USA > Missouri > Linn County > Compendium of history and biography of Linn County, Missouri > Part 69
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Alonzo L. Brown was reared on the farm and attended the schools of his boyhood, such as they were-limited in scope, rudely equipped, and irregular in sessions. While doing so he assisted his father in the · work on the farm, helping to clear it of its wild growth, break up its stubborn glebe and bring it to responsive production under the persua- sive hand of the husbandman. In his youth and early manhood he was considerable of a hunter too, and followed in his father's footsteps in this respect, for game was still abundant in the township when he grew old enough to go after it.
On September 13, 1888, Mr. Brown was married to Miss Effie Parr, a daughter of Howard Parr, who came to this county from Indiana in 1866, and by this marriage became the father of four children, three of whom are living: Vernie E., Henry H. and Roy. Their father is a Democrat in political faith and allegiance and devoted to the interests of his party, although himself not desirous of any of the favors it has to bestow in the way of public office. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is prominent and very service- able to the congregation in which he holds his membership. In all parts of the county he is well and favorably known, and all classes of its people respect him for his genuine worth, good citizenship and ele- vated and upright manhood.
JOHN SILAS CLARK
Having sprung from the ranks of the sturdy and sterling plain people of this state and county, and been taught by the instructions and examples of his parents to rely on that class as the bone and sinew, the hope and reliance of the country in productiveness in times of peace and for stalwart defense when the institutions of the country are assailed by armed resistance or invasion, it is inevitable that John Silas Clark, of Locust Creek township, this county, should feel a strong and abiding interest in the welfare and advancement of the foundation
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stratum of our population, and that his life should have been passed from boyhood to the present time (1912) in exemplifying in his own citizenship the best traits in him. He is not in any sense or to any degree a demagogue or pretender. He believes in the force and com- mon sense of the common people, and in that respect he is a genuine American and true to all the traditions and best tendencies and instincts of our citizenship in this country.
Mr. Clark is a native of Linn county, born in Locust Creek town- ship on August 20, 1867, and from his childhood has known no higher aspiration in life than an ardent desire to contribute, as far as possible in his day and generation, to the general welfare and substantial advancement of the residents of his locality and its progress and im- provement along every line of wholesome and enduring development. He is a son of Z. W. and Jane Ellen (Fore) Clark, who were industrious and progressive farmers, and sought no distinction beyond that of doing as well as they could their full duty in exemplifying and spread- ing the benefits of progressive farming.
The family has been active in the history of northern Missouri for at least three generations, Mr. Clark's grandfather having been a prominent and influential citizen of Linn county for many years, and having died here in the fullness of years and public esteem. The father came to Linn county as a child and passed the remainder of his days among its people, and repeated on its soil the excellent record made by the grandfather, with such changes and variations as the difference in surroundings and conditions required.
John S. Clark was educated in the public schools of Linn county and from his boyhood has been engaged in farming. While growing to manhood and attending school he assisted his father on the home farm, and when he took up the burden of life for himself, he did it in the domain of useful endeavor to which he had been trained, and to which his tastes and desires were wedded. Having no other aspiration in life than that of becoming the best and most successful farmer his circum- stances would allow, he has given his chosen occupation close and care- ful study, and kept pace with its progress in every way, having full knowledge of the theory of his business and showing its verity and reliability in practical achievements.
He has been earnestly and helpfully interested in the welfare and progress of his community, and has never withheld his hand from any worthy enterprise involving its advancement. But he has taken no active part in political contests, fraternal organizations, or any other activity than that in which he is engaged. In respect to national ques-
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tions he votes steadily with the Democratic party, as he is a firm believer in its principles and theories of government. But in local affairs he considers only the good of his township and county, and ignores all party and personal claims on his favor, yet never neglects the duty of a good citizen to give every local issue studious attention and support the side and candidates that seem most likely to promote the general weal and to provide most effectually for the public good.
Mr. Clark was married on March 4, 1896, to Miss Clara Westgate, a daughter of George W. and Jeannette (Cochrane) Westgate, of Linn county, she being a native of Linn county. Only one of the three chil- dren born of their union is living, their son John Westgate Clark. The religious connection of the family is with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and in the congregation to which he belongs the father is an ardent worker and a highly appreciated member. In all the requirements of citizenship he is manly, zealous, independent and serv- iceable. And it is to the credit of the people around him that they appreciate him at his true value.
EDGAR H. SCHROCK
For many years an enterprising and progressive farmer in Sullivan county, this state, and for a number a prosperous and successful busi- ness man in Linn county, Edgar H. Schrock, now living retired from all active pursuits in Linneus, has dignified and adorned the citizen- ship of northern Missouri in a way that is gratifying to all the people of this section and highly creditable to himself. When he farmed he farmed with all his might and applied to all his operations good judg- ment and comprehensive intelligence; and when he was in business he was governed by the same forces of close application, judicious exami- nation of conditions and requirements and a studious knowledge of all the ins and outs of trade.
Mr. Schrock was born in Sullivan county, Missouri, in 1851, and is a son of James W. and Sarah (Burns) Schrock, the former a native of Hampshire county, Virginia, now West Virginia, and the latter of Franklin county, Missouri. The father was born in 1828 and grew to the age of fifteen and obtained his education in his native county. In 1843 the family came to Missouri to live, making the long jaunt from their former home with wagon teams, and located on government land in Sullivan county. The land was wild and unbroken, and its occupants had to begin at the very foundation of building a good farm out of it.
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But they were equal to the task, and in time they made the wilderness in which they settled glad and profitable with all the fruits of syste- matic productiveness.
On this farm the mother died in 1895 and the father in 1902. They were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church and potent forces in starting that denomination on its luminous career of useful- ness and benefaction in this part of the state. Two sons and three daughters blessed their union and brightened their family fireside, and of the five, two are now living. The paternal grandfather, Perez Schrock, was also a native of Virginia. He was a farmer and moved to Missouri in 1843, as has been stated. He died on his farm in Sullivan county about 1868, and his wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Long, died in Linn county in 1880. They were the parents of eight sons and eight daughters, all now deceased. The great grandfather, whose name was also Perez Schrock, came to this country from Germany and set- tled in Virginia at an early date.
Edgar H. Schrock attained his manhood in Sullivan county and farmed there for a number of years, and during a portion of the time he was also engaged in merchandising at Browning and Scottsville, just over the line in this county. In 1904 he moved to Linneus, and for three years thereafter was busy in the hardware business in that city. At the end of that period he retired from business, and since then he has been enjoying a well-earned rest and the fruits of his long and profitable labors.
In 1872 Mr. Schrock was united in marriage with Miss Laura A. Garrett, a daughter of William H. and Missouri F. (Hickam) Garrett, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Boone county, this state. Mr. Garrett was a "forty-niner," and in less than two years cleaned up in California $2,500, which he made in business in that state and brought back to Missouri in gold. With this he bought a farm in Linn county, and this was the nucleus of the very comfortable estate he accumulated. He came to Missouri from his native state in 1856.
Mr. and Mrs. Schrock have two children, both daughters: Leona E., who is now the wife of D. R. Clark and resides in Linneus; and Bessie G., who married with E. L. Morris, and has her home in Lin- neus. Their father has belonged to the Masonic order for many years and has always taken a great interest in the affairs of the fraternity. He has at all times in his mature life been deeply and practically in- terested in the welfare of the community in which he lived, and done whatever he could to promote the substantial and enduring good of its residents. His public spirit has always been guided by intelligence
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and applied to securing direct and immediate results, and has been very effective on that account. The people of Linn county regard him as one of their best and most representative citizens, and all classes admire and esteem him for his genuine worth, his genial and unassum- ing manner and his high character.
JOSEPH HEMMINGS
Widely known and highly esteemed as is the interesting subject of this brief memoir, throughout Linn county and in many other parts of Missouri, he is not a native of this state, or even of this country. But he has been a resident of the United States since he was eight years of age, and of Marceline from the year when the town was founded. He passed his first three years of life in this country in Boston, Massachu- setts, a number thereafter in Wisconsin, and twenty-five in Kansas. But he is so thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the people of Linn county, so deeply interested in the county's progress and improvement, and so earnest and effective in promoting that and the welfare of the people around him, that unless one knew to the contrary, he might believe the gentleman had been a resident of this locality all his life.
Mr. Hemmings was born near Bristol, England, on April 15, 1848. His parents, Samuel and Sarah (Preddy) Hemmings, were also natives of England, and belonged to families domesticated in that country for many generations. They came to the United States in 1856 and took up their residence in Boston, where they remained until 1859. They then moved their family to Wisconsin, and in that state they died a number of years afterward. They were the parents of six children, two daughters and four sons. Three of the number are living, Joseph Hemmings and his brother and sister. The father was a cabinet maker and wrought at his trade both in his native land and in all the localities of his residence in this country.
Joseph Hemmings began his education in England, continued it in Boston and completed it in Wisconsin. In 1864, when he was but six- teen years old, he left his home and went to Kansas, locating at Neosho Falls in 1887, where he was connected with merchandising first as employe and afterward as proprietor for a period of nearly twenty- five years, remaining there until 1888. In that year Marceline was founded, and he learned of its promising possibilities, and at once sought the benefits of them, and the opportunities they afforded for advancement to enterprise, thrift and business ability.
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He was sent to this locality, however, in the line of duty and in a capacity which gave scope for the full employment of his active mind and highly trained faculties. The Santa Fe Town & Land Company employed him to act as its assistant land agent here, and he sold the first town lots disposed of within the limits of the present city. He served the Town & Land Company with fidelity and success for two years, then became manager of the Marceline Coal and Prospecting Company. A few years after its organization this company sold its holdings and business to the Kansas & Texas Coal Company, and in 1893 C. J. Devlin bought that company out. He failed in 1905, and the property and business of the original company, and subsequent additions, are now owned by the Marceline Coal and Mining Company.
Mr. Hemmings has been the manager and controlling spirit in the business during all these years and through all the successive changes of ownership. He has been the leading man and the most potential force in the development of the coal mining industry in this region. He has also been all the time in control of the company's store, and in this position has been able to popularize the ownership of the property with the men employed by it, and so keep the industry going at the highest rate of speed and with satisfaction all around. He is, in addi- tion, at the time of this writing (1912) manager of the Marceline Mer- cantile Company, one of the large and progressive merchandising estab- lishments of Linn county.
Mr. Hemmings is a Republican in politics, and is deeply and intelli- gently interested in public affairs. But he has always been averse to public station, and has never sought a political office either by election or appointment. But he did, on one occasion, yield to the persuasion of the people and the voice of duty, and consent to serve as city clerk of Marceline for three years, being the first man to occupy that office. While not seeking to serve the public as an official, he is, nevertheless, earnestly and actively interested in the welfare of his township and county, and the enduring good of their residents, and he manifests this by cordial and liberal support of all worthy undertakings for the im- provement of his locality, its progress and development, and the in- crease of its importance in the mercantile, industrial, civic and social life of the state.
On January 17, 1880, Mr. Hemmings was united in marriage with Miss Me'vina McConnell, a native of Illinois. They have two children, their daughters Jennie and Harriet M. Jennie is still living at home with her parents, and Harriet M. is the wife of George L. Smith, of Brookfield. The members of the family belong to the Congregational
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church, in the good work of which the father takes an active part. He is regarded throughout the county, and wherever else he is known, as a first-rate business man, an excellent citizen, a gentleman of high character and fine social culture, and a potent force for good in his community. The people everywhere respect him as suchı, and it is to their credit that they fully appreciate his worth and his great useful- ness among them.
MANLY H. TAYLOR
Manly H. Taylor, junior member of the hardware firm of Brown & Taylor, of Marceline, has been a resident of Linn county and Marceline township, as it is now, forty-four years, or since he was ten years old, and until 1898 was an active force in its agricultural industry, as he is in some measure yet. He has added to the wealth and importance of the county by his vigorous and progressive farming, dignified and adorned its citizenship by his upright and sterling manhood, helped in directing its public energies along lines of wholesome progress and development by his public spirit and enterprise, and aided in giving tone and high character to its mercantile activity by his elevated and straightforward course as a merchant. The people of his township and the whole county know him well and regard him as one of their most useful and representative citizens from every point of view.
Mr. Taylor is a native of Wisconsin, where he was born on Febru- ary 23, 1857. He is a son of Erastus and Elizabeth (Howe) Taylor, natives of Genesee county, New York. The father was born in 1832 and passed the whole of his life as a farmer, except a few years which he devoted to teaching school, and the period of the Civil War, during which he was in the Union army fighting for the preservation of the country from sectional dismemberment, and all the horrors incident to such a disaster.
In his young manhood he moved from the state of New York to Wisconsin, and there engaged in teaching school until the beginning of the war. In response to the first call to arms for the defense of the Union he enlisted in the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and in this regiment he served the full three years of his term of enlistment. His command saw a great deal of active service and took part in several of the historic battles of the great and momentous conflict between the sections of our unhappy country, but he escaped from all the carnage unharmed, and at the close of the war returned to his Wis-
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consin home. He soon afterward, however, moved to Minnesota, where he lived one year.
In 1867 he came to this county and bought a farm one mile north of Marceline. It was all unbroken prairie, virgin to the plow and as · yet had never heard the commanding voice of the husbandman or felt the impulse of his persuasive hand. Mr. Taylor awakened the re- sponsive soil to systematic productiveness by his well-applied industry and skill as a farmer, and made the farm his home for twenty years. At the end of that period he returned to his native state, where he remained thirteen years. He then came back to Missouri, and he died in Linn county in 1907.
Mrs. Taylor, his widow, is still living in this county. They were the parents of three sons, all of whom are living, but Manly H. is the only one of the three who resides in Linn county. The father was a Republican in politics and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in his religious affiliation. His father, John Taylor, was a native of Massachusetts, but early in life moved from that state to Genesee county, New York, where he passed the remainder of his days. The family on the father's side is of English descent, but members of it have lived in this country for many generations, its progenitor on American soil having come over in an early period in the history of our country.
Manly H. Taylor was between ten and eleven years of age when his parents located in this county. He grew to manhood on his father's farm, taking part in the useful labor of cultivating it and attending the district school in the neighborhood. He remained on the farm and assisted in its management and work until 1898. He then entered into partnership with Mr. Brown as a member of the present firm of Brown & Taylor, and since doing so has given his attention mainly to the affairs of the business, although he still owns and superintends his farm.
On February 23, 1887, Mr. Taylor united in marriage with Miss Bertha E. Phillips, a native of the state of New York, like himself. Her parents, Josiah and Emma S. (Crane) Phillips, moved to Missouri and Linn county in 1868, and have resided here ever since. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have five children: Gene P., Don B., Winifred, Kenneth and Manly H., Jr. While earnestly and intelligently interested in the progress and improvement of his township and county, the father has taken no active part in political contentions beyond doing a good citi- zen's part by voting according to his convictions as to men and mea- sures for the best interests of his locality. But he has never stayed
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his hand or withheld his counsel with reference to projects of value for the advance of the region in which he lives, and his aid has been potential in promoting all he has deemed advisable and worthy of sup- port. Fraternally he holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is regarded as one of Linn county's best and most representative men and citizens, and all classes of its people respect him highly and many admire him warmly for his genuine worth.
JOHN A. HESS
Few farmers, if any, stand higher in the regard of the people of Bucklin township than John A. Hess, and the good will and esteem they have for him is based on demonstrated merit and genuine worth as a man and as a citizen. He is admired and taken as an example, also as an enterprising and progressive farmer, and his farm shows by its appearance and general condition that his example is well worthy of imitation anywhere. He has been a resident of Linn county seven years, and in each of them has made a record that has been greatly to his credit and has strengthened his hold on the confidence and good opinion of the people around him.
Mr. Hess is a native of Clark county, Missouri, where his life began on June 8, 1867. His parents, Simon and Mary (Voght) Hess were born in Germany, in the province of Hesse. The father was a farmer in his native land and also served three years in the German army. He came to the United States in 1866 and located in Clark county, Missouri, where he is still living, and following in this country the pursuit which engaged his faculties in the Fatherland. In Clark county he met with and married his wife, the mother of John A. Hess and his two brothers, all of whom are living, but John is the only mem- ber of the family residing in Linn county. The mother died in 1898, after many years of useful and upright living, fidelity to her duties as a wife and mother, and earnest and helpful activity in behalf of all her neighbors, friends and the community in general.
John A. Hess grew to manhood on his father's farm in Clark county and obtained what education he could in the district schools in the neighborhood. He remained at home working with his father on the parental homestead until his marriage on March 17, 1891, to Miss Emma Seyb, a native of Lee county, Iowa, and the daughter of Michael and Elizabeth (Rauscher) Seyb, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Ohio. He then determined to set up a domestic altar of
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his own and began farming on his own account. He and his wife have three children, their son, Harold S. and their twin daughters, Ella M. and Ruth E., all of whom are still living under the shelter of the paren- tal rooftree and assisting in the labors of the farm and the household.
In 1904 the family moved to Linn county and the father bought 240 acres of land two miles and a half south of Bucklin, on which he has resided ever since. He has erected on this farm a fine modern dwelling, good barns and other necessary structures, making for his family a very comfortable and attractive home, and has cultivated it with every care and advanced intelligence, thereby securing full returns for his labor and at the same time steadily increasing the value of his land.
Mr. Hess has not, however, confined his energies and activity en- tirely to his own business. He is a man of public spirit and progres- siveness in regard to public affairs and takes an earnest interest and a helpful part in endeavoring to have them properly administered. He is also zealous in his efforts to aid in the development and improve- ment of his township and county, add to the comfort and convenience of their people and promote the general welfare in every way open to him. The educational forces, the moral agencies, the religious institu- tions and the social energies of the region in which he lives all enlist his interest and have his cordial support and that of all the members of his family. He and his wife belong to the Evangelical church and are active participants in all the good works of the congregation in which they hold their membership. The whole family is held in high esteem wherever its members are known.
DR. CATHERINE STANDLY
Pioneers in any line of activity and usefulness are always worthy of high regard. No matter what the line of utility may be, those who open it to the service of mankind, and blaze the way for their followers who are to develop it to greater fruitfulness, extend it to wider fields of operation and lift it to loftier heights of power, have a credit due them which no achievements of their successors can belittle. The men and women who opened this region to civilization, and founded its civil and religious institutions, are justly enshrined in the hearts of the people of the present day as worthy of their highest veneration. The same condition is true in other domains of effort, though less noted and commended, and in them, oft-times, nerve, endurance and perseverance
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