USA > Missouri > Linn County > Compendium of history and biography of Linn County, Missouri > Part 65
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made it so by his enterprise and progressiveness, and his is now one of the choice farms of its size in Bucklin township.
REV. WALTER TORMEY
Living now retired, and enjoying a rest richly earned in many years of devotion to the welfare of his fellow men and active labor in their behalf, and crowned with the reverent regard and affectionate esteem of all who knew him, this faithful servant of the Catholic church and most worthy representative of its priesthood is peaceful, pros- perous and happy in his advancing years of present worldly comfort and grateful reminiscense. He has abandoned the dusty, crowded and jostling highway of life for one of its shadiest and most agreeable by-lanes. The din of traffic and worldly strife has no longer magic for his ear. The myriad footfall on the city's stony walks is but noise or nothing to him now. He has run his race of toil or ambition, his day's work is accomplished.
Yet he is not indifferent to the welfare of his kind, but is as ever, deeply interested in all that can promote it and readily responsive to every call on him for aid in the effort to secure it. This devout, capable and conscientious "Father in Rome" is a native of Ireland, and was born in County Cavan on June 29, 1850, a son of Walter and Rose (McCormick) Tormey, who were born and reared in the same country and county as himself. The father was farmer, millwright and mill owner, and died a short time before the birth of liis son. The mother lived until 1907.
Rev. Father Tormey grew to manhood in his native county. His course of instruction, after the elementary and preparatory periods, was all directed toward fitting him for his chosen work as a priest, and some time before it was completed in the merely scholastic department, he had made choice of his future home and field of operation. In 1871 he followed his desire by emigrating to the United States, and soon after his arrival in this country entered St. Bonaventure's College at Allegany, New York, as a student of theology according to the teachings of the Catholic church, and a candidate for admission to its priesthood. He was graduated from that excellent institution in June, 1874, and at once came to Missouri and located in St. Joseph.
On August 6th of that year he was ordained by Bishop Hogan and assigned to missionary work in Atchison and the adjoining counties. He built a church at Phelps and planted a colony at Irish Grove. After remaining at his first assignment three years he was called to St.
REV. WALTER TORMEY
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Joseph, where he passed ten months in charge of a parish whose pastor was away on leave of absence for the benefit of his health. On December 31, 1878, he arrived in Brookfield and assumed charge of the church in that city which was founded in 1859, through the admirable zeal and industry of Bishop Hogan.
This parish at that time contained about thirty-five families, and these were not permanent residents, as the region was then in a migratory state. He succeeded, however, in maintaining the size of his congregation, even under such an unfavorable condition, as he was as zealous in securing the newcomers as he was regretful in parting with those who left, and in a short time began to show his efficiency and influence by making a steady increase in the number of his com- municants.
A year or two after his arrival he founded a school, which con- tinued in useful operation for a number of years, and in 1894, by which time the parish had increased the number of its families to one hundred, he built the present church edifice to meet the growing requirements of his congregation. His labors were arduous, and often very trying, but his industry was equal to every demand, and his patience and persever- ance overcame all difficulties. The church continued to grow in mem- bership and power, and he constantly gained in influence and popularity.
In 1908 Father Tormey retired from active church work, having been engaged in it continuously for over twenty-four years, and during almost the whole of that period in fields that were new and undeveloped, and which therefore required more than ordinary exertion, adapta- bility endurance and steadfastness in application. But his usefulness to the church has not been wholly expended in his own charges in its service. He has assisted very materially in building up its strength, exalting its reputation and enriching its conquests in this section of the country generally, and his name is revered among its adherents, as his fidelity, ability, devotion to duty and his high character and the value of his services entitle it to be. He is now the oldest Catholic priest in northern Missouri, except Father Kennedy, of Chillicothe in Livings- ton county.
CORNELIUS BUCKLEY
Although born and reared to the age of twenty years in a foreign land Cornelius Buckley of Yellow Creek township in this county, where he operates a large and productive farm, has shown his deep and abid- ing interests in the welfare of this country and his willingness to risk
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everything in its defense in the time of war and employ all his energies for its good in time of peace. He has worked at different industries in various parts of the country, helping to magnify its industrial and com- mercial greatness, and when armed force threatened the destruction of the Union he took his place in the army of defense and helped to save it from that awful disaster, in which the welfare of the whole human family would have been seriously affected and human progress would have been set back and hampered for many years, if not for generations.
Mr. Buckley is a native of County Cork, Ireland, where his life be- gan on October 23, 1834. His parents, Cornelius and Mary (Horrigan) Buckley, were also born and reared in that county. There also they were educated and married, and there they died after long years of use- fulness, and their remains were buried in the soil that was hallowed by their labors. They were the parents of three children, two sons and one daughter, their son Cornelius being the only one of the three now living.
He remained in his native land until he reached the age of twenty years, then came to the United States, making the trip on a sailing vessel and landing at Boston in 1854. He went at once to Sandwich, Massachusetts, where he worked in a glass factory for five years. In 1859 he came West to Rockford, Illinois, and during the next three years he farmed in the vicinity of that city. In 1862 he enlisted in Company A, Ninetieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and in that company he served to the close of the Civil War, being mustered out of the army in June, 1865, with the rank of corporal and receiving his discharge in a camp near the city of Washington, after the grand review of the whole Federal army, in which he participated with what was left of his com- pany.
During the war Mr. Buckley took part in the following battles : Coldwater, Vicksburg and Jackson, Mississippi ; Resaca, Atlanta, Love- joy's Station, Rome, Kenesaw Mountain, Dallas, Jonesboro, Fort Mc- Allister and Savannah, Georgia; Missionary Ridge and Knoxville, Ten- nessee; Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina; Bentonville, North Carolina, and many minor engagements. He was in the Fifteenth army corps under General John A. Logan, and his regiment participated in some of the hardest fighting of the war. At Missionary Ridge he was wounded in the left arm.
After his discharge from the army he returned to Rockford, Illi- nois, and resumed his farming operations. In November, 1867, he moved to this state and took up his residence in Yellow Creek township on a farm which he then purchased and has ever since occupied as his home. His farm now comprises 550 acres, and he has the greater part
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if it under cultivation. The land was unbroken prairie when he bought it, but his assiduous industry and vigor and skill in cultivating it during the last forty-four years have transformed it into a very productive and highly improved estate, with good buildings and other necessary struc- tures, and it is now one of the most comfortable and valuable country homes in the township.
Mr. Buckley was married on September 29, 1867, to Miss Honora Power, like himself a native of County Cork, Ireland. She came to the United States in 1862 to join a sister here who was then living at Rock- ford, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Buckley have four children: Mary A., David J., an account of whose life will be found in this history ; Cor- nelius, Jr., and William J. The mother is still living, as are all four of the children. All the members of the family belong to the catholic church. The father is a Democrat in political faith and allegiance and serves his party loyally and with efficiency on all occasions. He has served as township trustee and as a member of the local school board.
Mr. Buckley is well known in all parts of Linn county as an ex- cellent farmer and a wide-awake and progressive citizen, deeply and in- telligently interested in every project for the improvement of his lo- cality and always willing to do his full share of the work necessary to promote any commendable undertaking designed to advance its welfare and enhance the substantial and enduring good if its people. Every- where the residents of the county hold him in high esteem, and he is altogether worthy of the regard and good will they bestow upon him.
DAVID J. BUCKLEY
Having made an excellent record as a public official in different po- sitions in the service of his county and state, and now making one equally as good as an enterprising and progressive farmer, and having in addition wrought well and successfully in business, David J. Buckley of Yellow Creek township, former sheriff of Linn county, has shown and is showing himself to be a resourceful and adaptable man, ready for any duty and well qualified for its faithful and intelligent perform- ance.
Mr. Buckley was born in the township of his present residence on May 29, 1870, and is a son of Cornelius and Honora (Power) Buckley, a sketch of whose lives will be found in this work. He grew to man- hood on his native heath and was educated in the district schools in the neighborhood of his father's farm. Until he was thirty-four years old
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he remained at home and assisted his father in the labors of cultivating the farm, during the last several years of the time managing the farm on his own account and making a first rate job of it.
In 1901 he was appointed a clerk in the state legislature and served through the session of that year. In 1902 he was made assistant grain inspector from the Kansas City office, and this position he held until the spring of 1903, when he resigned it. The next year, 1904, he was elected sheriff of the county, being the only Democratic candidate who was suc- cessful in that election. He served his full term of two years and at the end of it declined a renomination for the office.
In 1907 he moved to Kansas City, this state, and accepted employ- ment with the Kansas City Grain company as weigher and inspector of grain. At the end of eight months he resigned this position to take that of superintendent of the prison barns in Jefferson City. This place was not agreeable to him, and in February, 1909, he gave it up and turned his attention to farming, in which he has ever since been engaged. He has 148 acres of land, all under cultivation, and the farm is well im- proved with good buildings and other necessary structures. It is com- pletely equipped with all necessary machinery of the most approved modern type, and the work done on it is pushed with vigor and energy and directed by intelligence and skill according to the most advanced methods of farming.
In politics Mr. Buckley is a pronounced Democrat of strong con- victions and great devotion to the interests of his party. He is an active and effective worker for it in all campaigns, and has been a member of its county central committee during the last twelve years and is now the chairman of that body. He served two years as township trustee, an equal length of time as constable, and has been influential in the councils of his party from his early manhood. In church relations he is a Catholic and in fraternal life a Knight of Columbus. He takes an active and serviceable part in the work of each of these organizations, and his membership in them is highly valued by their other members.
On September 8, 1906, Mr. Buckley was united in marriage with Miss Nell Bowyer, a daughter of Thomas B. and Mary A. (Alexander) Bowyer of Linneus, whose lives are briefly given in a sketch of them in another part of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Buckley have two children, their daughter Honora C. and their son John B. The father is well and favorably known throughout the county and in many parts of the state beyond its borders, and everywhere he enjoys the respect and re- gard of the people in a marked degree because of his genuine worth as a man and citizen.
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THOMAS B. GLASGOW
Although a native of the agricultural county of Chariton in this state, and reared on a farm with no pressing desire to seek any other occupation than that of his forefathers for several generations, Thomas B. Glasgow, one of the best and best known farmers of Yellow Creek township in this county, has had a life of considerable adventure and excitement at times. He has farmed, he has freighted across the plains into the mining regions, and he has lived in a mining camp and been engaged in mining. After it all he returned to farming and has fol- lowed that pursuit on the land which he now cultivates and has without interruption for nearly forty-six years.
Mr. Glasgow's life began on July 25, 1844, on his father's farm in Chariton county, and on another belonging to his father in Iowa he lived and worked and attended the country schools until he reached the age of eighteen, having about the same experiences and opportuni- ties as the sons of other farmers in the neighborhood. He is a son of Marmaduke and Elizabeth (Kinney) Glasgow, who came to this state from Richland county, Ohio, making the trip by the river route, down the Ohio and up the Mississippi and Missouri, and arriving at their destination in 1839. The father was a farmer in his native state, and he engaged in the same pursuit in this state.
After a residence of about five years in Chariton, and soon after the birth of Thomas, the family moved to a farm near Centreville, Iowa, the county seat of Appanoose county in that state. This farm the father bought after selling the one he owned in Chariton county in this state. The mother died on the Iowa farm in 1852, and sometime afterward the father married again. He died in 1857. He was the father of five sons and three daughters, all of whom are now deceased but Thomas and his sister, Mrs. Mattie Sevier, who is also a resident of Linn county. The father was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and prominent as a leader in its work.
His son Thomas even in his youth took up the battle of life for him- self and ever since has made his own way in the world. In 1862, when he was but eighteen years of age, he engaged in freighting across the plains to Denver, and after following this line of adventurous and often hazardous work for a time, toiled in the mines at Central City, Colorado, in the hope of making a strike and a fortune. But he was not success- ful in the measure of his hopes and desires, and in 1866 determined to return to farming. The quiet life on a good farm wore a winning smile for him after a few years of the loneliness and danger and hardship of
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the plains and the high excitement and no less peril of the mining camp.
Accordingly he came back to Missouri and bought a portion of his farm of 880 acres in Yellow Creek township, Linn county. Here he has lived and been energetically and profitably engaged in farming ever since, increasing his acreage and enlarging his operations as he has prospered, and finally making himself one of the leading and most extensive farmers in his township. He has his farm well improved and under an advanced state of cultivation and productiveness, all of which is the result of his own energy, industry and excellent management of his affairs.
On June 11, 1875, Mr. Glasgow was married to Miss Emma Ander- son, a daughter of John and Mary (Hubbard) Anderson. Two children have been born of the union: Ora B., who is now the wife of Thomas Stauber of St. Catharine, Linn county, and Cora E., who is now the wife of Lawrence Miller of St. Catharine, a sketch of whom will be found in this history. Mr. and Mrs. Glasgow are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
WILLIAM G. HUGHES
Although born and reared in Missouri, William G. Hughes, the present postmaster of Bucklin, has lived in Linn county only sixteen years, but during the whole of his residence in the county has been in business as a leading druggist and conducting the oldest and one of the best established commercial emporiums in the city of his residence at this time. He located in Bucklin on August 14, 1896, and at once bought the pharmacy of W. E. Shook, the first started in the city, and one that has long enjoyed a large trade and great popularity.
Mr. Hughes was born at New Cambria, Macon county, Missouri, on March 23, 1876. He is a son of Hugh H. and Rachel (Williams) Hughes, natives of Wales, the father born at Garthbeibias Dalmaen Parish, in Montgomeryshire, where, for a number of years he was en- gaged in farming. He came to the United States on May 16, 1841, and first located at Ebensburg, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife were married in September, 1860. They moved to Missouri in 1869 and took up their residence in New Cambria, Macon county, where the father continued his farming operations until his death in August, 1899. The mother died there in 1885.
They had five sons and one daughter, all of whom are now deceased but two of the sons, Hoovey W., of New Cambria and our subject. The
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father was a vocalist and taught singing for over thirty years. His father, whose name was also Hugh Hughes, was born in the same shire as his son, and came to the United States in 1841. He was born in 1790 and died on his farm in Pennsylvania in 1866, at the age of seventy-six and highly respected by all who knew him.
William G. Hughes grew to manhood and obtained his academic education at New Cambria, attending the common schools. He began making his own living by clerking in a dry goods store for a short time after leaving school. In 1894, when he was eighteen years of age, he entered the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, but was able to remain but one year. Thereafter he worked in East St. Louis for a short time, then went back to the farm and remained until August, 1896, when he came to Bucklin and purchased the drug business which he is still conduct- ing, as has been stated.
On January 22, 1905, he was appointed postmaster of Bucklin, and he has held the office continuously from then to the present time. He has also served as alderman and city assessor one term each, and made a record that was highly commended by the people of the city in each of these offices, as he is doing in that of postmaster. He is con- scientious, painstaking and zealous in attention to his official duties, giving every detail of his office his personal care, with as much fidelity and assiduity as he displays in his private business.
Mr. Hughes has been an active and effective working member of the Republican party from the dawn of his manhood. He is also a member of the Order of Freemasons, the Order of Elks and the Order of Odd Fellows, and takes an earnest interest in the work of each of his lodges. He was married on June 10, 1905, to Miss Frances M. Riley, a daughter of Jasper J. and Miriam (Harper) Riley of Richmond in Ray county, this state. Mr. Hughes is a very active and progressive man in regard to the improvement of the community in which he lives, and is universally esteemed by all classes of its people as one of their most worthy and estimable citizens from every point of view, and he is altogether deserving of the rank he holds in the public mind.
DR. WILLIAM B. SCOTT
For about twenty three years busily engaged in an active and ex- tensive practice as a physician and surgeon, and the representative of the third generation of his family as residents of Linn county. Dr. Wil- liam B. Scott of Bucklin has a special interest in this part of the state,
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and by his skill and industry in his profession and his high character as a man and usefulness in many ways as a citizen, has endeared himself to the people who have had the benefit of his services, and still have it, and won their esteem to a very unusual degree.
The doctor is a native of Bucklin township, in which almost the whole of his life to this time has been passed, having been born at the old town of Wyandotte on January 8, 1865, the place of his birth before the founding of Bucklin being the only town or semblance of a town within the present limits of the township. It was only a hamlet, and has no present existence save in the memory of the early residents of this section, its site having long been a well improved farm. It is a scene of prosperity and productiveness now, but "all its charms" as a town have fled as completely as those of "Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain," which has been so beautifully emblamed in Goldsmith's un- dying song.
Dr. Scott is a son of Charles and Susan (Wyatt) Scott, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Missouri. The father came to this state and county with his parents, Bazwell and Clarinda (Carter) Scott, from Virginia in 1855. The family located at Wyandott, where Bazwell Scott became widely known and prominent in the affairs of the township of Yellow Creek, of which Bucklin township was then a part. He en- gaged in mercantile business there and also cultivated a farm. He was a man of considerable force of character, but held on to customs with great tenacity, once making a trip to his old home in what is now West Virginia on horseback because he was afraid to travel on a railroad. He and his wife were the parents of two sons and eight daughters who grew to maturity. The parents died at Wyandotte and their remains were buried there.
Their son Charles, the doctor's father, also became a farmer near Wyandott, and later kept a general store at Bucklin. He served the community for some years as street commissioner, and died in Bucklin on March 18, 1911. His widow and their four living sons are residents of this county. One other son was born in the family, but he died a number of years ago. The mother is now well advanced in years but still hale and energetic, exhibiting yet much of the spirit of the pioneers, and highly esteemed as one of the most sterling of them in this part of the country.
Dr. Scott grew to manhood in Linn county and obtained the founda- tion of his academic education in its public schools. He also attended the Kirksville State Normal School, and after leaving it taught school
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two years. In 1886 he began studying medicine in the office of his uncle, Dr. J. C. Scott, at St. Catharine, and the next year entered the Missouri Medical College in St. Louis as a student. He was graduated from that institution with the degree of M. D. in 1889 and at once begin practicing his profession at Bucklin, where he remained continuously until 1901. In that year he went to Oklahoma and for a period of about 10 months held a claim on a tract of government land, but while there also engaged in practice.
In 1902 he returned to Bucklin, and there he has made his home ever since. From 1892 to 1901 he was in the drug trade in Bucklin, but since his return he has devoted himself exclusively to his practice, which has been sufficient in its demands to take all his time and atten- tion. He is still an industrious and reflective student of his profession, keeping in touch with its best literature and availing himself of all means of his command to improve his knowledge of it in theory and practice. He is an active and attentive member of the American Medical Association and the State, County and Grand River Medical societies, securing what information he can from each and contributing to the interest and value of their proceedings in response to every de- mand they make upon him.
In 1910 the doctor was appointed surgeon for the railroads at Bucklin, and has since held that important and highly useful position and performed its duties with satisfaction to the railroad companies and the general public, and he has also continued his general practice with great industry and zealous attention to its needs. He does not, however, neglect the duties of citizenship and takes part in political affairs as a firm and faithful adherent of the Democratic party. As such he was elected county coroner in 1892 and held the office until 1894. During his tenure of it he conducted the inquest on the Meeks family and secured the first evidence against the Taylor boys. For de- tails of this case consult the general history of Linn county in another part of this volume. He was also appointed local register of the state board of health in 1910, and is still holding that very needful and ser- viceable position.
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