A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 8

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

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The laying out of the grounds of the County Home near Bethany also fell to Mr. Roleke's lot. He was chosen for this labor by the County Court, and it, too, presents wonders in. the direction of land- scape beautification. He financiered and promoted the erection of the Pythian Castle, at Bethany, in 1900, built upon the medieval style of architecture and at a cost of about twenty thousand dollars. Quoting from the address of the grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of Missouri, with reference to this matter, we find the following: "I have not sufficient command of language to describe this building, nor space had I the words, but this I will say-it is and always will be a fitting monument to one of the best men and truest friends I ever knew, Herman Roleke."

Mr. Roleke joined the Knights of Pythias in 1883, passed all the chairs here, and has been a member of the Grand Lodge since 1895. He has been grand master of the exchequer for eleven years, or treasurer of the Missouri Order. After ten years of service as such the honors of past grand chancellor of the state were bestowed upon him in honor of his labors. That occasion was marked by the presentation to Mr. Roleke of a solid gold emblem by the Grand Lodge with appropriate inscription as to his faithful service.

In politics Mr. Roleke started out as a voter as a protective democrat, following Randall of Pennsylvania, but when the democratic party parted from Randall's lead he abandoned it and cast his lot with the republicans. He followed the fortunes of this party until 1896 when he voted for William J. Bryan. In 1912, having resumed republicanism, he resented the methods used at the republican convention at Chicago and followed the cause of Colonel Roosevelt.

Mr. Roleke was married at Bethany, Missouri, in March, 1882, to Miss Rachel Mainwaring, a daughter of Josiah Mainwaring, who came from Liverpool, England, in 1839 and married Elizabeth Henry. Mrs. Roleke was the youngest of six children living. To Mr. and Mrs. Roleke there have been born the following children still living: Helena, the wife of Earl Poland, of Bethany; Gertrude, the wife of Harvey J. Burris,

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of Denver, Colorado; Joseph, a resident of Sioux Falls, South Dakota ; Hazel, the wife of Alvin Bartlett, of Bethany; and Agnes, the youngest, who is single and resides with her parents.

ALFRED CARROLL REYNOLDS, M. D. During the past twenty-seven years the name of Dr. Alfred Carroll Reynolds has been increasingly identified with the best tenets of medical and surgical science in Har- rison County. By many of the longest established and most conserva- tive families his skill, resource and obliging temperament have come to be regarded as indispensable, and there exist many who are indebted to him for their restoration to health, happiness and usefulness. Doctor Reynolds came to Harrison County, Missouri, in 1887 from Woodland, Iowa, where he had spent two years in the practice of his profession, going there from Davis City, that state. At the latter place he had practiced two years, and had gone there from the homestead farm in Marion County, Iowa, where he was born June 25, 1854, a son of Mortimer S. and Nancy (Nossaman) Reynolds.

Silas Reynolds, the grandfather of Doctor Reynolds, was born in Virginia and there passed his entire life. His widow, who was formerly. Minerva See, came to the West with her children, settled in Iowa, and there passed the remaining years of her life in Marion County. The children were: Mortimer S .; Carroll; Morris; John; Leaher, who became the wife of Jack Hegwood; Lutitia, who married John DeMoss; and Jane, who became the wife of "Tap" Hegwood. Mortimer S. Reynolds was born in the Old Dominion State, in 1828, and during the early '40s migrated to the West, settling in Iowa, where he entered land in Marion County which he improved, and there made his home for many years. Later in life he came to Missouri and took up his residence near Martinsville, which was the scene of his abode for twenty years. He was a stalwart democrat, was a member of the Baptist Church, and a Master Mason. Mr. Reynolds married Mary Nossaman, a daughter of Adam Nossaman, who came to Iowa from Kentucky, but was formerly a resident of Indiana. Mrs. Reynolds' parents died near Indianapolis, Indiana, while her own death occurred at Martinsville, Missouri, in March, 1907. Her children were as follows: Dr. Alfred Carroll, of this notice; Dr. Vernon, who is a practicing physician of Oklahoma; Samantha, a resident of Harrison County, Missouri, and wife of Charles Chandler; Dr. Mortimer S., Jr., a resident of Yates Center, Kansas; Dr. Allen, who is a resident of Caledonia, Iowa ; Levi, who resides in Montana; Ida, who became the wife of Mr. McConkey and died in Iowa, without issue; and Charles, who died single.

Alfred Carroll Reynolds grew up as a country boy amid rural sur- roundings and secured his literary education at Pella, Iowa. He began his career as a farmer and took up the study of medicine with his brother, Dr. Vernon Reynolds, at Durham, Iowa, and took lectures at the Keokuk Medical School and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Keokuk. After his graduation, in 1882, he established himself in prac- tice at Davis City, as before related. Doctor Reynolds belongs to the Harrison County Medical Society and the Missouri State Medical Society, and has always practiced in and among the rural precincts. His first location in Harrison County was at Martinsville, where he remained until February, 1914, and at that time came to Bethany.

Doctor Reynolds was married in Marion County, Iowa, in February, 1874, to Miss Hannah J. Teter, a daughter of Samuel E. Teter, of Iowa. who died in Marion County, this state, in 1881, leaving these children : Dr. Elda M., a practicing physician of Union Star, Missouri, married

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Nora Funk; and three children who died in childhood. Doctor Reynolds married his second wife at Davis City, Iowa, in 1884, she being Miss Flora Norman, a daughter of Samuel and Kate (Robinson) Norman. The children in the Norman family were: Clara, the wife of Lemuel Grindle; and Mrs. Reynolds. Doctor and Mrs. Reynolds have the following children: Wilda, Wanda, Vaughn, Vern, A. C., D. O. and Berman.

Doctor Reynolds is identified with the Christian Church. He erected his home in the east part of Bethany, a residence of eleven rooms, on his 71/2 acre tract, and it is one of the splendid homes of this town. It would seem that Doctor Reynolds has taken a rather silent part in his com- munity affairs, but his profession and his business have absorbed his attention almost to the exclusion of other matters. For twenty years he has owned a farm, which he has operated, and also had a drug store at Martinsville and helped to promote the bank there as a stockholder, and is still such. He supports the candidates of the democratic party.

GEORGE WESLEY BARRY, who for thirty-four years has been a factor in the commercial life of Bethany, came to this town and engaged in the harness business before he was twenty-one years old and has been on duty every day since. He came from Gentry County, Missouri, where, near Darlington, he grew up and was educated, and was a school- mate of Woodson Peery, his seat-mate and now Northwest Missouri's eminent legal light, and George Holden, now prominent in business affairs of Albany, was another schoolmate. Mr. Barry began learning the harness maker's trade the day he was fifteen years of age, with George Pierce, of Albany, and remained in that shop until he completed his trade and engaged in business on his own account at Bethany.

Mr. Barry's first store was located over Dunn Brothers' dry goods establishment, at Bethany, there being at that time five harness shops here, while since then there have been as high as seven shops at one time. He remained upstairs over the Dunns for several years and then, desiring larger quarters, moved to the old Elmo Hotel property, which he purchased. A few months later he bought a lot on Main Street and moved his store to it, and there, in 1890, he erected his new brick store, a one-story structure, which has been his establishment to the present time. Mr. Barry started into business at Bethany with a capital of about one hundred and fifty dollars, in addition to which he secured an advance of $100 worth of merchandise from his Albany employer. He brought a partner, Andrew Lord, from Albany, who was to share in the profits of the business with him, and they began business here May 17, 1878, but Mr. Lord became dissatisfied with the meagre earnings of their first two weeks, wanted full pay for more time than he had worked, and finally brought suit for a balance of $15, which Mr. Barry paid, thus setting Lord free. Some time later Mr. Barry took his brother in as partner and they were together twenty years, and still later he took in another brother, J. B. Barry, who died in the firm, since which time George W. Barry has been alone.

George Wesley Barry was born in Lee County, Iowa, May 21, 1859, a son of William C. Barry. His grandfather, a native of Ireland, bear- ing the name of O'Barry, died in Maryland, the father of these children : William C .; a son who disappeared many years ago and whom it is be- lieved went to California; Wesley, of Denver, Colorado; and James, a son by a second marriage, who lives near Chillicothe, Missouri. William C. Barry was born in Maryland, and as a child left his native state and went to Lee County, Iowa, where he grew up and was married to Nancy

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Wells, who died at Bethany, Missouri, in 1881. After his marriage Mr. Barry moved to Pettis County, Missouri, and lived on a farm near Sedalia until the Civil war broke out, when he left his farm and returned to Iowa, there residing until about the time of the close of hostilities. He then went to Mount Vernon, Ohio, but soon returned to the West, and after a short stay in Iowa came to Gentry County, Missouri. Having acquired a good education in his youth, he secured employment as a teacher in the public schools, but finally established himself in the butcher business at Albany. " Prior to the Civil war Mr. Barry was a democrat, but at the time that struggle broke out he transferred his support to the republican party. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian Church, while his wife, who was a daughter of Aaron Wells, was a Methodist. Their children were as follows: William L., of Leon, Iowa; George Wesley, of this notice; Belle, who married Mr. Hair, of Cali- fornia; Anna, who married Mr. Horner, of Indiana; Emma, who married Arden Butler and died at Darlington, Missouri; Miss Hattie, whose home is in Chicago; Lou, who married Charles E. Fitch, of Wheaton, Illinois; Myrtie, who died single; Charles, of Trenton, Missouri; and J. Blaine, who died at Bethany.

George Wesley Barry was married at Bethany, Missouri, March 20, 1890, to Miss Ann Hubbard, a daughter of E. Little Hubbard, a native of Vermont, who came to Missouri as a pioneer and here engaged in farming and stock raising. There were five children in the Hubbard family : Wallace; Henrietta; Mrs. Barry; Emma, who married W. S. Walker; and Ed, a resident of Bethany. To Mr. and Mrs. Barry there have been born four children : Gordon, who died at the age of seventeen years ; and Ross, Nell and Everett, all at home.

In addition to his prosperous and steadily growing business at Bethany, Mr. Barry is the owner of suburban property in this vicinity, and is the proprietor of the only harness shop at Stanberry. He is a republican in politics, but is not an office seeker, and belongs neither to a secret organization or a church. He is a tall, muscular man, who has demonstrated his effectiveness in business, and who, at the same time, has established a reputation as a good and public-spirited citizen.

WILLIAM FRANK CUDDY. Since the year 1875, when he wrapped up his first package of goods at Bethany, William Frank Cuddy has been connected with the mercantile interests of Bethany, and during this time has firmly established himself in the confidence of the people, both as a reliable and honorable merchant and as a thorough-going and progressive citizen. He was born in Washington County, Virginia, March 13, 1854, where he grew up on a farm of modest size, and without the environment of slavery, being under the parental roof until of age, and his coming West was the first start he made in life independent of others.

The Cuddy family originated in Ireland, from whence the progenitor, the grandfather of William Frank Cuddy, emigrated to the United States. Among his children there were no daughters, but his sons included Henry, Lilburn and David, the last named being the father of William F. David Cuddy was born in Washington County, Virginia, August 30, 1829, and died there December 15, 1911. He was a man of somewhat limited education, passed his life in the pursuits of the soil, and had no political career. He was originally opposed to secession, but when his state left the Union he lent it his moral support, and had two brothers who were soldiers in the Confederate army. Mr. Cuddy was a democrat in his political views, and he was an unwavering member

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of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and almost felt that members of other denominations would have difficulty in reaching their final reward. He was an exceedingly active man in the church and served prominently as an official and a church supporter. Mr. Cuddy married Mary J. Dunn, a sister of William M. and Robert Dunn, of Bethany. As estimated by her son she was the best woman that ever lived, and passed away at the age of seventy-two years, having been the mother of the following children: William Frank; Robert H., a resident of Washington County, Virginia; John H., who is associated with his brother in the store at Bethany; and four daughters who died in childhood.

William Frank Cuddy came to Bethany, Missouri, with only a com- mon school education and with no business experience of any nature. He secured employment with the firm of McGeorge & Dunn, merchants, at a salary of $20 per month, and for eighteen months thus continued to be engaged, paying his board and supporting himself with these meagre wages. He was then offered and accepted $30 a month with the firm of Hubbard & Price, at that time located at Bethany, and continued to spend eighteen months with this firm also. Mr. Cuddy's uncle, William Dunn, then offered him a working interest in a store here whose stock he had purchased at a bankrupt sale, and Mr. Cuddy accepted his offer and assisted him in the disposition of the goods, his part of the profits from the arrangement being $1,200. On the closing out of this venture, Mr. Dunn gave him a working interest in the store or business of McGeorge & Dunn, and that arrangement con- tinued for perhaps five years and Mr. Cuddy invested his savings in the stock, which gave him a fourth interest in the business. When the firm was changed to Dunn Brothers & Company, Mr. Cuddy was a silent partner of it and he has clung to the store tenaciously for the whole period of nearly forty years without losing a day of unnecessary time. The firm of Cuddy & Dunn came into existence some twelve years ago, and Mr. Cuddy remains as the head of it. He has rarely identified himself with other business enterprises, and has never con- nected himself with the official life of the town, although he is a director of the Harrison County Bank at Bethany.

When Mr. Cuddy has participated in politics it has been merely as a democrat and as a voter. He cast his first vote for Tilden and Hendricks in 1876, and has never missed voting at a presidential elec- tion since, and has supported the regular nominee of the party, save when William J. Bryan was supporting the "Free Silver" issue, when he voted for Major Mckinley for president. He supported Mr. Bryan, however, the last time he was a candidate and gladly gave his vote to Mr. Wilson in 1912, and is more than pleased with the condition of affairs under his administration. In church matters Mr. Cuddy has never identified himself with any particular religious denomination, but is an attendant of the Presbyterian Church, in which Mrs. Cuddy holds her membership. He belongs to no fraternal society save the Knights of Pythias.

Mr. Cuddy was married at Osceola, Iowa, March 8, 1888, to Miss Jean Morrison, a daughter of James and Marian (Stewart) Morrison. The Morrisons and the Stewarts came from Glasgow, Scotland, and Mrs. Cuddy was oorn at Osceola, Iowa, in 1867. Her brothers and sisters were: James, who died in Iowa; Mrs. Louisa Lapsley and Mrs. Jessie Cuddy, both residents of Kansas City, Missouri; and Polly, who died as Mrs. Robert Cuddy. Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Cuddy have one daughter, Mildred, who is ten years of age.

O.O. Meredith, MILD

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OSCAR O. MEREDITH, M. D. The medical profession in Breckenridge has no stronger member than Doctor Meredith, who during the past ten years in his practice in that city and vicinity has built up a splendid reputation as a skillful physician and surgeon and enjoys a constantly growing prestige and influence throughout his home community. Doctor Meredith located at Breckenridge in 1905. He is a graduate of the class of 1903 from Eclectic Medical College of St. Louis, and spent his first two years after graduation at Cowgill, Missouri.

Though Doctor Meredith has spent nearly all his life in this part of Northwest Missouri, he is a Hoosier by birth, born at Bloomfield, Greene County, Indiana, January 9, 1880. His father, Samuel G. Meredith, was a physician. In 1882 he brought his family to Northwest Missouri and he died in Cowgill at the age of sixty-two. Samuel G. Meredith married Rachel Pethtel, who was born in Ohio. Their family comprised five children : Edgar F., who is a resident of Kirkwood, Missouri; Oscar O .; Forest Lee, of Webster, Iowa; Herma Jennie Griffing, of Gault, Mis- souri, and Effie Craig Butts, who died December 25, 1914. The parents were active members of the Christian Church, in which the father served as an elder, and was also affiliated with the Masonic order and the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows.

Dr. O. O. Meredith received his education in the public schools, spent a year in the University of Missouri at Columbia, and previous to taking up the practice of medicine was for one year connected with the depart- ment of instruction in histology at the Eclectic Medical University of Kansas City, Missouri. Doctor Meredith took the full course in the medical college, and since graduating has devoted himself untiringly to the interests of his medical clients.

In 1905 Doctor Meredith married Maud Foreman, a daughter of John P. Foreman. Doctor Meredith is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also a member of the Caldwell County Medical Society, the Missouri State Medical Association and the Eclectic State and National Medical Society, as was his father. He is and has been local registrar for preservation of vital statistics in registration district No. 94, Caldwell County, since 1910. He is a man of athletic build, has great vitality and energy as well as skill for the prosecution of his duties as a physician, and is one of the studious and hard-working members of the profession.

TAYLOR EDWARD STONE. A resident of Harrison County since 1871, Taylor E. Stone came to this section of Missouri as a poor man, and his achievements of the past forty years are measured in the accumulation of a handsome farming estate, a beautiful city home at Bethany, where he has lived since 1900, and by valuable service to both the church and civic affairs of his home community.

Taylor Edward Stone was born in Licking County, Missouri, July 3, 1847. His father was Edward Stone, who came from Maryland and died in Ohio in 1862 at the age of one hundred and four years. He served as a soldier during the War of 1812 and afterwards in the Black- hawk war. As a result of his military experience he received three wounds. The Federal Government granted him a land warrant for his services during the War of 1812, but it was never commuted into land, and no trace of the document is now to be found. Edward Stone was three times married, and there were children by all the wives. His last wife was Mary Ellen Morris, who died in 1859 and is buried beside her husband at Hanover, in Licking County, Ohio. Her children were : Mary, who married John Harper; Lila, who married Burr Beard: Thomas, of Knox County, Ohio; Frank N., of Cleveland, Ohio; Taylor

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E .; Jesse, of Licking County, Ohio. By his former marriages Edward Stone had children named as follows: John, George, Theodore and Ivan, who spent their lives in Ohio; Jennie, who married Andrew Thomp- son; and Henrietta, who was the wife of George English.

Taylor E. Stone was left an orphan during his boyhood, and reached maturity with only a country school education; he learned no trade, and industry has been the key with which he has unlocked the door to prosperity. Before reaching his majority he went away from home to enlist in the Union army, and in 1864 became a private in Company G of the One Hundred and Ninety-seventh Ohio Infantry, under Captain Owens and Colonel Austin. His regiment was used chiefly for guard duty, at Baltimore and Washington and in the State of Delaware, being stationed at cities in the guarding of bridges, and at the close of the war Mr. Stone was at Dover, Delaware. On returning home from the army, he began work as a farm laborer at daily wages, and continued in that way until 1871, when he started west. A railroad took him as far as Osceola, Iowa, and as there was no railroads in Harrison County, Missouri, at that time, he came overland to join some friends in that locality. Here he easily found work on farms, though the wages were low, a dollar a day being a big price for labor at that time. Land in Harrison County at that time sold for $2.50 to $25 an acre, depending upon improvements. Mr. Stone located in Clay Township, began as a renter, and finally bought land in township 66 of range 26. It was unimproved, and Mr. Stone erected his first house with lumber hauled from Princeton. That was the nucleus around which he has since accumulated the possessions which mark him as one of Harrison County's thrifty and substantial citizens. In that vicinity he still owns his quarter section of land, and lived there and engaged in general farming and stock raising until his removal to Bethany in 1900. Dur- ing the time his home was in the country, Mr. Stone assisted in the organization of a Presbyterian church in that community. In Bethany Mr. Stone has a splendid home, with large grounds.

During the past fourteen years he has been very active as a citizen of Bethany, and is now in his fourth term as an alderman. During the eight years of his service all the important public improvements have been instituted at Bethany, including paving, installation of water- works and the removal of the plant from its old location, the laying of concrete sidewalks all over the town and many other improvements. When the Roleke administration came into power the municipality was issuing scrip to discharge its obligations, but the city is now practically out of debt, and in the meantime a large amount has been expended in local betterment. Mr. Stone takes much interest in Grand Army mat- ters, is an active member of the T. D. Neal Post, has attended the national encampment of the order, and in his home post has done much committee work in preparing for soldiers' reunions. He is affiliated with all branches of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is a past grand of the lodge, is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and is assistant scout master of the boy scouts. His political action has identi- fied him with the republican party. Mr. Stone is one of the leading laymen in the Presbyterian Church, and one of the elders in the Bethany Church. He has been a member of the Presbytery and has attended the synods, and was a delegate to the convention at Decatur, Illinois, where the union of the old school and the Cumberland churches was consummated.

In April, 1871, Mr. Stone married Miss Jennie Cullins, daughter of an Ohio settler. Mrs. Stone died in Bethany without children.

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On December 29, 1907, he married Mrs. Hattie Hohr. Mrs. Stone is a daughter of William A. and Emeline Templeman, and represents two of the distinguished families of Northwest Missouri.

William A. Templeman, who was born in Fauquier County, Vir- ginia, February 14, 1835, was brought to Harrison County, Missouri, as a child. His father, Thornton Hume Templeman, came to Missouri during the decade of the '40s and located at Bethany in 1853. Thorn- ton H. Templeman was a native of Virginia, and a son of Fielding Templeman, who was of Scotch ancestry. Thornton Templeman mar- ried Harriet Holmes in Stafford County, Virginia. On locating at Bethany he engaged in the dry goods business, and was postmaster of the town before and during the war. First a whig, he later entered the republican party, and his religious affiliation was with the Christian Church. His death occurred in 1874, and his devoted companion in the home and in church work followed him a few years later. Their children were : William A .; Sarah A., who married William Collier and died in Bethany; Frances, who married Joseph Collier, and is now Mrs. William Gale of Bethany; Mildred, married Jefferson Nordyke and died in Bethany.

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A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 8

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