USA > Missouri > Linn County > Compendium of history and biography of Linn County, Missouri > Part 35
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He returned from military service to his Illinois home, where he remained until 1868, then came to this county and bought the land in Clay township on which he now lives. The land was in its state of primeval wildness when he bought it. He has made all the improve- ments on it and transformed it into a model farm of considerable value, rich in productiveness, desirable in location, attractive in general appearance and up to a high standard in condition.
On April 23, 1874, Mr. Holcer was married to Miss Mary Hern, a native of Switzerland, who was brought to the United States by her parents when she was but three years old. Seven children have been born of the union, all of whom are living: Anna J., Charles A .. Robert L., Evelena, Benjamin H., Levi M. and Zeta. All the members of the family are zealous in religious duties, and also earnest in their support
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of all good agencies at work in their community. The father belongs to the Catholic church and the mother is a Cumberland Presbyterian.
Mr. Holcer is a Republican in political faith and allegiance, but, although firm in his convictions and devoted to the success of his party, he has never sought or desired public office. He has, however, taken an active, practical and helpful interest in the progress and improve- ment of his township and county, and given every undertaking designed to promote their advancement his earnest and energetic support. Throughout the county the people esteem him highly for his excellent character as a man and his uprightness and progressiveness as a citizen.
JOHN J. DEININGER
Although but eight years a resident of Linn county, and modest and unobtrusive in his manner, John J. Deininger of Jefferson town- ship is well known throughout the county as an enterprising and pro- gressive farmer and a very active, far-seeing and successful live stock breeder. He has been in many parts of the country and has an exten- sive knowledge of it and of the springs of action for its residents in various sections. The lessons of experience and observation have been valuable to him in self-knowledge and development also, and he came to his present undertaking well prepared by nature and training for car- rying it on successfully.
Mr. Deininger was born near Harrisburg, Dauphin county, Penn- sylvania, on May 15, 1858, and that county was also the place of nativity for his parents, John H. and Caroline (Zimmerman) Deininger. The father was a carpenter, and soon after the birth of his son John moved his family to Putnam county, Illinois, locating there in 1859. In his new home he engaged in farming and also worked at his trade. He died there on February 2, 1902, aged seventy-six years. The mother died in 1907 at the age of seventy-five. They were the parents of five sons and seven daughters. Two of the sons and six of the daughters are living, but John J. is the only member of the family who resides in this state.
The father was a Republican and prominent in the councils of his party in Illinois, where he was elected to a number of local offices. He and his wife were members of the German Lutheran church. The grandfather, John Deininger, was born and reared in Pennsylvania, where he passed the whole of his life. He had a small family, all the members of which were Pennsylvanians by birth and passed consid-
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erable portions of their lives in that great state, taking an active part in its multitudinous industries.
John J. Deininger was but a few months old when he was taken by his parents from his native state to Putnam county, Illinois. He grew to manhood in that county and obtained his education in its dis- trict schools. After leaving school he learned the carpenter trade and worked at it twelve years, during a considerable part of the time being in the employ of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, erecting buildings along the line. He helped to put up the depot in Cheyenne and many others of the most important structures erected by the road at that time, and remained in its employ eight years. At the end of that period he passed one year in the state of Washington, and then three in Chicago working at his trade. From Chicago he returned to Putnam county, Illinois, where he remained doing carpenter work until 1905.
In that year he came to this county and bought the farm of 200 acres which he now owns and cultivates, and on which he lives. While he does general farming, he devotes his time and energies mainly to raising live stock of high grades, particularly Aberdeen-Angus cattle, registered stock. He makes a great success of his undertaking, and his name stands high in all the markets for the excellence of his prod- ucts, while locally they are in great demand for the purpose of improv- ing the grade of cattle in this part of Missouri and the adjoining states.
On January 23, 1895, Mr. Deininger was united in marriage with Miss Hattie Umbarger, a native of Illinois and daughter of Josiah and Jane (Allen) Umbarger. The father died in 1909 and the mother is now living at Melvin, Ford county, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Deininger have three children, Bloyce A., Herma O. and John McNabb. The father is a Republican in his political faith and allegiance, and an energetic supporter of the principles and candidates of his party, although his personal ambition does not run in the direction of public office or political prominence. He did, however, serve as county assessor while living in Illinois. In fraternal relations he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Deininger has shown his interest in the progress and improve- ment of Linn county and Northern Missouri generally in practical ways of value by giving his aid and helpful counsel toward the promotion of every worthy and commendable enterprise involving the general welfare of this region and the enduring good of its people. His course in such matters is always directed by intelligence and measured by a broad and energetic public spirit, and is highly appreciated by the
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whole population. He is considered a valuable addition to the pro- ductive forces in this county and an ornament to its citizenship, and is cordially esteemed in accordance with this estimate.
BYRON LAMME
Born in the midst of an active and comprehensive agricultural industry ; reared on a farm and learning its requirements by practical work in all departments of its operations ; obtaining his education at a country school in which all his associates were the children of farmers, and with no practical knowledge of any other pursuit, Byron Lamme of Jefferson township, this county, when he began the battle of life for himself, became a farmer by both natural inclination and force of cir- cumstances. And it was entirely logical that he should, for there was nothing in his surroundings or within the range of his vision to create a temptation or an incentive to make him anything else.
He has followed the pursuit in which he started through all his subsequent years, and has never regretted his choice. For he has been successful in his undertaking in a material way, and also by his skill and excellent judgment as a farmer has won a high reputation and established himself firmly in the regard and good will of the people around him, in whose welfare he has always taken a cordial and serv- iceable interest, and in whose behalf he has been at all times enterpris- ing and progressive.
Mr. Lamme is a native of Linn county, born at Laclede in June, 1871. His parents, Tilford and Sue (Garrett) Lamme, were born in Mercer county, Kentucky. The father was a druggist and farmer. He came to Missouri about 1860 and located at Laclede, where in com- pany with his father, Milton Lamme, he opened a drug store. He and his father also bought land in Linn and Chariton counties which rap- idly increased in value and made them very comfortable in a worldly way. The grandfather died at Laclede in 1872, the father in 1874 and the mother in 1876. Six children were born to Mr. Lamme's parents, five sons and one daughter, all of whom are living, three of them in Linn county. Their grandfather, Milton Lamme, was an extensive planter and owned a large number of slaves in Kentucky.
Byron Lamme was taken by his uncle, William Garrett, to a farm north of Linneus in his childhood, and was reared on that farm as a member of the uncle's family and attended school from there. At the age of twenty-five he began farming on his own account on the farm
1
JAMES A . MOORE
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which he now owns and occupies, and of which he has 400 acres under the plow. He has also, for a number of years, engaged in raising live stock extensively, and has so managed both departments of his indus- try as to make them bring him large returns for his labor and care. His farm has been enriched by him with good modern buildings of commodious size and convenient arrangement, and been made attrac- tive by judicious attention to appearances in the arrangement of trees, shrubbery and other adornments. It is easily one of the most valuable and pleasing country homes in the township.
Mr. Lamme was married on December 21, 1892, to Miss Lillie Thorne, a daughter of Samuel Thorne, an early arrival in Linn county. Three children have blessed the union and brightened the family circle, and they are all still living and in full enjoyment of the respect and good will of all who know them. They are: Thorne T., who is a student; and Mary F. and Roy S. They are all yet members of the parental home and among its most admired attractions. The father is a Democrat in political faith and allegiance, but, while genuinely loyal to his party, he is not desirous, and never has been, of any of the honors or emoluments it has to bestow in the way of public office. Fraternally he is connected with the Order of Odd Fellows, and in church relations he is a Methodist.
JAMES A. MOORE
Having located in Linn county with his parents at the age of seven years, when the whole region was an unbroken wilderness, and having passed the remainder of his life to the present time in the county, actively connected with its industrial forces and zealous in the duties of citizenship, James A. Moore, of Brookfield, has witnessed every step of its transformation from its wild condition when he first knew it to its present high development and advanced improvement, and has borne his full share in the work of beginning, continuing and completing the great change.
Mr. Moore is a native of Anderson county in the eastern part of Tennessee, where he was born on November 3, 1835. His grandfather, also named James Moore, was born in North Carolina and served valiantly in the Revolutionary war. After the close of that momentous struggle for independence he moved to Tennessee and engaged in farm- ing. He died in Alabama at a good old age, having removed to that state some time before his death. He was of English ancestry, some
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of his forefathers having come to this country from England among the early colonial settlers.
His son, Joseph T. Moore, the father of James A., was born in Alabama, on May 1, 1791, and was also a farmer in times of peace. But he too had a military spirit, and at the very dawn of his manhood obeyed his country's call to arms and took part in the War of 1812, pass- ing five years in the army. He was with General George R. Clarke at the capture of Vincennes, Indiana, and there received a slight wound in the shoulder. As a partial reward for his military services he was given a patent for 160 acres of land in Linn county, Missouri, by the government, but prior to receiving this he had married Miss Jane Pate, a native of Alabama.
Mr. Moore, the elder, first came to Linn county in 1840 to locate his land, and in 1842 moved his family here, making the journey overland with horses and oxen and bringing their live stock along. Their first dwelling on the homestead was a tent, but it was not long before they built a log house to shelter them, and its curling columns of smoke arose in graceful motion, proclaiming to all who saw them that a new domestic altar had been erected in the wilderness and that it was at last hearkening to the call of civilization and preparing to put on the habiliments of a more advanced state of being and begin its march in the ranks of progress.
His wife died in 1846, having been the mother of five sons and one daughter. Three of the sons are living. Sometime after the death of their mother the father contracted a second marriage, which united him with Miss Sophia Root and brought him four additional children. He served three terms as county judge of Linn county and filled several minor offices with great acceptability to the people, and was for many years a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. His death occurred in 1873, but before his life ended he had cleared his land and converted it into a valuable and highly productive farm enriched with good improvements.
James A. Moore grew to manhood in the wilderness, helping his father to clear and cultivate the homestead, and remaining with him until he reached the age of twenty-three. His opportunities for school- ing were necessarily very limited, owing to the unsettled condition of the country. But Nature was his tutor and gave him lessons of self- reliance and resourcefulness, with readiness for all emergencies and adaptability to all the requirements of his situation. At the age of twenty-three he bought a tract of wild land, which he cleared and improved, and on which he lived and prospered as a farmer until 1899,
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when he retired from active pursuits and moved to Brookfield to pass the remainder of his days in a well-earned rest. But he still superin- tends the operation of his farming industry and his live stock business, which have grown to great proportions.
By purchases from time to time he has increased the extent of his land to 1,400 acres, a large part of which is under advanced cultivation ; and his live stock industry, which was begun in 1862, has also expanded considerably. He raises and feeds numbers of cattle and sheep for the market and gives the business his close personal attention. In 1904 he started a private bank in Brookfield, known as "The Moore Bank," which has flourished under his management and become one of the established and popular financial institutions of the city.
On November 17th, 1858, Mr. Moore was united in marriage with Miss Sarah True, a native of Missouri. They have had four children : Nora, now the wife of Dr. Powers; Joseph, who is employed in his father's bank; Effie, the wife of C. H. Jones of Brookfield, and Beedler B. t . A., who has been dead for a number of years. Mrs. Moore is still living and enjoys the regard and good will of all who know her. She has given her community a fine example of domestic virtue and usefulness, and has been of great assistance to her husband in the accumulation of his estate.
Following the examples of his father and his grandfather, Mr. Moore took part in the Civil war as a member of the state militia dur- ing that sanguinary conflict. He is not a member of any church or fraternity, but is an upright and true man in all the relations of life, and one of the most estimable and most esteemed citizens of the county. None stands higher in the public regard and none is more worthy of it.
JASPER G. NEECE
From his boyhood this estimable and highly respected citizen of Brookfield township has been engaged in farm work and no temptation has ever been strong enough to win him from it to any other pursuit. He was born on a farm and trained to its labors. He has found the life in the open always agreeable and invigorating, and even the most laborious duties of his calling followed by their compensations in one way or another, and he has felt no desire to relinquish them. Being devoted to his pursuit in this way, he has necessarily studied how to make it as pleasant and profitable to him as possible, and so has become one of the most progressive and enterprising farmers in his township.
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He was born in this county near Linneus on April 30, 1855, and is a son of Beverly and Sarah (McCormick) Neece, natives of Ken- tucky, where their families were domesticated for generations. The father was a blacksmith and for many years worked industriously at his trade. Later in life he became a farmer and abandoned the forge for all time. But he had been farming even while working at his trade. He was born on February 16, 1815, and while yet a boy was taken by his parents to McDonough county, Illinois.
There he grew to manhood and obtained a limited common school education. After leaving school he learned his trade, and early in his manhood moved to Missouri, arriving in what is now Linn county, and locating not far from the site of the present city of Linneus in the southern part of Sullivan county. He built the first blacksmith shop in Linneus and helped to clear the portions of the new born town which were laid out for streets. His later years, as has been noted, were passed on his farm, where he died in 1888.
His widow is still living, far advanced in years but still vigorous and active, and in the locality of her home held in veneration by the people as a faithful wife and mother who bravely bore her part in the strenuous times of founding the county, settling the wilderness and helping to foster and cultivate the first sproutings of civilization, and as having exemplified through all her years the best traits of sterling American womanhood, faithful to her family, her community and every claim to her attention, useful in her own activity and forceful in the example she has given, which has had its due effect on others.
She and her husband were the parents of thirteen children, eight daughters and five sons, all of whom grew to maturity. Two of the sons and four of the daughters are living: John M., a resident of Brookfield; Jasper G., the immediate subject of these paragraphs; Ann C., the wife of J. T. Waller of McComb, Illinois; Martha E., the wife of Joseph C. Gambill of Salem, Missouri; Sarah E., now Mrs. George Hanson of Monroe City, Missouri ; and Minerva C., the wife of Sanford Buck of Springdale, Arkansas.
The father was county judge several terms, and also sheriff of the county. Afterward he represented the county in the lower house of the state legislature. He made a good record in each of these offices and won the lasting confidence and esteem of all the people. He was a Democrat in politics and a Baptist in religious affiliation, and a leading man in both his party and his church, taking an active part in the affairs of each and contributing to the success of all their efforts by his t
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energy and wisdom. His father, Jesse Neece, was, like himself, a native of Kentucky.
Jasper G. Neece was reared on his father's farm and from boy- hood bore his part faithfully in the labor incident to its cultivation. He attended the country school in the neighborhood of his home when he had opportunity, but his educational advantages were necessarily lim- ited in scope and primitive in character. He was married in this county in 1881 to Miss Elvira Ware, a daughter of Robert H. and Jane (Wills) Ware, pioneers of the county and leading factors in its early life and history. Two children were born of the union, both of whom are living, Mabel C. and Mary J. Their mother died on November 13, 1910. The father is widely and favorably known in the county as a model farmer, an upright and reliable man and an excellent citizen.
WILLIAM P. BRINKLEY
A man with a specialty in business or industry is always interest- ing, particularly if his specialty be a valuable one and its products are noble and serviceable in character. William P. Binkley, one of the enterprising and progressive and, therefore successful, farmers of Clay township has such a specialty, and by means of it he has given tone and distinction to his township and county, and exerted an important influence in other parts of Missouri and the adjoining states. He is an industrious and skillful farmer, and entitled to great credit for that. But his specialty is breeding high grade Percheron horses, and this gives unusual value to his operations. The products of his stock farm are noble animals, highly serviceable in many ways, and creditable alike to him and the farm on which he breeds them and raises them for the markets.
Mr. Brinkley is a native of Clay township, where his life began on May 8, 1875, and he has passed nearly all of his subsequent years within its borders, engaged in two of its leading pursuits and thereby aiding extensively in raising the standards of commercial influence and im- portance in the township. He has also been of great service to the people in helping to improve their live stock and make it more valuable. He is a son of Alexander and Nannie (Withrow) Brinkley, in a sketch of whom to be found elsewhere in this volume the family history is given at some length and with a recital of details.
The son was reared in Clay township and received his education at the state normal at Warrensburg, graduated at Spaldings Commercial
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College, Kansas City, and took a course in agriculture at the State University. He is president of the Linn County Farmers' Association and has acted as vice president of the State Corn Growers' Associa- tion. After leaving school he followed farming for a time, then passed two years in Kansas City in the coal and ice trade. But while his experience in trade was profitable and not disagreeable to him, he pre- ferred the line of industry to which he had been trained, and so he returned to his native heath and again became a farmer. He saw improvements in the business, or in connection with it, which he was eager to introduce, and he has been very successful in making them by adding the live stock business to his farming operations, and confining his work in this to the production of none but superior animals. His stock output has a high rank in the markets and is much sought after by dealers and private purchasers who wish to secure none but fine specimens of a good breed.
Mr. Brinkley was married on April 7, 1897, to Miss Estella Luys- ter, a daughter of Houston and Margaret (Thorp) Luyster, an account of whose lives appears in this work. Four children have been born in the Brinkley household, all of whom are living. They are Lester L., Wilma F., Preston K. and Dorothy M., all of them still members of the parental family circle, and adding life and light to its attractions.
Mr. Brinkley is a member of the Order of Modern Woodmen of America in fraternal relations and connected with the Methodist Epis- copal church in religious affiliation. He takes a cordial and helpful interest in his church and his fraternity, as he does in everything that he believes conducive to the welfare and comfort of the people around him. He is always ready to aid in promoting any commendable under- taking involving the substantial and enduring good of his township and county, or helpful in pushing forward their progress and improve- ment. He is regarded on all sides as a very progressive and useful citizen, and is highly esteemed for his genuine worth and the elevated manhood he exemplifies, which are creditable to the locality of his home and representative of the best elements in the citizenship of his community.
JAMES W. BURCH
Comfortably established on 253 acres of fine farm land, which he has enriched with good buildings and other improvements, and brought to a high state of productiveness by his enterprise and skill as a farmer, James W. Burch of Brookfield township, this county, is in a position
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which would seem to be beyond the reach of adversity, and in which he only needs to continue his operations and prudent management to make himself still more secure and prosperous in a worldly way.
Mr. Burch is a native of Gibson county, Indiana, where his life began on February 19, 1861. He is a son of John and Elizabeth (Nixon) Burch, an account of whose lives will be found in this work. Born a farmer's son, and seeking no other occupation than that of his father, the son was reared with his life work constantly in view, and took to his training for it with readiness and diligence. From boyhood he performed what he could of the labor on the farm, but not as a mere drudge, or as a matter of necessity. The work had an interest and a meaning for him which gave it attractiveness, and as he wrought he reflected and observed so as to become master of all the requirements of his calling.
This disposition has attended him through life, and the application of it to whatever he has undertaken has been one of the sources of his success. His farm training was also a large part of his education, although he acquired such mental development and scholastic attain- ments as the subscription schools in the country during his boyhood could furnish. This was enough to prepare him for usefulness and enterprise as a farmer, and to give him such a mastery of the founda- tions of learning as were necessary for the proper management of his business and a creditable performance of the duties of citizenship, but not enough to tempt him away from his chosen sphere of activity, or make him dissatisfied with it.
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