History of Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri : written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns, and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri; a reliable and detailed history of Clay and Platte Counties --their pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens., Part 102

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: St. Louis : National Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1156

USA > Missouri > Platte County > History of Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri : written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns, and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri; a reliable and detailed history of Clay and Platte Counties --their pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens. > Part 102
USA > Missouri > Clay County > History of Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri : written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns, and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri; a reliable and detailed history of Clay and Platte Counties --their pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens. > Part 102

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).

NON. THOMAS

(Of Thomas & Nelson, Editors and Proprietors of the Argus, Platte City).

Mr. Thomas is a practical printer by trade, having served a regular apprenticeship at the case and worked as a compositor for several years. He is a son of Prof. Ennis C. Thomas, for a number of years president of the Plattsburg College, in Clinton county, this State, and an educator of long experience and established reputation. Prof. Thomas is now in connection with his sons, Mack and Edward, con- ducting the Plattsburg Register-Lever, of which they are proprietors, and have been since 1872, until April 1884, when the Register and Lever, published by J. M. McMichael, were consolidated, and the R .- L. is now owned by Thomas & Thomas Bros. He is editor of the paper. Non. Thomas, the subject of this sketch, was born in DeKalb county, March 1, 1858, and was partly reared in that county. But while he was growing up, his father being a professional teacher, and being called to different points to teach, young Thomas spent his youth in the different counties of the Platte Purchase, in which his father resided from time to time. He of course had good school advan- tages and received constant instruction from his father, in and out of school. When the latter took charge of the Plattsburg College, young Thomas entered that institution as a student. But at the age of 16, he quit college to learn the printer's trade, working in the office of the Register, in which paper his father had an interest. He worked in the office of the Register for about ten years and finally acquired an

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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.

interest in the paper. Under the management of his father, the Reg- ister became one of the leading country journals of the State, and a valuable piece of property, and in the spring of 1884 the Register and Lever were consolidated, and is now one of the best journals in the State. In the spring of 1884 young Mr. Thomas severed his con- nection with the Register-Lever and came to Platte City, where he established the Argus. He was without a partner when he first came to this place and continued to conduct the Argus alone until Septem- ber, 1884, when William T. Nelson, mentioned in a former- sketch, bought an interest in the paper and became associated with him in its publication. Mr. Nelson is also a practical printer ; both he and Mr. Thomas are young men of good business qualifications, excellent edu- cation and unexceptionable habits, and are well fitted to build up a successful and influential country journal. By their industry, close attention to business, ability and zeal for the public interests, they have been able to place their paper on a solid basis as a business enter- prise. It is already well established and is rapidly coming to the front as one of the leading journals, if not the leading one, of the county.

SIMEON D. TINDER

(Farmer and Stock-raiser, Section 19, Township 54, Post-office, Platte City).

A Kentuckian by birth, Mr. Tinder was born in Shelby county, November 9, 1832, his parents having also been prominent and well respected citizens of that State. His father, Capt. Jeremiah Tinder, was born in Woodford county, but was married in Shelby county, to Catherine Radford, a native of Kentucky. In 1835 the family removed to Indiana, locating in Hendricks county, where Capt. Tin- der died, December 15, 1875. The youth and early manhood of Simeon D. was passed in that county, where, in common with other boys of the neighborhood, he received a good ordinary common school education. In the fall of 1854, having previously formed a desire to remove West, he carried this wish into effect, moving to Platte county, Mo., and locating one and a half miles west of Platte City, where he removed on a farm and resided until 1870, then taking up his location on his present farm, six and a half miles from Platte City. This embraces 160 acres, nearly all in cultivation, upon which is a neat residence, barn, outbuildings, good orchard, etc. Previously to coming to this county, Mr. Tinder had been married, September 13, 1854, when Miss Sarah Frances Rice became his wife. She was a daughter of Charles Rice, of Shelby county, Ky., and she was born and reared in the same county. To them have been born four children : Mildred Ann, wife of D. H. Cole, of this county ; Mary E., now Mrs. Jesse M. Jones, of Platte ; Katie and Annie. Mr. and Mrs. Tinder are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. He is one of the active farmers of this township, and is having good success in the management of his farm.

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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.

REV. THOMAS R. VALLIANT

(Editor of the Landmark, and Minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Platte City).

Rev. Mr. Valliant bought the Landmark in February, four years ago, and has ever since had control of the paper, conducting it both as business manager and editor. The Landmark is one of the old and well established country journals of the State, and has ever exerted a potent influence in public affairs and the general interests of Platte county - never more so than in late years whilst under the di- rection of its present proprietor. It is one of the valuable pieces of country newspaper property in this section of the State, and is safely established on a sound business basis. It has a large patronage, both from subscribers and advertisers, and as a journal commands the re- spect and confidence of the entire reading public among whom it cir- culates.

Rev. Mr. Valliant is a gentleman of culture and large general in- formation ; a terse, vigorous writer, and of indefatigable industry ; scrupulously conscientious in all he says and does, and ambitious as a journalist to perform his full duty to the public, doing as much of good for the community as lay within his power, and the least possi- ble harm. Though he gives with accuracy all the latest news in each issue of his paper, he is careful to permit nothing to enter the homes of his neighbors and friends through the Landmark that might pos- sibly prove hurtful or offensive to the most sensitive or refined. In a word, the Landmark is a journal of dignity, purity and thorough re- liability. These are the qualities which he esteems to be of the first importance in a successful, worthy newspaper.

Rev. Mr. Valliant is also a minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and has been engaged in the ministry of that denomination continually since 1878. He was then ordained a deacon in the church, having previously prepared himself for that office, and shortly there- after was called to the parish of St. John's Church at Weston, where he was located for something more than two years, doing also, during the time, valuable missionary work. After his purchase of the Landmark he came to Platte City, but still has charge of his former parish at Weston. He also has charge of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Platte City, and preaches here regularly every month.

Maryland is the State of Mr. Valliant's nativity, and he is a de- scendant of one of the pioneer colonial families of that State. The founder of the family in Maryland, Jean Valliant, a Huguenot, came over to this country from England near the beginning of the seven- teenth century. He received large grants of land from Lord Balti- more by letters patent bearing the royal seal. Rev. Mr. Valliant's father, Rigby Valliant, came into possession of three of these patents, having inherited a part of the lands originally granted to the family, and having bought out the interests of some of the other heirs. The whereabouts of the patents now, however, are not known, they

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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.

having become lost or mislaid during the last illness of Rev. Mr. Val- liant's mother.

Rev. Mr. Valliant was born at St. Michael's, Talbot county, Md., April 12, 1835. His mother was a Miss Nancy Stevens before her mar- riage, also of an early colonial family of that State. The parents resided at Baltimore for a time, where the father was engaged in mer- chandising. Later along they lived further down the bay on the eastern shore of Maryland, where the father continued in the mer- cantile business until a few years before his death, which last years were spent in retirement on one of his farms. He died in 1860. His wife had preceded him in 1858.

Rev. Mr. Valliant was reared in Maryland to the age of 18, and as he grew up learned the mercantile business in the store of his father. His school advantages were only those of the general average of youths in that part of the country. But he succeeded, nevertheless, in ob- taining a good general education, principally by self-culture. At the age of 18 he came West and stopped at St. Louis, where he obtained a clerkship in a store. He continued there about two years and then traveled through Missouri and Tennessee for some twelve months. In 1856 Mr. Valliant came to Fort Leavenworth, and followed clerking there for about three years. From Leavenworth he went to Atchison and was engaged as clerk in a store at that place until the spring of 1861.

A short time before the outbreak of the war Mr. Valliant, divining the unhappy denouement which was then rapidly and surely approach- ing, returned to Maryland in order to be at his old home and among the friends and acquaintances endeared to him by a lifetime of associa- tion when the terrible catastrophe should break upon the country. Promptly after the firing upon Ft. Sumpter he enlisted in the South- ern army, becoming a member of the First Maryland infantry. Throughout the war he continued faithfully in the service of the South, and only laid down his arms when released from his oath of allegiance to the Confederate cause by the surrender of Lee and Johnson and all the Southern forces. For the last two years of the war he was as- signed to duty in quartermaster's department, under Maj. McCluer, and was charged with the payment of troops in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. During the war he was engaged in a number of des- perate engagements, including the great battles of Manassas and Cold Harbor.

In 1865, after the close of the war, Mr. Valliant came West again, and for a time located at Fort Laramie. The same year, however, he returned to Weston, and from that time up to his ordination by the church, he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, as clerk, manager or proprietor.

October 8, 1867, he was married to Miss Maggie T. Darst, daughter of John Darst, a representative of the old St. Charles county pioneer family of that name. She was left an orphan, however, by the death of her parents, and was reared in the family of a relative, B. W. Perry, of Platte county.

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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.

Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Valliant have five children, Sadie L., Laura M., Augusta S., Edwin D. and Thomas R. Their second child, Mary S., died in infancy.

Rev. Mr. Valliant is a prominent member of the Masonic Order, and Prelate of Belt Commandery, of Platte City.

JUDGE RICHARD L. WALLER

(Farmer and Stock-raiser, Section 34, Post-office, Platte City).

In the fall of 1838 there came to the State of Missouri Mr. Hiram Waller, the father of Judge Waller, and a man who from that time until his death bore a conspicuous part in the material progress and development of the vicinity where he made his home. The first winter after coming to the State he stopped in Clay county, but in the spring located in Platte, where he bought a pre-emption of land, entering the tract in the eastern part of the county, near Barry. He resided there a number of years, but subsequently disposed of it and purchased property five miles east of Platte City, on which he resided until his death, December 9, 1862. He took a prominent interest in church matters, was a member and an elder in the Christian Church for many years, and besides his religious interests devoted some attention to politics, though he was not an aspirant for political honor or advance- ment. Hiram Waller was a Virginian by birth, and in that State he was brought up and there married, Miss Eliza Gaines becoming his wife. She was the daughter of Richard H. Gaines, also of Virginia, and is still living, active in mind and body, at the advanced age of 74 years. Richard L. Waller was born in Fauquier county, Va., and was one of a family of four sons and two daughters who grew to manhood and womanhood. As the eldest child in the family, much of the work of the home farm fell upon him, consequently his early school training was quite limited, and he had the benefits only of the primitive schools of that early day. Possessed, however, of clear, quick intelligence, combined with a worthy purpose to accomplish something for himself by his own energy and self-application to study during such leisure as he had, he succeeded in obtaining a good knowledge of books. He has always been a great reader, and his desires in this direction of earlier years have not forsaken him.

At the age of twenty he engaged with Mr. Stephen Johnston, at Platte City, as clerk in a store, and continued in his employ for several years ; and in the year 1855 he engaged in a general merchandise busi- ness in Platte City with Mr. James E. Frost. When the civil war commenced he joined Capt. Chiles' Company, Missouri State Guard, as a private, and was in the battles at Lexington, Springfield and many others, and on the resignation of the quartermaster he was appointed quartermaster of the regiment. And when the State Guard was transferred to the Confederate service he joined a company in Col. Elhart's battalion of Gen. Shelby's brigade and was elected lieutenant, and served until the end of the war, surrendering to the Federal forces at Shreveport, La. It is no empty compliment

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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.

to Judge Waller to say that he is one of the best informed men on current topics of the day, and particularly upon county affairs. In 1872, such was the consideration with which he had come to be re- garded that he was elected county collector, and in 1874, circuit clerk. At the expiration of his term he was re-elected and served eight years. In the spring of 1884 he was appointed county judge, which appoint- ment was made more satisfactory by his election to the position in the November following. The duties of this office he is now discharg- ing with marked fidelity and efficiency. The judge owns the old family homestead, containing 320 acres of land, upon which are im- provements of a high order. He is unmarried, but living with him are his mother and unmarried sister, and a widowed sister, late the wife of Joel W. Moore, who died in the spring of 1864. Mrs. Moore has a daughter, Josie, who also finds a welcome home here. Judge Waller, his mother and younger sister are members of the Platte City Christian Church.

FOUNTAIN L. WALLER

(Farmer and Stock-raiser, Section 28, Post-office, Platte City).

Mr. Waller, a native born citizen of the county, is now comfortably situated in life, having a landed estate of 320 acres, one of the choice farms of the county. This is mostly in cultivation, the balance being devoted to timber, pasturage, etc. This place he improved himself, and upon it are to be seen a good house, barns, and all necessary out- buildings. The parents of the subject of this sketch were Hiram and Eliza Waller, the former a brother of Mr. R. L. Waller, a sketch of whose life is found in this volume. Fountain L. was born on the 7th of October, 1839, and as he grew up devoted himself to helping with the duties of the home place, receiving also a good education. A por- tion of this was acquired at the Daughters' College at Platte City, which he attended a number of terms. In 1861, under Gov. Jack- son's call for troops to defend the State from Northern invasion, he enlisted in the Home Guard, and after the disbandment of the State troops returned home, having participated in the battles of Lexington and Pea Ridge, besides others. Resuming farming in this county, he continued it uninterruptedly until his marriage, October 11, 1875, to Miss Minnie Johnson, a daughter of Stephen Johnson, an early settler of Platte county., Mrs. Waller was born and reared in this county, but was spared to her husband for only a few short years, dying Jan-

uary 30, 1883. Her loss was a severe blow to her husband, for a more devoted wife and mother never lived. She was a consistent member of the Christian Church, and died in the full faith of a blessed immortality. She left three children : George Hiram, Laverda, El- bert Sterling, who died in infancy, and Madaline. Some nine years ago Mr. Waller took a girl to bring up, who has since developed into a most attractive young lady, Miss Mattie Boydston. He is connected with the Christian Church.

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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.

HON. THEODORE F. WARNER

(Clerk of the County Court, Platte City).

From the earlier days of this section of the State Mr. Warner has been identified with the history of Western Missouri, and especially with that of Platte county. Over 40 years ago he began at Weston, this county, as a merchant, and some ten years later became a part- ner with the well known Ben. Holladay, whose name has become a national souvenir in the annals of overland trans-continental freighting and mail contracting before the head-light of the locomo- tive had lighted up the way for the march of civilization across the solitudes of the plains and through the deep, lonely canons of the Cordilleras on to the golden coast of California, washed by the white- capped waters of the Pacific sea. Mr. Warner was a partner with Col. Holladay in the freighting business for several years. He then sold his interest to his partner and returned to Weston, where he re- sumed merchandising. In 1859 he commenced in the produce busi- ness at that place and also began the manufacture of hemp, which he followed for nearly 20 years, or until about six years ago. In the meantime, in 1868, Mr. Warner was elected to represent Platte county in the Legislature, where he served for two sessions. Prior to that, however, although still continuing the manufacture of hemp, he became interested in banking at Weston, and was a stockholder in the Platte Savings Institution, of which he was made cashier. In 1878 Mr. Warner was elected clerk of the county court, and four years later he was re-elected.

Mr. Warner has now held the office of county clerk for six years, and is still the incumbent of that office. On the 19th of June, 1842, he was married at Weston to Miss Emily H. Underhill, daughter of Charles Underhill, one of the pioneer settlers of Platte county, who came from Canandaigua, Ontario county, N. Y., where Mrs. Warner was partly reared. Mr. and Mrs. Warner have four children : Angie S., wife of M. N. Blakemore, of Ft. Smith, Ark. ; Charles S., teller in the Mechanics' Bank at St. Louis; Hattie M., wife of George L. Andrews, of Decatur, Ill., and connected with the Wabash Railway at that place, and George A., deputy county clerk of Platte county. December 4, 1879, Mr. Warner had the misfortune to lose his devoted wife. She had long been a member of the Episcopal Church, and died in the consolation of the promise and hope of the blessed Redeemer. Mr. Warner is a prominent member of the Masonic Order. He was born in Greenup county, Ky., April 10, 1818, and was a son of Col. Wynkoop Warner and wife, née Miss Minerva S. Boone, a granddaughter of the great pioneer of that name. The father was originally from Maryland, and removed to Callaway county, Mo., from Kentucky, in 1819. During the War of 1812 he had command of a regiment under Gen. Harrison, and after his removal to Callaway county served as sheriff of that county for three consecutive terms. In 1828 he was appointed Indian agent for the Upper Mississippi

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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.

District by President Adams, and was located at Galena, Ill., for some years. Afterwards he located at Independence, in Jackson county, but in 1834 returned to Callaway county, making his home aq Portland, where he died in 1837. His wife survived until 1850, when she died in Weston, at the home of her son, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Warner, our subject, was given an excellent general education as he grew up, both attending the high school and college, the latter principally at St. Charles. While the family resided at Independence he was engaged as clerk in a general store, and there learned mer- chandising, which he afterwards engaged in on his own account at Weston, as stated above.

JAMES WREN 1 (Linkville, Mo.).

James Wren was born September 9, 1844, in Mt. Sterling, Mont- gomery county, Ky. He was the son of Hugh B. and Susan Wren ; his father born in Virginia and his mother in Kentucky. They had three children : William E., born October 7, 1840, and now living with his mother on his farm, consisting of 320 acres, near Platte City ; Edward, born October 10, 1842, and married to Miss Mary Daniels, of Kentucky, in 1868. He was a successful farmer in Platte county, but died in 1873. He was a member of the Christian Church. James Wren came to this county when quite young. He inherited a fine farm, consisting of 280 acres, from his parents, and since then has followed farming. January 7, 1880, he was married to Miss Helen C. Adkins, a native of Platte county, born August 14, 1860. Her father, Hon. James Adkins, of Missouri, was born in Owen county, Ky., Decem- ber 7, 1830, and was married to Miss Collistia P. Remington, of Dan- ville, Ill., June 29, 1851, she having been born June 29, 1830. Hon. James Adkins died while in the Legislature, February 6, 1885. He was serving his third term in the Missouri Legislature. Mrs. Wren was one of a family of seven children. She and her husband have been blessed with two children : Eula Clifton, born December 25, 1880, and James Adkins, born May 5, 1882. Mr. Wren belongs to the Masonic Order. His wife is a member of the Christian Church. He is a staunch Democrat, and well versed on the political issues of the day.

CHAPTER XXIV.

LEE TOWNSHIP.

Territory and Boundary -Water Courses-Pioneers in the Township -Farley - Population, Etc. - East Leavenworth, also called City Point - Biographical.

TERRITORY AND BOUNDARY - WATER COURSES.

Lee township originally included in its present territory all of Wes- ton and substantially all of Fair. It is bounded on the north by Fair township, on the east by Carroll and Pettis townships, from which it is separated by the Platte river, on the south by Waldron township and the Missouri river, and on the west by the Missouri river. Owing to the strong Democratic proclivities of its inhabitants, it was named after Gen. Robert E. Lee.

This township, like the greater part of many townships of the county, was at one time covered with timber, a large portion of which has been cleared and put in cultivation. Most of the cultivated land of the township can not be surpassed in fertility. The Missouri river washes the entire western and most of the southern boundary, and the Platte the entire eastern boundary of the township.

PIONEERS IN THE TOWNSHIP.

Among those who settled in this township at an early day were Joseph Farley, Levi Staggers, D. M. Sutton, Elisha Green, Lewis Burnes, J. W. Todd, Andrew Trimble, S. W. Tudor, James Wallace, Davis Lanter, R. F. Mason, B. McComas, Elijah Harrington, Mrs. Simon Yocum and others.

A large number of Germans have intermixed with the original worthy and industrious population, and are making the country very productive, and are contributing largely to sustain the reputation of this section of the county as one of the most productive in the State.

FARLEY.

In 1838 Josiah Farley pre-empted the land which includes the present site of Farley, and afterwards laid out the town, and although it never assumed a town of large proportions, the census of 1880 gives the number of inhabitants 120. The town is situated on sections 28 and 29, township 52, range 39.

(978)

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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.

The surrounding country is good, and one of the best general stock of goods in the county is at this place. The school building is far above the average, and a good school is sustained. For history of churches and lodges see another part of this work.

EAST LEAVENWORTH.

East Leavenworth, or City Point, is on the Kansas City, St. Joseph and Council Bluffs Railroad, twenty-four miles northwest of Kansas City. C. L. Banning is the principal business man of the town, and also the postmaster.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

GEORGE ALBRIGHT

(Farmer and Stock-raiser, Section 22, Post-office, Farley).

One of the industrious farmers and well respected citizens of foreign birth in Lee township must be set down as the subject of this sketch, George Albright. Mr. Albright, a son of Henry and Mary (Bozman ) Albright, was born in Hanover, Germany, in May, 1816. His parents were both also natives of that country, where their deaths occurred. The father was a stonemason by trade. George passed his youth in the place of his birth, attended the common schools until 14 years of age, and when 18 years old he commenced learning the stonemason's trade with his father, at which he worked for six years. Then he em- barked in farming operations. Desirous of settling himself in this country, he emigrated to the United States in 1850, locating in Ohio county, Ind., where he made his home for several years, then going to Cincinnati. Two years later he returned to Indiana, locating this time in Dearborn county. In 1866 he came to Missouri and settled in Platte county, moving upon his present farm in 1883. This embraces 188 acres, nearly all of which is in cultivation and comfortably im- proved. In the year 1858 Mr. Albright was married in Ohio county, Ind., to Miss Elizabeth Clausing, daughter of Adam Clausing, a native of Hanover. They have four children : Charles, Fred, George and Lizzie. Mr. and Mrs. Albright are members of the Lutheran Church.

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Author: Publication date: 1885 Publisher: St. Louis : National Historical Co. Number of Pages: 1156

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: St. Louis : National Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1156