USA > Missouri > DeKalb County > History of Andrew and De Kalb counties, Missouri : from earliest time to the present; together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and family records. besides a condensed history of the state of Missouri, etc > Part 64
USA > Missouri > Andrew County > History of Andrew and De Kalb counties, Missouri : from earliest time to the present; together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and family records. besides a condensed history of the state of Missouri, etc > Part 64
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has had nine children, born as follows: Louisa E., December 8, 1863; Mary F., January 27, 1865; Deborah A., September 25, 1866; Sarah E., May 23, 1868, Susan A., December 11, 1869; Alpharetta, November 8, 1871; William A., January 16, 1877; Marion, June 12, 1880; Amy, October 12, 1883, died August 1, 1884. He and his wife, and five of the eldest children are members of the Baptist Church.
James Howitt was born in Scotland, December 27, 1823. His pater- nal grandfather was George Howitt, a native of Scotland, and a farmer by vocation. Andrew Howitt, the father of our subject, was also a native of Scotland, born in 1791. In 1815 he was married to Agnes McKorrow, of Scotland, who was born in 1799. She was the daughter of James McKorrow. To this union six sons and six daughters were born, of whom three sons and two daughters are living. Two sons died in the service of the United States army in the Civil War. The family immigrated to America in 1834, and settled in Livingston County, N. Y. In 1847 James Howitt removed to Wisconsin, and in 1857 his father and mother came to that State, where they lived till their deaths, the former's occur- ring in 1866, the latter's in 1867. Our subject was reared on a farm, and from six years of age to ten years, inclusive, he attended the schools of Scotland, but later finished his education in New York, receiving a fair common-school education. He was twenty-four years old when he left New York and went to Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming. In 1851 he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Ann Weaver, daughter of James Weaver, who was born in Romney, in Kent, England, October 17, 1800. He engaged in agricultural pursuits, and was a devoted Christian. In 1820 he married Elizabeth Fielder, who was born in Sussex, England, in 1802. They immigrated to America in 1830, and located in Oneida County, N. Y., but in the summer of 1837 removed to Wisconsin, and settled in the town of Lisbon, Waukesha County, where they both died, the mother in 1867, and the father on October 8, 1886. They had sixteen children, of whom six sons and five daughters are living (1887). Elizabeth Ann was born in New York December 27, 1831. Mr. and Mrs. Howitt have three children, viz. : one daughter, Agnes Elizabeth, and two sons, Andrew James, and John W. Mr. Howitt was a member of the Missouri State Militia during the Civil War, and was in the service four years. He had removed from Wisconsin to Missouri in 1859, and after the war he returned to his family and farm in Andrew County, where he has since resided.
John M. Huffman, a physician of Andrew County, Mo., born in Bu- chanan County, this State, January 19, 1843, is the son of Jonathan and Eva (Avery) Huffman. Jonathan was born in East Tennessee in 1805, and was the son of Benjamin Huffman, also a native of East Tennessee, and of German lineage. He was a farmer, and in the early settlement of Indiana immigrated thither, and located in Morgan County, where Jona- than was born, reared, and given a good education in the country schools. After attending the University at Bloomington he began teaching, which
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profession he followed for a long time in Indiana, when he entered the ministerial profession, which he followed until his death, in 1873. He was connected with the Christian Church. He also engaged in farming, and, in 1842, removed to Buchanan County, Mo., where he lived until 1856, when he came to Andrew County. Eva Avery was born in North Carolina in 1808. She was the daughter of John Avery, who was of German descent, and was an early immigrant to Indiana, where he engaged in farming. She was a zealous member of the Christian Church, and was a very amiable woman, who was universally respected and loved. She died in Buchanan County, Mo., in 1848. Our subject was reared on the farm, and received his literary education in the schools of Andrew County and other neighboring schools. To secure his professional edu- cation he studied for three years under a private preceptor, and then attended the Missouri Medical College, at St. Louis, and the Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia. He graduated at the latter place in March, 1870, since which time he has successfully practiced his profes- sion at Whitesville. While practicing his profession he has been engaged in milling, farming, and trading in live stock and real estate. Although beginning business life with no capital, he is now one of the most prosperous citizens of his county, in which he owns considerable real estate, paying the largest tax of any one in Platte Township. He also owns property in St. Joseph, where he is president of one of the cable roads, and also president of an extensive land company; besides this he has good investments in Kansas. In 1864 he enlisted in Com- pany B, Forty-third Missouri Volunteer Infantry, as a non-commissioned officer, and was mustered out of the service in July, 1865. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and in politics is a Democrat. In 1883, owing to ill health caused by overwork, he discontinued practice and spent considerable time in traveling, passing two summers on the Pacific coast. He has been in nearly every State and Territory of the Union.
Otho J. Hurley, postmaster at Savannah, Mo., and editor and propri- etor of The Democrat, was born at Hagerstown, Md., and educated at Mount St. Mary's College, near Emmettsburg, in that State. At the breaking out of the war he was studying law with Hon. R. H. Alvey, the present presiding justice of the supreme court of Maryland, and after completing his studies in 1862 he entered the Confederate army, joining Company K, First Virginia Cavalry, which company, during the latter part of the war, was transferred to the First Maryland Cavalry, the cap- tain of Company K being commissioned colonel of the regiment. At the time of Lee's surrender Mr. Hurley was acting adjutant of the regiment. After the war he returned to his home in Maryland, and remained there until June, 1867, when he started west, stopping in Indiana, where he remained between five and six years, engaged for the greater part of the time in teaching. He married an Indiana lady, and went to St. Louis, where he remained during the winter of 1872 and spring of 1873. In October, 1873, he located in Savannah, and in August, 1876, established
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The Democrat, a weekly newspaper, Democratic in politics, which he still edits. His appointment as postmaster at Savannah he received on the 14th of January, 1886.
Elijah Hurst, an enterprising farmer of Jackson Township, Andrew Co., Mo., was born in Putnam County, Ind., May 26, 1831. He is one of a large family of children born to the marriage of Abram Hurst and Emillie Warren. They removed from Tennessee to Indiana in 1825, and lived in that State about twenty years, then came to Missouri, where they lived until their deaths-the father's occurring in the spring of 1861, and the mother's about 1875. They were both strict members of the old Regular Baptist Church. By occupation the father was a farmer, and in politics was, at one time, a Democrat, although he died a Repub- lican. Elijah spent his boyhood in assisting his father on the farm, and received a common-school education. Before reaching his majority he came with his parents to Missouri. In February, 1853, he was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Best, a native of Missouri. After this he settled down to agricultural pursuits near his present home, which he purchased, and removed to later. He began life poor, but has been a live, active man, and now owns a splendid farm, on which is situated a good residence. He has a large family of intelligent children. He belongs to no church, but his wife is a member of the Christian Church. In politics he is a Republican.
T. H. C. Hyde, dealer in drugs and stationery in Savannah, Andrew Co., Mo., is the youngest of seven children born to the union of Philo Hyde and Elizabeth Clarke. The father was born in Litchfield, Conn., on March 4, 1801. He immigrated to Missouri in 1844, and located in Savannah, and is now one of the oldest citizens of the place. He has fol- lowed various vocations. The mother was born in Terre Haute, Ind., on July 9, 1826, and is the daughter of Thomas H. Clarke, who removed to Savannah, where he died. Our subject was reared in Savan- nah, and received his education in the schools of that city. He began business life when seventeen years of age, as clerk in a grocery store, at which he continued until 1882, when he engaged in the drug business in Savannah, in partnership with Dr. D. B. Bryant. He became sole pro- prietor of the business on May 1, 1885. He is now carrying a full line of drugs and stationery, and is doing a good business. He was mar- ried on April 9, 1882, to Annie E. McClain, who was born in Illinois in 1860. They have two children.
Frank H. Hyde, proprietor of the Railroad Livery Stable, of Savan- nah, Andrew Co., Mo., and a brother of T. H. C. Hyde, was born in Sav- annah, October 26, 1854. He was educated in the public schools of his native town. In 1877 he went to Montana, where he remained until 1883 engaged in the sheep business. He began his present business in November, 1886.
Joseph W. Johnson, a farmer of Lincoln Township, is a native of Pulaski County, Ky., born May 3, 1840. He is the elder of two sons
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born to Andrew R. and Elizabeth (Johnson) Johnson. The former is a native of Virginia, the latter of Kentucky. They are now living in Wayne County, Ky., engaged in agricultural pursuits. Our subject spent his boyhood days as a laborer on the farm, and at the Hudson coal mines in Kentucky. He received a common-school education, and in 1858 came to Andrew County, Mo., and engaged in farming as a renter. In August, 1861, he entered the Confederate army, enlisting in Company C, of Sanders' regiment of infantry. His command first operated in the West, but was soon transferred to the East. He was in the engage- ments at Pea Ridge, Iuka, and Corinth, at which place he received a severe wound in the leg, and was left on the battlefield. After being disabled about six months, he re-entered the service at Jackson, Miss., and was in the battle of Champion's Hill, and the siege of Vicksburg, where he was captured and exchanged the following November. He
rejoined the army at Meridian, Miss., and took part in all the battles from Dalton to Atlanta; accompanied Hood in the Tennessee campaign, and was at the battles of Franklin and Nashville. He was engaged in the battles of Fort Blakeley opposite Mobile, and was captured the day Lee surrendered. At the close of the war he was on the ship Ireland, in the Gulf of Mexico, as a prisoner of war. He was paroled at Jackson, Miss., in May, 1865, and had to work on the railroad to get money to come home, which he reached June 15, 1865. On November 29, 1866, he wedded Miss Amanda V. Walker, a native of Andrew County, Mo., and daughter of Joseph and Mary Walker. She was born in 1849, and died February 6, 1869. He chose for his second wife, Mrs. Susan J. Jackson, widow of Martin P. Jackson, and sister of his first wife. He is the father of three children born as follows: Dora J., July, 24, 1870; Albert, June 9, 1872; William Z., April 6, 1868. He has been a life- long Democrat, and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episco- pal Church South.
T. F. Kelley, a merchant at Cosby, Andrew Co., Mo., was born in that county, July 7, 1863. He is the son of Jesse and Margaret (Blue) Kelley. The father was born in South Carolina, May 19, 1828, and is the son of Nehemiah Kelley, who was an early immigrant to Mis- souri, settling first in Clay County, and later in Andrew County. His life and history were identified with that of the latter county. He was a farmer by vocation, and lived to be an aged man. Jesse was reared at home, and received a limited education in the country schools. He chose farming as an occupation, and came to the State of Missouri, with his father. He is now a prosperous and respected citizen of Monroe Town- ship, Andrew County. His wife was born August 6, 1833, and is the mother of five sons and two daughters, of which children our subject is the fourth. He was reared on the farm, and received a practical edu- cation in the public schools. In January of 1886 he engaged in his pres- ent business, and has established a lucrative trade. He carries an average stock of more than $1,000, and has an annual trade of $5,000. 33 A
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He is a progressive and enterprising young man. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and in politics is a Republican.
A. D. Kent, a citizen of Platte Township, Andrew Co., Mo., was born in Buchanan County, Mo., May 5, 1842. He is the son of Joseph B. and Elizabeth (Staley) Kent. Joseph B. was born in Ross County, Ohio, February 14, 1806, and is the son of William and Sarah (Perrin) Kent. William was born in Old Town, Md., October 3, 1763. He was the son of Absalom and Nancy Kent. Absalom was a native of England, and was an early immigrant to America. He settled in Maryland, where he was killed by the Indians, when William was only two years old. Joseph B. is a farmer by vocation, and now resides in Rosendale, Mo., in his eighty-second year. His wife was born in Botetourt County, Va., in 1809. She died in Ohio in 1844. Our subject was reared on the farm, and received a common-school education in the schools of Buchanan County, Mo. In 1858 he went to Northeast Kansas, where he engaged in farming till 1860, in which year he made a trip to Denver, Colo., and back, as a teamster. After he returned he engaged in farming till 1863, when he went a second time to Denver. Then as wagon-master for W. W. Noland, a banker and commission merchant, he conducted an ox-train to Virginia City, starting April 14, 1863, and landing at that place June 27, 1863. This was the first train that ever went direct to Virginia City, which at that time was no more than the pitched tents of miners and emigrants. In the fall of 1865 he began mining in Alder Gulch, at the German Barr. He was thus engaged for one season, and afterward, until the fall of 1867, he followed various occupations. He constructed a fleet of Mackinaw boats at Cannon's Ferry (Montana) on the Missouri River, and on the 25th of November, his fleet freighted with pas- sengers landed at St. Joseph, Mo. From there he went to Andrew County, where he has since engaged in farming and stock raising. He has a well-improved farm of 320 acres, and is one of the most extensive stock raisers of his county, especially of fine horses. On September 7, 1870, he was united in marriage with Mary E. Bedford, who was born in Andrew County, Mo., on September 4, 1852. She is the daughter of A. M. and Mary (Selecman) Bedford. A daughter and son have blessed their union: Mattie, born July 4, 1871, and Charles, born May 4, 1876.
Nicholas Kirtley, subject of this sketch, is one of the leading citizens of Andrew County, Mo., and a retired merchant of Savannah. He was born in Rockcastle County, Ky., on December 23, 1841, and is the son of Larkin and Nancy (Dysart) Kirtley. The father was born in Scott County, Ky., in 1805, and removed to Andrew County, Mo., in the fall of 1849, locating ten miles east from Savannah, where he followed farming until his death in 1865. The mother was born in Rockcastle County, Ky., May 15, 1806, and is now making her home on the old homestead in Andrew County, with a son. Nicholas was reared on a farm, and edu- cated at the North Prairie Institute, near Fillmore. Upon leaving school in 1861, he entered the Confederate army, and served for two years, first
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under Gen. Price's command, and afterward in Wilfley's battalion of cav- alry. Returning to Andrew County at the expiration of his service, he engaged in farming and stock dealing, in which he continued until 1875 when he removed to Savannah, having been elected to the office of county treasurer the year preceding. He served in the capacity of treasurer for two years, when he engaged in merchandising in Savannah, at which he continued until February 1, 1887, when he retired. He was married in March, 1875, to Annie Scott, a native of Mason County, Ky., who died July 20, 1876. June 19, 1879, he was married to Mary A. Wakefield, who was born in Savannah, Mo., September 10, 1856, and is the daughter of Dr. M. F. Wakefield (deceased). They have one child.
J. W. Kline, a merchant at Rochester, Andrew Co., Mo., was born in Madison County, Ill., on June 28, 1860. He is the son of Godlove and Nancy (Byerly) Kline. The father was born in Baltimore, Md., Novem- ber 12, 1824, and is the son of Gottlieb Kline, a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, who was born in 1792. He was an early emigrant to Amer- ica, and settled in Baltimore, where he engaged in the cooper's trade. Godlove was a farmer by occupation, and removed from Maryland to Vinton County, Ohio, in 1830, but in 1857 removed to Madison County, Ill., and later, in 1879, to Andrew County, Mo. He now resides in Rochester, Andrew County. The mother was born in Ohio, on February 20, 1827, of German descent. She has five sons and six daughters,
and twenty-five grandchildren. Our subject was reared on a farm, and received a common-school education in Madison County Ill. He learned the carpenter's trade, and his first pursuit in his own interest was car- pentering. In October, 1882, he began business at Rochester with a very limited capital, but by energy and frugality he has been success- ful in establishing a lucrative trade, and winning a good reputation as a business man. He carries an average stock of $3,500, and does an annual business of $9,000. At the age of twenty-six years he was elected justice for his township, which position he now fills. He is an ardent Republican, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. On January 20, 1886, he wedded Dora E. Snowden, daughter of Judge Jonathan Snowden, of Andrew County, and one daughter, Bessie Mabel, born November 27, 1886, is the result of their union.
Thomas M. Laney, M. D., a leading physician of Savannah, Andrew Co., Mo., was born in Eastern Pennsylvania on January 4, 1828, and is the son of John and Catherine (Housel) Laney. The father was born in Ireland in 1790, immigrated to America in 1802, and settled near Northumberland, on the west branch of the Susquehanna River, in Pennsylvania. He was a successful farmer. He came to Andrew County, Mo., in 1869, where he died in 1872. The mother was born in New Jersey in 1787, and was the daughter of William Housel, a native of Holland. She died February 6, 1858. They were married September 3, 1812, and to them were born ten children, of whom Thomas M. was the
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youngest. He was reared on the farm, and acquired his early education in Columbia County, Penn. After attaining his majority he began teaching school, at which he continued until 1849, when he entered upon the study of medicine in Greenville, Penn. He took his first course of lectures during the winter of 1850-51, at the Western Reserve Col- lege at Cleveland, Ohio. He attended the Maryland University at Baltimore during the winter of 1852-53, graduating in March. He then began practicing at Blairsville, Indiana Co., Penn., where he continued until 1862, when he entered the Federal army as a surgeon. At the close of the war he returned to his practice at Blairsville, remaining there until 1867, when he came to Savannah, Mo., where he purchased a home, and resumed his practice. He is the owner of a fine farm, which for seven years he has cultivated in connection with the practice of his profession. He was married on March 18, 1852, to Lucinda C. Kinter, a native of Indiana County, Penn., born in April, 1829, and the daughter of Henry Kinter, a soldier of the War of 1812. Eight children have been born to them, four of whom are living.
James G. A. League, a prosperous merchant of Fillmore, of the firm of J. G. A. League & Co., is a native of Mercer County, Ky., born December 5, 1827. He is the second of eight children born to the marriage of Richard League and Susan Anderson. The former was a native of Pennsylvania, but removed to Kentucky when a boy. He was a farmer, and an old time Henry Clay Whig. He died about 1847, at seventy-four years of age. The mother was a native of Kentucky. She died at the home of our subject, in Fillmore, in her sixty-second year. She was a member of the Christian Church. James G. A. received a common- school education. He labored on the farm in his boyhood, but at the age of eighteen years commenced learning the blacksmith's trade, at which he worked in his native county until 1854, then coming to Schuyler County, Ill., where he followed his trade about eighteen months. In April, 1856, he came to Andrew County, Mo., and, stopping at Fillmore, he resumed his occupation. In the summer of 1880 he established his present business. The house does a good business, amounting annually to about $12,000 or $15,000. On April 22, 1850, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Maranda Massey, a native of Washington County, Ky., and the daughter of Asa and Rhoda M. Massey. They have had nine children-three sons and six daughters-of whom three sons and two daughters are dead. In politics Mr. League is a Republican. He and wife are worthy members of the Christian Church.
David Lilly, a well-to-do farmer of Clay Township, Andrew Co., Mo., is a native of Nicholas County, Va., born August 10, 1822. He is the ninth of ten children born unto David and Sarah ( Wilson ) Lilly, both of whom were natives of Virginia, the former born in 1778, the latter, in 1782. They spent the early part of their married life in their native State; but later immigrated to Indiana, settling first in Henry County, but afterward in Tipton County, where they died, the father January
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25, 1857, the mother October 13, 1854. They were both prominent members of the Missionary Baptist Church. He served as deacon of the church a number of years before he died. He was a farmer by voca- tion, and in politics was a Whig. At about seven years of age, our sub- ject removed with his parents to Henry County, Ind., where he received a common-school education. He remained with his parents until he saw them comfortably established in their new home in Tipton County, when he came to Platte County, Mo., where he engaged at job work on a farm. On January 18, 1849, he married Miss Martha Isaac, a native of Indiana, and daughter of Smith and Mary Isaac. She was born Sep- tember 30, 1832. About one year after their marriage, he, leaving his wife at home, went to the gold fields of California, where he experienced many hardships. He remained in California about thirteen months, and having made some money returned to Missouri, and purchased a farm of 120 acres in Daviess County, where he engaged in farming about five years. In 1857 he sold his farm in Daviess County, and purchased the farm where he now resides. He has been an energetic man, and though he began life penniless, he now enjoys the comforts of a good home. He is a prominent member of the Missionary Baptist Church, and has served the church as clerk for a number of years. His wife, also a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, died August 13, 1885. He is a stanch Republican.
M. K. Manning is a merchant at Whitesville, Andrew Co., Mo. He was born in Carter County, Tenn., March 22, 1851, and is the son of M. C. and Susan J. (Krouse) Manning. The father is a native of Floyd County, Va., but is now a citizen of Andrew County, Mo. The mother was born on Knob Creek, Washington Co., Tenn. They have had nine sons and two daughters. Five of the sons are living, viz .: M. K., John L., Peter E., Robert H., Nathaniel K., and the eldest daugh- ter, also the eldest child, is living, Rebecca E. The parents and all the children reside in Andrew County, Mo. M. K. was reared in his native town, and received a limited education in the town schools. While young he labored in a flouring-mill, and thus gained a practical business experience, which he has successfully applied. When but eighteen years of age he removed to Whitesville, Mo. On his arrival in Missouri he had only enough money to pay for his night's lodging, but on the following day found employment as a herder, at which he engaged for three months, when the gentleman for whom he was herd- ing employed him to clerk in his store, which position he held for eleven years. On January 14, 1879, he began merchandising for himself at Whitesville, which he has since conducted, carrying an average stock of $8,000, and doing an average annual business of $18,000. By his untiring energy and enterprise he has been successful in amassing wealth, and is now one of the most prosperous citizens of Andrew County. In connection with merchandising he has dealt in live stock and real estate. He owns two valuable farms in Platte Township, con-
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