USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > A memorial and biographical record of Kansas City and Jackson County Mo. > Part 17
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Afterward he was made master of a ves- sel engaged in the East India trade. During the greater part of his active business life he was connected with the East India and the
China trade. He continued as master of a vessel for sixteen years, and during one-half of the time was in the employ of an Arabian mercantile company, sailing from Calcutta for the firm of Hadjee, Jackariah, Ma- hommed & Company, of Calcutta, in the Arabian and China trade. He sailed in the Indian ocean, and opened trade for that firm in the Persian gulf, commanding the largest ship that had then sailed on that gulf. This company was the owner of thirty-five vessels, and in five years he advanced from the position of junior officer until he was made commander of the fleet with the rank of commodore. He was also the only one that obtained the fullest confidence of his employers, who told him to take his vessel and do the best he could, and all other cap- tains had to dip ensigns on passing his vessel. He acquired a thorough knowledge of the languages of the various peoples with which he dealt, also of their habits and methods of traffic. The vessels which he commanded had a mixed crew of Bengalese, Arabs and Malays. At one time he was detained with his ship under the guns of the fort at Mus- cat, Arabia, for 118 days, owing to compli- cations between the Arabian and British governments; but while there was enter- tained by the sultan, whose interpreter was educated in Salem, Massachusetts. On an- other occasion a mutiny arose and sixty of his mixed crew, who had indulged too freely in the use of opium, refused to do their duty. They were therefore taken in charge by the authorities and sent in irons to Bombay, while the voyage was completed with Arabs from the desert. At another time pirates chased and boarded his vessel and a severe fight occurred, but they were at length re- pulsed, although the captain sustained sev- eral severe wounds. His officers were
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Americans and English. The remainder of his seafaring life was in the general China, Australia and California trade, and in 1870 he left the ocean, having visited all the lead- ing points of the orient, including the Hima- layas of India.
On the 16th of July, 1868, Captain Free- man was married, in Farmington, Maine, to Miss Selina E. Tufts, of that place, a daugh- ter of Hon. Peter R. Tufts, of Farmington, and one of the prominent citizens of the Pine Tree state. The wedding trip of the Captain and his wife consisted of a voyage around the world! The Captain and his wife had one child, Frederick Mellville, who died in early manhood and in the year of his graduation.
On his retirement from the sea in 1870, he located in California. He was engaged in merchandising and ranching until the fall of 1881, when, on the 2 1st of September, they arrived in Kansas City. Here the Cap- tain became interested in the real-estate and loan business.
Captain Freeman is a very prominent Mason. He was initiated into the mysteries of the order in 1859, at Taylorsville, Ken- tucky, riding seventy-five miles across the country to take his first degree. He became a Master Mason in Quaboog lodge, of War- ren, Massachusetts, just before sailing for India. He has been welcomed into Mili- tary, No. 235, Mauritius; St. Luke, No. 1150, English register of Dum Dum, India; Fidelity lodge, No. 1042, Singapore, East- ern Archipelago; British lodge, No. 1038, Hong Kong, China; Humility with Fortitude lodge, No. 779, English register, Calcutta; Courage with Humility lodge, No. 551, English register, Calcutta, of which he be- came a member; St. Thomas in the East, No. 404, Scotch register, Calcutta; Tret-
land, No: 68, Hong Kong, China; Star of Burmah, No. 614, Rangoon; British Co- lumbia, No. 1187, English register, Victoria, Vancouver's island; Australia lodge of Har- mony, No. 556, Sydney, Australia; Robert Burns, No. 817, and Unity, No. 1169, of Sydney, Australia. On the 4th of March, 1871, he placed his membership with Sebas- topol lodge, Sonoma, California; was di- mitted January 16, 1875, to Calistoga lodge, No. 233; and to Rural lodge, No. 316, Kansas City, October 12, 1881.
On the 16th of December, 1865, Cap- tain Freeman was made a Royal Arch Mason in Holy Zion chapter, No. 392, of Calcutta, India, and now belongs to Orient chapter, No. 102, R. A. M. He became a charter member of Orient chapter on the 26th of December, 1882, was captain of host under the chapter, and was promoted from rank to rank until he became high priest in December, 1886. He was anointed and consecrated to the holy order of priest- hood at St. Louis in 1887; was dubbed and created a Knight Templar in Oriental com- mandery, No. 35, of Kansas City, Novem- ber 3, 1882; became a Scottish-rite thirty- second-degree Mason in the consistory of western Missouri in June, 1885; and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine in Ararat Temple, De- cember 28, 1887.
In politics the Captain is a stalwart re- publican, having always supported that party, to which he gives an unwavering allegiance. In education he is far above the average, possessing that broad general information which comes from travel. He is a linguist of superior ability, and few men are better informed concerning nationalities, their customs and habits and those events which form the history of the nineteenth century.
M & Smiles Chiles
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ILLIAM EDWIN CHAPPELL, M. D., who since 1881 has en- gaged in the practice of medicine, in Kansas City, is a native of Kentucky, his birth having occurred in Todd county, on the 31st of May, 1854. His parents, Robert and Fannie (Turnley) Chap- pell, were also natives of Kentucky, the former born in Owen county, the latter in Todd county. For some years the father engaged in merchandising at Elkton, Ken- tucky, but soon after the death of his wife he sold out and removed to Boston, Massa- chusetts, where he followed the same pur- suit. When the civil war broke out he offered his services to the government and with a Massachusetts regiment went to the south. He participated in a number of im- portant engagements and was wounded at the first battle of Manassas. When the war was over, he returned to Massachusetts, where his death occurred in 1867. He was a member of the Baptist church, and his well spent life gained him the high regard of those with whom he was brought in con- tact. His father, Robert Chappell, was a Virginian.
The Doctor was only six weeks old when his mother died. He was reared on a farm in the county of his nativity and his elementary education, acquired in the com- mon schools, was supplemented by a course in the Southwestern Presbyterian University at Clarksville, Tennessee. Wishing to enter the medical profession, he took up the study of medicine in the Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Tennesse, at which he was gradu- ated in 1876. After that he attended the old Nashville University, and later became interne in the city hospital, a position which he filled for eight months. On the expira- tion of that period he removed to Memphis,
Tennessee, to take charge of the western division of the penitentiary hospital, where he remained for a few months, when he re- turned to Todd county, Kentucky, spending about six months there. His next place of residence was Long View, Christian county, Kentucky, where he engaged in practice for three years. In the winter of 1880-1 he pursued a post-graduate course in the Belle- vue Hospital, of New York city, and in February of the latter year he came to Kan- sas City, where he has since remained. The Doctor has succeeded in building up an excellent practice here. He is thoroughly versed in his profession, is continually study- ing in order to further perfect himself, and now has a large and lucrative business. He is yet a young man, and may attain still greater successes in the future.
In January, 1881, the Doctor was united in marriage with Miss Rena Shaw, and they now have two sons, -- William Edwin and Thomas C.,-who add life and brightness to their pleasant home, which is located at No. 906 East Sixth street. In politics the Doctor is a democrat, socially is a Master Mason, and is a gentleman of unvarying courtesy, highminded and scrupulously faith- ful to every trust committed to his care.
A NDREW J. SNIDER ranks among the most prominent business men and popular citizens of Kansas City. Throughout the greater part of his life he has engaged in stock dealing; and well directed efforts, close application and sound judgment have brought to him a prosperity that places him among the wealthy residents of this place. Among the galaxy of distinguished men who have been foremost in promoting the welfare of Jack-
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son county and aided the material prosperity of the entire state of Missouri, he occupies a most honorable position. Launching his life-boat at the age of seventeen years with- out money but with courage and brains to direct it he has successfully weathered life's storms till now, and is safe within the har- bor of honorable success.
A native of Ohio, Mr. Snider was born in Lancaster, on the 3d of March, 1833. His boyhood days were passed on the old home farm in the Buckeye state, and during his boyhood he was employed by a stock drover, taking cattle across the Alleghanies. At the age of seventeen he took a drove of mules to Sangapore, India, about a year being consumed in this task. On the expiration of that period he returned to Ohio, and then, prompted by a spirit of ad- venture and a desire to improve his financial condition, he came to the west, locating at Leavenworth, Kansas, where he engaged in stone contracting. Among the buildings which he erected was the old stone fort in use until quite recently. Mr. Snider also went overland to Pike's Peak during the time of the gold excitement there and spent a year engaged in mining. When the re- port of the discovery of gold in Montana reached him, he proceeded to that state. At that time Green Clay Smith, of Ken- tucky, was governor of Montana territory and Mr. Snider served as brigadier general on the governor's staff. He was interested in mining in the northwest until 1869, when he left Fort Benton for New Orleans, trav- eling by steamer. His intention was to pur- chase a plantation in the south, but certain circumstances arose which led him to change his plan and instead he located in Platte county, Missouri, where he remained for a year.
In the spring of 1870 Mr. Snider came to Kansas City, and engaged in the Texas cattle business, owning a large ranch in the Cherokee strip of the Indian territory. He raised large herds of cattle there, selling as high as 30,000 head per annum. He did not give his personal supervision to the ranch, leaving it to the care of a foreman, but managed his interests from Kansas City, and here established the commission house of Barse & Snider, stock jobbers of Kansas City. This firm was in existence from 1873 until 1887, and did a very exten- sive and profitable business. He was one of the leading dealers in the stockyards of this place and his trade assumed extensive proportions. He studied closely the market and his foresight was displayed in his ad- vantageous purchases and profitables sales. His commission business he closed out in 1887, but continued to carry on the ranch until 1889. He is still interested to some extent in cattle dealing, but has largely laid aside business cares to enjoy the fruits of his former labor. His life has been a varied and eventful one and he is familiar with many of the experiences of frontier life. Thrown into contact with all classes of peo- ple, his charming cordiality of manner and genial, social disposition has won him a host of warm personal friends wherever he has gone.
In Platte county, Missouri, Mr. Snider was united in marriage with Miss 'Hannah C. Berry, and they had two sons: Andrew J., who died in 1887, at the age of thirty- two years, was a prominent business man and a member of the firm of Andrew J. Snider & Company. In his youth he served for two years as a cadet at West Point; but failing health compelled him to leave that institution, and he went to Colorado, where
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he was greatly benefited, but never en- tirely regained his original strength. He was an active and valued member of the firm and possessed excellent business and executive ability, and his honor and integ- rity were above question. A man of mag- netic personality, he was very popular and had the high regard of all who knew him. Chester A., the other son, is now engaged in the stock commission business and is a worthy successor to his honored father.
Mr. Snider and his wife reside at a beautiful home located at the corner of Tenth and Forest streets. Mr. Snider is a lover of fishing and hunting, and finds one of his chief sources of recreation in this way. He usually takes a hunting trip each year, and he spends his winters in Florida, in the more balmy climate of that beautiful southern district. He is a man of fine per- sonal appearance, a courteous gentleman of the old school and his standing in business and social circles in Kansas City is among the foremost.
HESTER ALLYN SNIDER is the vice-president of the great live- stock commission company, the Evans-Snider-Buel Company, of Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City, be- ing the resident manager of the com- pany at its Kansas City office. Actuated by an honest, manly purpose and with firm confidence in the right, he has by earnest effort secured the favorable result that usually rewards well-directed labor, and by his straightforward course has won the respect and confidence of his associates. He is a young man imbued with the pro- gressive and enterprising spirit of the age,
and stands as a leader in his line of business in Kansas City.
Mr. Snider was born in Platte county, Missouri, August 9, 1860, and is a son of Andrew J. and Hannah (Beery) Snider. The family name has for the past twenty- five years been prominently connected with the city's live stock interests. Reared on a farm near Lancaster, Ohio, his father early began driving cattle to market across the Alleghanies, and later turned to the West and engaged in contracting, some of the old buildings at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, being erected by him. He passed through the early mining experiences of Colorado and Montana during the gold excitement. Returning to the states in 1870, he identified his interests with those of Kansas City, and for nearly twenty years was the leading cat- tle inerchant of this city.
Our subject was about ten years old when he began his education in the public schools of Kansas City, and completed his studies in Bethany (West Virginia) College. At the age of twenty-one he laid aside his text-books to learn the sterner lessons of practical business life. Returning from col- lege, he went to his father's cattle ranch, which was located on the Cherokee strip, Indian Territory, where he remained for some three or four years. His father re- tiring from business, owing to ill health of his eldest son, our subject, after a year's travel abroad, entered the commission field, the Evans-Snider-Buel Company being in- corporated in 1889. This company lias since conducted the largest live-stock busi- ness in this country. During the past seven years it has handled on commission at its three offices over three million head of live stock, and its actual money trans- actions during this time have aggregated
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over one hundred and eleven millions of dollars !
On August 23, 1882, Mr. Snider mar- ried Miss Lillie C. Hyatt, daughter of W. W. Hyatt. The only child by this mar- riage, Lillie Hyatt, is now twelve years of age. The mother's death occurred on Thanksgiving day, 1883. On December 27, 1888, Mr. Snider married Miss Olive Olga Oglesby, eldest daughter of Governor Richard James Oglesby, of Illinois. They were married in the executive mansion in Springfield. Mrs. Snider spent her girlhood days in Decatur, and acquired her education in Springfield and in a convent near Wash- ington, District of Columbia, while her father was serving as United States senator there. One child has been born of this marriage, Catherine Oglesby Snider.
Mr. Snider is a valued and esteemed member of various business and social or- ganizations, belonging to the Kansas City Club and the Commercial Club, and is a director of the National Bank of Commerce and the Union Avenue Bank of Commerce. He served for five years in the directory of the Kansas City Live Stock Exchange, de- clining a further election. Lovers of music, both he and his wife take an active interest in promoting this art in Kansas City. Mr. Snider is at present the vice president of the Symphony Orchestra.
Their home is noted for its hospitality, and their circle of warm friends is extensive. The home is adorned with many choice paintings and other works of art, -all that refined taste can suggest. The library is one of the finest private collections in the west. Few persons in this commercial sec- tion of the world know as well as Mr. and Mrs. Snider how to manage their wealth to the best advantage, obtaining more happi-
ness out of a given sumn than untrained peo- ple can. Many persons think that if they only had a little more money they would be happy, even when they are in possession of more than other, happier people in their community. Not so with the subject of this brief notice, who knows the more im- portant art of spending money, as well as the art of earning it.
J AMES W. NOEL .- To its farming community Jackson county is largely indebted for its progress and upbuild- ing. The rich lands surrounding the cities and towns of this locality furnish trade to the commercial centers and utilize their railroad facilities for shipping. The well conducted business interests of the farmers is the foundation upon which rests the ac- tivity in trade circles. Mr. Noel is a repre- sentative of a family that has long been connected with farming interests and has devoted his own energies to the cultivation and improvement of land until he is to-day one of the leading agriculturists of Jackson connty.
Our subject is numbered among the na- tive sons of this county, his birth having occurred September 18, 1841, in Van Buren township, on the adjoining section to his present home. His grandfather, John Noel, was a native of Kentucky, whence he re- moved to Anderson county, Tennessee, where he married Sallie Tatum. Their family numbered four sons and four daugh- ters, namely : James, John, William, George, Polly, Barbara, Elizabeth and Martha Jane. Elizabeth was the wife of Spencer Rice. The father of our subject, James Noel, was born in Claiborne county, Tennessee, and was
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reared in that state on a farm. He married Rachel Powell, who was born in the same county, in 1812, a daughter of Joseph and Annie (Jusan) Powell, who were early set- tlers of Jackson county, Missouri, and lived with their children here until their death. The father served as an officer in the Revo- lutionary war.
Mr. Powell was three times married. He first wedded Susan Edward, and their children were Thomas, Joseph and Abra- ham. His second wife bore the maiden name of Ruth Jones, and their only child, Ruth, became the wife of John Smith. The children born to Joseph and Hannah Powell were John, who married Esther Bealer; Jonathan, who married Annie Rice; Richard, who married Susan Mayes; Joab, who mar- ried Anna Bealer; Absalom, who married Elizabeth Rice ; Annie, wife of James Bridges; Jane, wife of John Bealer; Polly, wife of Stephen Adams; Rachel, wife of James Noel.
There were eight children born to the paternal grandparents of our subject. The eldest was the father of James W. John, who died in California in 1851, married Melinda Jackson, and had three children: Nancy, who died in 1857; George, who died in the Confederate service in January, 1862; and Sarah, wife of D. A. Linder, of Dela- van, Missouri. William, who married Ra- ney Waters. George, who married Minta Farmer, and had two children, -Alice, who died in 1883, and Henry, who is living with his mother. After the death of her husband Mrs. Minta Noel inarried James Gates, and now lives in Vacaville, California. Polly and Barbara were the next of the family. Elizabeth became the wife of Spencer Rice. Martha Jane was the youngest. Hon. Thomas E. Noel, who was a law partner of
General Frank P. Blair, of St. Louis, Mis- souri, and died in the United States service, was a second cousin of our subject. Ephraim Noel, a prominent Methodist ininister, was also a second cousin.
The parents of our subject were married in Tennessee, where they lived until 1832, when they came to Missouri and made a temporary location on the Roop farm, on section 32, Van Buren township, Jackson county. They afterward made a permanent location on section 14. The land on which they settled was all wild, and Mr. Noel en- tered the greater part of it from the govern- ment, but it is now one of the oldest im- proved places in the township. There the father carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred March 28, 1877, while his wife died August 17, 1893. In their family were fourteen children. The eldest, John P., is deceased. Elmira is the wife of Frederick Bunn, of Oregon, and they have one child, John Marion. Louisa and Alvis Taylor are both deceased. Sarah Jane is the widow of Walter Davidson, and has three children, -James, William N. and Mary Anna. Since the death of her first husband she has been again married, and one son, Alvis W. Biggs, has been born of this union. Joseph E. married Jennie Mea-, dor, and lives in Cass county, Missouri, with his wife and two children, -Ralph and Ethel. James W. is the next younger. Absalom Marion and Emeline have passed away. Mary became the wife of T. T. Maxwell, and died leaving six children, -Lydia, James N., Mary, Ollie, Thomas and Grover Cleve- land. Margaret Ann became the wife of Thomas Sanders, who died leaving two sons, -Ernest and Watts. She has since mar- ried David Mays, by whom she has two children, -Susie-and William. William A.
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married Addie Colburn, now deceased, and their two children have also passed away. His home is now in Kansas City. Martha is deceased. George Henry married Minnie Shaw, by whom he has one son, Joseph, and resides on section 14, Van Buren town- ship. The mother of this family was a member of the Missionary Baptist church. Three sons served in the civil war, namely: Alvis T., Joseph E. and James W., -all members of the same regiment.
We now take up the history of James WV. Noel, feeling assured that it will prove of interest to many of our readers, as he is both widely and favorably known in his na- tive county. He is indebted to the district schools for his educational privileges: was reared on the old home farm, all of the chil- dren of the family remaining at home until after they had reached mature years. Dur- ing the civil war, when sectional feeling ran so high on the border between Missouri and Kansas and one was obliged to announce his sympathies either with one party or the other, he joined the Confederate service and was with the commands of Cockrell, Upton Hayes and Robert Renick, participating in the battle of Lone Jack, and was afterward arrested by Colonel Penick and held a pri- soner in Independence. On his release he went to Carroll county, Missouri, where he remained until the close of the war.
When hostilities had ceased Mr. Noel returned home; but after two years went to Texas, where he remained for about twelve months. The following eight years he spent in Johnson county, Kansas, then formed a partnership with his brother, William A., and operated the home farm and engaged in cattle dealing in Colorado and New Mexico for eleven years. He now lives upon the farın, which was the old Major & Russell ranch,
having made his home here since 1888. It comprises 640 acres of valuable land, all highly improved with the exception of an eighty-acre tract of timber. Mr. Noel suc- cessfully carries on general farming and stock-raising, and is a wide-awake, progress- ive business man, energetic and far-sighted. He has achieved considerable success in life and now ranks among the substantial farm- ers of the community.
In 1883 Mr. Noel was united in marriage with M. J. Cox, a native of Van Buren township, and a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Keirsey) Cox, both now deceased. Their family numbered three children, viz: Mrs. Noel; Fannie, wife of Jonah Tucker; and Mattie, deceased. Three children also grace the union of our subject and his wife, namely: James Cox, William Lee and Forest Rothwell. Mrs. Noel is a member of the Missionary Baptist church, and her many excellencies of character have gained her a warm circle of friends. In politics Mr. Noel is a stanch democrat, and is a warm advocate of Grover Cleveland. He is now serving as president of the local school board of the Plum Grove district, and takes an active interest in educational and all other work or interests calculated to prove of public benefit.
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