E. Brown; Rebecca M., wife of G. W. Neely, who lives near Bolckow; Thomas A .; and Estella Elizabeth, wife of George Buck, who lives near Bolckow.

Judge Reece was reared on the home farm in Rochester Township, and two years after his marriage in 1891 moved to his present place. The Oakhurst Farm comprises 300 acres, lying partly in section 25 of Nodaway Township and partly in section 30 of Empire Township. When Judge Reece took possession 240 acres of the farm was in the heavy timbers, and he has done more than the individual share in clearing off and putting the land of Andrew County under cultivation. All of his land except twenty acres is now cleared and under the plow, is well fenced, has a modern home and substantial outbuildings, and is excellently equipped for its purposes as a stock breeding farm. Judge Reece set out the flourishing apple orchard which is also a feature of the place. Since 1905 Judge Reece has been engaged in the breeding of Hereford cattle, and keeps about a hundred head. He also raises hogs and horses, and none of the grain and grass raised on his farm is ever sold, all of it being fed to his stock, while he buys a lot more. The Oakhurst Farm is conducted under the business title of Thomas A. Reece & Son, and the firm are extensive advertisers in the American Hereford Journal and their stock has a recognized reputation among Hereford cattle men all over the country. Several of the registered bulls from Oakhurst have been regarded as among the best specimens of this stock in America.

A lifelong republican, Judge Reece in 1910 was elected county judge of Andrew County, and was reelected in 1914. Since January 1, 1911, he has been presiding judge. By an interesting coincidence Judge Reece received 1,958 votes at both elections, and in 1910 his majority was 351, and in 1914 it was 329. In all the four years of his incumbency of the judicial office he has never missed a day from court. Several times when the roads were blocked with snow so that a horse could not get through he has walked the entire distance of six miles from his home to the court- house.

Judge Reece is an active member of Mount Vernon Baptist Church, and was elected a deacon in the church at the age of twenty years and has held the office ever since. On December 23, 1888, Judge Reece mar- ried Rosa B. Elliott, who was born in Nodaway Township of Andrew County October 18, 1867. Her parents were M. M. and Elizabeth (Town- send) Elliott. Her father was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and died in 1900 at the age of eighty-four. During the Mexican war he went out from Missouri with the troops under Gen. A. W. Doniphan and was a teamster in the long march to New Mexico and Old Mexico, while later he saw service in the Missouri State Militia during the Civil war. He was a farmer .by occupation, and owned a place of 224 acres. The Mount Vernon Baptist Church stands on a part of his original farm, and he donated the land for the site. Both he and his wife were active members of this church. Mrs. Reece's mother was born in Monroe County, Indiana, February 9, 1831, and came with her parents to Savan- nah, Missouri, in 1847. She was married February 14, 1850, and died September 28, 1914. She was the mother of eleven children, eight of whom grew to maturity. Judge Reece and wife are the parents of three children: Verna Maud, who died at the age of six months ; Virgil Thomas, who lives at home and is associated with his father in the management of Oakhurst Farm; and Mary Obedience, the wife of D. C. Middleton of Andrew County, and they have a son, William Thomas.

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A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 61

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