USA > Missouri > Macon County > General history of Macon County, Missouri > Part 65
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In the year 1883 was solemnized the marriage of Judge Edwards
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to Miss Hannah Davis, who, likewise, was born in Ohio, whence she came with her parents to Missouri when a child. She is a daughter of Robert J. Davis, who was long identified with mining in Macon county and who is now dead. Judge and Mrs. Edwards have one child, Pro, who was born in 1884.
THOMAS EDWARDS.
The honored president of the People's State Bank of Bevier is recognized as one of the progressive business men and loyal citizens of this thriving little eity, where his interests are varied and important and where he is held in high regard by all who know him. In the sketch of the life of his brother, Judge James G. Edwards, with whom he is associated in the general merchandise business in Bevier, is given a brief review of the family history, and it is not necessary to repeat the data in this article, as ready reference may be made to the one mentioned, the same appearing on other pages of this volume.
Thomas Edwards was born in the village of Pomeroy, Meigs county, Ohio, on the 11th of September, 1850, and is a son of Robert and Cathe- rine (Michael) Edwards. He secured his early education in the common schools of Ohio and was a lad of fifteen years at the time of the family removal to Macon county, Missouri, where he assisted his father in the work of the home farm and where he was later employed in the coal mines about three years. In 1871 he became associated with his father in the conducting of a general store in Bevier, and in 1875 he removed to Osage county, Kansas, where he became foreman of a coal mine. He continued to reside in the Sunflower state until 1881. when he returned to Bevier and entered into partnership with his brother, James G., under the firm name of Edward Bros. They have since con- tinned to be associated in the general merchandise business in Bevier and control a large and substantial trade throughout the prosperous section of country tributary to this thriving little city. In addition to being president of the People's Bank of Bevier, Mr. Edwards is also president and one of the chief stockholders of the Bevier Telephone Company, which has a well equipped plant and gives the best type of service to its patrons. Mr. Edwards is essentially progressive and publie-spirited in his attitude and is valued as one of the staunch and successful business men and enterprising citizens of the county which has long represented his home and in which he has gained success and independence through his own well-directed efforts.
In politics Mr. Edwards is found aligned as a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and in 1891 he was elected a mem-
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ber of the board of aldermen of Bevier, serving one term and doing much to promote wise and progressive policies in the municipal gov- ernment. In 1894 he was elected county judge, and of this office he continued incumbent for two years, making an admirable record on the bench.
In the year 1873 Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Jones, who was born in the state of Vermont, a danghter of Rev. Griffith and Elizabeth (Clos) Jones, both of whom were of Welsh lineage, as is he himself. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards became the parents of three children, of whom two died in early childhood. Waldo, the surviving child, is one of the popular and representative business men of the younger generation in Macon county and is now cashier of the People's Bank of Bevier. Waldo is also a practicing attorney and a graduate of Columbia Law School of Missouri.
THOMAS FRANCIS.
V
Honored as a citizen of sterling worth and as one who has mani- fested the utmost loyalty to the land of his adoption, Mr. Francis has maintained his home in Bevier, Macon county, except for a short inter- val, during the long period of forty years. He has been prominently identified with the coal-mining industry in this state and also in Kan- sas, and his life has been one of honest and carnest endeavor as one of the world's gallant army of productive workers. He is one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of Bevier, where he has held the office of postmaster for more than ten consecutive years.
Mr. Francis was born in the county of Glenmorganshire, in the southern part of Wales, on the 18th of February, 1844, and was reared and educated in that section, where his early experiences in connection with the practical duties of life were in connection with the coal-mining industry. His father, David Francis, also was born and reared in Wales, as was, likewise, his mother, whose maiden name was Lishan. Their marriage was solemnized at Taibach, Wales, where they main- tained their home for many years and where the father's death occurred in 1864, the mother surviving until 1866. David Francis was identified with practical mining interests during the greater part of his active career, and was a man of intelligence and sterling integrity of char- acter. He and his devoted wife reared their children to lives of honor and usefulness, and gave to them the best advantages they were able to afford. Concerning the ten children the following brief data are properly perpetuated in this sketch: John died in Taibach, Wales, in 1905; Catherine is the wife of David Michael, of Abervon, Wales;
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Margaret is the wife of Griffith Lewis and they also reside in their native land; David maintains his home in Taibach; Eleanor is the wife of Hopkin Thomas, likewise a resident of Wales; Thomas is the imme- diate subject of this sketch; William is deceased; Mary is the wife of Edward Thomas, of Taibach, and there also reside the two youngest of the children, Samuel and Ann, so that the only representative of the immediate family in the United States is he whose name initiates this article and who has had no cause to regret that as a young man he severed the home ties and started forth to seek his fortunes in America.
Thomas Francis was reared to maturity in the town of Taibach, Wales, and there his early educational privileges were those afforded by the common schools of the day. He early found employment in the mines, and he continued to be identified with work in such connec- tion until 1865, when, at the age of twenty-one years, he immigrated to the United States. Soon after his arrival in the port of New York he started for the west, and he made his way to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which thriving and attractive little city was then scarcely more than a lumbering eamp, and there he remained about six months, at the expiration of which he went to Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1867, in the spring of which year he betook himself to Alton, Illinois, where he identified himself with coal mining. In the following year he came to Missouri and located in Bevier, where he continued in the same occupation, in the employ of the Central Coal Mining Company. His ability in this field of industry did not escape the attention of the officials of the company, and within a short time he was sent into the state of Kansas to prospect for coal, the company assigning as his asso- ciates in this work Messrs. William S. Watson, William Pierce and William Wareen. These three sturdy prospectors had the distinction of discovering the first coal in Kansas, and in that state Mr. Francis remained as a representative of the company mentioned until 1870. when he returned to Bevier and was given charge of a mine. In 1879 he was promoted to the important office of superintendent of the local mines of the Central Coal Mining Company, and of this position he continued the able and popular incumbent for the long period of nearly twoscore years, having retired from the same in 1898, when he resigned to assume the duties of the office of postmaster of Bevier, in which position he has since continued to serve, his first appointment having been given under the administration of the late and lamented President Mckinley.
Mr. Franeis has ever maintained a lively and intelligent interest in the questions and issues of the hour, and is well fortified in his convic-
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tions as to matters of public policy. He has been aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party from the time of gaining naturalization as a citizen of the United States, and he has been one of the leaders in the party ranks in his section of the state, having served as chairman of the Republican congressional committee of the first district of Missouri and having taken an active part in the manoeuvering of forces in the various campaigns. He was among the first aldermen elected in Bevier after its incorporation as a city, and he has ever done all in his power to further the material and eivic advance- ment of this city, which has so long represented his home and the center of his interests. He has won success through worthy means. has con- served his financial resources with much care, and through judicious investments has gained a competency. He has been treasurer of Esk- ridge Lodge, No. 253, Independent Order of Odd Fellows for the past thirty-five years, and takes much interest in the affairs of the organiza- tion. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church, and both are held in unqualified esteem in the community with whose social affairs they have so long been identified.
In the year 1865, just prior to his immigration to the United States, . Mr. Francis was united in marriage to Miss Aun Howell, who was born and reared at Aberavon, Wales, and his young bride accompanied him to America. She has been a devoted companion and helpmate, and the home life has been one in which the deepest sentiments of love and loyalty have found place during the long years since the young couple united their destinies in a land far from that of their nativ- ity. Mr. and Mrs. Francis became the parents of three children-Mary Elizabeth, who is now the wife of William O. Jones, of Bevier; Mar- garet Linna, wife of Judge A. D. Nortoni, who died September 30, 1894, and Thomas Elmer, who is a successful member of the bar of the city of St. Louis, where he is identified with the representative law firm of Boyle, Priest & Co.
WALDO EDWARDS.
Not only is Mr. Edwards numbered among the leading young business men of his native city of Bevier, where he is cashier of the People's Bank, but he is also one of the representative younger mem- bers of the bar of Maeon county and is the able incumbent of the office of city attorney of Bevier at the time of this writing.
Mr. Edwards was born in Bevier, on the 24th of June, 1883, and is a son of Thomas Edwards, of whom specific mention is made in an individual sketch appearing on other pages of this volume, so that in
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the present connection further review of the family history is not demanded. Waldo Edwards duly availed himself of the advantages of the excellent public sehools of his native city, and thereafter he was matriculated in the law department of the University of Missouri, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1906 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar of his native state and initiated the active practice of his profession in Bevier. His labors in his profession proved him well equipped for its practice and he has shown himself an effective trial lawyer as well as a counselor well fortified in the minutiae of the science of jurisprudence. In 1900, prior to entering the law school, Mr. Edwards assumed a clerical position in the State Bank of Bevier, in which he was later promoted to the office of assistant cashier. He continued to be identified with this institution for two and one-half years and then resigned to take up his work in the University of Mis- souri. In 1907, upon the organization and incorporation of the People's Bank of Bevier Mr. Edwards was chosen cashier of the same, and in this executive office he has shown much ability and discrimination, --- fortuitous forces which have conserved the upbuilding of the substantial business now controlled by the bank. In addition to thus having con- trol of the practical operations of this institution Mr. Edwards is rendering efficient service as city attorney of Bevier, to which position he was elected in Spring, 1909. He is a stockholder in the bank of which he is cashier and is also a stockholder, as well as manager, of the Bevier Telephone Company, whose equipment and service are of the most approved order. He enjoys marked popularity in his native county and his enterprising and progressive spirit is exerted in behalf of all measures which tend to advance the civic and material welfare of the community.
Mr. Edwards has taken an active interest in the promotion of the cause of the Republican party since he was seventeen years of age, and in 1906 he was a member of the Republican central committee of Macon county. Ile is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and its adjunct organization, the Order of the Eastern Star, and also with the Benevo- lent & Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias, besides being an appreciative member of the Bevier Fishing & Boat Association.
GEORGE F. BREWINGTON, M. D.
Recognized as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Macon county, Dr. Brewington is established in the successful prac- tice of his profession in the thriving city of Bevier, where he is held
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in high regard both as a physician and as a loyal and publie-spirited citizen.
Dr. Brewington was born near the village of Clarence, Shelby county, Missouri, on the 25th of November, 1863, and is a son of Sampson M. and Sarah Elizabeth (Webb) Brewington, the former of whom was born at Clarence, this state, in 1837, a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of that seetion of Missouri, and the latter of whom was reared in the same locality, whither her parents removed from her native state of Maryland when she was a child. Sampson M. Brewington was reared to manhood in his native county, where he received a common-school education and where he has been identified with agricultural pursuits from his youth to the present time. He is known as one of the prosperons farmers and influential citizens of Shelby county and his name has ever stood synonymons of impregnable integrity and honor. His devoted and cherished wife still remains by his side, having been his companion and helpmeet for more than half a century, as their marriage was solemnized in 1856. Both families are of English extraction and were early founded in the state of Mary- land. Sampson Brewington resides on the fine old homestead which was the place of his birth and is one of the venerable pioneer citizens of that section. He is an uncompromising advocate of the principles of the Democratic party and at the time of the Civil war his sympa- thies were naturally enlisted in the cause of the Confederacy, which he served as a valiant soldier in a Missouri regiment for about three years of the great conflict between the states. He and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. Of their six children two died in infancy. Mary L. is the wife of Monas Gray, of Clarence; George F., is the immediate subject of this review; Sarah A., who became the wife of C. Emmett Hill, of Clarence, this state, died in 1903; and Wililam B., a successful teacher in the public schools, is now located at Boulder, Wyoming.
Dr. George F. Brewington was reared to maturity on the old ancestral homestead which was the place of his nativity and his early educational advantages were those offered by the public schools of the village of Clarence. That he made good use of the opportunities thus afforded is evident when we revert to the fact that when twenty years of age he engaged in teaching in the country schools of his native county, and that thereafter he devoted himself to snecessful work in the pedagogie profession until he had attained to the age of twenty-five years. In the meanwhile he had formulated definite plans for his future career and he thus began the work of preparing himself for the work
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of the exacting profession in which it has been his to gain much of snecess and prestige. In 1888 he began the study of medicine under effective preceptorship and he was finally matriculated in Ensworth Medical College, in St. Joseph, Missouri, in which well ordered insti- tution he completed the prescribed technical curriculum and was graduated as a member of the class of 1892, with the well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. Shortly after his graduation he located at Woodville, Macon county, where he was engaged in the practice of his profession for five years. He then, in June, 1897, came to Bevier. where he has continued in the successful work of his profession and where he finds a wider and more acceptable field for his endeavors. His practice is distinctively of representative character, and in addition to this he owns and conducts a drug store, in which he has built up a most satisfactory trade. He is a member of the Missouri State Medical Association and also of the Macon County Medical & Surgical Asso- ciation. Dr. Brewington has kept in close touch with the advances made in both branches of his profession, having recourse to the best standard and periodical literature pertaining to the same, and in 1903, as well as in 1909, he took effective post-graduate courses in the cele- brated Post-Graduate School of Medicine in the city of Chicago. He is local medical examiner for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, of New York city and the Minnesota Mutnal Life Insurance Company. of St. Paul, as well as for the endowment rank of the Knights of Pythias and for the Modern Woodmen of America.
In politics Dr. Brewington is aligned as a loyal supporter of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, but he has never had aught of ambition for the honors or emoluments of political office. He and his wife hold membership in the Christian church, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He has been deeply appreciative of the time-honored Masonic Order, in which he has attained to the chivalrie degrees. He is now district deputy grand master of the grand lodge of Free & Accepted Masons for the four- teenth district of Missouri, is past master of Bloomington Lodge, No. 102, Free & Accepted Masons; past high priest of Macon Chapter. Royal Arch Masons; and past eminent commander of Emmamel Commandery, No. 7, Knights Templars, of Macon, Missouri.
On the 27th of September, 1888, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Brewington to Miss Rose L. Farrell, who was born in Monroe county, Missouri, a daughter of J. R. and Anna (McGee) Farrell, who
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JOHN T. BARKER
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still reside in that county. Dr. and Mrs. Brewington have three chil- dren,-Anna E., born July 22, 1889; Franklin R., born November 23, 1891; and lda L., born May 10, 1893.
JOHN T. BARKER.
The family to which this eminent citizen, prominent lawyer and faithful tribune of the people belongs has dwelt in heroic times for at least three generations and in two of the states of the American union which have had to build themselves to consequence through great trial, arduous effort and marvelous endurance. These states were born amid conflict and peril. Their infancy was shrouded in danger and privation. All their progress has been through difficulties and strugglings. They have had to literally hew their way forward and upward, making their advances over natural obstructions, through assaults from without and dissentions within, marking each step with the tomb of some stubborn foe. The men and women who fought the battles and won the triumps were of heroic mold and dealt with their opponents, natural, political and economical, as heroes always do.
Among them were the grandparents of John T. Barker of La Plata in this county, who shared the hardships and dangers of Daniel Boone and lived with that great man in the fort at what is now Boonesville, Kentucky. They were pioneers in the state and bore their full share of the burden of frontier life. And when they had helped to conquer the wilderness there, they carried their weapons of aggression and defense into this county as a part of the advance guard of civilization here. And here their descendants have repeated, under somewhat similar circumstances, but with variations due to different conditions and surroundings, the history they made there.
John T. Barker was born in Carrollton, Carroll county, Missouri, on August 2, 1877, and is a son of Lucian and Mary E. (Withers) Barker, the former a native of Kentucky, born in 1838, and the latter of Carroll county in this state. The father was a farmer and merchant. He came to this state at the age of twenty-one and located in Carroll county, where he followed the occupation of his forefathers for two years. At the beginning of the Civil war he enlisted for the Con- federacy under General Sterling P. Price, and with the valor of his race, remained in the service through all the vicissitudes of the war, until the Southern flag went down at Appomattox in everlasting defeat. He took part in many engagements, some of momentous import and others of minor consequence, and after the close of the struggle returned to his Missouri home and resumed his farming operations. In 1865
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he was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Withers and they became the parents of four children, all of whom are living. The father died at Carrollton in 1906 at the age of sixty-eight years. The mother is still living.
Their son John T. was reared in his native county and obtained the greater part of his education in the public schools, those rustic temples that stud the surface of our republican empire, where liberty receives her purest worship, and where, though in humble and lowly guise, she secretly breathes her strength into the heart and sinews of the nation. Mr. Barker completed his scholastic training at the high school from which he was graduated with honors. He had already chosen his profession and at once entered upon his preparation for it, reading law under the direction of one of the leading attorneys and being admitted to the bar of his native county in July, 1898. Armed with his certificate of qualification and license to practice, he located in this county and began his professional career at La Plata, where he is still practicing with an increasing clientage and augmenting reputation as a lawyer and man of affairs. He was married at La Plata in 1899 to Miss Mayme Fisher of that town. They have one child, their daughter Mildred, now (1909) three years old.
In the public affairs of the county Mr. Barker has taken a very active and serviceable part. He is a Democrat in political faith and devoted to the welfare of his party. He has been very earnest and effective in his work for its success and advancement, and by that means, as well as in many other ways, has shown himself well qualified to lead the people to the defense and development of their best interests. In 1902 he was elected city attorney of La Plata, and he served with fidelity and energy in that office four years, during which he saw that the laws were strictly enforced. In 1906 he was elected to the lower house of the legislature and was re-elected in 1908 by an increased and very large majority of the votes. In the house since his term began he has served on several important committees, giving every proper claim on his time and energies, careful attention and steadfastly standing by the interests committed to his keeping. It has been his aim to support the moral side of every question without regard to personal or party con- siderations, and the universal testimony of the people is to the effect that he has done this. At the last session of the legislature he was the caucus nominee of his party for the speakership of the house, and this gave him the minority leadership on the floor.
In the line of constructive legislation Mr. Barker has been very active and successful. He is the author of the law providing for a
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
third term of court at La Plata, of the one providing state aid for the public schools, the one providing that no person under the age of eighteen years shall be confined in the state penitentiary, and of other laws bearing on the reformation of youths. He is also the author of the statute providing state aid for county fairs and of several in the inter- est of miners. His knowledge of public affairs, his readiness and resourcefulness in debate and his unwavering fidelity to the interests of the people have been so amply demonstrated in his legislative serv- ice that they have given him a very wide and high reputation through- out the state and so impressed the people of this and the neighboring counties that he has been conspicuously mentioned as a suitable and well qualified man to represent his district in the Congress of the United States. In that exalted forum he would doubtless make a record of which the district would be proud and be of signal service to the people of the whole country.
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