USA > Missouri > Shelby County > General history of Shelby County, Missouri > Part 38
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Roy Janes was left an orphan by the
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death of his father when he was twenty years of age and was obliged to at once begin the battle of life for himself. His preparation for the struggle was in part a common school education obtained in the district schools of Shelby county, and in part the companionship and ex- ample of his father, with whom he worked three years after leaving school on the farm from which he had drawn his stature and his strength. He was then employed for a time as a section hand and timekeeper in the service of the Chi- cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He did not regard his sphere as too humble or his work as unworthy of him, for he had been imbued with the conviction that all useful labor is dignified and honor- able. But he felt that there was a des- tiny of more extensive opportunity be- fore him and that he could employ his faculties to better advantage than the occupation in which he was engaged afforded.
Yielding to this feeling, on June 1, 1908, Mr. Janes entered into partnership with John MeGlasson in a general mer- chandising enterprise, the success of which from the start gave him high hopes of rapidly increasing material acquisi- tions. But on November 7, following the opening of the store, it and all its con- tents were totally destroyed by fire, and this ended the partnership with the busi- ness. Mr. Janes was not dismayed by his disaster. He at once began to look abont him for a new connection with a view to undertaking a new enterprise. He formed another partnership, this time with C. W. MeIntosh, of Lentner, and on February 1. 1909, they opened their new store. Mr. Janes continued
in this firm until the summer of 1910, when he disposed of his interest in the business and removed to Kansas City, Mo., where he is now employed.
JOHN R. LYELL.
John R. Lyell, the president and con- trolling spirit of the Commercial Bank of Shelbina, the man who directs its pol- icy and looks closely and intelligently after all its affairs, is a native of Shelby county. where he was born on November 14, 1866. He is a son of Thomas P. and Sarah E. (Jones) Lyell, the former of whom was born and reared in Virginia and the latter in Missouri. The father came to this state at an early age and located in Marion county. Some time afterward he moved to Shelby county and took up his residence north of Hun- newell. There he became possessed of a traet of wild land which had never yet responded to the persuasive hand of sys- tematic cultivation, but lay buried in the sleep of ages waiting for the voice of its master to call it forth to fruitfulness and beauty. Mr. Lyell broke up the tract and improved it, making of it one of the best and most productive farms in the connty, and finally ending his days on it amid the moments to his enterprise and progressiveness which he had reared around him. His widow survived him a few years, passing away at Shel- bina. They have three sons and one daughter living, and all contributing ae- tively and practically to the welfare of the communities in which they have their homes. The family is of Seoteh ancestry.
John R. Lyell grew to manhood in this county and obtained his education in the
JOHN R. LYELL
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Shelbina schools and Collegiate Insti- tute. He began life for himself as a clerk and salesman in a grocery store, and during the short time he served the requirements of his position with indus- try and fidelity. But he felt within him an urgent call to fields of higher en- deavor and wider opportunity. Accord- ingly he engaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business, which he fol- lowed until he became president of the bank. Since then he has given the af- fairs of the bank his close personal at- tention, looking into all the details of its business with intelligent scrutiny and an earnest determination to secure the best possible results in every respect for its promoters and patrons. In addition he owns and operates a large farm.
In political faith Mr. Lyell is allied with the Democratic party, but, although he is active in the support of its princi- ples and candidates, he has never sought or consented to accept an office for him- self except in the government of the town. Among the many fraternal and benevolent societies existent and active in the country he has allied himself with but two, the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias. In the former he holds the rank of Knight Templar. In religions affiliations he belongs to the M. E. Church, South, and is president of the board of stewards of the congregation in which he has his membership. On June 28, 1890, he was united in marriage with Miss Idress Stephens, of Macon, Mis- souri. No man stands higher in the com- munity than Mr. Lyell, and none better deserves the esteem in which he is held. To every interest of the town and county
he has been attentive in the most practi- cal and beneficial way.
THOMAS JANES.
The interesting subject of this writ- ing, who is one of the venerable and venerated citizens of Shelby county and now has his home in Lakenan, was born in Washington county, Kentucky, on No- vember 2, 1832, and is a son of John HI. and Henrietta (Gibbs) Janes, the for- mer a native of Kentucky and the latter born and reared in the same state. The father was born in 1800 and became a resident of Missouri in 1851. He took up land in Marion county, which he cul- tivated and improved, and on which he was extensively engaged in raising live stock, until 1865. In that year he re- tired from active work and moved to Shelby county, making his home with his son-in-law, Benjamin Green. He died in 1866. In 1819 he was married to Miss Henrietta Gibbs, and by this marriage became the father of eleven children, six of whom are living: James L. G., who has his home in Monroe county; Thomas, who is the theme of these paragraphs; John H., a resident of Nebraska ; William P., of IInnnewell ; Kittie, the wife of Benjamin Green, now living in Monroe county; and Rebecca Ann, the widow of George Ruberson, de- ceased. In politics the father was a pro- nounced Democrat and in religion a firm and faithful Catholic.
Thomas Janes lived to the age of nine- teen in his native state and was educated in the district schools near his home, supplementing their course of instruc-
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tion as a student at St. Rosey Infirmary for a few terms. He came to Missouri with his parents in 1851 and remained with them on the new farm they were cultivating in this state until 1853. His father then gave him fifty acres of land in Marion county, and to the develop- ment and improvement of this tract lie devoted himself with skill and industry until 1862. The storm of the Civil war having by that time developed into a hurricane of disaster, he felt it his duty to give his services to his state in the endeavor to save it to the Union and defend it against armed invasion. He therefore enlisted in the state military service and was connected with it until 1864, when he joined the Federal army as first lieutenant of Company G, Thirty- ninth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, un- der Colonel Kutzner. He was present at the battles of Centralia and Jefferson City and rendered excellent service in helping to break up the numerous bands of guerrillas and bushwhackers whose predatory warfare terrorized the state.
Mr. Janes was mustered out of the army on July 19, 1865, and at once lo- cated in Shelby county, where he has been living ever since, except for one year, during which he lived in Phelps county for the benefit of his health, and for another, when he was farming and raising stock in St. Louis county. He continued farming and raising live stock until 1885, when he retired, a little later moving to Lakenan, where he has passed all his subsequent years, enjoying the comforts of the estate he has wrung from the soil by industry and thrift, and the rest his long and trying labors entitle lim to.
Two marriages have been the lot of Mr. Janes, his first wife being Miss Hulda Buzzard, whom he married in July, 1852. The fruits of this union were five children, three of whom are living: Mary Frances, widow of Will- iam II. Howe, now living in Hunne- well; Sarah Katharine, the wife of Frank Hudson, of Morrill, Michigan; and John L., deceased. The second mar- riage was with Miss Lucretia A. Mayes, of Shelby county, and resulted in two children, Joseph W. and James T. Their mother is still living, revered by all who know her, as is Mr. James himself, who is well and favorably known all over the county, and is everywhere esteemed as an upright and progressive man and a high-toned and admirable citizen. In politics he is a Republican and in reli- gion a Baptist.
ADOLPHUS G. WOOD, M. D.
One of the honored and distinguished representatives of the medical profes- sion in Shelby county and a seion of one of the well known pioneer families of this section of the state, Dr. Wood has here maintained his home from the time of his childhood, and for many years he has been engaged in the sue- cessful practice of his profession in Shelby county. For more than thirty years he has been a resident of the thriv- ing little city of Lentner, and he is rec- ognized as one of its most prominent and influential citizens. He has various cap- italistie interests of importance and is one of the principal stockholders of the Bank of Lentner, of which he has been president from the time of its inception,
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in 1906. A brief record concerning this solid and popular financial institution is entered on other pages of this work, so that detailed reference to the same is not demanded'in this personal sketch of its president.
Dr. Wood has the distinction of being a native of San Diego, Cuba, where he was born on the 18th of March, 1831, and the lineage of the family is traced back to staunch English stock. His paternal grandfather, Benjamin Wood, came from England to America prior to the war of the Revolution, was loyal to the pa- triot cause and continued his residence in this country until his death. Dr. Adolphus E. Wood, father of him whose name initiates this sketch, was born in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, in the year 1805, and he received liberal edu- cational advantages, becoming a skilled physician and surgeon according to the standard of his time. He was engaged in the practice of his profession in San Diego, Cuba, for a period of about four years, and in 1834 he came to Missouri and located at Hannibal, which was then a mere village. There he followed the work of his profession about six months, at the expiration of which he came to Shelby county. He purchased a tract of 200 acres of land on Salt river, in this county, and leased the same, whereupon he established his home in the village of Oakdale, where he was engaged in the successful practice of his profession un- til his death, which occurred on the 20th of November, 1856. He was the first physician to make permanent location in Shelby county, and the history of this section of the state bears record of his
able and faithful service in the cause of suffering humanity - service rendered often at great personal discomfort and demanding the utmost self-abnegation. He was a man of fine intellectuality and of exalted character, so that he was well equipped for leadership in public thought and action in the pioneer community with whose interests he so thoroughly identified himself. He was a member of the first court convened in Shelby county, and he contributed generously to the civic and material development and progress of this now favored section of the state. He was a staunch Democrat in his political allegiance. The names of both he and wife merit an enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of Shelby county.
In the year 1828 was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Adolphus E. Wood to Miss Anna C. Florette, who was born in France and whose death occurred in the year 1894. They became the par- ents of ten children, of whom seven are now living, namely: Charles S., who is a representative citizen of Shelbyville, this county; Dr. Adolphus G., who is the immediate subject of this sketch; Matilda T., who is the widow of Anothy Gooch and who now maintains her home in Quincy, Illinois ; Benjamin O., who is a resident of Monroe City, Missouri ; Arabella, who is the wife of John E. Davis, of Hunnewell, this state; Henry M., who still resides in Oakdale, Shelby county ; and Mary R., whose home is in the city of Shelbyville, this county.
Dr. Adolphus G. Wood, to whom this sketch is dedicated, was a child of about three years at the time when his par-
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ents took up their abode at Oakdale, this county, and there he was reared to years of maturity, being afforded the advan- tages of the best schools of the locality, and also having the beneficent influences afforded by a home of distinctive culture and refinement. He began the study of medicine under the able preceptorship of his honored father and after making definite progress in his technical study he was finally matriculated in the med- ical department of the University of Iowa. which department of the state in- stitution was maintained in the city of Keokuk. He entered this medical school in 1856 and there completed the pre- scribed course. being graduated as a member of the class of 1859 and duly re- ceiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine.
After his graduation Dr. Wood as- sumed the practice of his father in Oak- dale, where he maintained his profes- sional headquarters until 1957. when he located at Walkersville. this county. where he added much to the professional prestige of the name which he bears. having been most successful in his labors during the many years of his service as a physician and surgeon, and having continued a close and appreciative stu- dent. so that he has kept in instant touch with the advance, made in both branches of his profession. He was en- gaged in practice at Walkersville until 1876. when he removed to Lentner, where he has continued in the active work of his profession during the long interven- ing period of more than thirty years. and where he has an immutable hold upon popular confidence and esteem, both as a physician and as a loyal and gen-
erous citizen. He is a member of the American Medical Association and is also identified with the Missouri State Medical Society and the Shelby County Medical Society.
In politics Dr. Wood is aligned as a staunch advocate of the generic princi- ples for which the Democratic party has ever stood sponsor, but he has never de- sired public office, though frequently im- portuned to accept nomination for posi- tions of distinctive trust. He has done much to further the civic and industrial progress of his home city and county and is one of the most influential citizens of this section. He was one of the or- ganizers of the Bank of Lentner. in 1906. and, as already stated. has been its pres- ident from the time of its incorporation.
On the 20th of January. 1863. was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Wood to Miss Mary L. Mitchell, who was born in the state of Kentucky, whence her father. the late Thomas Mitchell, re- moved with his family to Missouri when she was a child. Dr. and Mrs. Wood be- came the parents of twelve children. and in conclusion of this brief sketch is en- tered the names of the nine children who are now living : Fernando is engaged in business at Houston, Texas: Ella M. is the wife of Henry Rheinheimer, of But- ler. Missouri: Amanda P .. Anna Clu- notte. Gertrude and Zelma remain at the parental home : Adolphus M. is engaged in the practice of medicine at Lentner : Lamar M. is a resident of Monroe City : Irene is the wife of Arthur Smith. of Shelbina. this county. The family has been prominent in the best social life of" the community and the attractive home is a center of cordial hospitality.
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BANK OF LENTNER.
There is no one factor that so well determines and designates the status and stability of a community as the extent and character of its banking institutions, and in this regard the financial and com- mercial prestige of Shelby county has been maintained by bans of ample cap- ital, reinforced by duly conservative management. The wise policy that has dominated the management of the Bank of Lentner from the time of its found- ing to the present has made it one of the substantial and essentially representa- tive financial institutions of the county. and as such it is consonant that brief record concerning it be entered in this publication.
The Bank of Lentner, incorporated under the laws of the state, received its charter on the 24th of September, 1906, and on the 22d of the following month it began practical operations by opening the doors of its well equipped banking rooms and inviting public patronage. The bank is incorporated with a capital stock of twelve thousand dollars, and said stock is represented in one hundred and twenty shares of a par value of one hundred dollars each. The original board of directors of the bank was as follows: Dr. Adolphus G. Wood, Will- iam Kraft, Henry Arnold, James H. Melsor, Hugo Boling, Robert T. Jackson, and Judge John Byrum. At the meet- ing of the stockholders the following executive officers were chosen : Presi- dent, Dr. Adolphus G. Wood; Judge John T. Perry, cashier; and James H. Melson, secretary of the board of di- rectors.
Dr. Wood has continued incumbent of the presidency of the institution from its initiation, and the other officers at the time of this writing, at the opening of the year 1910, are as here noted : Henry M. Eaton, vice-president; Thomas W. Noel, cashier; and James II. Melson, sec- retary of the board of directors. The directorate is composed of the following well known and honored citizens: James H. Melson, Henry M. Eaton, George W. Stalays, Dr. A. G. Wood, Theodore Hinze, Harmon Van Thun, and Henry Arnold. The bank has met with most gratifying popular support, based upon public confidence in those who have its affairs in charge, and it is today one of the substantial and ably conducted finan- cial institutions of Shelby county, with a support of essentially representative order.
JAMES H. MELSON.
Mr. Melson is one of the representa- tive citizens of his native county, with whose business interests he has been long and prominently identified, and he served for a term of fully fifteen years as post- master in Lentner, where he still main- tains his home and where he is now en- gaged in the buying and shipping of live stock, with which line of enterprise he has been concerned for a decade and a half.
James HI. Melson was born on a farm in Shelby county, Missouri, on the 6th of February, 1860, and is a son of Ben- jamin N. and Mary J. (Carman) Mel- son, the former of whom was born in the state of Maryland, on the 6th of Janu- ary, 1823, and the latter of whom was
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born and reared in Marion county, Mis- souri, where her parents took up their abode in the pioneer days. The Melson family was founded in America in the colonial era and Elijah Melson, grand- father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Maryland, when he came to Missouri in 1837, settling in Shelby county, where he passed the remainder of his life, the major portion of his ac- tive career having been one of elose iden- tification with the great basic industry of agriculture.
Benjamin N. Melson passed his boy- hood and early youth in his native state and was about fourteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Mis- sonri. He was reared to manhood in Shelby county, this state, and he eventu- ally became the owner of a well improved farm near the village of Clarence, this county. Much of the land was reclaimed by him and he became one of the sub- stantial farmers and honored citizens of the county, where he continued to be ac- tively engaged in diversified farming and stock-growing until his death, which oc- curred in Angust, 1905. His widow still resides in the old homestead, and of their eight children five are living. Concern- ing them the following brief data are entered : Emily A. is the wife of Will- iam Taylor, a prosperous farmer of Shelby county; James H. is the imme- diate subject of this sketch; Mollie J. is the wife of David R. Gray, who is en- gaged in farming in this county ; Charles B. is a resident of Butte, Montana; and George A. is engaged in farming in Shelby county. In politics the father was a staunch Republican.
James H. Melson was reared on the
home farm and early began to contrib- ute his quota to its work. His early edu- cational training was secured in the pub- lie schools of Clarence and Shelbina, and in 1880 he went to Colorado, where he was identified with mining operations for two years, at the expiration of which he returned to his native county and took up his residence in the village of Lent- ner, where he purchased a general store, which he successfully conducted for the ensuing seven years, building up a sub- stantial trade and gaining a strong hold upon the confidence and esteem of the community. After his retirement from this line of enterprise he passed one year as traveling representative for a whole- sale commission house in the city of St. Louis, and he then returned to Lentner, where, in 1886, he was appointed post- master, of which office he continued in- cumbent until October 1, of 1908. In the meanwhile he had built up a large and prosperous business as a buyer and slipper of live stock, with which impor- tant line of industrial enterprise he has been actively concerned for the past fif- teen years, and through his operations he has done much to further the com- mercial prosperity of the county and vil- lage in which he has maintained his home during practically his entire life thus far. He was one of the organizers and incor- porators of the Bank of Lentner, of which popular and substantial institu- tion he continued a stoekholder and di- rector, and he is the owner of thirty-five acres of land in his home village, besides a number of buildings of substantial order. He takes a deep interest in all that tends to enhance the civic and ma- terial prosperity of the community, is
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essentially progressive and liberal as a citizen, and, though he has never desired the honors or emoluments of political office, he is a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party. He is affiliated with the local or- ganizations of the Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen of America.
On the 6th of January, 1887, Mr. Mel- son was united in marriage to Miss Amanda J. Livingston, who was born and reared in Shelby county, and who is a daughter of James D. Livingston, a representative farmer of this favored section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Mel- son became the parents of ten children, of whom eight are living, namely: May Pearl, who is now serving as postmis- tress at Lentner, in which office she suc- ceeded her father ; and Raymond Shelby, Claude M., Beulah, Lew, Pauline, Theo- dore Eldon, and Mark.
HARRISON EATON.
One of the venerable and highly hon- ored native sons of Shelby county, with whose history the family name has been identified since the early pioneer days, before the organization of the county, is now living virtually retired in the at- tractive little city of Shelbina. He has contributed his quota to the civic and in- dustrial development and progress of the county, as did also his honored father, and here he was long and prominently identified with farming and stock-grow- ing. in connection with which lines of industry he gained distinctive success, so that he is today able to enjoy the generons comforts and the gracious en- vironment which are the just recompense
for former years of earnest toil and en- deavor. Mr. Eaton is one of the well known citizens of the county and to him is given the unreserved confidence and esteem of the community in which he has passed his entire life thus far. He is a representative of the third generation of the family in America, as his grand- father, Jacob Eaton, was a native of England, whence he came to America when a young man, becoming an early settler of Kentucky, and later coming to Missouri, where he passed the closing years of his life.
Harrison Eaton was born on the home- stead farm, in what is now Salt River township, Shelby county. Missouri, on the 4th of April, 1838, and is a son of George and Rebecca (Anderson) Eaton, hoth of whom were born and reared in Kentucky, where their marriage was sol- emnized in the year 1829. The father was born on the 3d of May, 1803, and his death occurred in February, 1871. His wife survived him by several years. They became the parents of ten children, of whom five are living, all being resi- dents of Shelby county. Of the number the subject of this review is the eldest ; George W. is a successful farmer in Salt River township; Martha A. is the wife of Ernest Harding; Sarah E. is the wife of William Cochran ; and Nancy E. is the wife of James R. Baker. In politics the father was a staunch Democrat and both he and his wife were consistent members of the Baptist church.
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