USA > Missouri > Shelby County > General history of Shelby County, Missouri > Part 46
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August Bower was born in the village of Bethel, his present place of residence, on October 24, 1846, in which year his parents, John L. and Christina (Sehnan- fer) Bower, had taken up their residence in Shelby county, whither they came from the state of Pennsylvania. In the village schools of Bethel Mr. Bower se- cured his early educational training, and after leaving school he served a thor- ough apprenticeship to the trade of shoe- maker, following the old German custom of the sturdy founders of the Bethel col- ony. After the completion of his appren- ticeship he continued to follow the work of his trade for a period of three years and he then became associated with his father in the general merchandise busi- ness in Bethel. In 1867 he and his brother, Theodore L., purchased their father's interest in the enterprise, which they thereafter continued with ever in- creasing snecess, under the firm name of T. & A. Bower, until 1884, when their brother David purchased an interest in the business, which was continued under the title of Bower Bros. for the ensuing
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four years, when August and David sold their interests to Theodore L., who con- tinned in business some years. In con- nection with his operations in the local mercantile field the subject of this re- view became the owner of farming prop- erty, which he utilized in general agricul- tural operations and in the raising of horses and cattle upon a somewhat ex- tensive scale. After selling out his inter- est in the mercantile business he devoted his entire attention to his farming and stoek growing operations for a period of three years, when he again entered the general merchandise trade, associating himself with his brother David and son Wesley A. under the firm name of D. & A. Bower & Co., which is still retained. The firm has a large and well equipped store and controls an extensive business throughout the fine farming distriet trib- ntary to the thriving little village of Bethel. August Bower still continues to give a general supervision to his farming interests, and his fine landed estate in Bethel township comprises 400 acres of most productive land.
Mr. Bower is one of the substantial and progressive citizens of his native county and his business career has been marked by earnest and honest endeavor along normal lines of enterprise. through which he has gained a large and definite success. He was one of the organizers and incorporators of the Bank of Bethel. in which he is still a stockholder, as is he also in the Commercial Bank of Shel- bina, another of the staunch financial in- stitutions of the county. He takes much interest in all that tends to conserve the material and social well-being of the community, is a stalwart Republican in the data are not repeated in this sketeh.
his political adhereney, and both he and his wife are regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On March 31, 1874, Mr. Bower was united in marriage to Miss Priscilla Bair, of Bethel, a member of one of the well known pioneer families of this county, where she was born and reared. Of the four children three are living, namely: Wesley, who is engaged in bus- iness with his father at Bethel; Mary, who is the wife of William P. Kraft, of this village; and Gertrude, who remains at the parental home, which is one of the attractive residences of Bethel and known for its generous hospitality. Be- sides this property Mr. Bower also owns other real estate in his home village, where he commands the unqualified es- teem of all who know him, and that im- plies the entire populace of this part of the county.
DAVID BOWER.
The family of which the subject of this review is an honored representa- tive has long been established in Shelby county, as his parents were identified with the founding of the staunch Ger- man colony whose interests centered in the village of Bethel, where he himself was born and with whose business affairs and civie interests he is prominently identified. In the sketch of the career of his elder brother, John C. Bower, on other pages of this review, is given definite information concerning the hon- ored parents, and by reason of this fact and the facility with which reference may be made to the article mentioned,
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Mr. Bower is one of the leading business men of Bethel, where he is junior mem- ber of the firm of Bower Brothers, who here conduet a thriving general merchan- dise business.
Mr. Bower was born in the village that is now his home and the date of his na- tivity was December 22, 1850. He is in- clebted to the public schools of Bethel for the early educational advantages that were accorded to him, and after leaving school he learned the trade of cabinet making, to which he continued to devote his attention for a period of eight years. In 1884 he became assoei- ated with his elder brothers, who had es- tablished themselves in the general mer- chandise business under the title of T. & A. Bower, and after four years of identification with this enterprise he and his brother August sold their interest in the same to their brother Theodore L., a member of the original firm. After his retirement from this business David Bower was associated with his brother Angust in general farming and stock- raising, to which he gave his undivided attention, making a specialty of the rais- ing of horses and cattle, until 1891, when he and his brother August again en- tered the mercantile trade, by opening a large and well equipped general store in Bethel, where they have sinee conducted a large and prosperous business, under the firm name of D. & A. Bower & Com- pany. The subject of this review still continues to give a general supervision to his farming and stock-growing inter- ests, and is the owner of a fine farm of 400 acres, located in Bethel township. He was one of the organizers and incor- porators of the Bank of Bethel, in which
he is now a member of the board of di- reetors, and he is also a stockholder in the Commercial Bank of Shelbina, this county. He is known as one of the re- liable and honorable business men and substantial and loyal citizens of his na- tive county, where he commands unquali- fied popular confidence and esteem. His politieal support is given to the Repub- lican party and he is now a member of the county central committee of Bethel township. Hle and his wife hold mem- bership in the Methodist Episcopal church.
In the year 1884 Mr. Bower was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Bair, who was born and reared in Bethel and who is a daughter of Renben Bair, a representative of one of the sterling pio- neer families of this part of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Bower have four children, Clara, Marvin, Frank and Fannie.
CARL E. BOWER.
Mr. Bower has the distinction of being the youngest bank president in his na- tive county. being at the present time the chief executive of the Bank of Bethel. and he is known as one of the progress- ive and representative business men of the younger generation in Shelby county, where he is well known and where he is not denied the fullest measure of ob- jective confidence and esteem. He is a son of Theodore L. Bower, one of the honored and influential citizens of the county, and one to whom is accorded consideration in a special article on other pages of this volume, so that further review of the family history is not demanded in the present sketch.
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
Carl E. Bower was born in Bethel, ent Order of Odd Fellows and the Mod- Shelby county, Missouri, on March 20, ern Woodmen of America. 1871, and he gained his early educational On October 26, 1898, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Bower to Miss Ella Vestry, of Shelbyville, this county, where she was reared and educated, being a daughter of John B. Vestry, a repre- sentative citizen of the attractive county seat city. Mr. and Mrs. Bower have two children, Vivian Maurine and Irene La- Carl. Mr. and Mrs. Bower are prom- inent and popular figures in connection with the social activities of the com- munity, and their pleasant home is a center of gracious hospitality. discipline in the excellent public schools of his native village, where he completed the curriculum of the high school when twenty years of age. He then, in Jan- mary, 1892, engaged in the general mer- chandise business in his home town, be- coming associated in this enterprise with his brother, John A., under the firm name of Bower Brothers. They con- tinned the business with marked success for the ensuing five years, at the ex- piration of which the subject of this re- view sold his interest and, in 1897, opened a drug store, besides which he THEODORE L. BOWER. became associated with his father in the furniture business. He continued his The Bower family has been one of spe- cial prominence and influence in connec- tion with the civic and industrial devel- opment of that section of Shelby county which has its business and social inter- ests centered in the thriving little village of Bethel, a town founded by sturdy Ger- man colonists more than half a century ago and one that has retained to the pres- ent day a large percentage of represent- atives of these worthy pioneer colonists. Of this number is Theodore L. Bower. who is one of the substantial citizens of the county, where he has large banking interests and is the owner of valuable farm property, besides which he was for many years one of the leading merchants of Bethel, where he is now living vir- tually retired, enjoying the rewards of former years of earnest endeavor and resting secured in the high esteem of all who know him. active identification with both of these prosperous enterprises until February, 1909, when he sold his interest in the same, his father retiring from active business at the same time. On January 1. 1908, Mr. Bower was elected presi- dent of the Bank of Bethel, of which his honored father was the first president, and he is proving a most able and dis- criminating executive, directing the af- fairs of this substantial and popular in- stitution with consummate judgment and according to the most approved and duly conservative ideas. He is devoting prac- tically his entire time and attention to the bank and, as already stated, is the youngest incumbent of this important of- ficial position to be found in Shelby county. He is aligned as a stalwart sup- porter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, is affiliated with the Independ- Mr. Bower is a native of Beaver coun-
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ty, Pennsylvania, where he was born on November 9, 1834, and he is the second in order of birth of the eight surviving chil- dren of John L. and Christina (Schnau- fer) Bower. His father was born in Würtemburg, Germany, in the year 1800, and the mother was a native of the same place, where their marriage was solemn- ized in 1832. In 1846 John L. Bower left the old Keystone state and came with his family to Shelby county, Missouri. He settled in Bethel and here engaged in the work of his trade, that of cabinet maker, becoming one of the valued and success- ful business men of the village and ever commanding the high regard of the com- mnnity with which he thus identified himself. Here his loved wife died in 1863. and he was summoned to the life eternal in 1872. He was a Republican in his political proelivities. On other pages of this work may be found specific mention of their sons, John C., August and David.
Theodore L. Bower gained his rudi- mentary education in the common schools of his native state and was a lad of eleven years at the time of the family removal to Shelby connty, Missouri. He was reared to manhood in this county and in the village schools of Bethel he completed his educational work. As a boy he began a practical apprenticeship at the cabinet maker's trade, in which he received instruction under the direction of his father, who was a skilled artisan in this line. He followed tlie work of his trade until 1863, when he engaged in the general merchandise business in Bethel. With this line of enterprise he was ae- tively identified for many years, a por- tion of the time being associated with his
brothers, and his success was large, be- ing based upon fair and honorable deal- ings and popular appreciation of his sterling integrity of character. He re- tired from the mercantile business in the spring of 1909, and since that time he has lived retired, though continuing to give his personal supervision to his va- rions capitalistic and property interests.
Mr. Bower was one of the organizers and incoporators of the Bank of Bethel, in which he is still a stockholder and of which he served as president from the time of its inception until 1896, when he retired from this exeentive office. He is also a stockholder in the Citizens' Bank of Shelbyville, the Bank of Green City and the First National Bank of Green City. He is the owner of 240 acres of valuable farm land in the county, the major portion of this property being lo- cated in Bethel township, and he is also the owner of improved realty in the vil- lage of Bethel. A practical, thorough and progressive business man, Mr. Bower never had any desire for public office, though he has been loyal to all the duties of citizenship and is a staunch supporter of the cause of the Republican party.
On November 20, 1864, Mr. Bower was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Link, who was born in Ohio, whence she came with her parents to Shelby county when a child. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Bower three are living, namely: John A., who is now a resident of St. Louis, Missouri; Carl E., who is individually mentioned on other pages of this work; and Clara, who is the wife of Andrew Boehringer, of Green City, this state.
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
FRANK L. SCHOFIELD.
The able and popular county treasurer of Shelby county is a native son of Mis- souri and is one of the progressive busi- ness men and representative citizens of Shelby county, where he is held in high popular esteem, as is evident from the fact that he has been chosen incumbent of his present responsible office.
Mr. Schofield was born in Marion county, Missouri, on November 9, 1862, and his early educational training was secured in the public schools of the vil- lage of Palmyra, after which he com- pleted a course in the Gem City Busi- ness College, at Quincy. Ill. After leav- ing school he became clerk in a mercan- tile establishment in Shelbyville, and he continued to be thus employed until 1885, save for one year devoted to agricul- tural pursuits. In the year mentioned he engaged in the confectionery business in Shelbyville, and he has built up a pros- perous enterprise, which he still con- duets, having an attractive establish- ment and catering to a large and dis- criminating patronage.
Mr. Schofield has been essentially a progressive and loyal citizen and has been prominent in public affairs of a local order. He served three terms as mayor of Shelbyville, giving an admira- ble administration as chief executive of the municipal goverment, and in 1906 he was elected county treasurer. That his handling of the fiscal affairs of the county proved capable and satisfactory is shown in the fact that in November. 1908, he was elected as his own suc- cessor, for a term of four years. He is the owner of valuable real estate in Shelbyville, including his attractive resi-
dence, and he has been successful as a business man and public official. In poli- ties he gives an unequivocal allegiance to the Democratic party, in whose local camp he has been a zealous and effective worker, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Court of Honor.
On January 25, 1897, Mr. Schofield was united in marriage to Miss Ella Ennis. and they have one son, Frank Lee, who is attending the public schools of Shelbyville.
HON. WILLIAM ORRINGTON LUNT JEWETT.
The interesting subject of this brief memoir, who has been a resident of Mis- souri for nearly forty-four years, and during nearly the whole of the period has lived in Shelbina, has the traditional ad- vantage in his favor of being a seventh son as a suppliant for Fortune's benefic- tions, and what is of more consequence, has shown in his successful career the possession of the most useful and pro- (Inctive traits of American citizenship in working out its destiny toward the goal of high ambition and ntmost service to its day and generation. The record of successful men in this country embodies strong and forceful lessons in determina- tion to succeed and persistent industry and endurance in the struggle involved in that purpose. It also embodies natural capacity of a high order and adaptability to circunstances which is ready for all emergencies. Mr. Jewett has exhibited in his life work all these qualities in an eminent degree. As a young man look-
W. O. L. JEWETT
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
ing up the long ascent to consequence was sixteen years of age he had prepared aniong men and inspired rather than de- himself for admission into the academy at Lee Center, Lee county, Illinois, which he attended one term. During the next summer he "tended corn" as a full hand, reading history at meal time and study- ing Latin at night. In the winter he made his home with his brother, Rev. S. A. W. Jewett, D. D., and attended schools at Plainfield and Ottawa. He followed the instruction gained in those schools with courses of higher instruc- tion in Aurora Institute in the winter of 1860-61, from which he derived great advantage. terred by its manifest ruggedness and obstructions ; as a soldier, meeting on the field of sanguinary conflict the enemies of his convictions as to the value of the Union and the vital importance of its perpetuity ; as a lawyer, defending in the forum of judicial contention the rights of individual citizens and the general publie against those who would illegally invade them ; as a journalist, lucidly and forcibly proclaiming the truth as he saw it on public questions of poliey and gov- ernment at all times and under all condi- tions, and as a legislator, looking solely to the welfare of the whole people, he has dignified and adorned the citizenship of his locality and exhibited the loftiest and most admirable attributes of Amer- · iean manhood.
Mr. Jewett was born in Bowdoinham, Sadahoe county, Maine, on December 27, 1836. He is the seventh son of Rev. Sam- uel and Sophornia (Huckins) Jewett, and with his father, mother and six brothers moved to Indiana in 1838, mak- ing the trip to what was then a remote and almost unknown region in a carriage. The family located in the southern part of the state, where it maintained its resi- dence four years. At the end of that period another flight in the wake of the setting sun was taken and a new resi- dence was found on a farm in Will county, Illinois.
There Mr. Jewett grew to manhood and obtained his education. His oppor- tunities for scholastic training were very limited and the facilties attending them were meager. But he determined to se- cure an education, and by the time he
In the summer of 1861 the terrible cloud of Civil war, with its promised deluge of disaster and death, descended on our unhappy country, and being in- tense in his devotion to the Union and the principles he thought involved in its harmonious continuance, Mr. Jewett en- listed in opposition to its forced dismeill- berment in Company E, Thirty-ninth Volunteer Infantry, in a command known in commendatory history as the "Yates Phalanx," because of its invin- cible courage on the field of battle.
During his connection with this re- nowned factor in the federal forces of the war he served under General Shields in the Shenandoah valley in Virginia, and was afterward employed in the im- portant engagements on the Peninsula on the James river. In January, 1863, he was discharged from the service for disability, receiving his release at a hos- pital to which he had been sent on ae- count of an injury that resulted in sick- ness and disability. His release gave lim an opportunity to make a visit to friends in Massachusetts, New Hamp-
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shire and Maine, and he then returned to his home near Wilmington, Illinois, where he taught school and began study- ing law in the office of Hon. G. D. A. Parks, one of the leading lawyers in that part of the country.
But inured as he was by this time to the pursnits, incitements and promises of peaceful industries, the war spirit within him was not satiated. The war was still in progress, and in the autumn . of the social lights and inspirations of of 1864 he again entered the Union serv- the city. Of the eight children born to them seven have grown to maturity and are now living, exemplifying in their several stations the excellent qualities of citizenship acquired from the teaeh- ings and example of their parents. ice, enlisting in Battery A, First Illinois Artillery. In this command he marched with Sherman from Savannah, Georgia, through the Carolinas, and finally par- ticipated in the Grand Review of the Union Army at Washington, which sig- nalized the elose of one of the most mem- orable confliets in the history of the human race.
In June, 1865, Mr. Jewett entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and in the spring of 1866 he was admitted to the bar in Michigan and Illinois. But, while pursuing the ardnous study of his pro- fession as a lawyer, and even while mus- ing around the campfire during his mili- tary service, the dream of journalism was with him as an insistent and per- snasive influence. And while practicing law at Mt. Sterling, Illinois, until April, 1867, he edited a paper there. During the month last mentioned he moved to Missouri, and for nearly a year there- after taught a public school north of Hnnnewell.
The goddess of the law still claimed him as her votary, although the dream of success and usefulness in journalism never left him for a moment. But he
paid his devotions at the altar of the for- mer for some time and left his dream in abeyance until later. In 1868 he opened a law office in Shelbina in asso- ciation with H. Payne Higgins, and in this city he has ever since had his home. On June 3, 1869. he was united in marriage with Miss Ella Cox, of Hun- newell, who at once became the mistress of his pleasant home in Shelbina and one
In 1872, while Samuel A. Rawlings, one of the proprietors of the Democrat. was engaged in a political campaign, Mr. Jewett filled his place on the edi- torial staff of the paper for a time, con- dneting the publication in conjunction with Mr. Rawlings' partner, Mr. Hosel- ton. Mr. Rawlings died in 1875, and thereafter Mr. Jewett assisted Mr. Hoselton in editing the paper until May, 1881, when he honght a half interest in it. Prior to this, however, in 1870, he stumped the county for Hon. B. Gratz Brown and the enfranchisement of the persons prohibited from voting by the provisions of the Drake constitution. He made a high reputation as an effee- tive and entertaining campaigner, and in 1876 was elected proseenting attorney of Shelby county for a term of two years, being re-elected at the end of his term.
Mr. Jewett's services and the ability he displayed in the varions fields of use- fulness mentioned marked him as a proper person for further public service.
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
and in 1886 he was chosen a member of the lower house of the state legislature, to which he was again elected in 1888. For many years before this time he had been prominent and zealous in the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and in 1899 he was made Grand Master of the order for Missouri, filling the office with great credit to himself and benefit to the order. He maintained his rank as one of the leading citizens of the state, and in 1904 was appointed by Governor Folk a member of the board of visitors to the state university.
The last named position to which he was assigned by official appointment did not come to him as an accident or a mere empty honor. He had signalized his interest in the cause of general educa- tion for the people in another line of productive and valued usefulness. In 1892 he was president of the Missouri Press Association, and for five years served as chairman of the legislative committee of the National Editorial As- sociation. In the Missonri Press Asso- ciation he secured the passage of a reso- lution providing for the origin of the State Historieal Society, with headquar- ters at Columbia, and in 1906 was its president. He is also called the "Father of the School of Journalism" at the State University, because he got the Mis- sonri Press Association to adopt a reso- lution favoring the establishment of the chair of journalism in that institution.
'The above brief account of the life of this highly serviceable and far-seeing citizen necessarily gives but a meager record of his services to the people of his county and state. His newspaper work has been a potential factor in helping to
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