USA > Missouri > Cass County > History of Cass County, Missouri > Part 72
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This trip ended early in 1914 after twenty head of first class pure Scotch and Scotch topped two-year-old bred heifers were bought. This purchase was made just before cattle values had begun to advance and consequently the heifers were bought right. The kind of heifers pur- chased at that time are today bringing from one hundred to two hundred dollars more per head than Mr. Gregg paid for them two years ago. The bull at the head of Mr. Gregg's herd is Gregg's Villager by Imp. Villager and out of Imp. Belle of Ordeans. He is a massive, well-proportioned animal weighing two thousand pounds in thin flesh. Several times Mr. Gregg has refused over two thousand dollars for him, but his actual value to Mr. Gregg is considered a great deal more.
At present two hundred sixty acres of the six hundred eighty Gregg farm are devoted to corn, oats and wheat, while the remainder of the land is in blue grass pasture and clover, the latter crop, as mentioned before, having played a prominent part in the upbuilding of the farm and getting it in good shape for pasture.
As mentioned before, Mr. Gregg built a modern home on this farm in 1910. It is not only strictly modern but also beautiful both inside and out. It is equipped with running soft and hard, hot and cold water on both floors, has two complete bathrooms, hardwood floors downstairs and hardwood finish throughout. It is lighted with electricity and has all the conveniences that can be obtained with this modern form of light and power, such as an electric washing machine, electric irons, etc. Water is pumped with a small gasoline engine for use in the house, barns and stockyards from a near-by spring into a large storage tank, from whence it is forced through the house by an air pressure system. A large cistern supplies soft water in abundance for the house use. In short, the Gregg farm home, equipped, furnished, and surrounded as it is with magnifi- cent trees, beautiful shrubbery, flowers and lawns, is as comfortable as any city home and much more beautiful because of its location.
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John C. Poor, a progressive farmer and stockman of Index township, while not an old settler of Cass County, is entitled to classification among the leading farmers and stockmen who are doing things today and shap- ing the industrial conditions of this county. Mr. Poor is a native of Illinois, born in Sangamon County, September 3, 1866. He is a son of William and Elizabeth (Smith) Poor, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Sangamon County, Illinois.
John C. Poor was one of a family of six children born to his par- ents, as follows: James M., deceased; Mrs. Mary Kirtright, Quincy, Illi- nois ; Jennie, deceased ; Annie, deceased; Thomas M., Springfield, Illinois ; and John C., the subject of this sketch. Mr. Poor was reared in Spring- field, Illinois, and educated in the public schools and the Springfield Busi- ness College, graduating from that institution in the Class of 1888. He began life for himself at the age of twenty-one, following farming in his native state for a number of years.
In 1906 Mr. Poor came to Missouri and bought a farm in Shelby County, where he was engaged in farming for three years, when he re- turned to Illinois. He remained there until 1912, when he came to Cass County and purchased the D. L. Lusk farm, in Index township. This place consists of three hundred forty-six acres, and is one of the valuable stock farms of Cass County. The place is well watered with never-fail- ing natural spring water, which makes it of inestimable value as a stock farm. Mr. Poor raises both cattle and hogs extensively and usually has on hand from fifty to one hundred head of cattle and about one hundred hogs. The stock business is particularly to Mr. Poor's liking, which no doubt, in accordance with the scheme of the eternal fitness of things, has been the main element of his success, coupled with industry and integrity.
Mr. Poor was united in marriage at Chatham, Illinois, in 1891, with Miss May Bridges, daughter of James and Mary (Drennan) Bridges. Her father died in 1903 at Chatham, Illinois, and her mother now resides at that place. The Drennan family were pioneer settlers of Illinois, and Mrs. Poor's father moved on the place when he was three years old with his parents, near Chatham, Illinois, where he spent the balance of his life, a period of sixty-eight years.
To Mr. and Mrs. Poor have been born four children, as follows: Mrs. Olive F. Leadbetter, Garden City, Missouri; J. Frank, Estella G., and Margaret L., residing at home with her parents.
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Mr. Poor has taken more or less interest in politics and local affairs since boyhood, and while a resident of Sangamon County, Illinois, served six terms as assessor, and since locating in Cass County has taken a keen interest in the welfare and development in the county which he has chosen as his home.
David M. Schrock, a prominent farmer and stockman of Camp Branch township, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, March 21, 1870. He is a son of John and Elizabeth (Moser) Schrock. The father was a native of Pennsylvania, born in September, 1825, a son of Michael Schrock. He died in 1901. The Schrock family came from Pennsylvania to Ohio and settled in Wayne County, in 1828. Elizabeth (Moser) Schrock, mother of David M., was born near Millhausen, France, in 1835. She now re- sides in Stark County, Ohio. John and Elizabeth (Moser) Schrock were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Lydia Cash, Shelbyville, Illi- nois; Mrs. Nancy Holderman, Bristol, Virginia; Samuel, Shelbyville, Illi- nois ; Menno, McEwen, Tennessee; David M., the subject of this sketch; and Jonathan, Sterling, Ohio.
David M. Schrock was reared in Wayne County, Ohio, and educated in the public schools. He remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age, and in 1891 came to Cass County. He worked by the month for Levi Zook for one season and the following year worked for I. M. Yoder. After renting land for two years he bought a farm from Hiram Eshleman, in Dayton township, for which he paid twenty dollars per acre. Later he bought one hundred twenty acres of land from the Colonel Campbell estate for twenty-two dollars and fifty cents per acre. He sold this place in 1904 and purchased his present home, upon which he moved the following spring. He now owns two hundred acres of some of Cass County's best land. It is conveniently located on the main road from Garden City to East Lynn. Mr. Schrock's farm is well improved with a good farm residence, which was remodeled in 1915. The residence is equipped with lighting plant and a private water system and hot water heating system, altogether is one of the at- tractive farm residences of Cass County. The farm buildings and other improvements are thoroughly in keeping with Twentieth Century agri- cultural methods, which evinces the thrift and industry of Mr. Schrock. In addition to being an extensive farmer, Mr. Schrock is widely known as a successful stock raiser. He raises cattle and high-grade Poland China hogs and Percheron horses.
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Mr. Schrock was married February 12, 1893, to Miss Susanna Die- ner, of Hickory County, Missouri. She is a daughter of George and Mary Ann (Mosholder) Diener. To Mr. and Mrs. Schrock have been born the following children: Alice, Clara, Ada, Earl, Mary, Lawrence, and Florence (twins), and Albert, all of whom reside at home with their parents.
Mr. Schrock came to. Cass County with very little capital and began life in a new country with very little means, and by his industry has be- come one of the substantial and well to do citizens of a great county. The position which Cass County occupies as one of the progressive and wealthy sub-divisions of the state is largely due to the success of its citi- zens-such men as David M. Schrock.
A. C. Moore, owner and proprietor of the "Moore Stock Farm", lo- cated in Coldwater township, about three and one-half miles northeast of Drexel, is one of the progressive stockmen of Cass County. Mr. Moore was born in Harrison County, Ohio, in 1864, and is a son of James S. and Catherine (Forney) Moore, natives of Ohio. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Deborah Houston, Mt. Sterling, Illinois; Mrs. Alice Brown, Brown County, Illinois; Richard S., Brown County, Illinois; A. C., the subject of this sketch; Eliza Moore, Brown County, Illinois; and Mrs. Ary Behymer, Lamar, Missouri.
When A. C. Moore was two years old his parents removed to Illinois, settling in Brown County, where he was reared and educated. Here his father died in 1889, and the mother in 1912. Their remains are buried at White Oak, Illinois. After his father's death, A. C. assisted his mother on the home farm and thus began his career as a farmer and stockman in early life. He has always been a close student of the best improved method of farming, and especially stock raising, which accounts for his success in that field of endeavor. In 1906 Mr. Moore came to Cass County, Missouri, and purchased his present place in Coldwater town- ship, where he has since been profitably engaged in the stock business. He specializes in Whitefaced cattle, and has forty head at the present writing. He is also a successful hog raiser, and during the year of 1916, sold over four thousand dollars worth of hogs. He also raises a great many horses and mules, and has been very successful in that department of stock raising.
The "Moore Stock Farm" is largely devoted to grass, being primarily
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a stock farm as the name implies. Since purchasing this place Mr. Moore has directed his energy toward making his place a modern stock farm in every particular. The buildings on the place have been planned with special reference to conveniently and profitably handling stock, and the other barn is 24 x 48, with a 12 x 40 foot shed, also a silo 16 x 30, and an implement barn 24 x 36, corn crib 10 x 40, and numerous other farm buildings. The Moore residence is a modern seven room structure and one of the fine residences of Coldwater township. The buildings are on a slight elevation of ground, which is the highest spot on the Moore farm and overlooks the country for miles around.
Mr. Moore was married in 1888, to Miss Mary E. Carter, a daughter of William H. and Lucinda J. (Johnson) Carter, of Illinois. Her parents are both deceased, having spent their lives in that state. To Mr. and Mrs. Moore have been born the following children: James William, employed by the Swift Packing Company, Kansas City, Missouri; Martin L., Drexel, Missouri; Harry E., who just completed a four years enlistment in the United States Navy, having served as a gunner, now resides in Kansas City, Missouri; Lee Roy, Letha B., and Everett, residing at home with their parents.
Mr. Moore is a progressive and public spirited citizen, and may well be classified as a twentieth century farmer and stockman.
Arthur Conger, the pioneer abstractor of Cass County, has been engaged in the abstract and loan business at Harrisonville for nearly forty years. He is a native of Indiana, born in Manchester, Dearborn County, June 13, 1854, and is a son of Samuel W. and Mabel G. Conger, both natives of New Jersey.
Arthur Conger was educated in the common schools of his native state and Moores Hill College, Indiana. Before he attained his majority he started out in the world for himself. He came to Missouri, arriving at Harrisonville March 13, 1874. For a time he was employed in the office of the recorder of deeds under W. G. McCulloh, who was then recorder of deeds of Cass County. After serving a time in that capacity Mr. Conger engaged in the abstract business, opening an office in Harri- sonville in 1879 and since that time has thus been engaged.
Mr. Conger was married February 20, 1877, to Miss Ida Bell Willson, a native of Versailles, Ripley County, Indiana. To this union were born
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seven children, as follows: Mrs. Bertha M. Sourdry, who now resides near Independence, Missouri; Frank S. and Arthur Conger, Jr., who are associated with their father in the abstract business at Harrisonville, Missouri; Miss Blanche Conger, who resides at home; Clyde Conger, Ft. Worth, Texas; Dr. Dail W. Conger, Mounds, Oklahoma, and Percy Conger, who died in infancy. The mother of these children died Decem- ber 20, 1897, and on April 4, 1901, Mr. Conger was united in marriage with Miss Fannie A. Higgins, of Harrisonville, Missouri.
Mr. Conger is a Mason and has passed the grades in that order as follows: He was made a master Mason March 27, 1885, in Cass Lodge, No. 147, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; exalted to the most sublime degree of the Royal Arch in Signet Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, June 1, 1885; made a Knight Templar in Bayard Commandry, No. 27, Knights Templar, October 1, 1885. He is also a member of Ararat Temple, at Kansas City. Mr. Conger is not a mere nominal Mason, but he preached, practiced and taught Masonry with his whole soul and with all his thoughts He has ever been a most active Mason and has taken part in all matters tending to advance the cause of Masonry. He was Master of Cass Lodge, No. 147, for two years, High Priest of Signet Chapter, No. 68, for two years, Eminent Commander of Bayard Commandry, No. 26, for three years and he was District Deputy Grand Master of Missouri for four years. Mr. Conger is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, being a charter member of Gelwicks Lodge, No. 149, Harrisonville, Missouri.
While Mr. Conger has never allied himself with any particular church organization he gives his support to the Methodist Episcopal Church at Harrisonville, which is the choice of his family. Whenever aid has been desired for any church activity, or for charitable purposes, Mr. Conger has been sought out as one who always renders assistance. The present high standing of this community in uplift activities is due to the founda- tions laid by Mr. Conger and those who cooperated with him for the last third of a century.
Jot M. Wilson, the pioneer real estate and insurance man of Harri- sonville, is a native of Ohio. He was born in Licking County, near Newark, in 1854, and is a son of John L. and Evaline Wilson, the former a native of Newark, Ohio, and the latter of near Hartford, Ohio. Jot M. Wilson is the oldest of a family of three children born to his parents as follows:
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Miles P., died at Forsyth, Missouri, about 1907; Mary, married John A. Peffefer, Chillicothe, Missouri, and Jot M., the subject of this sketch. The Wilson family came to Missouri in 1864 and settled on a farm three miles north of Chillicothe, where Mr. Wilson was one of the largest sheep owners in the country. The family later moved to Chillicothe, where Mrs. Wilson died in 1875. Her husband survived her thirty years.
Jot M. Wilson was ten years old when he came to Missouri with his parents. He attended the public schools of Chillicothe, afterwards com- pleting school at J. A. Peasley Commercial College, Columbus, Ohio. He went to Gold Hill, Colorado, where he was employed as bookkeeper for the Gold Hill Mining Company for two years. He then returned to his Mis- souri home on account of the death of his mother, and after spending about one year with his father, he engaged in the drug business in Chilli- cothe in partnership with a Mr. Kern under the firm name of Kern & Wilson. He remained there about two and one-half years, when he closed out his interest in the drug business and went to Greenwood County, Kansas, where he was engaged in the live stock business about two and one-half years. He then went to Seward County, Kansas, and was there at the organization of that county and was appointed the first county clerk of Seward County by Governor Morton, and opened the first set of books for that county. Mr. Wilson was in Seward County during the stormy days of the county seat fight, which was one of the hottest waged over the location of any county seat in Kansas.
After closing up his connection with Seward County, Mr. Wilson went to Cowley County, Kansas, where he was engaged in the milling business about a year and one-half. He then sold his mill and came to Harrisonville in 1888 and engaged in the real estate and insurance busi- ness and has been located here in that line of business ever since. He has been in this business longer than any other man in Harrisonville, and not only that, but he has handled more property than any other real estate man in Cass County and is just as active today as he was the first day that he came to Harrisonville.
Mr. Wilson married Miss Ollie D. Cope, a daughter of Rev. S. Cope, a prominent minister of the Methodist Church, South. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have been born the following children: Buell C., in the live stock commission business with Greer & Company, Kansas City, Missouri; Zora, married Fred J. Pearson, salesman for the Loose-Wiles Company, at Hutchinson, Kansas; Ethel M., married Bert Parsons, Ft. Scott,
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Kansas, a representative of the Standard Oil Company; and Faye, resides at home with her parents.
Mr. Wilson is a democrat and has always supported the policies and principles of that party. He belongs to the Woodmen of the World and the Wilson family are all members of the Methodist Church, South, and Mrs. Wilson is active in the work of that denomination. Mr. Wilson is, without a doubt, the best posted man on land values in Cass County, as there is scarcely a piece of city, town or farm property in the entire county with which he is not thoroughly familiar.
James Noel Maxwell, county surveyor of Cass County, was born in Union township, Cass County, where the town of Cleveland is now located, January 1, 1872. He is a son of Thomas T. and Mary (Noel) Maxwell, natives of Missouri. The father was born in Boone County and was a descendant of Virginia ancestors. Mary Noel's parents came from Tennessee and were early settlers in Missouri. Thomas T. Maxwell served in the Confederate army during the Civil War under General Price and participated in the battle of Lonejack and various other engagements in Missouri and Arkansas. He and his wife located in Cass County in 1871, where he was engaged in farming until 1891, when he was elected to the office of County Clerk and at the expiration of his term of office he was reelected, serving eight years. He died in California where he had gone for the benefit of his health in 1910 and his wife died in 1892. They were the parents of eight children as follows: Joseph, died at the age of six; Margaret, died at the age of eighteen; James N., the subject of this sketch; Lillie, married Albert Beckel, Cleveland, Missouri; Mary, mar- ried Charles R. Hall, Harrisonville; Ollie, married Ira Berkey, Cleve- land, Missouri; Thomas T., Jr., Cleveland, Missouri, married Nellie Wilson; and Grover Cleveland, married Mary McAnally, Cleveland, Missouri.
James N. Maxwell was educated in the Harrisonville High School and at Quincy, Illinois, and in early life followed farming. Later he was engaged in the livestock commission business at Kansas City for four years. In 1898 he went to western Kansas where he was on a cattle ranch two years. He then returned to Cass County and was engaged in the mercantile business and farming at Cleveland. In 1907 he went to Liberal, Kansas, and was engaged in the lumber business for four years, when he returned to Cass County and in 1912 was elected County Sur-
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veyor and is now serving in that capacity. Mr. Maxwell is a capable and painstaking public official and in his official capacity has given general satisfaction.
August 24, 1904, Mr. Maxwell was united in marriage with Miss Sina Walker of Pleasant Hill, Missouri. She is a daughter of James Walker, an early settler in Cass County, now residing at Pleasant Hill. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell, James Walker, born October 30, 1906, at Cleveland.
Mr. Maxwell is a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a democrat and has been identified with that party since boyhood and has taken an active part in political matters. He has served as township assessor of Union town- ship. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church.
C. J. Anderson, a prominent farmer and stockman of Grand River township, was born near Garnett, Kansas, March 12, 1858. He is a son of Cornelius R. and Charlotte (Preston) Anderson. Cornelius R. Ander- son was a native of Ohio, born in Pickaway County, and when a child his parents removed to Michigan and settled near Decatur, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Cornelius R. came to Missouri in 1844 and settled in Grand River township, Cass County. He was a pioneer school teacher of that section and followed teaching for a number of years and later engaged in farming and stock raising and owned seven hundred and twenty acres of land. He was a Union sympathizer and when the Civil War broke out he removed to Anderson County, Kansas, and located near Garnett. He engaged in farming and stock raising there and pros- pered. He died December 16, 1906, lacking sixteen days of being eighty- eight years old. His widow, who is now in her eighty-seventh year, lives with her youngest son on the old homestead near Garnett, Kansas.
Cornelius R. and Charlotte (Preston) Anderson were the parents of the following children: George L., Grand River township; John J., died October 6, 1909; W. W., Garnett, Kansas; C. J., the subject of this sketch ; Anna Catherine, deceased; A. J., Grand River township; Jennie, deceased ; Charles R., Anderson County, Kansas; and Thos. C., resides on the old homestead in Anderson County, Kansas.
C. J. Anderson was reared to manhood in Anderson County, Kansas, and received his education in the public schools of that county. In 1891 he came to Cass County, locating in Grand River township, where he
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owns a farm of three hundred and twenty acres. He carries on general farming and stock raising and is probably one of the most extensive breeders of horses and mules in Cass County. He makes a speciality of German coach horses, of which he raises a great many and has been particularly successful in that line of endeavor.
Mr. Anderson was married October 27, 1880, to Miss Anna Feuer- born, a native of LaSalle County, Illinois. She is a daughter of Christo- pher and Elizabeth (Brummel) Feuerborn, natives of Westphalia, Ger- many. They were very early settlers in Anderson County, Kansas, locat- ing there in 1860, when Kansas was yet a territory. They returned to Illinois after a time and later moved to Nevada and the father died at Star City, that state, and the mother returned to Anderson County, Kansas, where she died.
To Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have been born the following children: Elizabeth, married Hunter Quinn, Freeman, Missouri; Edwin Jackson, Dolan township; Charles R., Freeman, Missouri; Elmer, at home with his parents, and Opal Marie, a student in the Freeman High School.
Mr. Anderson is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Freeman, Mis- souri, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church. He is a Democrat and one of Cass County's most progressive citizens.
W. A. Holloway, a prominent farmer and stockman of Mt. Pleasant township, is a descendant of an early pioneer family of Missouri and Cass County. He is a son of Isaac J. and America A. Holloway. A sketch of Isaac J. Holloway appears in this volume. W. A. Holloway was born in Cass County in 1854, his father having homesteaded one hundred sixty acres here in 1844. The Holloway home was a log house until after the war.
In 1861 the Holloway family were gathering corn one day and the report came that Jemison's army was coming. The father ran to the house and gathered up a few things and threw them into the wagon and put W. A. on a horse and the family made a hasty retreat to Pleasant Hill. Jemison's army did come and the soldiers fed all the corn that the Holloway family had, to their horses, and took everything that was loose about the place. The Holloways remained away from their farm until the close of the war as it was in the midst of the conflict on the border and to remain would have been absolutely unsafe for both life and property. When they returned to their place, their horses were
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gone and they did their farming with oxen for a time, but finally got a start and prospered.
In 1874 Mr. Holloway worked for E. H. Walton, an uncle, for sixteen dollars a month. That was grasshopper year and crops were practically a complete failure. In September of that year Mr. Holloway and E. H. Walton went to Texas, where they were engaged in the dairy business, remaining in that state until 1874, when Mr. Holloway reurned to Missouri and bought his grandfather's old homestead in Jackson County. He kept this place until 1889, when he sold it and bought two hundred and two acres, known as the Dawley place. In 1904 Mr. Holloway moved to Belton with his family, where he now resides. He carries on farming and stock raising on a large scale and does an extensive dairy business. He keeps about twenty cows and the income from his milk alone is about five dollars per day. He rents his father's place, which he has operated for the past twenty years and is one of the large corn producers of Cass County.
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