USA > Missouri > A history of northwest Missouri, Volume III > Part 95
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For several months prior to his death, which occurred at his home, 619 South Thirteenth Street, St. Joseph, Judge Mosman was forced to give up business, but though he remained at home he still retained his interest in local affairs, and took great pleasure in seeing his friends. A man of high principles and sterling character, the cordial upright nature of the Judge won him a host of sincere friends, and made him highly honored and beloved in the city where he was best known.
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Politically Judge Mosman was identified with the republican party, and he served wisely and well in the offices to which he was called. He had the distinction of being the last president of the St. Joseph School Board under the old law, which provided for ward representation, serv- ing from June, 1894, until 1896, when the membership of the board was reduced from eighteen to six. He was prominent in social, fraternal and religious circles, serving each organization to which he belonged in an official capacity. He was a member, and past commander, of Cus- ter Post No. 7, Grand Army of the Republic; and belonged to St. Joseph Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution; and to the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the. United States. Standing high in Masonic cir- cles, Judge Mosman was a member of St. Joseph Lodge No. 78, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; of Mitchell Chapter No. 14, Royal Arch Masons; and of Hugh de Payen Commandery, Knights Templar; and of Radiant Chapter No. 88, Order of the Eastern Star. He was deputy grand master of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, and had he lived a few months longer would have been made grand master. On December 30, 1874, the Judge united with the First Con- gregational Church, of which he was a trustee at the time of his death.
Judge Mosman married in 1869, Miss Rocelia Norton, at Kewanee, Illinois, and she survives him. Four children blessed the union of Judge and Mrs. Mosman, namely : Oliver C. Mosman, an attorney at Kansas City; Burroughs N. Mosman, also successfully engaged in the practice of law at Kansas City; Mrs. Fred Sweeney, of Washington, D. C., and Mrs. Frank Worth, of St. Joseph.
JACOB NEWTON WILSON. The mercantile interests of Grundy County, Missouri, are well represented at Tindall by Jacob Newton Wilson, an energetic and progressive business man of the younger generation, who, while still comparatively a newcomer to this community, has already thoroughly established himself in the confidence and good will of the people here. He has had long and practical experience in various lines of endeavor, and in adding his name to its citizenship this ambitious little city has gained an individual who has both the ability and the desire to assist his locality's interests while bettering his own.
Mr. Wilson is a native of the State of West Virginia, and was born in Roane County, in 1882, his parents being Jacob and Virginia (Cox) Wilson, natives of Virginia (now West Virginia), the latter of Lewis County. Mrs. Wilson is of Revolutionary stock, while Jacob Wilson enlisted in 1861 in the state militia of West Virginia and was subject to call at any time throughout the war between the North and the South. Jacob Newton Wilson was reared amid rural surroundings, his father being a West Virginia farmer, and while growing to manhood divided his time between attending the country schools and assisting in the work of the homestead. He resided with his mother in Roane County, West Virginia, where all of his eleven brothers and sisters still live, until he reached his majority, and in 1903 bought a farm of his own there, but only operated it for one year, when he decided to seek other fields of endeavor, and accordingly went to Pennsylvania. Still with his face toward the West, after a short experience in farming in Pennsylvania, he moved on to Akron, Ohio, where he became identified with the Dia- mond Rubber Company, remaining with that concern until 1909, in which year he made his advent in Missouri. First locating in Sullivan County, he again resumed agricultural operations, first as a hand and in 1911 as the owner of 150 acres of Sullivan County land. This he con- tinued to operate with some measure of success until 1914, when accept-
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ing a promising opportunity, he came to Tindall and established him- self in business as the proprietor of a general mercantile business. Mr. Wilson carries a complete stock of first-class, reliable goods, suitable to the wants of the community, whose people's needs he has studied. He is at all times courteous and obliging, endeavoring in every way to satisfy his customers' wishes, and these traits, combined with the excellence of his goods, have attracted to him a generous trade from all over the sur- rounding territory. Mr. Wilson is possessed of more than the ordinary business ability and has a wealth of ideas and his transactions are car- ried on in a manner that demonstrates his integrity and fair-minded- ness. A republican in his political views, he has not yet found time to engage actively in public affairs, but has expressed his willingness to aid in movements which have the betterment of the community as their ulti- mate aim. He has shown some interest in fraternal matters, and at the present time is a member of the local lodges of the Modern Wood- men of America and the Yeomen.
On September 17, 1902, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Miss Bessie Hoff, daughter of William A. and Rena (Ward) Hoff, of West Virginia, and to this union there was born one child: Ruby, who died at the age of one year.
FRED G. HARRISON. A member of the younger generation of busi- ness men, who through energy, industry and well-applied effort is mak- ing a place for himself in trade circles of Richmond, is Fred G. Harri- son, proprietor of a thriving hardware business. Like a number of the younger men engaged in commercial pursuits, he was brought up to agricultural pursuits, but has shown himself capable of competing with those whose entire training has been along business lines. Mr. Harrison was born on a farm located four miles north of Richmond, in Ray County, January 20, 1888, and is a son of Samuel A. and Emma (Seek) Harrison.
Samuel A. Harrison was born in Kentucky in 1832, and was there reared to manhood, securing his education in the public schools. When he was twenty years of age he left the Blue Grass State and came to Ray County, Missouri, locating on a farm situated two miles west of Richmond, but subsequently removing to the property on which our subject was born. The father was a man of industry and enterprise, and carried on his operations in such a manner that he not alone won material rewards, but also the esteem and confidence of his neighbors and associates in business. When he retired from active pursuits he took up his residence at Hardin, and there his death occurred in 1904, when he was seventy-two years of age. He was a democrat in his political views, but did not care for public life, being content to devote his activi- ties to the tilling of his fields. Mr. Harrison was married in Ray County to Miss Emma Seek, who was born in Missouri, and she survives him and now makes her home at Richmond with her son. Three children were born to Samuel A. and Emma Harrison, namely : J. B., who is a resident of Hardin, Missouri; Maud, who is the wife of J. T. Haynes, an agriculturist of Ray County ; and Fred G.
Fred G. Harrison was still a child when his parents removed to Har- din, and there he was given good educational advantages in the public and high schools. He embarked upon his own career in 1905, the year after his father's death, when he started operations on the homestead on which he had been born. After five years of successful operation of this property he came to Richmond, and here became identified with mercantile lines by purchasing the hardware stock of Jesse Child. At this time Mr. Harrison has a complete and attractive stock of hardware,
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harness, farming implements, buggies and wagons, and caters to the best and most representative trade of the city. He is a young man of excel- lent business ability, sagacious and far-sighted, and by his earnest desire to please his customers and by his courteous treatment and fair deal- ing, he has secured a liberal patronage, of which he is deserving. Although he has not sought public preferment, the best interests of the community receive his support, and he withholds his cooperation from no worthy undertaking calculated to promote the general welfare. Like his father he is a democrat, and can be depended upon to support his party's policies and candidates. During his residence in Richmond, Mr. Harrison has gained a wide acquaintance, in which he numbers many sincere friends.
On December 11, 1910, Mr. Harrison was united in marriage with Miss Beulah Meadows, who was also born in Ray County, and to this union has been born one son: Grover.
H. C. WALKER, JR. Occupying a position of note among the public officials of Clinton County is H. C. Walker, Jr., county recorder. Careful conscientious, and competent, he can always be depended upon to fulfill his exacting duties in an intelligent and satisfactory manner. Com- ing from honored pioneer ancestry, he was born July 12, 1870, in Clin- ton County, on a farm situated two miles west of Plattsburg.
His father, H. C. Walker, Sr., was born in Clinton County, Mis- souri, of Holland ancestry. His parents came from Kentucky to Mis- souri about 1838, in early pioneer days, and having bought land in what was then known as the Platt Purchase, cleared and improved a home- stead. H. C. Walker, Sr., became a farmer from choice and was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, in 1913, at the age of seventy-three years. He was held in high respect as a man and a citi- zen, his death being a loss to the community. In his political affilia- tions he was a stanch democrat, and religiously he was a member of the Christian Church. To him and his good wife, whose maiden name was Emily Carter, three children were born, namely: Jacob A., of Osborn, Missouri ; H. C., Jr .; and Alberta, living at home. The mother, who came to Missouri from Virginia with her parents when a girl, is still living.
Brought up on the home farm, H. C. Walker, Jr., became familiar with its many duties while yet a boy. He obtained the rudiments of his future education in the rural schools, after which he attended the old Plattsburg College and the State Normal School. Having prepared himself for a teacher, he secured a position in a district school when but nineteen years old, and for several years taught with good success. Being then urged to take charge of the Clinton County schools, Mr. Walker accepted the position of county supervisor of schools, for which he was amply fitted, and filled it most acceptably until January 1, 1911, when he entered upon the duties of his present office.
On February 29, 1904, Mr. Walker was united in marriage with Mary West, a daughter of the late Jackson West, of Plattsburg. Her mother still lives in Plattsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have one child. a daugh- ter named Emily. They are identified by membership with the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, South, and are active in its Sunday school work.
JOHN A. ASHER, M. D. More than thirty years in the active mem- bership of the medical fraternity of Northwest Missouri has brought Doctor Asher all the better distinctions that come to the physician and surgeon, and his success has been in proportion to the length of his practice. For many years he has practiced at Trenton, is one of the
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best known physicians of Grundy County, and his family have been known in that vicinity nearly half a century.
John A. Asher was born on a farm near Zanesville, Muskingum County, Ohio. His father, Solomon Asher, was born in Muskingum County, November 24, 1827. The grandfather was John S. Asher, also a native of Muskingum County, and the son of Luke Asher, who was born either in the north of Ireland or in this country of Scotch-Irish parents. Luke Asher was an Ohio pioneer, and identified himself with that new country probably about the time Ohio was detached from the original Northwest Territory and made into a state. Luke Asher mar- ried Rachael Scott.
John S. Asher bought a farm in Muskingum County, five miles a little southeast from Zanesville, and there spent the rest of his life. He married Jane Shumaker, a daughter of Adam and Rachael Shumaker, who were probably born in Germany, or were at least of German par- entage. John S. Asher and wife reared two sons and four daughters, namely : Solomon, Caroline, Sarah, Catharine, Rachael and William, while of two other children, a daughter Mary died in early childhood, and another daughter died in infancy. Of this list of children, William was a soldier and was killed in the Battle of the Wilderness during the Civil war.
Solomon Asher, father of Doctor Asher, was reared on the Ohio farm, and when ready to start out for himself his father gave him two horses and two cows and a little furniture. With that equipment he bought on time sixty acres from his father, and he and his wife began house- keeping in a log cabin, and from that humble beginning they eventually achieved success. After farming for a few years, he bought a portable sawmill, and moved from place to place sawing up tracts of timber. That work was carried on in the intervals of his farm labor. After the death of his father he returned to the old homestead, but in the fall of 1868 sold out his Ohio interests and moved to Northwest Missouri, set- tling in Grundy County. He bought a farm in Lincoln and Trenton townships, and remained there until his death in 1905. On December 27, 1848, he married Elizabeth Ellen Birch. She was born on a farm in the northeast part of Muskingum County, Ohio, February 26, 1827. William Birch, her father, was an early settler of Muskingum County, a farmer, and married Emily Wickham. The latter was born in Ohio, a daughter of Ebenezer and Sarah Wickham. Ebenezer Wickham came from England. After the death of William Birch, Emily, his widow, married Elijah Eaton, and by that union had one son, Elijah Eaton, Jr. After the death of Mr. Eaton she married for her third husband John Emmons, and died a few years later, leaving a son John W. Emmons. Her last years were spent on a farm about six miles east of Zanesville. Elizabeth Ellen Birch was the only child of her first marriage.
Solomon Asher and wife lived together fifty-seven years, and cele- brated among their children, grandchildren and friends their golden wedding anniversary. Both joined the Baptist Church when they were young, and for many years he continued a deacon and active worker in that denomination. Their eight children were named as follows: Milton Clarence, Howard Benton, John Alvin, Alice Jane, Edwin F., Benjamin Franklin, Arthur E. and Solomon Scott.
Dr. John A. Asher received his early training in the rural schools of Ohio and of Grundy County. Later he was a student in the Grand River College. One term of school teaching was a feature of his early experience and he took up the study of medicine with Dr. Thomas Kim- lin. Later he was a student in the medical department of the University of Iowa at Iowa City, and then entered the medical school of the Uni-
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versity of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and also attended the University Medical College of New York City, where he was graduated M. D. in 1881. Returning to Trenton he took charge of Doctor Kimlin's drug store, and was a druggist and physician in combination until 1894. Since that time he has devoted his attention strictly to his large private prac- tice in Trenton and vicinity.
On January 18, 1888, Doctor Asher married Sallie M. Graham. She was born at Gentryville, Gentry County, Missouri. Her father, Dr. George D. Graham, was born in White County, Illinois, in 1836, a son of John M. Graham, who was a White County farmer and on coming to Missouri settled in Grundy County, buying land near Edinburg, where he operated his farm with slave labor and lived until his death. John M. Graham married Rebecca Phillips, who died two months after her husband. They reared six sons and one daughter : James, William, Emily W., John M., Alfred, George D. and Oliver. Dr. George D. Gra- ham attended Grand River College and graduated from the Missouri Medical College at St. Louis in 1857, beginning practice at Gentryville, where he lived until his death in 1883. Doctor Graham married Martha Dobbins. She was born in Sullivan County, Missouri, in 1838, and her father, Thomas E. Dobbins, came from the vicinity of Springfield, Illinois, and settled in Sullivan County in early days. He bought large tracts of land on the line between Sullivan and Grundy counties, and was a prominent farmer and stock raiser there before his death. Thomas E. Dobbins married Sarah Kirkpatrick, who was the mother of fifteen children, thirteen of whom grew to maturity. Mrs. Doctor Graham died in May, 1913. She reared five children, namely : David T., Emma J., Sallie M., Leota and James. Doctor and Mrs. Asher have two children, Vera and Arthur Graham.
Doctor Asher has membership in the Grundy County and the Mis- souri State Medical societies, and fraternally he is affiliated with Grand River Lodge No. 52, I. O. O. F. He is a director in the Citizens State Bank at Trenton. Reared on a farm, he has never lost his fundamental interest in agriculture, and is the owner of a fine place three miles east of Trenton, and takes much pleasure in its cultivation and management. Doctor Asher was elected coroner of Grundy County in 1906, and again elected in 1912, in the meantime having served two years as deputy coroner. In 1888 he was appointed a member of the pension examining board, and with the exception of four years served to the present time. Mrs. Asher is a member of the Daughters of Rebekah, and is also con- nected with such representative social organizations as the Ninety-Nine Club, the Shakespeare and the Sans Souci clubs.
JOHN STEPHENS. A home of comfort, thrift and enterprise is that of Jolin Stephens in Lincoln Township of Caldwell County. Mr. Stephens has spent practically all his life in this section of Northwest Missouri, learned the details of farming when a boy, and has applied his experience and industry to the making of a good home. His farm comprises 160 acres, and is devoted to general agriculture and stock raising. Their residence is a substantial seven-room house, all well fur- nished, and with surroundings that indicate the taste and thrift of the owners. Mr. Stephens has as the business department of his farm a large barn, 30 by 40 feet, for horses, cattle and hay, and has all his fields well fenced and improved, and the general management of the place indicates a high order of farm management. One department of his farming is the raising of fine chickens, and he keeps a flock of some of the best white Leghorns and white Wyandotte fowls in Caldwell County.
John Stephens was born on the old homestead forty years ago, a son of Edward and Eliza Stephens. Both his parents were natives of Wales, Vol. III-41
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grew up and were married there, and in 1870 came across the ocean on a sailing vessel to find homes in the New World. Edward's brother, Thomas, had been the first of the family to come to Missouri and acquire a homestead. Edward and Eliza Stephens were the parents of nine children, as follows: Mary Jane, deceased; John; Edward; Sarah; Wil- liam; Thomas R., who is a lawyer; George; Ann Eliza, and Matilda Ann. Edward Stephens, the father, was a man of marked intelligence and industry, was a republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Baptist Church.
John Stephens grew up on the home farm, learned the lessons of industry while attending the local schools, and as the years gave his body strength was able to assist in cultivating and keeping up the old farm. Mr. Stephens has always kept in touch with the movements of the world and of politics and affairs, and has read especially along the lines of history and is a well informed and pleasant man to meet.
On March 10, 1897, he was married in Cowgill, Missouri, to Lydia A. McClellan. She was born in Saline County, Missouri, a daughter of T. W. and Matilda (Lynn) McClellan, her father a native of Johnston County, Missouri, and her mother of Kentucky. Her father was born November 14, 1839, a son of a Tennesseean who located early in Missouri. T. W. Mc- Clellan married his wife in Saline County, and she died at the age of fifty-seven. In the McClellan family were two sons and seven daughters, named as follows: Ruth F .; Kate Murphy; Lydia Stephens; John L .; Lucy Kelly; Florence Norton; Taylor; Sarah Couch, besides one that died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephens had one child, J. W., who was born April 19, 1903, and died August 17, 1910. He was a bright boy, the life of the home and the joy of his parents. Mr. Stephens is affiliated with Cowgill Lodge No. 561, I. O. O. F. He and his wife are active members of the Baptist Church and are people of the highest standing and esteem in their community.
H. K. MILLER. The substantial character of a family can in no better way be indicated than through long residence and a constant progres- siveness in its work and influence. For half a century the Miller family has lived in Liberty Township of Holt County, and the homestead now occupied by H. K. Miller is the same which his father bought when he first came to the county, and which has been under the management of three successive generations.
H. K. Miller was born in Liberty Township, of Holt County, Sep- tember 19, 1882, and is a son of Frank and Jennie (Kay) Miller. He was the only child, and after the death of his father on the old home farm he continued to live with his grandfather, Henry C. Miller, and wife, and was under their care from the age of two years. After the death of his grandfather Mr. Miller continued on the farm and his grandmother lived part of the time with him and part of the time in Kansas. She is now eighty-three years of age. Mr. Miller received his education by attending the public schools of Liberty Township.
Grandfather Henry C. Miller located this farm in Liberty Township in 1864. It was land that at that time had practically no improvements, and the plowed fields, the fences, the substantial buildings, and all other evidences of material progress represent the enterprise of this one family. The farm comprises 230 acres of land, and his grandfather first bought 190 acres. Grandfather Miller died on this homestead, and it was also the home of Mr. Miller's father.
Grandfather Miller was a member of the Lutheran Church. He had started his career as a machinist in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was at that
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time regarded as an expert in the handling of tools and the operation of machinery. Politically he was a republican.
Mr. H. K. Miller married Mary Lambert, daughter of David and Fannie (Price) Lambert. To their marriage have been born two children, Irene and Bonita, both of whom were born on the homestead in Liberty Township. Mr. Miller is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and politically his relations have been with the republican party since casting his first vote.
JOHN W. HYDER. An experienced and practical journalist, editor, litterateur and churchman, John W. Hyder has long occupied a high position in the estimation of the public, particularly at Excelsior Springs and vicinity. His energy, enterprise and desire to please the public have been liberally rewarded, both as to his reputation among Missouri news- paper men and also from a financial standpoint.
John W. Hyder was born in Clay County, Missouri, September 6, 1862. His father, John B. Hyder, a native of Tennessee, came to Missouri when only ten years of age. He became a farmer, and though with little or no capital to start with, through his own efforts and with the aid of his industrious and economical wife acquired a competency. John B. Hyder married Miss Caroline Spearro, who was born in 1844, a short time after her parents arrived in this country from Germany. John W. Hyder was the eldest of their twelve children, five of whom died in infancy, the others being mentioned as follows: Lula F., now the wife of G. W. Lord of Excelsior Springs; Mollie, the wife of R. L. Beckett of Excelsior Springs; Ida M., wife of Frank Campbell of St. Joseph; Tena; Henry H .; and Sadie Zula, the wife of Jesse L. Myers of Kansas City.
Unfortunately the early life of John W. Hyder was almost wholly without opportunities for obtaining an education, and eight months comprised the sum total of his school days. This is largely due to the fact that his services were so badly needed on the home farm, on which he spent many a day in hard manual labor. During this time, while his mind lay fallow, his constitution was strengthened by outdoor life, and his powers of eager observation supplied him with a useful fund of general information. It was his steadfast ambition that enabled him to break down the barriers of circumstance and to elevate himself beyond his opportunities. Many hours usually wasted by other boys were spent by him in reading every book, paper and periodical that came in his way. At the age of eighteen young Hyder procured an amateur outfit of printers' type, and that was the beginning of his career as a printer and journalist. Using his father's residence as an office, with characteristic energy he began soliciting job work, and did all the work alone. In a short time he commenced the publication of his first paper, a monthly journal called Glad Tidings, which was a four-page 7 by 10 inch sheet. The liberal patronage received encouraged him to persevere in the enter- prise, and it was soon necessary to move the "plant" to more convenient and commodious quarters.
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