USA > Missouri > Bates County > History of Bates County, Missouri > Part 60
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The citizen, to a brief review of whose life and achievements the reader's attention has been herewith directed, was for many years one of the progressive stockmen of Deepwater township, who by his tireless endeavors and up-to-date methods contributed in a material way to the agricultural advancement of this section of Bates county and in the course of an honorable career did as much as any one man to improve the grade of livestock in Bates county. Mr. Batchelor was a gentleman of wide perspective, of intelligence, of countless praiseworthy qualities. A Democrat in his party affiliations and a firm believer in the principles he espoused, he was by no means an office-seeker. Mr. Batchelor was essentially a stockman and a business man and his life, though in many respects uneventful, was fraught with much good to his community and Bates county was proud to number him among the successful and substantial citizens, grieved to enroll him among those who have gone on before.
Merle Simon, a prosperous, young agriculturist of Mount Pleasant township, is one of Bates county's successful citizens, a progressive farmer
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and stockman, and a comparatively new man in this part of the country. Mr. Simon is a native of Iowa. He was born in 1881 at Des Moines, a son of Martin and Margaret (Brown) Simon, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The mother died about 1890 and Mr. Simon resides in Oklahoma.
When Merle Simon was a small child, his parents moved from Iowa to Kansas and in that state in the schools of Fort Scott, Bourbon county, and of Wichita, Sedgwick county, he received his education. Mr. Simon has followed stock raising for twenty years in the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, and New Mexico. He slept for twelve years out in the open, while a "cowboy" on the plains. He came to Bates county, Missouri, on December 5, 1915, after pur- chasing his present country home in Mount Pleasant township in August of the previous year, a place formerly known as the Carpenter & Shafer farm, a dairy farm. This place is well supplied with water from a well, thirty-six feet in depth and eight feet in width, in which the water always stands within a few feet of the top, thus affording a bountiful supply in every pasture. Mr. Simon has placed a concrete cover on the well, the cover having an opening in which to insert the hose when filling, and this with an iron pump facilitates the handling of the tank prob- lem. Since coming to Bates county, Mr. Simon has given much atten- tion to sheep raising. He is a lover of fine horses and has on the farm an imported Percheron horse, weight two thousand pounds, a good grade Percheron, and a registered jack in addition to a herd of twenty- five good grade cattle. The stock barn is 50 x 64 feet in dimensions and has a concrete floor in the feeding stall.
The marriage of Merle Simon and Addie Hawkins was solemnized March 14, 1906. Addie (Hawkins) Simon is a daughter of G. A. and Sarah Hawkins, both of whom were born in Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins were formerly residents of Texas county, Oklahoma, and they are now residing at Tyrone, Oklahoma. Mrs. Simon was educated in private schools in Pendleton county, Kentucky, and in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was reared in Kentucky and she and Mr. Simon were married in Stephens county, Oklahoma. To Merle and Addie Simon have been born two children: Luther and Benjamin. Mrs. Simon is doing all in her power to make the farm pay, in addition to making the home attrac- tive, and she is capably managing the poultry industry, raising fine, large flocks of Buff Orpington chickens.
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Bates county, Missouri, is noted for the many excellent stock and dairy farms within its boundaries and for the enterprise and progressive- ness of the county's husbandmen. Merle Simon is "doing his bit" to sustain this reputation. He is the owner of one of the prettiest country places in Mount Pleasant township and he will find that in the years to come his well-directed efforts have not been in vain but were amply repaid in the increased value of his property and in the respect and esteem in which he is held. Mr. and Mrs. Simon have made many friends in Bates county since taking up their residence among us and Mr. Simon is even now rated as a broad-minded, industrious, and honorable gentleman and he has won the confidence and good will of all who know him.
Robert Sturgeon, a highly respected farmer and stockman of Sum- mit township, is a member of one of the prominent pioneer families of Carroll county, Missouri. Mr. Sturgeon is a native of Henry county, Ohio, a son of Rowland and Elizabeth (Barton) Sturgeon, natives of Starke county, Ohio. The Sturgeons came to Missouri in 1869 in an emigrant wagon and settled on the farm afterward known as the Sturgeon place in Carroll county. Rowland Sturgeon died at the Sturgeon home- stead in 1901. Mrs. Sturgeon makes her home at Hale, Missouri, and she is now eighty-four years of age, one of the most valued of the brave pioneer women of Carroll county. Mr. Sturgeon was a Union veteran of the Civil War. He enlisted in Henry county, Ohio, and served with Company D, One Hundred Eleventh Infantry. His son, Robert, was born April 1, 1853.
Robert Sturgeon is the only son and oldest living child now of the five children born to his parents, Rowland and Elizabeth Sturgeon, the children being, as follow: John, deceased; Robert, the subject of this review; Mrs. Lillian Dailey, Hale, Missouri; Alice, who died at the age of sixteen years; and Maggie, who died at the age of five years. Mr. Sturgeon attended the public schools of Ohio. He remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age and then he traveled in the West, spending two years in Colorado, 1878 and 1879. He returned to Carroll county from Colorado in 1880 and engaged in agri- cultural pursuits there until 1909, when he came to Bates county. While a resident of the former county, Mr. Sturgeon filled the position of township collector for two terms in 1883 and 1884. Mr. Sturgeon purchased the R. J. Thomas farm, comprising two hundred acres origi- nally, which is located about two and a half miles east of Butler on
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the Butler and Summit road. Mr. Sturgeon has since disposed of eighty acres of his farm and has now a tract of one hundred twenty acres, which he has improved. He has built a handsome residence, a structure of eight rooms, since he acquired the ownership of the farm. He is engaged in general farming and stock raising.
Robert Sturgeon and Melcena Elledge, of Carroll county, Missouri, were united in marriage in 1883. Melcena (Elledge) Sturgeon is a daughter of G. M. and Mary J. (Parish) Elledge, natives of Illinois. Mary J. (Parish) Elledge was a daughter of Abednego Parish, a promi- nent citizen of Illinois. James Simms, a great-grandfather of Mrs. Sturgeon, was an emigrant from Scotland and he settled in Illinois in the earliest pioneer days of that state. Mrs. Elledge died in January, 1900, and interment was made in the cemetery at Tina, Carroll county, Missouri. Mr. Elledge now resides at Halfway, Baker county, Oregon. Two brothers of Mrs. Sturgeon are still living : D. M., Bird City, Kansas; and Wesley, Powell, Wyoming. To Robert and Melcena (Elledge) Sturgeon have been born five children: Nellie, the wife of Fred Jeffries, Havelock, Nebraska; Elmer, Sterling, Colorado; Ray, Butler, Missouri; Jessie, the wife of G. G. Wirt, Harrisonville, Missouri; and Eulalie, who is a sophomore student in the Butler High School.
Although Mr. Sturgeon keeps himself well-informed upon the important issues of the day and upon current events in general, his quiet, unobtrusive, domestic tastes have kept him from entering the arena of public affairs in Bates county. He defends his opinions intelli- gently, votes his sentiments fearlessly, and leaves public distinction and the emoluments of office to others. The Sturgeons are numbered among the best families of Summit township. Robert Sturgeon is an excel- lent neighbor and true friend, esteemed by all who know him. In his mental and moral makeup are combined the intelligence, industry, sterling worth, and courtesy of the pioneer and gentleman.
W. H. Deweese, a widely and favorably-known farmer and stock- man of Summit township, is a member of one of the worthy and pioneer families of Bates county. Mr. Deweese is one of the boys of yesterday of Bates county, an own product of Summit township. He was born March 19, 1859, at the Deweese homestead in Summit township, a son of William and Mary ( Bruner) Deweese, natives of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Deweese came to Missouri in 1856 from Illinois, in which state they had first located when they moved from Kentucky, and settled
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on a tract of land, comprising four hundred acres, which Mr. Deweese entered from the government. During the Civil War, when Order Num- ber 11 was issued, the Deweese family moved to Morgan and Moniteau counties, where they remained until the conflict had ended and then returned to Bates county to again take up their residence at their home place. They found only a portion of the homestead still standing. Mr. Deweese contracted a heavy cold, which developed into pneumonia, while moving back home and from this he died in 1866. Interment was made in Glass cemetery in Summit township. Mrs. Deweese survived her husband until 1906, when she joined him in death. She died at the home of her son, W. H., and her remains were laid to rest in Elliott cemetery. William and Mary (Bruner) Deweese were the parents of the following children: David, of Lawrence county, Kansas; Catherine, the wife of James Rogers, Rockyford, Colorado; W. H., the subject of this review; Sallie, the wife of John Bristow, Pawnee county, Kansas; Isaac, a twin brother of Mrs. John Bristow, of Rockyford, Colorado. An uncle of the Deweese children, George W. Swink, donated the land on which Rockyford, Colorado is built.
In the district schools of Summit township, Bates county, Missouri, W. H. Deweese obtained a good common-school education. When he was seventeen years of age, he assumed charge of the home place, which he now owns. The forty acres of land on which the house stood where he was born have never been mortgaged. Mr. Deweese now owns two hundred acres of land, located on the Butler and Appleton City road, five miles from Butler. He has himself improved the place, building the residence in 1880 and two good barns. The Deweese stock farm is one of the best in Bates county, the land slopes to the south, is well watered and supplied with all facilities for handling stock efficiently. Mr. Deweese has given special attention to raising registered Shorthorn Durham steers, Poland China hogs, mules, and horses and he has on the place, at the time of this writing in 1918, thirty head of cattle and nearly one hundred head of hogs.
The marriage of W. H. Deweese and Emma Copeland was sol- emnized in August, 1880. Emma (Copeland) Deweese is a daughter of Davis and Eliza Copeland, formerly residents of Ohio and then of Kansas. The Copeland family moved to the northern part of Missouri from Ohio and located in Scotland county, where the father died. Mrs. Copeland departed this life in Greenwood county, Kansas. To W. H.
(40)
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and Emma Deweese have been born five children: Glenn, who is engaged in farming in Summit township, Butler, Missouri; Florence, the wife of Boone Smithson, Lone Oak township; Ada, the wife of Rome Daniels, of Hardy, Montana; Everett, now in the National Army service with the Medical Reserve Corps of Cornell University from Ithaca, New York; and Marie, a graduate of the Butler High School and a former student of the Warrensburg State Normal School, who is at home with her parents, now teaching in Bates county.
Whatever success W. H. Deweese has achieved in life is due almost entirely to his industry, energy, and well-directed efforts. In early man- hood, he began to make his own way in the world with little aid and a limited allowance, and by resolute purpose, indefatigable thrift, and sound judgment he has acquired a comfortable competence and has worked himself up to a position of affluence.
Albert Argenbright, a prosperous farmer and stockman of Summit township, is one of the successful citizens of Bates county, a member of a sterling pioneer family of this section of Missouri. Mr. Argenbright was born in Morgan county, Missouri, in 1861, a son of Preston and Rebecca (Harrison) Argenbright, the former, a native of Virginia and the latter, of Tennessee. Mrs. Argenbright was reared and educated in Missouri. Preston Argenbright came with his family to Bates county in 1865 and they settled on a farm near Altona in Grand River township, twenty miles northeast of Butler. Their trading point was Austin in Cass county. Mr. Argenbright purchased a tract of eighty acres of land, when he first came, and to this he constantly added until at his death in 1904 he was the owner of four hundred acres of valuable farm land in Bates county. To Preston and Rebecca (Harrison) Argenbright were born eight children: Albert, the subject of this review, who was born November 20, 1861; John A., Little Rock, Arkansas; J. E., Adrian, Missouri; C. H., Butler, Missouri; Anna Steele, deceased; Lena May, the wife of J. E. Hook, Rockville, Missouri; Daisy, the wife of Joe Gardner, Little Rock, Arkansas; and Mrs. Bertha Hardin, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Argenbright moved from the farm to Butler in 1899 and in this city Mr. Argenbright died April 19, 1904. Mrs. Argenbright did not long survive her husband. She departed this life February 1, 1908. The father and mother were laid to rest in the cemetery at Butler.
Albert Argenbright received an excellent common-school education
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in the public schools of Grand River township, attending at Mingo school house. He remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age and then began farming in Grand River township, where he was a resident for eighteen years. Mr. Argenbright purchased and improved a ninety-five-acre farm in that township, made it one of the best stock farms in the county, and then sold it. He purchased his present country home in 1905 and since he acquired the ownership of this place, he has been tirelessly at work improving it until he now has one of the finest rural homes in this part of the state, the well-planned arrange- ment of the buildings, the nicely-kept, high-grade stock, the general neat appearance of the surroundings silently bespeaking the industry, thrift, and care of the owner.
February 9, 1885, the marriage of Albert Argenbright and Katie Gloyd, daughter of Daniel and Katie Gloyd, of Cass county, was solem- nized. Mr. and Mrs. Gloyd entered land from the government in the days prior to the Civil War. They are both now deceased and their remains are interred in old Dayton cemetery in Cass county. To Albert and Katie Argenbright have been born seven children: Cleo, the wife of W. A. Eichhorn, of Pilot Grove, Cooper county, Missouri; Grover C., who enlisted in the service of the United States in August, 1917, and is at present with Company One Hundred Twenty-eight, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; O. R., a successful farmer of Summit township; Lyle, Walter, Celeste, and Glenn, all at home with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Argenbright have been married thirty-three years and in that time they have changed their place of residence but twice, which is an unusual record in this age of restlessness and discontent.
The Argenbright farm in Summit township embraces two hundred acres of land, conveniently located, well watered and drained, and splen- didly improved. Mr. Argenbright has himself placed all the buildings on the farm, including a beautiful residence, a ten-room structure, modern throughout, a barn, 56 x 54 feet in dimensions, used for stock and grain and with a silo attached, 16 x 32 feet in dimensions, a barn 38 x 54 feet in dimensions, with a silo 14 x 30 feet in dimensions and covered with sheet iron, in addition to numerous other buildings needed in the hand- ling of stock. The place is well stocked with seventy head of cattle, (of which Mr. Argenbright is at present milking six Jersey cows) sixty
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head of Poland China hogs, eighteen head of high-grade horses, and one- hundred turkeys. The Argenbright place is situated on the Summit road on the way from Butler to Clinton and was formerly owned by Mr. Smith. The highest point on the farm is in the center and there are more than four hundred rods of tile used on the place. Mr. Argen- bright pumps the water to the stock yards by means of a gasoline engine.
Albert Argenbright is a gentleman of remarkable industry and energy. He has improved and developed considerable land in Bates county and incidentally has accumulated a goodly competence. A pro- gressive husbandman, an upright, public-spirited citizen, a courteous gentleman, Mr. Argenbright has made an enviable reputation in Bates county.
Elder Lewis L. Wix, proprietor of "Lone Elm Farm" in Deepwater township, a well-known and highly respected minister of the Church of Christ of Bates county, is a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of Missouri. Mr. Wix is a native of Bates county. He was born May 5, 1857 at the Wix homestead in Pleasant Gap township, the youngest son of Joseph and Sarah (Beatty) Wix, a sketch of whom appears in connection with the biography of Clark Wix, which will be found elsewhere in this volume.
When Lewis L. Wix was a babe, three days of age, he was left motherless and dependent upon the care of his uncle and aunt, Joseph and Fannie Beatty, who reared him to maturity. Joseph Beatty came to Bates county in his boyhood days with his father, Robert Beatty, who had moved from Kentucky to Saline county, Missouri and thence to Bates county in the early thirties. Robert Beatty died in Bates county in 1853 and interment was made in Smith cemetery on the Beatty home place. Joseph Beatty entered a tract of land in Bates county, a farm comprising three hundred twenty acres, of which two hundred forty acres now form the country place owned by Rev. Lewis L. Wix. On this farm in Deepwater township he was reared, here were spent his happy childhood days, this is the only home he has ever known and around it are woven myriads of fond recollections. There are four hills on "Lone Elm Farm" and Reverend Wix has at different times resided on each one of them. Joseph Beatty died December 9, 1876 and inter- ment was made in White cemetery in Deepwater township. Fannie Beatty was a native of Ohio, a daughter of Joseph and Julietta (Corbin) Beaver, and she came to Bates county when she was a girl, nine years
ELDER LEWIS L. WIX AND WIFE.
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of age. Joseph Beaver was an early-day pioneer preacher of the Chris- tian church. He died in Texas in 1875, to which state he had gone on missionary work. Mrs. Joseph Beatty died April 4, 1913. She was one of the noblest pioneer women, who ever came to this part of Missouri.
Lewis L. Wix attended the country schools of Bates county and, by applying himself assiduously to his studies in his youth and by close observation, extensive reading, and concentration in his mature years, he has acquired a fund of knowledge the average college graduate might well strive to attain. The pioneer homes of Missouri were not supplied with the multitude of conveniences now found in even the humblest rural home in Bates county. Such a thing as electric lights were unheard of by the wildest dreamer, lamps had not yet come into use, and few homes were supplied with candles, although they were used extensively in some parts of the United States. The light from the large, open fireplace was usually all the light needed, but when it was necessary a sort of lamp was made by saturating a twisted rag in melted lard and placing it in a dish. Many and many a night, young Lewis L. Wix mastered his lessons for school the next day studying by such a lamp. Reverend Wix was ordained a minister of the Church of Christ thirty years ago and he has been engaged in ministerial work in this state and in Texas ever since. In the early days, he traveled on horseback or in a "prairie schooner" on his evangelical tours throughout the country. Reverend Wix has made two trips across the plains. He made the first trip on a mule in 1874 and the second at a later date in a "prairie schooner."
The marriage of Elder Lewis L. Wix and Emma Hall was solem- nized in August, 1876. Emma (Hall) Wix is a daughter of William and Martha Hall, who came to Bates county from Moniteau county in the days prior to the Civil War. William Hall was a veteran of the Union army in the Civil War, having served four years. Both he and Mrs. Hall died in Washington county, Arkansas many years ago. To Rev. Lewis L. and Emma (Hall) Wix have been born eight children: Lillie, the wife of Richard Johnson, of Great Falls. Cascade county, Montana ; Rosa, the wife of Lewis G. Wix, a well-to-do farmer of Hudson town- ship, Bates county ; Joseph W., who resides in Montana: Salley E., the wife of D. G. Smith, of Lone Oak township, Bates county: Mary V., the wife of William F. Graves, and she is now deceased: Maud L., the
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wife of O. E. Job, of Sisters, Crook county, Oregon; Martha Stella, the wife of Howard W. Smith, of Lone Oak township, Bates county; and Lewis A., at home with his parents.
Politically, Reverend Wix is affiliated with the Democratic party. He has never aspired to hold political office but has been content to confine his energies to the manifold duties of an evangelist and minister of the Church of Christ and the only office he has ever held has been an office in the church. He is successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising at "Lone Elm Farm," a beautiful country place located on Deepwater creek nine miles east of Butler, and among the progres- sive agriculturalists of the county takes high rank. Reverend Wix is a gentleman of exceptional oratorical ability, remarkable memory, and countless excellent qualities. As a citizen, he is a man of honor, upright- ness, and stern morality, a true leader of men.
George K. Newlon, one of the most progressive and successful young citizens of Summit township, is a native of Winterset, Iowa. He is a son of Samuel J. and Ellen (Seevers) Newlon, the former, a native of Ohio and the latter, of Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Newlon were born eight children, who are now living: Daniel, Ballard, Missouri; Dr. J. S., a prominent physician of Butler, Missouri, a sketch of whom appears else- where in this volume; Lorraine, who resides at home with her widowed mother; Edith, the wife of H. O. Welton, Butler, Missouri; George K., the subject of this review; Thomas D., a salesman for the Motor Machin- ists Supply Company, of Kansas City, Missouri; Selina, who is a stu- dent at the Warrensburg State Normal School; and Alfred, a motor machinist, of Kansas City, Missouri. S. J. Newlon left his native county in Ohio, Marion county, in early manhood and went to Madison county, Iowa, and from there moved with his family to Nebraska. The New- lons resided in Nebraska but a short time, when they returned to Iowa, in which state they made their home until 1902, at which time they came to Bates county, Missouri, and the father purchased the farm in Summit township, which is now the property of Mrs. S. J. Newlon and is known as the "Newlon Brothers' Stock Farm," a place comprising two hundred twenty acres of valuable land, lying four and a half miles northeast of Butler, formerly the Mitchell farm. S. J. Newlon died at his country home in Summit township in 1912 and interment was made in Oak Hill cemetery. His widow still resides at the home place with her son, George K., and her daughter, Lorraine. Thomas D. Newlon was until recently associated with his brother, George K., in farming
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and stock raising, but he retired from the farm and accepted a position as salesman in Kansas City, Missouri.
George K. Newlon attended the city schools of Winterset, Iowa, and the Butler High School. Since leaving school, he and his brother have been engaged in the stock business at the home place in Summit township. This farm is one of the excellent stock farms of Bates county, well equipped with modern facilities for handling stock and abundantly watered. Mr. Newlon has high-grade cattle and hogs on the place, at the time of this writing in 1918, in addition to twenty head of yearling mules. He is giving special time and attention to the last-named stock, the product which has made Missouri famous in this country. The "Newlon Brothers' Stock Farm" is nicely improved and the neatness and well-kept appearance of the general surroundings bespeak the care of an expert agriculturist. The residence, a house of ten rooms, was new when the Newlons came to the farm and since their coming Mr. Newlon has built two stock barns, one 48 x 50 feet in dimensions, the other 50 x 60 feet in dimensions.
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