USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > A memorial and biographical record of Kansas City and Jackson County Mo. > Part 56
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who bore the maiden name of Mary Duncan, was born in Loudoun county, and was a daughter of Harry Duncan, of Virginia. Both families removed to Kentucky when nothing but a fort marked the site of the city of Louisville. They settled in Nelson county, where the father of our subject was married and cleared a farm, spending his remaining days thereon. Eleven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, of whom three are now living: Mrs. Miranda Dugan, of Nelson county, Kentucky, whose son Thomas now owns the old family home- stead there; Zach G .; and Benjamin, a very wealthy planter living in Louisiana, who served as quartermaster in the Con- federate army during the civil war. The parents of this family were both members of the Baptist church.
At his parental home our subject spent the days of his childhood, and when about sixteen years of age began learning the blacksmith's trade, which he carried on in Bloomfield, Kentucky, until 1848. In that year he came to Missouri, traveled over the state in search of a location, and purchased the land on which he now resides. Few indeed were the residents of the locality at that time. All was wild and unimproved and gave little promise of rapid advance- ment.
Mr. Cooper soon returned to Kentucky, and the same fall was united in marriage with Miss Olivia Dawson, a native of Nelson county, and a daughter of Thomas Dawson,- who was born in Virginia, but became one of the pioneers of Kentucky. In the spring of 1849 our subject brought his bride to the new home and they began their domestic life in a log cabin, the wife caring for the little home, while the husband devoted his attention to clearing and cultivating the
M. A. Bogie.
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land. For forty-six years he has lived upon the place, and now has a valuable farin of 260 acres. During the war his buildings were all destroyed, but with characteristic energy he rebuilt and has made excellent improvements upon his property.
To Mr. and Mrs. Cooper were born seven children: Rosella; Thomas A., de- ceased; Ann, deceased wife of William Hulse, whose six children now make their home with the grandfather; Benjamin, of Washington, D. C., who married Miss Bar- rett, by whom he had three children, and after her death married again, having one child by the second union; Mary, widow of Albert Henry Green; William B .; Adelaide, wife of William Shaw, by whom she has three children; and Bettie H.
When the war broke out Mr. Cooper joined the company commanded by Captain Duncan, forming a part of the sixth Mis- souri Confederate regiment. He participated in a number of important engagements, in- including the siege of Lexington, the battles of Elkhorn and Corinth, the engagements from Springfield, Missouri, to Fort Smith, Arkansas, the battle of Fort Gibson and the siege of Vicksburg.
When the war was over he went to Arkansas and worked in a blacksmith shop. In the summer of 1863 he went to Little Rock, Arkansas, and afterward to his broth- er's home in Alexandria, Louisiana, then took thirty of his brother's slaves to Texas in order to prevent them being cap- tured by the Federalists. He then joined his family in Kentucky, whither they had fled for safety during the war. As soon as peace was established they all returned to Jackson county to find a desolated farm, and, heavily in debt, Mr. Cooper had to be- gin business life all over again; but he was
equal to the emergency, and by his uncon- querable determination, steadfast purpose and energy he has again reached a position of affluence. In this he has been ably as- sisted and seconded by his wife, who has indeed been to her husband a helpmeet on life's journey. He has served as a member of the school board, but would never con- sent to accept other office. In politics he was first a whig, but for many years has been connected with the democracy. He has always been a temperate man, out- spoken in defense of his honest convictions, and one of the best known characters of Jackson county's history is Uncle Zach Cooper.
ARCUS A. BOGIE, M. D., is one of the best known physicians of Kansas City, where he has been engaged in the practice of his profession for the past twenty-four years. A review of his life will show forth the salient points of a character which has enabled him to work his way upward to the high position which he now occupies, and will undoubtedly prove of great interest to his many friends.
The Doctor is a native of the state of Kentucky, his birth having occurred in Madison county, December 20, 1841. His parents, Daniel H. and Emeline L. (Tay- lor) Bogie, were also natives of the same state. Of their family of seven children,- four sons and three daughters, -five are now living, viz .: Belle, wife of M. G. Lackey; George W., Marcus A., Daniel K., and Irene, widow of Caleb West. Mr. Daniel H. Bogie was a farmer and trader in Kentucky, passing his entire life in that state, dying at the age of sixty-six years, in
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1874. His wife died October 6, 1850, aged thirty-six years. Both were members of the Christian churchi.
Tracing the Doctor's ancestry, it is found that his grandfather, James Bogie, was born in Kentucky, and was of Scotch descent. He brought up a large number of children. By occupation he was a farmer, and he was a man of enterprising, energetic spirit, be- coming well-to-do. His death occurred when he had reached the age of sixty-five years. The Doctor's maternal great-grand- father, Peter Taylor, was a Virginian, who served in the third and eighth Virginia reg- iments in the Revolutionary war. His an- cestors were from Scotland. David C. Taylor, the Doctor's maternal grandfather, was a native of Kentucky, a first cousin of President Zachary Taylor, and was a farmer by occupation.
Dr. Bogie was reared in his native state, was provided with a good education, grad- uating at length in the scientific department of the Kentucky University, with the degree of Ph. D. Previous to his graduation he had spent some time in the study of medi- cine, and afterward entered Jefferson Medi- ical College, at Philadelphia, where he at- tended one course of lectures; then he went to Brooklyn, New York, and in 1864 grad- uated at the Long Island Hospital College.
On his return to his old home at Kirk- ville, Kentucky, he entered at once upon the practice of medicine, but shortly after- ward went to Mexico, locating at Minatitlan, where he practiced surgery, principally, for five and a half years, returning then to the United States. After visiting his relatives and the scenes of his boyhood, he returned to New York and spent the succeeding year and a half in medical schools and hospitals, taking degrees at Bellevue Hospital Medical
College in New York city, and in the medi- cal department of New York University.
In the autumn of 1871 he came to Kan- sas City, opened an office and soon estab- lished himself in a good practice, which has largely increased, and which he has main- tained to the present time. Since the date mentioned he has made his home here with the exception of six months, in 1883, when he was visiting the prominent medical schools and hospitals in Europe, where he went as a delegate from the American Medical Asso- ciation. Besides his membership in that body, he is also a member of the Missouri State Medical Association, an honorary member of the Kansas State Medical Asso- ciation, the Kansas District Medical Society, the Jackson County (Missouri) Medical Society and of the Kansas City Medical Club. In his social relations he is a mem- ber of the order of Knights of Pythias, in politics is a democrat, and in religion a member of the Christian church.
He was married November 19, 1872, to Miss Candace E. Park, daughter of Joshua D. and Mary A. (Taylor) Park. Their happy wedded life, however, was of brief duration, ending with her death March 16, IS76. She was an accomplished and most amiable woman and a devoted inember of the Christian church.
J AMES P. HEDGES owns one of the best cultivated farms in Jackson county, and its rich fields of waving grain and good bearing orchards tell of his industry and careful supervision.
Early in colonial days the family became connected with American history, and the ancestry is traced back to Sir Charles Hedges, of the Doctors' Commons, a cele-
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brated statesman and tory politician in his time. He was born at Wanborough, Wilt- shire, in January, 1649, and graduated at Oxford at both Magdalen Hall and College, where he received the degree of M.A., May 21, 1673, and LL.D., June 26, 1675. Engaging in the profession of civil law he soon acquired great eminence. Upon the resignation of Sir Williamn Trumbull, who was sent as ambassador to the Ottoman court, Sir Charles was, in 1686, by a patent, appointed for life to the position of chancellor and vicar general of Rochester. This pro- motion was soon followed by his acquisition of the mastership of the faculties and the dignity of judge of the high court of admiralty, of which Sir Richard Raines was dispossessed, and on whose demise some years afterward he also became judge of the prerogative court of Canterbury. In 1687 he became advocate and legal counselor to King James II. in his controversy with the Oxford College authorities. His progress in political life was equally successful, for he received the honor of knighthood and served in parliament many years,-for Oxford in Suffolk in 1698, for Malmsbury in Wilts in 1701 and 1702, for Calne in 1702, and for two Cornish boroughs from 1705 to 1713. It was he who drew up and presented in parliament, in 1701, the famous Abjuration Act, which forever set at rest the claims of the Pretender and established the succession in the Protestant line to the British throne. He was appointed secre- tary of state by King William III., Novem- ber 5, 1700. In 1701 he was replaced by the Earl of Manchester. In 1702 Queen Anne ascended the throne and Sir Charles Hedges was again, May 2, 1702, appointed secretary of state, for which place he was pressed by the Earl of Nottinghamn, who
declined to serve in the cabinet unless Sir Charles was reappointed, giving as a reason why he should be restored, that he lost his place by reason of a conscientious vote in the house of commons. In 1706 he was appointed one of the commissioners on the part of England to settle the terms of the union of the English and Scottish kingdoms. He remained secretary of state until 1707, when, owing to the power of the Duke of Marlborough and the influence and intrigue of the Duchess, together with the threat of their son-in-law, Godolphin, lord treasurer, to resign, and pressure brought to bear by prominent whigs, then getting into power, the queen was impelled to provide a place for another son-in-law of Marlborough, the Duke of Sunderland, and with the utmost reluctance she appointed him secretary of state in place of Sir Charles, with the pro- viso, however, that Sir Charles should be judge of the prerogative court on the death of Sir Richard Raines, which, as has been already said, he lived to enjoy, although for a short time only. He died at Richmond, near London, June 10, 1714, and was buried at Wanborough.
From this gentleman descended Isaac Hedges, the grandfather of our subject, who was born in Maryland. In Frederick coun- ty, that state, was the birthplace of John A. Hedges, father of our subject, who on ar- riving at years of maturity wedded Mary Ann Whitmore, a native of Frederick county, and a daughter of Nicholas Whit- more, who was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, and was of German descent. He was a man of remarkable personal appear- ance, his height being six feet four inches, and he was proportioned accordingly. The parents of our subject spent their entire lives in Frederick county, Maryland, where the
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father died in March, 1895. They had a family of eleven children, eight of whom reached years of maturity and are now liv- ing, namely: Mrs. Louisa Van Meter, Charles, Isaac, James P., John, Gideon, Annie and Mrs. Ella Buxton.
Mr. Hedges, of this sketch, was born in Frederick county, Maryland, October 14, 1844, and spent the first sixteen years of his life on the family homestead. He then left his parental home and learned the harness- maker's trade, which he followed for seven years. In 1870 he came to Missouri and was employed on the farm of Abraham Amos, near Lone Jack. He then engaged in farming for one summer in the neighbor- hood of his present home, after which he rented his farm, and in 1882 became its owner by purchase. He now has one hun- dred and eighty acres of land, all under a high state of cultivation, and the well-tilled fields indicate his capable management. He has an orchard of eight hundred seven-year- old apple trees and fifteen hundred budded peach trees from eight to fourteen years old. His wheat-fields are the marvel and envy of the community, and he justly takes pride in watching the maturing of this vast yield as it turns from the delicate green of spring into the golden grain ready for the harvest. He has made a specialty of wheat and fruit farming, and no place in the county can show the equal of his wheat- fields and orchards. In 1872 he purchased a span of mules, which were then six years old and which he long used upon the farm. These, however, being now too old for further work, are put out upon the pasture.
Mr. Hedges was married in January, 1872, in Martinsburg, Virginia, to Sarah R. Hedges, a native of Berkeley county, Vir- ginia, and a daughter of Josiah and Susan
(Robinson) Hedges, all descended from the same original American ancestors. Mrs. Hedges was born in 1834, and by her mar- riage became the mother of three children, but only one is now living, namely: Minnie Missouri, wife of Sidney Allen. They have one child, Grover, and reside on the family homestead.
Our subject has led a very busy, industri- ous and useful life. He had no capital with which to begin business and was dependent entirely upon his own resources. In the early days he worked from dawn until late at night, giving all of his time to the farm, and his energy, enterprise and perseverance have brought to him a well werited success. He may truly be called a self-made man, as his prosperity is the reward of his own labors. In politics he is an ardent democrat, but he has never sought or desired political preferment. His unwavering honesty and business dealings is demonstrated by the fact that he has never been sued in all his his life. He is well known in the community where he makes his home, and certainly deserves mention among the leading agricul- turists.
DWARD G. BLAIR, M. D., is a young physician who has achieved success in the profession of medi- cine and surgery, He was born in Atchison, Kansas, July 17, 1866, and is the third child of five children born to Ed- ward K. and Barbara Allen Blair, the for- mer a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Missouri. His maternal great-grand- father fought in the war of 1812. His father is one of the oldest settlers in Kan- sas, going there in 1856, in the very heat of
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the border disturbances. He first followed steamboating on the Missouri river, a life that was filled with incident, and afterward engaged in overland freighting between the river and the Black Hills, a career that was attended with hazardous adventures. Sub- sequently he became interested in milling, and is now the president of the Blair Milling Company at Atchison, of which city he has been several times mayor.
Edward G. Blair received his early edu- cation in the public schools, graduating at the city high school in 1883. The follow- ing fall he entered the Kansas State Uni- versity at Lawrence, and graduated in 1887. He at once commenced the study of medicine, entering the Columbia Medical College in New York, at which institution he was graduated in 1889. The succeeding year he devoted to post-graduate studies, and in the spring of 1890 took a competitive ex- amination and received appointment to membership on the house surgical staff of Roosevelt Hospital in NewYork, remaining two years. Upon leaving Roosevelt he was urgently requested to accept the position of house surgeon in both Minneapolis and Atlan- ta Hospitals, but anticipating a removal to New York he located temporarily in Atchison, where he remained eighteen months, build- ing up a large and lucrative practice. Recog- nizing Kansas City as the coming metropolis of the southwest, and a medical center, he decided to locate here, which he did in August, 1894. Dr. Blair has attained to an eminence in the science of materia medica and surgery that is reached by few, even in riper years.
In October of the same year he married Esther Ingalls, the eldest daughter of ex- Senator John James Ingalls. This marriage, uniting as it did, two of the oldest families
in the state, was one of the most notable weddings in the annals of Kansas.
Since coming to Kansas City, Dr. Blair has built up an extensive practice, making a specialty of general surgery. He was made demonstrator of anatomy in the Uni- versity Medical College in May, 1895; also occupies the chair of practical anatomy and clinical surgery in the Woman's Medical College, of Kansas City, and lecturer on intestinal surgery in the University Training School for Nurses. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Elks and Modern Wood- men of America, and alternate examiner for the Equitable Life Insurance Company. In the spring of 1895 he was elected president of the Kansas State University Alumni Association, and at the same time was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity; and he is also a member of the Phi Gamma Delta.
EORGE HARRIS ALCH, M. D., who is engaged in the practice of medicine in Kansas City, was born at Weksnah, state of Kovno, Rus- sia, on the 24th of August, 1867, and is a son of Rabbi Mark and Rosa ( Mueller) Alch. His paternal grandfather, Joseph Alch, was a farmer by occupation, and was born in the same province of Russia, there spend- ing his entire life. His maternal grand- father, Rabbi Elchanan Mueller, was born in the city of Luknik, state of Kovno, Rus- sia, in 1798, there spent his boyhood days, and was educated for the public ministry in the theological school of his native town. At the early age of fourteen he was ordained as a rabbi and given charge of a synagogue in Luknik. According to the custom of his people he was married at an early age, being
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hardly more than fourteen years, and be- came the father of eight children, seven of whom are now living.
He remained in charge of his first con- gregation for a period of fourteen years, and at the age of twenty-eight was transferred to Kelm, Russia, where he took charge of a synagogue. He is still living, at the very advanced age of ninety-five years; and his eldest child, a daughter, has reached the age of eighty years. Recently he witnessed the marriage of one of his great-great- granddaughters, after driving a distance equal to about seventy-five English miles.
The father of Dr. Alch was born in the state of Kovno, Russia, in 1846, acquired his education in the city of Kovno, and en- tered the ministry at the age of twenty-two years. He was married at the age of eigh- teen, and reared a family of six children. Of these, two younger daughters are still living with their parents in Russia. The youngest son, Abraham, is a merchant in Johannesburg, Transvaal, Africa, and the remaining members of the family emigrated to America, Joseph M. being now a student of medicine, attending lectures at the Mis- souri Medical College of St. Louis; while Miss Rachel is a member of the family of our subject in Kansas City.
Dr. Alch comes from a family noted for keen intelligence and superior mental pow- ers. He acquired his early education in the schools of his native town, and afterward studied theology in Wolozin, in the state of Vilna, Russia, where he acquired six lan- guages. He is a very highly educated man, possessing broad general information and ripe scholarship.
In 1888 the Doctor bade adieu to friends and native land and sought a home in the new world. He landed at Philadelphia,
and by traveling over this country for a few years gained a good knowledge of his adopt- ed land. He determined to enter the med- ical profession. For some time he pursued his studies privately, and then entered the John A. Creighton Medical College, of Omaha, Nebraska, where he continued his studies for a time. Subsequently he was graduated at the Kansas City Medical Col- lege and opened an office for the practice of medicine in the Deardorff building. He has never for a moment laid aside his studies, but continued his investigations and re- searches into the science of medicine, doing all in his power to perfect himself in his chosen calling. Kansas City already had many physicians long established in business and enjoying a good practice, and Dr. Alch was comparatively unknown; but he entered upon his work here, and his skill and ability were soon demonstrated by the successes which attended his efforts. He has secured a large and lucrative patronage, which is certainly well merited, and to-day he is one of the leading representatives of the medical fraternity in the state of Missouri.
The Doctor was united in marriage, at the age of twenty years, to Miss Celia Perl, of Luknik, Russia, and immediately after- ward started with his bride to the new world. They now have one daughter and one son.
J OHN R. JONES, who is found pleas- antly located on a farm on section IO, Washington township, Jackson county, Missouri, is a gentleman whose life has been characterized by ster- ling integrity and honest and earnest toil, and who has spent half a century in this state.
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Mr. Jones is a descendant from Welsh and Irish ancestors. His people, however, have for several generations been residents of the southern portion of the United States. Levi Jones, his father, was a native of Ashe county, North Carolina, while his mother, whose maiden name was Nancy Dickey, was born in Virginia. They were married in the fornier state, settled there, and there reared their family, passed their lives and died. He was born June 15, 1800, and died Feb- ruary 3, 1892, and her birth occurred Sep- tember 9, 1797, and her death June 29, 1879. Both were members of the Baptist church. Their family was composed of three children, John R., William D. and Wiley J. W. The paternal grandfather of our subject was John Jones. He was of Welsh descent. The Dickeys were of Irish origin, and Grandfather Dickey's first name was Matthew.
John R. Jones, the immediate subject of this review, and the eldest in his father's family, was born in what was then Ashe, now Alleghany, county, North Carolina, October 5, 1823, and was reared to farm life there. In 1845, after having attained his majority, he came west and took up his abode in Missouri, where for some time he worked by the day and month at the car- penter's trade. He began life without any capital whatever except his strong arm and his willingness to work. At times he has labored hard all day for the small sum of thirty-seven cents. After his marriage, which important event occurred in the year 1856, he settled on the old Yerger farm in Jackson county, and two years later moved to the place he has since owned and occu- pied, and to the improvement and cultiva- tion of which his attention has been given all these years.
May 8, 1856, was consummated Mr. Jones' marriage to Miss Mary A. Willliams, a native of this county, born June 10, 1841, daughter of Henry J. and Jane (Wyatt) Williams. Her mother died many years ago, and her father is still living. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Jones, seven in number, are as follows: William D., who married Miss Lillie Connelly, lives in Mon- tana and has two children; Nannie J .; Mary S., wife of M. Harrison, Grand View, Missouri, has three children; Margaret Emma, wife of U. R. Holmes, has four children; Mattie E., wife of D. B. Reed, is a resident of Montana; Victoria, wife of H. C. Anderson, Kansas City, has one child; and Benjamin Levi.
Politically, Mr. Jones has ever harmo- nized with the democratic party and given it his support. During the war he went out, in December, 1861, as a private in Frank McKinney's company, under Colonel Rosser, and was in the service six months. He participated in the battle of Pea Ridge, and was in Arkansas and Missouri all of the time, at the close of the six months return- ing to his home, where he and his family were subjected to losses and trials incident to life along the border in those troublous days. He has always taken an interest in educational matters, given his children good schooling, and served for years as a member of the school board in his district. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church at Grand View.
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