USA > Missouri > Cass County > History of Cass County, Missouri > Part 63
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77
William N. Evans and wife were the parents of the following chil- dren: George J., the subject of this sketch; Cora, deceased; Thomas F., deceased; William F., Belton, Missouri; John O., Asherville, Kansas; Mrs. Laura Long, Pittsburg, Kansas; and Mrs. Mary McFeters, Daugherty, Missouri.
George J. Evans was reared in Cass County and educated in the public schools. He has made farming and stock raising the chief occu- pation of his life. In 1893 he bought a farm of eighty acres in Cass County and after living on that place and improving it, he sold it in 1904. He then bought three hundred twenty acres just south of the old home place where he has since been engaged in farming and stock raising, having met with success. He gives special attention to the stock business and began his career with four head of Hereford cows in 1896. He now owns one hundred thirty-five head of cows and has sold thousands of dollars worth of calves. He buys white-faced calves which he pre- pares for the market and has found this to be very profitable. He also buys considerable grain, having his own land mostly devoted to blue- grass. In addition to other features of the stock business, he raises many Duroc-Jersey hogs. Mrs. Evans specializes in raising Plymouth Rock chickens of the pure-bred variety and sells eggs, for hatching pur- poses, all over the country.
Mr. Evans was married in 1893 to Senotra Brown, a daughter of
691
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Abraham and Elizabeth (Blackburn) Brown of Ohio. They have one adopted daughter, Ruth Evans, now a student in the public schools.
The Evans farm is one of the best-kept and most prosperous looking places to be found in Cass County. It has splendid improvements includ- ing a modern dwelling and large barns and other farm buildings. He has his own water and light plants and the place is supplied with every modern convenience. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are very popular in the com- munity, having many friends.
Fred Evans, a prosperous farmer and stockman of Raymore town- ship, is a native son of Cass County. He was reared and educated in Raymore township, where he was born in 1876. He is a son of W. N. and Elizabeth (Yost) Evans, pioneers of Cass County.
Fred Evans has made farming and stock raising his life's occupa- tion. In 1910 he bought eighty acres of land and has given special atten- tion to stock raising. He breeds registered Percheron horses and also a great many mules. Mr. Evans has also been very successful in breeding Duroc-Jersey hogs. He always finds ready market for the product of his stock farm, the superiority of his stock having already won a wide reputation.
Mr. Evans was united in marriage in 1903 to Miss Mollie E. Perkins, a daughter of J. R. and Mollie Perkins, early settlers of Jackson County, Missouri. The Perkins family consisted of the following children: Mrs. Lydia Maxwell, deceased; Mrs. Bertha Wright, Mount Washington, Mis- souri; Mollie E., now the wife of Fred Evans, the subject of this sketch; Thomas, Grandview, Missouri; Jessie, Grandview, Missouri; Mrs. Pearl Grow, Elgin, Illinois; Earl, Grandview, Missouri; Mrs. Sallie Barger, Kansas City, Missouri; Walter, St. Louis, Missouri; Howard, Red Oak, Iowa; John, Grandview, Missouri; Elsie, Grandview, Missouri; Susan, Grandview, Missouri; and Pansy, Grandview, Missouri.
To Mr. and Mrs. Evans have been born two children: Margaret P. and Elizabeth Ann, both at home with their parents.
The Evans farm is one of the well equipped stock farms of Cass County. Mr. Evans has recently remodeled his residence and now has as cozy a cottage as is to be found on any well regulated farm in the county. He takes a commendable interest in local affairs and is a pro- gressive and enterprising man, who always stands ready to co-operate with any movement that has for its object the betterment of the com-
692
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
munity. He is a strong supporter of good schools and is now president of the Raymore school board. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is rather inclined to be independent. He is a young man with ambition to do things and is one of Cass County's representative citizens.
H. S. Pedicord, of Raymore township, one of Cass County's most suc- cessful stock breeders, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Morgan County, in 1873, and is a son of J. T. and Eliza A. (Blackburn) Pedi- cord. The mother is a native of Ohio and a daughter of James Blackburn, who was of German descent. J. T. Pedicord was a son of Thomas Pedi- cord, a native of Ohio who followed farming in that state. J. T. Pedi- cord and wife were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Maggie S. Kite, Raymore, Missouri; John Pedicord, Longmont, Colorado; H. S. Pedicord, the subject of this sketch, and Erva J. Pedicord, Garden City, Missouri.
J. T. Pedicord came to Cass County, Missouri, in 1883 and bought one hundred sixty acres of land in Raymore township. Here he was successfully engaged in farming and stock raising during the remainder of his life. He was a man who took a keen interest in local affairs and was always willing to co-operate with his neighbors in the upbuild- ing and the betterment of the community. He served as justice of the peace for some time and was a notary public for a number of years. He was successful in the business affairs of life and at the same time generous and kind-hearted and made a host of friends. He died in 1913. His widow now lives near Raymore.
H. S. Pedicord was married in 1895 to Miss Cora B. Miller, a daugh- ter of T. E. and Emma Miller of Harrisonville. T. E. Miller has been a teacher for more than thirty years. He is now devoting his attention to raising Brown Leghorn chickens, at Harrisonville. Mrs. Pedicord is one of five children born to her parents, the others being as follows: Mrs. Ida McKee, Pittsburg, Kansas; Arthur Miller, Harrisonville, Mis- souri ; Mrs. Flora Arnold, Raymore, Missouri; Miss Adelia Miller, a teacher in the Harrisonville public schools.
Mr. Pedicord occupies the old homestead, where his father settled, in Cass County and, while he is engaged in general farming, his spe- cialty is breeding registered Percheron horses and Hereford cattle. Many valuable animals are to be found on his place. He recently sold a four-year-
693
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
old stallion for one thousand dollars and his Percheron mares usually sell for about five hundred dollars each. He rarely ever sells a horse which is under four years of age. However, he follows the opposite course in ref- erence to his Hereford cattle, generally selling the calves at the time they are weaned. He usually gets from seventy-five to one hundred fifty dol- lars each for them. Mr. Pedicord also raises Duroc-Jersey hogs. His place is an ideal location for a stock farm. It is well watered with running springs. He has a large part of his farm devoted to bluegrass, which he has found the most valuable for his purpose.
Mr. and Mrs. Pedicord have five children as follows: Ethel; Claude, deceased; May, Lester, and Roy. Mr. Pedicord takes a keen interest in local affairs and is one of the wide-awake and progressive citizens of Raymore township. He is now serving his second term as township assessor.
C. J. Gore, a well-known farmer and stockman of Raymore township, is a native of Cass County who belongs to a pioneer family of this section. He was born in 1882 on the old homestead, where he now resides, and is a son of Thomas Henry and Anna Mary (Jamison) Gore. The mother was a daughter of Samuel Jamison, a native of Ireland, and the father was a son of Amos Gore, of English descent. Two sisters of the father are now living : Mrs. Anna Horn, Los Angeles, California; and Mrs. Ella Shick, Bellefontaine, Ohio. The mother has one brother living, Crosby Jamison, of Sedalia, Missouri.
Thomas Henry Gore came to Cass County at an early day and was successfully engaged in farming and stock raising until his death in 1909. His widow now resides with C. J., the subject of this sketch. They were the parents of five children, as follows: C. J., whose name introduces this sketch; Homer G., deceased; Harold W., Payson, Utah; Ida L., deceased; and Wilbur R., Raymore, Missouri.
C. J. Gore was reared and educated in Raymore township. All his life he has been interested in farming and stock raising. He occupies the old Gore homestead and in addition owns forty acres adjoining. While he carries on a general farming business, he gives particular attention to stock raising, making a specialty of Shorthorn cattle, of which he has a very valuable herd. His plan is, in general, to raise calves to about the age of one year when he disposes of them at a very profitable price. Mr. Gore has worked out many facilities and conveniences for handling
694
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
stock in the most satisfactory manner. He raises considerable bluegrass, which he has found to be very profitable in connection with stockraising.
Mr. Gore was united in marriage in 1912 to Miss Mabel, a daughter of J. W. and Alice Caldwell of Jackson County, Missouri. Mrs. Gore has two sisters; Mrs. Nellie L. Cattlett, Lees Summit, Missouri; and Mrs. Maud E. Clendennen, Lees Summit. The Caldwell family were very early settlers in Missouri, coming to this state from Ohio, just prior to the Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Gore have one child, Francis Clyde. Mr. Gore is one of the progressive young men of Cass County and the Gore family are representative pioneers of this section of Missouri.
Dr. J. G. Bailey, one of Cass County's leading dental surgeons, is located at Belton and has built up a splendid practice in that thriving community. Doctor Bailey was born in Clark County, Iowa, in 1883, and is a son of J. O. and Ella M. Bailey, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Ohio. The parents now reside near Kirksville, Missouri, and are prosperous, progressive, agricultural people.
Doctor Bailey was reared to manhood on his father's farm and attended the public schools at Kirksville, later taking a Normal School course. He entered the Western Dental College, where he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1907. Shortly after receiving his degree Doctor Bailey located at Belton, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his profession. He met with success from the start and has built up a large practice. He is a close student of his profession, thoroughly devoted to his work and has established a well-earned reputation for giving the public the best that the science of dentistry affords, insofar as it is within the scope of his ability to do so. One of his everyday efforts is to impress upon his many patients the importance of sanitary care of the teeth, which is recognized, not only by the dental profession but by advanced thinkers generally, as being an important health factor of the day. If Doctor Bailey can be said to have a hobby, it is cleanliness and sanitation. It is a deplorable fact that the public generally have been slow to accept this form of education notwith- standing that nature has been trying to educate her children for centuries and has administered toothache and other forms of human ills for dis- obedience.
Doctor Bailey's practice is of a general nature and while he is first an advocate of preventive measures, he is a very able mechanical dentist
695
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
and does a large amount of plate and bridge work with very satisfactory results. His offices are equipped with all modern sanitary devices apper- taining to his profession and his instruments are the best that money can buy.
Doctor Bailey was married in 1907 to Miss Leta Townsend, a daugh- ter of Doctor Thomas and Ella Townsend, of Knox County, Missouri, where the father practiced medicine. To Doctor and Mrs. Bailey has been born one child, Lois Ruth. Dr. Thomas Townsend, father of Mrs. Bailey, is now deceased.
Doctor Bailey has two brothers and one sister, as follows: Jessie Bailey, Moberly, Missouri; O. L. Bailey, Fresno, California; and Dr. S. L. Bailey, Carthage, Missouri.
His genial manner has won for Doctor Bailey many friends in the community and he and his wife are justly popular.
Dr. R. M. Miller, a successful physician and surgeon engaged in the practice of his profession at Belton, Missouri, is a native of this state. He was born in St. Charles County in 1880 and is a son of R. H. and Sarah (Miller) Miller. While the parents bore the same name they were in no way related. The mother was a daughter of Frederick Miller and comes of an old Virginia family. The father was a merchant for a number of years at St. Charles, Missouri. Later he bought a farm in Carroll County and is now living retired at St. Joseph, Missouri. The mother died in 1913. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Carrie Burkhart, Carrollton, Missouri; Walter, Detroit, Michigan; Edward, Fort Worth, Texas; Lloyd, St. Joseph, Missouri; Frederick, St. Joseph, Mis- souri ; Roscoe, St. Joseph, Missouri; and Dr. R. M., the subject of this sketch.
Doctor Miller spent his boyhood days on the home farm. In early life he became imbued with a desire to be a physician and when he attained the age of sixteen his one dream was that of a medical career. He was educated in the Columbia High School and Missouri University. He matriculated in the Washington University at St. Louis, where he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1905. He immediately engaged in the practice of his profession at Carrollton, Missouri, where he continued the general practice until 1912, when he located at Belton, where he has built up a large practice. Doctor Miller is a diligent student of the science of his great profession and is a careful, conscientious, pains- taking physician and has been uniformly successful in his practice.
696
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Before locating at Belton, Doctor Miller took a post graduate course at Chicago, where he made a specialty of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Probably, in the not far distant future, he will specialize in these particular diseases inasmuch as the tendency of the age is towards specialization, especially in the medical profession. Anyhow, office work is more to his liking, owing to the fact that he feels that he is getting better results with all necessary instruments and proper equipment at hand such as are to be found in his office. However, for the present, his practice might be properly said to be of a general nature. In his pro- fessional work he covers a large scope of territory in and about Belton, frequently going as far as fifteen miles from town.
Doctor Miller was married in 1907 to Miss Lena Jenks, a daughter of R. M. Jenks, of Bogard, Missouri. Mrs. Miller is one of a family of five children born to her parents, the others being as follows: Frank; Mabel; Ralph, Osawatomie, Kansas; and Eunice Rose, Denver, Colorado. To Doctor and Mrs. Miller has been born one child, Ivan Miller. Doctor Miller not only has a large professional acquaintance but is the type of man who makes friends and is popular in the community.
J. W. Reid, an enterprising and wide-awake real-estate man of Belton, Missouri, is a native of Indiana. He was born in Lawrence County in 1860, and is a son of John and Nancy Reid of Bedford, Indiana. They were the parents of the following children: William B., Orleans, Indiana ; George W., Mitchell, Indiana; Mrs. Minerva Andrews, Lawrenceport, Indiana; Ellen, Louisville, Indiana; Elmer M., Mitchell, Indiana; Carrie, Terre Haute, Indiana; and J. W., the subject of this sketch. John Reid, the father, was a native of Indiana and his father was a pioneer settler of Lawrence County, that state. John Reid was a farmer and lumberman. He sawed lumber in the early days when the old fashioned sash-saw was in vogue and water power was used. He also owned a flour mill, on the east fork of White river in Indiana, which was operated by an undershot water wheel. This mill was abandoned in 1880 when the roller process was introduced. John Reid was a progressive man and prominent in his community. He died in 1905, his wife having preceded him in death a number of years.
The famous Bedford stone was quarried near the Reid home. Peter Shafer, an uncle of J. W. Reid, was one of the pioneer stonemen of that country during the initial period of these quarries which, in recent years, have developed into the largest quarries in the country.
697
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
J. W. Reid was reared in Indiana and received his education in the common schools. He earned his first money making shingles at fifty cents per day. At that time he shaved all the shingles for the roof of a house. He began life for himself as a farmer in partnership with his brother, Will, in 1878. They began on rented land and were successful until one of the periodical floods, incident to that section of Indiana, destroyed their crops.
In 1882 Mr. Reid came to Missouri, settling in Cass County. He at first worked for twenty-two dollars per month. In August of the same year, he bought a team and engaged in gathering corn. The following year he engaged in farming for himself and in 1890 bought one hundred sixty acres of land, a half mile west of Coleman, Missouri. He was suc- cessfully engaged in farming and stock raising here until 1906, when he located in Belton and engaged in the grain business. A year later he turned his attention to real-estate, which, since that time, he has been successfully engaged in handling. Mr. Reid has handled a large number of important transactions and has been very successful in this line of endeavor. He is one among the best posted men on real estate values in Cass County. The great advance in real estate within the last ten years is due to the fact, as Mr. Reid says, that farmers are learning how to get better results from their land. They are raising more grass and turning their attention to the stock and dairy business. The close proximity of this section to the rapidly growing metropolis, Kansas City, is another element which must not be overlooked in the future value of Cass County land. With the rapid extension of Troost avenue, Mr. Reid states, it is but a matter of a short time when it will be extended to West Belton.
Mr. Reid was married in 1887 to Miss Mattie J. Reeder, a daughter of J. M. and Liddie Reeder of Cass County, Missouri. Mrs. Reid is one of the following children born to her parents: Thomas R., Washington; Mrs. Etta Lamb, Coleman, Missouri; Mrs. Emma Sjaarda, Jardon, Mis- souri; Albert R., Salt Lake City, Utah; Mrs. Minnie Bush, Coleman, Mis- souri; Mrs. Lizzie Dobson, Coleman, Missouri; Katie, Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Mattie, wife of J. W. Reid.
To Mr. and Mrs. Reid have been born the following children: A. Ives, Belton, Missouri; Elton, Billings, Montana; Ray, Coleman, Missouri ; Mrs. Nancy Ramey, Kansas City, Missouri; Fern, Belton, Missouri; John, Belton, Missouri; and Albert, Belton, Missouri.
The Reid family are well known and popular in the community. Mr. Reid is regarded as one of Belton's most substantial citizens.
698
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
Dr. S. W. Fair, a prominent physician and surgeon of Belton, Mis- souri, is a native of this state. He was born in Livingston County, Mis- souri, in 1873, a son of Thomas and Nancy (Shields) Fair. Thomas Fair was a native of Pennsylvania and a son of Simon Fair, who was also a Pennsylvanian. Simon Fair was an extensive lumberman in Pennsylvania in the early days and accumulated a fortune in that industry, prior to the Civil War. However, when oil was discovered in Pennsylvania in the latter sixties, he turned his attention to that industry and like hun- dreds of others, who have been lured to financial disaster by that elusive fluid, he too lost his fortune. Later he became a farmer and spent the remainder of his life on a farm.
Thomas Fair, the father of Doctor Fair, came to Missouri in 1868 and made his home in Livingston County until 1892, when he bought a farm near Trenton, Missouri, where he was engaged in farming and stock raising until 1898. Since then he has been living retired in Trenton. He has been successful and accumulated a competence and above all has built up a reputation for honesty and integrity. Thomas Fair is a stickler for honesty first, last and always and he has never been known to lose sight of this rule even in a horse trade. His wife, Nancy I. Shields, was a daughter of David Shields, and also a native of Pennsylvania. The Shields family came to Missouri in 1868, and it was on the train, while coming to Missouri, that Thomas Fair met and became acquainted with Miss Shields, who is now his wife. They are the parents of the follow- ing children: Fred, Marshall, Missouri; Dr. S. W., the subject of this sketch; James A., Trenton, Missouri; S. C., Gallatin, Missouri; R. E., Trenton, Missouri; Mrs. Maud Crecelius, Trenton, Missouri; Dr. W. A., Pleasant Hill, Missouri; and Mrs. Katie Metcalf, who resides in Montana.
Doctor Fair was educated in the public schools and Avalon College, Trenton, Missouri. He then attended Miami College at Cincinnati, Ohio, for one year when he entered the University Medical College at Kansas City, Missouri, where he was graduated with a degree of Doctor of Medi- cine, in 1900. He immediately engaged in the practice of his profession at Raymore, Missouri, and met with success from the start. After four years of practice there he removed to Belton and opened an office in the Cunningham building where he has since been located. His removal to Belton from Raymore did not necessarily mean that he went to a new field, but it was more in the manner of extending his practice over a larger field inasmuch as he retained most of his practice in Raymore and
699
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
that vicinity, in addition to Belton and the surrounding country in the opposite direction from Raymore.
While Doctor Fair's practice is of a general nature, surgery is very much to his liking, and he has a strong inclination towards that branch of his profession. He has taken post graduate work in the Chicago Post Graduate Medical College where he gave special attention to surgery. He has the reputation for being a very skillful and successful surgeon, having had uniform success with a great many difficult and delicate surgical operations which he has performed. His practice extends over a broad scope of territory in and around Belton and Raymore.
Doctor Fair was married in 1900 to Miss Catherine Craig, of Bray- mer, Missouri, a daughter of William and Mary Craig. Mrs. Fair is one of three children born to her parents, the other two being: Jacob, of Los Angeles, California; and Robert, who resides at Braymer, Missouri.
F. L. Hogard, of Belton, Missouri, was born in Wabasha County, Minnesota, in 1866 and is a son of Thomas H. and Mary J. (LaRue) Hogard. Thomas H. Hogard, the father, was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1833, a son of H. Hogard, a native of Yorkshire, England, born in 1800. Thomas Hogard learned the carriage maker's trade when a boy and later was engaged in that business at Oxford, Canada. In 1862, he was mar- ried to Miss Mary J. LaRue, daughter of Samuel and Jane LaRue. He was an upright and honest citizen and a member of the Christian church, of which he was a deacon. His wife was also a member of the Christian church and a noble Christian woman, who loved her home. Mrs. Hogard found no sacrifice too great to make for her children. The father died in 1904 and the mother passed away in 1912. They were the parents of the following children: F. L., the subject of this sketch; and Fred, who resides at Lyle, Washington.
F. L. Hogard was educated in the public schools of Belton. In 1901 he bought eighty-six acres of land near Cleveland, Missouri, for which he paid twenty-five hundred dollars. The following year he sold it for thirty-four hundred dollars. Later he bought a farm near Belton, which he sold at a good profit and invested in a quarter section of land in Okla- homa in the rapidly developing oil fields of that section. He now lives on the old homestead near Belton, where he is engaged in farming and gar- dening.
Mr. Hogard was married in 1902 to Miss Myrtle B. Rider, a daughter
700
HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
of Samuel B. and Sarah Rider, natives of Missouri, the former of German and the latter of French descent. Mrs. Hogard is one of a family of four children born to her parents, the others being as follows: C. E., Belton, Missouri ; E. A., Belton, Missouri; and Mrs. C. W. Holloway, Kansas City, Missouri. The parents are both deceased. The father, Samuel B. Rider, was a carpenter and a Cass County pioneer. He built the first house in Belton. At one time Chesney Young, grandfather of Mrs. Hogard, owned three hundred acres of land in Kansas City in the vicinity of where Fifteenth street is now located. Mrs. Hogard says her mother remem- bers when there was only one log cabin in that vicinity. During the Civil War Mrs. Hogard recalls that her mother had to move fourteen times. The father was a man of high character and a member of the Presby- terian church. He belonged to the Masonic lodge, a charter member of that lodge at Belton. The mother was a high type of American woman- hood. For a number of years before her death she was an invalid, but she bore her sufferings with fortitude. She was a member of the Presby- terian church for forty-three years.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.