A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 81

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

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The next two years were spent in farming. This was followed by his appointment as road commissioner, in which office he surveyed all the roads of Grundy County and laid out many new ones. Taking up the study of law in the office of Shanklin, Austin & Herrick, he continued until admitted to the bar on February 15, 1870. His practice as a lawyer has been continuous since that time except so far as official duties have prevented.

On March 27, 1862, before he went away to the war, he married Miss Martha B. Carter. She was born in Twiggs County, Kentucky, a daugh- ter of Dr. Benjamin and Elizabeth Carter. Her father was an old- time physician, and spent his last years in practice at Lafayette, In- diana, where he died. His widow then married again and brought her family to Missouri. Mrs. Collier died June 16, 1878. On October 29, 1879, Mr. Collier married Fannie C. Brawner, who was born in Clinton County, Missouri, a daughter of Jacob and Susan Brawner, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Missouri. The second Mrs. Col- lier died March 30, 1893, and on February 28, 1895, he was united in

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marriage with Alexa W. Marshall. Clay County, Missouri, was the place of her birth, a daughter of Alexander and Fannie E. Marshall. Mr. Collier was the father of five children by his first wife, namely : Annie D., Oscar L., Kittie, Jewett N. and Luther C. The four by the second wife were: Leland H., Cora B., Joseph N. and Susie D. There are two children of the present union, Woodson E. and John W. All are living except Joseph N., who died in 1909 aged twenty-six. The children's marriages and the names of the grandchildren are given brief record as follows: Annie D. married Clifton M. Brawner, and has Leon, Luther N., Audley and Hilda, Audley being married and the father of one child. Oscar L. married Bessie Lowen, and their three children are Raymond, Ruth and Clifton. Kittie is the wife of Charles N. Mason. Jewett N. married Effie Black, and has two children, Audrey and Fred. Luther C. married Dollie Warner, and has a child, Florence. Leland H. married Adelle Gennett, and has a son, Luther T. Cora B. is the wife of Bryant C. Biggerstaff, and her three children are Curtis Lee, Luther C. and Katharine Ann.

Mr. Collier has been a stanch upholder of republican doctrines ever since casting his first ballot for Abraham Lincoln. His official record is perhaps the least of his public service to the community where he has spent his life. He has been a justice of the peace, upwards of thirty years was a member of the school board, was city attorney fourteen years, and mayor two years. He affiliates with Grand River Lodge, I. O. O. F., and the Woodmen of the World. Mr. Collier has been an elder in the Christian Church for forty years.

WILLIAM A. ODELL. A veteran of the Civil war, William A. Odell is probably the oldest living native son of Caldwell County, and with the exception of the period spent in the war has lived about eighty years in that county, and as a soldier, citizen, a farmer and industrious worker has long been held in high esteem by all his community.

A log cabin in the vicinity of Kingston was the place in which he first saw the light of day, and his birth occurred on February 10, 1831. To anyone familiar with the history of settlement in Northwest Mis- souri, that date is sufficient to fix the pioneer establishment of the Odell family in this section. Only ten years had passed since Missouri's admission to the Union, and Northwest Missouri was just beginning to be settled. His father, Isaac Odell, was a native of Pulaski County, Tennessee, and came to Northwest Missouri with his father, Calip Odell, who was one of the prominent pioneers in Daviess County. Isaac Odell lived for some years near Gallatin, and then established a home in Cald- well County, built a log cabin, and hewed a farm out of the wilderness. He was married at Independence, Missouri, to Elizabeth Adams, who was born in Kentucky, a daughter of Richard Adams. Isaac Odell and wife had twelve children, and five sons and two daughters are still living. The family made a notable record during the war, and William A., Solomon, Frank L., Pleasant C .. and Andrew M. were all soldiers. The father of the family died at the age of forty-six, and his widow mar- ried Andrew Welker, and became the mother of two children. Isaac Odell was a democrat in politics, and a member of the Baptist Church.

William A. Odell grew up in a pioneer country, and in his early youth and manhood hunted all kinds of wild game, including bear, wolf, tur- keys, and did his own part in developing this section of Missouri from its original wilderness condition. When the war came on, his sym- pathies were with the Union, and he went to Quincy, Illinois, and there enlisted in an Illinois regiment. His brother, Andrew, was in the same regiment. He saw some of the most strenuous campaigns of the war,

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was with Sherman's army in its campaign from Chickamauga to Atlanta, then marched on to the sea and up through the Carolinas, and finally participated in the grand review of the victorious troops at Wash- ington. He received his honorable discharge at Quincy and lived in that vicinity for several years. In 1869 Mr. Odell returned to his native County of Caldwell, and that has ever since been his home.

Mr. Odell married Mary Jane Wright. To their marriage were born twelve children, three of whom are living: William, of Braymer, Mis- souri; Rufus; and John, who lives at Hinton, Oklahoma. Mrs. Odell, who died in 1886, was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For his second wife Mr. Odell married Mrs. Mary Holms. They have two children: Mrs. Myrtle Bryant, of Breckenridge, Mis- souri; and Frank L. Mr. Odell now lives quietly, enjoying the fruits of a long and well spent life, is one of the popular old soldiers, a man of frank and genial personality, and delights in the recollections and tales of pioneer days in Caldwell County.

JOHN W. BAKER. Both in Caldwell and Ray counties the name Baker Brothers signifies exceptional success and prosperity in the agri- cultural and stock-raising industry. The firm is made up of John W. and James Baker, both of whom are natives of this section of Missouri, and have employed their well-trained judgment and industry in develop- ing a fine farming property and various other important interests both in Missouri and elsewhere. They have lived in Grant Township in sec- tion 25 since 1870.

John W. Baker was born on the old homestead in Ray County, De- cember 10, 1841, while his brother James was born at the same place in 1839. Their father was John Baker, a pioneer settler in Ray County, and the owner of a large amount of property in that vicinity. John Baker was born in Bedford County, Tennessee, July, 1804, a son of Wil- liam Baker, who died when his son John was three years of age. Wil- liam Baker's wife was a Miss Bullard, a sister of Kit Bullard, a prom- inent man in his time in Tennessee. John Baker was married in Ten- nessee to Mary F. Hanna, a native of Tennessee. While living in that state two children were born to them, one of whom, William H., died in Ray County in 1858, and the other was Martha L. Hunt, also now deceased. After the birth of these two children, in 1831, John Baker and wife left Tennessee, loaded their family and possessions in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen, and spent ten weeks driving across the coun- try, camping at night by the roadside, cooking their meals over a camp fire, and shooting game for provisions. They finally arrived and settled near Knoxville, in Ray County, where John Baker began a career which ultimately gave him both prosperity and influential position. He owned 463 acres of valuable land in Ray County. After the family came to Ray County the following children were born: Lucinda Petty, deceased; Mary F., widow of W. H. Stone, and living in Polo; Mrs. Nancy Houston, of Polo, whose husband died in 1868; James C. and John W., of Cowgill, Missouri ; Robert M., who died in 1861 at the age of seventeen ; Thomas J., who lives in Washita County, Oklahoma; and Mrs. S. M. Good, of Cooper, Texas. The mother died in 1891 at the age of eighty-four, while the father was ninety-two years of age when death called him from his labors. Both were members of the Presby- terian Church, and lived lives in keeping with their religious profes- sion. The father was a Henry Clay whig in early life and later a democrat.

John W. Baker grew up in Ray County, and has many interesting . recollections of his boyhood, which was spent in almost a pioneer com-

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munity .. He attended one of the old log schoolhouses so frequent in that time, and sat on a slab bench and rested his feet on a puncheon floor. His brother James had similar experiences as a boy, and both early became acquainted with industry and the hard work of making a living in a new country, and have witnessed many remarkable developments in the country since their boyhood. The Baker Brothers now have two farms in Caldwell County, aggregating 400 acres, and have such improvements in the way of buildings and other facilities as constitute a valuable property and specially adapted for its purposes of general farming and stock raising. The brothers are also heavily interested as investors in Texas lands, and own 770 acres in Delta County and 900 acres in another section of that state.

James Baker was married in 1870 to Mary C. Thompson, now de- ceased. In 1875 John W. Baker married Caroline Hemery, a daughter of Reason and Elizabeth Hemery, both now deceased. Mrs. John W. Baker died in 1885 at the age of thirty-four. She was a member of the United Brethren Church. She was survived by three children : James V., who died at the age of seven; and John W. and Reason H. John W. Baker, Jr., is a prominent farmer and dairyman with a large farm near Polo. He married Nellie M. Seiss, and their five children are John S., L. Carson, Robert B., Raymond and James V. The son Reason H. married Nellie Stone, a daughter of Mr. W. C. Stone, pres- ident of the Farmers Bank of Polo, and their two children are Floyd and Carrie. The Baker Brothers and their families are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

J. B. BATHGATE. The First National Bank of Polo is one of the well organized and substantial financial institutions of Northwest Mis- souri, and in its business record and in the personnel of its stockholders and officers offers the strongest possible guarantee for the safe and con- servative management of its funds. The First National Bank of Polo was incorporated September 4, 1905. It has a capital stock of $30,000, its surplus is $13,000 and its officials are all men of prominence in the community. The officers are: J. B. Mcveigh, president; W. M. Estes, first vice president; Elbert Zimmerman, second vice president; J. B. Bathgate, cashier; and H. C. Zimmerman, assistant cashier. All these are well-known business men, farmers and stockmen in both Caldwell and Ray counties.

J. B. Bathgate, the efficient and popular cashier of the institution, was born on a farm ten miles south of Polo, a son of the late Thomas Bathgate, one of the most successful men in Northwest Missouri, who gained prominence as"a farmer and stockman, and at his death in 1911 left an estate estimated to be worth two hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars. He was a man who had made his fortune through his own efforts and good management. He was a native of Scotland, came in youth to the United States, and was married at the age of thirty-five to Rachel Shepneck, who was of a Virginia family. They were the par- ents of six children. Dr. H. T. Bathgate, now deceased, was formerly physician and surgeon at Chicago; W. S. is in the hardware business at Kingston; J. B., the subject of this sketch; Charles A., a merchant of Polo; L. B., a farmer and stockman; and Mary, wife of James T. Moffett, farmer and stockman living near Polo. The father was a strong republican, and besides successfully managing his own private inter- ests, did much to promote the welfare of Ray County.

J. B. Bathgate was reared on a farm, was taught to work from early youth, and acquired his education in the public schools and Cen- tral Business College at Sedalia, Missouri. For about twelve years he Vol. III-35

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was associated with his brother in the hardware business at Polo, and then became one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Polo, in the management of which his keen business judgment and financial ability have been important factors.

Mr. Bathgate has lived in one of the modern homes of Polo since 1910. His wife, Eva Slack, is a daughter of Judge Job Slack, a prom- inent citizen of this section. Mr. and Mrs. Bathgate were the parents of three children, a son and two daughters who died in infancy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bathgate are active members of the Methodist Church, in which he is serving as superintendent of the Sunday School and treasurer of the church, while Mrs. Bathgate is also active in church and Sunday School, and has done much to maintain the activities and influence of her church home. Mr. Bathgate is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge at Polo, the chapter at Hamilton, and belongs to Orient Commandery No. 35 of the Knights Templar at Kansas City.

DAVID A. KELMEL. When mention is made of the leading stockmen of Northwest Missouri the name of David A. Kelmel is sure to receive some attention, since there are few men in that industry whose activ- ities are more extensive and whose judgment is held in higher esteem. Mr. Kelmel has his large farm in Knoxville Township of Ray County, while his business headquarters are at Polo, in Caldwell County. His farm is about three miles south of Polo. Mr. Kelmel is proprietor of two highly improved farms, aggregating 800 acres of some of the best soil to be found in Ray County. His operations in stock raising com- prise on the average the feeding of a hundred head of cattle and two hundred or more hogs.

His farm equipment and home are an evidence of the well-ordered prosperity which prevails on his estate. When his father William built the residence some years ago it was considered the finest country home in Ray County. It is a large substantial modern house, containing nine rooms, built in modern style and with such conveniences as hot and cold water, furnace heat, and other facilities that up to a few years ago were found only in the better city houses. The house is surrounded by blue grass lawn, and ample porches both in the front and rear are inviting attractions. On the home farm is an immense barn, 80x100 feet, besides a cattle shed 25x100 feet, and large and well-kept feed lots, with stock scales, and all the water for the barns, lots and the house is pumped by windmill power. Mr. Kelmel usually plants and cultivates about two hundred and fifty acres of corn, and all his grain is fed to his own stock. There is also a large expanse of blue grass pastures and fine meadows, and there is no farmer in that vicinity who keeps up his fences better and looks more carefully after the many details of his business. Besides what he does in the raising and feeding of cattle on his farm, Mr. Kelmel is an extensive stock buyer and shipper, and his headquarters for that business are in Polo.

David A. Kelmel comes of the substantial and thrifty German stock, and was born near Polo, in Caldwell County, December 15, 1861. His father, William Kelmel, who died at the age of seventy-eight, was born in Baden, Germany, and was brought when a boy to America, his family locating in Central Illinois, near Galesburg, where he grew up, and from there moved to Caldwell County, Missouri. He married Miss Martha Holman, a daughter of David Holman. She was a capable helpmate and mother to her family, and died at the age of thirty-one years. David A. is the only one now living of the two children. The mother was a member of the Baptist Church. The father came to Caldwell County prior to the Civil war, settled on land that had scarcely any improve-

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ment, and in time became an extensive farmer and stockraiser. · Wil- liam's brother Thomas, now deceased, was associated with him for some years in helping to clear up the wild lands. Thomas died at Liberty, in Clay County.

David A. Kelmel, though a well educated and informed man, having received the advantages of the public schools and a course in a business college at St. Joseph, has had all his experience and has concentrated his attention on the industry which has been the foundation of his gen- erous success. As a boy he helped in the plowing, planting and har- vesting seasons on the farm, and manifested a strong inclination for the stock department of farm enterprise. His characteristics remind one of a typical westerner, and in fact Mr. Kelmel spent some years of his earlier career in the far West. At the age of twenty-two he went out to Colorado, locating at Gunnison City, in the western part of that state, and spent the years 1881-82 in that part of the country, engaging in the livery and stock business. On returning to Missouri he remained only a short time, until the call of the West again proved too strong to resist, and this time he went to the western frontier of Kansas, and there had many interesting experiences on the ranch and range. After several years in Kansas, Mr. Kelmel returned to Ray County, and has since been steadily engaged in the stock business and farming.

On December 13, 1884, Mr. Kelmel married Allie Taylor, a daugh- ter of M. G. Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. Kelmel are the parents of three children : Wilma, the wife of M. G. Roberts, who is a former county attorney of Ray County and now practicing law in St. Joseph; Logan, a young man of twenty-three and already a practical and successful farmer, being the right-hand man to his father; Edna is a student in a seminary`at St. Joseph, Missouri.

Besides his extensive business activities, Mr. Kelmel has for a num- ber of years been regarded as one of the wheel horses of the democratic party in this part of Missouri. He has attended as a delegate many of the county, congressional and state conventions, and has done much not only to keep up the party organization and promote its success, but has always shown himself public spirited and ready to assist in any movement for the local welfare of his home district. He is also active in the Masonic fraternity, has membership in the lodge, chapter and commandery, and also the Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Kansas City. Mr. Kelmel is a man of generous physical proportions, stands five feet ten and weighs about two hundred pounds, and has the frank and open countenance and the general air of the western cattle man.

JACOB O. MILLER. Among the public officials of Andrew County who have won the commendation and favorable criticism of their fel- low citizens by the manner in which they have discharged the duties of office, Jacob O. Miller is entitled to more than passing consideration. In the capacity of superintendent of the county farm, now one of the best equipped and most commodious in the state, he has not only dem- onstrated his entire capacity to successfully handle the business end of his office, but has also shown an interest in the personal welfare of his charges, which has done much to lighten their burdens and make life more comfortable for them.

Mr. Miller has been a resident of Andrew County all of his life, having been born here on his father's homestead, November 6, 1875, a son of William K. and Louisa (Flesher) Miller. His grandfather, a well-known character, and universally spoken of as "Uncle Daniel" Miller, was born in Ohio, and from that state made the journey to Missouri at an early day, entering land near Cosby, Andrew County, to

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which he added from time to time as the years passed, until at one time he owned and operated 900 acres and was known as one of the sub- stantial men of his community. When he came to Missouri he was the owner of fifteen or twenty slaves, and with the German thrift that he had inherited from his ancestors he placed these to work operating a mill at Rochester, of which he was the owner for several years. He was the father of five sons and three daughters.

This was one of the families which divided upon the issues of the Civil war, all of the sons joining the ranks of the Confederacy as soldiers except William K., who served in the Union army. One of the boys, Samuel, met a soldier's deathi, being mortally wounded in action. The maternal grandfather of Jacob O. Miller was a native of either Germany or Ohio and emigrated to Missouri at an early day, there passing the rest of his life as a farmer and machinist. He had a large family, and one of his sons, Capt. Adam Flesher, raised a com- pany which was first put into the Missouri State Militia and later joined the regular service at Lexington. There were nine sons and two daugh- ters in the family of William K. and Louisa Miller, and of these all are living except one boy, and all, with the exception of one in California, live in Missouri.

Jacob O. Miller was given the advantages of a public school educa- tion, and was brought up to the pursuits of the farm, being engaged on the homestead until his marriage. At that time he bought a farm in Rochester Township, on which he carried on operations until ap- pointed to his present position, January 1, 1914. The buildings on the county farm were formerly of frame and rather small, but the county has just completed a new $30,000 home, into which the county charges moved in December, 1914. This is a large, modern, fire-proof building, with every convenience and comfort for the inmates. Under Mr. Mil- ler's management the affairs of the farm are progressing in a very sat- isfactory manner. While he is a strict disciplinarian, he also takes a kindly and genuine interest in the welfare of his people, who, in turn, have come to respect and esteem him. Politically a republican, Mr. Miller was at one time a candidate for sheriff of Andrew County, but the opposing party was heavily in the majority, and he met defeat at the polls, although he received a very gratifying vote. He is a member of the Christian Church at Long Branch, and has been very active in Sunday school work. Fraternally he is connected with the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.

On May 3, 1899, Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Miss Eva Dickson, who was born in Andrew County, Missouri, January 7, 1883, daughter of John B. and Mary C. (Hurst) Dickson, the former born in Tennessee in 1859. He came to Missouri with his parents at the age of ten years, and was engaged in farming in Clay Township, Andrew County, until his death, which occurred March 23, 1900. Mrs. Dickson, who is a daughter of Elijah Hurst, formerly of Savannah, and one of the earliest pioneers of the county, lived in this county, where she was born in 1862, until 1914, when she moved to her present residence in the vicinity of Los Angeles, California. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are the parents of two children : Raymond and Neva.

JAMES R. WILSON. The largest mercantile establishment and the most prosperous merchant at Lawson at once suggests the name of James R. Wilson. About twenty years ago he located in Lawson, after some experience in merchandising which began in the humble capacity of clerk and had already taken him into independent operations, and since that time his progress has been steadily upward, until now his

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success is a matter of common reputation throughout Ray County. Mr. Wilson did not start life in affluence, and the resources contained within himself and his remarkable industry have been the factors which have brought him to his present position. Mr. Wilson is one of the popular men in politics in Ray County, and at the present time is a candidate before the primaries for the office of county clerk. His previous polit- ical service and experience are of themselves the best assurance to the people of his value and usefulness in one of the most important county offices.

James L. Wilson was born near Millville, in Ray County, March 31, 1865. His father, Phillip Wilson, who was born in Clay County, Ken- tucky, died in Ray County, March 4, 1877, at the age of sixty-four. The mother, whose maiden name was Charlotte Link, also a native of Clay County, Kentucky, died February 10, 1901, at the age of seventy-four. Of their eight children, five are living, namely: Fred, in Texas; Pleas- ant, of Sacramento, California ; Jerry T., of Richmond, Missouri; James R .; and Mary, wife of David Kinter, of Denver, Colorado. The Wilson family moved from Kentucky to Missouri in 1858, settling near Millville, where the father purchased some new land, developed a farm and re- mained upon it until his death.

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A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III, Part 81

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