USA > Missouri > Shelby County > General history of Shelby County, Missouri > Part 28
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Accordingly he gathered his household goods about him, bringing his family to what is now Missouri when his son, John W. Gillispie, the father of William H., who is the occasion of this writing, was but a child. On the virgin soil of our present state John W. Gillispie grew to manhood and obtained the limited ex- tent of scholastic training that was then available in the wilderness. Upon reach- ing his maturity he turned his attention to farming, and this proved to be his life's occupation, for he continued at it until his death in 1884. He was married in 1870 to Miss Alice Crow, of Monroe county, and they became the parents of six children, all of whom are living, and in various capacities contributing to the growth and development of the country. They are: Jacob C., who lives in Shel- bina ; Maude, the wife of R. A. Threlkeld, of Shelby county; Edward, who is a prominent citizen of Monroe county ; William H., of Shelbina; Elsie, who is living at home ; and John M., who is also
William H. Gillispie obtained his early education in the district schools of Mon- roe county and later attended a good business college at Hannibal, Missouri, from which he was graduated in 1895. When his preparation for the battle of life was completed he entered upon the struggle as a elerk for his uncle, Frank Crow, who carried on an extensive mill- ing business at Shelbina, Missouri. He then passed three years as a clerk in the employ of Messrs. Smith & Bowling, leading merchants of Shelbina.
He had not yet found his proper bear- ings in business and continued in search of them. He next engaged in the real estate and abstract business in associa- tion with the present state senator from Shelbina, Hon. George W. Humphrey, whose life story is briefly recorded on another page of this volume. He re- mained with Mr. Humphrey until 1902, when he purchased the interest of the senator in the business and took in as new partners J. H. Wood and R. L. Thomas, the firm name being Wood, Thomas & Gillispie. This firm continued in business until 1907. In that year Mr. Wood sold his interest in the enterprise to his partners, and they have since been condueting the business under the name and style of Thomas & Gillispie.
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At all stages of the game Mr. Gillispie has been successful and prosperous. He owns considerable real estate in this county, in Kansas City, and in other parts of the state. He is widely and favorably known as a business man of integrity and intelligence, a citizen of great publie spirit and progressiveness, and a gentleman of social culture and genial disposition and manners. He is a Demoerat in politics, an Odd Fellow and a Modern Woodman of America in fraternal relations and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South in religions affiliation.
The city of Shelbina and the whole of the surrounding county are much in- debted to him for his activity and stimu- lating example in the matter of improve- ment and development, and the people al- ways expect to find him at the front in behalf of any worthy and commendable enterprise in which the welfare of the public is involved; and they are never disappointed in this respect. In addi- tion to being active in such matters, he is also far-seeing and resourceful, and his aid is always valued whether it be given in counsel or in zealons and pro- ductive service as a worker. His citizen- ship is elevated and elevating; his ex- ample is impressive and stimulating ; his fidelity to duty is constant and effective. No man stands higher in the regard of the people and none deserves more in the way of respect and good will.
JOIIN T. GOSE.
John T. Gose and George Gose are the sole surviving children of John S. Gose and Margaret A. Gose. They were born on what is known as the Gose farm,
in Monroe county, Missouri, and one and one-half miles south of Shelbina. They lived on the farm until the death of their father in 1873, and then moved with their mother to Shelbina where they still live. Margaret A. Gose died in October, 1905.
John S. Gose was born in Virginia and was a son of Levi Gose and Mary Gose, nee Davis. They came to this state in the thirties and settled in Monroe county.
Margaret A. Gose was a daughter of Angel Gillispie and Lucinda Gillispie, nee Spencer. Her father and mother were native Kentuckians and came to Monroe county soon after Missouri be- came a state. She was born on the old Gillispie place near Old Clinton, Mon- roe county, in 1834, and first married to William Lasley. C. H. Lasley, of Shelbina, is the only surviving child of this marriage.
Jolin T. Gose was two years old when the family moved to Shelbina. He at- tended the public schools and the Shel- bina Collegiate Institute, graduating in 1888. He spent one year in the mercan- tile business in Monroe City, Missouri, and then entered Central College at Fayette, Missouri, from which institu- tion he received the degree of A.B. in 1894. The following year he held a scholarship in Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Tennessee, and in 1896 this institution conferred upon him the de- gree of A. M.
In the fall of 1896 he returned to Cen- tral College as professor of philosophy, but soon resigned this position to enter the ministry. He spent the next two years preaching in Keytesville, Missouri, and then resigned from the ministry to become a post graduate student in the
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
University of Chicago. From the Uni- warded his constaney with imperial gen- versity of Chicago he went to Culver erosity, enabling him to win high rank as a lawyer and prominence and influ- ence as a citizen. Military Academy as professor of Eng- lish and history. At the close of the school year he returned to Chicago and matriculated at the Illinois College of Law. This institution conferred upon him the degrees of LL.B., LL.M., and D.C.L., made him a professor in the col- lege and chose him, with its president, as delegate to the "Universal Congress of Lawyers and Jurists," at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
In 1903 he resigned his position in the law school to return to his native state to practice law. He located in St. Louis and was engaged in the active practice of law in that city until the fall of 1906 when he returned to Shelbina where he now lives and practices his profession.
On December 21, 1904, he was married to Miss Engenie Burruss Blocker, of Marshall, Texas. They have one child- George Blocker Gose.
HARRY J. LIBBY.
The law is a jealous mistress and exacts the utmost devotion and fidelity from her votaries. At the same time, she is generous and bestows her bounty with unstinted hand upon her deserving worshipers. Harry J. Libby, one of the leading lawyers of Shelby county. young man as he is yet. learned of her exactions early in the study of his profession and determined to meet the requirements, if assiduous effort and close application on his part would enable him to do it. He has paid his devotions at the shrine of Themis with the ardor of a zealot, and the goddess of his worship has re-
Mr. Libby was born at Laelede, Linn county, Missouri, on July 31, 1885, and is a son of Judge Oscar F. and Rebecca J. (Watson) Libby, the former a native of Minnesota and the latter of this state. The father was born in 1851 and is a member of the Pioneers' Society of his native state. He also was bred to the law and has been in active general prac- tice from the time of his admission to the bar, except during his service as dis- trict judge, which lasted a number of years. His professional studies were carried on in Linn county. this state, of which he became a resident in 1868. He was admitted to practice in that county, and he is still living at Laclede and still engaged in conducting a large and re- munerative practice. He is of English ancestry. The mother is also still living, and like her husband, stands high in the regard of all who have the benefit and pleasure of knowing and associating with her.
Their son, Harry J. Libby, began his scholastic training in the public schools of his native town and completed it at high school in Brookfield in the same county, from which he was graduated. He read law under the direction of his distinguished father, and was admitted to the bar of his native county in 1905. He at once began practicing in associa- tion with his father at Laclede, the firm name being O. F. & H. J. Libby. But he was ambitious of making a reputation for himself unaided by family influence, and building his professional career ac-
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cording to his own design. Therefore, in 1907, he started out for himself in independent practice, removing to Clar- ence for the purpose. In October of the year last mentioned he changed his resi- dence to Shelbina, where he now enjoys a steadily increasing practice and is well established among the leading lawyers of the county.
Mr. Libby has taken nothing for granted and left nothing to chance in his professional work. He is well grounded in the basic principles of the law, and has also made himself master of the in- terpretations the courts have made of it. In addition, he has studiously acquired freedom and fluency in speech and alert- ness and skill in the trial of cases, so that he is both a judicious counselor and an able and resourceful advocate. He is, besides, a gentleman of high character and culture, exemplifying in his inter- course with his professional brethren and the people generally all the bland amenities of life and an exalted sense of uprightness and personal integrity.
In the public affairs of the county he has manifested a helpful practical in- terest and a constant readiness to aid in promoting every worthy undertaking for the good of the people among whom his useful labors are performed. In politics he is allied with the Democratic party, and is one of the most resourceful and effective workers for the success of his party in all its campaigns. His frater- nal connections are with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. In each of these organizations he takes an active
interest and makes himself a serviceable and valued member.
On October 21, 1909, Mr. Libby was united in marriage with Miss Carrie Belle Young, a native of Linn county, Missouri, and a daughter of Robert and Emma (Bradley) Young. Her father, who is now deceased, was one of the most prominent and successful merchants of Brookfield, and one of the most highly respected and representative citizens of the county of his home. Mr. and Mrs. Libby are zealous and energetic mem- bers of the Christian church, sincerely devoted to its welfare and progress and earnest workers in the promotion of every phase of its useful activity. In all parts of Shelby county they are es- teemed as among its leading citizens, and throughont a large extent of the sur- rounding country they are held in cordial and appreciative regard by all classes of the people.
WILLIAM A. MAUPIN.
Beginning life for himself as a farmer and breeder of superior strains of live stock, and forced by declining healthi to retire from pursuits so arduous and exacting, William A. Maupin, of Shel- bina, has nevertheless continued to fill an important place in the community and contribute essentially to its advance- ment and the substantial welfare of its people. He is an extensive dealer in real estate of his own holdings and serves the Commercial Bank of Shelbina as a stockholder and director.
Mr. Maupin was born in Monroe county, this state, on March 4, 1860. He is a scion of old Virginia families which
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dwelt on the soil and helped to promote the wealth and greatness of the Old Do- minion for generations, keeping up in their daily lives the lofty standard of its citizenship and doing all in their power to dignify and adorn its domestic and social life. Mr. Maupin's grand- father, Thomas G. Manpin, left the home of his fathers when he was in the full maturity of his manhood, and came to the wilderness west of the Mississippi to aid in subduing it to civilization and found a new home and shrine for the family on the far frontier. He arrived in this state in 1832 and located in Mon- roe county, where at an advanced age he died on a farm he had redeemed from the waste and made fruitful and at- tractive.
His son, Wiliam H. Manpin, who was the father of William A., was born in Virginia on May 20, 1816, and was six- teen years old when the family moved to this state. For a number of years he worked on his father's farm, helping to break up the stubborn soil, and lending his assistance to the limit of his powers in making it over into a comfortable and valuable home. In January, 1848, he was married to Miss Lizzie Manpin, who was a distant relative of the family and a native of Kentucky. The young couple settled at once on a farm of their own and began a useful and profitable career as farmers and live stock producers. They flourished in their enterprise, mak- ing steady gains in material substance and winning their way to extensive pop- nlar appreciation and approval. Four- teen children were born to them, and of the fourteen seven are living: Mary A., the wife of R. G. Estill, of Kansas City.
Missouri; Thomas C., a prominent citi- zen of Monroe county; Judge R. G. Maupin, of Shelbina; William A., also living in Shelbina; Minnie, the wife of E. J. King, of Shelbina; Joseph F., of Shelbina ; and Dr. Robert E., of Dwight, Illinois. The father gave his support through life to the Democratic party in political affairs and for long years was a devout and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. The mother of these children died December 19, 1878, and the father in 1888.
William A. Manpin obtained his edu- cation in the district schools of Monroe county, leaving the altars of Cadmus at an early age to engage in the struggle for advancement in life as a farmer and breeder of live stock. He continued his farming operations for a number of years until, as has been noted, the state of his health obliged him to seek a less active and exacting pursuit. He still retains his interest in his farm and live stock industry but does not give them his whole attention. He now resides in Shelbina and is an important factor in the business and social life of that city. His chief occupation is connected with the purchase and sale of real estate as a member of, or in conection with, the firm of Dennis & Manpin of Clovis, New Mexico. He has extensive holdings of his own and carries on an active and thriving business. He is also connected with the financial and mercantile activi- ties of the community in other lines, he- ing a stockholder in and one of the directors of the Commercial Bank of Shelbina, as has been stated, and having a part in the management of other fiscal or mercantile concerns. He is also zeal-
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JOHN T. COOPER
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ous and industrious in making invest- ments for those who have capital and leading them to a wise use of their money, his judgment in this respect be- ing highly valued and generally relied on. He is active in the affairs of the county, state and nation as a Democrat of firm convictions and serviceable loy- alty, and in the fraternal life around him as a Modern Woodman of America and a Knight of the Maccabees.
Mr. Maupin has been very successful in business and he stands high in the social world. On all sides he is regarded as a leading and representative citizen, and as such he enjoys the esteem and good will of the whole community. On October 8, 1886, he was married to Miss Carrie Morrison, of Monroe county. They have four children all of whom are liv- ing at home with their parents and add- ing brightness and happiness to the domestic fireside. They are three sons, Howard. S., now attending the Chicago Medical University ; James and Warren. and one danghter, Mildred.
For three generations this family has been a potential element in the develop- ment and progress of Missouri, and now that it is firmly planted on the soil of the state and become a part of its pro- ductive and advancing life, the increas- ing usefulness of its members in all as time passes, may be counted upon for higher achievements and more extensive results. That is the promise embodied in its past and plainly shown in the pres- ent. For the children of the household are imbued with the spirit of their par- ents and are day by day exemplifying
the teachings given them by precept and example around the family hearthstone.
JOHN T. COOPER
Among the citizens of Shelby county, Missouri, from the beginning of its au- thentic history, none has stood higher in public esteem or been more entitled to universal regard than the late John T. Cooper, of Shelbyville, who became a resident of the county in 1846 and passed the remainder of his life in that city, ending a useful career as a merchant, manufacturer, farmer, stockman and banker, which covered nearly fifty years there, on July 31, 1893, and was alto- gether successful in every particular. He became master of every occupation in which he engaged and of every sit- uation in which he found himself, and gave to this locality a fine example of the vigor, resourcefulness and self-reli- ance of American manhood.
Mr. Cooper was born in Scott county, Kentucky, on September 1, 1817, and was a son of Samnel and Jane (Tarlton) Cooper, also natives of Kentucky. He came to Missouri in 1842 and located in Paris, Monroe county, where he worked at his trade as a saddler and harness maker for a period of four years. He learned his trade in his native state and learned it well. He had also fine busi- and expand his usefulness to the com- munities in which he lived and his own prosperity. In 1846 he moved to Shel- byville, and here he founded his first saddlery and harness shop. He gave his business close and careful attention and, for a time, devoted himself exclusively
social, political and religious relations, ness ability, and this helped to develop
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to building it up. It grew to great im- portance in this part of the state, having the advantages of early establishment, excellent management and first class reputation for the quality of its output in material and workmanship.
Having gained a foothold in the city and won substantial prosperity, Mr. Cooper turned his attention to farming and raising live stock as a side line for the employment of his surplus energy. He bought 1,000 acres of land and on it conducted extensive operations in farm- ing and raising stock. He gave special attention to raising mules, handling from 125 to 150 annually for a number of years with great success and profit. When his three sons arrived at the nec- essary capacity and development to handle this business he turned it over to them, and from that time until his death gave his whole attention to his har- ness and saddlery business and a lively trade in real estate which he had worked np from a small beginning, and his bank- ing interests.
He was one of the founders of the Shelby County Savings Bank, which was started in 1874, and one of the most po- tential factors in preparing the way for it. When it was organized he was elect- ed president and as such conducted its affairs for several years. Then he and Mr. Dimmitt, his partner in another en- terprise, bonght all the stock of the in- stitution and converted it into a private bank known as the Cooper & Dimmitt bank, to which for awhile he gave his whole energy, leaving the management of his harness trade to Julies Ritter. He was also a member of the firm of W. A. Dimmitt & Co., dealers in carriages and
other road vehicles. The Cooper & Dim- mitt Bank was one of the soundest and best managed financial institutions in this part of the state and enjoyed a wide and exalted reputation in the business world.
Mr. Cooper was married on Septem- ber 6, 1848, to Miss Frances Shambaugh, a native of Caroline county, Virginia. They had three children, their sons, Alonzo, John H. and David L., all resi- dents of this county, where John and David died some years ago, leaving Alonzo the only survivor of the family. A sketch of his life will be found in this work. The father retired from active work a few years before his death, but to the end kept his finger on the pulse of all his business interests.
JAMES E. RAGSDALE.
From his boyhood James E. Ragsdale, of Shelbina, has mingled with the people of Missouri and been a part of the state's productive activity. He was born in Monroe county on April 23, 1841, and is a son of James and Sallie (Deaver) Ragsdale, natives of Kentucky. The father came to this state in 1830 and lo- cated in Monroe county, where he was extensively engaged in farming and rais- ing live stock until his death on June 9, 1850. High hopes blazed his way into the wilderness and he was subsequently rewarded by their full fruition. Fortune did not jest with him, as she does with many, but gave him opportunity to se- eure her bounty if he was willing to pay the price she exacted in sacrifice. endur- anco and patient toil. She was dealing with sturdiness of character and deter-
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mination of purpose, and she unbound her treasures to them in recognition of their worth.
Just one year after his arrival in the state the father was united in marriage with a lady of his choice, Miss Sallie Deaver, who was, like himself, "bred in old Kentucky." They became the par- ents of seven children, four of whom are living-Martha E., wife of Isaac Green- ing, of Monroe county ; James E., a resi- dent of Shelbina, and the subject of this record; C. H. and Mary A., the wife of James A. Spencer, both living in this county. The father was a Whig in polit- ical faith and allegiance and a member of the Christian church. He was success- ful in his farming and stock-raising operations and became a man of consid- erable substance in a material way.
James E. Ragsdale was born to a boy- hood and youth of privation and toil, as most of the offspring of the frontier are. He grew to manhood on his father's farm, taking his part in its labors and making the most of the slender oppor- tunities for academie training which the district schools of the neighborhood af- forded. Not only were their facilities very limited, but the terms during which they were in operation each year were short and confined to the winter months. For at all other seasons of the year all the available force in the community was required in the arduous work of conquer- ing and fructifying the wilds and pro- viding the means of subsistence for the daring adventurers who had braved their perils and stubborn inhospitality.
At the age of thirty-one Mr. Ragsdale bought a farm of his own, beginning over again for himself the work of develop-
ment and improvement he had so zeal- ously assisted in for his father. On this farm he lived and carried on aetive operations in tilling the soil and raising live stock until 1902, when he sold the place and retired from active pursuits, taking up his residence in Shelbina. He did not, at this time, however, turn his baek upon the duties of life, but only cut out the more laborious and exacting ones. He took an immediate interest in the business life of the community and becaine an important factor in carrying it on to greater development and more extensive operations. He is the vice president and one of the directors of the Shelbina National Bank and owns con- siderable real estate in and around the city, to the care of which he gives dili- gent attention.
He also takes a good citizen's part in the affairs of the city, county, state and nation, ardently supporting the Demo- cratic party in political matters and working with zeal and effectiveness for the welfare of the Christian church, of which he has long been a prominent and useful member. In the social life of Shelbina and the county he and his fam- ily are also active and prominent, hold- ing a high place in the regard of the peo- ple and showing that they deserve it by the interest they take in the welfare of those around them and the agencies that minister to their comfort, convenience and advancement.
On December 6, 1870, Mr. Ragsdale united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Cox, who was born and reared in this state. They became the parents of eight children, six of whom are living-John W., of Kansas City, Missouri; Winnie,
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the wife of Edward Achuff, of Gallatin, Missouri ; James E .; Sallie Belle, the wife of W. S. Eller, of Mexico, Mis- souri ; Lelia M., the wife of Ripley Spen- cer, who lives in Shelby county ; and Mrs. Bird Estes, a resident of Shelbina, who married Dr. Selsor, also of Shelbina, in the fall of 1910.
Mr. Ragsdale is nearing the limit of human life fixed by the Psalmist, but he is yet hale, vigorous and energetic. Whether there be much or little of an earthly career vouchsafed to him yet, the sunset of his day is mild and benignant, and the retrospect of its period of toil and trial must be pleasing to him. For he has lived acceptably and usefully, and can now see blooming and bearing fruit around him the progress and develop- ment of a great commonwealth to whose advancement he has essentially contrib- uted, and many valued institutions which he has helped to found and has sustained and fostered with assiduous devotion and commendable generosity. He has lived for the community and its people, even while most industriously pushing for- ward his own fortunes, and their appre- ciation of his career is shown by the uni- versal esteem with which they regard him and his family.
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