USA > Missouri > Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. II > Part 73
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in company with a Mr. Castleman, to make pig iron in the State of Missouri. William G., the second eldest son, was educated in the private subscription schools which flourished in the Belleview Valley in early days, and at his home fireside. Like the sons of all in- dustrious pioneers, he worked on the farm left by his father, and reached manhood with a thorough knowledge of agriculture, and well equipped physically and mentally for a business career. From his childhood he was taught to be patriotic, and in 1848 he raised a company for service in the Mexican War, was elected captain, and from his home in the Belleview Valley, rode on horseback to Jefferson City to offer the services of him- self and his company to the government. When he reached there he found that the State's quota of troops had been made up, and returning to his home he disbanded his company. In 1849, hearing tales of the great wealth of California, he was among those who first started from Missouri to that El- dorado. There he engaged actively in mining and with good success. He was one of the organizers and the first president of the Yuba Dam Water Power Company that, during the fifties, was an important factor in hydraulic mining at Yuba Dam, and at the present time supplies water for irrigating thousands of rich acres, as well as for placer mining. He remained in California three years. Mr. Eversole accumulated considerable money and was the owner of valuable interests, one of his most valuable holdings being his stock in the water power company, which he re- tained and which paid him large dividends until he sold his interests in 1876. About 1853 he returned to Washington County and purchased a large farm immediately joining the town of Caledonia and engaged in farm- ing and stock-raising on an extensive scale, which he carried on successfully until his death. He was always active in enterprises that he deemed beneficial to his county and the town of Caledonia. He was one of the chief promoters and one of the incorporators, in 1867, of the Belleview Collegiate Institute, and for a number of years was one of its board of directors. This institution is an object of pride to the people of the Belleview Valley, and though some obstructions have" been placed in the way of its advancement, it has enjoyed prosperity since its foundation, and in it were educated a number who be-
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came prominent in public affairs and in professional and business life. From 1860 to 1864 Mr. Eversole was in the mercantile bus- iness in Caledonia, which he abandoned on account of its interference with his farming pursuits. In political as well as other public matters, he was active. Prior to the Civil War he was a Whig, and later affiliated with the Democratic party. He never held, nor did he seek office, other than as a member of the school board, though he was an earnest worker in the interests of his party. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, of Caledonia, in which faith his family was reared. He was a broad-gauged, liberal- minded man, a close observer, and a progres- sive thinker. A thoroughly self-reliant and successful man, having accomplished all by his own efforts, and knowing the adversities that many who would succeed have to com- bat, he was as charitable and benevolent as he was liberal in his views in all things. For nearly seventy years he lived in one neigh- borhood. The years of his childhood, his youth, his manhood and old age were passed in Belleview Valley, excepting the short period spent in California. At the close of his life one of the most precious inheritances he left his children was a name reflecting the principles of honesty, industry and charity, and rich with the respect of neighbors and friends who had known him from his youth. He was a Mason and was worshipful master of Tyro Lodge at Caledonia. On September 5, 1854, immediately after his return from California, he married Rebecca A. Rutledge, of Caledonia, who was born in Virginia, May 6, 1830, a daughter of James and Nancy (Thompson) Rutledge, who became residents of Washington County in 1842. Mrs. Ever- sole, who is still active at the age of seventy years, is a granddaughter of Major Archibald Thompson, an officer in the Army of the Revolution. She was a devoted wife and a fond mother. Mr. and Mrs. Eversole were the parents of seven children. They are: Frank R., a successful physician of St. Louis ; Ettie, wife of Dr. A. J. Prosser, of St. Louis ; George H., a physician at his old home at Caledonia ; William G., a prosperous mer- chant of St. Louis; Edward Thompson, a member of the law firm of Anthony & Ever- sole, at Potosi, Missouri; Annie E., wife of Attorney B. H. Marbury, of Farmington, Missouri, and Jennie E., wife of McClelland
Eversole, a well known citizen of Douglas County, Illinois. All the children were given the advantages of a thorough education. They all attended the Belleview Collegiate Institute, at Caledonia, and later were sent to different higher colleges at St. Louis and elsewhere. The memory of Captain William G. Eversole will live for generations as that of one of the representative men of south- east Missouri.
Everton .- A city of the fourth class in Dade County, on the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railway, eight miles east of Greenfield, the county seat. It has a graded public school, two churches, a neutral news- paper, the "Journal;" a Masonic lodge and a Grand Army post, a bank, a steam flourmill, and several lime kilns. In 1899 the popula- tion was 700. It was platted in 1881 by Ralph Walker, and was formerly called Rock Prairie.
Ewing, James Fowler, was born January 26, 1845, in Troy, New York, son of Calvin C. and Julia (Allen) Fowler. When he was ten years of age his parents removed to Wayne County, New York, and he grew up there on a farm, obtaining all his education in the public schools of that region. His in- clinations being toward trade rather than ag- ricultural pursuits, he left the farm when he was seventeen years of age, and went to New York City, where he found employment in a drug store. After following this occupation three years he entered the quartermaster's department of the government military serv- ice in 1863 and went South with Captain Tea- son, who was then running a dispatch boat. Some time later he was taken seriously ill, and after 'lying four months in the hospital at Washington, D. C., he resigned his po- sition and returned to his father's home in Wayne County. In 1864 he went to Michigan to join a brother who had preceded him to that State, and soon afterward they both en- listed in the Thirtieth Michigan Volunteer Infantry for service in the Civil War. Before they saw any active service, however, the war drew to a close, and they were mustered out of the army in Michigan. Mr. Ewing then engaged in steamboating on Lake Hu- ron, acting as express agent and having charge of the United States mails on a large steamer, and also filling the position of
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"trader," as it was called in those days, he being intrusted in this connection with the business of buying the cargoes which the boat carried up the lake from time to time. In the spring of 1869 he went to East Saginaw, Michigan, and became junior mem- ber of the firm of Aiken, Stenson & Co., wholesale dealers in crockery and house-fur- nishing goods. Two years later the firm be- came Aiken & Ewing, and conducted its business under this name until the autumn of 1873, when Mr. Ewing sold his interest in the establishment and embarked in the salt trade. In 1875 he started a salt manufactur- ing establishment at Bay City, Michigan, under the firm name of J. F. Ewing & Co., giving this enterprise his personal attention until 1880. He then came to St. Louis as general manager of the Michigan Salt Asso- ciation, which had determined to extend its trade into the Southwest. Only one firm in the United States handles to-day more salt than Mr. Ewing, and his trade extends west- ward to California and south to the Gulf of Mexico. While building up this branch of commerce he has become identified as an in- vestor and official with various other enter- prises in St. Louis, and he is president of the Southwestern Zinc Company, president of the Crystal Water Company and a director of the Merchants' Life Insurance Company.
Ewing, Patrick, soldier and pioneer, was born in Lee County, Virginia, in 1792, and died near Fulton, Callaway County, Mis- souri. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and, with an uncle, emigrated to Missouri in 1814. He first located near Warren, in St. Charles County, where he taught school for a while, having among his pupils two of the grandsons of Daniel Boone. In the fall of 1815 he located at old Cote Sans Dessein, and early in 1816 built a home near St. Aubert, where he resided for thirty-five years. Then he removed to a farm ten miles south of Fulton, where he passed the re- mainder of his life. He was the second sher- iff of Callaway County and was a captain in the Black Hawk War. He was a man of the highest sense of honor, benevolent and chari- table in all things, and one admired by all who knew him. Though years have passed since his death, still in Callaway County his name is synonymous with honesty, integri- ty, morality and all that is noble.
Ewing, William L., merchant and steamboat owner, was born January 31, 1809, at Montclair, near Vincennes, Indiana, the eighth of ten children and the third son of Nathaniel and Mary (Breading) Ewing, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, and who had removed to Indiana in 1807. The elder Ewing was a man of prominence in his day, and came to Indiana as receiver of pub- lic moneys by appointment of President Jef- ferson. He subsequently became a member of the Territorial Legislature, distinguishing himself as a practical legislator, and was prominent among the men who secured the admission of Indiana into the Union as a free State. He died at Montclair, in 1846. Wil- liam L. Ewing, the son, made the best of somewhat meager early educational advan- tages, and when twelve years of age accom- panied his brother-in-law, Dr. William Carr Lane, to St. Louis. There he attended for a time St. Louis University, having among his classmates and fellow-students many young men who afterward became prominent citi- zens of Missouri and other States. On leav- ing college he was for a time a clerk in the employ of Messrs. Hough & Co., and later was book-keeper for the "Missouri Repub- lican." He returned to Vincennes in 1833 and embarked in the mercantile business there with John Ross, who was afterward an emi- nently successful Indiana banker. After a prosperous career of three and a half years as a merchant at Vincennes he came back to St. Louis, and on the Ist of January, 1839, became associated with Pierre A. Berthold and Louis P. Tesson in the wholesale gro- cery business in that city. Within the next ten years the firm of Berthold & Ewing be- came one of the leading commercial estab- lishments of the Southwest, but in 1849 they suffered a heavy loss in the great fire of that year and were compelled to begin anew. He resumed business as head of the firm of Wil- liam L. Ewing & Co., and this house at- tained great celebrity among Western merchandising establishments. For many years its trade extended over a wide area of territory, and wherever it was known it was esteemed by its patrons for its correct business methods and its exact rectitude in all its dealings. Although during the later . years of his life Mr. Ewing withdrew, in a measure, from active participation in the con- duct and management of the affairs of this.
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house, it remained under his control until his death, and no Western merchant of his day was more widely or favorably known. Thoroughly public-spirited, he aided in pro- moting many early enterprises which con- tributed materially to the prosperity and up- building of St. Louis. He was interested at one time and another in various steam- boat lines, owned at one time many fine boats, and one of the handsomest boats ply- ing on the Mississippi river bore his name. He was a director of the Merchants' Nation- al Bank from the date of its foundation until his death, and for many years was president of that institution. He was also a member of the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Fair Association; was one of the original members of the Merchants' Exchange, and was a stockholder and director in numerous other corporations. He subscribed largely to the various public beneficiary institutions of St. Louis, and was a liberal, although en- tirely unostentatious, giver to charities of all kinds. Genial in manner and kindly in dis- position, he was a gentleman of the old school and one of the most popular of the early merchants of St. Louis. In early life he was an old-line Whig in politics and took an active interest in public affairs as a mem- ber of that party. After its dissolution, how- ever, he gave little attention to politics outside of affairs pertaining to local govern- ment. He became a member of the Catholic Church after his marriage, and died in that faith October 26, 1873, at Bailey Springs, near Florence, Alabama, to which place he had gone in the hope of improving his health. His remains were brought to St. Louis and now rest in Calvary cemetery. In February of the year 1838 he married Miss Clara Ber- thold, who was the daughter of Bartholo- mew and Pelagie Berthold. Mrs. Ewing's maternal grandfather was Pierre Chouteau, who, as a boy, came to St. Louis with its founders in 1764. Three daughters and three sons survive Mr. Ewing.
Ewing, William L., mayor of St. Louis, was born in St. Louis, March 16, 1843. He had every advantage that birth and con- dition could bring, his father, William L. Ew- ing, having been a prosperous merchant and influential citizen, and his mother a Berthold, connected with some of the old families of that city. He was thoroughly educated at the
Christian Brothers' College in St. Louis, and in 1877 was chosen a member of the House of Delegates at the first election under the Scheme and Charter. He was made speaker of the House, and showed such an interest in. and capacity for municipal affairs that in 1881 he was elected mayor, serving a four years' term with distinction, and retiring to private life, taking with him the respect and confi- dence of the people of the city.
Ewing, William Nathaniel, national bank examiner, was born August 13, 1842, near Keytesville, Chariton County, Missouri, son of Nathaniel and Tabitha Price (Ed- gar) Ewing, both natives of Prince Edward County, Virginia. The Ewing family was one of the most prominent in Virginia, and many of its members were men of ability and great force of character. Colonel James Ew- ing served honorably in the war with Great Britain in 1812; his brother Nathaniel was an Indiana pioneer, and became a leading citizen of Vincennes; a paternal uncle was the Rev. John Ewing, an eminent divine of Philadelphia, the first Presbyterian pastor in that city, and one of the founders of Prince- ton College ; a cousin, the Rev. Finis Ewing, was the founder of the Cumberland Presby- terian Church, and another cousin, Thomas M., was secretary of the treasury under Pres- ident Van Buren, and foster-father of Senator John Sherman and General William T. Sher- man. In 1833 Colonel Ewing removed with his family to Chariton County, Missouri, in company with General Sterling Price; the Ewing and Price families were neighbors in Virginia, and they made homes adjoining each other in Missouri. Colonel Ewing died in 1857. His son, Nathaniel, managed a large farm until his death, in 1845. William N. Ewing began his education in the country schools in the home neighborhood, and after- ward took an advanced course in Central College, at Fayette, Missouri. He was about to enter the University of Virginia, with his intimate companion, Celsus Price, son of General Sterling Price, when the Civil War began. He at once entered Colonel Edwin Price's Regiment of Missouri State Guards, with the rank of lieutenant. The fall before the battle of Elk Horn Tavern, Colonel Price was promoted to be brigadier general, and Lieutenant Ewing became aide-de-camp upon his staff, with the rank of major. In
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1865 he went to New York City and became interested in financial affairs on Wall Street for Thomas P. Akers. He there acquired business habits and a broad knowledge of monetary affairs which prepared him for suc- cessful dealing with large concerns in after years. In 1869 he returned to Missouri, and for two years resided upon the home farm. In 1871 he took up his residence in Topeka, Kansas, and took a leading part in connec- tion with C. O. Godfrey in developing the then untouched coal lands in Kansas, fol- lowing the line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway as its building progressed from Topeka westward, and opening mines at various eligible points. In 1874 he had en- tire charge of the coal business under T. J. Peter, builder and manager of the Santa Fe Railway lines into Colorado, and to Wichita, Kansas, and was his confidential assistant. Major Ewing was thus engaged, also man- aging extensive coal yards in Kansas City and elsewhere, until 1878, when he went to the San Juan mining region, in Colorado, to take charge of mining interests, intermit- ting in the winter to manage his coal busi- ness. During previous years he critically studied the various grades of coal in differ- ent localities, and became an expert in de- termining their respective values. These investigations led him to an earnest study of metallurgy in Colorado, and he learned by practical experiment the proper methods for the treatment of ores, his labors finally culminating in the establishment of the great smelting industry near Kansas City. He had discovered the difficulty of procuring near the silver mines the fluxes necessary for economical and profitable ore separation, and other embarrassments were found in the great distance of coal carriage and the re- moteness of foundries and machine shops. His works were nearly 200 miles from a rail- way, and at a critical moment the breakage of a wheel costing but $5 at the foundry involved an expense of about $5,000 in loss, trans- portation charges and delay. These condi- tions led him to seek an eligible point for the establishment of smelting works, where an abundant fuel supply was immediately ac- cessible, and nearer to the great consuming manufacturers. In 1880 he visited Kansas City, where he interested several capitalists. Principal among these was Colonel Kersey Coates, in whom he found an earnest and
useful ally, and it was primarily through his aid that the Kansas City Smelting and Re- fining Company was organized in March of the same year. Upon Major Ewing devoived the practical work attending the inauguration of the enterprise, while at the same time he found it continually necessary to reassure and encourage the timid among his colleagues, who feared the outcome of an undertaking which had no precedent. At the outset the capital stock was $50,000, of which he con- tributed one-fourth. He located the works at Argentine, and gave the name to the place, deriving it from the Latin word "Ar- gentum," equivalent to the English word "sil- ver." The location was on twenty acres of land, two and three-fourths miles from Kan- sas City, within the State of Kansas. The original plant had a daily smelting capacity of twenty-five tons, and a refining capacity of ten tons. The railway builders deemed the site inaccessible, on account of the broken ground surrounding it, and he took charge and successfully superintended the construc- tion of switches to it, in spite of what had been pronounced insurmountable obstacles at that time. The capital had been exhausted in erecting the plant, and the success of the enterprise was problematical. At this crisis, with letters of credit amounting to $250,000, Major Ewing went to the silver regions to purchase ore. At Leadville he met the of- ficers of La Plata Mining and Smelting Com- pany, who were seeking an outlet for a large ore product. He induced them to visit Kan- sas City, with the result of their investing $100,000 in the Kansas City Smelting and Refining Company, enabling the manage- ment to enlarge its works and materially in- crease its capacity. In 1882 Major Ewing re- tired from the company ; during the first two years he served as vice president and gen- eral manager of the company; he then be- came secretary and occupied that position at the time of his retirement. For some years afterward he was engaged in cattle, loan and real estate transactions, and suffered con- siderable impairment of forture in the re- action following the unprecedented real es- tate "boomn" in Kansas City, but without diminution of his energy or enterprise. He was one of the foremost in many important undertakings, and was instrumental in bring- ing to the city many progressive people, and considerable active capital. He founded the
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town of Birmingham, and brought to that place the St. Louis Car Works, and was one of the projectors of the Merchants' Exchange building, and one of its earliest stockholders. In 1893, under the administration of Presi- dent Cleveland, he was appointed a national bank examiner for Kansas and Indian Ter- ritory. His services in that highly responsi- ble position were so eminently satisfactory to the treasury department that notwith- standing subsequent changes of administra- tion, his appointment stands unrevoked to the present day; he has, however, been re- lieved from the active list, and for one and one-half years past has been assigned to spe- cial duty, no less important, but involving less personal inconvenience in constant trav- el. His labors were particularly arduous during the financial panic of 1893, when many banks suspended, or were closed as the re- sult of investigation. He took charge of the Wichita (Kansas) National Bank, and was appointed temporary and then permanent re- ceiver ; although it was believed by the pub- lic that the bank would not pay more than twenty cents on the dollar, in three years he liquidated its affairs and returned to the depositors their full claims. He successfully managed the affairs of the suspended First National Bank of Cherryvale, Kansas, paid its depositors in full, and returned the bank to its stockholders with one-third of their reserve fund intact. In March, 1900, he was appointed receiver of the Metropolitan Na- tional Bank, Kansas City, Missouri, and is now engaged in the work of liquidation. He is a Democrat in politics ; in 1896 he acted with the gold wing of his party. He was a charter member in the organization of the Kansas City club. In Masonry he has at- tained to the commandery degrees, being a charter member of the Oriental Commandery of Kansas City. Major Ewing was married May 19, 1869, to Miss Mary Rusella Duval, daughter of the Rev. James Duval, of Rich- mond, Missouri, an eminent Baptist divine, held in great reverence throughout central and western Missouri; her mother was of the well known Russell family, of Winchester, Virginia. Mrs. Ewing, a highly cultivated lady, was educated at the Baptist Female Col- lege, at Lexington, and Clay Female Semi- nary, at Liberty.
Excelsior Springs .- A city in Clay County, fifteen miles northeast of Liberty,
the county seat. It is picturesquely situated in the Fishing River Valley, and is reached by the Kansas City, Excelsior Springs & North- ern Railway, connecting with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway just beyond the northwestern limits of the city, and with the Wabash Railway nine miles southeast. The city is well drained, and is provided with water distributed by works supplied from Fishing River; the pressure is ample for fire protection. Public and private illumination is afforded by water-gas. Seven of the princi- pal streets are macadamized, and the princi- pal blocks are paved with brick. There are two substantial public school buildings, and a high school course is maintained. Haynes' Academy provides higher instruction for both sexes. There are churches of the Baptist, Catholic, Christian, Christian Union and Methodist Episcopal denominations, and a Presbyterian congregation exists, but without a church home. The Clay County State Bank is the only banking house ; its capital is $10,- 000. Newspapers are the "Journal" and the "Standard," both weekly and Democratic, and the "Daily Call," the only Republican paper in the county. The "Witness Herald" is a weekly published in the interests of the Churches of Christ in Christian Union. There are three excellent hotels and a fourth hotel is in course of construction ; numerous smaller houses assist in providing for the sojourners, who come in large numbers dur- ing the summer months. The Music Hall Bathhouse contains a large swimming pool, and provides all descriptions of baths from the waters of the various medicinal springs. The Excelsior Springs Commercial Club is an organization formed, in 1900, to promote the interests of the city, through its own methods, and in co-operation with the municipal authorities. There are active bodies of Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, Modern Woodmen, the Fraternal Home, the Knights and Ladies of Security, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1900 the popula- tion of the city was estimated at 2,500. The town was laid out in 1880 by A. W. Wyman and Dr. J. V. B. Flack. July 12, 1882, Excelsior Springs was incorporated as a city of the fourth class, with the following offi- cers: E. Smith, mayor; J. C. Dickey, clerk ; N. L. Rice, J. C. Dickey, P. G. Holt and L. W. Garrett, aldermen; J. D. Halferty, mar-
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