USA > Missouri > Cass County > History of Cass County, Missouri > Part 39
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Five children of Rev. J. B. H. and Sarah Wooldridge survive, they are as follows: Rev. R. A., a Methodist minister; Francis M., the subject of this sketch; John L., merchant, Waurika, Oklahoma; R. S., cashier of the Harrisonville State Bank; and Justina, the wife of C. E. Lancaster, Kansas City, Missouri.
Francis M. Wooldridge was about ten years old when his parents set- tled in Cass County. He spent his boyhood days on the home farm, after coming here, and was educated in the public schools of Cass County and Central College, Fayette, Missouri. He was successfully engaged in farm- ing and stock raising and in November, 1896, was elected sheriff of Cass County. At the expiration of his first term he was re-elected and served in that capacity until 1900. That year he was appointed warden of the state penitentiary at Jefferson City and served in that capacity for four years and it is a recognized fact that that great penal institution of the state of Missouri was never more competently managed nor better con- ducted than it was during that period. After having served in that capacity four years Mr. Wooldridge engaged in farming. In December, 1913, he purchased what is known as the "Woodland Stock Farm" which
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adjoins the city of Harrisonville on the south and here Mr. Wooldridge has since been engaged in general farming and stock raising.
In 1875 Mr. Wooldridge was united in marriage with Miss Henrietta B. Taylor of Johnson County, Missouri. To this union were born five chil- dren, one of whom is living, Mrs. George Gosch. The wife and mother died during Mr. Wooldridge's term as sheriff and he married for his second wife, Miss Ella Graham and three children were born to this union, one of whom is living, Alexander Graham. Mrs. Wooldridge died May 7, 1910, and on January 14, 1914, Mr. Wooldridge was married to Miss Mildred B. Collins of Cass County.
Mr. Wooldridge is a member of the Masonic Lodge, Knights of Pythias and belongs to the Methodist church, south. He is a life-long Democrat and is ever active in promoting the policies and principles of his party.
C. D. Eidson, secretary and treasurer of the Hight-Eidson Title Com- pany of Harrisonville, is a native of Cass County. He was born about six miles west of Harrisonville, March 9, 1886, and is a son of Swimpfield and Sarah (Ford) Eidson, both natives of Kentucky and early settlers in Cass County. Swimpfield Eidson has been engaged in the horse business practically all his life. He began buying and selling horses when he was fourteen years old and for years made a very extensive business in that line but is now living retired at Harrisonville and is one of the honored pioneers of this section. There were two children in the Eidson family: Mrs. C. W. Hight of Harrisonville and C. D., the subject of this sketch.
C. D. Eidson was reared in Harrisonville, his parents removing here when he was about one year old. He attended the public schools of Har- risonville and was graduated from the high school in the class of 1905. He then entered the Central Business College at Sedalia, Missouri, and was graduated from that institution in the fall of 1906. After leaving college he entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railway Company as private secretary to the assistant freight traffic manager at Kansas City, Missouri. On March 16, 1908, he resigned from that position and entered the employ of C. W. Hight in the abstract business at Harrison- ville and has been identified with this business ever since. In 1912 the Hight abstract business was incorporated with a capital stock of thirty- five thousand dollars and Mr. Eidson became secretary and treasurer of that company and has served in that capacity to the present time. This
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is one of the leading abstract companies of Cass County and both Mr. Hight and Mr. Eidson are expert abstractors.
Mr. Eidson was united in marriage, November 25, 1908, to Miss Lucile Brown, a daughter of Samuel E. Brown, a Cass County pioneer whose family has been identified with this section for many years.
Mr. Eidson is a Democrat and a member of the Baptist church. He is one of the progressive and enterprising young men of Cass County whose integrity has won the confidence of the business public.
W. B. F. Bullock, of Harrisonville, is a native of Cass County and belongs to a prominent pioneer family of this county. Mr. Bullock was born in Index township about two miles from the county line, February 1, 1853, a son of James M. C. and Frances (Bladen) Bullock, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Virginia. The mother came to Mis- souri with her parents when she was a child and her people settled in Saline County and were among the early pioneers of that section of the state.
James M. C. Bullock was a Cass County pioneer and a very extensive farmer and stockman. He was successful in his business undertakings and at the zenith of his career was a very well-to-do man for his time. At one time he owned about two thousand acres of land and was very heavily invested in other industrial enterprises such as milling, etc. He was interested in the Garden City Flour Mill and also a flour mill at Har- risonville, and at the time of his death he owned eight hundred and forty acres of valuable land besides various other interests. He died at Har- risonville, May 28, 1909.
When Order No. 11 was issued the Bullock family removed to Pettis County and located about ten miles north of Sedalia, where the father was engaged in farming and remained about four years. W. B. F. Bul- lock was a boy about ten years old when the Civil War was being waged at its height and he recalls many instances of that great conflict which took place in the vicinity of his home. He and his father witnessed a battle between Quantrill's men and the militia which took place near his home and he saw a number of other skirmishes and clashes between the contending forces. He recalls one instance in which a Federal officer came to their house and was a little over-zealous and impudent in the per- formance of his duty and he aroused the ire of Mr. Bullock's aunt who announced to the officer that if he would take off his pistols she would give him a good walloping, herself.
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W. B. F. Bullock's mother died in 1860 when he was about seven years old. W. B. F. and a sister, Susie, were the only children born to their parents. Susie married George Hudson who is now deceased and she resides at Garden City, Missouri.
Mr. Bullock was reared in Index township and educated in the public schools, including a high school course. He was associated with his father in farming and stock raising until 1875, known as grasshopper year, when he engaged in the mercantile business at Gunn City in partnership with George E. Hudson, under the firm name of Bullock and Hudson. They conducted a general store for four years and in 1879 Mr. Bullock returned to the farm. Eight years later he engaged in the general mercantile business at Index which he conducted until 1887. He then engaged in farming and stock feeding and was also interested in the milling business. In 1900 he came to Harrisonville continuing the milling business and supervising the operations on his farm in Index township, and for the last six years he has rented his farm property in Index township and has been living practically retired. His son occupies a part of his land and he rents the balance of it to other parties. His place is located three miles north of Garden City and is one of the rich productive farms of Cass County, well improved and under a high state of cultivation.
Mr. Bullock was married, January 18, 1877, to Miss Clara Bird, a daughter of David Bird, an early settler of Cass County who came from near Lancaster, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Bullock have been born four chil- dren as follows: D. E., Sacramento, California; F. O., a dentist, Salina, Utah; W. I., who operates a part of the home farm and Zelah, a graduate of the Harrisonville High School who resides with her parents. Mr. Bul- lock has always been a staunch advocate and supporter of the policies and principals of the democratic party and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. Mrs. Bullock belongs to the Baptist church and her daughter attends there. He has had an active and successful career and has contributed his part towards making Cass County one of the foremost political subdivisions of the great state of Missouri.
W. E. Miller, a prominent farmer and stockman of Grand River town- ship, is a native of Iowa. He was born in Johnson County, near Iowa City, November 15, 1854, and is a son of David and Lucy Ann (Statler) Miller, natives of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The father was engaged in the foundry business at Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, in part- nership with his father in early life and later read medicine. In 1852 David Miller and his wife went to Iowa from Pennsylvania. They made
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the trip by boat from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, down the Ohio river and up the Mississippi to Muscatine, Iowa, and drove from there to Johnson County, Iowa. They remained in Iowa until about 1876, when they went to Kansas, locating in Sedgwick County about eleven miles southwest of Wichita. That was a new and undeveloped country at that time and almost in its primitive state. Game was plentiful there and W. E. Miller remembers of having seen buffalo in the vicinity of their home. The father was engaged in farming and stock raising and also practiced medi- cine in Sedgwick County until 1889, when the family came to Missouri, locating in Grand River township, Cass County, on the place where W. E. now resides. The Millers bought this place from J. H. Haddock and this is one of the historic places of Cass County, from a breeder's standpoint. The celebrated trotting horse, "Edwin Forest" was foaled on this place April 14, 1871, and bred and raised by J. H. Haddock. On August 23, 1878, this horse trotted a mile in 2:14} at Hartford, Connecticut, and later was sold to R. Bonner for sixteen thousand dollars. A monument to the memory of this great trotter was erected by J. H. Haddock and now stands in Mr. Miller's front yard.
David Miller died on his place in Grand River township March 22, 1900, and his wife passed away in the fall of 1890. He was a life-long Republican and at various times held local office, and he and his wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church. They were the parents of five children: Charles Wesley, Otis, Colorado; W. E., the subject of this sketch; Alice, deceased ; Roanna and Carrie.
W. E. Miller was reared and educated in Iowa and came to Kansas with his parents and from there to Cass County, Missouri. He was asso- ciated with his father in farming and stock raising during the life time of the latter. He is one of the successful farmers and stockmen of Grand River township and is a progressive and substantial citizen.
Mr. Miller was married September 14, 1892, to Miss Belle Harsh- barger, daughter of John and Minerva (Gray) Harshbarger, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Kentucky. They were the parents of seven children, of whom Mrs. Miller was the eldest. The others are as follows: Etta, married George Wolf, Cleveland, Missouri; Theodore, Boise City, Idaho; Henry, Buell, Idaho; Anna, married Thomas Wills, Peculiar, Missouri; Joseph, Filer, Idaho; and Dolly, resides in Cass County. The Harshbarger family came to Missouri in 1869 and in 1882 started to drive to Oregon and the father died while enroute, at Green River, Wyom- ing, and the mother now resides in Cass County.
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To Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been born three children as follows: Clarence, deceased; Emery, deceased; and Earl, who resides at home with his parents. Mr. Miller is a republican and one of the substantial citizens of Cass County.
Judge John Lindsay Jackson, who departed this life January 20, 1916, was truly a Cass County pioneer and contributed his part nobly and well in laying the foundation of Cass County and her institutions. Judge Jackson was a native of Missouri, born in Saline County, May 21, 1830. He was a son of John and Kizziah (Kelley) Jackson, natives of Tennessee. John Jackson, the father of John Lindsay Jackson, was a son of John Jackson, a Virginian, who lived to be over a hundred years old.
Judge Jackson's parents were married in Tennessee and at an early day removed to Missouri, locating in Saline County, where he was born. His father died there when Judge Jackson was a child. In 1839, when he was nine years old he came to Cass County with his mother. For a short time they lived with one of her brothers on what is now the John K. Wirt farm, south of Harrisonville. While living here the mother was married a second time, becoming the wife of Rev. John Jackson. The family then moved on Grand river locating near Clark's bridge. Here the boy helped the stepfather who conducted a water mill at that place. As soon as he became of age he fed cattle on the Hugh Gibson Glenn place, just west of the old fair ground in the southwest part of town, and at the same time attended school in Harrisonville. He thus overcame the obstacles to an education in that early day and made opportunities where there seemed to be none. In so doing he laid deep and broad a good foundation upon which he built through a few more than a few score years a life building of more than ordinary strength.
In his thirtieth year Judge Jackson was united in marriage to Miss Martha Fudge, a member of a Cass County pioneer family, who at that time lived on the present O. A. Moudy farm five miles west of Harrison- ville. The date of the wedding was October 23, 1860. The young couple located in Austin where they established a general store. Their business prospered until the Civil war came on when they went to northeast Mis- souri, stopping near Monroe City, Monroe County. After the close of the war they returned to Cass County, and for a few months made their home with Mrs. Jackson's parents. Soon afterwards Mr. Jackson pur- chased the farm six miles southwest of Harrisonville, where he and his
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wife practically spent the remainder of their lives. For more than half a century the wedded life of this venerable couple remained unbroken and to them were born the following children: Mrs. J. W. Choate, of Butler; Mrs. O. A. Moudy, Grand River township; Mrs. John C. Brookhart; Mrs. Simon P. Ziegler; and Edward S., all of Harrisonville. Two children are deceased. The wife and mother departed this life January 23, 1911.
Judge Jackson had a vital interest in local education. For several years he was the only director in the Prospect school district. Finally the number was increased to three and he continued to serve as one of that number until a few years before his death. He was clerk of the school board even longer than director. It is said that he kept the records of this school for more than forty years. But it was as a public servant of Cass County that Judge Jackson came to be known most widely. On November 5, 1878, he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of county assessor and served one term. In 1881 township organization eliminated this office and Mr. Jackson was afterwards elected assessor of Grand River township as often as he would accept that office. At the regular election in 1900, he was chosen associate judge of the county court from the south district. In 1902 he was re-elected to that office, serving two terms. It was during his incumbency in this office that the title of "Judge" was given him and he carried the name with honor ever after. His four years as county judge were years of signal service. He regarded himself a public servant and his office a public trust. His behavior was always characterized by solid wisdom and unquestionable honesty. The record which he left behind as a county officer is a price- less legacy to the citizenship of Cass County. Judge Jackson was one of the most highly esteemed, widely known and greatly beloved citizens of Cass County. He united with the old Grand River Baptist church early in life and was a consistent member of that denomination to the time of his death. He for a number of years was a deacon.
W. F. Steplin, a progressive and well-to-do farmer of Grand River township, is a native of Maryland. He was born near Westminster, a town about thirty miles from Baltimore, June 14, 1871, and is a son of John and Susie (Bair) Steplin, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Hanover, Pennsylvania. The Steplin family are of German descent; Nicholas Steplin, grandfather of W. F., came from Germany with his family and settled in Maryland.
In 1872, John Steplin and his family removed from Maryland to
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Decatur, Illinois. They remained there until 1879, when they came to Cass County, Missouri, and located in Grand River township, five miles southwest of Harrisonville. Here the father bought a farm and was suc- cessfully engaged in farming until the time of his death, June 3, 1904. His remains are buried in the Burford cemetery.
W. F. Steplin was one of a family of six children, only two of whom are now living: W. F., the subject of this sketch, and C. E., Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Steplin received his education in the public schools and has made farming and stock raising his life's occupation and his well kept place of two hundred and forty acres with its excellent stock bears mute testimony to the fact that he is one of the best farmers and stockmen in Cass County. He has a fine herd of Shorthorn and Jersey cattle and keeps a large number of high grade hogs. His place is well improved with its splendid residence and large barns, silos, etc., presents a farm picture worth remembering.
Mr. Steplin was married in 1905 to Miss Susie Hutchison, a daughter of D. R. Hutchison, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. Two chil- dren have been born to this union, Wilma Frances and John Andrew. Mr. Steplin has one child by a former marriage, Edith, now the wife of Will Lynn, a prosperous farmer of Grand River township.
Mr. Steplin is a Republican and prominent in the councils of his party and in 1916 was the Republican candidate for sheriff of Cass County and his defeat is no reflection upon his personal popularity. It simply means that he was the candidate of the hopeless minority. He and Mrs. Steplin are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are deservedly popular in Cass County.
Peter Lemmer, now deceased, was a prominent Cass County farmer and stockman whose industry was rewarded by success and at the time of his death, he was one of the well-to-do men of Grand River township. He was born in Knox County, Ohio, April 18, 1843, a son of George Lem- mer. His parents spent their lives in Knox County, Ohio.
Peter Lemmer grew to manhood in his native state and was educated in the public schools. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted in the Union army and served throughout that conflict as a member of an Ohio regiment. A year or two after the close of the war he came to Missouri and located at Lees Summit, Jackson County, where he worked by the month about two years. In 1869 he went to Franklin County, Kansas, where he was engaged in farming and stock raising until 1889. He then
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came to Cass County and bought a farm in Grand River township, where his widow now resides. This place consists of two hundred and twenty- four acres of land, under an excellent state of cultivation and is one of Cass County's best farms.
Mr. Lemmer was united in marriage April 2, 1876, to Miss Harriet Wilkerson, a daughter of John and Maria (Gettinger) Wilkerson, both natives of Baltimore, Maryland. The Wilkerson family went to Kansas in 1872 and settled in Franklin County where the father was engaged in farming and stock raising. The parents both spent their lives in that county.
To Peter Lemmer and wife were born the following children: Lillie, married George Cook and they reside in Lane County, Kansas; William lives in Grand River township; Ollie, married Howard Bybee, and is now a widow and resides with her brother William; George, lives in Grand River township; Robert, on the home place with his mother; John, Kan- sas City, Missouri; and Harriet May, married Charles Anderson, Grand River township.
Peter Lemmer was a Republican and belonged to the Christian church and Mrs. Lemmer holds membership in the Baptist church. Mrs. Lem- mer is an estimable woman and she and her children are prominent in the community and of the best citizens of Cass County.
O. A. Moudy, a prominent farmer and stockman of Grand River town- ship, who is also actively identified with the commercial interests of Har- risonville, belongs to a pioneer Cass County family. Mr. Moudy was born in Everett township, Cass County, in 1858, and is a son of Elias and Sarah (Bryant) Moudy. The father was a native of Indiana, born in Morgan County, January 8, 1821. He was a son of Henry and Matilda Moudy, natives of Virginia, who settled in Indiana in an early day. Henry Moudy was born April 24, 1791, and his wife, Matilda, was born January 11, 1791. Sarah Bryant, mother of O. A. Moudy, was born in Kentucky, February 25, 1820.
Elias Moudy and Sarah (Bryant) Moudy were married in Indiana and in the fall of 1856 came to Cass County, Missouri, and settled in Everett township, where the father was successfully engaged in farming throughout his life, with the exception of the period during the Civil War. He was a Union man and during that time lived in Kansas. He died October 26, 1887, and his wife departed this life April 20, 1901. They were the parents of five children as follows: W. B., Harrisonville, Mis-
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souri; Percilla, widow of H. H. Parish, resides at Harrisonville; W. P., lives near Newkirk, Oklahoma; Rhoda Ann, the wife of Jerry Elder, Archie, Missouri; and O. A., the subject of this sketch.
O. A. Moudy received his education in the public schools of Cass County and made farming the principal occupation of his life until 1889. He then engaged in the grain, hay, coal and ice business at Harrisonville, in partnership with his brother, W. B., under the firm name of Moudy Brothers. Later J. H. Hatton became a member of the firm which is now known as Moudy Brothers and Hatton. In 1906, O. A. Moudy moved to his present place about five miles west of Harrisonville, where he has since been engaged in farming and stock raising, although he retains his interest in the business of Moudy Brothers and Hatton. He farms one hundred and fifty-six acres of land and makes a specialty of raising Duroc Jersey hogs.
Mr. Moudy was united in marriage September 7, 1887 with Miss Mary Elsie Jackson, a daughter of Judge John Lindsay and Martha Eliza- beth (Fudge) Jackson, early settlers of Cass County. A sketch of John L. Jackson appears in this volume.
The Moudy home is one of the historic old landmarks of Cass County. It is constructed of stone and was built in 1856 by Jacob Fudge, Mrs. Moudy's grandfather. While it is one of the oldest houses in the county, it has been well cared for and presents every appearance of having been built only a few years. The house is twenty by forty-seven feet, two stories high with unusually high ceilings and has six large rooms. This place has a particular historic significance to Mrs. Moudy. She was born in this house, her parents were married here and also celebrated the anniversary of their golden wedding in the same house.
Mr. and Mrs. Moudy are members of the Harrisonville Baptist church and are both well known in the community and have many friends.
G. W. Thuro, of Peculiar township, is one of the large land owners of Cass County. Mr. Thuro was born in Germany in 1855 and in 1869 came to America with his parents, Ludwig and Carolina Thuro. They were the parents of ten children. After coming to this country the Thuro family settled in the Fox River valley near Plano, Illinois. The mother died in 1879 and the father survived her several years, departing this life in 1893.
G. W. Thuro went to Wyoming in 1881 and began life in the great west without capital. When he landed in Cheyenne, and after paying
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for his breakfast, he did not have one cent in the world. He immediately went to work for a liveryman there for thirty dollars per month. Six months later he and another young man bought a ranch in partnership some distance from Cheyenne. Later Mr. Thuro sold out to his partner and went about forty miles south of Cheyenne into Colorado, near where Grover is now located and took up a half section of land. Here he cut hay, rode the range and worked at odd jobs for sixteen years. At that time that was a wild unbroken country and he saw much of frontier life in that practically uninhabited section of Colorado. He saw much trouble among frontiersmen but says most of it was caused by whisky and guns. In all his experience on the frontier he never carried a gun, neither did he ever have any trouble but on the contrary he made many friends among all classes of frontiersmen, the so called bad men as well as the good ones. In 1896 Mr. Thuro removed to Ottawa County, Kansas, and bought eight hundred acres of land near Minneapolis. He remained there until 1900 when he went to Junction City, Kansas, and bought sixteen hundred acres of land near Junction City. He remained there until 1902, when he came to Cass County, Missouri, and purchased six hundred and twenty acres of land in Peculiar township, adjoining the city limits of Harrisonville on the north. He also owns forty-five acres in Dayton township and two hundred and thirty-five acres in Platte County, Mis- souri, and thus he has a total of about nine hundred acres in Missouri.
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