USA > Missouri > Macon County > General history of Macon County, Missouri > Part 97
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
Macon county and daughter of John and Eva Winnig, who were born and reared in Germany, but were for many years among the most estimable and respected citizens of this county. They were generally esteemed by all classes of the people to whom they were known, as is their daughter, Mrs. Gwinner. She and her husband were the parents of six children, five of whom are living: Henry, whose home is in Kansas City, Missouri; Elizabeth, the wife of H. Carey, a prosperous resident of Macon county ; Adam, who also lives in this county; Mortin, who resides in Livingston, Kansas, and Andrew, who is still at home with his mother.
Mr. Gwinner adhered to the Republican party in political affairs, and gave it zealons and effective support. Although averse to official life and greatly preferring the relief and comfort of private citizenship, he served well and wisely as a member of the school board for a period of ten years, giving his time and efforts freely for the cause of public education and the general welfare of the people. In church faith and membership he was a Lutheran and faithful in attention to his church duties. His widow has for many years been actively connected with the Christian church and one of the most zealous and active members of the congregation to which she belongs in all the worthy undertakings in which it engages. She is a pattern of industry and thrift in her domestic and farm work, and gives the community an example worthy of all imitation in all the relations of life.
DR. JAMES WESLEY ABBOTT.
This esteemed physician and suregon of Goldsberry, in this county, represents at least the second generation of his family born on the soil of Missouri and drawing from it stature and strength of body, mate- rial acquisitions in the way of wordly wealth and opportunity for the exercise of the mental faculties given by nature and developed and trained in the educational institutions of the state. He was born in Linn county on January 4, 1877, and is a son of Joseph K. and .Julia (Nester) Abbott, also Missourians by nativity, the former born in Randolph county and the latter in Linn county. They were married in December, 1867, and passed the remainder of their lives as worthy and prosperous farmers, the mother dying in 1887 and the father in 1888. Of the seven children born of their nnion, four grew to maturity and three are now living: George William; Ellen A., the wife of Hermit II. Clark. of Wyoming, and Dr. James W., whose life story is briefly recorded in this sketch.
Dr. Abbott was left an orphan by the death of his parents when
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he was less than twelve years of age. He grew to manhood there- after without parental assistance or guidance, and the experience taught him at an early age that in the battle of life before him, and all too soon upon him, his main reliance for success must be on his own capacities and efforts. The lessons of adversity were salutary in his case. They did not indurate or sour him, but gave him stimulus to exertion and training in self-reliance. Fortune favored him in the matter of acquir- ing a good education, which he began in the district schools and com- pleted at excellent high schools in Brookfield and Chillicothe. His tech- nical professional training was sceured at Barnes' Medical College, in St. Louis, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1907.
The young Doctor, with the whole wide world before him and no special claims to attach him to any particular spot, chose the village of Goldsberry, in this county as the center of his field of operations and at once located there and began his professional career. The time he has passed in it is necessarily short, but it has been sufficient to demonstrate his worth as a citizen and his ability as a physician, and the people have accorded him the high rank in both respects that he has shown he deserves. His practice has grown rapidly and is now exten- sive and exacting. It lays him and his resources under tribute in all kinds of weather and at all hours of the day and night. But his pro- fession is the goddess of his devotions and his worship at her shrine is constant, sincere, faithful and self-sacrificing. No claim of personal comfort or enjoyment and no consideration of personal interest or advantage can swerve him from the path of duty in this respect, and the people know that when they require his services they can depend on getting them. This fidelity to his chosen line of work has given him a hold on publie confidence and esteem which is strengthened and inten- sified by the ability with which he meets the requirements of the most critical cases and the success which rewards his efforts in caring for them.
He takes an active interest in the public affairs of the township and does his whole duty toward promoting its welfare. In political faith and adherence he is a firm and consistent member of the Demo- cratic party, but never an active partisan or offensive in his loyalty in either speech or other party service. His fraternal affiliation is with the order of Modern Woodmen of America, and he is the medical exam- iner for the camp in which he holds his membership. In his profession he is studious and attentive to every means available to him for improvement. His daily practice gives him hints which his reflection
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converts into added power, and his reading of the best medical jour- nals and other literature bearing on his life work keeps him in touch with the progress and enlargement of the science to which he is devoted. He is gifted with rare intellectual hospitality which receives as a welcome guest and entertains as a desired friend every new suggestion that seems of value until he has proved its worth or want of it, and so he goes on broadening and deepening his professional knowledge and practical skill, knowing that the science of medicine is a very progress- ive one and allows no laggards in its courts if success and distinction in the application of its teachings are the objects sought. His profes- sion holds before him its golden cup of full fruition of his hopes, and with commendable zeal he is moving toward it. All who witness his efforts commend him, and he is, therefore, held in the highest regard by the whole population of the township and much of the surrounding country. In November, 1906, he was united in marriage with Miss Nellie A. Bradley, of Macon county.
WILLIAM WINFIELD BRICKER.
Three of the great states of the American Union have had the bene- fit of the impulse to progress and development springing from the active spirit and intelligent industry of William Winfield Bricker, one of the leading farmers and stockmen and prominent and influential citizens of Callao township, in this connty. He was born in Pennsyl- vania, lived in Illinois a time and has since been a resident of the por- tion of Macon county, Missouri, in which he now has his home. In all he has been zealous and energetic, although he was but fifteen when he left his native state, and in each he has made his mark on the indus- trial life and gained the favor of the people of his locality.
Mr. Bricker was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, on Sep- tember 10, 1847, and became a resident of Illinois in 1862. Ilis educa- tion was obtained in the district schools of his native county and ended there. For even as a youth he was full of action and became a producer at an early age. In Illinois he farmed and raised stock on a small scale, but in this county he has carried on both industries on a wider range and with more commanding success and larger profits. He has confined himself to raising cattle and hogs principally in his stock operations, and by wise management and strict attention to every detail of his business, has not only escaped disaster in raising his product and shipping it to the markets, but has been unusually success- ful in both, making a reputation for himself and his output that is high and widespread and stands greatly to his credit.
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Mr. Bricker has also dealt extensively in mules, which form one of the world-renowned products of Missouri, and in this branch of the live-stock industry he has also been very successful. His success is, however, neither accidental nor due to fortunate circumstances. It is the logical result of his ability, his attention to his pursuits, his busi- ness acumen and the care and intelligence which he bestows on every detail of his operations. From start to finish, every season's work is carefully planned and systematically conducted, and the results are always commensurate with the outlay of time, effort and intelligence in preparing for them.
In 1880 Mr. Bricker moved to Callao and started an enterprise in undertaking and the Inmber and furniture trade, which he is still conducting with a steady increase in the volume of his business. In this enterprise, also, he has wrung prosperity from conditions by his per- sistent industry and close attention to business, leaving nothing to chance, but seeing to every detail and making every day of effort tell to his advantage. He has a large trade and keeps it active and respon- sive by his own energy and far-seeing intelligence in connection with it. He stands as high as a merchant as he ever did as a stockman, his establishment being one of the most extensive and satisfactory within a radious of many miles, and holding a high rank in the commercial world around him.
In connection with the affairs of the community of his home lie is an active and energetic promoter of progress and development, show- ing his devotion to the town and county in which he lives by his zeal for their welfare and his regard for the people around him by seeking in every way he can to advance their best interests. Public affairs have his attention and he does his part to see that they are properly con- ducted, although he is not himself either desirous of official station or willing to accept it. In 1875 he was united in marriage with Miss Luella Harp.
W. A. MINGUS.
W. A. Mingus, who ranks among the most prosperous and sue. cessful farmers of Drake township, in this county, is not a native of Missouri. but has lived in the state nearly forty years. He came to this region a youth of eighteen and, therefore, had seen something of the world in other parts of the country. And his arrival on this side of the Mississippi was not in the early days of the wild life and unset- tled conditions of this locality, but after civilization had gained a consid- erable foothold and made substantial advances, when all the machinery
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of local government was working smoothly after many years of use, and when the country was reasonably well populated. Yet, although he is neither a native of the soil nor a pioneer in its cultivation, neither a founder of the civil polity under which he lives nor one of those who helped to give it form and substance in development from its first crude and unsystematized state, and although all his knowledge and views of life in the great American republic were not drawn from his present surroundings, he is still thoroughly Missourian in his tastes, habits and local patriotism. His best efforts have been put forth in behalf of the progress of his present location, and he is in full accord with the feelings, aspirations and enterprise of its people. It is, there- fore, as a representative citizen of Missouri and Macon county, that he finds a place in this work, for he has been active and influential in making the history of this region during a long time, and all the ele- ments of its twentieth century development up to this period are due in some measure to his devotion to its welfare, and his services in promoting it.
Mr. Mingus was born on July 30, 1852, in the state of Ohio and became a resident of Missouri in 1870, coming to the state and this county with his parents, Peter and Elizabeth (Barr) Mingus, that year. The parents were natives of Pennsylvania and were married in 1844. Soon afterward they moved to Ohio, which was then more undeveloped than Missouri was when they came here nearly twenty years later. They had ten children, six of whom are living: Mary, the wife of Martin Heiser, of La Plata; W. A., the immediate subject of this brief memoir; Martha; Sarah, the wife of Burch Lee, of La Plata; and George and Charles. The mother died in 1889 and the father in 1903, leaving their children the priceless heritage of a good name and a record of upright living and usefulness that is enshrined in the reverential memory of all who knew them.
Their son, W. A. Mingus, grew to the age of eighteen in Ohio and was educated in its public schools. He was trained to the vocation of farming in his early life, and he has followed it without interruption to the present time. As soon as he left school he began his successful career in agricultural pursuits, and to this he has devoted all his subse- quent years and the greater part of his energy, industry and intelli- gence. In connection with his farming operations he has also been extensively engaged in raising live-stock, and he has made both branches . of his industry profitable to himself and beneficial to his township and county. By thrift, diligence and first-rate management he has made himself comfortable for life, and by energetic and serviceable atten-
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tion to all the duties of citizenship he has won the high regard of the people all around him. For more than twenty years he has given the people of Drake county excellent service as a constable. He has also been exceptionally useful as a member of the school board for eight years, and during the last two years he has been a deputy sheriff, in addition.
In political connection he belongs to the Democratic party and in all of its campaigns he is one of its effective workers. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His lodges interest him. as does everything else that appeals to the higher attributes of his manhood, and he gives them zealous and helpful attention. He was married in 1874 to Miss Maggie Boyds- ton, a native of Georgia. She has been a helpmeet for him in the proper acceptance of the term, and an important aid in working out the sne- cess of all his undertakings. They stand well in the social life of the community and are accounted on all sides as among the most worthy and estimable of its citizens.
ADDISON P. STRODE.
This prominent business man and publie-spirited citizen of Macon is one of the most esteemed men in the city, and, although he is, and has been for some years, engaged in the liquor traffic, he enjoys universal respect and is very popular with all classes of the people. He takes great interest in the community and is one of the most energetic and effective workers for its advancement and the promotion of its wel- fare. He is a man of decided convictions and holds to what he believes in firmly, but does not thrust his opinions on others and never finds fault with theirs. He performs all the duties of citizenship with fidelity and breadth of view, giving a good example to others by the manner in which he does it.
Mr. Strode was born at Milan, Sullivan county, Missouri, on November 20, 1878. His father, JJ. C. Strode, was born on August 9, 1851, at Thompkinsville, Monroe county, Kentucky. He began life for himself as a farmer and is still pursuing that vocation, conducting his operations since 1871 in the vicinity of Milan, in this state. He is a son of William Strode, one of the leading men, in his day, of Monroe county, Kentucky. As has been noted, he became a resident of Sullivan county, Missouri, in 1871. and there he married Miss Minerva .I. Payne, a native of that county and a daughter of Addison and Amanda (Braden ) Payne, who originally lived in Kentucky.
J. C. Strode and his wife had nine children, three of whom died
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HISTORY OF MACON COUNTY
in infancy. The six living are Addison P., the subject of this sketch ; Elizabeth, the wife of L. Montgomery, of Milan; and William J., Belva, Ella and Jessie. The parents are both living and have their home in Milan, where they are prosperous as farmers and held in general good opinion as citizens, deserving the esteem they enjoy by the uprightness of their lives and the interest and activity they display in the advance- ment and improvement of the region in which they live. The father has always been a Democrat in politics, and, although an active worker for his party, has always declined to accept a political office of any kind, whether tendered through election or appointment, preferring to dis- charge his duty in the domain of public affairs as an untrammeled private citizen.
Addison P. Strode was reared in Milan and obtained his education in the public schools of that city in the preparatory grades, completing his scholastic training at Green City College in the same county. After leaving college he worked for a while on the home farm with his father. He next entered the employ of Payne Bros., who conducted a merean- tile house, remaining with them until they sold their business. In 1901 he went to California and in 1903 located in Macon, where he has ever since lived. He was variously occupied until 1908, when he started the business in which he is now engaged, and in which he has prospered in a gratifying manner. He, also, is a Democrat in his political faith, but has never been an active partisan.
In fraternal life Mr. Strode belongs to the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Improved Order of Red Men, and has risen to high rank in both associations. He is a Past Worthy President of the Eagles and a Past Sachem of the Red Men. He is also secretary and treasurer of the Macon Retail Liquor Dealers' Association. In his make-up there is a large element of the sportive spirit, which makes him a great lover and patron of outdoor sports. On March 11, 1907, he was united in marriage with Miss Daisy L. Farris, a daughter of Mack HI. and Eliza (Baine) Farris, natives of Kentucky and Iowa, respectively. but long residents of Missouri, and herself born and reared in Atlanta, Macon county, Missouri. She and her husband have had one child, their son, Denton Allison, who died on April S, 1909.
An incident in the business career of Mr. Strode, which is almost unique in its character, and which excited great interest at the time of its occurrence, is worthy of special mention. On one occasion, when Rev. P. M. Fitzgerald, a traveling evangelist, was holding a series of meetings in the city, Mr. Strode invited him to preach a sermon in his place of business on a Saturday morning, and requested all of his
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patrons who could do so to attend the service. The invitation was as promptly accepted as it was cordially tendered, and about 200 of the regular patrons of the saloon were present when the sermon was preached. Business was suspended during the services and those present gave the preacher elose and very respectful attention. The proprietor and his assistants stood near the evangelist while he preached and joined heartily in the singing of the hymns that were led by a male choir that accompanied the minister. In explanation of his course in this incident Mr. Strode stated that he had been reared by Christian parents and always had a kindly regard for the sort of people they associated with, and in justification of this Rev. Mr. Fitz- gerald said that he was a plain-spoken man and was trying to reach the hearts of the people; also, that he believed the men who patronize saloons were as much in need of the message he had to deliver as any- body else, and the surest way to reach them was by meeting them in their resorts. The views of the people of the city concerning this inci- dent differed widely, but all agreed that it was a strong proof of Mr. Strode's independence, courage and tolerance of mind.
FREDERICK MOSS BROCK.
This venerable and highly esteemed patriarch, who is now nearly fourscore years old, has passed seventy-two years of his useful life in Macon county, and all of them in Narrows township near the village of Excello, a "type of the wise, who soar but never roam, true to the kindred points of Heaven and home." He has soared in the sense of greatly improving his own condition and aiding materially and vis- ibly in building up and developing the section all around him, but he has never wandered far from his own fireside, or songht opportunity for aught but the duties plainly before him from day to day, and these he has ever performed with fidelity and to the best of his ability. The results stand to his credit as the products of a long, clean life of personal success and general usefulness.
Mr. Brock was born on January 9, 1831, in Lincoln county, Ken- tucky, and is a son of Chester and Anna (King) Brock, also natives of Kentucky and scions of families long resident in that state, his more remote ancestors being among its pioneer settlers. When the son was but six years old the family moved to Missouri and located in Nar- rows township, in this county, where the parents passed the remain- der of their days, profitably and progressively engaged in farming. Eleven children were born in the household and ten of them grew to maturity. Six are living, and in their several walks in life are exem-
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plifying the best traits of sturdy American citizenship and resting safely on the general esteem of all who know them. They are: Fred M., Harvey T., Mattison, James II., Anna, the wife of Collin King, and Mary Jane. The father died in 1869 and the mother in 1846.
Their son, Frederick M., reached his manhood in Macon county and obtained his education at the public schools near his home. In the early days of his boyhood and youth the country schools in this section were primitive and their scope was limited. Their rough desks, slab benches and other appliances, and their imperfect protection against the weather, were characteristic of the frontier, and the course of study and method of teaching were in keeping with these. The schools aimed at little more than the rudiments of learning, and even to these the greater part of the pupils had access only when they could be spared from the exacting requirements incident to redeeming the wilderness from its savage state and bringing it to generous responsive- ness under the persuasive hand of skillful cultivation.
Mr. Broek has such benefits in the way of education as these schools supplied, and for the rest nature and experience were his tutors. Their lessons, though often harsh and rugged in their inculcation, were, never- theless, thorough in character and enduring in vahe. They gave the pupils who mastered and heeded them self-reliance and resourceful- ness. quickness of perception and readiness in action, breadth of view and capacity of endurance, and the stern discipline of the hardy life in which they were administered furnished as well firmness of fiber and flexibility of function. It was on these lessons that Mr. Brock depended mainly for advancement in the struggle for success, and he found them equal to his needs.
After leaving school he started at once on his life's work as a farmer, and to this he adhered until a few years ago, when advancing age induced him to retire from all active pursuits to spend the remain- der of his days in quiet enjoyment of the competence he had won by con- tinuous and persevering hard work. The sunset of life finds him comfortable in a worldly way and standing high in the regard of the whole community in which his usefulness has been so conspicuously exhibited and employed to such good purpose.
In 1852 Mr. Brock was united in marriage with Miss Maria MeCann. a native of Randolph county, Missouri. They became the parents of six children, five of whom are living: William T., Irving C., Shep- herd M., Lonisa, the wife of R. C. Lamb, of Excello, and David. The father has always been a firm and faithful Democrat of the old school and throughout his mature life has given good service to the interests
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of his party. He gloried in its long supremacy and participated in some of its later triumphs before the Civil war. He has shared in its discipline of defeat and trial since that memorable struggle and helped it to victory on the two occasions when it has elected its candidate to the presidency in recent years. And through all he has steadfastly stood by it and maintained his hope for its ultimate regeneration and con- tinued domination again for long periods. In the local affairs of the township and county he has taken a zealous interest and a prominent part. It has been his great delight to see the community expanding and growing around him, augmenting its wealth and power, enlarging and quiekening its educational and moral forces, and elevating and refining its social agencies, and he has sedulously contributed to all this improvement. He served as a member of the school board for a number of years, and has belonged to the Baptist church for a long time. His first wife died. And in 1878 he contracted a second mar- riage, on this occasion being united with Miss Nancy Darby, of Ran- dolphi county, this state.
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