USA > Missouri > Linn County > Compendium of history and biography of Linn County, Missouri > Part 68
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In the spring of that year he came to Missouri and took up his resi- dence in Sullivan county three miles north of Browning, where he lived fourteen years. In the spring of 1881 he moved to Browning and engaged in general merchandising in partnership with Rhemick C. Clark, under the firm name of Bailey & Clark. In 1887 he began buying and shipping poultry and furs, and in this line of merchandising he has been engaged ever since, having paid out during the course of his operations in it, a sum exceeding $400,000, or an average of more than $16,000 a year.
Mr. Bailey is one of the founders and original stockholders of the Peoples Bank of Browning, and has been its vice president and a mem- ber of its board of directors from the time of its organization. He was married on February 11, 1869, to Miss Minnie Clark, a daughter of R. C. Clark, who became a resident of Sullivan county in 1865. Five children have been born of the union, and all of them are living. They are: Jessie M., the wife of S. C. Brossfield, whose home is in Oregon; Edward C., who resides in Montana; Bertha, the wife of Isaac McDer- med, who also lives in Oregon; Clara, who is the wife of Rev. T. S. Wheeler, and a resident of Canada, and Raymond C., who is connected with the Bank of Browning.
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Mr. Bailey was postmaster of Browning four years under the administration of President Benjamin Harrison, and also served two years as township collector of Benton township. He is a pronounced Republican in his political faith and a firm and effective supporter of the principles and candidates of his party. In church connection he is a Baptist. Throughout northern Missouri he is well known and stands high in public estimation. In the marts or trade in all parts of the country, too, his name is a familiar one and his reputation is first class for integrity, intelligence and reliability as a merchant, while locally he is in the front rank in credit and influence as a citizen, a potential force for good, an exponent of the finest and best public spirit and an energetic promoter of the progress and improvement of his township and county in every way.
FARMERS EXCHANGE BANK
For fifteen years this enterprising, progressive and growing finan- cial institution has been carrying on a general banking business in Browning with great benefit to the community in and around the town and bringing in gratifying profits for its stockholders and all who have interests in it. It has been well managed, and while commendably wide- awake in getting and attending to business, it has also been prudently conservative in protecting its stockholders and depositors from all unnecessary risks. By its wise policy it has established itself firmly in the public confidence, and by judicious liberality to near the limit of safety it has won hosts of friends and a widespread and enduring popularity.
The bank was founded in 1897 with a capital stock of $20,000, which has never been increased, although the volume of business transacted by the institution has greatly increased and keeps on increasing. The first officers were J. I. Harmon, president ; A. N. Thurlo, vice president ; Samuel L. Gibson, cashier. Mr. Harmon continued in the presidency for some time, and was succeeded when he retired by M. R. Jenkins, who gave way in turn to A. N. Thurlo. Then Mr. Harmon was made vice president, and J. M. Thurlo succeeded Mr. Gibson as cashier, with I. B. Christy as assistant.
After a time J. A. Calhoun became assistant cashier, and in 1896 he was elected cashier, and E. M. Wilson was made assistant. The next year R. M. Calhoun succeeded Mr. Wilson as assistant cashier, and since that time there have been no changes in the official staff of the
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bank. The directors at this time (1912) are: L. G. Schrock, I. B. Christy, J. W. Sevier, J. M. Thurlo, H. C. Pearson, W. M. Shepherd, J. A. Calhoun, J. I. Harmon and A. N. Thurlo. These gentlemen give the affairs of the bank careful and intelligent attention, and as they are all men of high standing in the community, well known and widely esteemed for their integrity and success in all their own undertakings, their control of the bank furnishes a guarantee of its soundness and the wisdom and prudence of its management. It now has a surplus of $9,000, and this, like the business of the bank, is steadily increasing at a gratifying rate of speed.
James A. Calhoun, the present cashier of the bank, who has served it in that capacity since 1896, is everywhere acknowledged to be one of the best and most capable banking and business men in Linn county. He was born in Pike county, Illinois, on January 4, 1854, and is a son of Hardy and Mary (Allen) Calhoun, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of the state of New York. The father was a farmer, and about 1840 located in Pike county, Illinois, where he died in 1857. Afterward the mother contracted a second marriage, uniting herself with J. P. Hardy, and they came to Missouri with the intention of remaining.
The turbulence and manifestations of bitter sectional feeling before the Civil War led them to return to Illinois until that deluge of disaster swept by, then, in 1866, they came again to this state and located in Linn county. Here they took up a tract of unbroken land and made a good farm of it, residing on it until 1884, when they moved to what is now North Dakota. In that state Mr. Hardy lost his life in a blizzard in 1892, and the mother died in 1897, universally respected wherever she was known.
By her first marriage the mother had three children, her son, James A., and his two sisters. By her second marriage she had three sons and one daughter. Two of her seven children are living. The grand- father, Hansell Calhoun, was born and reared in Tennessee. About the year 1840 he moved to Illinois, where he died in 1862, on a farm he had owned and cultivated about eighteen years. He was the father of five children, three sons and two daughters, all of whom are now deceased.
The interesting subject of this brief review was reared to the age of twelve by his grandfather, then, in 1866, came with his mother to this county. He assisted in clearing and improving the first farm occupied by the family in this locality, and in his youth drove cattle often over the site of the present town of Browning. His education
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was begun in the district schools of Benton township and completed at the Kirksville State Normal school. In 1875 he started an enterprise in general merchandising at Browning, which he carried on until 1884.
In the year last mentioned he bought the old family homestead, and during the next eight years was busily occupied in raising live stock. In 1892 he became a traveling salesman, but this occupation was not at all to his taste, and he abandoned it at the end of the first six months. His next venture was in the hardware trade, in which he was engaged for something over ten years. In 1903 he assisted in organizing the bank of which he is now cashier, and with this institution he has been connected ever since.
Mr. Calhoun was married in March, 1875, to Miss Helen M. Thorn- ton, a native of Wisconsin. They have five children living: Roy M., who is assistant cashier of the bank in which his father is cashier ; John H., who is a hardware merchant in Browning, Missouri; Pauline, who is married to J. R. Warner, and resides in Las Ammuas, Colorado; Lucile and Clara, twins. Lucile is the wife of B. A. Burton and lives in Iowa. Both parents are living. The father is a Republican in political relations, but he has never taken a very active part in political contests, and at no time in his life has he sought or desired a public office, although he has served as mayor and as a member of the city council of Browning. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and deeply interested in the welfare and work- ings of his lodge in the fraternity. Throughout Linn county and the counties that adjoin it he is well and favorably known as a broad- minded, public spirited and progressive business man and citizen of high character and fine social culture, and is cordially esteemed in accordance with this estimate.
DR. ROY W. WHALEY
During the last eight years, with highly commendable industry, the utmost fidelity to his duties and a generous and genuine considera- tion for his patients which gives him great influence with them and aids materially in making his treatment of their ailments successful, Dr. Roy W. Whaley has been a practitioner of medicine and surgery in and around Browning. He has won a high reputation for the extent and accuracy of his knowledge of his profession and his skill and intel- ligence in the application of that knowledge to the needs of those to whom he ministers. He also has high standing in the public regard
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as a man and citizen, and is an ornament to the social life of the enter- prising and progressive community in which he lives and labors so effectively for the general weal.
Dr. Whaley is a native of the adjoining county of Sullivan, where he was born in June, 1881, at the village of Scottsville. He is a son of Dr. David L. and Alpha (Tunnell) Whaley, the former was born in Iowa and the later in Sullivan county, Missouri. The father was a graduate of the Missouri Medical College and the medical department of the University of Michigan. He practiced his profession at Scotts- ville, Sullivan county, from 1877 to 1892, then moved to Browning, where he continued practicing until his death in 1911. The mother is still living and resides at Browning. The grandfather, David Whaley, came to Missouri from the state of New York in about 1840 and located in Sullivan county, where he died at a good old age, after many years of progressive and profitable farming.
Dr. Roy W. Whaley was reared and obtained his academic educa- tion in the neighborhood of Browning. In 1899 he entered the medical department of Washington University in St. Louis as a student, and from that institution he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1904. He began practicing at Browning within the same year, and has been engaged in attention to a steadily increasing body of patients ever since. He is always prompt in his response to professional calls, studiously attentive to his patients, alert and analytical in his diag- nosis, and reflective and discriminating in his observations and skillful in the application of remedies.
In order to keep himself in touch with the advance in his science he attends carefully to the instructions given and taken in the meet- ings of the county and state medical societies and the American Medical Association, to all of which he belongs. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Order of Odd Fellows, and he is also zealous in devotion to his lodge in this fraternity. In connection with the public affairs of the township and county of his home he is a decided and effective force for good, working always for progress and improvement, and the best interests of all the people by every means available to him.
On May 22, 1907, the doctor was united in marriage with Miss Alpha L. Haymaker, who was born and reared in Browning and is a daughter of Frederick M. and Maria E. (Kinman) Haymaker, well known and highly esteemed residents of that town, where they lived since 1865. Although not an active partisan and not ambitious of political preferment, the doctor is a firm believer in the principles of the Democrat party, and gives it his support in national affairs.
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Locally he looks first to the good of the community and votes for that according to his view of the requirments. He is comparatively young yet in years and in his profession, and the future is full of hope for him.
JOHN I. PURDIN
Farmer, lumberman and dealer in farm implements in this state, afterward again a farmer and lumber merchant and also a live stock dealer in South Dakota, then the owner of a bank in that state and now president of the Stockgrowers Bank of Purdin, a town founded by and named in honor of his grandfather, John I. Purdin, has had a varied career in respect to both location and employment, and in all his resi- dences and occupations has demonstrated his worth and ability as a man and his usefulness as a citizen.
Mr. Purdin is a native of Linn county, Missouri, where his life began on May 2, 1852, Benton township having been the place of his birth. He is a son of Alexander and Susan (Southerland) Purdin, the former born in Indiana and the latter in Orange county, Virginia. Their names are prominent in the history of the county, and have always been held in high regard by all classes of its people.
Their son, John I. Purdin, was reared and educated in this county and began life as a farmer in the township of his birth. After follow- ing the pursuit of the Old Patriarchs for ten years he moved to Brown- ing and became a lumber merchant and dealer in farm implements, remaining there and continuing in business as designated from 1884 to 1887. In the year last mentioned he moved to Montrose, South Dakota, and there once more turned his attention to farming, but also kept up his operations as a lumberman, and in addition engaged extensively in buying and shipping live stock to the big markets of the country.
In 1892, in connection with E. L. Ketcham; his son-in-law, he pur- chased the Montrose Bank, which Mr. Ketcham is now in charge of. Mr. Purdin returned in 1904 to the city in this county which bears his honored family name, and there he has maintained his residence ever since. In 1910 he was made president of the Stockgrowers Bank, of which he is still the head and controlling spirit. The bank has a capi- tal stock of $30,000 and a surplus of $2,100, and is in a very prosperous condition. It is managed with skill and enterprise, and its liberality and public spirit have won it well-founded and widespread popularity. It is conducting all the approved departments of present-day banking,
EDWARD C. WILLIAMS
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HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY
and is looked upon everywhere as one of the best and most progressive and enterprising banking institutions in the county. Mr. Purdin is a capable financier and he devotes the greater part of his time and his best energies to the affairs of the bank, and his course in this respect is one of the strong elements of its success.
On September 12, 1872, Mr. Purdin was united in marriage with Miss Mary Hutchinson, a native of Pike county, Illinois. Her parents came to Linn county before the Civil War, being among the early set- tlers of this portion of the state, and becoming prominent in all phases of the political and social life of this region. Mr. and Mrs. Purdin have one child, their daughter Lunnie, who is now the wife of E. L. Ketcham, of Montrose, South Dakota, who is conducting the bank in that town, as has been noted.
In politics Mr. Purdin trains with the Republican party, and is active in his support of it. While living in South Dakota he served two terms on the county court and two terms in the state legislature. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Work- men, and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. Charles B. Purdin was his grandfather and gave his name to the town he founded, in which his name is revered, as are those of Mr. Purdin and his wife throughout Linn county.
EDWARD C. WILLIAMS
While there is nothing really old in this country since the dawn of civilization within its boundaries, except in a relative sense, every locality has a period in its history which seems remote and has a decided flavor of antiquity in comparison with the conditions and rapid pace of the present day, whether its distance behind us is measured by hundreds of years or only by decades. Linn county was first per- manently settled within the memory of men now living, and yet the chronicles of its early days read like chapters from an old and hoary past.
And those days are, in fact, so far behind us in length of time, even, that there are few living witnesses of their continual succession of in- cident and adventure, their privations and hardships, their trials and triumphs, their incessant perils and countless hair-breadth escapes. Among the few remaining among the people of the county to tell the story of the pioneer period Edward C. Williams of Meadville is the old- est in years of residence in the county, and one of the oldest in the
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actual length of his life, as he is now on the way to the completion of the eighty-fourth year of his earthly existence.
Mr. Williams was born in Washington county, Ohio, on December 10, 1828. His father, Reuben Williams, was a native of Massachusetts, and his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Johnson, was born in Connecticut. The father was reared in the state of New York and there learned the trade of a blacksmith, serving his apprenticeship in the city of Albany. During his young manhood he crossed the Blue Ridge and Alleghany mountains to Kentucky, and for a time worked at his trade at Frankfort in that state. From there he moved to Washing- ton county, Ohio, and located on the Muskingum river near the present city of Marietta, where he opened a shop.
Here he was married to the mother, who had been in the party that crossed the mountains with him. They became the parents of twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, all of whom are now deceased but Edward C. and one of his sisters who lives in the state of Washing- ton. In 1840 the whole family, as it was then made up, took boat for northern Missouri, voyaging down the Ohio and up the Mississippi and the Missouri to Brunswick in Chariton county, the father bringing his tools and household effects with him, for he knew that such things were almost unattainable in the wilderness to which he was going.
He worked at his trade in Brunswick the first winter and in 1841 began farming on Salt creek in Chariton county. But he moved to Bedford in Livingston county, near its junction with Linn and Chariton counties, a short time afterward, and there he followed his craft until his death, which occurred in 1849. He was widely and favorably known in all three counties, and cordially esteemed by the people of each of them. The mother married again, uniting herself with a Mr. Jones, and died in 1854, leaving her children the priceless legacy of a good name, as did the father when he departed this life.
Edward C. Williams was twelve years old when the family came to Missouri. Owing to the undeveloped state of the country where he lived, both in Ohio and in this state, he had very limited opportunities for schooling, and got but little education from books. At an early age he began learning his father's trade under that gentleman's instruction, and after mastering it worked at it in nearly every settlement in this section of the state, going from place to place, wherever his services were required, until in February of the year 1854.
At that time he came to where Meadville now stands, which was then the midst of a large expanse of land under cultivation, and the site of the present town was rich and beautiful with a very promising
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growth of corn. In 1855 he opened a shop on the land now owned by Judge Thomas Evans, and this he conducted with profit for one year. In 1856 he yielded to the prevailing temptation of the region and became a farmer, taking up eighty acres of land, which he broke up and improved, and the title to which has never passed out of his hands. Later he bought eighty acres of school land in section 26, and this he also developed and improved, making two excellent farms out of the unbroken wilderness. And while clearing and improving his farms he also wrought industriously at his trade.
But neither farming nor mechanical employment entirely filled his desires, and in 1864 he opened a general store in Meadville, which he conducted for two years, then moved his stock to Bedford and kept store there for three years. At the end of the period last mentioned he returned to his farm, but soon afterward opened another store at Wheeling in Livingston county, building for the purpose the second building put up in the town. He continued to do business in the mer- cantile line at that place until some time in the seventies, then once more returned to his farm, and to that he has devoted his time and energies ever since, or did until he retired from all active pursuits a few years ago.
Mr. Williams was married on March 20, 1855, to Miss Margaret A. Belshe, a daughter of William Belshe, who became a resident of Linn county in 1834. Of the children born of the union two grew to maturity, William P., who has since died, and Nancy E., who is now the wife of William F. Van Dyke, of Meadville. The mother of these children died on December 14, 1906, after walking life's troubled way hand in hand with the father for fifty-one years and nearly nine months.
Mr. Williams recalls, in looking back from the height of develop- ment and progress to which this county has attained to the dawn of its history, the time when Indians were still numerous in this locality. He did work at his forge for them frequently in repairing guns and pro- viding for their other mechanical wants, and while they were never unfriendly to him, they sometimes showed a feeling of hostility to other white men and the race of their conquerors in general. The one-time wild men of the forest and plains he worked for were mostly of the Sioux tribe, but he frequently saw members of other tribes who were visiting their Sioux brothers, or living among them temporarily.
In his political relations Mr. Williams was in early life a Whig and one of the local leaders of the party. After the death of that political organization he became Independent, but for a number of years he has not taken an active part in political contests. He was
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made a Freemason thirty-five years ago, and has been constant in his devotion to his lodge duties ever since. His religious connection is with the Baptist church, of which he is a devout and consistent member, and has been for many years.
Having almost reached the half-way mark between four score and four score years and ten, he has the reverence due a patriarch from the people among whom he has so long and so usefully lived and labored. He reminds the thoughtful observer of some genial year, drawing to its close undoubtedly, but with its seasons of warmth and beauty and fruit- fulness not yet wholly spent. His life has been free from blemish, full of service to the several communities in which he has dwelt, and worthy of all commendation.
ALONZO L. BROWN
So new to the world and in the domain of industrial production is Linn county, Missouri, in comparison with many other parts of the United States, and even some portions of this state, that Alonzo L. Brown, who lives near Purdin, enjoys an almost unique distinction in this locality in having been born on the farm which he now owns, occu- pies and cultivates, and his children represent the third generation of the same family drawing substance from its fruitful soil.
Mr. Brown's life began on this farm on January 8, 1852, and he is a son of Henry T. and Susan (Hannah) Brown, the former a native of Howard county, Missouri, and the latter of Virginia. The father was brought to Linn county in his childhood by his father, Henry Brown, who moved from his native state of Kentucky to Howard county in this state, and a little later to this county. Here he entered a tract of wild land from the governmnt and remained on it until the beginning of the Civil War, when he returned to his former home in Howard county, where he died. He was the father of five sons and two daughters, all now deceased.
His son, Henry T. Brown, father of Alonzo, grew to manhood in Linn county and took up, under a government patent or as a home- stead, the farm on which Alonzo now lives. He cleared, broke up and improved it to a considerable extent during his lifetime, and died on it in 1882, as did his wife in 1884. They were the parents of seven sons and three daughters, all of whom have died but two of the sons, Alonzo and his brother John, who lives in Linn county and is a farmer.
The father was a great hunter of big game, killing bears and deer in large numbers, and also showed his prowess with the rifle by bring-
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ing down hundreds of wild turkeys, a feat that is said to require more than ordinary expertness and quickness of action with the gun, as well as unusual precaution and knowledge on the part of the hunter who gets this species of game. All forms of wild animal and bird life indigenous to this region were abundant in his young manhood, and they were plentiful even at a much later period. He knew where to find them, and when he went after them he got them, as everybody in the neighborhood knew.
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