USA > Missouri > A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III > Part 63
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Martin Meyer was born in Germany, and in young manhood, seeking the greater opportunities offered by the United States, emigrated to this country. After some search for a suitable locality, he finally decided to locate in the fertile region of Northwest Missouri, establishing himself in Holt County. A man of industry and energetic habits, he was suc- cessful in making a comfortable home for his family, and when he died. in 1886 or 1887, was the owner of 666 acres, of which eighty were under
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cultivation. A good citizen and generous neighbor, true to his obligations and his friendships, he was held in high esteem among the people with whom his life was passed, and when he died left many to mourn his loss. Mrs. Meyer, who was a worthy helpmate to her husband, survived him several years, dying about the year 1895. Both were laid to rest in Holt County. Among their ten children three are deceased, while the survivors are: John, George, Mary Ann, Alex, Eliza, Sophronia and Amos, all being born in Holt County. They were given good educational advantages, reared to habits of industry and honesty, and trained to occupy the places in life to which they were called.
The public schools of Holt County furnished Amos Meyer with his education, and during his boyhood and youth he spent his vacations industriously by assisting his father in the work of the home farm. He has continued to reside on this property to the present time, and now has 100 of his 124 acres under cultivation, although he has not been actively engaged in farming recently as he has suffered a spell of ill health. The buildings on this land are practically the same as when his father lived here, except that they have been rearranged, and in several instances have been remodeled, while numerous improvements have been made and new equipment installed. Mr. Meyer has always been a believer in the use of modern methods and machinery, and the success which has attended his efforts would seem to indicate that his is the proper idea. Like his father, he is an adherent of republican principles, but has not sought nor desired public office. As a citizen he has encouraged and supported good movements in his community, the best interests of which he has always had at heart.
Mr. Meyer was married to Miss Goldie Hamilton, daughter of John and Mary (Smith) Hamilton. To their union have been born three children : Mary, Opal and Luther, the last two being twins, and all born in Holt County.
WILLIAM LINNEAUS WRIGHT. There are only a few country estates which compare in extent, productiveness and general value with that of W. L. Wright in Benton Township of Andrew County. Mr. Wright has lived a long and useful life, his early years in particular were filled with many interesting experiences, and his home has been in Andrew County for half a century. While it has been characteristic of him to give strict attention to his own affairs, and while there is little that lends itself to fluent description in the life of a progressive, prosperous and diligent farmer and stock man, Mr. Wright has never in all his years sought to avoid the responsibilties that go with capable and sub- stantial citizenship. He has been a factor in the development and life of Andrew County,
William Linneaus Wright was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, February 20, 1837. a son of John D. and Celia (Hanks) Wright. His father was of a New England family, was born February 8, 1807, was liberally educated, and for five years was a teacher in New Jersey. He had the spirit of the true pioneer, early became discontented with the settled and staid life of the East, came out to the then frontier, and from that time forward lived pretty close to the edge of western civiliza- tion, moving further west as the country around him became settled up. His wife was a native of Kentucky, and it is a fact of interest to note that she was a cousin of Abraham Lincoln. She was a daughter of William Hanks, and it will be recalled that Mr. Lincoln's mother was Nancy Hanks. John D. Wright moved to Illinois in the early days, locating in Macon County, where he served as sheriff and surveyor.
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While holding those offices the Black Hawk war broke out, and he was an orderly sergeant in the company commanded by Abraham Lincoln. John D. Wright had many interesting reminiscences of Mr. Lincoln, whom he frequently met in early days in Illinois, and of whose career and character he was always a great admirer. About 1834 John D. Wright became one of the pioneers in Des Moines County, Iowa. That was a number of years before Iowa was organized as a state, and in his capacity às a surveyor he did some valuable work in laying out the wilderness and many of the lines he established are still in existence. He platted the townsite of Burlington, Iowa, and for four terms represented Des Moines County in the Iowa Territorial Legislature, while the terri- torial capital was at Iowa City. He made the trips to the capital by stage or horseback. Mr. W. L. Wright recalls that his father once brought home a pair of overshoes made of buffalo hide. the hair being left on the inside, and they made a very serviceable article of footwear. When W. L. Wright was about six years old his mother died. After he reached the age of eighteen his father moved to Union County, Iowa. thus again transferring his home to the western margin of settlement. Very few pieces of land had been entered in Union County at that time, and the father preempted a homestead two and a half miles southeast of the Town of Afton, and secured a house that had formerly been occu- pied by the Mormons. While in Union County he continued his work as a surveyor and laid off the Town of Afton, his son William helping in the survey by carrying the chain. John D. Wright became one of the big factors in Union County, bought land extensively around Afton, and at one time owned about nine hundred acres. While he was engaged in his duties in locating settlers and making surveys, he had his sons and hired other men to break up the prairie.
About 1863 John D. Wright sold his Iowa interests and came to An- drew County, Missouri, locating two miles north of Savannah. Later he bought a place near Rosendale, and lived there until his death at the good old age of eighty-five. He was three times married. His first wife was a Miss Robison, and their only child died in infancy. By his marriage to Miss Celia Hanks there were the following children : Marvin, who died in infancy; Elizabeth, who died in infancy; William L .: J. D., of Oregon ; Priscilla, who died in infancy ; Elisha and Electa. twins, the former of Kansas, and the latter the wife of Mr. Ward of Spokane, Washington. His third wife was named Simmons. Her children were: Charles of Savannah, Missouri; Emily Parker of Oregon ; Justus of Utah; Lyman of Oregon; George of Baker City, Oregon; and Mary Jamison of Union, Oregon.
William L. Wright is the owner of a fine estate of 640 acres. This includes the north half of section 13 in Benton Township, the south- east quarter of section 12, eighty acres in section 11 and another eighty acres in section 12. The place is about four miles from Rosendale. As his early life was spent largely on the frontier with his father he had little opportunity to gain an education, but by association with his father and by his own reading and observation and experience with men he has always passed as a man of intelligence and of more than the average attainments. Until he was about twenty-five years of age he went barefoot and drove an ox team for the breaking of prairie land in Iowa, that comprising the major part of his early experience. In early years he met with some vicissitudes in getting established, but finally began making money and really owes all his prosperity to his individual efforts. Mr. Wright is a democrat, and at one time was defeated by only seventeen votes for the office of presiding judge of
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the County Court. His party was in the minority, and while he accepted the nomination he made no effort to be elected, and the close margin by which he was defeated was really a high tribute to his popularity and his qualifications as a citizen.
On August 12, 1855, Mr. Wright married Sarah Clemmons, who died May 16, 1860. On December 5, 1860, he married Matilda A. Bonifield, who died January 8, 1871. The third marriage occurred November 2, 1871, when Fannie G. Gillam became his wife. The two children of the first marriage were: Elizabeth Jane, who died in the State of Oregon as the wife of Joe Wilson, leaving two children; John D., who married Alice Carter, and both died in Oregon, leaving four children. By the second marriage there were three children: Ellsworth, who died in childhood; Albert, also deceased; and Virginia, who married Milton Holt, and she died in Oregon October 18, 1902, leaving four daughters and one son. Mr. Wright by his present wife had three children : Canby Allen, who lives on a farm adjoining his father; Martha, wife of John Coffman of Oklahoma; and W. L., Jr., on one of the farms owned by his father.
HON. W. A. PYLE. In the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, more than one veteran of the great Civil war has tried to forget the in- evitable horrors of that conflict, in which, from a sense of duty he participated and gave years of his young manhood to his country's service, but not all of them have later been called from farm and orchard to assume such public responsibilities as was W. A. Pyle, one of Andrew County's most representative men. Judge Pyle has been a resident of Andrew County for forty-seven years and his stability in every phase of life, his business judgment, his public spirit and his personal in- tegrity have long been recognized by those who have known him in every day affairs, in commercial relations and in the responsible office of presiding judge of the county. He served on the county bench with honor, efficiency and usefulness for eight years.
In the ancestry of Judge Pyle some distinguished names are found. His paternal grandmother, Sabina Marshall, was a daughter of Samuel Marshall, who was a brother of Hon. John Marshall, who held the office of chief justice of the United States for thirty-four years, during which his decisions on constitutional questions established precedents in the interpretation of the Constitution that have been accepted ever since. Another member of this branch of the Marshall family is found in Indiana's most distinguished citizen, the present vice president of the United States.
W. A. Pyle was born in Scioto County, Ohio, January 3, 1844, and is a son of G. W. and Susannah (Rankin) Pyle. The father was born also in Scioto County, in 1815, a son of Absalom Pyle, who was of English extraction but was born in Roanoke County, Virginia, from which state he moved to Ohio and there became a farmer. In 1847 the parents of Judge Pyle came to Andrew County, Missouri, the father purchasing the farm on which his son W. A., the only living member of his family, now resides, both he and wife dying in the same year. He married Susannah Rankin, who was born in 1817, a daughter of William Rankin.
W. A. Pyle was reared on his grandfather's farm in Ohio and was given educational advantages, attending an academy at Jackson at the time of the outbreak of the war between the states. Although only seventeen years old at that time he enlisted for army service, entering Company E, Thirty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His service was
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long and severe, testing not only the physical strength of the boy but proving that a man's courage is not always measured by years. He accompanied his regiment through Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama, fought in the battle of Perryville when twenty-four of his comrades in his company fell, later participated in the battle of Stone River, the Tullahoma campaign, and in the fall of 1863 in the battle of Chicka- mauga. On the last day of this battle the brave young soldier was wounded and then taken prisoner and in danger and suffering was later transferred to Atlanta, where he was held a prisoner until February 17, 1864, when he was exchanged, under a flag of truce. His condition was such at this time as to make necessary his removal to a hospital and he was a patient at Nashville until a furlough home was secured and after he reached Ohio he reported at Cincinnati and was again placed in a hospital, from which place, in August, 1864, he was sent to Todd Barracks at Columbus, and on October 4, 1864, he was mustered out. His long period of suffering and the serious character of his injuries made his recuperation slow and for the next three years he remained on the old home place in Ohio.
In 1867 Mr. Pyle came to Andrew County and took possession of his present farm, on which the only improvement was a one-room log house. He now owns 195 acres in Jefferson Township, three miles south of Savannah, and has refused an offer of $250 per acre because of the improvements here and the fine condition of his land. He gave the right of way through his property to the St. Joe & Savannah Inter- urban Electric Railroad. General farming according to modern methods is carried on here and a specialty is made of fruit growing.
Judge Pyle has always been a man of enterprise and has been intel- ligently interested in public matters at home and abroad. Until 1896 he was identified with the republican party but the issues brought for- ward in that year changed his views and since then his allegiance has been given to the democratic party. It was in 1890 that he was first elected presiding judge of Andrew County and his administration was publicly justified by his reelection in 1894. Important matters came before him during his eight years of public service and the fruits of his good judgment, his business capacity and his adjustment of affairs in county finances, still are remembered as admirable results of his terms of office. It was during his administration that the contract was let for the erection of the present courthouse, which cost, including its furniture, the sum of $43,000. This handsome building is conceded the best structure of its kind as to cost and stability in the state. Almost all the county's indebtedness also was cleared off during Judge Pyle's term as presiding judge, county obligations which were selling at a discount when he took charge, selling at par when he retired.
In 1867 Judge Pyle was united in marriage with Mary J. Bennett, who was born in Ohio, December 26, 1847, a daughter of James Bennett, and they have had four children: William Rankin, who died at the age of five years; David Emery, who operates a farm adjoining that of his father, married Ora Breit, and they have three daughters, Mamie, Annie and Gladys, the eldest being the wife of Walter Oliver and the mother of a son, Harold; Judge Pyle's third child, Herbert Bennett, a well-known attorney of St. Joseph, acting for the Burlington Railroad as claim agent, married Octavia Cann and they have four children : Ruth M., Herbert Bennett, Harold and Mary E .; and Edna is the wife of Otto Alburn, who cultivates a portion of Judge Pyle's farm, and they have two chil- dren, Carl Raymond and Mary Edith.
Judge Pyle and family belong to the Presbyterian Church, in which
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he is a trustee. He is a member of the organization known as the Cen- tral Protective Association.
HON. CHARLES E. CALDWELL. Among the old and honorable families of Andrew County must be mentioned the Caldwells. They have been identified with agricultural and industrial development for many years and in numerous ways have made their influence felt to the advantage of this section. A prominent representative of this family in Rochester Township is Hon. Charles E. Caldwell, who is serving in his second term as county judge. He has extensive farm and stock interests and is one of the county's leading men along many lines.
Charles E. Caldwell was born in Rochester Township, Andrew County, Missouri, July 27, 1867, and is a son of David G. and Josephine (Searles) Caldwell, and a grandson of John and Margaret (Clouse) Caldwell, the latter natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively. David G. Cald- well was born in Ross County, Ohio, March 7, 1847, and was brought to Andrew County by his parents in 1851 and now lives retired at Rochester. After serving three pears as a private soldier during the Civil war he turned to the peaceful pursuit of agriculture and his sub- sequent life until retirement was spent as a farmer. He married Jose- phine Searles, who was born in Rochester Township, Andrew County, May 17, 1846, and of their nine children, Charles E. was the first born.
Charles E. Caldwell was educated in the public schools of Rochester Township and remained on the home farm assisting his father until he was twenty-two years of age. A few years later he was married and then moved to Denver, Colorado, where he entered into an entirely different line of work, entering the employ of the Denver City Railway Company, as a street car conductor, in which capacity he served for six years. In 1896 he returned to Rochester Township where he now owns a fine farm of 200 acres, on which he has made many improve- ments, erecting substantial buildings for stock and other purposes and in 1911 erecting his handsome 10-room residence. Judge Caldwell does an extensive stock business, raising mules, cattle and hogs for market and still largely looks after this industry himself notwithstanding public life has claimed much of his attention for some years.
In his political views, Judge Caldwell has always been a republican and it was on the ticket of that party that he was first elected county judge in 1912. In no way could public approbation of his administration have been better shown than by his reelection to this important office, in 1914. On the bench he has shown impartiality and fairness in all his de- cisions and that his knowledge of law is sound and thorough.
Judge Caldwell was married on March 26, 1890, to Miss Cora E. Sigrist, who was born in Rochester Township, Andrew County, Sep- tember 15, 1871. She belongs to an old and prominent county family and is a daughter of Philip and Mary Sigrist, both now deceased. For many years her father was a leading business man and a public official at Rochester. Judge and Mrs. Caldwell have four children: Marie, Hazel, Ada and Philip. The family belongs to the Cumberland Pres- byterian Church at Rochetesr. Judge Caldwell finds but little time to devote to what is termed recreation, but he enjoys genial companion- ship and highly values his membership with the Knights of Pythias at Rochester.
CAPT. FRANK KNICKERBOCKER. A gentleman who, coming to Savan- nah after reaching his forty-third year and mingling in the city's busy life for forty years, and was among its active men, giving daily attention
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to the management of his interests and the duties of an official position, is an anomaly. Most men who have reached their eighty-fourth year, especially if fortune has crowned their life's labor, feel like retiring from the strife and enjoying the ease and dignity which they have earned. Not so did Capt. Frank Knickerbocker feel. With intellect un- clouded, and with manly strength but slightly abated, with an erect form, firm step and undimmed vision, he went about his daily round of affairs as in the days when struggle seemed necessary. It was an in- heritance from a vigorous ancestry, strengthened by a life of activity and healthful labor.
Capt. Frank Knickerbocker, who was an incumbent of public office during the entire forty years of his residence at Savannah, was born near Rochester, New York, January 22, 1831, a son of Richard W. and Patience (Smith) Knickerbocker, the former being a native of the Mohawk Valley, New York, a member of the famous old Empire State family so prominent in history, and a nephew of Diedrich Knicker- bocker. The captain's parents came West to Michigan in 1836, traveling considerably over the state in searching a suitable location to take up the 160-acre land grant which Richard W. Knickerbocker had received from the Government as a reward for his faithful services as a soldier during the War of 1812. Eventually they decided upon a tract fifteen miles west of Detroit, eighty acres being located on each side of the Village of Wayne, in Wayne County. The father cleared forty acres from the heavy timber, erected a log cabin, and there experienced all the hardships and privations incident to settling in a new country. When the Michigan Central Railroad was built through that part of the country it crossed the two eighties, and these accordingly increased greatly in value. There the parents spent the remaining years of their lives in the peaceful pursuits of farming, passed away at the homestead, and were buried in the Wayne Cemetery. They were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in political matters the father was a whig. They were the parents of nine children, as follows: Samuel, who is deceased; Mrs. Mary Tyler, deceased, one of whose sons, Richard WV., enlisted in the Union army during the Civil war, rose to the rank of major, subsequently became a well-known officer in the regular army, and died at Washington, D. C .; Chauncey W., who became one of the most prominent Universalist preachers of Michigan, had charge of the parish at Lansing, and there erected a church and organized a large congregation ; Daniel, who was a farmer and died at the age of thirty five years; Ursula, who married Henry Fargo, who served in the Semi- nole war and subsequently met a soldier's death during the Civil war, and she is also deceased; Capt. Frank, of this review; Smith, who en- tered the ministry, became prominent in the Upper Iowa Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and died at Cedar Falls, Iowa, at the age of seventy years; Phoebe Ann, who died at the age of nine years; and Richard, who died in infancy and was buried with his mother, who passed away a few days later.
Capt. Frank Knickerbocker was given an ordinary public school education in Michigan, where he was taken by his parents as a lad, and in his youth learned the trades of carpenter and wheelwright. These he followed for some years in Michigan, in the meantime remaining under the parental roof until his marriage in 1851, at Ypsilanti, Michi- gan, to Miss Eunice E. Durkee, who was born at Utica, New York, in 1833, and died at Fillmore, Andrew County, Missouri, 1867. After his marriage Captain Knickerbocker removed to Delaware County, Iowa, where he followed his trades for a short time and then returned to
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Michigan. In 1859 Captain Knickerbocker came to Andrew County, Missouri, and settled in the vicinity of Fillmore, where he at once began to be engaged in the carpenter trade and the contracting business, erect- ing many buildings and bridges in this and adjoining counties, his operations in this line extending over a period of thirty years and being rewarded by the greatest success.
It was while living at Fillmore that the Civil war broke out and Captain Knickerbocker secured his title. Entering the Missouri State Militia, the state being under martial law, he rose from the rank of private to that of orderly sergeant, and then was promoted to captain of Company G, a rank which he held throughout the remainder of the war. He made an excellent record as a soldier, his services being con- fined to guard duty, although at times he was called upon to act with the United States troops.
Prior to the outbreak of the war, Captain Knickerbocker had taken up the study of law, and in 1862 took the examination before Judge Parker at Savannah, and was admitted to the bar. He continued to be engaged in practice at Fillmore until 1874, in which year he was elected state's attorney, and was from that time a resident of Savannah. He served one term as state's attorney, was subsequently employed by the county to build bridges for several years, and in 1888 was appointed postmaster of Savannah, under the administration of President Benja- min Harrison, and held that office four years. He has also been mayor of Savannah eight years, having been elected to that office on four different occasions, served as justice of the peace for five years and as city attorney for five years, and also served four years in the capacity of public administrator of Andrew County. Such a long service, un- marked by stain or blemish of any kind, denotes the possession of su- perior abilities. He was a lifelong republican and consistently sup- ported the presidential candidates of his party ever since his first vote was cast for Taylor. He was a Presbyterian in his religious faith, and fraternally a Master Mason, a Mason for fifty years, was master of Round Prairie Lodge at Fillmore during the greater part of his residence there, and an "Ancient Member" of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
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