USA > Missouri > Shelby County > General history of Shelby County, Missouri > Part 69
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dence in this county he worked as a hired man on farms, and in 1888 and 1889, just after his marriage, he lived on a farm he rented. In the year last mentioned he bought 140 acres of land and settled down on it with a view to improving it and making the most he could out of its cultivation and the live stock industry he started in connection with that. He has been very successful in his undertakings, and now owns and cultivates with vigor, enterprise and intelligence 540 acres, his farm being one of the best in Black Creek township. He has worked hard and at- tributes his success to his energy, con- tinned industry and careful attention to every feature, phase and detail of his work.
Mr. Gibson was married on January 21, 1888, to Miss Lydia M. Boyles, a daughter of Archibald Boyles, a resi- dent of this county. Of the five children born of the union three are living, Ernest, Florence and Floyd, and all are still members of the parental family circle. The father is a Prohibitionist in politics and a member of the Christian church in his religions affiliation.
JACOB H. MERRIN.
This venerable and honored citizen of the city of Clarence, where he has main- tained his home for more than forty years, and where he was president of the Clarence Savings Bank, has been closely identified with the civic and industrial upbuilding of this section of the state and is one of the substantial capitalists and representative men of Shelby county, where he has ever commanded nnquali- fied popular confidence and regard.
JACOB H. MERRIN
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Mr. Merrin is one of the. valued citi- zens contributed to Shelby county by the fine old Buckeye state, as he was born in Monroe county, Ohio, on the 1st of August, 1827, being a son of John and Sallie (Beers) Merrin, the former of whom was born in the state of New Jer- sey, in 1799, and the latter of whom was a native of Ohio, in which state their marriage was solemnized. John Merrin was one of the sterling pioneers of Ohio, and his vocation throughout his entire active career was that of farming. He passed the closing years of his life in Knox county, Ohio, where he died in 1849, and his wife survived him by a number of years, both having been zeal- ous members of the Presbyterian church and his political support having been given to the Democratic party. Of the nine children of this union the subject of this review is the eldest of the four now living; John N. is a resident of Tay- lorville, Illinois; Lodema is a resident of the state of Washington; and Mary Eliz- abeth is the wife of John O. Trimmer, of Mound City, Missouri.
Jacob H. Merrin, whose name initiates this article, was reared to the sturdy dis- cipline of the pioneer farm and his early educational advantages were those af- forded in the primitive common schools of Knox county, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood and where he had his full quota of experience in the re- claiming of land in the virgin forest and where he continued to be associated with his father in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to his legal majority, when he initiated his independent career in connection with the same basie industry, which has ever
constituted the bulwark of our national prosperity. He became the owner of a large tract of land in Knox county, Ohio, and reclaimed and developed a consider- able portion of the same. He finally traded about 350 acres of his land for a stock of general merchandise, and for the ensuing two years he conducted a store at Fredericktown, Knox county. In 1865 Mr. Merrin traded his stock of mer- chandise for 320 acres of land in Mon- roe county, Missouri, where he devoted his attention to farming and stock-grow- ing until 1876, when he removed to Shiel- by county and took up his residence in the village of Clarence, where he has maintained his home during the long intervening years. He became exten- sively engaged in farming and in the raising and buying of cattle, building up a large and prosperous business as a shipper of live stock, and with these lines of industry he continued to be actively identified until 1899, since which time he has lived virtually retired, having an attractive residence in Clarence, where he is also the owner of other valuable property, besides which he retains in his possession 420 acres of excellent farming land, the most of which is lo- cated in Clay township, this connty. He was president of the Clarence Savings Bank from 1905 to 1911 and gave to the same a personal supervision, having been a potent factor in directing its af- fairs in such a way as to make the insti- tution one of the solid and prosperous banks of the county. Mr. Merrin has always stood representative of loyal and publie-spirited citizenship and has done much to aid in the social and material development of his community. In pol-
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ities, though never a seeker of the hon- ors or emoluments of publie office, he has ever been arrayed as a staunch advo- cate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands spon- sor, and both he and his wife are active and valued members of the Presbyterian and Baptist churches.
Mr. Merrin has been twice married. In January, 1852, he wedded Miss Han- nah Loree, of Knox county, Ohio, who died in 1893, and of their three children two are living, Ellen, who is the wife of William Wilt, of Clarence, and Effie D., who is the wife of James Woods, of Monroe county, this state. In 1897, De- cember 19, Mr. Merrin was united in marriage to Mrs. Mattie Stowe, of Ma- con county, who now presides over their pleasant home. Mrs. Merrin's maiden name was Mattie Randolph, a native of Kentucky. She came with her parents to Missouri when fifteen years of age. She has one son by her former marriage, Monroe Stowe, of Macon county.
THEODORE W. FEELY.
Enterprising, progressive and sne- cessful as a farmer and live stock man, prominent and serviceable in the official life and public affairs of the locality in which he lives, and standing high in the regard of the whole people of Shelby and Monroe counties, among whom he has passed all the years of his life to this time (1910), Theodore W. Feely, of Black Creek township, is justly entitled to the rank he holds in publie esteem as a farmer and a citizen, and his excellent reputation as a man of great public spirit and strong devotion to the best
interests of his township, county and state.
Mr. Feely was born in Shelby county, Missouri, on November 11, 1862. He is a grandson of Le Grand Feely, a native of Virgiina, and a son of James Le Grand and Mattie E. (Morrison) Feely, the former born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, on March 6, 1835, and the lat- ter a native of Tazewell county, Illinois. The father came to Missouri in 1856 and located at Shelbyville, where he worked at the carpenter trade for ten years. In 1866 he moved to the adjoining county of Monroe, and there was busily occupied in general farming and raising live stock until 1873. In that year he returned to this county and bought 127 acres of wild prairie land, on which he passed the re- mainder of his days, improving his un- tamed estate and making it over into an excellent and valuable farm.
His marriage with Miss Mattie E. Morrison took place in 1858, and they became the parents of nine children, all of whom but the fifth in order of birth, a daughter named Carrie Belle, are liv- ing. The eight who are living are: John A. and William M., residents of Hotel- kiss, Colorado; Theodore W., whose life story is the special theme of this writ- ing; James MeKendree, whose home is in Shelbyville; Virginia Edna, the wife of Rev. W. D. Neale of Rocky Ford, Colo- rado; Charles R., an esteemed resident of this county; Stella, the wife of E. M. O'Bryen, of Shelbyville; and Silas Mar- vin, who is also a resident of Shelby county. The father was publie adminis- trator of Shelby county for a continuous period of twelve years. In political faith and activity he was a member of the
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
Democratic party and prominent in the couneils of and among the zealous work- ers for that organization. In fraternal life he was for many years a Freemason and in church relations a Southern Methodist. His death occurred on Jan- uary 7, 1898, and that of the mother on February 11, 1907.
Their son, Theodore W., obtained his education in the country schools in Mon- roe and Shelby counties and a graded public school in Shelbyville. After com- pleting his education, and while acquir- ing it, he assisted in the work on his father's farm, remaining with his par- ents and aiding the family all he could until 1886. He was married in that year, on September 15, to Miss Jennie M. Garrison, a daughter of J. W. and Mary (Francis) Garrison, natives of Vir- ginia, but long residents of Shelby county, Missouri. Mr. Feely then bought an eighty-aere farm and on this he has ever since carried on a flourishing busi- ness in general farming and raising and feeding live stock, in both of which he has been very successful and prosper- ous. He now owns 418 acres of fine and fertile land, and in his stock industry gives his attention almost exclusively to breeding and dealing in Hereford cattle.
In polities he is a Democrat and as sueh has been a member of the school board continuously for twelve years. He is also a charter member of the Shelby County Railroad Company. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Church, Sonth. They have had five chil- dren, all of whom are living: William L., who is a rising man in this county ; Velma, the wife of R. D. Hatcher, also a
resident of Shelby county; and Shelby, MeKendree and Virginia, who are living at home with their parents.
SILAS MARVIN FEELY.
Having built up a prosperous farming and live stock industry from practically nothing to start with, and accomplished it all within the last ten years, and hav- ing also risen to a position of good standing and general esteem throughout the township and county of his home, Silas Marvin Feely, of Black Creek town- ship, has demonstrated that he is made of the material that commands success, and has elevated ideals of citizenship in private life and with reference to all pub- lic affairs.
Mr. Feely is a native of Shelby county, born on August 10, 1879. He is a son of James Le Grand and Mattie E. (Morri- son) Feely, an account of whose lives will be found in a sketch of their older son, Theodore W. Feely, elsewhere in this volume. Like his brother Theodore, Si- las Marvin Feely obtained his education in the country schools near his father's farm and a graded public school in Shel- byville. He remained at home with his parents until 1901, aiding in doing the work on the homestead and giving the family all the assistance he could. In the year last named he rented a farm to go into business for himself as a farmer and live stock operator, and this farm he bought in 1903. It comprises 124 acres, is well improved and skillfully cultivated and has become one of the most desirable of its size in the township in which it is located. Both the general
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farming and the stock industry con- ducted by Mr. Feely are managed with wisdom and pushed with highly com- mendable enterprise and both are profit- able.
Mr. Feely was married on December 25, 1901, to Miss Addie Marie Turner, a daughter of William R. and Mary (Doyle) Turner, esteemed residents of Shelby county. Three daughters have resulted from the union, Gertrude Marie, Mildred Elaine and Dorthy Lois, all of whom are living. In politics the father is a pronounced Democrat, with an abid- ing and helpful interest in the affairs of his party and steady activity in its be- half. His fraternal conection is with the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and his wife are consistent members of the Southern Methodist church, devoted to its welfare and energetic in helping to promote it, and the good of the com- munity in general.
Mr. Feely is a young man yet, and the success and standing in life which he has already won are greatly to his credit. But his enterprise, correct and extensive knowledge of the work in which he is en- gaged, his devotion to its vigorons pros- ecution to the highest and best results, and his intelligent attention to its every requirement, give assurance that his as- cent to higher altitudes and greater pros- perity in connection with it will be steady and increase in speed. His uprightness and progressiveness as a citizen, which have seenred for him the esteem of all who know him, also indicate that he is destined to more extensive popularity and stronger influence in the community of which he is so valued a member.
CHARLES R. FEELY.
This enterprising and progressive farmer and live stock dealer of Black Creek township, in this county, who now lives on the family homestead and in the house in which he was born, is a brother of Theodore W. and Silas M. Feely, of the same township, sketches of whom will be found in this work. In that of the former the family history is told at some length, the leading events in the lives of the parents being set forth somewhat in detail. The story of their lives and those of the lives of their sons, as they appear herein, show that the fiber of the family is firm, that its members have grappled with adverse conditions and become mas- ters of them and that attention to the du- ties of elevated citizenship has been one of their prominent characteristics, and continues in the sons as it was exempli- fied by the parents, with advantage to themselves and decided benefits to the community in which all have had their homes.
Charles R. Feely was born on August 7, 1874, in Shelby county, Missouri. He obtained his education in the district schools, and worked on the parental acres while attending and after leaving those valued institutions for mental training and the inculcation of sterling qualities of manhood and womanhood. He remained with his parents until 1900, then bought an eighty-acre farm, which he has increased to 255 acres. He has the whole tract under skillful and ad- vanced cultivation and reaps an abun- dant harvest of profits from his outlay of enterprise and labor. His specialties in the live stock line of his business are
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Shorthorn cattle and Duroc-Jersey hogs, of which he handles large numbers and with them keeps the markets in which he deals active and well supplied. Through his activity in this respect he has also helped considerably to improve the grades of stock he favors throughont Shelby county and the adjoining counties of the state, and has thereby been of great benefit to this whole region.
Mr. Feely was married on February 11, 1903, to Miss Lizzie Christian, of Warren, Missouri. They had one child, their son, Donovan Read, who is being indoctrinated in the tenets and principles of business so successfully pursued by his parents, and who, although very young yet, is showing himself to be an apt and responsive student. In political faith and allegiance the father is a firm and faithful member of the Democratic party, and gives its principles and ean- didates his earnest support in all cam- paigns. In fraternal relations he be- longs to the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, and his religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. His wife is a member of the Missionary Baptist church. Mrs. Feely died De- cember 29, 1903. Mr. Feely again mar- ried, November 10, 1909, to Lu Verne Hallenbeck, of this county, a daughter of Silvesta Hallenbeck.
Like his younger brother, Silas M. Feely, Charles R. is yet a young man, and his success has been won within a few years. It also gives great promise for the future, both with reference to his own esate and the general improvement and advance of the township and county of his home, in which he takes a very ac- tive interest and in promoting their wel-
fare bears a zealous, helpful and impor- tant part of the work. He and his wife are among the most useful and esteemed residents of Black Creek township.
EDWARD M. COE.
The grandson of a Virginia planter who came to the United States from England and settled in the Old Domin- ion soon after our Revolutionary war, whose name also was Edward, and the son of David J. and Elizabeth (Skin- ner) Coe, who were born and reared in London county of that state, Edward M. Coe, one of the prominent farmers and stock breeders of Black Creek township in this county, inherited from his an- cestors, and acquired in association with the people of his native place, qualities of sturdy independence and sterling manhood which gave him self-reliance and have been among the leading ele- ments of the business success he has achieved. Ile also inherited from his progenitors a spirit of valor and mili- tary prowess which made the battlefield seem to them and him a place of sanctity when duty called them to it. His grand- father and all the sons of his household took part in the war of 1812, and rend- ered their country valiant service in that short but sanguinary conflict. And when our Civil war began, the second Edward and representative of the third genera- tion of patriots in this country, promptly took his place in the ranks of one of the contending armies as a private soldier, and offered his life bravely in defense of his convictions.
Mr. Coe was born in Loudon county, Virginia, on July 1, 1821, and grew to
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
manhood and obtained his education there. He came to Missouri in 1843, ar- riving on February 4 of that year. Ile had been well trained in a variety of pursuits, as after returning from the war of 1812, his father engaged in farm- ing, milling and raising live stock, and as he was successful in all these lines of business, and carried on extensively in each, his offspring had the benefit of his acumen and capacity which aided him in acquiring knowledge of them and skill and enterprise in conducting them. The father's marriage with Miss Elizabeth C. Skinner occurred on July 1, 1820, and resulted in the production of three chil- dren, of whom Edward M. is the only one now living. In politics the father was a Whig and in fraternal life a mem- ber of the Masonic order.
On his arrival in this state Edward M. Coe first located in Knox county, but soon afterward moved to Marion county, where he remained four years. In 1847 he changed his residence to Lewis county, and in his new location built a mill, which he operated three years. A desire to see the farther West had seized hold of him by the end of that period, and in 1850 he made a trip to Oregon, which was just then pleading earnestly for settlers to take possession of and en- joy the great bounty and rich opportuni- ties that lay for all comers in the ex- panding lap of that region. Three years on the Pacific slope satisfied him and at the end of that period he returned to Missouri and again took up his residence in Knox county. He remained there until 1895, then moved to Shelby county, and here he has been farming and rais- ing considerable quantities of live stock
ever since. He has bred, reared and placed on the market some of the best horses ever known in this county.
Mr. Coe's farm comprises 321 acres of choice land and is located near Shel- byville. It is one of the best in the county, and is particularly well adapted to his live stock industry and adequately equipped and fitted up for conducting the business in the most progressive and satisfactory manner. The farm is the attractive and valuable home of his family, which consists of his wife and six living children-Edward and Ma- rion, who are still living with their parents; Andrew N., who resides in At- lanta, Missouri; Frances R., the wife of Samuel Mason, whose home is in Knox county, this state; Ella, the wife of N. S. Taylor, who is also a resident of Knox county; and Lydia, the wife of William Collins, of Shelby county.
It is not to be overlooked, or passed with a mere mention, that Mr. Coe took part in the Civil war in this county. At the very beginning of the conflict he en- listed as a private soldier in the Confed- erate army, in Colonel Franklin's regi- ment under Colonel Porter. Whatever the length of his term of service, it is certain that he bore himself bravely in all the privations, hardships and dan- gers of military life and admirably sus- tained the reputation of his forefathers. His company was commanded by Captain Kendrick, and the regiment by Colonels Porter and Franklin. He was nnited in marriage with Miss Martha V. Nelson, a native of Knox county, on May 24, 1864. Eight children in all were born to them. In politics Mr. Coe is an Inde- pendent, considering first, in every cam-
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paign, the best interests of the public, and casting his vote in accordance with his judgment on that ground. In fra- ternal life he is a member of the Ma- sonic order, and in religion his allegiance is given to the Missionary Baptist church. He has been very successful in his business, has shown himself to be an excellent citizen in every respect, and has won the lasting regard and confi- dence of the whole people in the north- eastern part of this state and wherever else he has lived.
KIM BETHARDS.
All of the fifty-five years that have passed to this time (1910) in the life of Kim Bethards, one of the substantial, prosperous and progressive farmers and live stock breeders of Black Creek town- ship, have been spent in Shelby county, and all of the number since he was first able to work have been devoted to the promotion of the two leading industries of the county in which he is now engaged. He was born in the county on November 8, 1844, and has never lived in any other county than Shelby, and never far from the locality of his present farm of 193 acres near Shelbyville.
Mr. Bethards is of Maryland ancestry, his grandfather and his parents, Joshua and Matilda (Moore) Bethards, all hav- ing been born and reared in that state. The father came to Missouri in 1835 and located on a farm of 160 acres near Shelbyville, and there he farmed and raised and fed live stock for the markets, steadily enlarging his possessions in land and extending his stock industry as his prosperity increased, until at the
time of his death he owned 900 acres and carried on one of the most active and considerable trades in stock in that part of the county.
He and his wife were the parents of thirteen children, four of whom are liv- ing: Adeline, the wife of Robert Doug- las, of Shelbyville; Isaac, who resides in Henderson county, Illinois; and Zedoc and Kim, both of whom are residents of this county. The father was a pro- nonneed and active Democrat in political faith and allegiance, and a man of great enterprise and zeal in behalf of all com- mendable projects for the improvement and development of his township and county. He found them almost at the dawn of their corporate existence and not far removed from the frontier stage of their history. He left them well ad- vanced in material progress, dotted with the homes of an enterprising and sturdy people, determined to make the most of the opportunities for advancement their fertile acres afforded, and with all the elements of mental, moral and spiritual life well established. And to this result he and his wife contributed extensively and substantially. He died on March 5, 1875, and she on May 11 in the same year.
Their son Kim, the interesting sub- ject of this brief sketch, obtained his education in Shelbyville, and after leav- ing school at once began farming on 200 acres of land near that town. From that farm he moved in 1878 to the one of 193 acres which he now owns and occupies. From the first planting of his plowshare in the responsive soil of this county he has been continuously and profitably en- gaged in general farming and raising
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and feeding live stock. He has been very successful in both lines of activity, and his success is due to his energy, ea- pacity and general good management. He has been a student of his business in all its details, and has applied the re- sults of his reading, reflection and prac- tical observation with skill and judg- ment, expanding his intelligence and broadening his views as the years have rolled away in their course. He is now considered one of the best and most prac- tical farmers and stock men in his town- ship.
On December 23, 1873, Mr. Bethards was united in marriage with Miss Ann Eliza Jordan, who was born in Michi- gan. They have had nine children, eight of whom are living: Minnie, Frank, Omer, Lonis and Elva, all of whom are still at home with their parents; Albert, the third in the order of birth, who is a resident of South Dakota, and Roy and Ray, whose homes are also in South Da- kota. In political affairs the father fol- lows the fortunes of the Democratic party and is active and serviceable in his support of its principles and candidates, although he is not desirous of any of its honors or emoluments for himself. Mrs. Bethards is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South.
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