USA > Missouri > Shelby County > General history of Shelby County, Missouri > Part 62
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
situation in a manly way and made the most of his opportunities for his own advantage and the good of his commu- nity.
Mr. Smith was born in Sussex county, Delaware, on May 14, 1843, and is a grandson of Marlow Smith, also a na- tive of that state, and a son of John Smith, who lived in it all his life. He was a general farmer and also raised live stock on an extensive scale, owning 120 acres of land in a tract well adapted to his pursuits. He was a man of force and enterprise and succeeded well in all his undertakings, achieving a substan- tial prosperity and standing well in his county as a citizen. In political rela- tions he was a Democrat, and in refer- ence to all matters affecting the welfare of his locality was public spirited and progressive.
In Delaware he was united in mar- riage with Miss Mellie Traitor, who was born and reared in Maryland. They be- came the parents of ten children, seven of whom are living: John, whose home is in Worcester county, Maryland; Rufus, who resides in Sussex county, Delaware; Leolyn M., who lives in Den- ver, Colorado ; James A., the subject of this brief review; David, who is also a resident of Sussex county, Delaware ; William, who lives at Springwater, Ore- gon ; and Mary, the wife of James Bun- ton, of Sussex county, Delaware. Both the father and the mother died in Oc- tober, 1869, and within a few days of each other. They were well esteemed as useful citizens wherever they were known.
Their son, James A., obtained his edu- cation in the district schools of his na-
tive county, and after leaving school worked on the home farm with his father and assisted the family for a number of years. But the great West had a per- suasive voice for him and kept tugging at his heart strings. And in 1865 he yielded to the call and came to Missouri, arriving in Shelby county on November 20th, and remaining here a short time. He then went to Atchison, Kansas, where he lived for six months, variously engaged. Returning to this county at the end of that period, he worked as a hired man on a farm for one year, then rented eighty acres of land, which he farmed on his own account for a time, with considerable success but not entire satisfaction to himself.
In order to more nearly accomplish his desires and have a permanent home for himself and his family, he bought a farm of forty-four acres, and on this he has ever since resided and expended his efforts with gratifying success and steadily increasing prosperity. He has greatly improved his farm, cultivated it with industry and skill, and brought it to a high degree of fruitfulness. As the place is not a large one, Mr. Smith is enabled to carry on what is called in- tensive farming, adapting his crops to the land as study and observation de- velop its characteristics, and thus makes every acre yield its due proportion of return for the labor expended on the farm and give him the best possible re- sults. His farm is one of the most val- uable and attractive rural homes in the township for its size.
On February 28, 1867, Mr. Smith was joined in marriage with Miss Susan M. Carothers, a native of this county. They
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
have had twelve children, ten of whom are living : Jerome, who resides at Pine, Oregon; Dollie, the wife of Boone Fad- dis, of Centralia, Missouri; Charles L., whose home is in Portland, Oregon; Annie, the wife of Amos Miller, of Mon- roe county, Missouri; James E., a resi- dent of Canada; Lucy, the wife of John Winn, who also lives at Centralia, Mis- souri; Nora, a resident of Shelbyville; Armstrong and Maud, who are still at home with their parents; and Leona, the wife of Arthur Phillips, whose home is in this county.
In political faith and allegiance Mr. Smith is a member of the Democratic party and, although he never has sought or desired a political office for himself, either by election or appointment, he is loyal and energetic in the service of the organization and always helpful in its campaigns. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal church, South, of which his wife is also a mem- ber, and to this also lie is loyal and de- voted, taking an active part in its work and aiding in every way he can to pro- mote its best interests. In the affairs of his township and county he takes an active interest and serviceable part, do- ing all he can to help them to whole- some and enduring progress and devel- opment along lines of steady and sub- stantial advancement.
GEORGE W. GREENFIELD.
One of the substantial farmers and stock growers of Shelby county, which has been his home from the time of his birth, Mr. Greenfield is a representative citizen of this section of the state and a
member of one of the honored pioneer families of Shelby county. Through well-directed effort he has achieved a large measure of success in connection with temporal affairs, and he is the owner of a finely improved landed estate in his native county, besides which he is a member of the directorate of the Farmers' Bank at Leonard. He is hield in unqualified esteem in his native coun- ty and is well entitled to consideration in this history.
George W. Greenfield was born in Taylor township, Shelby county, Mis- souri, on September 16, 1848, and the old homestead which was the place of his nativity is but three miles distant from his present place of abode. He is a son of Samuel and Hannalı (Michaels) Greenfield, whose marriage was solemn- ized in the state of Ohio in 1838. The father was born on Chesapeake Bay, in the state of Maryland, in 1812, and the mother was a native of Virginia, whence she removed with her parents to Ohio in an early day. Samuel Greenfield passed the first fourteen years of his life in his native state and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio, where he was reared to maturity and where he received a common school education. He continued to reside in the old Buckeye state until about 1836, when the family removed to La Grange county, Indiana, and in 1840 came to Missouri and num- bered himself among the first settlers of the present township of Taylor, where he secured a tract of wild land, which he reclaimed into a productive farm. He became one of the successful farmers and stock raisers of the county and added materially to his landed estate,
GEO. W. GREENFIELD
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
becoming the owner of more than 700 acres. His first land was secured from the government and consisted of 120 acres. He continued to be actively con- cerned in the supervision of his large in- terests until 1899, when he disposed of his live stock and retired from active business. In the meanwhile he deeded the greater portion of his landed hold- ings to his children. He died in 1901, aged ninety-one years, and his name merits an enduring place on the roll of the honored pioneers of Shelby county, to whose civic and industrial development he contributed in generous measure. He gave his support to the cause of the Re- publican party from the time of its or- ganization until the Greenback party was formed, and he thereafter was iden- tified with the latter until it passed out of the political arena, when he again affil- iated himself with the Republican party. He was identified with the organization of the Methodist Epicopal church at Leonard, and both he and his wife held membership in the same. Mrs. Green- field was summoned to the life eternal in about 1880, and of the eight children five are now living, namely : Sarah, who is the widow of Jacob Hoofer, of Shelby connty; George W., who is the imme- diate subject of this review; Susan, who is the wife of Recompense Cox, of Nor- ton, Kansas; Samuel A., who likewise resides at Norton, Kansas; and Mary, who is the wife of Edward Cox, of Shel- by county, Missouri.
George W. Greenfield was reared to maturity on the old homestead farm and his early educational discipline was re- ceived in the Ernest school, in his home township, which he attended until he
was fourteen years of age, and in the Mc Williams school house, which had formerly been a Baptist church, where he prosecuted his studies at intervals until he had attained the age of nineteen years. Thereafter he continued to assist in the work of his father's farm until 1871, when he began independent opera- tions as a farmer and stock grower and established a home of his own, having purchased a house, to which he made an addition, besides making other improve- ments. He began operations on eighty acres of land and broke the virgin soil by the use of seven yokes of oxen. He di- rected his efforts with much energy and discrimination and his success be- came cumulative in its tendency, so that he soon gained precedence as one of the substantial representatives of the agri- cultural and stock industries of his na- tive township and county. He is now the owner of a finely improved estate of two hundred acres and the land is of the most fertile order, so that he has one of the model farms of Shelby county. On his farm he has long maintained a black- smith shop, and as he is a natural me- chanie and has much skill at the black- smith trade he has not only been able to attend to the shoeing of his own horses and the repairing of his farm imple- ments and machinery, but in earlier days he frequently came to the aid of his neighbors in making repairs of this order.
Mr. Greenfield was one of the charter members of Farmers' Bank of Leonard, assisting in its organization and having been from the start a valued member of its board of directors. He is a man of resourceful nature, is progressive and
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
energetic, and his course has been so ordered in all the relations of life as to retain to him the inviolable confidence and esteem of his fellow men. He has shown a loyal interest in all that has tended to advance the welfare of his na- tive county and is essentially liberal and progressive as a citizen. IFis enterprise and thrift are shown in the attractive and commodious modern residence, fine barn and other substantial buildings on lis homestead, and he has reason to find satisfaction in the fact that he has been content to remain on his "native heath" and to continue his identification with · the great basic industry under whose in- fluence he was reared, for he has achieved marked success and is one of the independent farmers and business men of the section in which he maintains his home and where he is surrounded by those environments that make for peace and happiness. He has served as school director but has never consented to become a candidate for any specific political office. He gives his allegiance to the Republican party, his wife holding membership in the M. E. church, to whose support they are liberal contributors.
Mr. Greenfield has been twice married. In 1871 he wedded Miss Melissa Ward, who was born in Iowa and who was a danghter of Charles and Rachel Ward. Mrs. Greenfield was summoned to eternal rest on the 4th of April, 1888, and of the eight children five are now living. Concerning them the following brief rec- ord is given : Samuel F., who is engaged in real estate business at Dighton, Lane county, Kansas; Joseph Victor, who is identified with the mining business at Marble, Colorado ; Mary, who is the wife
of George Thompson, of Adams, Oregon; Nellie, who is the wife of Elmer Loft, of Shelby county, Missouri, and Wesley S., of this county. On the 10th of December, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Greenfield to Mrs. Emeline (Ward) Rogers, who was born in Pennsylvania, and who is a sister of his first wife. No children have been born of the second marriage. The family home is one no- table for its gracious hospitality and is a favored rendezvous for the wide circle of friends that Mr. and Mrs. Greenfield have gathered about them.
ROBERT E. CAPP.
This energetic, enterprising and suc- cessful farmer and sheep breeder of Salt River township, in which he is one of the most progressive and esteemed citi- zens, is a native of this county and has passed the whole of his life to the pres- ent time within its borders. He secured his education in its district schools, ac- quired the graces of social life among its people, learned the duties of citizen- ship under its civil institutions, and has devoted all the years of his later youth and manhood to its progress and de- velopment. He is therefore wholly a product of the county, and his career, which has been successful for himself, has also ministered to the welfare of the region of his nativity, in which he has always felt a deep and abiding in- terest.
Mr. Capp was born on October 12, 1878, and is a grandson of David Capp, a native of Pennsylvania, and a son of Robert Jackson Capp, whose life began in this state on July 15, 1846. For many
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
years the father owned a farm of 109 acres of good land in this county and farmed it with skill, industry and pro- gressiveness. He was also, during his residence in the county, an extensive feeder of hogs for the markets, and en- joyed a wide and creditable reputation as such. In 1908 he moved to a farm of thirty-seven acres near the town of Jasper, in the county of the same name, this state. And there he lived until the following year, when he sold this land and on January 3, 1910, bonght prop- erty in Clarence, where he now lives. He was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Powell, a native of Benton county, Missouri. Six children have been born of the union, and all of them are living and residents of Shelby county. They are: John D .; William H .; Mary, the wife of Wesley Clark; Sarah Ann, the wife of Albert Kendal; Jesse, and James T. Capp, who trades extensively in mules. The mother of these children died on December 24, 1904. In politics the father is a pronounced Democrat and an energetic and helpful worker for the success of his party in all its cam- paigns. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, South.
Robert E. Capp grew to manhood on his father's farm and attended the dis- triet school in the vicinity when he had opportunity during his boyhood and youth. While his educational facilities were limited, he made good use of them and thereby laid the foundation for an extensive fund of general knowledge which he has since acquired from judi- cious and reflective reading. After leav- ing school he continued to work on the home place and assist the family until he
reached the age of eighteen. At that age he started a farming and live stock industry of his own on eighty acres of land which he rented for a time and then purchased. His farm is located near Bacon Chapel and is one of the best in that part of the township, and he has made it what it is by the vigor and skill with which he has cultivated it and the good judgment and taste with which he has improved it.
Early in his career as a farmer Mr. Capp took a liking to sheep and ever since he lias fed and raised this inter- esting and profitable but uncertain and delicate animal for the markets on an extensive scale. Under his care and ac- curate knowledge of the business the un- certainties of the sheep industry are carefully guarded against, and the con- stitutional delicacy of the animal is pro- vided for, so that he escapes the usual hazards incident to the industry. For he is one of the best informed and most jndicions breeders and feeders in this part of the country, and his output holds a high rank wherever sheep are sold within the range of his operations and shipments. He has, therefore, been very successful in his live stock enterprise, as he has been in his farming industry, which is carried on with equal intelli- gence and ability, and prosecuted with eqnal energy and vigor.
Mr. Capp was first married on Sep- tember 20, 1899. One child was born of the union, but it is now deceased. Its mother, whose maiden name was Grace A. Teter, died on March 31, 1901, and on April 20, 1904, the father married a second wife, taking as his companion in this nion Miss Effie Runion. They
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have had two children, both of whom are living and still at home with their parents, being vet of tender years. They are a son named Clell and a daughter named Cozette. The father is a faithful working Democrat in political affairs and devoted to the welfare of his party. In religious relations he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, Sonth.
HANSFORD S. CARROLL.
Aged forty-two years and still unmar- ried, Hansford S. Carroll has not the in- eentive to interest in the welfare of his township and county that married men have on account of their families. He is, nevertheless, earnestly and serviceably devoted to their general good and does all in his power to promote it, impelled by his high sense of duty as a citizen and his loyalty to the region of his nativity and his lifelong residence with the ex- ception of one year, which he passed in Oregon. He has shown his interest in his locality as a steady contributor to its industrial and commercial development, and also by his active part in helping to advance and intensify all the mental and moral agencies at work among its people.
Mr. Carroll was born in Shelby county, Missouri, on March 24, 1868. He is a grandson of James Carroll, a native and for many years a leading farmer of In- diana, and a son of Benjamin Carroll. who was also a native of Indiana. When he was but three years old the father was brought by his parents to Missouri. The family located on a farm of 100 aeres near Bacon Chapel, and on that farm Benjamin grew to manhood and Chapel.
learned the ins and outs of the occupa- tion he followed throughout the years of his activity. At the age of nineteen he bought ninety acres of land, on which he took up his residence and engaged in farming and raising live stock on his own account. The land was new and undeveloped, and all that it subsequently became in productiveness and comeliness he made it by his systematic industry and the judgment with which he devel- oped and cultivated it. He found it re- munerative through the vigor of his op- erations in farming it, and his live stock operations were also profitable.
In 1858 he was united in marriage with Miss Harriet McBroom, a native of Mon- roe county, Missouri. They became the parents of eight children, six of whom are living: Richard L., Hansford S., John C., Lizzie (wife of W. H. Miles, of Macon, Missouri), Nannie and William T. Except Mrs. Miles they are all resi- dents of this county. The father and mother are now living with their son Hansford S., the immediate subject of this brief memoir.
He was educated in the district schools of Shelby county and after leaving school assisted his father on the home farm for a number of years. He at length yielded to a longing he had felt for some time to see the Pacific coast region, and went to the state of Oregon, where he passed a year engaged in farming. But Missouri was more to his liking, and at the end of the period mentioned he returned to this state and again took up his residence in Lentner township, Shelby county, on a farm of fifty-two acres in the neighbor- hood of his father's place near Bacon
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Like his father, Mr. Carroll has shown himself to be progressive and enterpris- ing, and has improved his farm and brought it to a high state of productive- ness. He has studied the nature of its soil and kept in touch with the latest thought and discovery in the science of agriculture, and he has industriously applied to his work all that he has learned by study and observation. It follows, as a matter of course, that he has been successful, for the soil of this portion of Missouri has never yet failed to respond liberally to the hand of skill- ful and persuasive husbandry. His politi- cal faith rests upon the principles of the Democratic party and he gives that or- ganization his continued and effective support. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen, and to that, too, he is devoted in loyalty of feeling and activity of service. He ignores no duty of good citizenship, but performs all with fidelity and intelligence.
JOHN L. QUIGLEY.
Successful and progressive as a farmer and mill man, upright and enterprising as a citizen, clean, capable and energetic as a public official, John L. Quigley, of Salt River township, this county, has exemplified in his useful career among the people of his township and county many of the best and most admirable traits of elevated and productive Amer- ican citizenship. He has met every pub- lic and private duty in a manly and straightforward manner and discharged all with fidelity and ability. And while pushing his own advancement with com-
mendable industry and intelligence, he has also given the affairs and the en- during welfare of the region in which he lives careful attention and valuable ad- vocacy and assistanec.
Mr. Quigley was born in Monroe coun- ty, Missouri, on April 3, 1858. His grandfather Quigley was born and reared in Kentucky, and Samuel Quig- ley, his father, was also a native of that state. The father came to Missouri in 1854 and took up his residence in Mon- roe county, where he remained until 1861. He then moved to Adams county, Illinois, and during the next six years was actively engaged in farming in that county. In 1867 he returned to Missouri and located in this county near Shel- bina, where he continued his farming operations until his death on July 4, 1886. His political faith and active sup- port were given throughout his man- hood to the Democratic party, and he was warmly attached to its principles.
In 1844 he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah J. Wallace, a native of Ten- nessee. They became the parents of nine children, six of whom are living: Lizzie, the widow of the late Thomas Beasley, of California; William H., who resides in California; and John L., Charles, Robert and Warren, all resi- dents of this county. The mother is still living, and although she is well advanced in years, she is still vigorous and active, and is blessed with the good opinion of all who know her past usefulness or are brought into contact with her present genial and pleasing disposition and obliging manner.
John L. Quigley obtained his educa- tion in the district schools of Shelby
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
county and after completing it helped his father on the home farm until he reached the age of twenty-four years. He then determined to found a home of his own, and to this end he bought a farm of 125 acres in this county near Bacon Chapel. In connection with his farming he has for years operated a saw mill, which is one of the great conven- iences of the neighborhood, and is known far and wide for the excellence of the work done on it.
Mr. Quigley has not been wholly ah- sorhed in his own affairs, although he has at all times given them close and careful attention. The interests of his township and county have appealed to him with force and he has responded to the appeal with energy and intelligence, giving the region around him the benefit of his breadth of view, progressiveness and enterprise in connection with local public affairs, and doing whatever he could to promote the welfare and ad- vancement of the people. In 1905 he was appointed game warden by Governor Folk, and although he occupied the office only two years, he made a record of ef- ficieney and fidelity in it which is still highly commended and stands strongly to his credit.
On February 5. 1884, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Z. Farrell, a native of Shelby county, Missouri. They have had three children, two of whom are living and both still at home with their parents, a son named Everett and a daughter named Nellie. In political af- fairs the father adheres faithfully to the principles of the Democratie party and is one of its most energetic and efficient workers in all campaigns. In fraternal
relations he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, and in religious af- filiation with the Christian church. The people of his township esteem him highly as one of their best and most useful citi- zens, and this estimate of him is held good throughout the county. It is based on well demonstrated merit, has been sustained by consistent fidelity to duty and uprightness of life, and is borne modestly by him although freely ae- corded by all classes of Shelby county residents.
JOHN C. PRIEST.
One of the most popular and esteemed citizens of Shelbyville and one of the most successful men in the business world of the city is John C. Priest, who has been a farmer and stockman and extensively engaged in the real estate, abstract and loan business from the dawn of his manhood, and who has won success and prominence in every line of activity in which he has been occupied, winning his way to prosperity and con- sequence by the application of good com- mon sense to his business and to popular favor by his genial nature, obliging dis- position and high character.
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