USA > Missouri > Macon County > General history of Macon County, Missouri > Part 86
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Destiny had marked out for Mr. White a different career from that of a mere strolling builder and carpenter. Nature had fitted him for definite and specific work of a higher order, and she steered him into the
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
channel that led to his appointed task. In 1890 he located at Bevier in this county and began working for the Kansas and Texas Coal Com- pany, which is now the Central Coal and Coke Company, and in the service of that enterprising corporation he has passed all his subsequent years, meeting all requirements with ability and rising on merit to the position of general foreman of construction for the company. In this capacity he is obliged to superintend the construction of all kinds of work needed in the equipment of mines, building pits, shafts, scales, machinery, and all other structures that can be made of wood. He has shown great skill and ingenuity in his work and gained the reputation of being one of the most competent men engaged in it in this part of the country. When a new piece of construction work is required, he studies the problem with intelligent insight into all its details and finds a way to provide for the need, however complex and intricate the requirements may be. And as the operations of the company are very extensive, employing a great many men and providing for the wants of hosts of people, his services to the industrial and domestic life of this and other states are considerable and of an elevated character. It is pleasing to note that they are appreciated, too, by all classes of the people who have benefit from them.
On April 24, 1887, Mr. White was united in marriage with Miss Fannie M. Johnson, a danghter of William P. and Alice Johnson, natives of Ohio, but for years residents of Macon county. Ten children have been born to Mr, and Mrs. White, and all of them are living and still abide with their parents. They are Elmer. Bonnie. Edna, Frances, Ivis, Otto, Fern, Fay, Harold and Helena. In politics the father is affiliated firmly with the Democratic party, and is an earnest and effective worker for its success. Fraternally he is allied with the Masonic Order, of which he is an itelligent, zealons and valued member. In religious thought and action he favors the Baptist church, to which his wife has long belonged and in which she is an active worker. Wherever Mr. White has lived or is known he is esteemed as a first-class mechanic, a worthy man and an excellent citizen. In his present home he has the regard and good will of everybody and hosts of friends who admire him cordially and stand by him firmly.
JOHN B. RICHARDSON.
This well known and highly respected farmer, live stock dealer and general merchant of Macon county, who, although he is but thirty-one years of age, is a leader in the business, social and public life of the county, was born in Ten Mile township, where he now resides, and has
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devoted all his years and energies to the productive industries of that township, which he has greatly assisted in pushing forward to its pres- ent high state of development. His life began on November 4, 1878, and he is a son of the late John B. and Mary E. (White) Richardson, pioneer residents of the county and numbered among its best and most useful citizens. A sketch of their lives will be found elsewhere in this volume.
Their son John B. was reared on the parental homestead and remained at home until 1900. He attended the district schools when he had opportunity, and completed his preparation for his life work by a special course of training at the Gem City Business College in Quiney, Illinois, from which he was graduated in 1898. Two years later he was married and set up a home of his own, buying eighty aeres of land as a basis of operations, and devoting himself to its improvement and cultivation with the spirit of industry he had inherited from his parents and developed in his own experience. In connection with his farming industry he became an extensive buyer and shipper of mules, sending for years large numbers to Maryland and Deleware, and many to other parts of the country. He is still engaged in this traffie and has at the time of this writing (1909) seventy-five good mules ready for the trade. He is not, however, farming as extensively as he did formerly. On November 20, 1908, he exchanged a farm for the general store which he condueted for some time at Ten Mile.
In politics Mr. Richardson is a pronounced Democrat, firm in his convietions and loyal to his party. He is not offensive in his partisan- ship, and finds no fault with those who have opinions different from his own. But as his views are based on reading and reflection, he adheres to them and does what he can in a quiet way to bring about their supremacy in the goverment of the county, state and nation. His fraternal connections are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Modern Woodmen of America, and the sociability of his nature finds expression in the hospitality of his home and his free and agree- able intercourse with all classes of the people. He is a man of enter- prise and progressiveness, both as to his own affairs and those of public concern, giving his voluntary and effective support to every commendable move for the advancement of the township and the enlargement of every power for good to its people at work in their midst.
On September 26, 1900, Mr. Richardson married Miss Esther Tovey, a daughter of William B. and Emily (Ladd) Tovey, natives of England but for many years residents of Maeon county. Two children
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have blessed the union and still brighten the family fireside, a son named Barrett and a daughter named Grace. No citizen of the county is more highly esteemed than Mr. Richardson, and none is more deserving of good will and regard.
JOHN B. RICHARDSON. (Deceased.)
Having been brought to Macon county in 1841, when he was seven year old, by his parents, and dying here in 1897, the late John B. Richardson of Ten Mile township, one of the most enterprising and successful farmers in the county, passed fifty-six years of his useful life among our people, contributing to the development of this section of the state and helping to build up and fructify all its forces for. good. Ifis trials were numerous and heavy in early life, but in the long run were far overborne by the triumphs he won, and his memory is revered by the people who knew him because of the services he rendered, the example he gave and the upright life he lived, which was as an open book, read and known by all observers.
Mr. Richardson was born on December 29, 1834, in Pulaski county, Kentucky, and was a son of English and Sarah (Griffin) Richardson, also natives of Kentucky. They came with their young family to Mis- souri in 1836 and located in Ralls county, where they remained until 1841, when they moved to Macon county. Here the father engaged in farmingand also operated one of the first stage lines in the county. While he was successful in providing for the immediate wants of his family and making some progress toward independence and a competency, his opportunities were not such as to enable him to accumulate a great deal of this world's goods, for everything was costly and hard to get on the frontier. His offspring had, therefore to look out for themselves, each one taking up the battle of life and fighting it for himself, as he was obliged to do in his day and generation.
His son, John B. Richardson, obtained a very limited education in a brief and irregular atendance at the country school near his home. Hlis services were always required on the farm and in aid of the family, when there was anything to do at home, and his chances of attending school came only in the intervals between the exacting calls of duty in other directions. Hle remained at home until 1859. By that time the voice of Pike's Peak had grown with him from persuasion to com- mand, and he joined one of the 11,000 wagon trains that crossed the plains to that historie elevation in one summer, filled with high hopes of coming fortune and ready to dare any danger and undergo any
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hardship to secure it. He passed one year in pursuit of his golden dream, then returned home to face a trial of a different kind in which the gage of battle was the preservation of the American Union. At the very beginning of the Civil war he enlisted in the Southern army under the call of Governor Jackson for volunteers, and spent six months in the service. At the expiration of his term of enlistment he abandoned the sectional conflict and once more turned his attention to mining, going to Montana, Idaho and the territory of Washington, as it was then. In that far northwestern locality he remained seven years, packing his goods and chattels from place to place and prospecting and mining with success.
Before leaving Missouri Mr. Richardson had acquired the owner- ship of a tract of land, and in 1869 he returned to this and settled down for the remainder of his days, devoting his energies and his earnings to the development and improvement of his farm. . He farmed exten- sively and raised and fed large numbers of cattle and horses for the market, and was snecessful in every feature of his business. At his death he owned 440 acres of first rate land, the greater part of which was under enltivation, with good buildings and other improvements suitable to an attractive and comfortable home in this part of the country.
On June 22, 1870, Mr. Richardson was nnited in marriage with Miss Mary E. White, a daughter of Mark and Serilda (Wright) White, pioneers and leading citizens of this county. Nine children resulted from the union and all but one of them are living and residents of Macon connty. They are: George W., the first born, who lives in St. Louis; Mattie, the wife of R. A. Wright; John B .; Grace, the wife of James Huntsberry; Earnest; Decima, the wife of Lee Norton; and Cleo, Carlisle and Serilda, who are still at home with their mother. She is residing on the homestead and the children at home manage its operations under her direction. She was born in this county on June 10, 1852, and has passed the whole of her life so far within its borders, always engaged in useful labor and doing well her part in every relation of life. When death struck down their natural guardian and provider she became at once the sole reliance of the children who were still living with her, and to their welfare and the service of the community around her she gave herself with entire devotion and excellent results. The township looks upon her as one of its best types of women and respeets her accordingly. In political relations her husband was an ardent and hard working Demoerat, and in fraternal life he was a devoted member of the Masonic Order.
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY LEE O. MASON, M. D.
V
One of the able and essentially representative physicians and surgeons of Macon county, which has been his home from the time of his nativity, is Dr. Lee Otho Mason, who is engaged in the successful practice of his profession in the thriving little city of Bevier, where he is held in high regard, both as a physician and as a progressive and loyal citizen.
Dr. Mason was born on the homestead farm of his parents, in Callao township, Macon county, Missouri, on the 13th of December, 1878, and is a son of James P. and Alice (Wright) Mason, the former of whom is a native of Virginia and the latter of whom was born and reared in Macon county, being a representative of one of its old and honored families. The marriage of the parents was solemnized in the year 1876, and of their four children two are living, the doctor being the elder, and the daughter, Jennie, being now the wife of Joseph Summers, of Callao, Macon county, Missouri.
James P. Mason was reared and educated in the Old Dominion commonwealth, and there he continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits until 1866, when he came to Missouri, being a young man at the time. He took up his residence in Macon county, and here he has risen to prominence and influence as a substantial farmer and stock-grower and as a citizen of substantial worth of character. He and his wife reside in the village of Callao and he gives his attention to the super- vision of his fine landed interests and general farming operations. He also does a very considerable business in the extending of financial loan on approved real estate security. In politics he is a staunch adherent of the Democratic party, and for the past several years he has served as road overseer of his township. He and his wife hold membership in the Christian church, and are active in its work and support.
Dr. Lee O. Mason reverts to the old home farm in the matter of childhood experiences and early training, and his preliminary educa- tional discipline was secured in the district schools, after which he attended the high school in the city of Macon. In 1897 he entered the Missouri State Normal School at Kirksville, where he continued his studies for nearly two years. In the same city he finally entered the American School of Osteopathy, in which parent institution of this school of practice he completed the prescribed course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1901, duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Osteopathy. He had a desire, however, to prepare himself for professional work somewhat outside the circumscribed field of osteop-
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LEE O. MASON, M. D.
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athy, and in 1902 he was matriculated in the Birmingham Medical Col- lege, at Birmingham, Alabama, in which well ordered institution he was graduated in 1904, with the well-earned degree of Doctor of Medicine.
Upon his return to his native state he passed a thorough and satisfactory examination before the state board of medical examiners. and upon receiving his license he established himself in the practice of his profession in Bevier, where his success has been of unequivocal order and where he has built up a substantial and representative pro- fessional business. His knowledge of osteopathy proves an effective supplement to his thorough training as a physician and surgeon, and he has recourse to the same in such cases as his judgment dictates. The doctor continues a close and appreciative student of the best standard and periodical literature of his profession, and is identified with the American Medical Association, the Missouri State Medical Society and the Macon County Medical Society. He is local medical examiner of the National Life Insurance Company of St. Louis, Missouri, and also for the National Life Insurance Company of Montpelier, Vermont.
In polities Dr. Mason is found arrayed as a loyal and zealous sup- porter of the cause of the Republican party, but the only office of which he has been incumbent is that of county coroner, to which he was elected in 1904, and in which he served two years. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Independent Order of Foresters.
On the 21st of August, 1904, Dr. Mason was united in marriage to Miss Anna Elizabeth Williams, who was born in Canton, Illinois, a daughter of John T. Williams, now deceased. Dr. and Mrs. Mason occupy a prominent place in connection with the social activities of their home city and their popularity is of the most unequivocal order.
GEORGE WELLS.
Until recently one of the successful and prosperous farmers of Round Grove township, and in his occupation making every day count to his advantage, George Wells came to his present state of worldly comfort and consequence through a variety of experiences, all of which have been valuable to him in the self-knowledge and knowledge of others they gave him, but many of which were sometimes unpleasant when he went through them. He is a native of this state, born in Lincoln county on March 29, 1833, and the son of Hayden and Courtney (Briscoe) Wells, who were born and reared in Nelson county, Kentucky. They were married there in 1828 and came to Missouri in 1833. locating in
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Lincoln county, where they passed all their remaining years of earthly life. They were farmers in Kentucky and continued in the same pur- suit in this state, making a success of the business here as they had done in their native state. Seven children were born to them, but two of whom are living now, George and his brother John C., who is still a resident of Lincoln county. In polities the father was a Whig and in religion a member of the Primitive Baptist church.
George Wells was educated in the district and subscription schools of Lincoln county, where he passed his early days working on his father's farm and assisting the family. He remained at home until 1859, then became a traveling daguerreotypist and photographer, going from place to place all over Southeastern Missouri. In 1863 he opened a photograph gallery in Macon City. the first one there, and during the next eleven years carried on a flourishing business in the art pre- servative, which photography has come to be, usurping to some extent the place so long held by the printing trade, yet not displacing it or taking away its title to the same distinction.
In 1874 he wearied of his art and turned his attention to farming. taking charge of his father-in-law's farm, and from that time until 1908 managing its large interests with vigor and skill, and making his operations profitable to all the parties concerned in them. In con- nection with his farming he raised live stock extensively and became a shipper of considerable importance in the magnitude and quality of his shipments. In 1908 he disposed of the farm of 500 aeres, of which he had become the owner, and everything belonging to it, and since then has been living a retired life, passing the evening of his long day of exaction and toil, of trial and triumph, in peaceful rest and the enjoyment of the fruits of his industry and capacity.
Mr. Wells was married on December 27, 1866, to Miss Susan Smith, a daughter of J. D. and Ruth Smith, who were for many years prominent residents of Macon county, and regarded as among its leading citizens. The offspring of this union numbered three, but only two are living : Lutie Mae, the wife of E. S. Williams of Marshall, Mis- souri, and Stephen, who lives in Macon county. In political faith and action the father has been a Democrat throughout his mature life, believing firmly in his party and sedulons in his efforts to help it to victory on all occasions. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic Order. in which he also takes an active interest, and in religion he is allied with the Methodist Episcopal church South, whose commendable activ- ities command his attention and enlist his energetic aid.
For forty-six years Mr. Wells has been a resident of and active
HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
worker in Macon county. He is known throughout its extent and his record is everywhere accounted highly creditable to him and the county. All classes of the people respect him as a type of their best citizenship and one of their most representative men, worthy to be taken as an example and revered as a patriarch.
ALEXANDER. S. KALE.
With his youth darkened by the terrible shadow of the Civil war, in which his father laid his life on the altar of his country, and in which the son also participated, and from which he returned at the dawn of his manhood with almost nothing wherewith to begin life's endeavor for advancement in the fierce competition among men, Alexander. S. Kale, one of the now prosperons and prominent farmers of Round Grove township, Macon county, has made his own way in the world without the aid of fortune's favors or outside help of any kind.
Mr. Kale was born in Randolph county, Indiana, on May 14, 1843, and is a son and the only surviving child of James M. and Elizabeth (Stephens) Kale, the former born in Augusta county, Virginia, in 1804, and the latter a native of Ohio. The paternal grandfather, David Kale, was a soldier in the Revolution under Washington, being a member of the celebrated command of Virginia Riflemen on which the great com- mander relied for expert service in emergencies, and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, which practically ended the war for our independence.
Mr. Kale's father moved with his parents to Indiana when he was a boy nine years old, the family loeating in Randolph county of that state. That county is one of the state's eastern tier, bordering on Ohio, and is now a wealthy, well developed and highly progressive portion of the great Hoosier commonwealth. But when the Kale family took up its residence there it was still on the frontier and literally a howling wilderness. For the wild men of the forest still roamed over it and the beasts of prey often made night hideous with their terrifying outeries. It was amid such scenes that Mr. Kale's father's life began and was continued until he reached the age of thirteen. Then, in 1856, the family moved to similar scenes and experiences in a still farther western state, coming to Missouri and locating in Callaway county. The father became possessed of a tract of land which he broke up and improved, and on which he conducted a flourishing industry in farming and raising stock until the beginning of the Civil war. He was fifty- seven years of age, and therfore too old to be even forced into military service, but this did not restrain his patriotic love of the Union and
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determination to assist in saving it from dismemberment. He promptly enlisted as a lieutenant in the First Missouri cavalry, Company A, and his company was soon afterward assigned to the Army of the Cum- berland under command of General Thomas. The campaigns of this army were exceedingly active and brought it into some of the most sanguinary and celebrated battles of the war. Mr. Kale was with his company through them all until he was killed at the battle of Bowling Green, Kentucky, in the spring of 1863.
The stricken widow who survived him, and whose maiden name was Elizabeth Stephens, bore him nine children, and, as has been stated, her son Alexander is the only one of the nine now living. In polities the father was a life-long Democrat, but he took the Northern side of the questions at issue during and leading up to the war. He was also a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church South. His wife died in spring of 1866.
Alexander S. Kale's only opportunity for scholastic training was furnished by the district schools of his native county and some little attendance at those of his locality in this state. His chief discipline in this respect came from subsequent reading and reflection, and his fund of general information, which is a considerable one, was derived from experience and observation. He wronght diligently and faithfully on his father's farms in Indiana and Missouri, standing devotedly by his mother while his father was in the field battling for his country. After the death of the father the slumbering fires of the son's patriotism broke into flame, and nothing could quench its ardor but a baptism in blood. He therefore enlisted in defense of the Union in Company B, Forty-second Missouri volunteer infantry, and was soon at the front. He faced death on many a well fought field, among them the battles of Paris, Missouri; Boonville, Glasgow, Cumberland Mountains, and others, and many minor engagements. His service continued to the end of the war, when he was mustered out at Nashville and honorably discharged at St. Louis. An incident following his military service but allied with it is well worthy of special mention and preservation in an enduring record. It is this: In 1865 he carried the United States flag over Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, making his way mostly on foot, and proclaiming Lee's surrender. This incident shows the courage of his nature, and also illustrates the rashness of youth. For, although the Confederacy had been overthrown, sectional feeling in the states he wandered over was still high, and it is somewhat remarkable that he did not pay for his boldness with his life.
Returning to Missouri after this exploit, Mr. Kale took up his
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residence in Macon county on the land he now owns, and there he has ever since been industriously engaged in raising cattle and cultivating his farm, which comprised 130 acres at the start and now embraces 230, or did until recently, when he divided a portion of it among his children : Anna, the wife of D. P. Chambers of Schuyler county, Mis- souri ; who died March 8, 1910, Charles, who is living on the homestead ; and Bettie, the wife of William M. Soltman of this county. Their par- ents were married on November 15, 1865, and had five children, these two being the only ones now living. The mother's name before her mar- riage to their father was Mrs. Martha Shouse, she having been pre- viously married and being a widow when Mr. Kale wooed and won her. She is a daughter of John C. and Emily (Blancett) Rowland, long well known residents of this county.
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