USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > A memorial and biographical record of Kansas City and Jackson County Mo. > Part 30
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" Item. I give and bequeath to my two beloved sons, viz., John Emerson and Thomas Emerson, the sum of one hundred and ten pounds, lawful money, to be raised and levied out of my estate and equally divided between them, the said John and Thomas, and to be paid when they arrive to the years of twenty-one, and to their heirs forever. Zuther, my will is in case either of my sons should die before the age of the above prescribed leaving no heirs, then his or their legacy shall be divided amongst the rest of the surviving heirs.
" Item. I give to my five daughters, viz., Ruth Emerson, Susannah Emerson, Louis Emerson, Rhoda Emerson and Sally Emer- son, the sum of forty pounds, to be equally divided between them and their heirs for- ever.
"Item. I constitute, make and ordain Ruth Emerson, my above named and be- loved wife, sole executrix of this my last will and testament.
"And I do hereby utterly disallow, revoke and disannul all and every other former testaments, wills, legacies and bequests and executors by me in any ways before named, willed and bequeathed, and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testa- ment,
" In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the day and year above mentioned.
"LUKE EMERSON. (Seal)
"Signed, sealed, published, pronouncde and declared by the said Luke Emerson, as his last will and testament, in the presence of us the subscribers.
JOHN HAWKINS.
"Witnesses : EZRA TAFT. PAUL WHEELOCK."
Thomas Emerson, the grandfather of Dr. Canfield, and son of Luke Emerson, was a prominent trader. He was born August 20, 1773, and died November 7, 1825. He married Margery Morse, who was born April 22, 1773, and died January 21, 1826. They had nine children. A copy of his will is also herewith given:
" In the name of God, Amen!
I, Thomas Emerson, on this seventh day of November, eighteen hundred and twenty- five, in the township of Green Creek, county of Sandusky and state of Ohio, make the following my last will and testament, namely: My wife Margary shall inherit one-third of my personal and real estate after my debts being paid while she shall remain my widow. Louis, my eldest daugh- ter, shall have a nice bureau, a fall-leaf table and a stand to be made of cherry and paid for out of my estate. Marcus, my son, shall have five dollars. My son Jesse shall pay to my son Thomas the sum of fifty dollars, good and lawful money; then my son Thomas and my son Jesse shall inherit the south half of my eighty-acre lot, includ- ing the mill and mill privileges. My son Stephen shall inherit the north half of my eighty-acre lot. My son Ezekiel shall have the sum of thirty dollars. My daughter Pauline shall have the sum of fifty dollars
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of my estate when she shall come of age or be married, to be laid out in household furniture.
" In testimony wherof I hereunto sign my name and affix my seal on the day and in the year above written.
" THOMAS EMERSON. (Seal) "Attest:
LOUIS SHERWOOD.
DANIEL BRAINARD."
Jesse Emerson, father of our subject, was born December 24, ISOI, and on the 17th of February, 1829, was married to Jemima S. Gavitt, who was born February 20, 1806. He was a farmer and landholder. His death occurred July 19, 1873, and his wife passed away April 9, 1884.
Dr. Pauline Emerson Canfield is a native of Ballville, Ohio. Her education was com- pleted by her graduation at the high school of Toledo, Ohio, and later she determined to engage in the practice of medicine, where- upon she entered Hahnemann Medical Col- lege, of Chicago, where she was later grad- uated. She was afterward a student in the Woman's Medical College, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and first engaged in practice in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Some time after- ward she came to Kansas City, which has now been her home for twelve years. Here she has succeeded in building up an excel- lent practice, and her skill and ability are recognized by the members of the profession here. She was one of the founders and a charter member of the Woman's Refuge and Maternity Hospital, was physician of the same three years, was one of the found- ers and charter members of the Old Ladies' Protestant Home, of which she served as physician two years, was the first physician of the Door of Hope and is serving as phy- sician to that worthy institution at the pres-
ent time. She is widely known for her charity and benevolence, and many a poor family has reason to bless her for her timely assistance and substantial aid.
J ABEZ N. JACKSON, M. D., is one of the younger representatives of the medical profession in Kansas City, but his prominence is by no means measured by his years, having a reputation which many an old practitioner might well envy.
He was born in Labadie, Missouri, Octo- ber 6, 1868, and is a son of Dr. John W. and Virginia C. (North) Jackson. His pa- ternal grandfather, Richard Jackson, was a native of the Old Dominion, and died in the prime of life. His family numbered four sons and two daughters. The maternal grandfather, Flavius Josephus North, was born in Virginia, was of English lineage, and was a farmer by occupation. He became one of the pioneer settlers of Franklin county, Missouri, and the mother of our subject was born in Labadie.
Dr. John W. Jackson was born in Mary- land, removed to Virginia, and when a young man came to Missouri. Shortly after- ward he entered the army as surgeon, and then took up the practice of medicine in St. Louis at the close of the war. He was a graduate of the St. Louis Medical College, and also of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city. For several years he practiced in Labadie, and in 1872 was appointed to the position of chief sur- geon of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. In 1884 he came to Kansas City, where he re- sided until his death, which occurred in 1890. He was an eminent and able mem- ber of his profession, served as president of
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the Missouri State Medical Society, was the first president of the National Association of Railway Surgeons, and at the time of his death was first vice-president of the Amer- ican Medical Society, also president of the University Medical College of Kansas City. He was known throughout the United States as a most able physician. His widow still survives him. His mother is now living in Kansas City, at the age of eighty-five years. She is a member of the Central Methodist church.
Dr. Jackson of this review lived in the county of his nativity until 1881, and then removed to Sedalia, where he resided until 1884, since which time he has been a resi- dent of Kansas City. He acquired his early education in Franklin county, was graduated at the high school of Sedalia, and subse- quently attended the Central College, of Fayette, Missouri, where he won the degree of A. B. in 1889, while that of A. M. was conferred upon him in 1890. He was a inost thorough student, was graduated with high honor, and carried off four medals for scholarship, oratory, English and English literature. He is a young man of ripe scholarship and broad general information, as well as thoroughly versed in his profession.
The Doctor took up the study of medi- cine in the fall of 1889, and was graduated at the University Medical College of Kansas City in the class of 1891. He lacked only one-tenth of one per cent. from taking the honors of his class. He subsequently took a post-graduate course in the Polyclinic of New York, and began practicing in Kansas City, in the fall of 1891. He is now suc- cessfully engaged in general practice, but is especially capable as a surgeon. He is now successfully engaged in general prac- tice, but is especially capable as a surgeon.
He is connected with various inedical socie- ties, holding a membership in the Kansas City Academy of Medicine, the Jackson County Medical Society, the Missouri State Medical Society, -in which he is serving as chairman of the section of surgery,-the Mississippi Valley Medical Society, and the Tri-State Medical Society. He belongs to the National Association of Railway Sur- geons, was assistant secretary in 1893, and in the Pan-American Medical Congress he was vice-president of the section of railway surgery; belongs to the National Associa- tions of Military Surgeons; is adjunct pro- fessor of anatomy of the University Medical College, of Kansas City ; professor of anatomy and oral surgery in the Kansas City Dental College; professor of clinical surgery in the Woman's Medical College, of Kansas City; is one of the lecturers on surgery in the Scarritt Nurses' Training School, and sec- retary of its medical faculty; is surgeon of the Scarritt Hospital, also the All Saints Hospital; and is a physician in charge of the St. Joseph's Orphan Home. In his pro- fessional capacity he is connected with vari- ous railroads, being local surgeon of the Wabash road, consulting surgeon of the Kansas City & Northwestern Railroad, con- sulting surgeon of the Kansas City & In- dependence Air Line, abdominal surgeon for the Kansas City, Ft. Scott & Memphis Railroad, captain and assistant surgeon of the third regiment Missouri national guards, and medical director of the National Benev- olent Society.
Socially, the Doctor is connected with the Masonic fraternity, and holds member- ship with Oriental commandery, No. 35, K. T. In politics he is a democrat, and re- ligiously is connected with the southern Methodist church. With his mother he
I. R. Keller.
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occupies a fine residence at the corner of Fifteenth street and Broadway, one of the most beautiful homes in the city.
APTAIN JOHN R. WELLER .- While it is true that some men in- herit greatness and "others have greatness thrust upon them," a large number are architects of their own fortunes. The man of this stamp, self-re- liant and courageous, building on principle and not on the prestige of ancestry, starts out with the idea that "Providence helps those who help themselves." He who has self-reliance, is diligent in his calling and has his heart in his work, is on the road to suc- cess. By this direct route our subject has reached the high position he now occupies among the prominent business men of Kan- sas City.
Captain Weller was born in southern Illinois, on the 3d day of May, 1825, and is a son of Christian and Mary (Rohr) Weller. When he was only three weeks old his par- ents returned to their old home in Logan county, Kentucky, where they soon after died within a few days of one another. Their little son then became an inmate of the home of his maternal grandfather, John Rohr, of Logan county, with whom he remained until about fifteen years of age, when he began to learn the tailor's trade in Russellville, Kentucky, serving a three-years apprenticeship, and in return for his labors receiving his board and clothes. He after- ward worked as a journeyman with his old employer and others for two or three years, and then went to Waverly, Morgan county, Illinois, where he engaged in the tailoring business on his own account. Subsequently he began dealing in ready-made clothing,
and finally added to his stock general mer- chandise. In this line of business he con- tinued until 1854, when he removed to a farm in the southern part of Jackson county. There he engaged in the cultivation and im- provement of his land, and also in selling goods for one year at Lone Jack.
Leaving that place, Captain Weller re- moved to Clay county, Missouri, and en- gaged in running the Randolph steam ferry, four miles below Kansas City, for a year. The business was then consolidated with that of the ferry line of Kansas City, and our subject became a member of the new company, and was the captain of the old boat that he had brought with him from Ran- dolph to Independence. He was also cap- tain of other ferryboats, including the Hat -. tie Weller and the J. R. Weller, which were built at Jeffersonville, Indiana, by Colonel R. H. Nelson, and named in honor of the Captain and his daughter Hattie. Colonel Nelson was the father-in-law of Captain Weller, with whom he had come to Kansas City, and was also a member of the ferry company, in which business he continued a connection throughout his remaining days. He won his title during his service in the Black Hawk war. His death occurred in Kansas City September 12, 1884, when he had attained the age of seventy-two years.
For seventeen years Captain Weller was in command of one of the ferryboats, and his trips were free from any serious accident. This was at the time when all freight for the Hannibal, St. Joseph & Northern Mis- souri Railroad had to be transported by ferry, and all passengers had to be taken across the river in that way, this continuing until the building of the bridge. The busi- ness grew to immense proportions, for it
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was at the time when this section of the country was rapidly being settled, and there was no steam ferry north of Leavenworth, forty miles distant, and none to the east nearer than Lexington. The ferry privileges were granted to Colonel Nelson during his lifetime, and have now been transferred to his family.
After selling out that line of business, the Captain removed to Platte county, Mis- souri, locating on a farm four miles north of Parkville, where he remained for four years, and then returned to Kansas City, purchasing the property where he now makes his home, at 1001 Oak street. In company with George R. Nelson, he erected the Nelson-Weller block, at the corner of Missouri avenue and Main street, a six-story brick office building, erected at a cost of about $500,000. Its owners were in charge of the building until recently, when they exchanged it for ranch property in the state of Coahuila, old Mexico, fifteen miles from Santa Rosa. This is a cattle ranch of one hundred and sixty-five thousand acres, and is enclosed within a wire fence. It is watered by four good rivers, rendering it specially adapted to stock-raising, and fifty thousand acres are suitable for irrigation and tilling. The ranch is stocked with five thousand head of cattle and five hundred head of horses, and the ranch is personally superintended by the Captain's son, R. H. Weller. Some three years ago our subject suffered a stroke of paralysis and has since engaged in no active business.
On the 6th of April, 1850, in St. Louis, Missouri, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Weller and Miss T. J. Nelson, daugh- ter of Colonel Nelson. She was born in Palmyra, Missouri, but her girlhood days were passed in Morgan county, Illinois.
Their family numbers a daughter and son: Hattie, wife of J. K. Davidson, who is en- gaged in the grain and elevator business in Kansas City; and Richard H., who, as before stated, is superintendent of the Mexican ranch. He married Miss Lillie Pitts, daugh- ter of Colonel John E. Pitts, of Platte county.
In politics the Captain is a Cleveland democrat, and has been a lifelong member of the Christian church. His career has been an honorable and ยท upright one, com- manding the respect of all. He is a man of broad sympathies and noble impulses, ever ready to extend a helping hand to those in need, generous in the true sense of the word. In disposition he is social and is possessed of those traits of character which draw men to him.
APTAIN HARRY G. HENLEY, deputy clerk of the circuit court, Independence, Missouri, is one of the popular young men of the city. While it is too early in life to attempt a biography, yet, owing to the important posi- tion he occupies and the high esteem in which he is held, it is appropriate that some personal mention be made of him in this work.
Harry G. Henley was born in Inde- pendence, Missouri, and is the son of An- drew J. and Kate B. (Hobbs) Henley, resi- dents of this city, where he was reared. At the age of seventeen years he was employed as assistant in the office of the clerk of the circuit court in Kansas City, where he re- mained four years, or until 1887. During this time by his faithfulness and efficiency he earned the promotion that came at the end of four years. He was in 1887 ap-
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pointed deputy clerk of the circuit court and took charge of the office in Independence, which position he still occupies, his service here, as in Kansas City, giving a high degree of satisfaction and reflecting much credit upon him as a young man of ability and business push.
Captain Henley was connected with the national guard for ten years, and worked his way up from the ranks to the position of captain of his company, which was com- pany F, third regiment national guards of Missouri. Under his captaincy the com- pany became one of the best in the state.
The Captain is a self-made young man, and his future is promising.
J PHILIP KNOCHE, M. D., who devotes his time and energies to the practice of medicine in Kansas City, is numbered among the native sons of Jackson county, his birth having occurred on a farm three miles from the city, July 25, 1859. The family is of German origin, and the paternal grandfather of our subject, John P. Knoche, spent his entire life in Ger- many, where he was killed by accident in his sixty-fifth year. He had five sons and one daughter. The maternal grandfather, John Frank Knoche, was also a native of Germany, and came to America in the winter of 1858, locating on a farm near New Santa Fe, Missouri, where he died in October, 1869, at the age of sixty-nine years. In personal appearance he was five feet ten inches tall, of heavy build, and was a warmhearted man, of kindly, generous nature. His family numbered four sons and five daughters.
The Doctor's parents were John P. and Florendina Knoche, and their family num-
bered only two children, one of whom died in infancy. The father was a farmer by occupation, and on emigrating to the new world took up his residence in Baltimore, in 1834, being employed there in John Wet- ter's distillery for six years. In 1839 he re- turned to Germany, and on again coming to the United States was accompanied by three brothers. They settled in Jackson county, Missouri, near Kansas City, in 1 840. It was then known as West Landing. There were not near them a half-dozen houses; there was a grocery, etc. The country was wild and sparsely settled. He intended to establish a distillery, and had the building erected and a part of the machinery in when the flood of 1844 swept all away. John P. Knoche then removed to Santa Fe, Mis- souri, where he purchased and entered a large tract of land, engaging there in raising cattle for the Santa Fe traders. In this way he accumulated considerable wealth, but after a time disease broke out among the cattle in this section of the country, and he lost nearly all his stock, while his house and barns were destroyed by fire. Thus misfortune seemed to fall thick and fast around him. He was a man of much purpose, however, and returned to his farm in Jackson county, near Kansas City, but retained the ownership of his farm near Santa Fe, and operated both until after the war broke out. At that time he joined the home guards. His land lay between the territory occupied by Jen- nison's Kansas "Redlegs" and Price's raiders, who stole all his corn, hogs and hay. His wife was also frightened to death in 1861 by some of Jennison's troops ! She was a member of the Lutheran church, a faithful helpmeet to her husband and a lov- ing mother. In 1863 Mr. Knoche was again
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married, his second union being with Annie E. Knoche, a sister of his first wife. They had nine children,-four sons and five daughters,-of whom the following-named are yet living: John H., Louis H., Joseph and Rosa A. The father died August 29, 1887, in his seventy-fifth year, but his second wife is still living, on the old home- stead.
The Doctor was reared on the farm in the East Bottom, near Kansas City, and ac- quired his early education in the country school, after which he attended the public schools of this city, and also Spaulding's Commercial College. He began the study of medicine in 1878, as a student in the. Kansas City Medical College, where he was graduated in 1881. He then entered Belle- vue Hospital Medical College, of New York, and after studying in special departments was graduated in that institution, For three years he successfully engaged in prac- tice, when, wishing more thoroughly to fit himself for his chosen profession, he crossed the water to Vienna, Austria, and entered the university there, spending two years in the special study of dermatology and skin diseases. He then traveled in Italy, Switz- erland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Holland, France, England, Scotland and Ireland. In July, 1886, he returned to his native land, and has since been successfully engaged in practice in Kansas City, making a specialty of dermatology and genito-urin- ary diseases. He is a member of the Kan- sas City Academy of Medicine and the State Medical Society.
In addition to attending to his large practice, the Doctor is now managing his father's estate, and is also president and general manager of the Mexican Coloniza- tion Land Company. . Socially, he is con-
nected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Knights of Pythias, and is a meniber of the Theosophic Society.
O. COFFIN, M. D .- No profes- sion calls for more self-sacrificing efforts than the medical, no greater responsibility rests upon any man than upon the physician, no labors are more delicate, more arduous or require greater care than those that devolve upon him, and on his skill and ability hangs the issue of life and death. Dr. Coffin has gained a reputation as one of the most eminent mem- bers of the medical fraternity, and to-day is enjoying the fruits of his thorough prepara- tion in a large and lucrative practice. He is now serving as city physician of Kansas City, as chief of the staff of the city hos- pital and outdoor medical corps, and also as sanitary superintendent.
Conspicuous among the long roll of emi- nent names associated with the practice of medicine in Missouri is that of Dr. Coffin. He was born in Danielsville, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, August 4, 1858, and is a son of Samuel and Lavina (Seigenfoos) Coffin, also natives of the Keystone state. The father was a descendant of the Nan- tuckets who settled in the east in the seven- teenth century and aided the colonies in their struggle for independence. His busi- ness was the manufacture of school slates, which he successfully carried on in Port- land, Pennsylvania, for many years. He died in Colorado in 1891, but his widow is still living in that state, where they removed in 1889.
The Doctor is the eldest of a large fam- ily of children. He was reared under the parental roof, and acquired his early educa-
James Scammon.
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tion in the common schools, after which he entered the Williamsburg Academy, of Mount Bethel. He began earning his livelihood as a salesman in a drugstore in Portland, Penn- sylvania, where he remained for several years, and in the meantime he took up the study of medicine. He made his own way through college, and on the completion of the prescribed course was graduated at the Medical College in Philadelphia. Thinking the west furnished a better field of labor for young men, in the spring of 1879 he bade adieu to friends and home, removing to Marshall county, Kansas, where he opened an office and continued in the successful practice of his profession until 1885. He then went to Colorado, where he remained for two years, and in 1887 arrived in Kan- sas City, where he has since been located. He has now built up a large practice, which is constantly increasing.
While in Colorado Dr. Coffin held the position of United States Pension Examiner, and in April, 1894, he was made house sur- geon of the Kansas City Hospital, the ap- pointment of Mayor Webster Davis being confirmed by the common council. On the 17th of April, 1895, he was appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council as city physician for a term of two years, and has since filled that position to the satisfaction of all concerned. The hos- pital is now being remodeled and the capac- ity doubled under his supervision. It was a master hand that took matters in charge when Dr. Coffin entered upon the duties of the office, and the reformation which he is working is one that reflects credit upon his skill and knowledge, as well as upon his medical and executive ability. The last named quality is illustrated in the wisdom of his appointments and his general effi-
ciency. He studies men and methods as well as medicine, and thus is able to secure the best results. His resources have been carried forward until he is to-day one of the best informed men in the profession in the city. He belongs to the Missouri State Medical Society, and local medical societies and the Mississippi Valley Society. For one year he was lecturer on the subject of anatomy in the Western Dental College, also lecturer in the Kansas City Training School, and for two years he was demonstrator. Socially he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and other benevolent orders.
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