History of Cooper County, Missouri, Part 61

Author: Johnson, William Foreman, b. 1861
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Topeka : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1464

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Mr. Clayton is a stanch democrat. He is affiliated with the Wood- men of the World and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and Mrs. Clayton are widely known and respected in Cooper County, worthy representatives of two of Missouri's best pioneer families.

Farris B. Hopkins, bookkeeper of the Bank of Woolridge, is a native of Saline township. Mr. Hopkins was born in 1887, son of Hallah H. and Lydia (Farris) Hopkins, both of whom are natives of Saline township.

H. H. Hopkins is a son of Hirma B. and Rebecca (Burcham) Hopkins, the former, a native of England. Hiram B. Hopkins immigrated to America and located in the State of Mississippi, whence he moved to Ken- tucky, thence to Texas, and, about 1856, settled on a vast tract of land, comprising almost 1,000 acres, in Cooper County, Mo. A portion of this tract of land was sold to Jesse Wooldridge, that part upon which the town of Woolridge was laid out in 1901. Truman B. Hopkins, a son of Hiram B., now resides at the old homestead. Hiram B. Hopkins died on his farm, Nov. 18, 1899, and he was buried in Wooldridge Cemetery, a family burial ground, maintained by the Hayes, Wooldridge and Hopkins families. John B. Truman was the first to be interred there. Rebecca (Bucham) Hopkins died at the old homeplace and her remains rest beside those of her husband in Wooldridge Cemetery. This is one of the most neatly kept of the private burial grounds in the county. The old home- place of the Hopkins family contains five Indian mounds and arrowheads and various articles, which must have once belonged to the savages of the forest, have frequently been found there. Hallah H. Hopkins is residing on his farm in Saline township, where practically his entire life has thus far been spent, engaged in the pursuits of agriculture. To Hallah and Lydia Hopkins have been born two children: Farris B., the subject of this sketch and Vergna, a popular teacher of Boonville, Mo.

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Farris B. Hopkins has, for the past three years been clerk of the school-board of Wooldridge, for the past eight years clerk of the town, and he is superintendent of the Sunday School of the Wooldridge Baptist Church, and since the organization of the church in 1907 he has been the treasurer. Mr. Hopkins has been connected with the Bank of Wool- dridge since 1903 as the bookkeeper of the institution.

Mr. Hopkins attended Hills Business College at Sedalia in 1904. He was for one year with the Missouri State Guards, in Company E. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in politics is a democrat. In the business and the social circles of Cooper County, Mr. Hopkins has maintained an unusually good name. He is one of Cooper County's own boys, who have "made good," and of whom all are proud.

Judge Boz L. Moore, a prominent citizen of Boonville, ex-judge of the County Court of Cooper County, is a native of Palestine township. Mr. Moore was born Sept. 12, 1869, a son of Lafayette M. and Matilda (Morton) Moore, who were the parents of the following children: Lee, who died at the age of two years; Allen B., who died at the age of 21 years; Boz L., the subject of this review; Harvey B., who resides on the Moore homeplace; Gipson S., a teacher at Cape Girardeau; Erastus B., who is engaged in farming in Clarks Fork township; and Edith Grace, the wife of Edgar Rudolph, of Clarks Fork township. Mr. Rudolph is the present assessor of Cooper County, 1919.

Lafayette M. Moore was born in Cooper County in 1839. He received as good education as the early schools of the county afforded, and early in life began farming and stockraising. He owned a farm of 120 acres of land in Palestine township and at his country place he lived from 1864 or 1865 until the time of his death in 1902. His remains rest in Moore Cemetery. Matilda (Morton) Moore was born in Tennessee in 1840, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Isaiah Morton. Her mother died in 1840 or 1841 and the father with his infant daughter came from Tennessee to Missouri in 1843. The father died in 1898 at his home in Palestine town- ship, and he is buried in the family burial ground on the homeplace. Mrs. Moore still resides at the Moore homestead, in the home to which she and Mr. Moore came in 1865. She is now 79 years of age and has retained to a remarkable degree her physical and mental vigor.

Major William Moore, great-grandfather of Judge Boz L. Moore, entered land from the Government in Palestine township, a part of the tract now a portion of the Moore homeplace, about 1817. He came to Missouri from Burke County, N. C. Major Moore was an army officer

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in the War of 1812. He was the father of Dr. William H. Moore, a pioneer teacher and physician. Dr. Moore taught his first school out in the forest, and it was a subscription school. He made the pens used in the school, made pens from goose quills. He was probably the first teacher in Cooper County. Dr. Moore was also the country practitioner. He rode a pony when answering calls from the countryside. He was a cripple and unable to walk, and when not on his pony he went about in a chair which he operated with his hands. Dr. Moore died in 1866 and is buried in Moore Cemetery.

Judge Boz L. Moore attended the public schools of Cooper County. Until 1917, Judge Moore was engaged in farming and stockraising. In 1910, Judge Moore was elected julge of the County Court, and in 1912 he was re-elected, serving four years. Judge Moore was active in pro- moting road work while a member of the County Court, and more good work, more bridges, more public building resulted during the four years he was serving as a member of the court than during any other four years in the history of the county. A new courhouse was erected at a cost of $115,000, and a new county home at a cost of $40,000.

In 1914, Judge Boz L. Moore was united in marriage with Abbie Boggs, a daughter of Harry and Beulah (Ashley) Boggs, of Fayette, Howard County. Mrs. Boggs is deceased and Harry Boggs now resides at Higginsville. Judge and Mrs. Moore reside at Shamrock Heights.

Judge Moore is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Bunceton. He and Mrs. Moore are well known in Cooper County and in Boonville, where they are best known, they number their friends by the score.

S. Hamilton Fairchild .- The Fairchild family has been resident in Cooper County for the past 50 years and are native to North Carolina.

Joel Fairchild, father of S. Hamilton Fairchild, of this review, was a soldier in the Confederate Army who sought a new home in Missouri four years after the close of the war. He located on the John Lilly farm, on the Boonville and Bell Air highway. Later he spent 10 years in Wy- oming for the benefit of his health. Returning to Missouri, he went from here to Oklahoma, and after a residence of six months in the new state, he died in 1911. His wife was Frances Phillips prior to her marriage, and she bore him three sons and four daughters, as follows: George died in Oklahoma; Mrs. Mary Sideler, Thayer, Mo .; S. Hamilton, of this review; Mrs. Ellen Parrish, Oklahoma; Mrs. Catherine Ward died in Arkansas; John, somewhere in the West. The mother died in 1874 and

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by a second marriage of Joel Fairchild there was one child, Mrs. Ray Davis, Hot Springs, Ark.

The 50 years of the life of S. H. Fairchild have been spent in Cooper County to good purpose. He is owner of a fine farm of 154.72 acres in Palestine township, purchased in 1895, and upon which he has resided since the spring of 1896. This farm is well improved and is highly productive.

Mr. Fairchild was married in 1893 to Miss Elizabeth Dumolt, born 1871, near Billingsville, Mo., a daughter of John Dumolt, pioneer settler of Cooper County. Four sons and a daughter have blessed this union : William Ward, Charleston, S. C .; John Edden, Elmer Eugene, Philip Har- vey, and Alma Elizabeth. Two children of the family are deceased, namely: Emil Allen, died at the age of 12 years; and George died in infancy.

William Ward Fairchild, the soldier of the family, was born in 1895 and enlisted in the United States Navy, Nov. 20, 1917. He was trained at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and assigned to duty at Charleston, S. C., in Jan., 1918.

Mr. Fairchild is a republican. He is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Billingsville, and the Woodmen of the World.

The Boonville Mercantile Company, located at the corner of Main and Chestnut Streets in Boonville, was organized as a corporation in 1906. The present officers are: W. M. Rowe, President R. P. Burge, vice-president; W. W. Kingsbury, secretary. Other stockholders are: John A. Fischer, F. S. Sauter, J. L. Sauter, and Walter Reed. R. P. Burge was associated in the mercantile business for many years with H. T. Hudson, prior to the organization of the Boonville Mercantile Company.

The building occupied by the Boonville Mercantile Company fronts on Main or Fifth Street in Boonville. It is 50x122 feet in dimensions. To this building, the company moved in 1907 and the building has since been remodeled and up-to-date furnishings and fixtures installed in 1914. The ceiling is of steel, plate glass is across the entire front, and the Warren fixtures, the very latest and best, are used.

The Boonville Mercantile Company carries a complete and excep- tionally good line of hardware, including stoves, harness, plumbing and heating apparatus, pumps and windmills. The company enjoys a flat- tering patronage and the business is annually increasing. The quality of the goods handled is the best and the company has an established repu- tation for fair and honorable business dealings.

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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY

Edward Stegner, one of the leading business men of Cooper County, a well-known merchant of Boonville, was born March 13, 1865, in Boon- ville, one of twins born to John Adam and Margaretta (Hoffbacher) Stegner, natives of Germany.

John Adam Stegner came to America in 1854 and settled in Boon- ville. After arriving at Boonville, Mr. Stegner had but 75 cents left in his purse, and with this money he purchased an ax and secured a job cutting cord-wood. He also cut wheat with a sickle for 50 cents a day. In 1856, Mr. Stegner opened a cooper shop. He was by trade a cooper and he conducted this shop until in the nineties. In 1881, he erected the store building at 601 Main Street in Boonville, now the store occupied by his son, Edward, and opened a hardware and woodenware establishment and within a few months afterward added to his stock, groceries. He admitted his sons to partnership with him and the firm became known as J. A. Stegner & Sons. After Mr. Stegner's death, his wife continued to manage the business. John Adam Stegner died June 25, 1890, and nine years later Mrs. Margaretta Stegner died, Jan. 2, 1899. The remains of both parents were interred in Walnut Grove Cemetery.

Edward Stegner is one of eight children born to his parents, as fol- low: Sophia, of Kansas City, Mo .; Frank, of Boonville; Theodore, of Kan- sas City, Mo .; William E., of Fayette, Mo .; Edward and Emil, twins, the former, the subject of this review, and the latter, who died in 1906; Matilda, of Boonville; and Margaret, the wife of Adam Walters.

Edward Stegner received his education in the public schools of Boon- ville, and practically his entire life has been devoted to the mercantile business, thus far, in Boonville. Mr. Stegner has been bravely bearing the affliction of blindness since November, 1917, and is still actively en- gaged in business. A niece, Ida L. Stegner, assists Mr. Stegner with the work in the store, and he usually employs from four to five other assist- ants.

Sept. 6, 1899, Edward Stegner and Bertha Jegglin, a native of Boon- ville and a daughter of J. M. and Anna Jegglin, were united in marriage. J. M. Jegglin was in the pottery business in Boonville for many years. He was a manufacturer and retail merchant. He was very successful in business, and owned, besides his shop, three farms. Mr. and Mrs. Jegg- lin are now deceased, and their remains rest in Walnut Grove Cemetery. The children of J. M. and Anna Jegglin are as follow: Herman; Gus; Albert; Anna, the wife of Francis Smith, of Boonville; Bruno, deceased ; Bettie; Robert; John; Clara, the wife of A. J. Perry, of Sedalia; Ray-

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mond; and Mrs. Edward Stegner. Mr. and Mrs. Stegner are the parents of the following children: Margaret, of Sedalia; Edward, of Boonville; Roland K., Helen B., and John A. Mr. and Mrs. Stegner reside in Boon- ville at 512 East Sixth Street.

Mr. Stegner is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Redmen, and the Woodmen of the World. He is a democrat and he was candidate for public administrator, but was defeated by a "land- slide," the coming of which was unforeseen.

In connection with stories of pioneer days, Mr. Stegner relates that his mother dried three barrels of apples in the days before the Civil War. She traded the three barrels for a set of knives and forks and the actual value of the set today is 75 cents.

In Cooper County, no man stands higher in the respect of his fellow- men than Edward Stegner. He is an intelligent, useful citizen, one of Boonville's best business men.

Christian Brandes .- The late Christian Brandes of Clarks Fork town- ship was a citizen of worth and integrity in Cooper County. He was indus- trious, law-abiding, honest to the core of his being and was a man of diligence and enterprise. Looking far into the future he provided well for his family and built up a valuable farm, so that his family could live in peace and plenty after his departure from this earthly realm.

Christian Brandes was born in Germany, June 1, 1840. He died in Cooper County, Nov. 9, 1902. He was a son of Christian and Sophia Brandes. He was a native of Hanover, Germany, and when 13 years old he came to America with his brother, Henry Brandes. He became a musician and when 16 years of age he joined a band which was attached to a circus. This circus make a tour of the Antipodes, traveling over Australia, and New Zealand for five years. While in New Zealand, he was married to Sara Willshire, who was born at Greymouth, New Zea- land, Feb. 28, 1847, and is a daughter of John Willshire, a native of Eng- land. In 1870 or 1871, Mr. and Mrs. Brandes left New Zealand and came to America, settling at Lone Elm on the Brandes home place, which Mr. Brandes built up and improved and which consists of 200 acres of rich prairie land.

In September of 1866, Christian Brandes and Sara Willshire were married. The children born to this marriage are: Ellen Augusta, born June 11, 1867, is the wife of Chris Smith, Bunceton, Mo .; Sophia Wil- helmina, born Aug. 20, 1870, wife of John Hall; Edwin Nicholas, born Dec. 27, 1871, Kansas City, Mo .; Johanna Margaret, born April 23, 1873,

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wife of Willis Schmalfeldt; Florence Frederick, born Jan. 17, 1875, de- ceased; Emily Louisa Wilhelmina Mansegar, born Sept. 30, 1877, lives in Iowa; Mrs. Esther Carlotta Eophia Smith, born Jan. 31, 1879; Henry Frederick, born Feb. 15, 1880; Louisa Mary, born June 15, 1883, deceased ; Walter Hermann, born Oct. 10, 1886, a farmer, Lone Elm; Speer; Julius Frederick, born Aug. 31, 1889, on the home place; Mattie Margaret Caro- lina, born Jan. 15, 1891, died Nov. 17, 1892.

Mr. Brandes was a republican and member of the Evangelical Lu- theran Church.

Edward Melkersman, a prosperous and progressive farmer and stock- man of Clarks Fork township, is a native of Missouri. Mr. Melkersman was born Feb. 19, 1855, a son of Robert R. and Louisa (Portzig) Melkers- man. He was born at St. Charles, Mo., whence his parents moved in 1872 to Cooper County and located on an 80 acre farm three miles south of Boonville, where the father died in 1879. His remains are interred in the cemetery at Boonville. The widowed mother now makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Frank Kirschner, at Otterville, Mo. Mrs. Melkers- man is now, in 1919, at the advanced age of 86 years. Robert R. and Louisa Melkersman were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Sophia Achepohl, who died in Oregon; Edward, the subject of this review; Mrs. Lucy Wells, of the state of Washington; Mrs. Ottilia Kirschner, of Otterville, Mo., with whom the mother resides; Fred, who resides in Idaho; Mrs. Emma Landen, of the state of Washington; Mrs. Helen Nathan, deceased; and Mrs. Nora Comstock, of Freeman, Wash.

In the public schools of St. Charles, Mo., Edward Melkersman re- ceived his education. He has followed farming and stockraising prac- tically his entire life and he has been a resident of Cooper County since 1872. He purchased his first farm 30 years ago and he later sold it and bought the country place he now owns, a farm comprising 330 acres of valuable land in Clarks Fork township, six miles from Boonville. Mr. Melkersman has, since acquiring the ownership of the place, added three barns. Petite Saline creek crosses the farm on the north and there are two exceptionally fine springs on the land, which is admirably adapted for stockraising. Large herds of hogs, cattle and sheep are raised on the Melkersman place, which is managed by Mr. Melkersman's son, Edward L.

April 2, 1893, Edward Melkersman and Annie Margaret Kirschner, a daughter of John Nicholas and Eva (Hess) Kirschner, noble pioneers of Boonville township, were united in marriage. The Kirschners settled in Cooper County, in 1853, and reared and educated their five children in

ED. MELKERSMAN AND WIFE

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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY

*Boonville township. The father died in 1863 and he was buried in the cemetery at Boonville. The mother died in March, 1905, and she was buried in Walnut Grove cemetery. John Nicholas and Eva Kirschner were the parents of the following children: John E., a farmer, Boon- ville; Mrs. Mary Lowe, of Otterville; Frank, of Otterville; Mrs. Henry Roesler, of Otterville; and Mrs. Edward Melkersman, the wife of the sub- ject of this sketch. To Edward and Annie M. Melkersman have been born two children: Edward Leroy, who manages the home farm; and Evaline Louise, a student at Cottey College, Nevada, Mo .; Edward Leroy Melkersman married Bertha Bechtold, of Boonville, and to them has been born two children: Charles Edward, who was born March 2, 1917; and one son, Harry Leroy, born Feb. 13, 1918, and died Feb. 14, 1919.

Edward Melkersman is one of the representatives of the first families of Missouri. He is a gentleman of the old school, an upright, honorable citizen. Mr. and Mrs. Melkersman moved to Boonville in Nov., 1915, and they have a very pleasant home on South Third street on a 22 acre tract.

Mr. Melkersman is a republican and he and his family are members of the Boonville Evangelical Church.

Abe Lincoln Hews, the well-known proprietor of "Uncle Abe's Billiard Room" in Boonville, is a native of Illinois. Mr. Hews was born at Canton, Ill., Jan. 19, 1861, a son of Abe and Permelia (Saunders) Hews, who were the parents of the following children: John, deceased; Abe Lincoln, the subject of this sketch; Gardner E., died at Joplin ; Benjamin H., deceased ; and Mrs. Laura Chipp, deceased.

The Saunders family was founded in America by Tobias Saunders, who was one of King's Life Guards. He and two brothers came to Amer- ica. He married Mary Clark. The descendents of this marriage:

I. Stephen Saunder. II. His son. III. Tobias. IV. Luke. The geneology of the Saunders family has been written beginning with the eleventh century.

Mary Clark was a daughter of Corow Clark, and a niece of Dr. John Clark, of Newport, who was a friend of Sir Roger Williams.

Abe Hews, father of Abe Lincoln Hews, was born in New York City in 1818, a son of James McHew. James McHew was born in County Tyrone, Ireland. For political offenses, he was driven out of Ireland, and he immigrated to America. He was still a young man, and that was prior to 1800. After coming to the new country, James McHew changed his name from McHew to Hews, which name the family has continued to adopt. Abe Hews was a veteran of the Civil War. He served in the Union army for four years and was wounded once in battle. He died

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about 1890 in Indian Territory of "Choctaw fever." Permelia (Saunders)

Hews was born in Ohio in 1828, a daughter of Hiram Saunders. Mr. Saunders walked from Ohio to Illinois and in the latter state remained for seven years while preparing a home for his family, and when the home was ready he returned to Ohio for them. Mr. Saunders purchased land in Henry County, Ill., in those early days for $1.75 an acre. He later sold this farm and the family moved to Fulton County, III., where he lived in quiet retirement with his children until his death. Abe Hews was an early-day freighter from Boonville to Chicago.

Abe Lincoln Hews received his early education in log schoolhouse near Canton, Ill. Later, he attended the city schools of Canton and sup- plemented his school work with a course in a mining school in Springfield, Ill. In the first part of his career, Mr. Hews followed mine inspecting as his vocation, but, upon being "blacklisted" on account of a strike, he be- came a metal polisher, buffer, and finisher. He was for 12 years engaged in farming in Illinois, Nebraska, and Missouri. Oct. 10, 1911, he came to Boonville, and purchased the Swasky Amusement Company's establish- ment at the present location, which establishment is now known as the Boonville Amusement Company, at 227 Fifth Street. Mr. Hews conducts a first-class billiard room, and his place is one of the most popular "smoke- houses" for young men in the county.

In 1882, Abe Lincoln Hews and Nellie Carter were united in marriage at Lewistown, Ill. Mrs. Hews is a daughter of Andrew and Sienda Carter, both now deceased. The Carter children, who are living, are: Mrs. Jennie Barlow, of Red Cloud, Neb .; Mrs. Lizzie Kyle, of Trivola, Ill .; and Mrs. Abe L. Hews, the wife of the subject of this review. By a second mar- riage, Andrew Carter was the father of the following children: A. J., who is employed as division superintendent by the Burlington Railway Com- pany, and is located at Aurora, Ill .; Mrs. Fannie Williams, of Canton, Ill .; James, William, and Frank, of Canton. Ill .; and Mrs. Gertrude Lent, of Canton, Ill. To Mr. and Mrs. Hews have been born two children: Thomas, who married Hattie Malincott, and they reside in Boonville, where he is in business with his father; and Wylia, the wife of Lt. C. J. Wilgaus, who recently received his honorable discharge from the Quartermaster Corps of the United States army, and is again following his profession as veter- inary surgeon. Mr. and Mrs. Hews have two granddaughters: Nadine Wilgaus and Aileen Hews.

Since 1883, Abe Lincoln Hews has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in 1913 he became a member of the Knights of

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Pythias. In a small collection of curios, which Mr. Hews has in his pos- session, is a bullet used in the battle of Boonville during the Civil War; a gun cartridge, which was used in the Spanish-American war; and cart- ridges used in the World War. As a testimonial of the high regard in which "Uncle Abe" Hews is held by the young men of Boonville and of their affection for him he has a collection of letters, postcards, and souve- nirs of various kinds in the showcase of his billiard room. The boys of Boonville, who entered the service in the World War, have remembered "Uncle Abe," no matter in what part of the world they have been stationed, and to show his appreciation of their thoughtfulness he has answered every letter and card he received from the boys at the front.

Lonis L. Chilton and Joseph W. Chilton, of Chilton & Company, jew- elers, at 308 Main Street, in Boonville, have been partners in the jewelry business in this city since 1888, when they opened a jewelry store, carry- ing a small stock, on Morgan Street. The storeroom of Chilton & Com- pany is 22x80 feet, and is equipped with one of the best jewelry stocks in this section of the State. In addition to jewelry, the firm carries an excel- lent line of the finest quality of chinaware.

Joseph W. Chilton, Sr., father of the Chilton brothers, was a native of Fauquier County Va. He came from Virginia to Missouri prior to the Civil War and located at New Franklin, where he entered the mercantile business, in which he was engaged for more than 40 years. He died in 1895 at Boonville. His wife, Bettie (Wyatt) Chilton, was also a native of Virginia. She died in 1886, and the remains of both mother and father are interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. The children of Joseph W., Sr., and Bettie Chilton are: E. W., president of the Commercial Bank of Boon- ville; H. B., a traveling salesman for a dry goods firm of Chicago, Ill .; Louis L. and Joseph W., the subjects of this sketch; W. C., a jeweler of La Junta, Col .; and four children who died in infancy.

The Chilton family trace the origin of the family in America to Mary Chilton, who came with the Pilgrims in the "Mayflower" in 1620, and was the first to set foot on American soil, of all the little band. Governor Bradford's "Journal," the only authentic account of the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620, states in regard to the Chiltons:

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History of Cooper County, Missouri, Part 61

Author: Johnson, William Foreman, b. 1861 Publication date: 1919 Publisher: Topeka : Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1464

Author: Johnson, William Foreman, b. 1861
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Topeka : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1464