USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > A memorial and biographical record of Kansas City and Jackson County Mo. > Part 2
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church in that city then), he went there. His duties, however, as pastor of that large congregation were too heavy for one of his constitution, and on account of failing health he resigned his charge, in the fall of 1860, after a successful pastorate of four years. . His next charge was at Independence. Ever since 1860 (with the exception of two years during the war, on account of General Scho- field's famous order "No. 11") he has la- bored in the vineyard of the Lord at this place, choosing to remain here notwith- standing the fact that he has had flattering calls from New York, Cincinnati and other places, and offered handsome salaries. His whole ministerial career has been character- ized by deep earnestness and incessant toil, and a love for the work of the Master, and his labors have been crowned with substan- tial success. He is well known throughout Jackson and adjoining counties, not only in his own denomination but also in all Chris- tian churches regardless of creed. Out of his church in Independence there have been four churches organized in adjacent terri- tory. The church over which he presides has a membership of 600. As the work has grown too arduous for one pastor, and especially for one of his advanced years, an associate pastor was engaged in the fall of 1895 to assist Mr. Procter. Thus, with work lightened, this worthy divine remains to minister to the people he has learned-to love, and in whose hearts he has a warm place.
Mr. Proctor was married in St. Francois county, Missouri, August 29, 1859, to Mrs. Caroline (Shaw) Prewitt, a native of that county, born February 10, 1829. She was the widow of Mr. Joel Prewitt and a daugh- ter of William Shaw, one of the old settlers of St. Francois county, his location here
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being as early as 1812. Mr. Shaw lived to be ninety-six years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Procter are the parents of four children, viz .: Mary S., wife of C. R. Thompson, an attorney of Astoria, Oregon; Rowland T., a civil engineer and surveyor; Stella, wife of J. H. Montague, Independence ; and Emma, wife of W. N. Southern, Jr.
ON. JOSEPH WAYNE MERCER. -Biographical history teaches us that a great many men have lived to whom obstacles seemed to be a help rather than a hindrance. The greater the barriers, the stronger their resolutions and the more earnestly they struggle on to success. Just such men live now and the lesson of their lives cannot be put too early or too prominently before the world. Un- forseen emergencies have developed their character, tested their pluck, inventive re- sources and judicious endurance. The ac- counts of the careers of such men grace the annals of every state. The subject of this sketch is a conspicuous example of this class. He has built for himself-built nobly and broadly. A native son of Missouri, he has always been deeply interested in the prog- ress and upbuilding of his state and belongs to that class who while advancing their in- dividual prosperity have aided in the material welfare of the community.
Mr. Mercer, whose home is now in In- dependence, was born in Platte City, Mis- souri, February 25, 1845, and is a son of Thomas W. Mercer, a native of Washington county, Tennessee, who in that state mar- ried Miss Henrietta Dukes, a native of Washington county, Virginia. By occupa- tion he was a contractor and builder. In 1838 he came with his family to Missouri,
locating near Lees Summit, Jackson county, where he followed farming and contracting. His last days were spent in Independence, where he passed away in 1876. In Decem- ber, 1883, his wife departed this life, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. L. N. Bruns- wig, of Fort Worth, Texas.
Mr. Mercer of this review was reared in the usual manner of farmer lads, early be- coming familiar with the duties that fall to the lot of the agriculturist and acquiring his preliminary education in the ordinary schools of Prairie township, Jackson county. De- siring a more advanced education, however, in 1858 he entered the college at Chapel Hill, La Fayette county, Missouri, and pur- sued a regular course until the breaking out of the civil war. He then enlisted in Colonel Elliott's battalion of the state guards, and participated in the battle of Lexington, when Colonel Mulligan of the United States forces surrendered to Major General Price. In this engagement he was wounded in the leg and was incapacitated for active service for several months. Recovering from the effects of his wound he rejoined his battalion and was made first sergeant of his company. He saw active duty in Arkansas and Tennes- see, and while at Memphis was taken so seriously ill that he was detained there for a considerable time. Regaining his health he joined company G, tenth Missouri cavalry, as a private, and in the battle that occurred at Pine Bluff, October 25, 1863, he was placed in the front as a sharpshooter, and while gallantly engaging the enemy was very severely wounded, in consequence of which he was obliged to submit to the am- putation of his right arm. A vigorous con- stitution and a resolute will soon restored him to his wonted health, but he was physi- cally disabled for further active service in
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A MEMORIAL RECORD OF KANSAS CITY
the field. His gallantry was recognized by the government and he was placed in the commissary department with the rank of captain, which position he held until the war closed.
In 1865 Captain Mercer returned to In- dependence. Being then but twenty years of age he reviewed his studies, under Pro- fessor George S. Brant, and became a stu- dent in Joncs' Commercial College, of St. Louis, where he completed the regular course and was graduated. For a short time he taught in a public school near Inde- pendence, and at the same time instructed an evening class in bookkeeping and com- mercial law. During his short experience as a teacher he acquired an excellent repu- tation as well as making a financial success, for within one year he saved $600, which formed the nucleus of his present comfort- able fortune. His next venture was in the real-estate and insurance business, and pros- perity again attended his efforts. He made judicious investments in real estate, and his sound judgment aud foresight enabled him to place his capital so as to yield good re- turns.
" There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune."
Mr. Mcrcer probably did not take his business cue in life from Brutus, but it is safe to say that he possessed so keen and intuitive sense of the ebb and flow of life's currents that he took them "at the flood." So, in the full power and bright zenith of self-reliant manhood, he occupies to-day a proud place among the eminent and popular business men of Missouri.
Ilis real-estate speculations were con- tinued with success, and in 1876 he became one of the banking firm of Anderson, Hughes & Company. Early in 1878, how-
ever, he disposed of his interests, and about two years later became a member of the wholesale grocery house of Kansas City, conducted under the name of Beckham, Mercer & Company, in which concern he is still a partner. In 1891, when the First National Bank of Independence was organ- ized, he was elected its vice-president, and is also largely interested in real estate, not only in Independence and Kansas City, but also is the owner of several fine farms in Jackson county.
On the 18th of May, 1870, Mr. Mercer was united in marriage with Miss Laura, daughter of Beal and Corrinne (Ratcliffe) Greene, natives of Kentucky, who became residents of Jackson county in 1837. Mr. and Mrs. Mercer have had six children, four of whom are living: Annie, now the wife of B. A. Bartlett, the present assistant pros- ecuting attorney; Etta V .; Mary H .; Katie L., and Alice R .; Corrinne is deceased.
Mr. Mercer has, always been connected with the democratic party, but is not strictly partisan, and has been honored with various political offices. In the summer of 1872 he was a member of the Independence city council, and in November of the same year was elected county treasurer. In 1873 he became a candidate for the democratic nomination for state treasurer. He made a thorough canvass of the state, and had to contend against several recognized leaders of his party. He labored under more than one disadvantage. He was living on the western border of Missouri and had been little known as a political aspirant in the state; was not thirty years old; had held no position of prominence except that of treasurer of his county, and not being a public speaker had not attended state polit- ical conventions. Yet with all these diffi-
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culties he successfully contended, and was nominated and elected by the democratic party to the office of state treasurer, being the youngest man who ever held that posi- tion in Missouri. He, however, discharged his duties with fidelity and success for two years, and during that period the bonds of the state advanced from ninety-five to one hundred and seven. He won the approval of members of his own and the opposing parties by his able management of affairs, and retired from the office with an honorable record. He then devoted his energies alone to the pursuits of private life until 1892, when he was chosen mayor of Independence and acceptably served in that position for two years. In all the relations of life he has proven himself faithful to the trusts re- posed in him, and no taint of dishonor shadows his record. He now resides at his beautiful estate, surrounded by an interest- ing family and the refinements of an ele- gant home, enjoying the confidence of his fellow citizens to a marked degree.
I SAAC M. RIDGE, M. D .- In the history of Kansas City no one has borne a more creditable part than the gentleman whose name intro- duces this review. For almost half a cen- tury he has lived in this locality. From the days when this region, now occupied by substantial buildings, magnificent homes and churches, large industries and fine mercan- tile houses, was a wild forest, rough and heavily timbered, through which the Indians yet frequently traveled and camped on beg- ging tours, the Doctor located here, and from that hour to this has taken an ad- vanced stand in favor of development and improvement. Educational, social and
moral interests have been promoted through his efforts, and the material welfare of the city owes much to him. Loyal to every duty, he is a valued citizen, and an upright, honorable man, whose career demonstrates what can be accomplished by persistent ef- fort, energy and earnest endeavor.
The Doctor was born in Adair county, Kentucky, on the 9th of July, 1825. His father was of Welsh and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. The great-grandfather of our subject removed from Wales, -his native land, -on account of his religious views, and, crossing the Atlantic to America in the lat- ter part of the seventeenth or early part of the eighteenth century, he landed either in North Carolina or Virginia, in which region many of his descendants are yet living. The grandfather, William Ridge, was probably a soldier in the Revolutionary war. In pio- neer days he removed to Kentucky, where for some years he carried on farming. His family numbered six sons, and after his death three of the number were bound out to trades. The maternal grandfather of the Doctor was Champ Dillingham, a native of North Carolina, who on the paternal side descended from a Highland Scotch family. He aided in driving the Indians from Ken- tucky, and was indentified with mnuch of the pioneer history of that state. In manner he was very reserved and quiet, a great lover of books and a very highly educated man. His father was a Scotch Baptist preacher, and his wife, a Miss Bailey, came of French Huguenot stock.
In 1834 Dr. Ridge accompanied his par- ents on their removal to Missouri, where the Doctor's boyhood days were in part spent on the farm and in the blacksmith shop. He went to a private school six months in the year, and the remainder of his time was
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A MEMORIAL RECORD OF KANSAS CITY
spent at hard labor. He became familiar with the modes of farming, and also a good mechanic; and even after beginning practice he could as readily shoe a horse as set a limb, or sharpen a plow as well as a sur- geon's knife, and even did so after coming to Kansas City. After attending the com- mon schools he completed the high school course in Dover, this state. He then took up the study of medicine under the instruc- tions of Dr. I. S. Warren, of that town, and subsequently entered Transylvania .Univer- sity, at Lexington, Kentucky, in the med- ical department of which institution he graduated in 1848, with the honors of his class.
Soon afterward he came to Kansas City. The Indians that visited and traded at the little hamlet far outnumbered the white set- tlers, and it was indeed the western fron- tier,-wild and unimproved. With won- derful foresight, however, he believed that the future would bring a development that would transform the rude hamlet into a place of importance. Accordingly he opened an office at what is now the corner of Main street and the levee, and entered upon the practice of his chosen profession. The de- mands for his services were by no means frequent in those early days, for the popula- tion was yet too limited, and the Indians preferred to take their own remedies. But he watched and waited for the time when business would increase, and such was his treatment of the Wyandotte Indians that he won their warm friendship, and was by them given the name of "Little Thunder," an honor conferred upon but few white set- thers in that day. He gained a powerful influence over them, which also extended to other bands of savages who ranged over western Missouri and eastern Kansas.
In June, 1849, Dr. Ridge suffered an attack of cholera, and it was thought that he could not live. A messenger was dis- patched on a very fleet horse for Dr. Rob- inson, and the distance of 110 miles was covered in about twelve hours. The Doctor at once hastened to the bedside of his fellow practitioner, with whom he re- mained for thirty-six hours, at the end of which time he left him, saying that there was no chance of his recovery!
During the gold fever in California, Dr. Robinson went to the Pacific slope, and after his return to Kansas in the later part of 1853 was elected the first governor of that state. In 1861, during the progress of the war, he made a trip to his old home in Massachusetts, and on again coming to the west made the trip up the river from St. Louis. The boat on which he had taken passage was captured near Napoleon, some miles below Kansas City, and the governor was made a prisoner. News of the capture was telegraphed to Dr. Ridge, who, not for- getting the kindness that he had received at the hands of Dr. Robinson during the cholera epidemic, saddled his horse and rode all night, arriving just in time to save Governor Robinson from an untimely death by hanging at the hands of some of the desperadoes of the south! Thus after several years he was able to return the kindness which had formerly been rendered himn.
An era of westward emigration began in 1849 in this locality, and during the next six years the city grew with almost phe- nomenal rapidity, while the land was en- tered as claims and transformed into farms. It was now that the Doctor's business began to assume extensive proportions and calls for his services came from a wide area, so that he was often compelled to ride from
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AND JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI.
one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles on horseback in twenty-four hours! His financial resources therefore increased, and he became the possessor of a handsome competence. His travels also inade him familiar with the best location of valuable land, and from time to time he made judicious investments, which as the years have passed have brought to him a fortune. Every variety of practice came to him in connection with his professional life, and the excellent successes which attended his efforts gave evidence of a skill and ability that have won him a place among the most eminent practitioners west of the Missis- sippi river. He was numbered among the most expert surgeons in the west, and has also been very successful in general practice, especially in the treatment of pneumonia.
No section of the country was more in- volved in the troubles that preceded and attended the opening of the civil war than Kansas. Through these trying periods the Doctor was frequently compelled to occupy peculiar and often dangerous positions, yet he frequently assumed the role of "mutual friend " and healed mental as well as phys- ical wounds, smoothing over personal diffi- culties between old-time acquaintances. This arose purely from an unselfish desire to do away with the wrong and evil that was often too pronounced; but he made innu- merable friends, and in consequence his patronage greatly increased until he was at the head of a very extensive and lucrative business. In 1860 trouble again broke out afresh, and he was a second time forced into the position of mediator, this time both as friend and adviser for each side, the union and Confederate. In 1861 there was no other practicing physician in this section, and many a time at the risk of his own life
he has given aid to assist a helpless one, extending his kindness to both the wearer of the blue and the gray. On other occasions, such was the lawless condition of the coun- try, he was forced to give his medical service by those who would go to his home and with assumed or real military authority de- mand his aid for their friends. He has been blindfolded and the bandages not re- moved from his eyes until he would go to administer the needed medicine. He has been taken from and returned to his home blindfolded, having no clew whatever as to where he had been except from the knowl- edge of faces when his blind was taken off. The scenes through which he passed at that time if graphically told in detail would be as interesting and thrilling as any which are found upon the pages of " dime novel" lit- erature, and furthermore would be fact in- stead of fiction!
At length the troublous period was over and the Doctor was free to give his time and attention as he willed to his business inter- ests. He made extensive purchases of real estate, and the rapid rise in land values con- sequent on the rapidly developing population brought him a handsome income. He erected his first residence in front of the custom-house, and it was then considered one of the finest in the city. He at one time owned eighty-four acres of land bounded on the west by Woodlawn avenue, on the north by Nineteenth street, on the east by Wabash avenue and on the south by Twenty-second street. This he has in part divided among his children and it is to- day a very valuable property. He still, however, owns the west half of the original eighty-four acres, upon which is situated his magnificent residence, known as "Castle Ridge." This commands a beautiful view
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A MEMORIAL RECORD OF KANSAS CITY
of the city and surrounding country in every direction. Near by are the lovely homes that he has erected for his children. His own palatial abode is in the forin of a Greek cross, in architecture combines the Tuscan and Corinthian styles, is beautified by a inansard roof and crowned by imposing tow- ers and minarets. It is one of the finest residences in the city, richly and tastefully furnished and adorned with all the beautiful works that wealth can procure and art can devise.
The Doctor is a man of domestic tastes and finds his greatest enjoyment in the midst of his family. In 1850 he was hap- pily married to Miss Eliza A. Smart, daugh- ter of Judge T. A. Smart, of Kansas City, now deceased. She was a lady of rare domestic accomplishments and charitably inclined; and her kindness, benevolence and many other excellencies of character, won her the love and esteem of all. She died a number of years ago, and three of her five children are yet living, namely: William E. and Thomas S., both prominent business men of Kansas City; and Mrs. Sophie Lee Lakeman. In 1882 Dr. Ridge was joined wedlock with Miss May D. Campbell, daughter of Bartley Campbell, a pioneer commercial man of Cincinnati. He was the first man to put on a night force in his packing-house in that city, and the first machinery used in the slaughtering depart- ment, and was also the originator of sugar- cured hams. Mrs. Ridge possesses superior inusical talent, both as a vocalist and pian- ist, and for two years sang frequently in the prisons of Ohio and Pennsylvania, where, to those men shut off from all the pleasures of life, her singing was a rare treat, as in- deed it is in any gathering. Her rare inusi- cal talent has gained her a wide reputation
and made her a great favorite both in this city and Cincinnati, and she is known from ocean to ocean on account of her musical powers. She was appointed by the state of Missouri as one of the directors of music at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. For some years she was an educator in both vocal and instrumental music, for two and a half years was a vocal teacher in the Christian College at Columbia, Missouri, and was also director of music in the State University at Columbia. She has no supe- rior in the west as a higli soprano singer, and her services have been sought by some of the best educational institutions and finest churches in the country. When some charity makes these calls she frequently responds.
The Doctor has long been actively iden- tified with the interests of the city, and among the latest improvements that he has added is the new Ridge building, which is recognized as one of the best office buildings west of the Mississippi. In 1891 he began the erection of a large building fronting both on Walnut and Main streets. The section fronting on Main street, however, was not commenced until the summer of 1893. The Walnut street building contains about one hundred rooms, and the second story is used for office purposes, but the third and fourth floors are devoted to the Masonic fraternity. The Main street building is six stories in height and has about two hundred office rooms, besides six large stores with base- ments. In the construction of this building the features considered most important were the lighting and ventilation of the rooms, and this has been accomplished. You see no dark, dingy or ill ventilated rooms in the entire building. The desirable location and the excellent appointments and
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equipments have made space in this building in great demand, and since its erection bus- iness activity in this locality has been greatly accelerated. The Doctor has also established an electric plant which furnishes light and power for nearly the entire block as well as his own building. The beautiful new Ridge building stands as a monument to the enter- prise of one who is recognized as a most progressive and public-spirited citizen.
Dr. Ridge is an enthusiastic and zealous Freemason, and has taken all the degrees in Scottish and York rite Masonry excepting the thirty-third degree in the southern juris- diction in Scottish rite Masonry. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine, and his life typifies the underlying spirit of the order- benevolence. During the trying times pre- ceding the war, the Doctor was twice saved from death by the fact that he was a Mason. Though he took sides with neither political faction engaged in carrying on the war, such was the bitterness of feeling that if a man was not pronounced in his support of one faction he was supposed to be in league with the other, and on two different occasions the Doctor owed his life to Masonic brethren. Both incidents were remarkable and deserv- ing of preservation in this history. On one occasion a Prussian with a band of thirty followers went to the Doctor's home with the intention of taking his life. It was about ten o'clock at night and the Doctor was milking in the barnyard when four or five of the crowd jumped over the fence and ordered him to arise. The Doctor coolly replied, " It seems you are in a great hurry ; you had better wait till I finish milking." The men responded, "You had better be preparing for something else," and again ordered him to arise. He obeyed and they marched him to the yard where a sight met
his gaze that made his blood run cold with horror. He saw his wife and son, clad only in their night robes, standing surrounded by the villainous crowd which was eager to take the lives of their victims. The Doctor com - prehended the situation at a glance and im- mediately gave the grand hailing sign of dis- tress of the Masons, which was answered by the little Prussian who could scarcely speak English. Being in command of the force, he then drew his sword from its scabbard, gave it a flourish and said, "This is not the man to kill." The Doctor was then given a chance to defend himself against his accus- ers, who had falsely informed on him. The result was that he was allowed to finish his milking and go to bed in peace.
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