USA > Missouri > Macon County > General history of Macon County, Missouri > Part 60
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After obtaining the limited schooling for which he had opportunity, he entered the store of his father as a clerk and salesman, and in that capacity he worked for him until 1902. He then became a partner in the business, and he has ever since been connected with it in this way, gradually assuming the management of it, as that was left to him by his associate. Under his direction it has grown to larger and larger proportions until it is one of the leaders in its line in this part of the state. The firm deals extensively in lumber and furniture and car- ries on a considerable business in undertaking. Its operations are con- dueted on a large scale, but every detail of the business is known to him and every transaction passes under his direct personal supervision. He has proven himself to be a business man of first-rate capacity, a man of uprightness and character in every relation of life and a stimulating and directing force in the matter of developing and improving the city and county in which he lives. He is accordingly held in high esteem
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as a citizen and his advice is given great weight in matters of business and in connection with local public affairs.
His political faith is fixed in the principles and policies of the Demo- cratie party, but he is in no sense an office-seeker, although he gives his time and energy freely in aid of the aspirations of his party friends and the desires of the organization to which they and he belong. His work is, however, that of a layman and he has no desire to give it any other character. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pyth- ias and the Modern Woodmen of America. In the proceedings and undertakings of these orders he takes an earnest interest and to their purposes he gives the benefit of his counsel and his active assistance.
In May, 1906, he was married to Miss Bernice Henderson, a native of Callao, in this county. They have one child, their daughter, Juanita, now (1909) two years of age. The parents have a pleasant home in Callao at which their numerous friends gather for social enjoyment and at which they always find a full measure of generous and consider- ate hospitality. Mr. and Mrs. Bricker are themselves prime favorites in the best social circles and always to be found zealons in support of all good work for the elevation of the community or the comfort and convenience of its people.
JOHN L. WILLIAMS.
If the man who makes two blades of grass grow where one grew before is to be accounted a public benefactor, who shall deny the same title to the man who introduces a new material product and makes it of substantial and lasting service to mankind? John L. Williams, of Bevier, this county, and his father are entitled to the rank and distinc- tion named if any of the citizens of this county are. For they were the first to introduce and make serviceable in that community and the whole of northern Missouri the material known as granitoid, which is now recognized as one of our most valuable building substances, as it is one of the most obedient to the skilful hand of art in use.
Mr. Williams was born at Kewanee, Illinois, on July 14, 1868, but was reared and educated in Pennsylvania. His opportunities for scho- lastic training embraced nothing beyond the curriculum of the public schools, but he made good use of them and acquired a considerable fund of elementary scholarship, which his subsequent experience las expanded into an intellectual capital of extensive general information. After leaving school he came to Bevier and engaged in mining for a period of eight years. During the next thirteen years he was employed in railroading on the Burlington system. But his eyes were always
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open and his mind was ever hospitable, so that when a new opportunity came to him in the way of usefulness to the world and advantage to himself he was ready to seize and utilize it. Perhaps he did not see in it all that was involved, so often does fate play hide and seek with us. But, at any rate, he took advantage of it, and the result is to be found in all his subsequent achievements.
In 1892 he became a partner of his father in the use of granitoid as a choice substance for works of construction, and two years later began operations in the same line on his own account. Since then he has been the builder of 90 per cent of the cement honses, sidewalks and other structures in Bevier township, and of many in other places. The most notable of the buildings erected by him of this material are the chapel of the Latter Day Saints, the Thomas Nisbeth block, the Jones building, the State Bank building and the Sulphur Creek bridge, and they all stand to his credit as lasting monuments to the value of the material he employed in constructing them and his skill and ability in the use of it.
He is still carrying on extensively in this line of activity, and, in addition, he conducts a book and music store which meets a want in the community that is widespread and insistent. The store is managed with the same enterprise and good judgment that characterizes him in all his other operations and is strictly up to date in every particular. For Mr. Williams is a man who compels everything he puts his hand to to yield up the utmost of what it contains for the furtherance of the purposes he has in mind.
In politics he is independent, but always energetic and serviceable to the great good of the community. He served as a member of the board of education for three years, and while doing so was instrumental in seenring the erection of the new schoolhouse. In 1907 he was elected police judge of Bevier, and so acceptable were his services in this capacity that he was re-elected in 1909. He was also the first city asses- sor of Bevier. In the fraternal life of his section he has taken an active and serviceable part as a member of the Masonie order, the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
WILLIAM S. THOMAS.
Although still in the advancing stage of his manhood, not yet hav- ing reached the age of forty years, William S. Thomas, of Bevier, has already won a decided triumph and an enviable place for himself in the business world, as he is now recognized as one of the leading and
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
most enterprising merchants of the town in which his successful operations are conducted.
Mr. Thomas was born in Bevier in 1872, and was reared and edu- cated there. At the age of sixteen he took up the burden of life for himself by entering the mining industry and submitting cheerfully to its hardships and exactions. He continued mining for a period of six years, then farmed two years. At the age of twenty-four he entered his father's mercantile establishment as an employe and with the view of learning the business. He devoted himself to its duties and the study of its requirements with assiduous industry and soon became master of the business in all its phases and details.
After an apprenticeship of eight years, in 1908 he bought his father out and started on a business career of his own. in connection with his brother, T. D. Thomas, Jr. They have since been very suc- cessful, giving all their time and energies to the management of the interests they have in charge, and studying their trade with elose and intelligent observation of all its needs and possibilities. Their store is now the largest of its kind in Bevier and does a very extensive busi- ness. But it has not yet reached its full development, for the gentle- men in charge of it are far-seeing and progressive, and are ever on the lookout for new opportunities and larger undertakings. They leave no stone unturned, no effort untried, to meet the wants of the commu- nity and keep their establishment up to date in every particular. And their enterprise is rewarded by a steadily increasing patronage for their business and a steady rise in rank for themselves as merchants.
Mr. Thomas is a Republican in politics, but he is not an active par- tisan and never follows his party where he deems it to be wrong. The welfare of the community and the good of the people are the first con- siderations with him in political affairs and the demands of party come afterward. He always prefers to vote for good men for public office rather than to aid in upholding the banner of any organization, political or otherwise. Office for himself he has never sought or cared for, deem- ing it best and enough that he serve the state from the honorable post of private station. Yet his fitness to direct the affairs of the community was so manifest and his independence and integrity were so well known that in 1905 the people of his ward ignored his aversion to publie office and elected him alderman, and the manner in which he performed the duties of the office gave them abundant justification for their faith in him and the action to which it led them in electing him. His religious alliance is with the First Baptist chinreli and his fraternal connection with the Knights of Pythias.
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Mr. Thomas was united in marriage in 1896 with Miss Emma Taylor, of Callao, in this county. They have one child, their son, Will- iam Ray, who is now ten years old. A leading and representative citi- zen, a successful and progressive merchant, a potential factor in the moral, intellectual and social life of the city and county, the father is justly held in the highest esteem, and with his age and vigor in his favor and all his faculties awake to every opportunity and alert to seize every chance for advancement, his future should be filled with great achievement and his life finally crowned with the guerdon of full and unblemished success.
WILLIAM H. SEARS.
That the law is a jealous mistress is an aphorism that has both the sanction of age and the testimony of human experience in evidence of its truth. The profession is one of the most extensive in its range and the variety of subjects with which it deals that is known among men. And it requires of its students and practitioners who seek to reach its upper courts and dwell in its elevated places an assiduity of devo- tion and constancy of effort that scarcely admits a rival of any char- acter whatever. But the divinity which presides over it is also a gen- erous one. She rewards her worshipers with a liberality proportioned to their ability, zeal and devotion.
A striking illustration of this is to be found in the life story of the late William H. Sears, of Macon, whose death on April 5, 1908, at the age of sixty and in the full vigor of his intellectual powers, was uni- versally regretted in the community which had for so long a period enjoyed the benefit of his professional services and his high example as a citizen. He worshiped at the shrine of Themis with the zeal of a devotee, and she poured out upon him with unstinted hand exalted rank in his profession, eminence in public life and general esteem as an upright, able and most worthy man.
Mr. Sears was a native of this county, where he was born on August 8, 1848, near the village of Callao. He began his academic training at the old Bloomington school and completed it at the Kirks- ville Normal. After leaving the latter institution he clerked during a number of years for the firm of Goldsberger & Beleher, general mer- chants, and while elerking in this establishment studied law in his spare hours. He was not able to secure for himself the benefit of sys- tematic training for his profession at a law school, but was dependent on his own reading and reflection for his preliminary preparation, and possibly it was all the more thorough on that account. At any rate, he
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
was well prepared, and when the time came for his admission to the bar he went through the necessary ordeal in a manner that was alike creditable to him and full of promise for his future career. This occurred in 1869, and in 1872 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the county. He performed the duties of the office with great ability during his whole tenure of it, and all the while was rising rapidly toward the summit of the profession in this part of the state. His progress was steady to the end of his career, and when he died he was generally acknowledged as the equal of any lawyer in the state and the superior of most of them.
From the very nature of his mind and manhood it was inevitable that he should take a deep and abiding interest in public affairs. He was earnestly loyal to the genius of American institutions and a gov- ernment of the people by the people, and he felt it his duty to do all in his power to defend what he believed in, from all assaults, and promote its welfare and augment its force by every capability at his command. He was an ardent Democrat in politics, and as a firm believer in the principles of his party he gave it his most earnest and effective support at all times. In doing this, as well as in his legal practice, he demonstrated a decided fitness for public life and a commanding ability for and knowledge of public affairs. The people of an American community are not slow, at most times, to recognize ability to serve them in a representative capacity or seek to avail themselves of it, in spite of all that has been said of the way in which election to office in this country goes by favor and the dispensation of political masters.
It was so in the case of Mr. Sears. In 1886, not through the favor of political bosses or any kind of forced methods, but solely on account of his eminent ability, his ardent patriotism and his great knowledge of public affairs, he was elected to fill the unexpired term of Hon. Will- iam Van Cleve as state senator, and at the expiration of this was re-elected for a full term of his own. In the upper house of the state legislature he proved himself altogether worthy of the confidence and popularity which had chosen him to the office he held. He was one of the leading members of the senate and took a prominent part in all its important proceedings, ranking as one of the most judicious advisers, one of the readiest and most resourceful debaters, and one of the firm- est and best informed patriots in the body. After the close of his senatorial service he was again elected prosecuting attorney. For many years he was also attorney for the Wabash railroad company
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and looked after its interests with a zeal and ability that won him high commendation from the officers of the company.
On October 12, 1876, he united in marriage with Miss Jennie Thatcher, a native of Schuyler county, in this state, the nuptials being solemnized in Atchison, Kansas. They had two children, their sons, Charles T. and William C., sketches of whom appear elsewhere in this work. The father was a member of the Masonic order and filled the chair of Worshipful Master of his lodge several terms. He took a cor- dial interest in the welfare of the fraternity, and even in the times of his most exacting duties, publie or professional, never hesitated to mingle in its assemblies and give them the benefit of his counsel and the stimulus of his example. In all the relations of life he exem- plified the attributes of the best American citizenship.
JESSE E. HYATT, D. O.
The school of medicine, or medical treatment, known as osteopathy, like everything else in science or discovery that has unsettled long- established beliefs or given old traditions a jolt, has had to fight its way into popular confidence and favor over great and bitter opposition. But it has won its fight and is now firmly fixed in the esteem of the people as one of the beneficent agencies for the good of mankind, and legislators no longer sneer when it asks at their hands a legal existence and the right to exercise its helpful functions.
The contest it has had to wage was continuous and relentless for a number of years, but the unyielding faith and spirit of its advocates and the skill and ability of its practitioners have given it triumph over all obstacles and lasting hold on the credence and respect of mankind. Among those advocates and practitioners Dr. Jesse Hyatt, of Macon, has been a shining light and a tower of strength. It is he, more than any other, who has given the school standing in Macon and it is his skill and success that have aided most materially in justifying all that is claimed for the theory.
Dr. Hyatt was born in December, 1862, in Adams county. Illinois. His father, Elisha Hyatt, is a native of Somerset county, Pennsyl- vania, where his life began in 1828. He and his good wife, who has shared nearly sixty years of wedded life with him, are now residing in peace and quiet, after their long struggle, in the state of Illinois, where both are among the venerated citizens of the community in which they live. The wife's maiden name was Miss Melinda Jennings, and she was born and reared in Missouri, where the father lived before the Civil war, the wedding occurring in 1850. Not long after their marriage
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they moved to Illinois, where they continued to reside until 1878, when they returned to Missouri to remain many years. They were farmers by ocenpation and successful in the industry, attending to every duty with care and fidelity. and rearing their family of eight children with the best light they had on the subject. Six of the children are living : Mary, wife of John Byler, of Illinois; Dr. Jesse E., of Macon; Fannie. wife of Elmer James, of Oklahoma; Annie, wife of Jesse Perkins. of Missouri ; John, who is attending a medical college, and Arthur, a resi- dent of Illinois.
Dr. Jesse E. Hyatt was reared and began his education at ITunts- ville, Missouri. He attended school also at Liberty, and after leaving that town matriculated at Kirksville Osteopathic Institute, from which he was graduated in 1901. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Macon, and here he has ever since lived and labored, building up a good practice and establishing himself firmly in the regard and good will of the community as an upright, progressive and public-spirited citizen.
It should be stated as an element in his development and training for the successful professional career in which he is now engaged that. previous to studying medieine, he taught school in Macon seventeen years. This gave him a knowledge of himself and others not easily acquired in any other way, which has been a potent factor for good in his subsequent life and activity. It should also be said that he has made his way in the world wholly by his own unaided efforts, having been of very moderate means in early life, with no one but himself to depend on for his advancement.
In polities the Doctor is a Democrat, primarily, but he is not a hide-bound partisan. He always seeks to help the best man to a posi- tion in the service of the people, particularly in local affairs. He has never sought or desired official station for himself, being wedded to his profession and finding in it enough to engage all his interest and employ all his faculties and time. He was married in 1889 to Miss Mattie L. Van Sickle, a native of Macon county. They have four children, Mand, Emory, Virgie and Gracie. The father's religions affiliation is with the Universalist elmurch, and in fraternal relations he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. He has shown an intelligent interest in the enduring welfare of the community and at all times given his earnest and effective aid to every worthy undertaking designed to pro- mote it. On every hand he·is esteemed as an excellent citizen and a wise and capable professional man.
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WILLIAM CARLSON SEARS.
Among the younger business men of Macon none has a higher rank or is more entitled to respect and good will than William C. Sears, proprietor of the firm of W. C. Sears. Even in the short period of his activity in business eireles in the city he has demonstrated that he is made of sterling stuff and imbued with the proper spirit of enterprise for a bustling and progressive community like that which his citizenship aids and adorns.
Mr. Sears is a native of Macon, where he was born on September 20, 1886, a son of the late William H. and Jennie (Thatcher) Sears, and a brother of Charles T. Sears, more extended mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume. He obtained his education in the schools of his native city and immediately after leaving school began a prom- ising business career as a member of the mercantile firm of Sears & Sears, entering into partnership with his brother, with whom he is associated also in the management of theatrical work in connection with Blees' Theatre in Macon. He is sedulous in his attention to busi- ness and, while aiding in the mercantile and Thespian activities of the community, is, at the same time, building up a good reputation for himself.
In politics he adheres to the principles and policies of the Demo- cratie party, but he is not an active partisan, although zealous for the best interests of the country and its people. He does his part as a citizen with fidelity to his convictions, leaving to others the duty of steering the ship of state and caring for its cargo. On June 10, 1908, he was mar- ried to Miss Lillian English, who is, like himself, a native of the city of Macon and well known and highly esteemed by its residents.
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WILLIAM J. BIGGS.
This eminent banker and influential financial potency of La Plata has been a resident of Missouri forty-three years, and during the whole of that period has been active in lines of endeavor which minister directly to the welfare of the people and help to build up the state in its industrial, mercantile and commercial power, some of them also bearing immediately and favorably on the mental and moral agencies at work in every community. He became an orphan by the death of his parents while he was yet a youth, the father's life ending when the son was fif- teen years old and the mother's when he was seventeen. His career is, therefore, almost wholly the work of his own faculties and persistent industry in the use of inherited traits of character. For he combined
W. J. BIGGS
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in his ancestry the sturdiness of England and the enterprise and resourcefulness of this country; and, in the American portion of it, the shrewdness, thrift and self-reliance of New England, with the courtliness and chivalric manhood of the South.
Mr. Biggs was born on January 24, 1846, at Alexandria, Ohio. His grandfather on the father's side came to this country from England and located in Maryland, where John Biggs, the father of William J., was born and reared. In his young manhood he followed his father's example and sought to broaden his prospects, increase his opportunities and enhance his fortunes by starting a career for himself in a new coun- try, and he moved to Ohio, then, in large measure, still a wild domain of undeveloped possibilities. He located in Licking county, where he passed the remainder of his days industriously occupied with the devel- opment and improvement of his farm and the rearing of his children. In Ohio he met and married Miss Louise Atwood, a native of New Hampshire, and, like himself, a wanderer from her native heath, and in search of better opportunities for advancement in life. They became the parents of six children, all of whom grew to maturity and five of them are still living: Eli W., Maria L., Mary P., William J. and Delia. The father died in Ohio in 1861 and the mother in 1863, and their remains were laid to rest amid the scenes their labors had rendered more attractive in a rapidly progressing section, to whose improve- ment they had essentially contributed, and to which they had become warmly attached.
William J. Biggs reached man's estate in his native place and obtained his education in part in its district schools and in part at the Ohio. Wesleyan University. In 1866, when he was twenty years of age, he came to Missouri and found a new home in Macon county. Hc was a teacher in the public schools for a few years, then passed five as a clerk and salesman in a general store and as agent for an express com- pany. In 1876 he was made assistant cashier in the La Plata Savings Bank, and four years later, having become a stockholder and director of that institution, he was elected its cashier, a position he has held with credit to himself and benefit to the bank and its patrons ever since. In the management of the bank his policy has been enterprising and progressive, but also prudent and conservative of the interests of its stockholders, officers and depositors. Nothing in the way of approved modern banking features and methods bas escaped his atten- tion or waited long for his adoption. But no element of speculation, however promising, has entered his plans at any time, and all wildeat schemes and glittering "get-rich-quick" allurements have been turned
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