USA > Missouri > Shelby County > General history of Shelby County, Missouri > Part 82
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cultivation and highly productive. The farm is also well improved with good buildings and fully provided with all that is necessary for condneting the work on it according to the most ap- proved modern methods in advanced ag- riculture. In addition he carries on an extensive and flourishing live stock in- dustry, and in both lines of enterprise he has prospered.
Mr. Baker has been one of the lead- ing men in his township in promoting public improvements and contributing to the general welfare of the locality. He served on the seliool board more than twenty years, and in numerous other ways has helped to build up and develop the township and county in all their moral, mental and material inter- ests. Ile is a pronounced Demoerat in his political allegiance and always zeal- ous in the service of his party. For a continuous period of eight years he was town constable, and his services to the community in this office were very ac- ceptable to the people and highly ap- proved. In religious connection he is allied with the Baptist church.
In 1885 Mr. Baker was united in mar- riage with Miss Ellen I. Johnston, a daughter of George and Theresa John- ston, who came to Missouri from Vir- ginia. Mrs. Baker is, however, a native of Shelby county. She and her husband are the parents of two children, their sons, George C. and Everett R. All the members of the family stand well where they live and enjoy in a marked degree the regard and good will of the people around them in all other places where they are known.
JAMES C. ORR.
This prosperous and progressive farmer of Jefferson township, in this county, has been tried by severe disci- pline in disaster and has never flinched or shown want of high manly spirit. The stern arbitrament of the sword in civil war ruled against him, and laid upon him unnsnal hardships, but he endured his fate courageonsly and showed, even in his darkest and most oppressive experi- ences, the qualities of persisteney and determination of purpose which have made him successful in his subsequent operation and won him his high stand- ing in the regard of his fellow men wherever he is known.
Mr. Orr was born in Randolph county, Missouri, in December, 1843. His pa- rents, John B. and Eliza Anne (Hutton) Orr, were born and reared in Virginia, and there also they were married. Soon after their marriage they moved to Mis- sonri, arriving in 1843, and took up their residence amid the wild natural luxu- riance of Randolph county, which was largely unpeopled and still in a state of semi-wilderness at the time. Here they won a farm from the waste, which they developed and improved into a comfort- able country home, and on which they reared to maturity four of their six chil- dren, all of whom are still living. They are : Elizabeth, the wife of Davis Mitell- ell; James C., the subject of this brief review ; William M., who resides in Mad- ison, Missouri ; and John N., whose home is in Macon, Missouri. The mother died in 1854 and the father in 1884 at the age of sixty-nine years. They enjoyed in a marked degree the respect and good will
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of all who knew them and were num- bered among the most worthy and esti- mable citizens of the locality in which they lived and faithfully labored for themselves and the common weal.
Their son, James C. Orr, obtained a limited edneation in the country schools, which were primitive and of narrow range in his day, attending those of Mon- roe county. In 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate army, but did not see much active service. In one of the earliest en- gagements in which he took part he was captured and thereafter he languished in a Federal prison for about eight months. At the end of that time he took the oath of allegiance to the United States gov- ernment and was released.
After his release from prison he re- turned to his Missouri home and at once began farming, the occupation in which he has been actively and successfully en- gaged ever since. In the spring of 1874 he moved to Shelby county and located in Jefferson township, where he now re- sides. He has a fine farm of 100 acres, which is well improved, skillfully culti-
vated and has been brought to a high state of productiveness. Every detail of its operations passes under his strict personal supervision, and all depart- ments of the work are made to pay tribute to his intelligence and care.
In the affairs of the township and county Mr. Orr has always taken a lively and helpful interest, aiding every good project for the development and im- provement of the region, and doing his part toward building up and strengthen- ing all its institutions. He is a Prohibi- tionist in polities, but has not, for many years, taken a very active interest in
public affairs. He served as a member of the school board upward of ten years and as a road overseer for two. In re- ligious faith he is allied with the Holi- ness sect.
Mr. Orr was married in April, 1870, to Miss Frances H. Hutchinson, a native of Monroe county, Missouri. They have had seven children, six of whom are liv- ing: Emma, the wife of N. B. Kiergan, of St. Louis; George W., Owen, E. S., C. H. and H. W. In all the relations of life the father has shown himself worthy of esteem and he is held in high regard by all classes in the township and throughout the county.
WILLIAM H. BOSTWICK.
Successful in all his business under- takings, faithful to every duty of good citizenship, taking an earnest and help- ful interest in everything that will pro- mote the general welfare of his town- ship and county and minister to the eom- fort, convenience and general well being of their people, William H. Bostwick, one of the leading farmers and stock men of Jefferson township in this county, is well worthy of the high rank he holds as a truly representative man in the county and the universal esteem bestowed upon him by all classes of the people here and elsewhere, wherever he is known.
Mr. Bostwick was born in Rushville, Indiana, in October, 1861. He is a son of Thomas and Martha (Jerrel) Bost- wiek, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Delaware. They left the region of their birth in early life and found a new home in what were
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then the wilds of Indiana, or at least a portion of that great state which was far behind its present condition of de- velopment and advancement. In 1868 the family moved to Missouri and lo- cated in Shelbyville, this county, where the father was energetically and suc- cessfully engaged in farming to the end of his life, which came in October, 1899. His wife died on August 8, 1890. They were the parents of five children, two of whom are living, William H. and his brother, Rev. E. E. Bostwick, of Kirks- ville, Missouri.
William H. Bostwick obtained his ed- ucation in the schools of Shelbyville, assisting in the work on his father's farm while attending them. He made early choice of his occupation for life, selecting the line of effort with which he was familiar and to which he was trained. As soon as he left school he began the career as a farmer and stock man which he is still extending with such gratifying success and prosperity. He has steadfastly adhered to it during all the succeeding years, and has found his faith in it as a means to advance- ment fully justified. His present farm comprises 678 acres of excellent land, and his live stock industry is in propor- tion to it. Both are managed with good judgment, extensive knowledge of the re- quirements and possibilities in the case, and both bring in handsome returns for the labor and care bestowed upon them. The farm is one of the most highly im- proved and best developed in the town- ship, and is considered one of the most valuable as well as one of the most at- tractive.
Mr. Bostwick has been a wheel horse
in all matters of public improvement for the region in which he lives, giving his active and intelligent support to every worthy project for its advancement, and helping in every way he could to strengthen and intensify the mental and moral agencies at work among its peo- ple. He has been a member of the school board during the last eight years, and the schools have felt to their advantage the impulse to elevation and progress given by his quickening hand. In relig- ious affiliation he is connected with the Baptist church, and is a leader in the congregation to which he belongs, serv- ing as one of its deacons and taking a very important part in all its worthy un- dertakings. In politics he is allied with the Republican party, in which, also, he takes a zealons interest and to which he renders effective and appreciated serv- ice.
On February 25, 1886, he was married to Miss Nanny Y. Eaton, a daughter of John and Nancy Eaton, the former born in Hannibal, Missouri, in 1832, of Ken- tneky parentage, and the latter a dangh- ter of old Virginia families. Mrs. Bost- wick, however, was born and reared in Shelby county. She and her husband are the parents of nine children, all of whom are living. They are: Nanny R., Mary E., John E., Elsie, A. Andrey, Willye, Lloyd K., Louveta G. and Lotus V. All the members of the family are held in high regard and well deserve the hold they have on the good will of the people.
LANIUS LANDRON WHEELER.
The interesting subject of this brief review comes of heroic strains, and while
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his own life to this time (1910) has been passed amid the pursuits of peaceful in- dustry, he has nevertheless shown by his successful management of his affairs and his quick and complete use of every opportunity offered for his advantage, as well as in his mastery of adverse cir- cumstances, that he has inherited the traits of his ancestors and is well worthy of the name he bears. He was born at Lentner, in this county, in 1860, and has passed the greater part of his subse- quent life in the county.
The paternal grandfather, Mason Wheeler, was born and reared in Mason county, Kentucky, and received his name from that county. He came to Missouri when he was twenty-one years of age and located in Marion county, where he lived and farmed for a number of years. He then moved to Monroe county, and there he followed farming until early in the forties, when he became a resident of Shelby county, locating on a farm near Bacon Chapel. There he died at a ripe old age, respected and revered by all who knew him. In religious con- nection he was a Methodist, holding his membership in the congregation of Bacon Chapel church. He was a safe leader in church and neighborhood af- fairs and one of the most forcible and eloquent men in this part of the state in prayer. He was also effective as an exhorter.
His son, John Anderson Wheeler, the father of Lanins L., was born in Marion county, Missouri, in 1835, and, like his father, was reared on a farm and fol- lowed farming all his life. He was mar- ried in 1852 to Miss Fannie Robb, a na- tive of Tennessee. They had eight chil-
dren, seven of whom are living: Lanius L., Thomas S., Hugh B., John Wesley, Arthur E., Ethel and Olive Leone. In 1862 the father joined the Confederate army and was with Coloner Porter in his famous raid. At the battle of Kirks- ville a musket ball passed through the crown of his hat and killed his brother- in-law, Thomas Robb, who was standing by his side. After the Porter raid, Mr. Wheeler surrendered, with others of the command, to Colonel Benjamin at Shel- byville, who demanded of him his horse, his gun and forty dollars in money. On receiving these, Colonel Benjamin re- leased him on parole, but required that he report to Provost Marshal Dick Strahn, at Palmyra, Missouri, every thirty days.
After the war Mr. Wheeler returned to Monroe county, Missouri, and took up his residence near Duncan's Bridge, where he lived for a number of years. He then moved back to Shelby connty and located on a farm near Bacon's Chapel, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying in March, 1893. His widow is still living and has her home in Kansas City, Missouri. He achieved a considerable degree of success in life, although his career was cut short at the early age of fifty-eight, rising to promi- menee and influence in his community and being well and favorably known throughout the northeastern part of the state.
His son, Lanius L. Wheeler, obtained his education in the district schools and worked on his father's farm while at- tending them. He became a farmer on his own account after he left school, and has persevered in that occupation dur-
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ing the greater part of his subsequent life. But for a number of years he was engaged in mining in the farther West, and still has holdings of value in gold mines at Telluride, Central City and Gunnison, Colorado. His present farm in Clay township, this county, comprises 260 acres of superior land, and in con- nection with its cultivation he carries on an extensive and thriving live stock in- dustry. Both lines of his operations are profitable because of the intelligence, skill and vigor with which he manages them, and his success has made him one of the leaders in these industries in Shelby county.
Mr. Wheeler was married in 1883 to Miss Cora Allen Hirrlinger, a daughter of William and Magdalena (Doerrer) Hirrlinger, who were born in Darm- stadt, Germany, but Mrs. Wheeler is a native of Shelbyville. She and her hus- band became the parents of seven chil- dren, five of whom are living: Nora, the wife of H. A. Jordan, whose home is in Clarence, this county; Eliza A., the wife of Peter Neuschafer; and Vincil O'Bryan, Virgil L. and John Leland. In politics the father is a pronounced and ardently interested Democrat, al- ways true to his party and at all times ready to render it any service in his power. He has served on the school board for more than six years, and in many other avenues of beneficial effort has helped to build up the township and county of his residence and promote the welfare of their people. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, and in religious affiliation he and his wife are allied with the Meth- odist Episcopal church. His half cen-
tury of life has been judiciously em- ployed in furthering his own interests and at the same time in essential con- tributions to the welfare of others. It has been eminently useful and upright, and given him an opportunity to exem- plify in all relations the attributes of elevated and serviceable American citi- zenship.
JUSTUS F. ECHTERNACHT.
For a full quarter of a century this progressive and enterprising farmer and stock man has been a resident of Mis- souri, and has lived and labored in the township and county of his present resi- dence. He is therefore well known to the people among whom his daily life of usefulness and sterling citizenship has been passed, and the universal esteem they give him is based on well deter- mined grounds of merit, and is neither speculative nor sentimental. He has demonstrated the quality of his man- hood and all who know him have found it worthy of their confidence and regard.
Mr. Echternacht is a native of Lan- caster county, Pennsylvania, one of the richest and most prosperous counties in th . United States, where he was born o- October 10, 1861, a grandson of John Echternacht, who came to this country from England, where he was born an grew to manhood. On his arrival in th United States he located in Lancasto county, Pennsylvania, and there Iris so William, the father of Justus F., wa born, reared and, at the end of a long life of usefulness, buried in the reg; 1 hallowed by his labor and devotion to the welfare of its people. He was a
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farmer and gave all his energy to the pursuit of his chosen vocation except what was required for the service of his community. His wife, whose maiden name was Caroline Dean, was born at Lititz in the same county. They had eight children, seven of whom are liv- ing: Albert, Sophy, Justus F., Mary, Emma, Harry and George. The father died at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1900. The mother is still living and has her home at Adamstown, in her native county.
Their son, Justus F., grew to man- hood in the county of his nativity and was educated in the district schools of Adamstown there. After leaving school he worked on a farm in the neighborhood of his home for a number of years, get- ting a start in life by slow accretions gathered by industry and carefully hus- banded in frugal living. In 1885 he came to Missouri and located on a farm in Clay township, Shelby county, on which he is still living, and has bestowed his labor from that time to the present (1910). The farm comprises eighty acres and is devoted to general farming and stock-raising. It is well improved, highly productive and skillfully ulti- vated. By close attention to every de- tail of its work and the application of broad intelligence to its operation, Mr. Echternacht has made it one of the model farms of the township in which it is located and greatly enhanced its value since he became its owner and laid upon it the persuasive hand of his pro- gressive husbandry, his good judgment in its management and his energy in tilling it.
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But he has not allowed its require-
ments to wholly absorb him or lessen his interest in the welfare of the locality. To every worthy project designed to promote the development and improve- ment of his township and county he has given ready, judicious and effective aid, making himself one of the most useful citizens of the region, and winning the commendation of all its people by his energy and breadth of view in its be- half. He is an active, working Demo- crat in political faith and allegiance, but he has never sought or desired a polit- ical office of any kind, either by election or appointment. His fraternal affilia- tion is with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his religious connec- tion with the Christian church. He has always taken a great and helpful inter- est in church work, and for years has been one of the trustees of the congre- gation to which he belongs. On Decem- ber 17, 1886, he was united in marriage with Miss Belle Prange, a native of Clay township, this county, and a daughter of John and Kate (Heiman) Prange, who were born and reared in Germany. Six children have been born of the union, all of whom are living. They are : Voneda, the wife of W. Lee, of At- lanta, Missouri, and John, Katie and Carrie (twins), Albert and George.
JACOB GABLE.
Born and reared in Germany, and trained to usefulness in the strennous and frugal industrial life of that great and progressive empire, Jacob Gable, one of the prosperous and progressive farmers of Clay township, in this county, brought to the United States inherited
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qualities of industry and thrift and a knowledge of agricultural pursuits that were bound to make him successful in any farming region, and particularly so in one so bountiful in returns for well applied labor as the region in which he found a new home.
His life began in the Fatherland on February 9, 1861, and he obtained his education in the schools of his native locality, southern Germany. He is a son of Philip and Catherine (Keller) Gable, also natives of Germany. They had five children, only two of whom are living, Jacob and his older sister, Elizabeth. Jacob remained at home with his par- ents until he reached the age of twenty- two. Then, in 1883, he and they set out for the United States, buoyed up with high hopes of prosperity and advance- ment in the land of promise to which they looked with longing. But mueh of what they expected was to be denied them. The father died at sea during the voyage across the Atlantic, and the mother followed him to the other world within the same year.
His double bereavement left the son at the dawn of his manhood a lone exile in a foreign land, untried in the ways of the world and thrown wholly on his own resources. He took up his burden bravely and during the early years of his struggle for a foothold bore it with fortitude and constancy of purpose. Having taken up his residence in Clay township, this county, he went to work as a farm hand wherever he could get employment, and as he was industrious and skillful he soon found his services in demand and had no difficulty in se- curing places. Ile saved his earnings,
and after a few years of faithful labor for others, he bought a farm of 120 acres for himself, and since then he has been devoting all his energies to its develop- ment and improvement. He has been very successful in his operations, rising by steady progress to consequence in a worldly way, and to good standing and influence among the people of his town- ship and county.
His farm is well improved, vigorously and skillfully cultivated and very pro- dnetive. It yields good revenues in re- turn for the labor and care he gives it, and has grown into considerable value as the result of lis judicious manage- ment and the general progress of the township, which he has greatly helped to promote and foster. For he has been attentive to all the duties of citizenship and borne his full share of the labor and care incident to pushing forward the de- velopment and improvement of the lo- cality in which he lives, giving to the interests and institutions of the land of his adoption the same loyal devotion he gave to those of the land of his nativity while he remained a resident of it.
On March 6, 1890, Mr. Gable was united in marriage to Miss Maggie Prange. They have four children : Alice, Anna, the wife of Louis Neuschafer, John and Ruth. The father is a devout and consistent member of the Christian church, taking an active and helpful in- terest in all the worthy undertakings of the congregation to which he belongs and aiding it all the while to larger and more comprehensive usefulness. He and his wife, and the other members of the family are regarded as sterling in all the relations of life, and enjoy in a
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marked degree the respect and good will of all classes of the people around them and of all others who know them. They live acceptably and are faithful in the performance of every duty in private life and neighborhood affairs.
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS WHITE.
In the life and family history of this successful, enterprising and progressive farmer and stock man, and also more truly a prominent and representative citizen of Clay township, Shelby county, Missouri, there are many features of unusual interest and significance. He is a grandson of Thomas and Jemima (Cooley) White, natives of Kentucky, who came to Missouri and located in Howard county in 1818, where his father, Mark White, was born in 1825. The latter was a farmer and money lender, and achieved great success in all departments of his business, being pos- sessed of an estate worth more than $100,000 at the time of his death, which occurred on December 9, 1896.
Soon after attaining his majority he moved to Macon county, Missouri, where he became an extensive dealer in farm lands and other real estate, and was very successful in his operations. He was an uneducated man in the teachings of the schools, but he had strong com- mon sense, excellent judgment and great shrewdness in selecting his opportuni- ties and making the most of them. Hc was also very energetic and industrious, making every hour of his time tell to his advantage, both for his own benefit and that of the township and county in which he lived.
By his first marriage, which took place
in 1845, and was with Miss Serelda Wright, a daughter of Summers and Naomi (Coffey) Wright, he became the father of nine children, six of whom grew to maturity and are living. They are: William C., a resident of Macon county; Mollie, the widow of the late John B. Richardson; Melissa, the wife of J. A. Banta, whose home is at Macks- ville, Kansas; Stephen A. Douglas, the immediate subject of this memoir; Ben- jamin F., who resides in Kansas City, Missouri ; and Amy, the wife of William Gates, of Macon county, in this state.
The mother of these children, who was brought from Kentucky an infant in the arms of her mother, who made the trip on horseback, died on September 9, 1879, at the age of fifty-one years, and in 1880 the father married a second time, choos- ing as his companion on this occasion Mrs. Hattie J. Dixon, a daughter of Peter Ryther and wife, natives of Ohio. Two children were born of the father's second marriage: Serelda, who is now the wife of Ralph Talbot, of Macon county, and Mark, who is also a resident of that county.
Stephen A. Douglas White attended schools in Macon City, St. James Acad- emy and the State Normal School at Kirksville. When he left school he at once entered upon his life work as a farmer and live stock man, and to this he has steadfastly adhered to the pres- ent time (1910), although for about cight months in 1898 he was also engaged in mercantile life. But this was not agree- able to him, and at the end of the period mentioned he sold his interests in it and again gave his whole attention to his farm and stock industry. In 1901 he
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