USA > Missouri > Macon County > General history of Macon County, Missouri > Part 49
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After the war he again took up his residence in Ohio, having moved to that state before lie enlisted, and resumed work at his trade. He remained in Ohio until 1878, and during his residence there served as postmaster at Garden, in Athens county, four years, then resigned the office. He also served as a justice of the peace there for a period of five years. He came to this state in 1878 and located in Macon county. Here he determined to follow a new line of enterprise and devoted himself to contraeting and building until 1905, when the weight of years induced him to retire from active pursuits and enjoy for the remainder of his days a much-needed and well-earned rest. He has sinee dwelt at Elmer in peace and comfort, and is entitled to the pleasure which springs from the retrospeet of a well-spent life and fidelity in the performance of every duty.
IIis political faith is given to the Republican party and he has at all times rendered it loyal support and effective service. In 1884 he was elected a justice of the peace and has been re-elected at the end of his every term since then. In 1906 he was also commissioned a notary
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publie and he is still available for service in that capacity. He was also a member of the school board of Elmer for four years. It is manitest that wherever he has lived he has been deeply interested in the welfare of the people around him and willing to do whatever he could to pro- mote it. He sprang to the defense of his country when war spread ter- ror and devastation through the land, and in times of peaceful industry he has helped to build up and develop with the same sturdy sense of duty and persistent industry that characterized his course in the army. In the latter, it should be stated, he rose to the rank of lieutenant in his company, reaching the distinction through merit and as a reward for conspicnous gallantry.
In 1861 Mr. Patterson was united in marriage with Miss Orphea J. Buck, a native of Ohio. They had six children, five of whom are living: James E., who resides in Elmer; Cora M., the wife of L. L. Shoemaker, of Adair county, Missouri; Herbert B., and Elmer U., whose homes are in Washington, and Myrtle, the wife of W. F. Bunch, of Elmer. Their mother died in 1901. The father is a leading mem- ber of the Universalist church and always active in the promotion of the best interests of the congregation to which he belongs. In his case the sands of life are necessarily running low-the plow is nearing the end of the furrow. But the current of the sands has been a clean and bright one and the furrow is straight. Mr. Patterson has rendered his full service to his kind in his day and generation, and now there is none among those who know him that does not call him worthy and revere him as an excellent citizen and highly estimable man.
HEMMIT DALE.
For more than fifty years this highly respected and influential business man and citizen has experienced the ups and downs of life in Macon county, Missouri, where he was born on December 15, 1858. and through all his varied experiences he has kept up a brave front and encountered fate with a resolute spirit and unconquerable deter- mination. But fate has never had much the best of him, for his qualities of head and heart, of mind and character are such that he has always commanded the situation and been able to bid defiance to circumstances.
Mr. Dale is a son of William J. and Sarah (Adams) Dale, also natives of this county, the father being long one of the best known merchants in the county. The paternal grandfather, Abraham Dale, was born and reared in Kentucky. He came to Missouri in 1831 or 1832, making the journey overland by team, the only means of transportation into the wilds of this region in those days, and located on a tract
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of government land five miles east of the present town of Elmer. He was one of the first settlers in that portion of the county, and his train- ing as a woodsman and frontiersman in Kentucky stood him in good stead in his new home, for he had to encounter all the dangers and endure all the hardships and privations of frontier life there for many years. He converted his wild land into a good and fruitful farm and made of it a comfortable and valuable rural home, passed all his remaining years on it and finally died there at a good old age. He was the father of three sons and nine daughters. Two of the sons and three of the daughters are still living, and are among the most respected citi- zens of the communities in which they have their homes.
William J. Dale, the father of Hemmit, was reared to manhood in this county and secured a limited education at the country schools of his boyhood and youth. They were primitive and their scope was wholly elementary, and his opportunities for attending them were meager and irregular. But he made what use he could of his chances and obtained a fair degree of preparation for the battle of life, on which he entered for himself at an early age. After leaving school he learned the carpenter trade and for some years worked at that and farming with some degree of profit and prosperity. He then engaged in business at Old Bloomington for a number of years, and it was at this period that his son, Hemmit, was born in that historie old town. From Old Bloom- ington the family moved to Macon, where the father resumed work at his trade for a time. In 1884 he again engaged in business, locating his enterprise at Barnesville, where he conducted it for a period of two years. At the end of that period he moved it to Mereyville, and for a number of years was one of the leading merchants of that place. He is now living retired from active pursuits at Elmer. His wife died in 1862. At that time he was a soldier in the Confederate army under General Price, with whose command he served two years. The religious connection of the family has long been with the Baptist church, and succeeding generations of it have been active and zealous members of that religious organization.
Hemmit Dale grew to manhood in Macon county and was educated in its schools. After leaving school lie elerked in a store some years, then moved to Springfield, Greene county. Later he was employed as a traveling salesman for three years, and in 1887 located at Merey- ville and joined his father in business, the firm name being W. J. Dale & Son. They were associated in the enterprise twenty years, but in 1889 moved their stock to Elmer, where Hemmit is still conducting the business in company with Mr. Patterson and under the firm name of
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Dale & Patterson. Their store is large, well stocked and vigorously managed, and their trade is very active. They have one of the leading mercantile marts in this part of the state.
Mr. Dale was one of the founders of the Exchange Bank of Elmer and is now its vice-president. He owns farms in Adair county and near Chandler in Clay county, his holdings of farm property being very extensive. All he has in worldly wealth he has acquired by his own industry, thrift and ability, and he has no special favors of Fortune or adventitious circumstances to thank for any of it. He has made his own way in the world and every step of his progress has been through or over difficulties, but he has shown the qualities that win and that would have brought him success under almost any circumstances. In politics he is a Democrat, with an abiding and serviceable interest in the welfare of his party, but he has never sought or desired a political office of any kind. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic order and the Order of Odd Fellows, and in religion is a member of Mission- ary Baptist church. He is now among the oldest merchants in the county and has a reputation for uprightness and progressiveness in business that places him in the first rank of the business men in North- eastern Missouri. In 1887 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Boyd, a native of Ralls county, Missouri. They have four children, Alma C., William Donald, Edgar L. and Abraham C. The whole fam- ily is held in high esteem by the people of Macon county and through- out a large portion of the surrounding country, and the regard and good will bestowed upon its members is well deserved, for they meet all the requirements of citizenship with a faithful sense of duty.
V
EUGENE SHOUSH.
Having tried his hand at many lines of effort and succeeded in all, Eugene Shoush, one of the most prominent and influential citizens of Macon has fully justified the regard in which he is held as one of the most resourceful, successful and capable men in the county. Farming, mining, merchandising, traveling as a salesman and the real estate busi- ness have all engaged his faculties at different times, and all paid lib- eral tribute to his shrewdness, industry and unusual ability. Moreover, he has dignified every field of endeavor in which he has labored by the high tone and breadth of view that have characterized all his operations.
Mr. Shonsh was born in Macon county in 1863 and is a son and the only child of Richard and Martha (Rowland) Shoush, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of this state. They were married in 1858 and the father died when the son was but six weeks old. The
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mother married again and by the second marriage had one son and two daughters. She is still living, and bountifully blessed with good health and the esteem of all who know her. The Shoush family was long domesticated in Kentucky, and aided in the development of that great state from its condition of primeval wilderness to one of influen- tial poteney in the industrial, commercial and political life of the coun- try. When the father of Eugene was yet only a boy the family came to Missouri and settled in Macon county. Here he grew to manhood and took his place in the activities around him, beginning what promised to be a very successful career, when death ended his labors soon after the dawn of his manhood.
Eugene Shoush obtained his education and reached his maturity in this county. He began the battle of life for himself by working in the mines near Corbin in winter and farming in summer. The work was hard and the returns from it were small. But the ambitious soul within the toiler looked upon the conditions only as stepping stones to higher pursuits and better results, and he patiently toiled on for a period of four years, continuing his dual occupation during that period and then devoting his time principally to farming until 1891. He then made an opening for himself in the mercantile world, and for a number of years flourished and gained financial strength and standing as a merchant.
At the end of a successful career in merchandising, which lasted eight years, he became general traveling representative for the Stude- baker Brothers, of South Bend, Indiana, whose renown as manufactur- ers of high grade wagons and other road vehicles is worldwide, his territory being the whole state of Iowa. He was connected with this firm in the capacity named from 1899 to 1902. By that time he felt that it would be better for him to be working wholly for himself and building up a trade of his own. He therefore turned his attention, in the year last mentioned, to the real estate trade, and during the next seven years he was one of its leaders in this part of the state. Ile was very attentive to his business and exhibited very unusual capacity in conducting it, becoming one of the best known and most successful real estate men in Northeastern Missouri and an acknowledged authority on all subjects connected with the purchase and sale of property.
His active mind and all-conquering energy were still on the search for other fields of enterprise, and in March, 1909, he once more looked with kindly eyes on his early occupation of mining. Not this time, however, as a mere delver under the ground, but as a prospector and mine owner. He became possessed of claims in Gilpin county. Colorado, and at onee proceeded to put forces in motion to develop them. The
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results have justified his highest hopes, the mine turning ont to be fruitful and one of the most satisfactory yielders of the rich mining region in which it is located. This mining company, of which he is president and general manager, was incorporated December 1, 1909, for $1,000,000.
It is not to be supposed that Mr. Shoush's success in all his ventures is due to luck or propitions eireumstances. It is the logical product of a close study of conditions, excellent judgment in making choice, and rare ability in the use of opportunities. He seems at times to have the hand of Midas, which turned everything it touched to gold. But he lacks that unhappy creature's sordidness, and uses his acquisitions and the power and influence they have brought him for the substantial benefit of the people around him and the progress and improvement of the eounty and state in which he lives. He is as enterprising and elear- sighted with reference to public improvements as he is in his own business, and has, in a marked degree, a good citizen's cordial and productive interest in the welfare of the world immediately around him. In addition to his holdings in Colorado he is interested in the Sherman-Macon Mining Company and owns and operates extensive traets of farm lands. The products of all his interests help to swell the volume of wealth and augment the industrial and commercial energies of Macon county and the state; and his publie spirit and pro- gressiveness aid greatly in elevating the civie, moral and intellectual standard of the people and promoting the comfort, extending the eon- veniences and increasing the enjoyment of all who come in contaet with them, or have a share in their benefits.
In political faith Mr. Shoush is a Republican, but he is by no means a narrow or hide-bound partisan. His first consideration in the exer- cise of his suffrage and in all his activity with reference to public affairs is the welfare of the people and the advancement of their interests, all partisan elaims coming afterward, if they come at all. His fraternal feelings find vent in his connection with the order of Woodmen of the World, and his religious affiliation is with the Presbyterian church. He was married in 1883 to Miss Hannah Gee, who was born and reared in this county. They have four children : Walter A., a prosperous real estate dealer at Clarence, Shelby county, Missouri ; Ida May, the wife of F. M. Patton, who is engaged in railroading; Frank W., a member of the United States Marine Guards in the Philippine Islands; and Earl, who is still living at home with his parents and preparing him- self for a business career. The family is highly respected throughout
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this county and in many other localities, and every member of it justifies the esteem in which it is held.
EDWARD SEWARD JONES.
Although he has been a member of the bar less than five years, the barque which bears the professional hopes of Edward Seward Jones, of Macon, is far enough from shore to have shown her sailing qualities and to attract admiring attention from all observers by the grace, vigor and steadiness of her progress. But Mr. Jones' place in the esteem of those who know him and the confidence and good opinion of the general public is not due wholly to his success and ability as a lawyer. His capacity for business, official duties and the requirements of ele- vated, enterprising and progressive citizenship have been amply demon- strated in other lines of effort before he came to the bar, and his repu- tation as a man of parts and high promise was well established by his energy and success in other undertakings not connected with his pro- fession. What he has gained in standing and public esteem by his pro- fessional career has served mainly to confirm the judgment previously passed upon him and justify the faith in him already felt and expressed.
Mr. Jones is a native of Macon county and was born on October 8, 1872. His father, Robert N. Jones, was born in North Wales in 1833, and was educated in his native land. In 1852, when he was but nine- teen years old, he came to the United States and located in the state of New York, where he engaged in farming for a few years. He felt the great West calling him to its service, however, and moved to Wis- consin. Soon afterwards the fever and excitement over the gold dis- coveries in Idaho became epidemic in parts of the country, and Mr. Jones was one of its early victims. He proceeded to the region of hope and promise, making a long and tedious journey across the plains to reach it, and found plenty of work for his hands, if not gold in his dig- ging's, to fill them, and he helped to put up some of the first buildings erected in what is now the flourishing and progressive city of Boise and the capital of the state.
In 1864 he turned his face eastward and came to Macon county, taking up his residence at Bevier, where he followed mining during the winters and farming in summer for many years. He is now living retired from active work and has his home in Bevier amid the scenes of his long years of profitable and productive industry. He has always taken an active part in political contests as a Democrat, and to the improvement and substantial progress of the community of his home has contributed his full share of stimulus by his own active assistance
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and the spirit of emulation awakened in others by the force of his example. He was married in 1861 to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Owen, the marriage taking place at Dodgeville, Wisconsin, where she was living at the time, although she was born in the state of New York. All of the six children born to them are living. They are: William Owen; Minnie, the widow of the late D. M. Elias, state mining inspector of Wyoming, who was killed in 1908 by an explosion in a mine; Elizabeth, the wife of Benjamin R. Evans, of Bevier, who is engaged in mining; Anna, the wife of J. M. Thomas, a resident of Seattle, Washington; Edward S., the subject of this sketch and present prosecuting attorney of Macon county ; and Edith, the wife of Charles Peters, who is also a resident of Seattle.
Edward S. Jones grew to manhood in this county and obtained his academie training in the public schools of Maeon in part, and in part at the Kirksville Normal School and the State University at Columbia. In 1899 he was appointed principal of the publie school at Bevier, and in 1901 was chosen superintendent of the publie schools of that city for a term of two years. While in this position he began the study of law, and he continued his preparation for the profession at the Missouri University Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1905. After admission to the bar he opened an office at Bevier and practiced there for three years. In 1907 he was elected city attorney of Bevier, filling the office until his removal to Maeon in 1908. In the autumn of that year he was elected proseenting attorney of the county, and he has since been discharging the duties of this important and responsible position with decided credit to himself and benefit to the county, and greatly to the satisfaction of the people.
In politieal relations Mr. Jones is connected with the Democratie party, in the service of which he is both a valiant soldier in the field and an excellent adviser in council. He is active and energetic, and his work for the organization, which is always effective, is highly appreciated by its leaders and all their followers throughont the county. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic order in both bhie lodge Masonry and its adjunct, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is attentive to the needs of all his lodges, interested in their progress and well being, and energetie in their service. Mr. Jones is now but thirty-seven years old. He has attained to high rank in his profession, influence in public affairs, an excellent social position and general public esteem. He is alert, studions and progressive. All his gains are permanent and the means to further advancement. His ideals are lofty and his industry is systematic and
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
productive. With his merit, which is manifest, his ambition, which is landable, and his ability, which is everywhere acknowledged, he is destined to become one of the leading men of the state.
He was married June 16, 1908, to Harriet Ellen Johnson, of War- rensburg, daughter of T. J. Johnson and a niece of Judge Robert Boyd, of Kentucky. She was born near London, Kentucky, and came with her parents to Missouri. When a child, the family settled at War- rensburg, Johnson county, where the father still resides. Mrs. Jones was educated at Warrensburg State Normal and Missouri State University. V
ANDREW J. BROWN.
This prominent and prosperous farmer of Macon county, whose home is in Round Grove township, is a native of Mercer county, Ken- tucky, where he was born on February 28, 1846, and came to Missouri with his parents when he was but four years old. Practically the whole of his life to this time has been passed in this state, and he has no recollection of any other, or rather only an indistinct one, although many of the incidents of the long and trying journey across the country, from his home of his infancy to that of his boyhood, youth and mature life, are deeply impressed on his memory.
Mr. Brown is a son of George and Mary (Cole) Brown, both born and reared in Kentucky, where they were married also. The father was born in the same county as the son, and came into being there in 1799. He was reared as other backwoods boys were, and like most of them, took his place in the rough scenes and trying labors of pioneer life at an early age. He learned the baker's trade, which he followed a short time, then served in the U. S. army about one year-1814, and later worked on the river, boating, making one trip to Missouri in 1820, remaining one year in Howard county. In 1850, when he concluded to try his hand in a newer country, and became a resident of Missouri, loeating in Macon county. He gathered his household goods together and embarked on the long, wearying and hazardous jaunt overland to the region beyond the Mississippi from his former home, ready to brave its perils and endure its privations and hardships, and stimulated to greater ardor in the undertaking by the hope of good results from his venture. The story of such trips from civilization to the semi-barbarous frontier has often been told, and the experience is now only a memory among our people. But it is well to recall such adventures to attention at times in order that the hardy manhood and heroic spirit that con- qnered our western wilds from their savage denizens and made them
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ANDREW J. BROWN
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fragrant with the flowers and rich with the fruits of advancing civili- zation may be kept afresh in our minds and receive the meed of appre- ciation they so well deserve, both as examples for the present day and as evidences of the grit and determination of our forefathers.
After the arrival of the family in this county the father engaged in general farming, keeping up his industry and enlarging his oper- ations until his death in 1876. His migration to the West was a fortu- nate one for him. He was successful in his undertakings in this county, and when he died owned 200 acres of productive and well improved land. It should be stated that he did not devote the whole of his time to farm- ing before his marriage, but for a number of year prior to that event worked diligently and profitably on that boats on the Ohio river, at that time one of the leading means of freight transportation on that great water highway, and a source of considerable revenue to hosts of persons.
When the insolence of Great Britian brought on the War of 1812, Mr. Brown was one of the first to volunteer in the contest in defense of our country, although at the time he was but a boy of thirteen years of age. He remained with the army until victory crowned our efforts and gave us the same freedom and independence on the high seas that the successful results of the Revolution had given us on the land, and increased the glory of our citizen soldiery throughout the world.
Mr. Brown, the elder, was married twice. His first wife was Miss Sarah Cole before her marriage, and she was, like her husband, a native of Kentucky. They had nine children, four of whom are living: Almira, now the wife of Jackson Stratton, of Mercer county, Kentucky; Samuel P. and George W., residents of Macon county; Margaret, the wife of Isaac Mayo, of Arkansas, and Robert, who also lives in Macon county. The mother of these children died in 1841, and in 1843 Mr. Brown was married to her sister, Mary Cole. By this mion he became the father of two children, Andrew J. being the only one of the two now living. In political allegiance the father was a life-long Democrat and on all occa- sions rendered good service to his party, although he never sought office for himself.
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