USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > A memorial and biographical record of Kansas City and Jackson County Mo. > Part 22
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became a leader in what was known as the "Campbellite " church, this organization now claiming the name of " Christians."
The inother of our subject was before her marriage Miss Rebecca Mulkey. Shc was a native of Washington county, Ten- nessee, born May 17, 1788, daughter of Rev. Jonathan Mulkey, a Baptist minister and a native of North Carolina. Her grandfather, the Rev. Philip Mulkey, was a Virginian by birth and of Scotch origin. Miss Mulkey was reared and educated in Tennessee and was married there, August 22, 1805, to Mr. Slaughter. They settled in Washington county, made that their home until 1831, and then moved to Ken- tucky, where the next seventeen years were spent. In 1852 they came to Jackson county, Missouri, and settled in Independ- ence. Here he died September 11, 1871; and she, January 6, 1863. They were the parents of ten children, all of whom reached mature age, namely: Sallie, John N., Jon- athan M., Isaac W., Mary S., Sarah G., Elizabeth R., Elijah F., James H. and Philip M. Sallie was born August 31, 1807. She and her husband, Duke Rubell, are both deceased, and of their eight children only four are living. John N., born Decem- ber 13, 1810, was twice married and had three children. He is deceased. Jonathan M., born October 31, 1812, married Eliz- abeth Mulkey. They are deceased and one child is living. Isaac W., born July 22, 1815, wedded Mahala Randolph, by whom he had a large family. She is deceased. Mary S., wife of James A. Jackson, is de- ceased, as is also her husband. Samuel G., born February 2, 1820, married Alethia Young, now deceased. Elizabeth R., born November 25, 1822, became the wife of John M. Frazier, who died, leaving her with
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six children. Subsequently she married Enoch Payne. James H., born July 22, 1827, married Elizabeth Brown. They had no children. He is deceased. Philip M., born January 10, 1831, married Sarah A. Jones, by whom he has six children.
As already stated, Mr. Slaughter (the grandfather) was a Revolutionary soldier. During the war of 1812 the father of our subject was drafted into the service, and as he was unable to go himself he sent a sub- stitute. When the great civil war in all its horrors came upon the country we find four of the Slaughter brothers going out in the strength of their manhood to fight for what they deemed just and right, and, as was not unfrequently the case, they were divided in their sentiments. James H. disappeared in the war and has never been heard of since. Jonathan and Philip were in the union army and Samuel was a captain in the Confeder- ate ranks.
From this glimpse of his family history, we turn now to the life of our immediate subject, Elijah F. Slaughter. He was born February 16, 1825, in Washington county, Tennessee, and was reared there and in Kentucky, receiving a high-school education and having the best of home training. He remained on his father's farm until attaining manhood, when he commenced teaching school, and taught both in Kentucky and Missouri, his experience in the schoolroom covering no less than ten years. After his marriage he settled down in Washington township, this county, and made his home here from 1853 until 1859. Then he im- proved a little farm in Cass county, this state, living there from 1859 until 1861, when he returned to Jackson county and settled on rented land. For a time he served in the Tadpole militia. At the close
of the war he purchased the property upon which he has since lived, it being all wild land at that time, and here on section 19 of Brooking township he has 120 acres of choice land, all under cultivation and nicely improved. He came down here one night and by the light of the stars and with the North Star for his guide, he set the stakes for his house. Besides his home place he has twenty acres of timber land.
Mr. Slaughter was married March 24, 1853, to Amanda M. Davenport, a sister of J. S. Davenport, of Jackson county. She was born April 10, 1831, and was educated in the district schools and at Westport. They have six children living, as follows: Orlando V., born August 9, 1854, married Elizabeth Havron, lives near Raytown and has four children; William F., born July 26, 1858, married Belle Black, and lives in Or- egon; Stephen D., born December 14, 1860, is unmarried; George F., born January 20, 1863, married Allie Bush, has three children, and lives in Oregon; Ida F., born March 9, 1865, is the wife of Dr. Loren Swaney, and lives in Drexel, Missouri; and Ernest E., born March 31, 1870, married Miss Kate West.
Mr. and Mrs. Slaughter are members of the Christian church at Hickman Mills. He is an elder in the church and has for years taken an active interest in both church and Sabbath-school work. For some time he was the teacher of the Bible class, but now has charge of another class. Politic- ally, his vote and influence have ever been cast with the democratic party, and in all local matters he takes a deep and laudable interest. Especially is he interested in hav- ing good schools. Frequently he has served as school director of his district. A Chris- tian, a man of high moral integrity, and one
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interested in the various lines of advance- ment, he exerts an influence that is felt for good in his community.
e O. SMITH, M. D., is one of Kan- sas City's physicians who has gained high standing in the pro- fession. He was born in Franklin county, New York, October 3, 1850, and is a son of Henry O. and Sarah A. (Stowers) Smith, natives of Vermont. Some of his ancestors were in the war of 1812. His maternal grandfather was a fifer and drum major in the second war with England. Most of the representatives of the family have carried on agricultural pursuits. The Doctor's father, when a child of about two years, was taken by his parents to New York, where he was reared on a farm and followed that vocation all his life. About 1881 he removed to Michigan, locating at Orleans, where he died July 15, 1885. His wife survived until June 5, 1894. They had four sons and one daughter, as follows: Maria R., who became the wife of Dean Swift, and died May 14, 1876, at the age of thirty-three years; Dr. Frederick D., who resides at Coopersville, Michigan; Dr. Sher- idan C., who died at Granville, Michigan, February 6, 1875; Dr. Elmore O., of this sketch; and Henry A., who is living in Belding, Michigan, where he follows mer- chandising.
Our subject was reared in New York, and early learned how to " make hay while the sun shines." He followed the plow on the old homestead until he had attained his majority, spending the winter months in at- tendance on the district schools of the neighborhood, and pursuing his studies in the Malone Academy, where one more term
would have enabled him to graduate. He subsequently engaged in teaching in the country schools for several winters, receiv- ing $20 per month, which at that time was considered excellent wages in the Empire state. Through the influence of his brother, who was residing in Michigan, he concluded to come west, and in 1872 took up his resi- dence in Coopersville, Michigan, where he secured a situation in the public schools at a salary of $40 per month, teaching one winter and one summer in that school. He then joined his brother, who was practicing medicine in Coopersville, in the purchase of a drug store, which they together conducted until 1876. During this time our subject took up the study of medicine, under his brother's direction, and in the centennial year entered the medical department of Michigan University, at Ann Arbor. He lacked one year of graduation when he went to Orleans and began practice, continuing there in the prosecution of his profession until 1880, when he entered Rush Medical College, at Chicago, where he was gradu- ated in the spring of 1881. Again establish- ing an office in Orleans, he was numbered among the successful practitioners of that place until the spring of 1889, when he came to Kansas City.
Dr. Smith at that time had no friends in this place and was entirely without influence to aid him in the establishment of a practice ; he began business here and has succeeded in building up a liberal patronage. The age has long since passed when people are will- ing to place themselves in the care of un- skilled physicians, and the successful prac- titioner is now the man whose merit and ability places him above the average and wins him the public confidence and there- fore the public support. The Doctor makes
Frank & Johnson
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a specialty of the treatment of cancerous diseases and has performed some marvelous cures in this line.
Dr. Smith is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Woodmen of the World, and in politics is a republican. He was married in 1877, to Miss Hattie J. Sherman, a native of Michigan, and they have two children-Olen G. and Pearl A., aged respectively fourteen and twelve years.
RANK G. JOHNSON .- The bar of Kansas City embraces many well known and able members, but few have attained a greater success in a decade of practice than the gentleman whose name introduces this review and who is accounted one of the most capable general legal practitioners in western Missouri.
A native of Massachusetts, he was born in West Boylston, Worcester county, on the 18th of December, 1851. His parents, William H. and Alsemena M. (Ballard) Johnson, were also natives of the Bay state. The paternal grandfather, Francis Johnson, was born in Massachusetts, and descended from English ancestry, the founder of the family having emigrated from England and taken up his residence near Boylston in 1640. The grandfather followed farming as a means of livelihood, reared a family of five children who reached mature years, and passed away at the age of ninety-three. In personal appearance he was tall, straight and vigorous. In his religious views he was a strict Baptist, but accorded to all others the same right of opinion which he reserved for himself.
The father of our. subject was also a Massachusetts farmer, and his entire life was spent in the state of his nativity, his death
occurring in Boylston, at the age of seven- ty-four. His wife, a lady of many excel- lencies of character, passed away many years previously. They were both consist- ent members of the Baptist church, and Mr. Johnson held various town offices and was prominent in public affairs. In their family were eight children, five sons and three daughters, of whom five are now liv- ing, namely : Frank G., Mary E., Walter F., Maverette E. and William W.
Mr. Johnson of this review lived in Boyls_ ton until twenty-two years of age. He ac- quired a good common-school education there and later attended the Worcester Academy. He was reared as a farmi boy, but later learned the boot and shoe trade; yet nature had not destined him for that calling, his abilities well fitting him for pro- fessional life. He engaged in teaching school for a time in his native and adjoining
towns, and began studying law in Towanda, Pennsylvania, in the office of Hon. D. C. De Witt, and after thorough preparation was admitted to the bar in 1883. He en- gaged in practice there for little more than a year, and then sought a home in the west.
In the fall of 1884 Mr. Johnson came to Kansas City, Missouri, and has since been continuously connected with the bar of Jackson county. He served for two years as prosecuting attorney for the county, and for a similar period as police judge of Kansas City. He has been retained as counsel on various important cases. He was connected with the prosecution of the bank cases against J. C. Darragh, president of the Kansas City Safe Deposit and Savings Bank, who was brought to trial on account of re- ceiving deposits after knowing that the bank must suspend. E. C. Sattley, the cashier, was convicted after a five-weeks trial and
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sentenced to four years in the penitentiary, after which he appealed to the supreme court of the state. The trial of the presi- dent lasted for about the same length of time, but the- jury failed to agree upon a verdict.
Mr. Johnson was married in September, 1876, to Miss Cora M. Moore, daughter of Lorin and Minerva M. (Aldrich) Moorc. Two children have been born to them, -Herbert F. and Walter L. Mr. Johnson is a mem- ber of Union lodge, No. 108, F. & A. M., and is also connected with Sicilian lodge, No. 39, K. of P., of Kansas City. In poli- tics he is a democrat. He was appointed by Governor Stone a member of the Board of Police Commissioners for Kansas City, December 9, 1895.
S AMUEL BOOKSTAVER BELL, D.D., was born in Montgomery, Orange county, New York, and is of Scotch Huguenot lincage, his father, Archibald Bell, having descended from a Scotch ancestor who emigrated to America from Scotland. His mother bore the maiden name of Pamela Millspaugh, and belonged to a family of Huguenot origin that sailed from Holland to America with Hendrick Hudson.
Samuel B. Bell is a born student, and from a child took special interest in natural science and in the search after religious truth, being naturally of a religious cast of mind. His carly ambitions were for political distinction, and when he applied himself to legal studies it was only as a means to political advancement. He studied in his native town, in Brooklyn and New York city, and was admitted to practice at the bar by the supreme court of New York; but
conscientious scruples prevented his en- gaging in actual law practice, and he volun- tarily surrendered the profession which had cost him so much time and labor, and upon which his youth's heart was set. He then turned his attention to teaching, taking charge of educational institutes, both in his native state and in Kentucky. Having al- ways been a close theological student and deeply interested in the religious problems of the time, he at length resolved to become a preacher of the gospel and offered himself to the Presbyterian church as a candidate for the ministry, being licensed to preach by the presbytery of Onondaga, New York, in 1852. He was then ordained as an evangelist, and in November of that year was sent by the American Home Missionary Society as one of their missionaries to the Pacific coast.
Mr. Bell sailed from New York in the clipper ship Trade Wind, a magnificent ves- sel, and after a most eventful voyage of one hundred and five days landed at San Fran- cisco. During the passage the ship was on fire for ten hours; at another time a mutiny broke out among the sailors, so serious that the ringleaders were taken to San Francisco in irons; on another occasion a very large sperm whale struck the prow of the ship and set everything aback; and at another time they were struck by a " white squall" off the coast of Buenos Ayres, which tore and tattered the sails and snapped the yards like pipe stems, and the electric phenomena was very striking. The voyage was also enlivened by the weekly issue of the Trade Wind Observer, a manuscript paper, of which Dr. Bell was editor-in-chief. Some of the articles were of superior merit, and found an extensive circulation in eastern journals.
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Upon his arrival in San Francisco Dr. Bell commenced his work as a missionary on the shores of San Francisco bay, where Oakland now stands. Here, in addition to his regular work as a missionary, he has left his record in various ways. He bought and rang the first bell that ever called people to religious service in that locality. It was an old steamboat bell and was hung on the corner of the fence under a live-oak tree, which was frequently his meeting house. He built the first Presbyterian church edi- fice upon the coast and organized what is now one of the most flourishing churches in the union. He was also one of the founders of, and procured the charter for, the College of California, now the University of Cali- fornia. He represented his district in the senate and house of representatives for three years, doing efficient service, and leaving his imprint upon the legislation of those years in the homestead law, board of regents and other important bills. He was also president of the first republican state con- vention that convened in California.
After a residence of nearly ten years in California, during which time, however, Dr. Bell had visited the east, he prepared to take up his ministerial work in the castern states, and in 1862 left for New York by the overland route. This was his first trip across the great American desert, and it was upon this occasion that he made the ac- quaintance of Brigham Young, and formed an opinion of Salt Lake City and Morinon- ism fromn personal observation. He was treated with the utmost consideration by President Young, and saw enough to con- vince him that it was not safe for him even to think while in Salt Lake City or vicinity, and he did not feel secure until he had left Mormonism miles behind. The telegraph
lines had just been stretched across the con- tinent, and the first news conveyed to Cali- fornia was the death of General E. D. Ba- ker, Dr. Bell's old colleague in the California state convention. On reaching the east, Dr. Bell tendered his services to General Hooker, then in command of the armies of the Potomac, but was not permitted to go to the front.
The same year, 1862, he became pastor of the Fiftieth Street Presbyterian church of New York city, and was an eye witness of the terrible riot which occurred there in the following year upon an attempt to enforce the draft ordered by the United States au- thorities. While delivering an oration on the 4th of July at Jersey City, in 1863, Dr. Bell received intelligence of the fall of Vicks- burg and of the union victory at Gettysburg. He at first supposed the news to be a hoax and too good to be true, but when convinced of the truth, thrilled with joy and gladness at the success, it is said that he delivered one of the most eloquent, brilliant and patri- otic addresses that has ever been listened to since American independence was made pos- sible by the signing of the Declaration of In- dependence. He has been frequently called upon to deliver historic and patriotic ad- dresses, and pronounced the eulogy upon General E. D. Baker before the California house of representatives. He also delivered the Thanksgiving sermon on the day ap- pointed by President Lincoln before the union of churches in New York city, the services being held at Cooper's Institute; the annual address before the California State Agricultural Society; an address before the State Editorial Association of Ithaca, New York, and numerous addresses before col- leges, universities, Masonic orders, political conventions, mass meetings, and military
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and festival occasions, many of which have been printed and widely circulated. He has been a member of two general assemblies of the Presbyterian church of the United States, one at Baltimore and another at Pittsburg. From New York city he was called to the pulpit of the First Presbyterian church of Lyons, Wayne county, New York, and from that place to the pastorate of the Presby- terian church in Hillsdale, Michigan. He then returned to California, having accepted a professorship in Washington College, which he subsequently resigned to become pastor of the First Congregational church in Mansfield, Ohio. From there he removed to Kansas City and accepted the pastorate of the First Presbyterian church.
Dr. Bell is a Knight Templar Mason, and has been honored with high positions in the fraternity. He was grand lecturer of the grand lodge of California, and an honorary member for life of Live Oak lodge, of Oak- land, California, and of Templar lodge, of New York city. In politics he was born a democrat, his father having been a lifelong member of that party, but on arriving at man's estate he cast his lot with the whigs, with which he was connected until the or- ganization of the republican party, since which time he has been a zealous member of the latter.
Dr. Bell was married in 1845 to Miss Sophia B. Walworth, a descendant of the same family to which Chancellor Walworth, of New York, belongs. They have five chil- dren living, viz .: Mrs. H. B. Martin, Hal, Benjamin P., Edward W. and Harmon.
Dr. Bell is a man of the most positive convictions, -an absolute believer in the divinity and work of Christ. He has a powerful physical constitution and a most genial, social disposition. His strange ex-
periences and perilous adventures are themes of never failing interest to a listener, and when he opens his budget of personal rem- iniscences he is a most captivating conver- sationalist. He has crossed the "Great Desert " five times, made the voyage around Cape Horn once, and by way of Panama twice, and is now in California.
EROY DIBBLE, M. D., who limits his practice to the diseases of the eye, ear and throat, is a represent- ative of the regular medical pro- fession, in which he ranks high.
The Doctor is of French descent. His paternal grandfather, Major Cecil Dibble, who came to this country as a French sol- dier, was stationed at Detroit, Michigan, at the time that city was surrendered to the English. He subsequently settled in the state of New York, after his marriage to the eldest daughter of Captain John Ellis, of the British army. When the colonists made their attempt to secure independence he joined the patriot army, participating in most of the important campaigns and en- gagements, and was present at the memor- able surrender at Trenton and at Yorktown. The maternal grandfather of the Doctor was John Bitley, who was born of Dutch parent- age at Albany, New York. He also served throughout the entire struggle that was suc- ceeded by the establishment of the American republic. He was with Washington during the never-to-be-forgotten winter at Valley Forge, and also participated in the battle of Saratoga. Previous to the Revolutionary war he married the only daughter of Cap- tain Christopher Van Dusen, a retired officer of the Dutch navy, and when his military
A. M. are.
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service was over settled on a farm near Fort Edward, New York.
The parents of Dr. Dibble were Grodus and Catherine (Van Dusen) Dibble. The father was born in Watertown, New York, in 1783, learned the trade of a tanner and currier, and opened the first boot and shoe store in Albany, New York. On the break- ing out of the war with England in 1812, he joined the army and participated in the battles of Lake Erie and Plattsburg, New York. His death occurred at the age of seventy-seven. His wife, who was born January 1, 1800, at Fort Edward, New York, lived to the advanced age of eighty- six.
The subject of this sketch was born at Saratoga, New York, December 14, 1843, and when eight years of age came west to Chicago, Illinois, with his father's family, whence they afterward removed to Ottawa, Illinois. At the beginning of the civil war, although only seventeen years of age, he offered his services to the government and became a member of the seventh Illinois cavalry, participating in the principal cam- paigns and battles of the Armies of the Ten- nessee and Cumberland. He was also in the Army of the Gulf and was present at the surrender of Port Hudson. He received an honorable discharge at Nashville, Tennes- see, in 1865, at the close of the war.
The same year the Doctor entered Kal- amazoo College, Michigan. He afterward read medicine in the office of Dr. H. G. Field, then entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, and was grad- uated at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, of New York, in 1871. After his gradua- tion he served a short time as an assistant at quarantine and then accepted a position as surgeon on a "coast liner," thus visiting 11
the principal Central and South American cities. He finally entered practice at Paw Paw, Michigan, and subsequently removed to Albion, Michigan, where he served as division surgeon of the Michigan Central Railroad. In 1881 he entered the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and in 1882 went to Europe, studying his specialties in Berlin, Vienna and Zurich, Switzerland. On his return to this country, in 1887, he settled in Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1889 the Doctor was united in mar- riage with Miss Martha H. Cleveland, the eldest daughter of Rev. Edward Cleveland, and a native of Bath, New Hampshire.
LLISON M. WARE .- Down from the earliest ages, in story and song, have come the tales of warfare, of heroism and of valor. Neither can too much be said in praise of the man who risks his life in the defense of a principle or a cause in which he honestly believes. From the memorable year of 1776 the children have been told again and again the stories of patriotism and bravery of our Revolu- tionary forefathers. Side by side with these -their equals in all that was true and noble and courageous-stand the heroes of the civil war, who fought to preserve the union that had not then passed the first century of its existence. Among the "brave boys in blue " was numbered Mr. Ware, and had he accomplished nothing else in his life the record would be worthy of perpetuation. He is, however, a valued citizen of Jackson county, an enterprising agriculturist, a faith- ful worker in the interests of Christianity, and it is with pleasure that we present to our readers a sketch of his career.
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