History of Boone County, Missouri., Part 87

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: St. Louis, Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1220

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President Buchanan appoined Capt. Kneisley to be postmaster at Palmyra, and he held that position upon the outbreak of the war. In 1878 he was elected representative from this county to the State Legis- lature, and in 1880 was reelected, running on the Democratic ticket each time. He is a member of the Committee on the State University, and has done a great deal of valuable work for that important institu- tion.

Capt. K. has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Sophia McCloud, to whom he was married January 11, 1848. She died Sep- tember 25, 1864. His second marriage was to Mrs. Martha Phelps, and

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occurred April 13, 1867. He is the father of six children, three of whom have attained maturity .. In politics the captain is a Democrat ; in religion a Presbyterian ; in all things honorable and upright.

SAMUEL SPAHR LAWS, A. B., A. M., M. D., D. D., LL. D.

Dr. Laws, president of the Missouri State University, is a descend- ant of one of two brothers, who came over from England in 1672, and settled in Maryland. He is a native of the Old Dominion where he received the rudiments of an education in the "Oldfield school." He afterwards entered Miami University, where he graduated valedic- torian of his class. Entering Princeton Seminary, he there pursued his theological studies for three years, completing the course and receiving the first honors of his class. He began his ministerial career in St. Louis, but was soon called to the. church in Lexington, Missouri, but before accepting this charge, he was elected president of Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, and at once assumed the duties and responsibilities of that position. His administration was prosperous and highly satisfactory to the patrons of that institution. When the late civil war broke out he resigned, and applied himself to the quiet and congenial task of translating Aristotle. While in the midst of his labors, he was arrested, and taken to prison by the Union authorities, on account of his Southern proclivities. After being confined in several prisons, and suffering great hardships,. he was finally released on parole, to remain in the loyal States, Canada and Europe, which latter country he visited, remaining some time, princi- pally at Paris, availing hinself of this ' opportunity of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the French language. He returned to the United States while the war was yet in progress, landing in New York, where he had relatives in business. He was there made vice- president of the Gold Exchange, which office he filled very acceptably. The institution prospered so remarkably under his management that the directory presented him with a handsome testimonial, and a cer- tificate of membership, a compliment never conferred upon another. After resigning his office at the Gold Exchange, Dr. Laws perfected an instrument for telegraphing the variations in the prices of gold and stocks, which is now extensively used at home and abroad. By this invention ten thousand instruments can be simultaneously operated, and the value of coin and stocks communicated at the same moment to each business house in the city where used. During his stay in New York City, he availed himself of the opportunities there offered for

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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

scientific and literary research, at the same time pursuing courses of professional study, graduating in both law and medicine. He is at present a member of the New York bar. His medical thesis attracted no little attention, and became the theme of much favorable comment. Dr. Laws is a man of medium height, solidly built, and is in the prime of fresh, vigorous manhood. The nervous, sanguine temperament predominates in his disposition, but is well blended with the bilious and phlegmatic, giving him great vitality of action and thought. This combination of forces has given Dr. Laws a mind thoroughly poised, which avoids harshness in judgment, and extremes in action ; works calmly and systematically, and is capable of great excitement, on supreme occasions. He has all those qualities that thoroughly indi- vidualize a man, and is a most decided type of himself. While ambi- tious of distinction and approval, he is far too manly a man to desire them at the expense of his own convictions of right and truth, and is capable of the most heroic self-sacrifice for an opinion, which has the sanction of his own deliberate judgment. He is one of the best informed men of the age, having accumulated vast stores of informa- tion in all departments of knowledge, and is ever ready with facts and dates, no matter what the subject under consideration, his memory being simply prodigious. As a general scholar, President Laws has no superior in the West, and this is the more notable as his habit of exhaustive study makes every so-called general topic special. His travels in Europe gave him the advantage of intercourse with the ripest scholarship of that continent, and he always, availed himself of every opportunity to verify his facts and statements by undisputed authority. As a metaphysician, Dr. Laws stands in the front rank of American minds ; his rare attainments and exceptional talents are universally conceded ; his features express great executive ability and as acquaintance ripens the conviction deepens that, as the head of some great corporation, or as chairman of a committee on home or foreign affairs, he would have acquitted himself with no less distinc- tion than in his present most honorable and responsible office. His position at the head of our State University is, without controversy, the most important position in the commonwealth, and Missouri is to be congratulated that here, where the largest measures of ability., scholarship and executive talent are demanded, they are so eminently combined, Before the Missouri legislature, in 1877, Dr. Laws pointed out the fact, which was long lost sight of, that the University was an integral part of the public school organization, established by

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law and imbedded in the successive constitutions of the State. It was one of the fundamental conditions of Missouri's admission to the Union, that her general assembly should take measures for the improvement of public lands for the support of a university. For this service to the State, Dr. Laws merits the thanks of all lovers of a generous system of education. Strength and gentleness are by no means disassociated in President Laws. He is a thorough gentleman in all the relations of life, and one every way worthy to be intrusted with the formation of manners as well as mind. His personal exam- ple and influence cannot but be advantageous to those who enjoy the benefit of association with him, for by no means the least of his gifts is the transcendent power of personal quality. The firmness and can- dor displayed by Dr. Laws in the late controversy growing out of his address delivered before the Press Association, at St. Joseph, Missouri, is not only characteristic of the man, but creditable to his judgment and 'manhood. Standing upon constitutional grounds, and speaking for the millions he represented, and of a people whom it had become popular and convenient to malign and ridicule, he but uttered a truth as old as the constitution itself. He simply affirmed that, prior to the civil war, according to the compact entered into by the several States composing the Federal Union, the question of secession was an open one, having two sides ; that in fighting for the sovereignty of the States, as guaranteed to him and his people in the fundamental law of the land, Gen. Lee was no more a traitor in the eyes of law and justice than was Gen. Washington, the hero of American independence. This address, which was simply a philosophical, dispassionate review of the question of State's rights, called down upon the devoted head of Dr. Laws the fiercest wrath of those who snuff treason at the bare men- tion of State's rights. They have railed at the president for months, showing by their zealous rage that the address was all the doctor intended it should be,- a masterly defence of the by no means obso- lete doctrine of State's rights. Not content, however, with vulgar abuse, some of his critics misstate the facts in the grossest, most indecent manner. There being nothing in the address upon which to base a bill of indictment against President Laws, his traducers are driven to the desperate alternative of manufacturing a man of straw, at which to hurl their bitter invectives. They declare that Dr. Laws justi- fied the rebellion, when not a word was uttered in justification thereof. They are careful to withhold such language as would convey the real

HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY. 899

idea expressed, as, in reference to the results of the war, the doctor declared that one result of that struggle was to settle for all time the question of secession. The seceded States, having suffered defeat in the struggle growing out of secession, the principle involved had been practically settled by the sword, and for all time to come.

DR. WALTER T. LENOIR.

Dr. Lenoir is a son of Walter Raleigh and Sarah E. (Bouchelle) Lenoir, and was born October 4, 1827, in Wilkes county, North Caro- lina. His father was born at Fort Defiance, North Carolina, March 15th, 1787, and died October 15th, 1844. His mother was born December 28, 1798, in Burke county, North Carolina, and died August 3d, 1875. They came to Boone county, Missouri, November 4th, 1834, and settled on a farm two and one-half miles north of Colum- bia. They are buried in the Columbia Cemetery. They were blessed with six children, two boys and four girls. Annie E. (deceased), wife of Boyle Jewell ; Julia E., wife of Elder S. S. Church; of the Christian Church ; Myra C., wife of Col. F. T. Russell ; Dr. W. F. ; Martha L., wife of T. A. Russell, attorney at law, of St. Louis, and Slater E., a prominent farmer of Boone county. Their grandfather was Gen. William Lenoir, of Old Fort Defiance, North Carolina. He was a prominent light in the politics of the old North State for sixty years, holding offices from justice of the peace up to president of the constitutional convention for remodeling the State constitution. He served many years in both houses of the legislature, and was for several terms respectively, president of the one, and speaker of the other. He was also for a number of years president of the Court of Common Pleas. He is buried at Fort Defiance, where an elegant monument was erected over his grave by an appreciative and grateful constituency. Dr. Walter T., our subject, was educated at the State University, graduating from that institution in the class of '49. In 1850 he went to St. Louis and attended medical lectures at Pope's Medical College, where he graduated in 1853, and returned to Colum- bia to practice his profession. From 1858 to 1861, he practiced in co-partnership with Dr. Wm. H. Duncan. He soon took rank with older physicians than himself, and to-day is reckoned among the State's best. He has held a number of positions of honor and trust. From 1855 to 1862 he was treasurer of the State University and a member of the board of curators. Since 1856 he has been a member

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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

of the board of curators, physician and trustee of Christian College. He was appointed by Gov. B. Gratz Brown manager of the State Lunatic Asylum at Fulton, which position he held for four or five years. He has been an elder in the Christian Church since 1856, and is a Knight Templar, being at one time master of the lodge. He has been married twice, the first time to Miss Fannie C., daughter of James Shannon (at one time president of the Univer- sity ) May 29, 1856. By this union they had four children, three girls and one boy : Anna S., Eva D., James C., and Julia C. They were educated at Christian College and at the University. His first, wife died April 13, 1864. She was a devoted member of the Chris- tian Church, and a graduate of Bacon College, Kentucky. July 4, 1866, he was married to Miss Nannie J., daughter of Federal and Sarah Dunn Walker, of Howard county, Missouri. By this marriage they have one son, George W. Mrs. Lenoir is a graduate of Chris- tian College and has been a member of the Christian Church since early childhood. Dr. Lenoir is yet in the prime of a vigorous, active manhood, and is a dignified, courtly gentleman of the old school.

H. B. LONSDALE.

Henry Brougham Lonsdale was born in Leicester, England, November 13, 1832. He came to America at an early age and settled first in Wisconsin. In 1853 he went to St. Louis, and the year following came to Columbia. He learned the tailoring business in boyhood and has followed it ever since. At present he is engaged in the merchant tailoring business and dealing in sewing machines. Mr. Lonsdale was married April 2, 1860, to Miss Meron G. Mayhew, of Grundy county, Missouri, a descendant of the Mayhew family of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where Mrs. Lonsdale was born. They have had six children, one of whom is dead. The living are : Frank, Kate, Harvey, May H., and Elston Holmes. The dead child was named Maggie D. The two first named are graduates of the State University - Frank in 1881, and Kate in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Lonsdale are members of the Christian Church. He is also a member of the I. O. G. T. He has been a member of the school board, and is now clerk of the board of town trustees. He has a nice home in Columbia, the result of his own labors. He is an exem- plary member of society and is highly appreciated by all who know him.

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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

THOMAS JEFFERSON LOWRY, B. S., N. G., M. S., C. E.,

Professor of Civil Engineering, Dean of Engineering Faculty, and Secretary of University Faculty, Missouri State University, Columbia, Missouri.

Prof. Lowry, the present able dean of the engineering school of the " University of the State of Missouri," is a descendant of one of two brothers who came over from Scotland in 1747 and settled in Philadel- phia, Heis a native of Randolph county, Missouri, and was born No- vember 29, 1850. His paternal grandfather was Dr. John J. Lowry, of Howard county, Missouri; his father, Dr. W. T. Lowry, was a physician of eminence and a man of extraordinary ability ; his mother is a native of Randolph county, Missouri, and a daughter of Judge Joseph Turner, who was a native of Tennessee, whose parents were from North Carolina, and whose ancestors were Irish.

The Christian culture and training from his mother he prizes above all the wisdom of the philosophers ; and " the inflexible, Roman-like character of his grandfathers is the best part of the family inheri- tance."

In early boyhood, studious and thoughtful beyond his years, his par- ents determined to give him a thorough education, that he might attain to that distinction and usefulness of which he seemed to give promise. His home culture and early school training were all that could be desired at the hands of fond parents and able teachers. He entered McGee College, Missouri, in the fall of 1866, standing at the head of his classes in the sciences and the mathematics. His mathematical instructor here, Prof. W. J. Patton, said of him : "In the class-room I feared Lowry, for I felt that he was more than a match for me, with his won- derful mathematical genius ; and many times I found the teacher taught by the learning learner." Desiring to pursue a more thorough course in the physical sciences and the mathematics than McGee College offered, he entered the junior class of the Missouri State University, at Columbia, in the fall of 1868 ; he graduated from the University in June, 1870, and was awarded the first honor in the scientific de- partment, and also, in a competitive examination on international and constitutional law, won the "law prize," receiving the degrees of bache- lor of science and normal graduate. President Read testified to the accurate learning and marked ability of young Lowry in pursuing the subtleties of the law. He said to the senior class : " Gentlemen, when Lowry speaks, it makes me think ; " and turning to young Lowry, he added : " Lowry, that is the highest compliment that I could pay you."

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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

For his proficiency in mathematics (ranking first in his class), he- was recommended by the University for an appointment as an officer in the United States coast survey, which he received October, 1870. He read medicine in his father's office in 1865 and '66, and during the summer and fall of 1870 attended lectures at St. Louis Medical Col -- lege, but gave up his medical studies in order to devote his time to- the more congenial pursuits - surveying and engineering on the United States coast survey. From 1870 to 1877 he was on the Atlantic, gulf and Pacific coasts, actively engaged on the United States coast survey,. in the following classes of field-work : Hydrography, topography, pri- mary triangulation, magnetics, reconnoissance for primary triangula- tion, latitudes, azimuths, and also chronometer and telegraphic longi- tudes. During these active and arduous labors he found time to. exercise his inventive genius in bringing order out of chaos in the- science and art of hydrographic surveying. His discovery of new and. improved methods in hydrographic surveying, and his invention of sex- tants and protractors more perfectly adapted to the wants of the hydro- grapher, and whereby one officer is enabled to make the measurement ; previously made by three, have introduced him to the hydrographers. of all civilized nations.

The sextant, as it came from the brain of Sir Isaac Newton, was- imperfectly adapted to the wants of the hydrographer, failing to meas- ure angles between 140 and 180 degrees, and also failing to measure two angles at the same instant. The hydrographers of England, Ger- many, France and the United States had studied for a half century to remedy these defects, but with only partial success. Young Lowry invented the following sextants which perfectly solved these and other problems : -

I. A sextant to measure any angle from 0 to 180 degrees without. inverting the instrument, and while reflecting but one object.

II. A sextant capable of measuring two angles, one to the right and the other to the left of the central object, at the same instant; either angle being any size, from 0 to 140 degrees.

III. A sextant capable of measuring two angles in quick succession, without previously estimating their relative magnitudes, or inverting the sextant, or lengthening its arc.

IV. A sextant capable of measuring two angles in quick succession, and an interrange at the same instant.

V. The protracting sextant, which enables one observer to measure and plot two angles with a facility, ease and accuracy not now'at-

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tained with two ordinary sextants, and one protractor in the hands of two observers and one plotter.

He is the author of several new methods in hydrographic surveying.

Some of the above are described in Volume XIV of the American Cyclopedia, and all are described in the proceedings of the California Academy of Science, the Analyst, the Mining and Scientific Press, of San Francisco, and the Nautical Gazette, of New York.

In 1874, Prof. Lowry was elected a member of the California Academy of Science, at San Francisco, and was an active and pro- ductive member, as the academy reports of 1874-5-6 will show. In August, 1877, he was elected a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1878 he was elected a member of the Engineers' Club of St. Louis. In June, 1873, the degree of master of science was conferred on him by his alma mater.

In June, 1877, Prof. Lowry was elected professor of civil engineer- ing in the University of the State of Missouri. The University, in June, 1878, conferred upon him the honorary degree of civil engineer, created the engineering department, and elected him professor of civil engineering and dean of the engineering faculty. Prof. Lowry was a delegate from Columbia to the Missouri river improvement convention, held in St. Joseph, Missouri, November 29 and 30, 1881. In September, 1878, Prof. Lowry was elected secretary of the Univer- sity faculty for the school year of 1878-9, and was re-elected to the same important and responsible position for the sessions of 1879-80, 1880-1, 1881-2, 1882-3. " He faithfully and efficiently performed the duties of this position during the four years of his alma mater's greatest prosperity, from October, 1878, to October, 1882 ; and then, though re-elected for session of 1882-3, resigned the secretaryship in order to devote his undivided energies to the growing demands of the tree planted by his own hands - the engineering department of the University of the State of Missouri."

In 1877, the engineering limb was engrafted on the academic trunk of the University tree ; it grew from the first and flourished. As to the fruit it has borne, we quote from the report of the board of cura- tors to the XXXI General Assembly of Missouri: " Young men have already gone out and are still going out from the engineering department of the Missouri University, thoroughly educated and trained for efficient service upon the great works of internal improve- ment and foreign commerce. Conscious of their individual strength in their profession, they have asserted their rights and assumed their

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places on road and railroad engineering parties, and on the surveys and improvements of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, and which positions they now hold and adorn with honor and distinction." President Laws said, in a public lecture : " This school of engineering is a pillar of strength to this University, and an honor to the Uni- versity and to the State of Missouri."

Professor Lowry's great aim, never lost sight of, in this school has been to prepare young engineers to meet fully the demands of their profession in this the last quarter of the nineteenth century. To this end, drawing-room and field work are made to bear a large pro- portion to the theoretical instruction of the class-room, so as to unite manipulative skill with theoretical instruction, thus avoiding the fatal blunder of so many of our engineering schools, viz. : attempting to teach the surveying and engineering arts without putting them into practice.

A critic says, " Prof. Lowry is never guilty of speaking or writing on a subject which he has not thoroughly investigated. He is a fluent and forcible writer, treats every subject he touches with clear- ness, frankness, and ability ; is a learned and scientific educator, and a vigorous, clear, logical and comprehensive thinker practically in the department of education."' For five years he has wielded his able pen in setting forth the merits of his alma mater, in popular- izing science and scientific pursuits, and in persuading the young men of the West to seek_educations for a purpose. In these efforts he has been untiring ; seed-thoughts, looking to a useful and steady development of the American mind, keeping pace with the march of science and philosophy, have been sown broadcast through lectures, pamphlets, and the daily press, and cannot cease to vivify, though the source may be lost sight of. He has never failed to command the close attention and hearty approval of the thinking public. As an indication of the spirit with which the productions of his pen are received, we quote a written opinion by the lamented J. K. Rogers, LL. D. : " I have read Prof. Lowry's lecture on ' The Professional School in the American University ' through and through with interest and pleasure, and it has my hearty endorsement and approval. It is a live, wide-awake lecture, full of enthusiasm and vim, abreast of the times, and with its face set in the right direction. It is an admir- able plea for the particular department its author represents, and cannot fail to do good for the University and make reputation for its author. As a plea for the sciences and for professional education it

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is unanswerable, and no one ought to want to answer it. I must con- gratulate Prof. Lowry upon the success of this lecture, and upon the success of the engineering department." Another critic says : " Prof. Lowry is a man of great ability, unquestioned genius, won- derful energy, thoroughly up in his profession, fostered under the administration of that most powerful intellect of this or any other age, Dr. S. S. Laws."

Prof. Lowry is a man of not quite medium height, nervous-sanguine temperament, dark auburn hair, grayish brown eyes, with determina- tion written on every feature, and is in the prime of a fresh and vigorous young manhood. He has all those qualities which thoroughly individualize a man and is a most decided type of himself. He is a Missourian to the manner born - with him it is " Missouri first - the world afterwards." We close this sketch with the closing paragraph of a lecture he delivered on " Engineering in Missouri :" " My heart is in this cause. My soul is in this work. My life and energies are consecrated to building up the cause of the exact arts in Missouri. I owe my all to this University, and I want no more glory while I live, no more glorious heritage when I come to pass over the great river, no more lasting monument, no prouder epitaph than that I was instrumental in building up the exact arts, in this my alma mater in this, my native State."

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History of Boone County, Missouri., Part 87

Author: Publication date: 1882 Publisher: St. Louis, Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 1220

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: St. Louis, Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1220