USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > A memorial and biographical record of Kansas City and Jackson County Mo. > Part 32
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by the governor, and was then elected for a term of four years. On his retirement from office he resumed the practice of law. Judge Field has been employed in some of the most noted and conspicuous cases that have been tried in the Missouri courts, and he to- day ranks among the ablest attorneys in the state. He has made judicious investments of his capital in real estate, and now owns considerable property in the city.
On the 23d of March, 1880, Mr. Field was united in marriage with Miss Annie Camp, of Marietta, Georgia, daughter of G. H. Camp, and they now have five children: Annie M., Edna, Cornelia, Harrison and Kathryn.
J H. WORTHEN, attorney at law, Kansas City, Missouri, has been identified with this place for a period of fifteen years, and is justly en- titled to biographical mention among its leading citizens.
For the birthplace of Mr. Worthen we look to the Green Mountain state. There, in Orange county, September 12, 1847, he first saw the light of day, his parents being Joseph H. and Elizabeth (Chase) Worthen, natives of Vermont and of Welsh descent. The history of the family in this country is traced back to the war of 1745, in which war one of our subject's grandsires served as a lieutenant under Colonel Pepper at the siege of Lewisburg. The Worthens first made settlement in Massachusetts, and sub- sequently removed from there to Vermont, where they were pioneers, and where sev- eral generations of the family were born. They are now scattered over the various states of the union, and not a few who bear the name of Worthen have distinguished
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themselves in some of the departments of life. Amos H. Worthen was state geolo- gist of Illinois for about twenty-five years, and gained great notoriety in this line of science. His collection of geological speci- mens was regarded the best one shown at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. Harry N. Worthen distinguished himself in the civil war. He went out as major of the first Vermont regiment, won promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel of the fourth Vermont regiment, and served under General McClellan. Joseph H. Wor- then, the father of our subject, was a farmer by occupation, and lived and died on the old homestead in Vermont, his life being characterized by honesty and industry. He and his wife had four sons and two daugh- ters, their second born being J. H., whose name graces this article.
J. H. Worthen was reared to farm life, and received his early education in the little red schoolhouse near his home. He pre- pared himself for college at Thetford Acad- emy, and in due time entered Dartmouth College, at Hanover, New Hampshire, where he graduated in 1873. Immediately after his graduation he came west and accepted the position of principal of the high school and superintendent of city schools at Nebraska City, Nebraska, where he re- mained from 1873 until 1876, his service in this capacity being attended with marked success. He had entered this profession, however, not with the idea of making it his life work, but only as a stepping-stone to another profession,-the law. While teach- ing he spent his leisure moments and vaca- tions in the study of law, and at the close of his third year in the schoolroom was ad- mitted to the bar. That same year, 1876, he went to Sidney, Iowa, where he opened 1
an office, and where he practiced his pro- fession until 1880, the time of his removal to Kansas City. Here he conducted a suc- cessful practice until 1885, at which time he was elected on the democratic ticket to the office of police judge. In 1886 he was re-elected and served two terms. In 1887 he was the democratic candidate for mayor of Kansas City, his opponent being Henry C. Krumpp, and although Mr. Worthen re- ceived a vote that was highly complimen- tary he was defeated. That same year he was appointed justice of the peace, and this office he filled until November, 1894, since which time he has given his entire attention to the practice of his profession.
Like the majority of our leading citizens all over the country, Mr. Worthen is iden- tified with some of the popular secret or- ganizations. He maintains a membership in both the Knights of Pythias and the Elks.
He was married in 1892 to Miss Jessie H. DuPage, of Kansas City, a most amiable and accomplished lady.
W. CORNELL, M. D., one of the skilled and eminent represent- atives of the medical profession in Kansas City, Missouri, was born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1844, and is a son of Abraham and Eliza- beth (Corson) Cornell, natives of Bucks county, Pennsylvania. The family has long been connected with the Keystone state. The Doctor's grandfather, Jacob Cornell, was born there and was of German lineage, served as a soldier in the war of 1812 and was a farmer by occupation. Joshua Cor- son, the maternal grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in Holland, Pennsylvania,
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and was descended from Scotch ancestry. He too served in the second war with Eng- land, and carried on agricultural pursuits as a means of livelihood. He was a success- ful business man, an influential politician and a popular citizen. His death occurred at the advanced age of ninety years. The father of our subject was a contractor, builder and farmer, and spent the greater part of his life in his native county, where he died in 1858, at the age of seventy years. His wife passed away in 1852. They were members of the Presbyterian church, and Mr. Cornell served as elder. He also held various township offices, and was a valued citizen. The family numbered eight chil- dren,-five sons and three daughters, - namely: Ann Eliza, wife of John Gill; Charles, deceased; Catherine; Richard; Hirain, deceased; David; Henrietta, wife of William Ardway; and the Doctor.
The last-named spent his youthful days on his father's farm in Bucks county, and his elementary education, acquired in the common schools, was supplemented by a course in the State Normal School. He afterward engaged in teaching and con- ducted a commercial college in Philadel- phia for some time. Later he commenc- ed the study of medicine. He is a graduate of the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, and enjoyed a long and scientific training in the College of Physicians and Surgeons for the medical staff of the United States army and navy. He has had most thorough preparation for his life work, having continued his studies and researches at the Philadelphia Lying-in Hospital, where he studied obstetrics and diseases of women and children; Will's Ophthalmic and Aural Hospital, studying diseases of the eye and ear; the Philadephia School of Laryngos-
copy, studying catarrhal diseases; the Phila- delphia School of Practical Anatomy and Operative Surgery; the Phildelphia City Dispensary; and the Philadelphia City Hos- pital. He has put forth every effort in his power to perfect himself in his chosen call- ing and has gained high standing in his pro- fession. While in Philadelphia, he was professor of obstetrics and diseases of women and children for three years in the Phila- delphia Medical and Surgical Institute. He was also police surgeon, and professor and surgeon in the Philadelphia School of vene- real and all genito-urinary diseases. He continued in general practice in Philadel- phia for fifteen years and then came to the west, locating first at Fort Scott, Kansas. After five years he removed to Joplin, Mis- souri, and in 1894 came to Kansas City.
On the 4th of July, 1870, Dr. Cornell was united in marriage with Miss Lucretia Mott Good, daughter of Benjamin Good, of Buckingham, Pennsylvania. They had five children, but Harry, Lawrence and Edward are now deceased. Howard is studying for the ministry with the expectation of becom- ing a missionary, and will graduate at Park College, Missouri, in 1897, and will finish his studies at Princeton Seminary, New Jersey; Luella is taking a classical course in the academy of Parkville, and will graduate in 1896.
The Doctor and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. During the civil war he was a member of George Hart's company of state militia, and among others participated in the battles of Antietam and Chambersburg. He has ever been a loyal citizen, interested in the general welfare of his country and resident community, but his attention is chiefly given to his profession, in which he has gained so enviable reputation.
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ILLIAM H. MONTGALL was enrolled among the esteemed resi- dents of Kansas City. The em- pire of public opinion, whose sway is dominant in America, freely granted him this position. Public opinion is seldom at fault, its judgment is unerring and its favors are never prompted by caprice or prejudice, but are given as the reward to true ability, and this faultless tribunal ac- knowledged his high standing in Jackson county. He was a highminded, liberal, progressive citizen, a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family, and the his- tory of Jackson county would be incomplete without the record of his life.
Mr. Montgall was born in the suburbs of Kansas City, on the old Brush creek farm, -the family homestead, -March 20, 1850, and was the only son of Rufus and Nancy Montgall. The public schools of this me- tropolis of the west afforded him his educa- tional privileges, and when he had arrived at years of maturity he married Miss Sallie Ford, a daughter of L. A. and Martha (Holmes) Ford. The latter was a sister of Robert Holmes, the well known pioneer who is still living at Blue Springs, Jackson county, with his daughter, Mrs. John Burrus. For many years he was a contractor and car- penter of Kansas City.
After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Montgall they resided on a farm near Blue Springs, and to agricultural pursuits our sub- ject devoted his energies for some years. His health failed him, however, and occasioned his removal into the city at the time of his mother's death. He then devoted his ener- gies to the management of his various busi- ness interests. He became a stockholder in the Bank of Kansas City, and made judi- cious and extensive investments in real
estate, owning many residences and valua- ble city property. He was a man of excel- lent business and executive ability, of sound judgment, and, like his father, his straight- forward dealing was above question. - He was not less esteemed as a citizen than as a business man, and his kindly impulses and charming cordiality of manner rendered him exceedingly popular among all classes of people.
Mr. Montgall was a member of the Cal- vary Baptist church, but took no active part in clubs or lodges, his interest centering in his home, where he preferred to spend liis leisure hours in the enjoyment of the society of his little family and of congenial friends. He was a man of scholarly attainments and broad general information, and in politics was a democrat, but had no ambition for personal advancement in public office. His favorite recreation was hunting, and with his gun and his dog he frequently went on long hunting trips, being an able disciple of Nimrod. It would be difficult to name a citizen of Jackson county who had more warm personal friends or who more thor- oughly merited the high esteem in which he was held.
After a two-weeks illness, Mr. Montgall passed away, on the 20th of March, 1890, and was laid to rest by the side of his par- ents in the beautiful Elmwood cemetery. A little son survives the father, Rufus, who is now eight years of age, and is attending school. If he follows in the footsteps of his illustrious father and grandfather, Kansas City will have another honored citizen of the name of Montgall. The mother's pride and interest now centers in her boy, whom she is carefully rearing, providing him with a training that will fit him for the practical and responsible duties of manhood. Mrs.
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Montgall also holds membership with the Calvary Baptist church, and is deeply inter- ested in its growth and upbuilding. She is not alone the courteous, charming hostess who presides with graceful dignity over her home, but is also a woman of business af- - fairs and business ability, who capably man- ages her own property interests and is thor- oughly in touch with the advanced ideas and methods of the day.
J OSEPH SHARP, M. D., who is en- gaged in the practice of medicine in Kansas City, is numbered among the worthy sons of the Buckeye state, his birth having occurred in Chauncey, Ohio,
June 26, 1851. He is a representative of one of the old families of that state, his grandfather, Joseph Sharp, having been born in Ohio in 1800. He followed the occupation of farming, served as colonel of the state militia, and was quite prominent in public affairs. He represented Fairfield county in the state legislature in 1843, and was a recognized leader in matters of public improvement. Mr. Sharp was a man of fine physique, six feet, two inches in height and weighing 210 pounds. He rounded the Psalmist's span of three-score years and ten, and was well preserved both physically and mentally at the time of his death. His father was Joseph Sharp, who located in Belmont county, Ohio, in 1798, had served under General Morgan in the Revolutionary war, and was the second in command in the whisky rebellion. He served in the first thirteen sessions of the Ohio legislature, and took an active part in molding the history of the state, with which his name was insepa- rably connected. He died at the age of sixty-five years, and the loss of this valued
citizen was deeply mourned. The Sharp family is of Scotch-Irish lineage.
The father of our subject was Dr. James Sharp, a physician, who wedded Mary Cutler, and is now living with his wife in Sugar Grove, Ohio. They had two children, Joseph and George C. Mrs. Sharp was a daughter of Charles Cutler, a native of the Buckeye state, who for many years followed merchandising in Chauncey. In 1849 he started for California, and on the way was stricken with cholera and died. He was a man of splendid constitution, noted for his even disposition and noble character. To the Puritans who located in this country in the days of its early history, he traced his early ancestry, and he was the possessor of some of the sterling traits of character of that worthy band.
Dr. Joseph Sharp resided at Logan, Ohio, until eighteen years of age, and pur- sued his literary education in the public schools. He early became his father's as- sistant, and it may be said that from his boyhood he has been connected with the medical profession. After graduating at the William Jewell College, of Liberty, Mis- souri, in 1871, he took up the study of medicine in the Kansas City College of Physicians and Surgeons, at which he was graduated in March, 1873. He was then appointed house physician of the Kansas City Hospital, where he served for one year, and then engaged in practice in Sugar Grove, Ohio, for a term of six years. On the ex- piration of that period he came to Kansas City in 1880, and has since carried on busi- ness here, successfully engaged in general practice. He is also professor of the prin- ciples and practice of medicine in the Kan- sas City Medical College, and is a member of the Jackson County Medical Society, the
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Kansas City District Medical Society, Mis- souri State Medical Society, the Missouri Valley Society, the Tri-State and American Medical Associations, also the American Public Health Association. He was presi- dent of the Fairfield County Medical So- ciety of Ohio in 1877, and was secretary of the Kansas City Medical Society from 1882 until 1885, also president of the Jackson County Society in 1887, treasurer of the Kansas City District Medical Society since 1889, and one of the secretaries of the State Medical Society in 1890. In 1893 he was president of the Kansas City Medical Col- lege, and is still secretary of the board of directors. Steadily has he worked his way upward, and is to-day a most able and emi- nent representative of the medical profes- sion.
On the 5th of June, 1877, was consum- mated the marriage of Dr. Sharp and Miss Olive Beatty. They had one daughter, Nathlie M. On the 22d of April, 1895, the Doctor married Mrs. Eugenia Boland, widow of Colonel Michael Boland, at one time a prominent attorney of Kansas City, and a daughter of Julius Mendel.
APT. HENRY C. BROOKING is a son of the distinguished pioneer in honor of whom Brooking township, Jackson county, was named, and is a man whose own life has been such that it entitles him to specific consideration in a work which has to do with the representa- tive men and women of the locality in which he has lived so long.
The Brookings have long been residents of America. John Brooking, the grand- father of our subject, was a Virginian by birth, was a soldier in the Revolutionary
war, and at an early period he and a brother came west with Daniel Boone to Kentucky. In Scott county, Kentucky, March 10, 1797, Judge Alvan Brooking, the captain's father, was born. There, September 18, 1817, he married Permelia Brooking, who was born and reared in Scott county, and who died there June 1, 1836. For his second wife he wedded, August 18, 1838, Frances Herndon, likewise a native of Scott county. That same year, 1838, he and his family removed to Missouri. They spent one year in Clay county, then came to Jackson county and settled on section 32 of Brooking township, and here for nearly twenty years he lived a life of usefulness. There were many roving bands of Indians then in Jackson county, who often came to trade with the few white settlers. Mr. Brooking purchased his farm from James Kimsey, the first white man to locate in this community. Previous to the advent of churches here the Brooking resi- dence was on frequent occasions used as a place of worship for the people for miles around, many a Baptist minister sharing its genial hospitality and holding services here. Judge Brooking had joined the church and been baptized in Kentucky as early as 1828. He was a man of deep piety, charity and kindness, was temperate in all things, pub- lic-spirited and enterprising, and was recog- nized as a leader among the people of this pioneer settlement. An old-line Whig and an enthusiastic politician, he represented Jackson and Cass counties in the state legis- lature of Missouri about 1850, and prior to that time served as county judge. He died November 30, 1857. His second wife had no issue. The children of his first marriage numbered eight, and of that number five grew to maturity. Their names are as fol- lows: John, Mary, Wallace, Americus,
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Robert, Julia, Henry C., and Serena M. All have passed away except the two youngest. Serena M. is the wife of Logan Pendleton, of this township, and has ten children. Mary, the deceased wife of John Campbell, left eight children.
-Henry C. Brooking was born in Scott county, Kentucky, April 24, 1832, and at the time of their removal to Missouri he was six years old. In Jackson county he was reared amid frontier scenes, his education being re- ceived in the common schools of that period and at Highland Academy. In this county he remained until 1849. That year he was a victim of the gold "fever," which originated in California and spread even to the most remote parts of the civilized world. The only cure for that disease was a trip to the Pacific coast. This journey he undertook and accomplished after long and tedious travel and many discouragements, including an encounter with the Cheyenne Indians, numbering about Soo warriors, who held them at bay for about twenty-four hours. Mr. Brooking and his party lost their oxen and all their goods by reason of the early snows in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and when he did finally reach his destination, the Lassen ranch, November 18, 1849, he was on foot and with no worldly goods save his rifle and his blanket. He commenced his mining experience on Feather river, and for five years he toiled in the inines, with the usual luck of the miner, and at the end of that time started homeward. June, 1854, found him back at the old home place in Jackson county, and here he followed farm- ing until the outbreak of the civil war.
Loyal to his home, his friends and his native land, it was but natural, when the north and the south became involved in war, that he should ally himself with the
Confederacy. In 1861 he joined Captain Thurston's company, Colonel Rosser's regi- ment. Later he was under Colonel Mar- tin's command. A detailed account of his army life and many exploits would fill a volume. Suffice it to say in this connection that he was true to his colors, remained on active duty until the conflict was over, and for gallant service was promoted to the rank of captain. Among the engagements in which he participated were those of Rock creek and Lexington. The first winter he
spent in Springfield, Missouri. On being mustered out of the state guards he went to Texas; a few weeks later he returned and became first lieutenant under Captain L. M. Lewis, of company A, sixteenth Missouri infantry. He was in the engagement at Lone Jack, Missouri. His report of that battle was the only one ever made, and it was lost. He recalls that there were 105 federals killed, thirty-three Confederates killed, and eighty-six Confederates left wounded on the field. Other engagements in which he took part were the battles of Jenkins' Ferry, Prairie Grove and Helena, his service closing with disbandınent of the troops at Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1865. At the battle of Prairie Grove he was wounded in the right leg by a minie ball and fell into federal hands.
About a year after the close of the war Captain Brooking returned to his former home in Missouri. Here, June 30, 1868, he was married to Miss Elvira F. Laws, who was born in Westport township, this county, August 19, 1843, daughter of Alfred and Permelia (Epperson) Laws, both na- tives of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Laws came to Missouri when young and it was in Jackson county that they met and married. They settled on section 23, Westport town-
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ship, where they resided until death. He died in 1863, and she in 1889. In their family were five children, namely: Eliza A. Allen, Mrs. Brooking, Wallace, Emily Holmes, and Horace. The last named is deceased. Mrs. Laws was a member of the Baptist church. Mrs. Brooking's dis- trict-school education was supplemented by a course in the Independence schools, and previous to her marriage she was for several years engaged in teaching in her home dis- trict. Ever since their marriage they have resided at their present home, with the ex- ception, however, of seven years when they were traveling for the benefit of Mrs. Brooking's health. They have no children.
Mr. Brooking's farm comprises 360 acres of choice land, well cultivated and im- proved, and his home is a model of comfort and convenience, being regarded as one of the most attractive and delightful rural places in the vicinity.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Brooking continue in the faith in which they were reared, that of the Baptist church, he being a deacon and moderator in the church and both being teachers in the Sunday-school. Politically, his support has always been given to the democratic party, but he has never held office.
Thus briefly is narrated the life history of a worthy son of an honored father.
0 R. B. C. HYDE, police physician and surgeon, Kansas City, Mis- souri, is a young man who has but recently entered upon his profes- sional career, and one whose prospects for a bright future are indeed flattering, as he is well equipped both by natural ability and education for the profession of his choice.
Dr. Hyde is a native of this state. He was born in Cooper county, May 6, 1872, and is a son of George W. Hyde, D. D., and Anna Hyde, ncc Clark, the former a na- tive of Virginia and the latter of Missouri, both belonging to families who have figured prominently in the history of this country. The Hydes have been for many years repre- sented in the various professions, -lawyers, ministers and doctors. Dr. George W. Hyde accompanied his father at an early day from the old Dominion to Missouri and settled in Chariton county. He was or- dained as a Baptist minister when a young man, later had conferred upon him the de- gree of D. D. and has spent many years in the work of the ministry, his labors being attended with great success. He is now a resident of St. Louis. During the late war he served as chaplain in Lee's army. His brother William was a colonel in the Con- federate army, and was killed at the battle of Wilson creek.
The subject of our sketch is the only son in a family of four children. He was reared in Booneville and Lexington, Mis- souri, where he received his early education in the public schools. Then he took a course in military training at Wentworth Military Academy, at Lexington, graduating there in 1889. Next he attended William Jewell College, at Liberty, where he gradu- ated with the class of 1892, and immediately thereafter took up the study of medicine. In the spring of 1895 he graduated at the University Medical College, of Kansas City, and it was in May after his graduation that he was appointed by the police commission- ers to his present position, that of police physician and surgeon, for a term of three years. Dr. Hyde is a member of the Twin City Medical Society.
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