USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > A memorial and biographical record of Kansas City and Jackson County Mo. > Part 31
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In 1882 Dr. Coffin was united in mar- riage with Miss Minnie A. Dean, of Frank- fort, Kansas, a daughter of Colonel G. A. Dean, land commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, also of the Fort Smith & Little Rock Railroad, his residence being in Little Rock, Arkan- sas. They have two children, -Dean O. and Bertha M.
AMES SCAMMON is the senior mem- ber of the prominent and well-known law firm of Scammon, Crosby & Stubenrauch. He is well read in the subtleties of his profession and keeps him- self conversant with the current decisions of the courts of last resort. To a profound knowledge of the law he adds indefatigable industry, and is devoted to his profession, and has justly won a high place therein.
Mr. Scammon was born in Stratham, . New Hampshire, June 10, 1844. His family, one of the oldest in the State, has for generations lived in New Hampshire, having settled there about two hundred and fifty years ago. The paternal grandfather, James Scammon, was born and reared there,
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and engaged in farming in connection with the practice of medicine. He was a man of strong convictions and keen intellectual per- ceptions, and his upright life commanded the respect of all who knew him. He died at the age of eighty-eight years.
Richard Scammon, father of our sub- ject, a bright, scholarly, thoughtful man, was one of a family of six children, and was born in New Hampshire. Farming was his life work, and through that channel of in- dustry he supported his family. He suc- ceeded to the ancient homestead and gained a competence. He married Abigail Batch- elder, a native of New Hampshire, and a genial, kindly woman of conservative judg- ment and sound, practical sense. Both the father and mother were trained in the old Puritan school, with its firm, rigid con- ceptions of duty. Mr. and Mrs. Scammon became the parents of four children, namely : Hezekiah, James, Sarah C. and Richard M. The father died in 1878, at the age of sixty- nine years, and his wife passed away in 1875. They were members of the Christian church, in which the father served as trustee, and for years filled many offices of trust in his native community.
The subject of this review was reared at Stratham, New Hampshire, where the family had lived for two hundred and fifty years. His youngest brother, a graduate of Cornell University, and an ex-member of the New Hampshire senate, now resides on the old homestead. James Scammon attended the common schools until eighteen years of age, and entered Phillips Academy at Exeter, New Hampshire, where he pursued his studies for three years. He spent six weeks in private study, and passing through the freshman studies in that period, entered Brown University as a sophomore in 1865,
and graduated in 1868. He was also elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Mr. Scammon then received an appointment as principal of the River Point Classical Seminary, at River Point, Rhode Island, where he remained for one year. At the expiration of that period he resigned and entered the Albany Law School. After his graduation at that institution he was ad- mitted to the bar in June, 1870, and began practicing at Mechanicsville, Iowa, in the firm of Scammon & Rackett. For a year he practiced there as a partner of his old college mate. He next removed to Daven- port, where he continued until December, 1872, when he came to Kansas City, and has since resided here.
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On the 4th of March, 1876, Mr. Scam- mon married a daughter of Rev. J. S. Ever- ingham, of Sandusky, New York. He has one son, Richard. Mr. Scammon is a member of All Souls Unitarian church and for twenty years has been president of the board of trustees of this church, which he aided very greatly in establishing. His pleasant home is located at 2460 Brooklyn avenue. He has one of the finest miscel- laneous libraries in Missouri, which indi- cates the cultured taste of the owner. So- cially, he is a kind, genial gentleman of large and generous culture and information, of firm purpose and resolute will.
Mr. Scammon has been prominently connected with various business interests of Kansas City. For several years he was general solicitor for the Kansas City & Eastern Railway Company. He has for years been one of the directors and a mem- ber of the executive committee of the Kan- sas City Electric Light Company, also of the Edison Electric Light & Power Company. He is the secretary and a member of the
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board of directors of the Kansas City Hay Press Company. He was president of the board of managers of the Jackson County Reform School, appointed by Governor Marmaduke. He was one of the originators of the Kansas City Humane Society and has since either served as its president or as chairman of the executive committee, and has been actively and enthusiastically in- terested in its work for a period of ten years. He was president of the Franklin Savings Bank, and was one of the directors of the Chicago & Kansas Commission Com- pany. It is one of his boasts that he never held a political office in his life, though he always takes an active interest in public affairs. He was prominently concerned in obtaining for Kansas City its first reform charter from the legislature of the state in 1875.
3 S. WHITSETT .- Among the pio- neer settlers of Jackson county is numbered this gentleman, who for many years has been identified with the best interests of the locality, interested in all that pertains to its welfare and ad- vancement. In all the relations of life he has been an esteemed and upright man, and to-day is ranked among the progressive ag- riculturists of the community.
The Whitsett family was of Scotch origin, and was founded in America in the early history of this country. The great- grandfather of our subject served as sheriff of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. He was at one time a very wealthy man, but owing to his great generosity lost much of his prop- erty. He removed to. Kentucky when his son, James Whitsett, the grandfather of our
subject, was a lad of twelve years. The latter served as a soldier in the war of 1812, under General William Henry Harrison. The father of our subject, John Rankin Whitsett, was a native of Montgomery coun- ty, Kentucky, born May 28, 1805, and was reared on the family homestead in that state. He served as a soldier in the enrolled county militia. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eliza Leslie Oldham, was born in Kentucky October 8, 1808, and was a daughter of Zera Oldham, also a native of Kentucky and a son of William Oldham, who had removed to that state from North Carolina. He was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war, serving for seven years, until the cause for which he had so valiantly striven was won and American independence was attained. Her parents were married in Kentucky, November 2, 1826, and lived in that state for twelve years, when, in 1838. they came to Missouri and settled on a farm near Independence. In 1840 they removed to a farm in Washington township, a mile north of Hickman Mills. The pioneer homes were widely scattered and this work of civil- ization had just begun. Mr. Whitsett se- cured a prairie farm on the edge of the tim- ber and at once began its development, for previous to that time not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made. He built a log cabin, which was soon surrounded by waving fields of grain as he energetically subdued the wild land. He continued his residence there until 1873, after which he and his wife left the old home and resided with their children. The former died June 1, 1892, the latter April 25, 1883. They were active and consistent members of the Christian church, and Mr. Whittsett always took a leading part in promoting those en- terprises which were calculated to improve
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the public welfare. During the war he was an advocate of the union cause.
In the family were twelve children, namely: Amanda B. and Anna D., now deceased; Eveline C. Oldham, who died, leaving four children; Mrs. Eliza Hall, who has three children; Mrs. Amelia A. Muir, deceased, who had four children; Joel A., who has also passed away; Mary E., deceased wife of John R. Moore; Mrs. Catherine M. Palmer, who has three chil- dren; John N., deceased; James S. ; one who died in infancy; and Sarah E., deceased.
Mr. Whitsett of this review, was born on the old farm in Washington township, March 19, 1845, and grew to manhood under the parental roof. He acquired his education in the district schools, and aided in the cultivation of the fields until after the breaking out of the civil war. Owing to the oppressive measures brought on through this strife he joined the army, and on the 12th of August, 1862, was enrolled as a member of company E, second Missouri cavalry of the Confederate service, com- manded by Colonel Upton Hayes, being at- tached to Shelby's division. He partici- pated in the battle of Lone Jack, August 16, 1862, and Prairie Grove on the 7th of De- cember. The following year he met the enemy in battle at Springfield on the 8th of January, and at Hartsville, on the 11th, and then went into winter quarters in Ar- kansas. In April he took part in the battles of Cape Girardeau and Helena. He then left General Shelby's brigade and returned to Missouri, where he joined Captain Todd's company and served until the death of that officer. He was then under Daniel Vaughn until the close of the war. He was never wounded or captured, yet for nearly three years was in active service.
In May, 1865, Mr. Whitsett went to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and crossed the plains to Fort Laramie as a teamster. Sub - sequently he returned to his home, which, however, had been desolated by the tramp- ing armies that had invaded all the country round about, leaving desolation and ruin in their wake. He has since devoted his at- tention exclusively to agricultural pursuits and now has a valuable farm of 200 acres, the greater part of which is under a high state of cultivation.
In 1870 Mr. Whitsett was united in marriage with Miss Martha M. Hall, a native of Kentucky, and a daughter of Fielding M. Hall, who died in that state. The lady was born August 21, 1844, and died July 1, 1878. The children of that union are Mary L., deceased; Helen, and Annie E. On the 26th of February, 1880, Mr. Whitsett was again married, his second union being with Lena Arnold, a native of Kentucky, born April 29, 1848, and a daugh- ter of George B. Arnold, an early settler of Cass county, Missouri. By the second union have been born three children, -Minnie B., Mary and John L. The parents are members of the Christian church, and in pol- itics Mr. Whitsett is a populist. He keeps well informed on the issues of the day, and is an intelligent, broadminded man, whose well spent life has gained him the esteein and confidence of his many friends.
ENRY M. BEARDSLEY, of the firm of Beardsley, Gregory & Flan- nelly, attorneys at law, Kansas City, is a native of Knox coun- ty, Ohio, born October 20, 1858. He is a son of George F. and Martha Beardsley, the former also having been born in Knox
VMBOtoward
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county; the latter was born at Mt. Morris, New York. The Beardsley family were early settlers in Ohio, where the family vo- cation was farming. In November, 1867, Mr. Beardsley, Sr., removed with his family to Champaign, Illinois, where he engaged in operating in real estate and manufactur- ing enterprises. He is one of the promi- nent, well-to-do men of Champaign county, his executive ability and business acumen being so clearly manifest that he has been called upon to take many positions of honor and trust, as president of the school board, alderman, city treasurer, president of the Fair Association, trustee of his church and superintendent of Sabbath-school. Of his six children three are living: Henry M., Anna and John. The deceased are Fannie, aged nineteen, and two who died in in- fancy.
Our subject finished his education in the State University of Illinois, having taken the post-graduate course and received the degree of Master of Literature, and for two years was tutor in chemistry. He subse- quently read law under George W. Gere, and was admitted to the bar in September, 1882. He then entered into partnership with his preceptor for the practice of law, with whom he was associated till his remov- al to Kansas City, in October, 1886. The following January he became associated with Alfred Gregory, and in 1894 Thomas J. Flannelly was admitted to the firm.
As lawyers they rank with the ablest at the Jackson county bar, and they have a practice that bespeaks the confidence of a large clientage. In religious matters Mr. Beardsley is not only deeply interested, but takes an active part in the practical work of the church that of right should be per- formed by the laity. While living in Cham- 15
paign he was president of the County Sun- day-school Association. For six years past he has been superintendent of the Sabbath- school of the First Congregational church of Kansas City, of which he is a valuable member, and since 1892 he has been presi- dent of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion. He is also one of the original or charter members of the Municipal Improve- ment Association. To all measures calcu- lated to improve public conditions and ele- vate the standard of morals and citizenship, he gives hearty and unqualified support. As the champion of those interests he is sincere and enthusiastic, and his influence for good is great, especially among the young, with whom he is decidedly popular. It is, per- haps, in Christian work that his efforts pro- duce the most noticeable results. Here he patiently and untiringly labors for the cause of God and humanity and his efforts have been most graciously rewarded.
Mr. Beardsley was united in marriage with Miss Marietta Davis, of Piatt county, Illinois, April 24, 1883. They have three children: Ella, born in 1884; George D., born in 1887; and Henry S., born in 1895.
B. HOWARD, of Lees Summit, has been to Jackson county a valued citizen who has played an important part in the develop- ment and upbuilding of his section. Edu- cational, social and moral interests have been advanced through his generous aid, and the material welfare of the community has been largely promoted by his extensive business interests. · From pioneer days up to the present time he has withheld his sup- port from no enterprise that he believed would benefit the public good, and the en-
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terprising town of Lees Summit is a monu- ment to his enterprising and progressive spirit. His name is inseparably connected with the county's history, and a volume of this kind would be incomplete without the record of his life.
A native of Jefferson county, Kentucky, Mr. Howard was born March 10, 1821, and is a son of John Howard, a native of Mary- land. The paternal great-grandfather was the nearest heir to the Duke of Norfolk, of England, but forfeited his right to the prop- erty by emigrating to the Colonies. John Howard removed to Kentucky in 1800, and at that time was thirty years of age. He married Annie C. Bullitt, a native of Jeffer- son county, Kentucky, and a daughter of Colonel Alex. S. Bullitt, of Virginia, who became a prominent citizen of Kentucky, and was president of the first constitutional con- vention of that state. He lived within nine miles of Louisville. Mr. Howard had been previously married in his native state to Miss Lattimore, of that state, and removed on a flatboat from Pittsburg down the Ohio river to Louisville, where he arrived on the Ist of August, 1800. The city at that time contained only four brick houses. His wife died there. Six children of their family reached years of maturity, but all are now deceased. After the death of his first wife Mr. Howard married Miss Bullitt, and they always resided in Jefferson county, Ken- tucky, where he successfully carried on farming. Of their four children three reached mature years: W. B .; Helen M., deceased; and Anna C. The last named is the widow of Robert G. Courtenay, of Louisville, Kentucky. She is still residing there, and has two sons and two daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Howard were members of the Presbyterian church, and took an active
part in its work. He was a boy at the time of the Revolutionary war, and could well remember many of the scenes and incidents connected therewith.
W. B. Howard, whose name introduces this review, was educated in Jefferson county, Kentucky, and reared on the family farm, remaining at home most of the time until after his father's death. He had, however, previously visited Missouri, and purchased 220 acres of land in Jackson county, whereon he made a location in 1842. By their mar- riage, which was celebrated February 8, 1844, he secured as a helpmeet on life's journey Maria D. Strother, of Bardstown, Kentucky, daughter of John D. Strother, who removed from that state to the Old Dominion, and was sheriff of Nelson county. Mrs. Howard was born November 22, 1825, and acquired her education in Bardstown. On the Ist of April, 1844, he located on his farm in Blue township, whereon stood a log house, somewhat more pretentious than its neighbors, as it was weather-boarded. It was surrounded by timber, which he be- gan to clear away in order to make a farm. Six years later he removed to another farm in what is now Prairie township, but then formed a part of Blue township, five miles north of Lees Summit. It was a tract of 833 acres, partly timber and partly prairie land, about 400 acres being under fence. He moved into a log cabin, but in 1854 this was replaced by an excellent frame residence, erected at a cost of $3,000. The energy and enterprise of the owner also soon made a vast difference in the appearance of the place, which soon manifested the results of his care and cultivation. He lived upon the farm until October, 1862, when he was arrested by Colonel Pennock's command and taken to Independence, where he remained
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in jail for one month. He was then paroled under bond of $25,000 and permitted to go to Kentucky with his wife, who was at that time quite ill. She died February 16, 1865. In their family were three children: Will- iam Bullitt, who was born May 10, 1846, and died at the age of five years; Anna Strother, who was born February 18, 1848, and is the wife of George F. Lee, by whom she has one child living; and John, who was born August 6, 1849, and died at the age of four years and four months.
After his wife's death Mr. Howard re- turned to his farm in 1865. He found almost everything in the locality either burned or destroyed, and his own farm was despoiled of almost all of its improvements. The house had been set on fire by some of the soldiers, but the flames had been ex- tinguished by two of the number, so he re- paired the damage as well as he could and induced some of his neighbors to move into the place and keep house for him. He re- stocked and refenced the farm, and again soon had it under a high state of cultiva- tion.
Mr. Howard was again married Septem- ber 19, 1867, to Mary C. Jones, a native of Howard county, Missouri, and a daughter of William C. and Elizabeth ( Jones ) Jones, -the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Tennessee. Her parents came to Missouri in 1840, and the mother died in 1849. Mr. Jones afterward married Miss Anna Moore, of Howard county, and both are now deceased. During the war he went with a company to Idaho, but died at Fort Laramie in 1863. His wife survived him until 1890. To them were born three chil- dren,-Walter, Alphonzo and Mrs. Annie Carr. Mrs. Howard was the only child · born of the first marriage. Her birth oc-
curred November 3, 1845, and her educa- tion was acquired in Waverly, Missouri. She afterward taught a subscription school, and conducted the third school in Lees Summit. Mr. and Mrs. Howard are the parents of six children: Maria E., now the wife of John R. Ransom, of Kansas City, by whom she has three children; Robert M., living on the old homestead; Mary Bullitt; Thomas C., a student; Florence C., who is now attending Central College; and William B. In the order named the dates of birth of the family are as follows: July 6, 1868, September 17, 1870, August 5, 1873, No- vember 18, 1875, June 7, 1879, and May 26, 1887. The children have been provided with excellent educational privileges and the older children have all attended school away from home.
Mr. and Mrs. Howard are members of the Methodist church, south, and he has been steward for more than forty years, while at various times he has served as trus- tee. He now teaches the Bible class in the Sunday-school, and his wife is also active in church work. In politics, Mr. Howard has taken an active interest and stanchly advo- cated democratic principles; but has always refused office, save that in connection with schools, having been treasurer of the city school board. His time was devoted ex- clusively for many years to farming, and he lived on the old homestead until November 20, 1884, since which time he has resided in Lees Summit. He now owns 2, 300 acres of farm land and some valuable farm prop- erty, and is a director in the Bank of Lees Summit.
In October, 1865, Mr. Howard laid out the town of Lees Summit upon his own land, the original plat covering seventy acres. Of this twenty acres were divided
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into town lots, one half of which were given to the Missouri Pacific Railroad. He gave to the town the name of Strother, but the name given it by the engineer was the one retained. He has taken a deep and abiding interest in the welfare and upbuilding of the town, and it is now the largest shipping point on the Missouri Pacific Railroad be- tween here and St. Louis, except Sedalia. The commercial activity of the place has been largely promoted through his efforts, and Lees Summit has proved of material benefit to the surrounding farming commu- nity. Howard Park was laid out by Will- iam B. Howard, and is still owned by him. It comprises twenty acres of land and con- tains a half-mile track sixty feet wide and a quarter-of-a-mile track forty feet wide, sur- rounding beautiful picnic grounds. It is lo- cated on the Harrisonville road. Mr. How- ard has donated as many as twelve lots to the different Christian churches in Lees Summit, and evidences of his generosity are seen on all sides enhancing public improve- ments. Imbued with the progressive spirit of the west, he has been most active in the upbuilding of this town, of which he was practically the founder, and it is to such men that Jackson county owes its prosper- ity and improvement.
ON. R. H. FIELD, attorney at law, of Kansas City, ranking among the leading men of his profession, is a native of Cherokee county, Georgia, born December 27, 1853, and a son of Elijah M. and Cornelia (Harrison) Field, natives of South Carolina and of English and Irish descent. The paternal grandfather, Jeremiah Field, married a Miss Murphy in South Carolina, and at an early
day emigrated to Georgia, where he carried on farming, cultivating his land by the aid of slaves. He died in Cherokee county, Georgia. The father of our subject was a farmer and capitalist. He removed from Cherokee county to Bartow county, Geor- gia, where he lived until the breaking out of the war, when he took up his residence in Jefferson county, Georgia, his death oc- curring there in October, 1864. He was a very prominent and influential citizen, and when a young man represented Cherokee county in the state legislature. He was a close personal and political friend of Sena- tor Joseph E. Brown, the war governor of Georgia, and Mr. Field served as quarter- master in the Confederate service, with the rank of captain. Being a Douglas demo- crat, he disapproved of secession; but when the final die was cast he gave his allegiance to the section of the country which had always been his home.
Mrs. Field, the mother of our subject, still survives her husband, and is now living in Cartersville, Bartow county, Georgia. She is a descendant of the prominent Har- rison family of Virginia, and the presidents of the same name were also descendants of the same ancestry. She is also a grand- daughter of the well known Chancellor Waddy Thompson, of South Carolina, whose son served as minister to Mexico under Presi- dent Pierce. In the family of Elijah M. and Cornelia Field were seven children, five of whom are still living, namely: Richard H .; Jerre; James M .; Eliza, widow of James C. Tumlin; and Maxey, wife of Her- bert A. Camp, of Lumberton, Mississippi.
The subject of this sketch, Hon. Richard H. Field, was educated in the common schools of Georgia, and was partially reared upon a farm. His father died when he was
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very young, and being thus left without paternal guidance he did not make much use of his educational privileges during his boy- hood years, caring more to please and amuse himself according to his own inclinations; but the mother's hope that her boy would make something of himself remained firm and unshaken, and her belief in a true man- liness underlying his tendency in his youth always continued, until now she has reason to be proud of the son who has added honor to the name. When about nineteen years of age he became deeply interested in the law, occasioned by lawsuits brought against his mother by a brother-in-law. He began reading, and after a thorough preparation was admitted to the bar in March, 1875, at Cartersville, Georgia, being at that time twenty-one years of age. He opened an office in that place, where he continued for a year, and on the expiration of that period came to Kansas City, in May, 1876. He at once opened an office and had the experience of most practitioners. For two years his practice was small, but those two years were not wasted, for he devoted himself assidu- ously and untiringly to study, making up for the neglected opportunities of his youth; and he found that as his knowledge in- creased his practice increased, and he has since been a close student, not only of his profession, but also has been a broad and varied reader, and is to-day one of the best informed members of the bar of Kansas City. His clientage steadily increased, and he enjoyed an exceedingly prosperous busi- ness from 1878 until October, 1888, when he was appointed judge of the circuit court of Jackson county, being the youngest judge that ever sat on the bench in Jackson county up to that time. This honor came to him entirely unsought. He was first appointed
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