A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 74

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

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John H. Townsend was born in Morgan County, Indiana, October 25, 1835. His parents were Ellison and Catherine (Zimmerman) Town- send. His father was born in Washington County, Indiana, during the pioneer period, January 2, 1817, about a year after Indiana became a state. Catherine Zimmerman was born in North Carolina June 2, 1816, a daughter of Joseph Zimmerman, a native of Germany. Her father married in North Carolina, Miss Fiscus, who died in Stokes County of that state. The father later followed his two married daughters to Indi- ana and spent the rest of his life in that state, having been a farmer by vocation. Ellison Townsend and wife were married in Morgan County, Indiana, January 3, 1833. In the paternal line Mr. Townsend is descended from good old American stock. His grandparents were William and Mary (Voiles) Townsend, the former a native of North Carolina and

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the latter of Washington County, Indiana. William Townsend died in Morgan County, Indiana, but had lived in Andrew County, Missouri, from 1847 to 1857. He was also a farmer, and farming has been the regular vocations of the Townsends from their early settlement in Amer- ica. The great-grandfather of John H. Townsend was also named Wil- liam Townsend, and was a soldier from North Carolina in the Revolution- ary war, serving under Gen. Nathaniel Greene. He joined the army in 1776 and served seven years, going through Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia, and never receiving a wound. He was also a Baptist and was born in 1755, dying at the age of seventy-seven. He married Miss Mary McGraw, and had two brothers, Henry and Joseph.

Ellison Townsend and wife resided in Morgan County, Indiana, until they removed to Missouri in the fall of 1847. They came in cov- ered wagons and saw their first railroad, which came no further West than Springfield, Illinois. They located a mile and half north of Savan- nah. This was then a new country, very little of the prairie land had been broken and only here and there had the axe been laid at the root of the trees in the great forests that covered so much of the fertile soil. Ellison Townsend lived on his farm near Savannah until his death on August 30, 1870. His wife passed away there June 12, 1877. He be- came a factor in community affairs and served in the office of public ad- ministrator, appointed under the provisional government on June 3, 1862, and was afterward elected, serving until January 1, 1869. As justice of the peace, he was appointed in August, 1856, when Nodaway Township was changed to include Jasper and part of Jackson, and was elected and re-elected, serving until 1866. He supported the republican party and was a member of the Masonic Order.

Ellison Townsend and wife had eleven children who reached maturity, four of them now living. These children are briefly mentioned as fol- lows: Elizabeth Worth, deceased; John H .; Rebecca Fazee, deceased; Delilah Roberts, deceased; Mary Catherine Maxwell of Nodaway County ; Joseph F., who served two years as county collector in Andrew County and is now deceased; William, who died in Indiana, but spent many years in Andrew County and enlisted from this state for service in the Civil war; Jesse A., of Wyoming; Jane Maxwell, who died in Iowa; Martha A. Alexander, deceased; and Louis A., of Savannah.

John H. Townsend has lived in Andrew County since 1847, being about twelve years of age when the family removed to this part of North- west Missouri. Savannah was six years old then and he remembers it as a small hamlet with only a few frame houses, the others being of logs. He had attended country schools back in Indiana, and was also a student in one of the early schoolhouses of Andrew County, the first one being a log house on the south line of the Lander's homestead. Since early manhood his career has been consistently pursued along one line, that of farming. He lived at home with his parents until his marriage, then rented a farm about six years, until about 1864, and then invested his small capital in 120 acres south of Bolckow. There was no town there then, not until after the railroad came in 1868. Mr. Townsend had to move his log house off the right of way. He had moved this log house here from the last place he had rented. He sold that property in 1890, and later he bought his present place, which was formerly the property of his wife's father, who purchased it in 1857. The farm originally comprised 275 acres, but some of it has since been sold to his two sons. In the course of many years this farm has produced many crops and has returned much sub- stantial revenue to its owners. The general business has been farming and stock raising. The place is well improved, and Mr. Townsend some years ago erected one of the most substantial country homes in this part

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of the county. Mr. Townsend is a republican and has taken some part in public affairs, having been elected in 1872 as the first justice of the peace of Benton Township and serving twelve years. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and is at the present time the oldest member in active standing in the Bolckow Lodge of Masons.

On April 13, 1858, John H. Townsend married Malinda Roberts. She was also born in Morgan County, Indiana, July 25, 1841. Her parents were Benjamin and Elizabeth (Roberts) Roberts, who came out to Mis- souri and settled in Andrew County in the spring of 1856. It was on the old Roberts homestead that Miss Roberts married Mr. Townsend and has lived there the greater part of her life. Her parents, though of the same name, were not related, and were both natives of Pulaski County, Ken- tucky, her father born in 1811 and her mother in 1810. They were married in Kentucky and about 1830 moved across the river into Indiana, and both died on the old farm in Andrew County, the mother at the age of eighty-four and the father at seventy-seven. They took an active part in the establishment of the pioneer schools and churches in their local- ity and were Baptists as were their parents before them. There were eleven children in the Roberts family, eight of whom reached maturity, as follows: Gideon, deceased ; Margaret Stotts, deceased ; Rebecca Best, de- ceased; John, who was killed in the battle of Shiloh in April, 1862; Ma- linda Townsend; Elizabeth Jane Stotts of Hill City, Kansas; James Mason, of St. Joseph; and Joseph, who died in 1911.

To the marriage of John H. Townsend and wife were born the follow- ing children : Elizabeth Jane, Joseph M., Benjamin Pierce and Delilah Olive. There are a number of grandchildren and even great-grandchil- dren. Elizabeth Jane married George Baum, and at her death on Feb- ruary 8, 1905, she left three children : Alma, wife of George T. Genther, and the mother of two children, Margaret E. and Christina Malinda; John, who married Pearl Genther, and their two children are Catherine L. and John, Jr .; Jacob Lenoir, who married Emma Shipley, and they have two children, George and Ellen Emma. The son, Joseph M., who lives on a farm near his father, married Lucy Wilson, and their three children are named Gladys L., George Joseph and Flint Wilson. Benja- min Pierce, who helps to manage the home farm for his father, married Matie Whitney, and their four children are Elvie Alice, John Paul, Linn Whitney and William Victor. Delilah Olive is the wife of Mr. S. E. Lee, the newspaper man of Savannah, and a brief sketch of Mr. and Mrs. Lee . is found on other pages of this work.

FRANKLIN HUNT BROYLES, M. D., has been a resident of Bethany since the year 1900, and during this time has been engaged in the active practice of his profession, in which he has won an enviable standing among his fellow practitioners and in the confidence of the community. He came to Bethany from Pawnee County, Nebraska, where, at Table Rock, he was a professional man for ten years, but lived in the state thirteen years, being stationed at Beatrice for three years in the same vocation. Dr. Broyles came to Missouri from Tennessee, having been born near Jonesboro, that state, September 2, 1859. His childhood was spent on a farm, his early education being secured in the district schools. He furthered his training at Martin Academy, at Jonesboro, and began the study of medicine in 1883, read- ing with Dr. S. S. Todd, of Kansas City, Missouri, and following this took lectures in the Kansas City Medical College and graduated there in March, 1887, following which he went straight out to Nebraska, and there spent his first three years as a physician at Beatrice.

At Bethany Dr. Broyles has served both as secretary and president Vol. III-32

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of the Harrison County Medical Society and as city and county phy- sician, and has been a member and president of the board of education for a number of years. He is local surgeon for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, and is a member of the Burlington System Surgeons' Association ; also a member of the Missouri State and Amer- ican Medical associations. Fraternally Dr. Broyles is a member of the blue lodge, chapter and commandery of the Masonic fraternity here, is a Pythian Knight and belongs to several fraternal insurance orders. His religious connection is with the Christian Church, of which his wife and children are also members.

Doctor Broyles was married at Auburn, Nebraska, October 26, 1887, to Miss Leila Watkins, a daughter of David and Elizabeth (McGrew) Watkins of Ohio. David Watkins was born February 26, 1824, at Radnor, Ohio, and died November 13, 1912, at Auburn, Nebraska. Eliz- abeth McGrew, his wife, was born May 31, 1827, at Alexandersville, Ohio, and died June 7, 1908, at Auburn, Nebraska. David Watkins and Elizabeth McGrew were married December 24, 1851, at West Carrollton, Ohio. David Watkins located in Nebraska in 1857, when the nearest railroad to that locality was at Iowa City, Iowa. In Nemaha County he took up agricultural pursuits, and lived on the same farm until his death, when he was nearly eighty-nine years of age. His children were as follows: Arlington, who died at Bethany, Missouri, leaving a family which now resides at Medicine Lodge, Kansas; Mrs. Broyles, wife of the doctor; Mrs. Charlena Ramsey, wife of Dr. A. J. Ramsey, of Auburn, Nebraska; and William, a resident of North Yakima, Washington. To Doctor and Mrs. Broyles there have been born the following children : Glen H., a senior in the medical department of the University of Kansas ; Watkins A., a senior at the Bethany High School ; and Elizabeth L., a junior at the Bethany High School.

The father of Doctor Broyles is Andrew C. Broyles, a native of Tennessee, who resides in that state at Knoxville. He spent the active years of his life in agricultural pursuits, and is still in good health at the age of eighty-three years. Mr. Broyles was educated at Emory and Henry College, Virginia, and missed the Civil war as a soldier, was not in politics, save as a member of the county court of his county, and belonged to the Southern Methodist Church. He has passed a normal and rather unassuming life, but has been a man of sound vigor and · earnest in his support of what he has considered beneficial measures.

The grandfather was Jacob F. Broyles, who was born December 10, 1804, in Chucky Valley, Tennessee, married Lucinda Broyles, a very distant relative, December 13, 1827, and died at Jonesboro, Tennessee, November 2, 1895. His wife, who was born September 11, 1804, died at Jonesboro, Tennessee, October 4, 1891. Jacob F. Broyles was a farmer, but also served as a boatman down the Tennessee River before the advent of railroads, and served as a magistrate in his district for many years, being a democrat, as were his sons, and a member of the Methodist Church, in which he served as a class leader for sixty years. His children were as follows: Andrew C., the father of Doctor Broyles; Margaret A. became the wife of John S. Henley, who died near Jones- boro, Tennessee; Adam H., of Chattanooga, Tennessee; James V., who met his death in battle as a Confederate soldier December 21, 1864; John S., of Erwin, Tennessee; Frances R., who married Joseph Hunter and died at Jonesboro, Tennessee; Mary A., who became the wife of William Sparks, of Johnson City, Tennessee; Malinda E., who died at Jonesboro, unmarried ..

The father of Jacob F. Broyles was John Broyles, born in Culpeper County, Virginia, October 7, 1773. About the close of the Revolutionary

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war he went to Horse Creek, Greene County, Tennessee, and settled on a farm, and was there married in 1796 to Frances Bays, who was born in 1771 in Rutherford County, North Carolina. John Broyles died March 3, 1847, and his wife April 27, 1847. He was a son of Jacob Broyles, who was born in Culpepper County, Virginia, in 1743, and married Elizabeth Yowel of a noted Virginia family. The father of this Jacob Broyles was John Broyles, believed to have been born in 1710 and was one of two brothers who came to America from Germany and settled in Culpeper County, Virginia, about 1740, while his brother, George Broyles, located in Randolph County, North Carolina.

The children of John and Frances (Bays) Broyles were as follows: Mary, who married John Wilhoit, was born October 27, 1798, and died in February, 1877, in Tennessee; Elizabeth, born March 20, 1800, mar- ried Jacob Broyles, and was drowned in Nola Chucky River on Easter Sunday, March 28, 1829; Lucinda, born December 18, 1802, married James F. Broyles, and died in August, 1838; Jacob F., the grandfather of Doctor Broyles; Elender, born February 4, 1806, married Philip Broyles, and died in September, 1884; Nathaniel B., born June 2, 1808, married Elender Broyles, and died December 9, 1883, in Tennessee; Jack, born April 25, 1810, married Lucinda Broyles and died in 1854; Washington, born February 10, 1812, drowned at the same time his sis- ter met her death; Amanda, born in 1815, married Jesse Broyles; Osey R., born in October, 1809, married Sarah Harman, and died January 19, 1907; and David N., born in 1821, married Elizabeth Harman and died in October, 1893.

Andrew C. Broyles married Louisa Anna Eliza Hunt, born at Eliz- abethton, Tennessee, May 23, 1838, and married, August 6, 1857. She died at Monmouth, Illinois, March 27, 1906, and was buried at Jones- boro, Tennessee. She was a daughter of Warrington C. Hunt, of Eliz- abethton, Tennessee, and his wife, Mary C. (DeVault) Hunt. Mr. Hunt was a son of Henson and Mary (Pope) Hunt, the latter of whom came from Greenbriar County, West Virginia. Warrington C. Hunt was a tailor by trade, was crippled, and died December 5, 1876, while his wife was born at Hanover, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1810, married June 10, 1833, and died February 15, 1895, at Jonesboro, Tennessee. There was only one child born to Mr. and Mrs. Hunt: Mrs. Broyles, the mother of the doctor.

To Andrew C. Broyles and wife the following children were born : Mary L., born in Carter County, Tennessee, May 26, 1858, married Samuel H. Ballard, January 20, 1885, and lives at Knoxville, Tennessee ; Doctor Broyles, of this review ; James H., born May 18, 1861, and died August 15, 1864; Robert S., born May 26, 1863, married Ella May Crumley, and lives at Pawnee City, Nebraska; William Milton, born August 26, 1865, married Julia Clements, at St. Louis, Missouri, Novem- ber 28, 1900, and now lives at Denver, Colorado; Emily E., born August 25, 1867, married Jacob Hunt, January 20, 1885, and lives at Alexander, Oklahoma ; Florence A., born January 10, 1870, married Rev. William R. King, June 21, 1892, and resides at Monmouth, Illinois; Rev. Edwin H., born April 18, 1873, married Ida Perryman, May 18, 1898, and is pastor of the Mount Baker Presbyterian Church at Seattle, Washington.

HENRY S. WOLFORD. Now living retired at Braymer in Davis Town- ship of Caldwell County, Henry S. Wolford has been a resident of this section of Missouri for nearly half a century, having located here soon after the close of the Civil war, in which he bore a gallant part as a soldier with an Ohio regiment. Whether as a soldier, a teacher, or a farmer, Mr. Wolford has given a good account of himself in his varied

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relations with the world and with his fellow men, and now that he has passed the mark of three score and ten years he has a pleasant retro- spect over a career that has been useful and honorable.

Henry S. Wolford was born in Knox County, Ohio, December 30, 1838, and his early life was spent on a farm. His father, Jacob Wol- ford, was a native of Pennsylvania and of German ancestry. The mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Welker, was born in Knox County, Ohio, but was likewise of Pennsylvania German stock. In the fall of 1865 Jacob Wolford and wife emigrated to Missouri, locating on a farm in Livingston County, where he died at the age of seventy-three. Politically he was a republican, and his wife was a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. The mother died at the age of eighty-four. During the Civil war the father was employed for a time in the service of the Government. A number of their sons became soldiers, the family military record being as follows: William Elliott, who died at Bray- mer, was a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Infantry ; P. W., also of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Regiment, died in 1907 in Nebraska; Marvin T., who was in the Eighty-sixth Ohio In- fantry, died at Columbus, Ohio; John, who also was in the Eighty-sixth Ohio Infantry ; and Henry S. The other children of the family were: Clarind, who lives in Kansas ; Mrs. Sarah Proctor, who died at Braymer ; and Elizabeth, who lives in Nebraska.

Henry S. Wolford grew up on a farm in Ohio, was educated in the country schools, and prepared himself for teaching, which he followed for several years in his native state. A young man of twenty-three when the war broke out, he answered the first call for volunteers for ninety days' service. He enlisted at Columbus, in Company F of the Thirteenth Ohio Infantry, and after serving his time was honorably discharged. In November, 1861, he again proffered his services to the Union, and this time entered Company D of the Fortieth Ohio Infantry under Capt. James Watson and Colonel Kramer. This time he got into some of the heaviest service of the war, in the Army of the Cumberland. He fought with the Union forces in Tennessee, Georgia, and other southern states, was present at Chickamauga and Chattanooga, was with General Sherman in the battles between Chickamauga and Atlanta, including Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Big Shanty, and was then sent back with the troops after General Hood, and fought that army at Franklin and later at Nashville. He then rejoined the army under Sherman, partic- ipated at Ringgold, where he was struck by a bullet, and for some time lay in a hospital. After his recovery he received his honorable dis- charge. He had served with the rank of a non-commissioned officer, and few men saw harder service, and none showed greater fidelity to the duties of a soldier.

Some time after his return to Ohio, Mr. Wolford determined to follow other members of the family to Missouri and arrived in Caldwell County in 1866. He did work as a teacher, but his principal business has been farming, and having provided an ample competence against the future is now living retired. Mr. Wolford first married Mary J. Bliss, who left one daughter, Mrs. John Rathbun of Braymer. In 1880 he married Mrs. Keller, a daughter of James Leslie. Her father was born in Kentucky of German stock, while Mrs. Wolford was born in Ohio, was reared and educated in that state, and came to Mis- souri in 1867, locating in Carroll County. Her father died at the age of seventy-three. Politically he was a republican, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her mother died at the age of sixty-nine. Besides Mrs. Wolford, the other children in her family were: Mrs. Nancy Keller, of Hamilton, Missouri; Frank E., of Oklahoma ; Almira

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Eaton, who died at Plymouth, Missouri; J. W. Leslie, of Los Angeles, California. Mrs. Wolford was first married to E. Keller in 1872. He made a good record as a soldier of an Ohio regiment during the war, was captured, and spent some time in the notorious Libby Prison. Mr. Wolford has been a strong republican party man, has assisted his friends to office, and is a liberal, public-spirited citizen. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is well known in Grand Army circles. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

NEY THOMPSON. From the close of the great Civil war, in which he took an active and stirring part, Ney Thompson has been engaged in agricultural operations in Andrew County, and so well have his labors been directed that today he is the owner of a handsome property on the west side of the Platte River, 31/2 miles north of Whitesville. His excellent record as a soldier has been duplicated by his sterling citizenship in times of peace, and a life of integrity and straightforward dealing has won for him the confidence and esteem of the people of the community in which he has passed so many years of his long and useful career.

Mr. Thompson was born at Duncansville, Blair County, Pennsyl- vania, November 25, 1838, and is a son of Michael and Susan J. C. (Radkey) Thompson, the former a native of Huntingdon County, and the latter of Blair County, Pennsylvania. In his native state Michael Thompson conducted a store and inn, and had a small farm at the foot of the Allegheny Mountains, and there resided with his family until 1857, when, with his son Ney, he made the journey overland to Andrew County, Missouri. Here he purchased a farm north of Whitesville, and when a home was prepared the rest of his family joined him, in 1861. Mr. Thompson continued to be engaged in the pursuits of agriculture during the remainder of his life, and through steady application and untiring industry was able to accumulate a good property. In politics he was at various times a whig, a "knownothing" and a republican. He died at the age of seventy-five years, while Mrs. Thompson survived him for a long time, and died at the advanced age of ninety-one years. They were the parents of nine children, as follows: Newton, who died as a bachelor; Wert, who met an accidental death while serving as a conductor on a railroad in Pennsylvania; Ney, of this review ; Hortense Eugenia, deceased, who was the wife of Joseph Pierce; Irene, who became the wife of Capt. W. H. Bulla; Flora, who married W. A. Crockett, a sketch of whose career will be found on another page of this work; Tell, deceased, who was named after William Tell; Solon, who is residing on the old family homestead in Platte Township; and Gracie, who died at the age of two years.

Ney Thompson grew up as a farmer boy and received his education in the public schools of Pennsylvania, being nineteen years of age when he accompanied his father to Andrew County. He assisted his father in the preparation of the home, and worked on the farm until 1861, when the outbreak of the Civil war caused him to enlist in the state militia, with which he was connected for six months. Subsequently he entered Company M, of the Ninth Missouri Cavalry, a famous organ- ization which was known as the "Bloody Ninth," owing to the fact that on two occasions, in terrific fighting, it was literally cut to pieces. Mr. Thompson served under Captain Hunter, known by his men as "Rough and Ready," and was chosen by that doughty soldier to carry messages through Western Missouri, and from St. Joseph to Macon City, a service which called for work of the most hazardous character. In this capacity

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he met with thrilling experiences and narrow escapes from death, on one occasion being compelled to swim the river at high tide with his horse in the dead of night. Eventually, while engaged in dangerous serv- ice, he threw his ankle out of place, and after being confined to the hospital for four or five months received his honorable discharge. For several years after the close of the war he was compelled to use a crutch.

With a brave and honorable military record, Mr. Thompson returned to the duties of peace, and resumed agricultural operations, in which he has continued to be engaged to the present time. He now has an excellent farm of 160 acres, located in Platte Township, on the west side of the Platte River, 31% miles north of Whitesville, on which he has im- provements of the most modern character. His land is well tilled and productive, growing all the products of this section, and Mr. Thompson has shown himself a good business man in his transactions. His methods have been such as to place him firmly in the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens, and few men of the community are held in higher general regard. In spite of his seventy-six years, Mr. Thompson is still active and energetic and attends to the management of his farm in the same able way that he did when it was necessary for him to make each dollar count. He is an independent republican in his political views, but confines his interest in public affairs to casting his vote. Until its dis- bandment he was a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic.

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A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 74

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