USA > Missouri > Shelby County > General history of Shelby County, Missouri > Part 60
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84
WILLIAM A. JORDAN.
Successful and progressive as a farmer and producer of live stock, and successful because he is progressive, William A. Jordan, of Jackson township, is also a man of influence and high stand- ing as a citizen, and he holds his rank in this respect because of the elevated character and usefulness of his citizen-
477
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
ship. He is not a native of Shelby county, but has lived in it ever since he was two years old, a period of thirty- nine years, and during all the period of his youth and manhood has contributed to its advancement and improvement.
Mr. Jordan was born in Indiana on May 12, 1869, and is a scion of old Vir- ginia families, his grandfather, Arthur B. Jordan, having been born and reared in that state and to a house long estab- lished there. In that state, also, Philip W. Jordan, the father of William A., was born, opening his eyes on this world in 1836. He left his ancestral home a young man and migrated to what was then the distant West, locating in Lin county, Missouri, where he was exten- sively occupied in farming and raising live stock for a number of years. He then dwelt for some years in the state of Indiana, and in that state he was mar- ried in 1862 to Miss Nancy H. Coffman.
By this marriage Mr. Jordan became the father of seven children, six of whom are living : Arthur E., a sketch of whom will be found in this work; Rosa Lee, the wife of Lee Harrison, a resident of this county; Dora D., the wife of Lewis Parker, whose residence is in the new state of Oklahoma; William A., the sub- jeet of this brief review; Allie L., the wife of James Collier, of Montana; and Charles P., whose home is in this county.
The family moved to Shelby county in 1871, and here the father followed gen- eral farming with great success until his death, which occurred in 1881. During the Civil war he was drafted into the Federal army, but the war was so nearly over when this occurred that he was
never called into the service. His po- litical support was faithfully and ar- dently given to the Democratic party, and his religious support with equal con- fidence and ardor to the Southern Meth- odist Episcopal church.
William A. Jordan secured a limited edneation in the public school at Oak- dale in this county, and excellent train- ing in his destined life work on his father's farm, on which he remained un- til he attained his majority. He then began operations for himself as a farmer and stock man, and to these pursuits he has steadfastly adhered through all the subsequent years, except that at times he has worked at the carpenter trade, of which he acquired a knowledge during his minority. He has made a very grati- fying success of his endeavors in all his undertakings, and is now in easy cirenm- stances in a worldly way and secure in the regard and good will of the people in his township and throughout the county.
On October 27, 1897, Mr. Jordan united in marriage with Miss Edith Cochrane, a resident of this county. They have had four children, and all of them are living, and still at home with their parents. They are: Harvey G., Mary E., Bessie and Ina Lue. The father is firm and faithful in his attach- ment to the Democratic party in polit- ical affairs and energetic and zealous in his support of it. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Court of Honor, in which lie is also active and serviceable. In the public affairs of the township and county of his home he has always taken a very helpful interest, aiding in every way
418
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
open to him in their progress and de- velopment. He is now a member of the school board.
THOMAS D. MITCHELL.
In the life story and family record of this highly enterprising, progressive and successful farmer, live stock pro- ducer and real estate operator of Jack- son township, who is one of the leaders in his several lines of activity in this county, run golden threads of personal and general history, and firm fibers of manly achievement, embracing material, intellectual and spiritual conquests of moment in their immediate and of great value in their continuing importance. He is the son of one of the early pio- neers, who was also one of the early school teachers in this part of the state. The farm on which he lives was the old camping ground of the Methodists in the early evangelizing work which made them famous and gave them so strong a hold on the people in this and the ad- joining counties. He has himself built up a large and profitable business by his own endeavors, which has been and is of great benefit to all Northeastern Mis- souri.
Mr. Mitchell was born in Shelby county, Missouri, on April 14, 1862. His father, also named Thomas D. Mitchell, was a native of Virginia and first saw the light of this world in 1835. He came to this portion of Missouri among its earlier settlers and located on a farm near Emden. This farm he worked dur- ing the summer months and during the winter he taught school for a number of years. His scholastic contributions to
the advancement of the county were based on very little education acquired in the schools, for he had not much op- portunity for such acquisitions. But he was a great reader and student and a ยท very well-informed man. While he taught school, and afterward, he pushed his farming operations and the live stock industry in which he was engaged to large proportions and considerable ad- vantage to himself financially.
He was joined in marriage with Miss Eliza A. Spencer, of Marion county, and they became the parents of five children, three of whom are living: Thomas D .; his brother, Douglas R., a resident of this county; and their sister, Margaret, the wife of Horace Warner, who has her home in Illinois. The father was a firm believer in the principles of the Demo- cratic party and gave that organization earnest and effective support in all its campaigns. In religions connection he was affiliated with the Methodist Epis- copal church, South. It is easy to infer, if the matter were left to inference, that he was an important man in the early history of his locality. But this is on record to his credit, and it is manifest from the record that he never neglected a public or private duty or betrayed a trust.
Ilis son Thomas had no educational advantages except those furnished by the district schools of Shelby county. And as soon as he left them he began the career of farming and raising stock, which he is still expanding, and in which he has achieved both a competence and a widespread reputation of credit for himself, and has also conferred upon the region in which he lives substantial com-
MELCHIOR NOLL
479
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
mercial benefits. For many years he has given his attention in the stock industry to raising, feeding and dealing in fancy live stock, and he is now known promi- nently and favorably for the character of his output in all the alert and com- manding stock markets of the country, and in some other countries as well. His farm at present comprises 326 acres of superior land, which has been developed by every means known to advanced ag- riculture and improved with judgment and good taste.
On November 28, 1888, he was mar- ried to Miss Bertie Blackburn, a daugh- ter of Samuel Blackburn, now county judge of Shelby county. They have had five children, two of whom are living, Horace T. and Mary M., both residents of Shelby county. The father is a Dem- ocrat politically, and belongs to the Court of Honor and the Brotherhood of America fraternally, and takes a cordial interest in all these organizations.
MELCHIOR NOLL.
The great empire of Germany has con- tributed to the complex social fabric of the United States a most valuable ele- ment of citizenship, and from this source our nation has had much to gain and nothing to lose. The sturdy equipoise, practical judgment and well-directed in- dustry that characterizes our citizens of German birth or lineage act as a balance wheel in connection with the adjustment of eivie and industrial activities, and even the most casual observer cannot fail to note that thrift and prosperity are in evidence wherever the average citizen
of German extraction and training di- rects his energies.
Melchior Noll, the only representative of his immediate family in the state of Missouri, is one of the substantial and honored citizens of Shelby county and is a successful business man of the thriving little village of Bethel, where he is en- gaged in contracting as a briek mason and where he has maintained his home for more than thirty-five years, ever 'commanding the most unequivocal con- fidence and esteem in the community.
Mr. Noll was born in Keibersdorf, Germany, on January 6, 1848, and is a son of Melchior and Madeline (Christ) . Noll, both of whom passed their entire lives in Germany, where the father fol- lowed the vocation of farming during the major portion of his active career. Of the seven children two of the number are residents of America, the subject of this review being the only representative in Missouri, as previously stated. Mr. Noll was reared and educated in Germany, and in 1872, when twenty-three years of age, he severed the gracious ties that bound him to home and fatherland and set forth to win for himself such ben- efices as could be wrested from the hands of fortune under the auspicious condi- tions existing in America. He had little in the way of financial resources, but was endowed with ambition, sterling integ- rity of purpose, diligence and self re- liance, so that he came to the new world with an equipment equal to that of many others of his countrymen who have. here achieved success and independence. Soon after his arrival in America Mr. Noll made his way westward, and in the sum-
480
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
mer of 1871 he settled in Hannibal. Mis- souri, in which city he continued to re- side until the spring of the following year, when he came to Shelby county and took up his abode in Shelbina. where lie followed his trade of brick mason un- til 1874, when he established his perma- nent home in Bethel, where he has gained a large measure of success through his well-directed efforts as a contractor in the line of his trade, having erected many of the best buildings in this part of the county and also having done a large amount of other contract structural work. His career has been marked by indefatigable industry and judicious em- ployment of the agencies at his com- mand, the while he has been guided and governed by those high principles of in- tegrity and honor that ever beget popu- lar confidence and esteem. He is one of the stockholders of the Bank of Bethel and is a valued member of its director- ate, and he is also the owner of a consid- erable amount of improved real estate in his home village, including his at- tractive and commodious residence. In politics, though never a seeker of official preferment. he is aligned as a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. He is affiliated with Bethel Lodge, No. 537. Free and Accepted Ma- sons.
In the year 1879 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Noll to Miss Emily Will, daughter of the late Nicholas Will. of Bethel. and of their seven children five are living, namely: Sophia, who is the wife of George Keefe, of Marysville, this state : Julius and William, who are
residents of Bethel: Ella, who now re- sides in Marysville; and Frank, who re- mains at the paternal home. Mrs. Em- ily ( Will) Noll was summoned to the life eternal in July. 1897, and on Novem- ber 28. 1899. Mr. Noll was married to Mrs. Alvina C. Arnold, of Bethel, a danghter of George Fahler, who was a well known citizen of Lewis county.
JAMES G. BLACKFORD.
Having enlisted in the Federal army in defense of the Union when he was but eighteen years old and passed the next three years in active service. in which he faced death on many a well fought field of conflict. James G. Black- ford. now one of the prosperous and pro- gressive farmers of Jackson township. in this eounty, began life for himself un- der conditions of great danger, priva- tion and arduous exactions. He met the requirements of those conditions with manliness and fidelity, and in their stern discipline acquired both self-control and self-knowledge which have been of great value to him throughout all his subse- quent years.
Mr. Blackford was born in this county on April 13, 1844, and is a grandson of Benjamin Blackford, a native of Ken- tucky. and a son of James M. Blackford, who was also a native of that state, born in 1810. The father came to Missouri among the early settlers and located in Marion county, where he remained until 1832. He then moved to Shelby county. and there he was actively and snecess- fully engaged in farming and raising stock until his death. He was one of the leading men in his township and es-
481
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
teemed on all sides as one of its most representative citizens.
He was married to Miss Eliza Deed- man, like himself, a native of Kentucky, and by this marriage became the father of thirteen children, six of whom are living: Mary Ann, the wife of William Finney; Lucy, the wife of Charles Col- lier; James G., the subject of this sketch ; Clementine, the wife of Jacob Melson; Jessamine; Susan, the wife of William Fitzpatrick; and Benjamin G. They are all residents of this county except Mrs. Collier, whose home is in Grundy county, Missouri. The father followed faith- fully the fortunes of the Democratic party in political affairs, and gave his allegiance to the Christian church in re- ligious matters.
The educational advantages of his son, James G. Blackford, were limited to the curriculum of the district schools of this county and his own study, reading and reflection. He left school in 1862, when he was eighteen years of age, and en- listed in the Union army, Company G, Second Missouri Cavalry, under com- mand of Colonel Lipscomb and Briga- dier-General McNeil. He served the full three years of lis term of enlistment and took part in several of the historical bat- tles of the war and numerons minor en- gagements. His discharge from the service came at the elose of the war.
When the "war drum throbbed no longer and the battle flags were furled," he returned to his Missouri home, and since that time has been altogether occu- pied with progressive and profitable farming operations on his excellent farm in Jackson township, which now comprises 210 acres and is very pro-
ductive and nearly all under advanced and skillful cultivation according to the most approved modern methods of farm- ing. As he was faithful to his country in time of war, so he has been faithful to his township and county in time of peace, taking an active interest in their advancement and improvement, and at all times showing an eager desire and a willing hand to aid in caring for and promoting their best interests.
On February 14, 1878, Mr. Blackford was united in marriage with Miss Mary Givans, of this county. They have had two children, both of whom are living, their sons, Wayne, who resides in Co- lumbia, Boone county, and Lloyd, whose home is in Shelby county, this state. Like their parents, the sons are well es- teemed by the people who know them, and regarded as excellent men and ex- emplars of the most sturdy and service- able American citizenship.
FREDERICK G. SPEYERER.
Farming and raising live stock are two of the leading industries of Shelby county, and the men who have helped to develop them and build them up to their present high state of prosperity and activity are entitled to high praise and the general approval of the people whose welfare is promoted by them. In this number is to be found Frederick G. Speyerer, one of the progressive and suc- cessful farmers and live stock men of Lentner township, whose operations in the industries mentioned have long been extensive and fruitful in good for the township and the county.
Mr. Speyerer is a native of Germany.
482
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
born on May 29, 1842, and a scion of families long domesticated in that coun- try. His father, John Speyerer, and his grandfather, Frederick G. Speyerer, were natives of the Fatherland, and their forefathers lived in it for many genera- tions. The father was born in 1816 and came to the United States in 1852. His first location in this country was in the state of New York, where he remained until 1863. 1Te then moved to Illinois, and in that state passed the remainder of his life, busily and profitably engaged in farming. He died there June 11, 1867.
Before he left his native land he served his required term in the German army, acquiring in its discipline a con- trol of himself and a nse of his faculties which was of benefit to him throughout the rest of his life. In 1841 he was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Heintz, who was also a native of Ger- many. They had nine children, three of whom are living: Their sons Fred- erick and Jolin, who reside in Shelby county, and their son Michael, whose home is in Texas. In politics the father was a Republican in this country, and in religion he belonged to the Lutheran church.
Frederick G. Speyerer was but ten years of age when his parents brought him to this country. His opportunities for scholastic training were limited to those afforded by the district schools of Erie county, New York, but he was of a studious mind and read a great deal at home, and in this way acquired a large fund of general information. Soon after leaving school he became a sailor on the great lakes, and gave himself up to the hazards of wind and wave for a period
of ten years. At the end of that time he came to Missouri and located in Shelby county, and from the year of his arrival here he has been very actively and successfully occupied in farming and raising, feeding and shipping live stock.
He has taken an active part in the affairs of the township and county of his home, giving his energetic and help- ful aid to every commendable undertak- ing involving the welfare of their people. Politically he is a Republican. Frater- nally he is connected with the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, and in re- ligion he is affiliated with the German Lutheran church. On April 18, 1872, he was united in marriage with Miss Eliza- beth Dileam, of Pennsylvania. Eight children were born to them and all of them are living: . John B., who resides in Illinois ; George F., whose home is in this county; Frederick C., a resident of the state of Wyoming; Elizabeth, who lives at Marceline, Missouri; and Etta V., Rosa C .. Grace and Ino, all of whom are still at home with their parents. The latter stand well in the community in which they live and are highly re- spected by the people among whom they have so long lived and labored. They are regarded as excellent citizens, with: an abiding interest in the substantial and enduring good of their county and a con- stant readiness to promote it in every way they can, and in reference to its every material, mental and moral need.
GEORGE W. STALCUP.
With good old Virginia ancestry to give liim examples of upright and ele- vated living in his family history, and a
483
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
residence in three states of the American Union to give him knowledge of men in different parts of the country and the varying application of American institu- tions to the daily economies of life, ac- eording to location and circumstantial requirements, George W. Staleup, of Lentner township, Shelby county, has had many incentives to duty in his eiti- zenship, and his nature has responded to them in a very satisfactory manner. Ile is progressive, successful and pros- perous as a farmer and producer of su- perior strains of live stock, leading and enterprising as a citizen, and upright and esteemed as a man.
Mr. Staleup is a native of this county, where his life began on January 24, 1863. He is a grandson of William Stalcup, who was born and reared in Virginia, and a son of James Stalcup, also a na- tive of that state. The father came to Missouri in the early days and located in Shelby county. Here he was actively and extensively occupied in farming and raising live stock until the beginning of the Civil war. Soon after the start of that unfortunate and sanguinary conflict between the sections of our land he fol- lowed his belief in the doctrine of state sovereignty into the Confederate army and defended it on the field of battle un- til he was killed in the massacre at Cen- tralia, Missouri. He enlisted under Cap- tain Johnson and his command saw a great deal of active service until its ex- istence was disastrously ended by the event in which he lost his life, along with many other brave men who deserved a better fate. They dared the hazards of war, espousing their cause warmly and defending it valiantly, and they should
have died, if at all, in fair and open bat- tle, as true soldiers always prefer, and not in such unmanly and brutal warfare as that in which they fell.
Mr. Staleup was married in Missouri to Miss Mary Byars, like himself, a na- tive of Virginia. They had six children, but only two of them are living: George W. and his older brother William, both of whom are residents of this county. During his life the father was a man of force and influence in his community and his death was widely lamented. He was active in promoting the development of his township and county until the iron heel of war crushed out all enterprise and left every industry inert and lan- guishing. But he did his part while he had opportunity, and his name is re- membered among the people with great respect and general approval.
George W. Staleup thus had his child- hood and youth overshadowed by the terrible storm cloud of our Civil war, and began life for himself amid trying circumstances which were due to it. He obtained a limited education in the dis- triet seliools of Shelby county and after leaving school worked on the home farm for two years. He then went to Cali- fornia in search of better opportunities for advancement, but only remained in that state one year. The next four were passed by him in South Dakota. At the end of that period he returned to this state and Shelby county, and since his return has been actively, continuously and successfully engaged in farming and raising aud feeding stock for the mar- kets. He has made a specialty of fine saddle horses and won a national repu- tation for the excellence of his output in
.
484
HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
this department of the stock industry. His farm comprises 235 acres of good farm land, is well improved, highly cul- tivated and pleasantly located near Lentner. On September 18, 1889, he was married to Miss Alice Kimble, of this county. Two children have been born to them, but only one of them is living, their daughter Elsie, who is still at home with her parents.
MARK DEMPSEY.
Forty-four years of the forty-seven which Mark Dempsey, the present county assessor of Shelby county, has lived have been passed in this county, to which he was brought by his parents when he was but three years old. He was edu- cated in the county schools, acquired his social habits in free and friendly inter- course with the people here, has taken a leading part in the industrial life of the county, and for a number of years has been one of its most capable, reliable and upright public officials. He is there- fore to all intents and purposes a Shelby countian, although he is a native of Adams county, Illinois, where he was born. near the city of Quincy. on Sep- tember 3, 1863.
He is a son of Charles and Sarah (Dempsey) Dempsey, natives of Ireland, the father born in County Derry and the mother in Belfast. The father was reared to the age of twenty-one in his native land and came to the United States about 1833. He first located in Pennsylvania and entered the employ of the Crane Iron Works at Allentown, in that state. But the enormous migration from the eastern states to the prairies of
the West, as it was then, attracted his attention and enlisted his interest, and in time the influence became so potential with him that he joined the tide and moved to Adams county, Illinois. There he engaged in farming for some years, and in 1866, when the Civil war cloud had vanished from our country, he moved his family to Missouri and lo- cated in Shelby county. On his arrival here he bought a tract of unbroken land in Jackson township, and to the devel- opment and improvement of this he de- voted the remaining years of his life, which ended in 1877. His widow sur- vived him eight years, dying in May, 1885.
Of the eight children born to them five are living, and all but one are residents of this county. They are: Hugh ; Eliza- beth, the wife of Marshall Baker; Nancy, the wife of William Barry, of St. Louis, Missouri; Mark, and Maggie, the wife of T. J. Finney. Each of them in their several locations and occupations exemplifies in daily life the lessons of thrift, industry and upright living incul- cated around the family fireside and by the example of their parents, and each is highly respected by all classes of the people among whom they are known.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.