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 110
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 110
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The German Benevolent Society, a local organization has a good membership and the Knights of Honor have a lodge numbering 16.
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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.
Though the schools of Weston have been mentioned in general elsewhere, it may prove of interest to know that the report for 1885, of the public school district of Weston, gives the enumeration of white and colored male pupils of school age in the district at 208 ; female, 194. The enrollment of white pupils was 283, of whom 143 were male and 140 female ; of colored, male 45, female 35. This makes the total number of white and colored pupils 363.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
JOSEPH ANDERSON
(Manager of the Exchange Hotel, Weston).
Born in Fleming county, Ky., May 10, 1845, Mr. Anderson was the son of Johnse Anderson, who was born in Kentucky, and a farmer by occupation. He died in 1845. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary A. Redman, subsequently married 'John Fugate. He died in California, and Mrs. Fugate afterwards became the wife of Thomas G. Turner. The latter departed this life in 1881. Mrs. Turner died in 1870. Joseph Anderson accompanied his mother on her move to Platte county, Mo., in 1849, and here he was brought up to the life of an agriculturist, which he followed until the outbreak of the war. His military career in that struggle is one worthy of mention, but one upon which we can only touch briefly. Enlisting in the Fed- eral army in the Eighteenth Missouri infantry, he served in a great many battles, among which were those of Shiloh, Tenn. ; Corinth, Iuka, Miss. ; Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek and Atlanta, Ga. At the latter engagement, July 22, 1864, he lost a limb and was sent to the hospital, where he remained until he was honor- ably mustered out of the service in 1865. Mr. Anderson now returned home and gave his attention to various occupations for some time ; holding also the offices of constable, township clerk and justice of the peace. March 24, 1864, he was married to Miss Nancy Turner, origi- nally from Hart county, Ky., and a daughter of Thomas G. Turner. This union has been blessed with eight children : Joseph, Sarah A., Ada L., Charles T., Nancy I., Ella M., Jesse H. and Elizabeth Eli. Three are deceased. Mr. Anderson is now conducting the Exchange Hotel at this place for Mrs. Margaret Gabbert, a half sister of his wife, who is also a daughter of Thomas G. Turner by a previous mar- riage to that of Mr. Anderson's mother. She was born and reared in Platte county, and on the 13th of April, 1882, married Eli Gabbert, a native of Indiana, born in 1815. He died November 28, 1882. In
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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.
the conduct of this hostlery Mr. Anderson, who is also assisted by Mrs. Gabbert, is meeting with good success; the result of which is due perhaps to his constant and earnest endeavors to attend to every detail connected with the proper management of a hotel. He is deserving of the patronage which he is receiving.
ELIAS BARBEE (DECEASED )
(Late a Farmer on Section 8, Weston Township).
Among all the horrors of the late Civil War, there was nothing which caused so much suffering among those closely united by the ties of family affection as to see husbands and fathers separating from those at home to enter upon a field of action from which they might never return. Many, we know, were buried where they fell, while others came back only to die in a short time from the effects of what they had undergone while gallantly fighting. Mr. Barbee was one of this latter class. Of Southern birth and antecedents, he entered the Confederate army in 1862, and was captured at the battle of Pea Ridge. Soon after he was taken sick, and though his wife succeeded in transferring him from Alton to his home, he died two days after reaching here, leaving his worthy companion alone in the midst of a cruel war with five children dependent upon her for support. Her love for these fatherless ones prompted her to persevere, and from that time to this her success in the management of her farm has been of noteworthy remark. The place embraces 80 acres, and the man- agement falls especially upon her son, Graham G., who is deserving
of special mention in this connection. . Mr. Barbee's father was a general in the Revolutionary War. He was born in Kentucky August 29, 1841, was married to Miss Sarepta J. Graham, of Kentucky, whose mother was formerly Cassandra Stone, of North Carolina. Mrs. B. was born January 17, 1811, and was brought up in her native State. They lived in Kentucky until 1847, then coming to Missouri and locating in Platte county on a farm which she has since occupied. The names of the children are Nancy Owen, wife of J. J. Gabbert ; Robert J., Elias E., Laura, wife of David Darnell, and Graham G. The latter, together with his mother, is a member of the Baptist Church.
A. G. BELLER (Residence, Weston).
That early advantages may be made to contribute materially to one's advancement in life, to the giving of one's career a higher di- rection than it might otherwise take, can not for a moment be ques- tioned ; but that such is always the case, no one of general intelligence or reasonable observation would think of claiming. Indeed, judging by the lives of successful men, some have gone so far as to claim that the best school for a youth of brave spirit and ambitious mind is the school of adversity. Though A. G. Beller has reached no eminent station in the affairs of State, he has, nevertheless, accomplished much
-
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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.
more than thousands of others have, and has achieved a degree of success which no worthy sketch of his life should fail to mention to his credit. In youth he had practically no advantages whatever to prepare himself for what he felt would be his position in life. At night he often spent his leisure in endeavoring to master the mys- teries of an ordinary, common school education, and by his industry, perseverance and natural gifts of mind has steadily made his way up until many, who had first preceded him by years, are now far in the rear. Mr. Beller was born in Baden, Germany, in 1834, and was the son of Anton and May E. (Müenzer) Beller, both natives of the same place. When he was a child about 8 years old the family emigrated to the United States and some three years later, or in 1841, located in Buchanan county, Mo. The father was a farmer by occupation, a calling to which he gave his attention until his death, in 1846. The mother still makes her home with her son, A. G. She is now 80 years of age.
After his father's death young Beller commenced to learn the blacksmith's trade, and after mastering it continued it as his chosen calling until the breaking out of the war. He now became a candi- date for official public honor and owing to his peculiar fitness for the position was elected mayor of Weston, a position which he held one term. He also served as a member of the town council. Subse- quently he was complimented by Gov. Fletcher by being appointed probate judge, and the same characteristics which had attended him in other positions followed him here. After one year he became for eight years the publisher of the Border Times, a newspaper which was remarked for the fairness and ability with which it was conducted. He was postmaster for two years, 1869-70. In 1871, disposing of his newspaper property, he entered the mail service and became a postal clerk, and he now is occupying a like position in the railroad service on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. Mr. Beller was married December 3, 1851, to Miss Melville Commin's, who was born in Buchanan county, Mo. She was the refined and accomplished daughter of E. G. Commins. This union, one of especial harmony and affection, has been blessed with three children : Vincent A., a resident of Chicago ; Emma, now Mrs. Rodgers, of Marshall, Texas, and Angie, a young lady at home.
BENJAMIN BONIFANT, M. D. (Physician and Surgeon, Weston, Mo.).
Dr. Bonifant, one of the most thoroughly educated and experi- enced practitioners in his profession in Northwest Missouri, is a native of Maryland, born in Montgomery county February 15, 1821. His father, John Bonifant, was also a native of Maryland and a prominent agriculturist. The maiden name of his mother was Mary Tucker. She was born in Washington, D. C. The first 18 years of young Bonifant's life were spent on his father's farm and in attend- ing school. Having made choice of the practice of medicine as a life
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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.
calling, he placed himself under the care of Dr. Benjamin J. Perry, an eminent physician, as preceptor. Following his course of reading, he matriculated in the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, and was graduated in 1849. In 1850 he came to Missouri and settled in Weston, and almost from the beginning commanded a good prac- tice, which has steadily increased, until he is recognized as one of the leading physicians in this part of the country. A marked character- istic of Dr. Bonifant is that there is no pretense about him. Whatever he does, he does in earnest, in a plain, common-sense manner, going directly to the point in view. So when he read medicine, he read it not because custom and forms required him to proceed through a reg- ular course of reading, but in order to learn and to qualify himself for the intelligent and successful practice of his chosen profession. He served during the late war as surgeon of the Thirty-ninth Enrolled Missouri militia, and also the Fourth Missouri State militia. After leaving the army he resumed his practice in Weston. The Doc- tor is still a close student and keeps thoroughly posted in all the advances made in the science of his profession. He was married October 29, 1855, to Miss Matilda J. Leachman, a native of Kentucky, but reared in Platte county. They have two children : Ada, now Mrs. Shenkner, and Mary, at home. The Doctor is a Knight Templar in the Masonic Order.
W. A. F. N. BOWEN (Post-office, Weston).
Mr. Bowen was born on the 13th of October, 1839, in Fairfield county, Virginia. His ancestors were of English origin. His grand- father, John Bowen, Sr., was at the siege of Yorktown, and aided in the capture of Cornwallis. He married Miss Rachel Drake, who was a lineal descendant of Sir Francis, one of the admirals who aided in conquering the Invincible Armada, in the days of Queen Elizabeth, and circum- navigator of the globe. From this union sprung John Bowen, Jr., Maj. F. D. Bowen, William Bowen and Newton Bowen. John Bowen, Jr., in the year 1836, married Miss Jeanette J. Newman. They were the parents of five children, viz .: J. Bowen, W. A. Bowen, Rachel Rowen, Lovel N. Bowen and P. O. Bowen. These children were blest with pious parents, both being consistent members of the Baptist Church.
The father of the subject of this sketch died July 5, 1862, after which the widow received a pension from the Government, her hus- band having been a soldier in the War of 1812. She died July 12, 1879, in the full faith of a blessed immortality beyond the grave. Three of her five children had preceded her, John Bowen, Rachel and Lovel Bowen. W. A. Bowen acquired an excellent education, under the auspices of his father, uncle, Profs. Yarnly, Carroll, Raffington and F. G. Gaylord, of Daughters' College. He has attained con- siderable celebrity as a mathematician and composer in the fields of literature. His profession is that of teacher, and he stands at the
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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.
head of his profession. The Civil War broke out just as he was enter- ing the threshold of manhood, and he and his brother Lovel, true to their colors, espoused the cause of the South, and no braver soldiers ever fought on the field of battle than they. Lovel Bowen was killed in the battle of Pea Ridge, March 7, 1862. W. A. Bowen survived the war, and married Miss Nettie May, one among the loveliest maid- ens of Platte county, September 19, 1868. Mrs. Mary May, her mother, was .a lady of many admirable qualities, who died April 27, 1880, in the sixty-eighth year of her age, having been a consistent Presbyterian for more than forty years. From this marriage have sprung Francis L., Lenore and Willie Florence Bowen. Francis Lovel, the first born, died in infancy. W. A. F. N. Bowen is a member of the Baptist Church, belongs also to the noble institutions of Odd Fellowship and Masonry, having ably represented his district in the Grand Lodge of the former for several terms. He has served three terms as school commissioner of Platte county. He has many warm friends, because he fearlessly performed his duty, and he is looked upon as a worthy and excellent citizen.
He has done much good for the cause of education. During one term of his official career he visited every school district in the county, and distributed a volume of the school law to each. This was no easy task, because during his visitation it rained many days in succession, and the roads were almost impassable. For this he received not one cent of compensation, for it is not one of the enumerated duties of the school commissioner, and no appropriation was made for such extra work. He did it to advance the educational interests of the county, and old Platte stands to-day at the head of the column, through the instrumentality of this noble educator. The Burruss district, where he has been engaged as instructor for some time, is pre-eminently a community of deep thinkers, and intelligence is a marked feature of her people.
JOHN H. BRILL
(Farmer, Section 2, Post-office, Weston).
Mr. Brill was born in Fox Plain, N. Y., January 30, 1838. His father's name was Henry Brill, and the maiden name of his mother was Dora Hovendahl. The family were among the pioneers of Platte county. Mr. Brill settled in St. Louis in 1836, but the following year came to Platte county, and he pre-empted the land on which the public school of Weston now stands. He built the first blacksmith shop in this part of the county. During his life he made several trips to St. Louis on foot, walking this distance in about five days. John H. Brill was born in this county January 30, 1838. He was reared a farmer and has followed it as his chosen occupation. His farm includes 80 acres of choice land, well improved. He was married March 20, 1862, to Miss Caroline Dorth, a native of Germany. They have two children : Jessie D. and William.
61
1048
HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.
GEORGE BRILL
(Farmer, Post-office, Weston).
In the earliest days of the settlement of this county, Henry Brill, the father of the subject of this sketch, settled here and erected the first blacksmith shop in the county.
" Here smoked his forge; he bared his sinewy arms, And early stroked his sounding anvil warm; Around his shop the steely sparks flew, As out of steel he shaped the bending shoe."
His was an establishment well patronized in that pioneer day, and his name is well remembered by the oldest living residents of this vicinity. The wife of Henry Brill was formerly Dora Hovendahl, and they came here in 1837. George Brill, a worthy representative of his father's family, was born in Platte county, Mo., May 27, 1842. He is of German extraction and that is enough to carry the assurance that he is one of the solid men of Weston township. Thrift is the leading characteristic of the German people, and those of German descent, and when they have good soil and favorable seasons, as they do in this country, they almost invariably become well-to-do. Mr. Brill is certainly a proof of the truth of this statement. He has made farming his life study, and has been very successful, now own- ing a farm of 100 acres adjoining the town of Weston. On the 10th of March, 1870, Mr. Brill was married to Miss Catherine Carson, and to them have been born five children, four of whom are living : John, Mary, Louis and Lena. George is deceased.
WILLIAM B. CALVERT (Farmer, Post-office, Weston).
Mr. Calvert is a young and highly respected farmer of this county. The Calverts were early settlers of Kentucky from Virginia. The parents of William B. were from Scott county, Ky., and came to Platte county in 1838. His mother's maiden name was Martha Hern- don, a daughter of Dr. Herndon, of Kentucky. She is still living and finds a pleasant home with her son, John. Calvert. William B. was reared in this county to the business of farming and stock-raising. He owns a half interest in the Calvert place of 237 acres of choice land, and has the management of 187 acres where he now lives. Mr. Cal- vert was married October 24, 1883, to Miss Nora Gabbert. They have one son, Lewis Cass. Mrs. Calvert's father, William Gabbert, a retired farmer and capitalist, was born in Lincoln county, Ky., Oc- tober 8, 1817. His father, James Gabbert, and his mother, whose maiden name was Polly S. Sullivan, were natives of Virginia, but in 1820 they moved to Indiana, where William was reared to manhood on a farm. In 1844 he came to Missouri and settled in Platte county and purchased a farm, and to this he added from time to time until
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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.
he became one of the large property owners of the county. At present he owns 522 acres. He made it a cardinal principle of his life to owe no man anything, and in purchasing goods, if he had not the money to pay, went. without. He was married December 27, 1838, to Miss Frances Hamner, a native of Kentucky. They have a family of five children living : James J., George B., Michael H., prominent farmers in Platte county ; Ira T., a prominent physician of Caldwell, Sumner county, Kan., and Nora.
ISAAC P. CARTWRIGHT (Residence, Weston).
Mr. Cartwright is now interested in mining operations in the State of Colorado, where he spends a good deal of his time. In 1874 he became prominently interested in the welfare of Weston. At that time he engaged in the banking business, opening the Weston Savings Bank, which he continued to conduct for some time. Owing to a straitened financial condition which unfortunately overtook him, he was compelled to close the doors of the bank, after which, as stated above, he went to Colorado. It is but justice to Mr. Cartwright to say that while the closing of the bank was deplored and its loss keenly felt, not a word of reproach was ever laid upon Mr. Cartwright as being the cause of its failure. A native born citizen of the county, he has always retained and enjoyed the respect of those among whom he has made his home. Born March 7, 1838, he was the son of Willis Cartwright, a native of North Carolina, who, during his life, was ac- tively interested in merchandising. The mother of Mr. Cartwright, whose maiden name was Nancy Pinkston, came originally from near Knoxville, Tenn. In 1836 the family took up their location in Ray county, Mo., but in 1837 found a home within the Platte Purchase. The father departed this life in 1877, but the mother survived until the 7th of January, 1882. Young Isaac enjoyed good educational ad- vantages in youth, and upon coming up received a mercantile experi- ence, which proved of great benefit to him in later years. He followed merchandising up to 1861 and then went to Colorado, where until 1866 he was occupied in various pursuits. Returning to Platte City, he was made deputy circuit clerk and served very acceptably for four years. He also filled the position of cashier in the Farmers' Savings Associ- ation for the same length of time, after which he came to Weston. Mr. Cartwright was married November 25, 1862, to Miss Anna E. Hamilton, daughter of Charles Hamilton. She was born in Scott county, Ky., but came to Missouri with her parents in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright have five children living: Laura Inez, Charles W., Robert E., Meade G. and Frank O. One child, an in- fant named Alva Ben., is deceased. Mr. Cartwright is a Knight Templar in the Masonic Order.
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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.
JAMES W. COBURN
(Attorney at Law, Weston).
The history of this country is replete with illustrations of the possibilities of true manhood and merit under our institutions. The young man of to-day of character and courage and brains becomes the man of prominence of to-morrow, and afterwards the distinguished citizen. So it has ever been, so it now is, and so, at least as long as free and prominent institutions prevail, will it ever be.
Here and there and in every section of this State may be seen young men whose characters and attainments and whose careers, hardly more than yet begun, point with a certainty, impossible to doubt, that they are destined for the highest services in their respective depart- ments of life, if they are but willing to accept those positions to which they might be elected. Prominent among the comparatively young men of this State whose career thus far has been an eminent one, is the subject of the present sketch, James W. Coburn. He was born in Mason county, Ky., and was the son of Dr. John A. Coburn. The maiden name of his mother was Elizabeth M. Wood. Both his parents were Kentuckians by birth. The father was a prominent physician in his day, and is remembered as being one of the leading members of the medical fraternity of the vicinity in which he lived. His grand- father, James W. Coburn, was the first Federal judge in what was then known as the Territory of Orleans, holding his courts at St. Louis and New Orleans. James W. was reared at his birthplace, and was unusually well favored in his efforts to secure a liberal education, the assistance which his father gave him being greatly increased by his own studious habits and personal desire and ambition to receive a thorough collegiate training. His first entrance upon the career of professional life was in the circuit clerk's office in Maysville, Ky., where he performed most of the duties falling to the lot of that official. Here it was that he formed a taste for the legal profession, and with courage and determination, added to patience and perse- verance, he improved his leisure time in preparing himself for admission to Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1866, and it was only on account of his age that he was not admitted to the year before, no one doubting his qualifications and eminent fitness to take such a step.
In 1866 he came to Missouri and entered into partnership with John Doniphan, a lawyer of wide repute in the Platte Purchase, a relation which existed until Mr. Doniphan's removal to St. Joseph. Since then he has been engaged in practicing alone. He is a close student and a safe counselor, and personally he possesses those qualities which go far to win the respect and confidence of men. Plain and unassuming, his honesty is apparent to all, whilst his manners are agreeable, and his conversation, never too voluble, is always pleasant. Personal popularity comes almost unavoidably to such men.
Mr. Coburn's library is perhaps one of the best in Platte county,
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HISTORY OF PLATTE COUNTY.
the volumes therein treating not only of legal and professional matter but being devoted to scientific and philosophical topics, etc.
Mr. C. is at present serving his third term as prosecuting attorney, and it is entirely unnecessary to make any remarks upon the compli- ment which has thus been shown him by the people of his county, and those among whom he makes his home in thus repeatedly calling him to discharge the duties of by no means an unimportant office. He is a Knight Templar in the Masonic Order and belongs to the Encampment of the I. O. O. F.
A. H. COX (Retired Farmer, Weston).
Mr. Cox is a venerable man whose faculties of mind and vigor of body are still remarkably well preserved, and who, by industry and good management in the active years of a well spent life, has ac- cumulated a comfortable competency on which to rely in old age. He came originally, like many of the best men all over the West, from Virginia, the grand old mother of good citizens, as well as of the noblest and best Presidents who have ever occupied the Executive chair of the Republic. Mr. Cox was born in Cumberland county, April 3, 1804. In 1809, when he was but 5 years of age, his father removed to Ken- tucky. Brought up in an agricultural community, as was to be expected, he became a farmer, and this calling has been his occupa- tion through life. In 1847 he emigrated to Platte county and pur- chased a farm and at once took a position as one of the leading agriculturists of the county and one of its prominent citizens. The same year of his removal here (1847) he married Miss Phoebe Larri- more, a native of Madison county, Ky. She died in 1849, leaving one son, William E., now in business in New York City. In 1852 Mr. Cox was again married to Mrs. Angeline Jones, of Buchanan county, Mo. She is a native of North Carolina and has two children by a former marriage, one daughter, who is the wife of Charles W. Campbell, for years a prominent business man of St. Joseph, but now a resident of Florida ; and William Jones, a farmer in Buchanan county. In 1880 Mr. Cox disposed of his farming lands and removed to Weston. He is a man of many positive traits of character and unswerving in his convictions of duty and right. Caring nothing for the vanities of the world, he has striven to acquit himself faithfully and sincerely in every duty of life.
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