USA > Missouri > Macon County > General history of Macon County, Missouri > Part 75
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
The last named obtained a limited education in the district schools of his native county, and, after completing that, worked on the home farm and assisted the family until the death of his parents in 1863. Then, left alone in his orphanage at the age of nineteen, with the wide world before him and no equipment for any enterprise among its multitudinons activities except the health, strength and determined spirit nature had given him and the training in farming he had acquired from experience, he still lingered in the neighborhood of his former home and worked on farms nearby for a number of years. He hung around the old homestead for a time, but all the while the voice of the great west was sounding in his ears with increasing force, pleading with him to join its army of industrial conquest and offering him larger opportunity and better rewards for his efforts than his own state could then promise. In 1879 he hearkened obediently to the persuasions and came to Missouri, locating in Macon county. He had saved a little money from his meager earnings, and with this and the confidence he had in himself and inspired in others by his bearing, he bought the farm of 159 acres in La Plata township on which he now lives, and on which he has ever since been engaged in energetic farming and a vigorous, flourishing and expanding live-stock industry, through which he has secured a competence for life and risen to consequence and influ- ence among the people of the township and county.
The progress and development of the region around him have always been matters of the greatest import to Mr. Lane, and he has borne faithfully and energetically his full share of the burden incident to promoting them in an enterprising and fruitful manner. He has served the people well and wisely as road commissioner and also as a member of the school board, and in many other ways has shown the high and productive quality of his citizenship and his entire loyalty and devotion to the welfare of the community and his adoption as a perma- nent residence and base of operations.
On December 31, 1878, Mr. Lane was mited in marriage with Miss Emma Norfolk, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of John and Lneina (Morrison) Norfolk, of that state. Seven children have blessed the union and sanctified the family hearthstone and all of them are living. They are: Frank, a resident of Macon county; Florence, the wife of Ben Self, of Moberly, Missouri, and John, Violet, Alice, Joseph and Sylvia, all of whom are living at home with their parents. In political allegiance the father is a Republican and an ardent and effect- ive worker for the good of his party in all campaigns. He and his wife are devoted members of the Presbyterian church, in which he is an
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
elder and both are zealous, efficient and appreciated aids in every worthy undertaking of the congregation to which they belong. Mr. Lane has been very successful in life and it is greatly to his credit that his success is wholly the result of his own industry and ability. He has seized his opportunities as they came and has made the most of them. He has also attended faithfully to all the duties of citizenship and in every relation in life has proven himself entirely worthy of the high and universal esteem in which he is held.
GREENUP WILSON.
Y
Although a native of Dearborn county, Indiana, where he was born, on February 23, 1857, Greenup Wilson, of Johnston township, has lived in Macon county, Missouri, ever since he was two weeks old, having been brought to the county by his parents at that age. His father died in 1860, leaving the son an orphan at the age of three years. It is easy to infer that he was thrown on his own resources at an early age, for while his mother did all she could to rear her family well and educate her offspring, she found the task a difficult one, and as soon as the sons were able they began the battle of life for themselves, each in his own way.
Mr. Wilson's parents, Greenup and Elizabeth (Moulton) Wilson, were born, reared, educated and married in Indiana. The father came to Missouri in 1846, but after a residence in the state of two years at that time, he returned to Indiana, where he remained until 1857. He then moved his family to this county and located in Johnston township, and here the family has ever since been domesticated. The father was a farmer and prospered in his business, owning 280 acres of good land, well improved and fully equipped for its vigorous cultivation at the time of his death, which oceurred in 1860. He and his wife became the parents of eleven children, six of whom are living: Nancy Jane, the wife of Green Bowen, of Knox county, Missouri; Sarah Elizabeth, the wife of John S. Lilburn, of Kirksville: Joseph B., whose home is in Colorado; Joshua B. and Harvey L., whose residences are also at La Plata. Greenup Wilson still lives on the farm. The father was a Democrat in politics and a man of prominence and influence in his party.
Greennp Wilson attended the district schools of Joliston township when he could, and while doing so assisted the family in the work on the farm. ' After leaving school he continued this useful and filial course until 1880, when he bought eighty acres of land and began farming on his own account, and also raising stock on a scale as extensive
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
as his facilities would allow. He has kept up his enterprise in these lines of effort ever since, adding to his farm until he now owns 162 acres, and increasing his live-stock business in proportion. He has his farm nearly all under advanced cultivation and directs its operations with sedulous care and such practical intelligence that it is one of the most productive and profitable in the township for its size. His stock interests are also as flourishing as close attention to their requirements and the utmost care in managing them in every detail can make them. Mr. Wilson is regarded as one of the best and most progressive farmers and stockmen in this part of the county.
He is also prominent in the political, social and official life of his locality, for he has been very energetic and broad-minded in push- ing its advancement and bringing about every good condition for the advantage of its people that has been attainable. He is now, and has been for more than twenty-five years, a member of the school board, and has also given the community excellent service as road overseer. In Polities he is a Republican and an effective worker for the success of his party, although not seeking any of the favors it might have to confer for himself. In fraternal relations he is connected with the Order of American Patriots, and in religious affiliation with the Cum- berland Presbyterian church. His membership in the organizations to which he belongs is not a mere form. He takes an active interest and a leading part in all their proceedings and is one of their energetic workers for every good purpose, wise in counsel and zealous in action for every undertaking in which he engages. Greennp Wilson has been president of the telephone company ever since its organization.
On February 22, 1880, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Miss Mollie E. Emmons, a daughter of Jerome B. and Polly Ann (Til- ler) Emmons, long prominent and esteemed residents of Macon county, where Mrs. Wilson was born and reared. She and her husband have had eight children, all of whom are living: Enoch, who resides in Macon county ; Lola Ellen, the wife of Grove Chambers, also a resident of this county; Lorain J., whose home is at Novelty, Missouri; and O. W., J. O., Mintie H., Gay Sylvester and "Babe," all of whom are still living at home with their father, their mother having died on December 7, 1906. She was recognized throughout the community as a good woman, faithful to every duty, zealous in behalf of every worthy cause and true to a lofty ideal of womanhood in every relation in life. Mr. Wilson is also highly esteemed as a man and as a citizen. His career shows what can be accomplished by enterprise and good business capacity in the unostentatious and noiseless walks of life, and demon-
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
strates also that whatever may be said of the American idolatry of money, no genuine merit will go long without recognition and general appreciation among our people.
AUGUSTUS WARES.
A native of Macon county, Missouri, and having passed the whole of his life to this time within its borders, engaged in the promotion of its agricultural development and the extension of its live-stock industry, and taking his place in all the activities of the people with a faithful performance of his duty in every way, Augustus Wares, of La Plata township is justly and rightfully regarded as one of the representative farmers and stockmen and useful citizens of the locality in which he lives. He has not sought prominence or distinction among men, even in his own neighborhood, but has striven to meet the requirements of plain, every-day duty and steady and reliable citizenship all the time, and this course has given him not only success in business, but a lasting place in the regard and good will of the people who live around him and have had the benefit of his service and example.
Mr. Wares was born in Johnson township, this county, on March 25, 1851. His father, William Wares, was born in the town of Pratt, Roane county, in what was then Virginia, in 1822. He came to Missouri in a very early time and located on a tract of government land of 160 acres in Johnson township, Macon county, where he passed the remain- der of his life farming and raising live stock extensively and profitably. His death occurred in 1887, after nearly or quite fifty years of useful- ness in this portion of the country. When he came here the Indians still inhabited this section, and while they were in the main not unfriendly to the whites, they sometimes resented the intrusion of the latter into what they considered their rightful domain, and became troublesome. The wild beasts of the forests and plains were also still numerous, and their enmity to the new comers was as pronounced and often as deadly as that of their long-time masters, the red men of the wilderness. The elder Mr. Wares was a Democrat of the most pro- nounced type in his political faith and allegiance, and in religious con- nection belonged to the Missionary Baptist church. He was married in West Virginia to Miss Mary Pratt, a native, like himself, of Vir- ginia. They had eight children, but four of whom are living. They are: Robert, who dwells in the new state of Oklahoma; Richard, an esteemed resident of Macon county; Augustus, who is the immediate subject of this review; and Ellen, the wife of Ralph Zents, whose home
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
is at Brashear, Adair county, Missouri. The wife and mother died in this county in 1873.
Augustus Wares received a very limited common school education. Under any circumstances, at the period of his school days, his facilities would have been meager in this part of the country. But they were rendered even more so than they would otherwise have been by the disturbed condition of the locality just before and during the Civil war. After leaving school he worked on his father's farm until 1871- and assisted the family. In that year he began a farming and stock- raising enterprise of his own on land which he rented for the purpose. After renting land and farming as a tenant for four years, he bought 160 acres of his own, and on this he continued to farm and raise stock until 1883, when he sold the place and purchased the farm of 355 acres in La Plata township, on which he now lives. His farming operations and his live-stock industry have always been extensive and have been conducted with energy, ability and success. On the new and larger farm he increased them both and became one of the leading men in the business in this part of the county. Nearly all of his land is under cultivation and the farm is improved with good buildings and completely equipped for its cultivation in the most vigorous and pro- gressive manner, and both lines of the industry to which it gives life and activity flourish and bring in good returns.
The public affairs of the township and county have at all times received a good citizen's attention from Mr. Wares, and everything that seemed likely to minister to their welfare and the advancement of their residents has had his earnest and energetic support. He has served as a school director and in many other ways has done his part for the progress and improvement of the region in which he lives. In politics he is an active, working Democrat, strong in his faith in the principles of his party and zealous and effective in helping it to sue- cess in all campaigns. In fraternal life he belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees, and in religious relations is a member of the Missionary Baptist church, of which he has for years been one of the deacons. Ilis wife is also an active and devoted member of this church.
The marriage of Mr. Wares occurred on December 24, 1871, and was with Miss Nancy B. Kelley, a daughter of William and Frances Kelley, early settlers in Macon county, where Mrs. Wares was born. She and her husband have eight children living of the ten born to them. Those living are: Mary; Frances, the wife of William Boland; James; William B .; Melissa, the wife of Everett Fisk; Clark; Adra and Ray, all residents of Macon county and the three last named living at home
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with their parents. The parents are prominent in the social life of the township, and the father is a man of considerable influence in the polit- ical and business activities of the county.
V
GAMALIEL H. GRAVES.
For a period of twenty-two years on the road as a traveling sales- man, subject to all the perils, inconveniences and annoyances of that exacting employment, and, since he abandoned that line of endeavor a farmer and land-owner on a large scale, with all the responsibilities and cares incident to such a position in the industrial and productive world, and, finally, with his home darkened by the awful tragedy of a railroad accident which bereft him suddenly and terribly of the partner he had chosen for life, G. H. Graves, of La Plata, in this county, has bad his full share of burden to bear and sorrow to suffer. But, in spite of all, he has kept steadily on his way of expanding and pro- gressive prosperity, adding to his worldly estate and steadily gaining in prominence and influence among the people around him. For he has a nature that is not easily discouraged or driven from its purpose, and while he has by no means been indifferent to his burden of toil and care, he has not allowed it to master him, lessen his activity or abate his enterprise. Rather has it increased his efforts and made them more fruitful, it should be said to his credit.
Mr. Graves is a native of New England, born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, on January 14, 1847. His father and his grandfather were of the same nativity as himself, and his mother was born and reared in the adjoining county of Fairfield, Connecticut. He is a son of Jackson J. and Mary E. (Giddings) Graves, who had nine children, four of whom are living: Sarah C., the wife of Perry L. Hubbell, of Gaylordsville, Connecticut; Frank, whose home is at St. James, Mis- souri; G. H., the immediate subject of this brief review, and Charles M., who lives in Chicago, Illinois. The father was born in 1816 and passed the greater part of his life in his native county. He was a farmer for many years and also served as railroad station agent at Gaylordsville, Connecticut, for a number. In 1879 he moved to Mis- souri and located in Macon county, and here he resided, with occa- sional periods of absence, until his death, which occurred in 1900. In politics he was a Republican and active in the service of his party, and both in his native state and the state of his adoption he was univer- sally esteemed as an excellent citizen and an upright and useful man.
G. H. Graves grew to manhood on his father's farm in Connecticut and obtained his education in the public schools of his native township,
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
finishing with a course of special commercial training at a first-rate business college in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After leaving that institu- tion he entered the employ of the Whiting Paper Company, of Holyoke, Massachusetts, and during the next twenty-two years he was on the road as one of its traveling representatives. So faithful was he in the performance of his duties, and so successful in pushing the interests of the company and increasing its business, that long before he quit his occupation as a commercial tourist he became a member of the company, with a considerable interest in its operations and an influential voice in its management.
In 1887 Mr. Graves took up his residence in Macon county, Mis- souri, and became an extensive purchaser of land and a farmer and stockman on a large scale. He began buying land here soon after the elose of the Civil war and has kept on in this line of acquisition until he now owns 1,200 acres of first-rate land and has all of his tract under vigorous and advanced cultivation. His farming operations are carried on with the same solicitous care and the same broad intelligence and productive energy that distinguished him in mercantile life, and that has characterized his movements in everything else. He is also one of the leading stockholders in the La Plata Savings Bank.
In political faith and allegiance Mr. Graves is a Republican, and, while he neither secks nor desires a political office of any kind for him- self, he is zealous and effective in service to his party, giving it aid that is appreciated cordially by both its leaders and their followers. He also takes an earnest, intelligent and helpful interest in the affairs of his township and county, backing every worthy enterprise for their advancement by his influence and helping all with wise counsel and more material assistance. No citizen of La Plata township has been of greater service to this part of the county, and none is more highly or generally esteemed. He was married in 1891 to Miss Mary S. Mon- erief, a daughter of Wilson and Matilda (Young) Moncrief, natives of West Virginia, highly respected residents of Macon county. Of the three children that blessed the union and sanctified the family altar only one is living, a daughter named Minnie E. On September 6, 1904, her mother was killed in a wreck on the Wabash railroad, which brought bereavement to many households. The event shrouded the whole com- munity in grief, for Mrs. Graves was held in high regard and her tragic death was felt as a personal bereavement by all who knew her and a distinet loss to the region which had enjoyed the benefit of her valued services and excellent example in all the relations of life.
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EDWARD A. GATES
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
HON. EDWARD ALLEN GATES.
A native of Macon county, and having passed the whole of his forty-five years of life to this time within its borders, mingling with its people and bearing his full share of the labor and responsibility involved in the management and further development of its industrial, intel- lectual and moral activities, Hon. Edward Allen Gates, county judge for the Southern District, is well qualified by his knowledge of the conditions and requirements of the county and the habits, tendencies and aspirations of its residents, to discharge effectively and for the best interests of all the duties of the exalted station to which the voice of the people called him in November, 1908. And that he will do this all the record of his past life attests.
Judge Gates was born in this county on October 16, 1864, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Whelan) Gates, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Randolph county, Missouri. The father came to Missouri and located in Macon county in 1835, and was married in 1856. The parents were industrious and prosperous farmers and stood high in the esteem of the whole township in which they lived. The father's life was eut short, his death on July 17, 1866, ending a promis- ing career, when he was but thirty-one years old. The mother survived him forty-three years, passing away on April 2, 1909. She was nni- versally venerated as one of the most estimable Christian women in the county, and her life was cited as an example worthy of all imitation.
Judge Edward A. Gates attained his maturity in his native place, and while gaining strength and suppleness of body and independence and self-reliance of spirit in his labors on his father's farm, sought mental development and further preparation for the battle of life in the great university of the people, the public schools. Although his opportunities for schooling were meager, he made good use of what he had, and especially acquired the habit of study, reading and reflec- tion, and this has been the source of his present wide intelligence and excellent equipment for any of life's duties. After leaving school he began an enterprise in farming and raising stock, which he is still conducting, and in which he has won great success and prosperity. He now owns and farms more than 300 acres of first-rate land, and has it well improved with substantial and commodious buildings and other structures. His land is cultivated with intelligence and skill, and has been made as good and productive as any in the county.
On October 28, 1883, Judge Gates was united in marriage with Miss Emma Summers, a native of Macon county and a granddaughter
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
of Judge Evans Wright. Two children have blessed their union, their daughters. Eva, the wife of William Wright, of Callao, and Josie, the wife of Perd Grimshaw, a resident of Hanford, California. The mother of these ladies died on October 2, 1890, and on March 30, 1892, the father was married a second time, being united on this occasion with Miss Lina Tuttle, who was born and reared in this county, a daughter of Marion Tuttle, of Callao. Five children have been born of this union and all are living. They are Carl B., Wanita Ruth, Ura Way- land, William Marion and George Gailia.
In polities the Judge is allied with the Democratic party. He has always manifested a good citizen's interest in public affairs, and has at all times been active and effective in the service of his party. His influ- ence has been potential in its councils, and his work on the hustings and otherwise in the successive campaigns has been of the most pro- nounced and beneficial character. His activity and skill in party work brought him prominently into the notice of the people and established him in their regard as a man of affairs and well qualified for judicial functions. To this judgment his high character and sterling worth in every way gave added weight, and the people were not slow to act on their convictions. In November, 1908, he was elected judge of the county court for the Southern district. His tenure of the office has been short to this time, but he has already demonstrated that the judgment of the electorate was a wise one, and given ample assurance in his course on the bench so far that the whole of his term will be creditable to him and beneficial to the county and its people, conserving and pro- tecting all rights, public and private, and holding the judicial ermine high above all taint or chance of uneleanness. The laws will be prop- erly enforced and equal and exact justice to all will be meted ont, as far as human agencies can accomplish it.
The judgeship is not the only publie position the Judge has filled with acceptability to the people. He has been a member of the school board ahnost continuously since he was twenty years of age, and is now president of that body. He is also one of the directors of the Callao Fair Association. In fraternal cireles he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the order of Modern Woodmen of America. His relig- ions affiliation is with the Christian church, in whose welfare and beneficent activities he takes great interest, advising with those who counsel and working with those who work. In every attribute of good citizenship he is highly endowed and all his powers are freely placed at the service of his county and its people.
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
DORIAN DUDLEY WHITE.
The position of station agent on a busy railroad line, or several of them, and in a populous and progressive community, is a very impor- tant one in itself and in its relations to the people. Almost everybody in the community has business with the man who fills it, and the com- fort and convenience of the whole population can be greatly promoted or interfered with by him, according to his disposition. If it be to accommodate and please, he can be of great service and win extensive and general popularity. If, on the other hand, he chooses to do only what is required of him, and that in a perfunctory or autocratic man- ner, he can bring both himself and the road or roads for which he works into disfavor and make the patrons of the latter very uncomfortable and dissatisfied.
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