USA > Missouri > Carroll County > History of Carroll County, Missouri : carefully written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of its townships, cities, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri ; the Constitution of the United States, and State of Missouri ; a military record of its volunteers in either army of the Great Civil War ; general and local statistics ; miscellany ; reminiscences, grave, tragic and humorous ; biographical sketches of prominent men and citizens identified with the interests of the country > Part 74
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JOHN STAUNN,
born January 8th, 1841 in Bavaria. Son of Philip P. and Susannah Staunn. John came to America when 16 years old, lived in Ohio four years, stopped in St. Louis a year or two, and in 1837 removed to Carroll county, Missouri and purchased 160 acres of land in Trotter township. In 1856 he built a flour mill on the Wakanda, and with the profits from his mill and farm has purchased land in addition to his former purchase until he has at last become the owner of 940 acres of good land. He was married Oct. 20, 1842, to Miss Eda R. Coleman, a native of Boone county, Mo. They have eight children living, Susannah, (now wife of Mr. - Shaf- fer), Mary (now wife of Mr. -- Booker,) George, Daniel, John W., Louisa, Eda E., and Joel N. Mr. Staunn has been a very successful hun- ter in his time. It is said that he killed from 50 to 70 deer during one year. He is a member of the Old School Presbyterian church.
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OBADIAH STEVENS,
born April 2d, 1841, in Ripley. county, Indiana. Son of Sylvester and Mary Stevens. His father was a native of Indiana, and his mother of Pennsylvania. Obadiah was raised on a farm. When .21 years old he enlisted (Aug. 2d, 1862) in company B. 4th Indiana cavalry, and took part in the battles of Chickamauga and others; was taken prisoner at the battle of Atlanta and kept in prison at Andersonville, Charleston, and Florence, for four months. He received his discharge from service May 5th, 1865, and returned to Indiana. In 1867 he removed.to Carroll county, Missouri, and purchased 240 acres of land, and here he is extensively engaged in farming and stock raising. Mr. Stevens was married. May 31st, 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Sutton, native of Indiana, and daughter of David M. and Margaret Sutton. They are the parents of six children, Ida V., Lillie R., Ella, Sylvester, David M. and Obadiah.
NEHEMIAH SUGG, JR,
born February 23d, 1853, in Bedford county, Tennessee. Son of Nehe- miah and Louanna Sugg, natives of Tennessee. He came to Carroll county, Mo., in 1870, and was married May 30th, 1873, to Miss Mary P. Smithpeter, daughter of William and Mary Smithpeter, Tennesseeans. After their marriage they lived in Leslie Township, until 1880, when they moved on their present farm of eighty acres in Prairie Township, in sec- tion 26. They have four children living, Louanna M., Venie B., Athel Lee, and Willie P.
JAMES T. SUMPTER,
born February 15th, 1849, in Monroe county, Mo. Son of John W. and Susan Sumpter. He moved to Illinois in 1860, where he remained but one year, and returned to Missouri. After a stay of two years he removed to Logan county, Ills., and was there engaged in farming until 1878, when he came to Carroll county, Mo. He was married January 28th, 1876, to Miss Winnie Reed, daughter of W. P. and Charlotte Reed, of Illinois. Mr. Sumpter is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities. He and his wife are members of the M. E. Church.
LUTHER W. SUMPTER,
born February 8th, 1854, in Monroe county, Mo. Son of John W. and Susan Sumpter. His father John W., was killed at Kirksville, Mo., July 4th, 1861, while on his way out to where the Militia were drilling. He was attacked by George Wood, struck over the head with a loaded cane, and stabbed with a dirk. The cause of the attack was merely because Mr. Sumpter was a .Democrat. The murderer attempted to escape, but
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was pursued, and shot nine times, by his own men. The wounds, were only flesh wounds, and did not prove fatal. He was put in jail, and after a duration of three days, was taken out by some men at night, and hanged. Luther W., spent his early days in Monroe county, and at the age of fif- teen, moved to Illinois, where he was engaged in farming. In the fall ot 1878, he removed to Carroll county, Mo., where he has since made his home, living at present on section 24, of Prairie Township. He was mar- ried August 22d, 1880, to Miss Susan Fox, daughter of John and Eliza- beth Fox. Mr. Sumpter is a member of the M. E. Church.
WM. FRANKLIN THOMASON.
Wm. Franklin Thomason is a Missourian by birth, and was born in Clinton county on the 26th day of June, 1845. His father, Benjamin F. Thomason, a farmer, died in 1846. This caused the family to move to Clay county, where lived Wm. F. Thomason's grandfather. . He was raised by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. David Lincoln. He completed his education at the William Jewell college, at Liberty, Missouri. His busi- ness through life has always been farming. He commenced farming for himself in Clay county, when he was 22 years old. He lived in Clay county about four years, and in the spring of 1872 came to Carroll county and bought the place on which he now resides, in Prairie township. His farm consists of 160 acres of improved land. The improvements on the place rank among the first in the neighborhood. Mr. Thomason was married in November, 1873, to Miss Julia M. Keyes, of Ray county. They have two children, one daughter and one son: Aggie Belle and Isaac Franklin. The former born November 25, 1874, the latter April 27, 1879. Mr. Thomason is a member of the Christian church; his wife is a member of the M. E. church, south. He is insured in two life insurance companies; the National Christian Temperance Union and the Farmer's and Mechanic's of St. Louis. He is justly ranked among the enterprising and thrifty farmers of Carroll county.
JEREMIAH WILLIAMS,
was born April 24, 1820, in Lewis county, New York. Son of Absalom and Fannie Williams-the former a native of Massachusetts, and the latter of New York. Jeremiah was raised on a farm in the county of his birth. In 1843 he moved to Illinois, and resided in Chicago for one year, and then removed to Wisconsin, where he remained until 1875. In that year he came to Carroll county, Missouri, and settled on some land that he had previously purchased. He is now engaged in stock raising and farming. Owns 618 acres of land, besides having given 360 acres to his children. He was married July 5, 1852, to Miss Mary A. Randall, a native of Orleans county, New York, daughter of John S. and Almira Randall. They have
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three children: Fannie, (now Mrs. - Davis,) Frank M., and Cora. Mrs. Williams is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Williams takes an active part in politics and is a republican. During the later war was deputy U. S. marshall, and enrolling officer in Columbia county, Wiscon- sin.
JOHN S. WILLIAMSON.
John S. Williamson was born in the city of Cincinnati; Ohio, June. 6, 1825. He is the son of Rev. John Williamson, a Methodist minister, who was well known and highly respected in Ohio. The family lived near Cin- cinnati, until John was eleven years old and then, in 1836, moved to Illi- nois, and settled upon a farm in Fulton county. There he finished his education and grew up on a farm. He has always followed the avocation of farming, and has made a success of that business. He moved from Illinois to Ray county, Missouri, and rented a farm there for one year, and then moved upon a tract of land which he had purchased in Carroll county. This place lies in section 34, of Prairie township, and is improved with good buildings and a thrifty orchard. Upon this place Mr. Williamson has con- tinued to reside ever since he came to this county, and by his fair and hon- orable conduct, has won the honor and esteem of his neighbors. He was married in Knoxville, Illinois, on the 23d day of August, 1854, to Miss Mary A. Leeper, daughter of Thomas Leeper, of Fulton county. Six children, three of each sex, have been born of this union, all of whom are now living: Charles, Laura, May, Abraham L., Emma, and George. Mr. Williamson is a substantial farmer and a good citizen.
ROBERT A. WRIGHT.
Robert A. Wright was born in Trimble county, Kentucky, on the 31st day of January, 1839. He was reared and educated in the county of his birth. He moved with his father in 1868 to Clinton county, Missouri. In 1871 they moved to Carroll county, and Robert A. moved on some land that he had purchased in 1870. His father lived with him until his death which occurred in August, 1877. His mother, Mrs. Mary Wright, is still living and makes her home with her son, the subject of this sketch. His farm lay in section 28, of Prairie township. He sold part of this in 1876, and the remainder in 1881. He immediately afterward bought 320 acres of improved land (two miles north of his former place) in section 15. Mr. Wright will endeavor to make this one of the finest improved farms in the county. He was married in Carroll county June 1, 1873, to Miss Eliza Owen, formerly of Kentucky. They have one daughter and three sons: "Cora Eleanor, born February 14, 1874; Wm. Henry, born November 1, 1875; Charles Allen, born January 18, 1878; Ralph, born February 18, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Wright are both members of the
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Christian church. Mr. Wright is one of the most substantial agricul- turists and stock men of his locality.
WAKANDA TOWNSHIP. ROBERT M. ADKINS,
born in 1861 in Carroll county, Missouri, son of Johnson Adkins, one of the early settlers of the county, who died in 1868 .. His mother's maiden . name was Maria Page, a native of Kentucky. Robert was raised on the farm, three miles east of Carrollton, and has accquired a common school education. He was married September 8, 1880, to Miss Alzada Huff- man, daughter of W. M. Huffman, of Carroll county.
HENRY C. BUSBY,
born in 1841, in Carroll county, Missouri; son of Tilford and Anna Busby, natives of Kentucky. Henry was raised on a farm and acquired a good common school education. He left home after he become of age, and took several trips west, was engaged in farming and teaming in Texas, lived two years in Kansas City and a year in Chillicothe, Missouri. He then returned to Carroll county and has since been engaged in farming. In 1880 he was united in matrimony to Mrs. Susan M. Harden, nee Hard- wick. Mr. Busby took an active part in the late civil war, serving four years in the confederate army. Was in the battles of Lexington, Spring- field, Carthage, Wilson's Creek and many others.
JAMES L: CUNNINGHAM,
born in 1814, in Hampshire county, Virginia. Son of James and Susan Cunningham, natives of Virginia. His father was one of the early settlers of Boone county, locating there in 1817, when James L. was but three years old. The subject of this sketch was raised on his father's farm, and remained at home until seventeen years old, when he engaged in the mer- cantile business in Columbia, Missouri. Two years later he went to New Mexico, and was there engaged in selling goods. He soon sold out and returned home, and, in partnership with Mr, Kuykindall, purchased a full stock and went to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he was engaged in business for eighteen months, and sold out and purchased with the money received a lot of mules, at Chihuahua. While on his way back with the mules, he and his men were attacked by the Indians, the mules taken from them, and two of the party killed. Mr. Cunningham then returned to Missouri, and followed farming for two years, spent two years in his cousin's store, and finally settled down on the farm, in Boone county, where he was raised. In June, 1842, he was married to Miss Jane Tucker, of Cooper county,
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Missouri. After hismarriage he followed farming for eight years, and in 1850 began merchandising, still continuing to manage his farm. He was afterwards in partnership with William Dosier. Mr. Cunningham moved to Carroll county in 1875, and located on section thirteen, where he now resides. He has five children living: De Witt C., James B., Ella, (wife of Luther Edwards,) Charles R. and Ada. A. Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham are both members of the Methodist church.
WILLIAM J. MILLER,
born May 15, 1859, ia Carroll county, Missouri. Son of Samuel and Martha Miller. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Car- roll county in 1843. At his death, which occurred in 1874, William man- aged the farm and took care of the family; his mother having died in 1855. He was married April 3, 1881, to Miss Isabel Smith, daughter of Thomas Smith, a native of Tennessee, who came to Carroll county in 1851. Mr. Miller is a member of the Baptist church.
SAMUEL D. SMART,
born in Carroll county, Missouri. He is a son of Buckner Smart, a North Carolinian, who moved to Carroll county in 1832. Samuel D. Smart's mother's maiden name was Nancy B. Gentry, a native of Kentucky. Samuel was reared on a farm, and acquired a good common school edu- cation. He was married in July, 1871, to Miss M. M. Christie, of Monroe county, Illinois. They have two children: Susan M. and Spencer S. Mr. Smart and wife, like his parents before him, are members of the Baptist church.
JOHN M. SMART,
born in 1847, in Carroll county Missouri. Son of Stephen and Margaret Smart., His father was a native of North Carolina. John was raised in the county of his birth. There being but few schools in the county where he was growing up, his education is somewhat limited. When twenty one years old he married Miss Mary Gentry, a native of Missouri. They have two children living: Johnnie and Sallie J. Mr. Smart has lived in different parts of the county, but is at present settled on his old home place, in section two, of Wakanda township. He and his wife are both members of the Baptist church. .
JAMES M. SMART,
born in 1864, in Chariton county, Missouri; son of James R. and Harriet W. Smart, natives of Missouri. James M. was raised on a farm, and has acquired a good common school education. He lived in Chariton county until he was 12 years old, and then moved to Carroll county, where he
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
now resides. When 15 years old he joined the Baptist church at Wakanda, and has since been a faithful member .. He is still living with his father and mother.
W. H. SNIDER,
born in' 1859, in Rockbridge county, Virginia; son of John and Elizabeth Snider, natives of Virginia. He was reared on the farm. In 1872, he moved to Parke county, Ind., and in the following year removed to Car- roll county Mo., where he has since resided. He was married in Novem- ber 1880, to Miss Ola Cooper, of Livingston county. Mr. Snider is a successful young farmer. His corn crop of 1880, consisting of 60 acres, yielded 14 barrels to the acre.
DAVID SNIDER,
born Sept. 8, 1828, in Rockbridge county, Va .; son of John and Sarah Snider, natives of Virginia. David was reared on the farm, and has always followed the pursuit of farming. When 38 years old he came to Carroll county and settled on section 24, in Wakanda township. He was married when 28 years old to Miss Rebecca J. Snider, a native of Vir- ginia. They are the parents of two children living: Charles L. and Adella B. Mr. Snider was in the confederate army of the late civil war. He and his family are members of the Methodist church.
JOHN H. STANDLEY,
born in 1846, in Carroll county, Mo. He is the oldest son of William and Sarah Standley. John H. was reared on the farm. At the age of 18 he went to Columbia to attend school, but remained there only one year, as the schools were disturbed by the war. He afterwards attended Stewart's commercial college in St. Louis, and completed his course. He then returned home and remained on the farm for two years. In the year following he made a trip to Texas. Two years later he began farming and dealing in stock for himself, and was very successful. The next seven years of his life were spent in south western Missouri, and Kansas, where he was still engaged in trading in stock and farming. He was married while in Kansas, on the 4th day of Sept., 1879, to Miss E. A. Blood, of Eau Claire, Wis. They have had one child born to them, which died when five months old. In January 1881, Mr. Standley returned to Carroll county, Mo., and located on section 4, of Wakanda township where he now resides.
BENJAMIN Y. STANDLEY,.
was born December 17th, 1858, in Carroll county, Mo .; son of William and Sarah Standley; his father is a Missourian and his mother a native of
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HISTORY OF. CARROLL COUNTY.
Monroe county, Va." Benjamin is still living with his mother on the farm two miles east of Carrollton, where he was raised. He has received a fair education, and takes a delight in continually acquiring knowledge. Although his time is pretty well occupied in managing the farm, he spends his leisure hours in mental improvement.
ELIHU SULLIVAN,.
was born in 1815, in Jefferson county, Ohio; son of Adam Sullivan, native of Maryland. Elihu was reared on the farm and has made farming his only occupation through life. In 1865 he moved to Iowa and remained ten years; he then removed to Missouri, stopping a shot time in Living- ston county, and then located permanently in Carroll county, on section 15, where he still resides; he was married in 1841 to Miss Elenor A. Har- rison, of Ohio, who died in 1865, and 'he was subsequently married to Mrs. Malinda McKorkle, a widow lady, whose maiden name was Bar- nette. By his second marriage Mr. Sullivan has four daughters: Alice, Mary Ann, Bethiar and Salina Jane. Mr. Sullivan and wife are members of the Episcopal church; he is an extensive farmer, and owns 220 acres of very productive land. In 1880 he raised over 3,000 bushels of wheat on ninety-seven and one-half acres.
GEORGE R. SWIGGET,
was born in 1855, in Tippecanoe county, Ind .; son of Peter and Lydia Swigget, the former a native of Indiana, the latter of Ohio. George R., came to Carroll county, Mo., in company with his father in 1868; he has acquired a good common school education, and is now one of the leading farmers of Carroll county; he has followed the pursuit of farming all his life, and is located on the Missouri river bottom south-east of Carrollton.
DR. DANIEL WAGONER,
son of John and Catherine Wagoner, nce Zinn, was born in 1832, and is the youngest of six children. Both parents are Pennsylvanians by birth. When Daniel was about six years old the family moved to Rush county, Ind., where his father cultivated a large farm, the doctor assisting until the age of seventeen, when he began his attendance at the Eclectic Medical Institute, Cinncinnati, Ohio, remaining two years, getting his diploma. He commenced practicing in Wabash county, Ind., where he remained about ten years. At this time he entered Jefferson Medical Col- lege, Philadelphia, acquitting himself at the end of two years with honor, and gaining his second diploma. For four years after he attended lec- tures at that place, after which he came west, locating in Carrollton, this county, continuing his practice until 1877, when he went on a farm where he now resides, cultivating a farm of 600 acres. In 1856 he married Miss
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Susan Steinberger, of Indiana, she dying in 1866, leaving one child, Jen- nie, now Mrs. Neil, of Deadwood, Dakota. On the 12th of June, 1872, he married Miss Anna Martin, of Louisiana, Missouri. Dr. Wagoner has a fine reputation as a physician, and has performed some of the most difficult surgical operations on record in the country.
. JOSEPH H. REA,
was born September 1, 1832, in Henry county, Virginia, and is a son of Judge Edmund J. Rea, whose biography appears in another part of this work. Joseph H. Rea, the subject of this brief notice, was raised in this county, growing up on a farm. He engaged in the vocation of farming early in life, and by good management and sound practical judgment, unyielding energy, and scrupulous honesty, has acquired a large landed and personal estate, being one of the largest stock-raisers and shippers in this section of the state. On the 1st of May, 1856, he married Miss Gene- vieve Smith, of Ralls county, this state, by whom there is four children, namely: Smith C., Edward K., Arthur F., and Josephine. His wife died in May, 1873. On the 1st of February, 1876, he a second time married, taking to the altar Miss Kate Humphrey, of Paola, Kansas, for- merly of Utica, New York, by whom there is one child, John W.
LEWIS C. TROTTER,
was born in 1857, in Carroll county, Missouri, and is a son of Alexander Trotter, who was also born in this county and state, and is one of the heaviest land owners and business men of the county. Lewis C., the sub- ject of this biographical notice, was educated in this county, and has always resided here, and is extensively engaged with his father in farming and stock-raising. ... He is just starting out in business life, and is display- ing an energy that promises soon to. place him among the solid men of the county. On the 3d of March, 1880, he married Miss Maggie, daugh- ter of Thomas Orchard, a merchant of Carrollton, by whom there is one child, named Alexander.
VAN HORN TOWNSHIP. CORNELIUS B. VAUGHN,
born June 11, 1822, in Culpepper county, Virginia. He moved to War- ren county, Tennessee. in company with his parents, when but four years of age. Here he grew to manhood. In 1844 he started west, walking from Nashville to Alton, Illinois. He remained in Alton until 1849, when he went to California in searh of gold. He returned to Alton in 1863, and was engaged there in saw-milling for several years, when he removed to
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
Carroll county, Missouri, settling on section nine, in Van Horn township, where he now resides. He was married, October 9, 1853, to Miss Mary F. Smith. They are the parents of seven children, living: Leonard O., Clara M., George S., Robert B., Rosamond, Bertha J., and Lulu C. Mrs. Vaughn is a member of the Baptist Church.
WILLIAM W. RILEY,
born October 19, 1818, in Clark county, Kentucky, where he grew to manhood. He is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth Riley, natives of Virginia. William W. came to Carroll county in 1838; he remained here one year and then went to Clinton county. In 1865 he returned to Car- roll county, and has since remained here on section 12 in Van Horn township. Mr. Riley has had considerable experience in surveying and helped to lay out the city of St. Joseph. He was married in 1839 to Miss Mary Ann Sharp, of Scott county,;Kentucky. They are the parents of eight children-Evaline, Jonathan, William, John Franklin, George W., Amelia E., Richard H. and Mary C. Mr. Riley is a member of the masonic fraternity of Maysville lodge, No. 62 in DeKalb county, Mo.
BURLEY GODSEY,
born September 25, 1817, in Cox county, Tennessee; he is a son of Bur- ton and Patience Godsey. When two years old his parents moved to St. Charles county Mo., where they lived ten years and then moved to Sa- line county, where Burley was raised on a farm. He came to Carroll county' in 1844 and settled near Bogart's mound; three years after he moved into VanHorne township. Mr. Godsey was married in September, 1835 to Miss Nancy Millsap, of Saline county, whose parents are natives of Virginia. They are the parents of eight children living-Elizabeth F., Cynthia Jane, Mary C., James M., William, Martha A., Thomas G., and Susan Ellen. Mr. Godsey at one time owned a large body of land, but has given his children each a farm. Mr. Godsey and wife are members of the Baptist church. He was a democrat but did not like the doctrine and became a republican.
THOMAS L. CHARLES,
born in Orange county, Ind., April 22, 1840 ;. he is the son of William Charles. He moved to Martin county when a boy and was raised there. He enlisted in the Federal army in August, 1862, in Company A, of the Seventeenth Indiana mounted infantry, Capt. Henley, in Gen. Thomas' command. He participated in the battles of Mumfordsville, Chicka- mauga, Missionary Ridge, Selina, Atlanta, Shelbyville, Columbus and others. He received a slight wound in the knee at the battle of Shelby- ville, at the battle of Mumfordsville he was taken prisoner but was soon
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HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY.
paroled and exchanged. He was married in 1868 to Miss Ann J. Sides, of Martin county, Ind. They have three children living-Ettie F., Dan- iel L. and Benjamin E. Mr. Charles is a member of the masonic fra- ternity and belongs to the White River lodge, No. 332 at Shoals, Martin county, Ind. He also belongs to the I. O. O. F., at Shoals, No. 344. Mr. Charles has made himself a fine home out of his farm. He owns 340 acres of land with all the improvents. On his place is an orchard of 250 trees of all kinds of fruit. He takes delight in raising fine horses.
HENRY R. STEVENSON,
born September 15, 1840, in Franklin county, Ohio. He came to Mis- souri, with his parents when but a few weeks old. He was educated at the Fairville Academy, in Saline county, Missouri. Mr. Stevenson was married in 1869 to Miss Amanda A. Lloyd, of Springfield, Illinois. They are the parents of five children: Carrie Alice, Harry H., Lloyd A., Wal- ton Leroy, and George W. Mr. Stevenson is a member of the M. E. Church and of the I. O. O. F. He has represented his lodge twice in the Grand Lodge of Illinois. He is at present president of the Barclay Coal Mining Company in Sangamon county, Illinois. He owns 251 acres of fine improved land in Carroll county, Missouri. His home is in section 16, of Van Horn township. He pays particular attention to raising fine live stock and improving his farm generally.
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