A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 68

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

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G. B. GILLIS. Of the men who have actively participated in the transformation of Benton Township during the past quarter of a cen- tury, none are better or more favorably known in Holt County than is G. B. Gillis, who is the owner of 500 acres of valuable land. That he has been one of the busy men of the community is apparent from the many changes which he has wrought upon his farm, and the excellent equipment which lightens labor and contributes to economic results. As a citizen he is held in high esteem by reason of the honorable manner in which he has conducted his dealings, and, all in all, his life has been a very useful and successful one.

Mr. Gillis was born in Mound City, Holt County, Missouri, May 2, 1866, and is a son of the late Edward and Amanda (Moore) Gillis. His father was born in Scioto County, Ohio, and as a young man, without capital or influential friends, came to Holt County in 1844, entering a tract of land. This he put under cultivation after a period of intense activity and hard labor, and subsequently secured 160 acres opposite this first property. On the latter land he built a brick house which stands, and the property still belongs to a member of the family. As the years passed and his finances permitted, Mr. Gillis added to his holdings through wise and judicious investment, and at one time was

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the owner of 1,800 acres, his home where he died being located 21/2 miles north of Mound City. Mr. Gillis was a zealous friend of education, and his eight children were given every opportunity of acquiring a good mental training, the father even maintaining a private school for their use. He was interested in fraternal affairs, being a member of the local lodges of the Masons and the Knights of Pythias, and his political views corresponded to those of the democratic party.

Like his brothers and sisters, G. B. Gillis was granted good educa- tional opportunities in his youth, and early decided upon a career in agriculture, in which he has gained such a noteworthy success. He was only eighteen years of age when he secured possession of the nu- cleus for his present property, and from that time to the present he has been adding continually to his holdings, which now aggregate 500 acres. This long period of time on one property has witnessed a realiza- tion of his most practical ambitions, and has placed him among the most scientific and progressive landsmen of Holt County. He is appre- ciated for his sterling traits of character, his genial manner, and his contributions to the well-being of the township in which his entire career has been passed. Like his father, he believes in the value of education. and has done his part in advancing it by a number of years of service on the school board of Benton Township. Politically he is a democrat, and his fraternal connection is with the local lodges of the Woodmen of the World and the Knights of Pythias.

Mr. Gillis married Miss Helen Thompson, daughter of W. L. Thomp- son, who came to Holt County from Buchanan County, Missouri, where he was an early settler. Five children have been born to this union, all in Holt County : Emmett, Clarence, Lloyd, Rollie and Ruth.

IRA CALDWELL. For forty years a resident of the Blythdale locality, Ira Caldwell has resided on the farm which he now owns for one year less than that time, having in 1875 purchased 120 acres of land in sec- tions 11 and 12, at that time unimproved. During his first year here he built a shelter for his family and a place for the protection of his stock, proceeded to break the sod, and the second year obtained a crop. From that time to the present time he has been engaged in mixed farming and the raising of livestock, and his property is now one of the finest and most valuable in the community, while the little cabin that served him as a home during the first years of his stay here has been replaced by a commodious and handsome country residence. Mr. Cald- well was born in Fayette County, Indiana, May 12, 1839, and is a son of Train and Jane (McClure) Caldwell.

James Caldwell, the grandfather of Ira Caldwell, was descended from a South Carolina family, but was a Kentuckian by birth. Some time after. his marriage he took his family from Kentucky up into Indiana, crossing the Ohio River at Cincinnati and following the boundary line of the states north to a point opposite Fayette County, and there awaited the conclusion of the treaty with the Indians which brought the region of Fayette County into the public domain. He then crossed over and entered land and spent the rest of his life in that county. When he crossed the Ohio River, Cincinnati had only four houses and the region of Western Ohio was barely touched with settlements. After he settled in Indiana, James Caldwell followed teaming to Cincinnati, and on one of his trips met with an accident that resulted in his death some time later. He married Mary Loder, who lived to a ripe old age, and they had the following children: Ben- jamin, who died in Wayne County, Indiana; Train, the father of Ira;

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Lucinda, who married James Tiner; Jane, who married William Ross; Mrs. Daniel DeHaven; Jonathan, who died in Rush County, Indiana ; James, who died at Lewisville, Indiana; and Frank, who died at In- dianapolis. The above brothers were all farmers and stockmen, and worked together in the latter business during the greater part of their lives.

Train Caldwell was born in a block house on the edge of Ohio October 1, 1810, while the family waited for the opening of the lands in Fayette County, Indiana, and he died March 2, 1887, at Connors- ville, Indiana. In Fayette County he spent all his life and within the very atmosphere of his birthplace. His education was of a practical nature and his career showed him to have been a man of business judgment. He raised, fed and shipped stock for many years and at one period of his life was a breeder of fine horses and cattle at Benton- ville. He accumulated a splendid estate during his career. During his life he had no military record, nor did he serve his community in any official capacity, but always gave his support to the candidates and policies of the democratic party. He was reared as a Primitive Baptist, but in after life united with the Christian Church. He was a solid and substantial citizen, greatly interested in the affairs of his community, and was taken away at the end of a rather active career. Mr. Caldwell married Jane McClure, a daughter of Samuel McClure, of Irish descent, who settled in Fayette County, Indiana, from Adams County, Ohio. Mrs. Caldwell died in 1869, having been the mother of the following children : James, who spent his life in Fayette County, Indiana ; John, who died in the same county; Benjamin, who died in Henry County, Indiana ; Nathaniel, who died at Richmond, Indiana; Mary A., who married Lee Fox and died at Connorsville, Indiana; Ira, of this review ; Jonathan, who lives at Cambridge City, Indiana; Sanford, of Fayette County, Indiana ; Wilson, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Only one of these numerous sons served the Union during the Civil war.

Ira Caldwell was educated in the district schools at a time when the advantages to be secured in an educational way were of a primitive nature in his locality. He went into the Union army in 1862, enlisting at Lewisville, Indiana, in Company I, Eighty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. His captain was A. W. Fellows and his colonel was Nelson Trussler, and the regiment crossed the Ohio River at Cin- cinnati and met Kirby Smith's troops at Covington, at which point they participated in a skirmish. The command then went to West Vir- ginia and did guard duty along the Ohio River, and later, in the spring of 1863, the regiment joined General Thomas' army at Nashville, Ten- nessee, and participated in the fighting during the campaign under Thomas through to Atlanta, Georgia, participating in the engagements at Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Resaca, Ringgold Gap, Kenesaw Mountain. Peach Tree Creek, Buzzard's Roost, Tunnell Hill, and the siege of Atlanta, and finally Goldsboro, where the south- erners were defeated decisively. General Hood having retreated to- ward Nashville. Thomas' command, with others. followed him up and fought him at Franklin and Nashville, where they practically annihi- lated his army. The command of Mr. Caldwell next went to Hunts- ville, Alabama, and after there spending some time was ordered to Eastern Tennessee, his regiment being engaged in repairing the railroad near Greenville, Tennessee, when the war ended. Mr. Caldwell was mustered out of the service June 30, 1865, without having been wounded or without a hospital record. He went into the service as a duty sergeant,

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and was orderly sergeant when mustered out, his record having been a most excellent one.

Mr. Caldwell began life after the war as a farmer in Rush County. He lived there until he left the state for Missouri, and was married there October 11, 1866, to Miss Margaret J. Kelsey, a daughter of Joab and Sallie (Broadway) Kelsey. Mr. Kelsey was a Warren County, Ohio, man, where he was born and married, and by vocation was a farmer. He settled in Rush County, Indiana, as one of that section's pioneers, and there lived until advanced years reached him, when he moved to Missouri, and here died at his Caldwell County home in 1882, at the age of seventy-four years. His wife died in 1872 and their children were: Sarepta, who died at Blythedale as Mrs. Isaac Irvin; Ambrose, who died in childhood as did Amy ; Mary, who married Francis Campbell and died in Jasper County, Iowa; Lewis, of Mattoon, Illinois; Margaret, born in March, 1841, and the wife of Mr. Caldwell; Samuel H., who died at Kansas City, Missouri, was wounded while serving in Company F, Eighty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with Mr. Caldwell; and Caroline, who married DeCamp Voorhees, her second husband being J. W. Moore, and she now resides at Ridgeway, Missouri. Mrs. Caldwell's grandfather, John Kelsey, was a son of James Kelsey, whose home was originally in old Virginia, near the Gettysburg battle- field. The family moved into Kentucky during the settlement of the state. John Kelsey married Miss Margaret Powell, and Joab Kelsey was one of their children.

Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have one child: Hester, who is the wife of Coleman Harrison, who resides on the Caldwell farm. They have two children. Margaret and Harold. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell are Missionary Baptists, and he is a member of the Blythedale Post of the Grand Armny of the Republic. He is a democrat in politics, but has not been particu- larly active in public affairs, his only service of this character being as a member of the school board. He has won success in his chosen calling because of his industry and persevering effort, and has fairly established himself as one of his community's substantial men and representative citizens.

B. F. KINCAID. Few rural homes in Northwest Missouri represent more of the material comforts and practical business-like arrangements than the Grand View Farm of B. F. Kincaid in Lincoln Township of Caldwell County. As a home it represents those conveniences and com- forts which are becoming more and more typical of country life in America, and which serve to raise the general standard of rural living. The home is only the central feature of a business or industry in the management of which Mr. Kincaid has proved himself a past master, and as a productive and profitable farm his is ranked as one of the best in the township. It comprises 240 acres of land, devoted to general farming and stock raising. The modern residence was built in 1914 at a cost of $5,000, and is regarded as one of the best in the entire county. It occupies a building site not far from the old homestead where Mr. Kincaid was born. The residence comprises nine rooms, and the base- ment has a cement floor and walls and is divided into three compart- ments, one of which is for a bathroom, another for the laundry, and the other for furnace and general supply room. Many compliments have been paid to both the convenience of arrangement and the general archi- tectural plan of this home. It has such conveniences as hot and cold water in every room, while an acetylene gas plant furnishes light for both house and barn. The woodwork is of pine and hardwood, and the

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general furnishings are in keeping with the good taste and comfort dis- played in the building itself. Around the south and east sides of the house extends a commodious and attractive porch, fifty-two feet in length. The home is set in the midst of a beautiful lawn, with large shade trees, and Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid take pride in making the sorroundings meas- ure up to the high standard set by the home itself. The business part of the homestead comprises a large stock, hay and grain barn, 48x50 feet, with other outbuildings, including two windmills that pump water for

both stock and domestic purposes. Stretching beyond the barns are seen the broad fields of corn, meadow, and pasture land. Grand View is happily named, since one of the finest views of landscape can be obtained here of any to be noted in this section of Northwest Missouri. Poultry raising is one of the profitable and important features of the Grand View industry, with the flock of Rhode Island chickens, of which there are no better specimens of this splendid breed to be found in Northwest Missouri.

Benjamin F. Kincaid was born on the old homestead in Caldwell County, May 5, 1871, a son of William Kincaid, now deceased, who was for many years one of the prominent and well. known citizens in this locality. He died when about sixty-three years of age, after a career as a farmer and stock man, and his wife died a few years afterward. Of this union there were thirteen children, only four of whom are now living : Fred, who lives on the old homestead; William, who lives near Braymer, Missouri; Ben F .; and Mary C., who lives with her brother Fred in the old home. Both parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

Benjamin F. Kincaid grew up on the old farm, developed his physique by farm labor while attending the local schools, and after finishing his education in the Chillicothe Normal engaged in work as a teacher and spent four years in instructing the youth of the country district. Since then he has given all his time and attention to the development of his farming interests, and his success is well measured in the splendid home above described.

On February 20, 1895, Mr. Kincaid married Susie Bates, who was born at Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and was reared and educated in Clay County. Her father, Charles Bates, was for many years a well known resident of Excelsior Springs. Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid are the parents of three children: Leslie Bryan, Russell Grady and Mary Elizabeth.

Mr. Kincaid affiliates with the democratic party, and has given some official service to his community. Whether as a farmer or in his rela- tions as a public spirited citizen he has always shown a striking energy and an earnestness that give effectiveness and value to every undertak- ing. Mr. Kincaid is a Royal Arch Mason, being affiliated with the chapter at Hamilton, Missouri. Physically he is a large man, with a soldierly bearing, and has a frankness and geniality which enable him to mingle with all classes and count his friends by hundreds. He and his wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and he has served as an officer in the church for a number of years, and both are active in church affairs. Mr. Kincaid is also secretary of the Missouri Valley Fox Hunting Association, an organization of about three hundred members, which hold their annual hunt, and with their wives and friends, spend a week in camp at some suitable place. He also maintains a kennel of some of the best fox hounds in Missouri.

ISAAC L. McCALLON. As a representative of the agricultural inter- ests of Andrew County, Missouri, Isaac L. McCallon has established

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a creditable record for industry, perseverance and integrity. With the exception of several years his entire life has been passed within the borders of this county, and during the past seven years he has lived on the farm which he now occupies, located in section 8, Nodaway Township. Mr. McCallon is a native son of Andrew County, born in Clay Township, January 29, 1850, a son of John C. and Mary Jane (Dunlap) McCallon.

John C. McCallon was born in the State of Tennessee, in 1818, and as a young man migrated to Andrew County, Missouri, where he was married in 1845 to Jane Dunlap, who had been born in Tennessee in 1825 and came to Missouri with an aunt at the age of eighteen years. After their marriage the parents located on a farm which Mr. McCallon had entered from the United States Government, a tract of 160 acres in Clay Township on which Isaac L. McCallon was born. During the time of the gold excitement, in 1850, Mr. McCallon made the long and dangerous trip overland to the gold fields of California, and there remained three years, but was only moderately successful in his search for the yellow metal, and in 1853 returned to his Missouri home. There he continued his agricultural labors for about eight years, but the outbreak of the Civil war and the attending unpleasantness between the rival factions in Missouri caused him to remove his family to Iowa, where they resided for four years. When peace was declared they returned to the homestead and Mr. McCallon continued his farming operations until his death, in 1889, the mother having passed away during the previous year. Mr. McCallon was a successful business man, won success through persevering industry, and at the time of his death was the owner of a half-section of valuable and productive land. He was a democrat in his political views, but not an office seeker. Both he and his wife are remembered as honest, God-fearing people and faithful members of the Presbyterian Church. They were the parents of twelve children, namely: Robert, who died at the age of five years: Sarah Vaughn, who is deceased; Isaac L., of this review ; Phoebe Ousley, deceased ; Wilson K. and Calvin, twins, both deceased, the latter in childhood ; Annie Stephens, deceased; John, a resident of Clay Town- ship, Andrew County ; James, a resident of Oklahoma; Mary, who died in childhood; Walter of Clay Township; and Cora Gossett, of Holt County, Missouri.

Isaac L. McCallon received his early education in the little log subscription school in Clay Township, his first teacher being Jeff Mills and his second James Ewing. He later attended the "Institute," in Clay Township, erected by stockholders in the community, but the out- break of the war caused him to give up his studies and go to Iowa with the family. On their return to Clay Township, he remained under the parental roof until his marriage, shortly after which he went to Kansas, and there spent four years in farming, but soon returned to Clay Township and continued farming there until 1907, when he came to his present farm of twenty-six acres located in section 8, Nodaway Township, one-half mile west of Savannah. He still. however, owns 275 acres of well-improved land in Clay Township. Mr. McCallon, in addition to carrying on general farming, has been interested in stock and has raised and fed high-grade cattle, hogs, mules and horses. His improvements cover a wide range of years and are of a thoroughly practical and dependable nature, his farms have profited by his wise application and untiring industry, and his present home reflects the qualities which have brought him success and standing among his fellow-men. Mr. McCallon is a democrat and has taken an interest

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in his party's success, although not as a candidate for official position. With his family, he attends the Presbyterian Church.

In 1877 Mr. McCallon was married to Miss Elizabeth Clare, who was born in Kentucky, January 17, 1858, and came to Missouri with her parents in childhood, she being a daughter of James and Sarah (Collier) Clare, natives of Kentucky. Mr. Clare, who is a retired farmer, resides at Bolckow, Missouri, while Mrs. Clare died on the farm in Andrew County, in 1898. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McCallon: Emma, who is the wife of Norman Cole, both being graduates of the State University and now teachers in the public schools of Idaho; John W., who is engaged in farming in Clay Township; Rev. Frank C., a minister, in charge of the Christian Church at Lenox, Iowa; Lafayette, who died in 1908, at the age of twenty-two years ; Clifford, a resident of Nebraska ; and Grace and Walter, at home. All the children are graduates of the high school.

EUGENE MUELLER. An ever increasing prosperity has attended the well-directed efforts of Eugene Mueller since his arrival in Andrew County in 1889. To this community he brought an earnest purpose and worthy ambition, and he has not only been successful in the accumula- tion of a good farm of 160 acres, located in Jefferson Township, three miles south of Savannah, but has also taken an active part in the affairs of the community, so that he is known as a public-spirited and helpful citizen.

Mr. Mueller is a native of Germany, born in Böblingen, Württem- berg, November 17, 1861, and is a son of Christian and Ernestine (Geschwindt) Mueller, natives of Nagold, Württemberg, the father born August 1, 1826, and the mother July 14, 1834. There both passed away, Mr. Mueller October 18, 1886, and his wife September 22, 1908. During his early life Christian Mueller received a good education and adopted the profession of architecture, but later became postmaster at Böblingen and also owned a farming property, on which he kept about twenty-five head of horses. Prior to the advent of the railroads he was engaged in carrying mail and passengers to different points, but when his father-in-law died he disposed of his own interests in order to look after those of Mr. Geschwindt, which included a hotel and post business at Nagold. He and his wife were the parents of three sons and three daughters, namely: Pauline, in Germany; Eugene, of this review ; Ernestine, who married in Germany and still resides there ; Carl Felix, a resident of Germany; Beatrice Elise Hettler, a widow with two chil- dren who came to the United States in 1913 and now makes her home with Mr. Mueller ; and Wilhelm Heinrich, who is a soldier in the Ger- man army and is at present participating in the great European war.

Eugene Mueller grew up on big farms in Germany, attended agri- cultural college and secured a high school education, which entitled him to a one-year's service in the regular German army. In 1882 he came to the United States, a single man and alone, and for two years was employed at St. Joseph, Missouri, subsequently spending a like period as a hand on Missouri farms. The death of his father, in 1886. called him back to Germany, where he conducted the elder man's busi- ness for three years and closed up his interests, and then disposed of his business there and in 1889 returned to the United States. Choosing Andrew County as his field of labor, he bought his present farm in Jefferson Township, and here has continued to reside to the present time. Much of this 160-acre tract has been cleared by Mr. Mueller, who has erected good buildings and made many substantial improve-

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ments, which have added to the farm's value and appearance. He has devoted his attention to general farming and the raising of a good breed of stock, and in both lines has met with the prosperity that comes to men of intelligence, ability and industry. Mr. Mueller became a citizen of the United States as soon as he could secure his citizenship papers, and since then has generally supported republican candidates, although in local affairs he exercises his prerogative in giving his vote to the man he deems best fitted for office. For himself, he has not sought public honors, but has been a willing worker in movements which have promised to culminate in civic betterment. He was reared a Lutheran, but now attends the German Reformed Church at Ama- zonia. Mr. Mueller holds membership in the C. P. A.

In 1890 Mr. Mueller was married to Miss Anna Reichert, who was born in Württemberg, Germany, March 7, 1871, came to the United States in 1889, and died January 5, 1913. She was a third cousin of her husband, and they were the parents of six children, namely: Ernestine, who died at the age of twelve years; Herman F., who resides with his father and is his assistant in the work of the home place; Frank, who died at the age of six years; a child who died in infancy ; and Albert C. and Bertha Anna, who reside at home.

MRS. MAUD FAIR CRECELIUS. The important duties of librarian of the beautiful Jewett Norris Library are entrusted to the capable hands of Mrs. Maud Fair Crecelius, at Trenton, and under her management the institution is filling the field and accomplishing the mission for which it was intended by its revered founder. Mrs. Crecelius is eminently fitted in every way for the position of trust and responsibility which she holds, being a lady of many graces and attainments, and is very popular in the social life of Trenton.

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A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 68

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