History of Cooper County, Missouri, Part 64

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

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WV. A. Oerly obtained his education at Liberty schoolhouse in Saline township. Until 1912, Mr. Oerly was engaged in farming, when he en- tered the mercantile business. He purchased the stock of George T. Bruce at Wooldridge and since 1912 he has conducted a general store there. Mr. Oerly carries an exceptionally good line of merchandise for a store of the size, and he has thus far had a flattering patronage and the receipts in 1918 showed a business amounting to more than $17,000. In addition to his store, Mr. Oerly is the owner of a farm comprising 260 acres of land, located near Bunceton.

In 1902. W. A. Oerly was united in marriage with Emma Keamfer, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Keamfer, of Prairie Home township. The Keamfer children are: John, Mrs. Maggie Kuhns, Mrs. Mary Pipkin, Mrs. Emma Oerly, Mrs. Lizzie Byler, Mrs. Annie Byler, Lulu Keamfer, Mrs. Meta Hornbeck, and Mrs. Nora Morris. To W. A. and Emma Oerly have been born five children, who are living, six children in all: Owen Lester, Curtis Richard, Myrl Raymond. Oliver Robert and Earl Alvin. The only daughter. Alleene Bertha, was killed in a cyclone, June 5, 1917, when she was 12 years of age.

Mr. Oerly is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, the Woodmen of the World, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Hc is a republican. Mr. and Mrs. Oerly have scores of friends in Cooper County, and they are numbered among the county's best and most valued citizens.

A. H. Hesel, engaged in the retail liquor business in Boonville, Mo., is a native of Boonville, and was born October 30, 1882. He is a son of Joseph L. Hesel.

His father, Joseph L. Hesel, was born at Riegel, Baden, Germany, Nov. 12, 1849, and died in June, 1917. He came to America when a young

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man and resided in Fayette, Mo. After the close of the Civil War he located in Boonville and operated the city meat market for a number of years. He married Louise Hoefer, who was born in Cooper County, Mo., Sept. 14, 1850. The children born of this marriage are: Charles Hesel, born Aug. 16, 1877, operates the meat market in connection with Harry Ruskin's general store; Lee Paul, born Sept. 6, 1884, bartender in the Hesel saloon ; J. L. Hesel, Jr., born Nov. 29, 1886, an automobile salesman in St. Louis, Mo .; Louise J., born Dec. 24, 1892, at home; Rosa and Roy Hesel are deceased.

Arthur H. Hesel was reared and educated in Boonville and assisted his father in the conduct of his meat market business. He first tended bar for Tony Hain and was then in the employ of Emil H. Mueller prior to engaging in business for himself in 1911.

Mr. Hesel is a republican. The family church is the Catholic denom- ination. The mother of the family is a member of the Evangelical Church. Mr. Hesel is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Joseph L. Hesel, his father, was an Odd Fellow.

Horace G. Windsor, proprietor of "Benvenue Farm" in Clarks Fork township, is one of the leading agriculturists and stockmen of Clarks Fork township. Mr. Windsor was born Dec. 4, 1860, a son of John H. and Eleanna (Zollinger) Windsor. Mrs. Windsor was a daughter of George Zollinger, a veteran of the Mexican War and a grand daughter of Peter Zollinger, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. She was born March 27, 1835 in Hagerstown, Md., and she died Dec. 28, 1890. The children of John H. and Eleanna Windsor, are as follow: Horace G., the subject of this sketch; Walter B., who was born April 23, 1862 and now resides in Clarks Fork township; John L., who was born July 4, 1863 and died Aug. 8, 1884; Alma M., who was born Nov. 4, 1866, the wife of E. H. Harris, Jr., of Sedalia ; Eugene A., who was born Jan. 4, 1870, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume; and Dr. Norman Myers, who was born April 18, 1871, now a resident of St. Louis.

Horace G. Windsor was educated in Boonville, at the Kemper Military School and the Boonville Academy. In early manhood, he began farming on the home place. His grandmother, Anne Matilda (Allison) Windsor, gave him a farm comprising 240 acres of valuable land, which farm is now a part of his splendid country place. Mr. Windsor now owns 650 acres of land in Clarks Fork township, probably the finest country place in Cooper County, a farm which is reputed to be the most productive in

HORACE G. WINDSOR

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the country. Seventy acres of the farm, the land lying directly east of the residence, produced in 1915, more than 100 bushels of corn per acre, which is considered to be the best production in the world. Mr. Windsor has made the average of 90 bushels an acre for a tract of 80 acres of his farm. In 1916, the dry year, he produced on one acre of his land 119 bushels and 10 pounds of corn, the record for the state of Missouri. Prac- tically his entire life, Mr. Windsor has been interested in feeding livestock and he usually feeds from 150 to 250 head of cattle annually, also from 1,000 to 1,500 lambs and from 200 to 250 hogs. He raises the mules used in work on his place and, at the time of this writing in 1919, he had 20 on the farm. Mr. Windsor plants soybeans in with the corn, one bushel of the former to every 12 acres of land, and after the corn has matured he pastures the land. The "Benvenue Farms" are equipped with three sets of improvements, including three bungalows for the assistants; a Dickey silo, 18x60 feet in dimensions; four barns, the largest, 90x54 feet in dimensions, affording shelter for all the stock; and three windmills.

Oct. 6, 1886, Horace G. Windsor was united in marriage with Anna K. Cunningham, a native of Cooper County, a daughter of John W. and Ellen (Spencer) Cunningham, the former of whom now at the advanced age of 93 years resides in Boonville, and the latter died Feb. 15, 1916. To Horace G. and Mrs. Windsor have been born two sons: Capt. John H., who was born Dec. 13, 1888, a graduate of Kemper Military School, a member of the class of 1907, who received his degree of L. L. D. in 1912 from the Missouri State University and for five years practiced law in the city of Boonville, volunteered his services in the World War, Aug. 27, 1917 and was sent to Fort Sheridan for training, was commissioned first lieutenant Nov. 27, 1917, sailed for France, Dec. 24, of the same year, with 500 other officers, was first attached to the British infancy and later to the 77th Division, was in the battle of Arras in March, 1918, and was gassed in May, 1918, made Judge Advocate of his section, commissioned captain, Aug. 28, 1919, and honorably discharged March 2, 1919; Wilbur C., who was born Jan. 14, 1891, graduated from the Kemper Military School in 1910, was senior captain of the cadets in this school, was a student at the Missouri State University for three and a half years, specializing in banking, engaged in the banking business in Oklahoma for two years, was associated with his father in managing the "Benvenue Farms", volunteered for service and was sent to Fort Sheridan in Aug., 1917, was commissioned first lieutenant and sent to Camp Zachariah Tay-

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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY

lor in Kentucky as instructor, thence to Camp Sherman in Ohio, a member of the 84th Division, sailed for France in Sept., 1918, and was honorably discharged from the service on April 18, 1919.

Wilbur C. Windsor was married to Gertrude Buckley of Poteau, Okla., a daughter of William Buckley, ex-attorney United States district, of Oklahoma, on Dec. 28, 1916, and to them has been born one child, Ger- trude Anna.

Horace G. Windsor has been president of the Missouri State Corn Growers Association for four years. He was instrumental in the estab- lishment of Rural Route 1 out of Boonville, the second route established in the state, and he assisted in the establishing of the first rural telephone line in the county. He is the originator of the benefit assessment system for the building of better roads and he has been president in his district for eight years. Mr. Windsor writes for the "Missouri Ruralist" and other farm papers and he is considered one of the most advanced thinkers in Cooper County and one of the most progressive men in the country. He is widely known throughout the state. Mr. Windsor is a member of the Presbyterian Church and he is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and is a Shriner.

Irene Schubert, a prosperous and highly respected farmer and stock- man of Saline township, is a native of Cooper County. Mr. Schubert was born June 8, 1864 on his father's farm in Palestine township, a son of Henry B. and Christina Schubert, who were born, reared, educated and married in Germany.

Henry B. Schubert was born in 1830 and Christina Schubert was born in 1838. The Schuberts located in Cooper County on a farm near Billingsville in 1863 and there resided for several years, when Mr. Schubert purchased a farm comprising 72 acres of land, which he improved and where he spent the remainder of his life and died in 1912. His remains rest in the cemetery at Billingsville, Mo. Mrs. Schubert now resides at Speed, Mo. The children of Henry B. and Christina Schubert are, as follow: Mrs. Mary Huffman, who lives in Germany; Mrs. Amelia Steg- ner, deceased, wife of Paul Stegner; Irene, the subject of this review; Mrs. Emma Baker, deceased; Henry, deceased ; Fannie and John, of Speed, and Willie, who died at the age of four years. Gottholt Schubert and his vife, grandparents of Irene Schubert, immigrated to America from Ger- many about 1861. The senior Schubert was, by trade, a miller. Both grandfather and grandmother have been deceased many years and their remains are interred in the cemetery at Billingsville, Mo.

Irene Schubert attended school at Independence, in Palestine town-

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ship. Since leaving school, he has followed farming and stockraising and with the exception of ten years. Mr. Schubert purchased his present country place in March, 1914, a farm which was originally a part of the Bates farm, 144 acres of well-watered land, an ideal stock farm. Mr. Schubert is just beginning the raising of registered Hampshire hogs. He is engaged in general farming and stockraising. In his district, he is overseer of roads and he takes an active and keen interest in the upkeep- ing of the public highways.

In 1890, Irene Schubert and Minnie Doerrie were married. Mrs. Schubert is a daughter of Henry and Louisa (Kemper) Doerrie, natives of Germany. The Doerries immigrated from Germany and settled in Missouri, locating first in St. Louis. Mr. Doerrie died at St. Charles, Mo. and Mrs. Doerrie was later married to Peter Young and she now resides in Boonville. She is now 80 years of age. Louisa (Kemper) Doerrie Young is the daughter of Henry and Lottie Kemper, who settled in St. Charles County, Mo. in 1856. He was, by trade, a carpenter. Mr. and Mrs. Kemper died in St. Charles, and are buried there. To Irene and Minnie (Doerrie) Schubert have been born two children: Bert and Rose- mond, both at home with their parents, and both educated in the Boon- ville schools. Mr. and Mrs. Schubert are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church and Mr. Schubert is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias at Boonville.

Mr. and Mrs. Schubert are well known and highly regarded in Cooper County and they number their friends in this section of the state by the score.

Walter Meredith and George Meredith, proprietors of "The Lowell Stock Farm," in Saline township, one of the best stock farms in the county, are numbered among the progressive agriculturists of Cooper County. "The Lowell Stock Farm" comprises 238 acres of valuable land, located eight miles southeast of Boonville. Walter Meredith and George Meredith are sons of Lee and Susan (McGruder) Meredith.

Lee Meredith was born near Pilot Grove, Mo., a son of Thomas Mere- dith, one of the first settlers of that part of the county. The mother of Lee Meredith was Susan (Woolridge) Meredith. Thomas and Susan Meredith are now deceased and the remains rest in Pilot Grove Cemetery. Lee Meredith was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a democrat. Mrs. Meredith died in 1900 and she was buried in Pilot Grove Cemetery. She reared the family and educated the children, as all were small when the father died.

"The Lowell Stock Farm" was purchased by the Meredith brothers

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and their sisters, Grace Alice and Winona, in 1901, from John Engfer. The brothers and sisters reside at this farm, and though grown to matur- ity, they are still as closely united as when they were children. The Meredith residence is a brick structure of seven large rooms, four halls and two stories. It is "T-shape," and was built prior to the Civil War. This farm in early days was known as the James Connor farm, and on the place are ruins of foundation of houses formerly occupied by slaves. Since coming to the place, the Merediths have added two barns and fences, and have drilled a well which is over 226 feet in depth, the same supplying an abundance of excellent water. There are two good springs in the pasture. In every respect "The Lowell Stock Farm" is an ideal one. The builder of the large brick residence was one of the aristocrats of his day, and the large rooms, four times the size of the average room of today, suggest colonial architecture, and the surroundings show the taste of the typical southern plantation owner.

The Merediths are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Oak Grove. They are highly respected among the best citizens of Cooper County.

Joseph Gerhardt .- When Joseph Gerhardt left his native Germany 1881, crossed the Atlantic, and made his way to Pickaway County, Ohio, he had very little of this world's goods. When he came to Cooper County, Mo., in 1887, he had not made much progress in accumulating a fortune. However, matters shaped themselves so that in 1905 he began to buy land, although his first farm of 192 acres was purchased on time. To this he subsequently added 25 acres, then added 160 acres, and at the time of his retirement to a home in Speed, Mo., in the spring of 1919, Mr. Ger- hardt was the owner of a total of 377 acres of well improved land, without incumbrance. The farm buildings are very good, and it is one of the attractive places in Cooper County. This country has been good to Mr. Gerhardt, and Cooper County seems to be a place of unbounded opportu- nity for men of industry and thrift and energy, like himself.

Joseph Gerhardt, retired farmer, Speed, Mo., was born in Germany, Jan. 9, 1857, a son of Christ and Lena Gerhardt, who spent their lives in Germany. Joseph Gerhardt came to America in 1881, a poor lad in search of fortune. He stopped for five years in Pickaway County, Ohio, and earned some money. In 1887, he came to Cooper County, worked as farm laborer for one year, and then rented land until he made his first pur- chase of a farm in 1905. During the space of 14 years, Mr. Gerhardt

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has prospered to such an extent that he has laid away the cares of active farming, turned over the management of his large acreage to his sons, and is taking life easy in his comfortable cottage home in Speed, Mo.

Mr. Gerhardt was married in Ohio, in 1882, to Katrina Grom, who was born in 1858. The children born to this marriage are: Henry Ger- hardt, a farmer, Cooper County ; Christ F., merchant at Speed, Mo .; Cath- erine, wife of Anton Schler, farmer in Boonville township; Albert, a thresher, Speed, Mo .; William, living on a farm east of Bunceton; August, a farmer living one mile west of Speed; Mrs. Louise Vieth, on a farm near Bunceton; Emil and Herman Gerhardt are operating the home place.

The democratic party has always had the allegiance of Mr. Gerhardt since he cast his first vote. He is a member of the Evangelical Church, and is a good, substantial citizen.

Elza B. Shannon, proprietor of "Rose Lawn" farm in Clarks Fork township (rural mail route No. 1 out of Boonville) and for years recog- nized as one of the leading farmers and stockmen of that vicinity, an active member of the energetic Farmers Club in that neighborhood and in other ways prominently identified with the life of the community, was born on that farm and has lived there all his life. He was born on Oct. 31, 1854, son of Alexander and Julia A. (Hurt) Shannon, pioneers of that vicinity and the latter of whom is still living, continuing to make her home on the old home place, being now nearly 90 years of age.

Alexander Shannon was an Easterner, born in Charles County, Md., Feb. 10, 1823, who came to Missouri in 1847 and in 1849 located on the place now known as "Rose Lawn" farm and owned by his son Elza. That farm, originally known as the Bell farm, he bought from D. C. Steele and when he bought it consisted of 110 acres, which tract, under its present ownership, has been expanded to the present dimensions of "Rose Lawn", a fine farm of 402 acres. During the two years he spent in Missouri before buying his farm, Alexander Shannon was engaged in freighting between Boonville and Knobnoster and during this form of service he not infrequently was in perilous touch with the Indians that still were numerous hereabout in those days. He married not long after coming here and established his home on the farm he had bought and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on June 10, 1898, he then being past 75 years of age, and he is buried in the cemetery at Boonville. As noted above, his widow is still living at "Rose Lawn". She was born on a pioneer farm in Clarks Fork township, this county, in 1830, daugh-

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ter of Colonel Hurt, one of the most influential of the early settlers of that neighborhood, and has spent all her life in that vicinity, having thus been a witness to the amazing development noted there during her lifetime. To Alexander and Julia A. (Hurt) Shannon were born five children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being G. W. and F. H. Shannon, Texas County, Mo .; J. B. Shannon, deceased, and Nannie, wife of J. W. Draffen, Los Angeles, Cal.

Reared on the farm on which he is now living, Elza B. Shannon re- ceived his early schooling in the then somewhat primitive district school of his home neighborhood and supplemented the same by a course in the Kemper Family School at Boonville, after which he returned to the farm and resumed his labors there, a valuable aid to his father in the work of development on the place. After his marriage in 1876 he established his home on the place, presently assuming the management of the same, and has ever since resided there, gradually improving the place by the erection of new buildings and from time to time buying adjoining tracts until "Rose Lawn" long ago came to be recognized as one of the most attractive farms in that part of the county. The place is admirably adapted to the raising of live stock and Mr. Shannon annually markets about 200 hogs and one or two car loads of cattle. He also maintains a flock of about 250 sheep and in his operations is doing well, in these operations being ably assisted by those of his sons who still are at home and who are bend- ing their energies to the further and profitable improvement of "Rose Lawn." Mr. Shannon is one of the leading members of the local Farmers Club and has for years been actively interested in movements having to do with the advancement of the common interest in that neighborhood. In his political faith he is a Democrat. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian Church and take a proper interest in church work as well as in the general social activities of the community in which they live.

Mr. Shannon has been twice married. It was in 1876, when he was little past 21 years of age, that he was united in marriage to Mary Cath- erine Miller, who also was born in Clarks Fork township and who died on July 26, 1884. To that union three children were born, namely: Minnie Gray, who died at the age of two years; Robert Alexander, who is now farming in the vicinity of Rankin's Mill, and Elza M. Shannon, who is at home aiding in the management of "Rose Lawn". On March 6, 1889, Mr. Shannon married, secondly, Jennie L. Johnston, a music teacher, who was

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graduated from the old Prairie Home Institute and for some time follow- ing her graduation was teacher of music there, later giving general music lessons, and to this union five children have been born: Martha, wife of B. H. Mills, of Clarks Fork township; Georgia, at home; Margaret, who died at the age of four years, and Noye L. and Louis J., at home. Mrs. Jennie L. (Johnston) Shannon also was born in this county, March 20, 1861, a daughter of Washington A. and Martha (Hunt) Johnston, both of whom also were born here, members of pioneer families, and who spent all their lives here, both living to ripe old age. W. A. Johnston was born on Jan. 1, 1825, and died on Feb. 15, 1908, he then being past 83 years of age. His wife, Martha Hunt, was born in the vicinity of Pisgah on Jan. 3, 1829, and died on Jan. 14, 1919, she then being past 90 years of age. W. A. Johnston was a son of Robert and Ellender P. (Powell) Johnston, the latter of whom was born in North Carolina on July 14, 1800, and came to Missouri with her parents, William Powell and wife, in 1822, the family settling in the vicinity of Jamestown, in Monteau County. Robert Johns- ton was born in Tennessee in 1783 and came to Missouri, settling in Cooper County in territorial days. He married Ellender Powell in March, 1824.

Benjamin Franklin Anderson, a veteran teacher of Cooper County, who is also engaged in farming in Saline township, was born in Prairie Home township, Dec. 14, 1860. He is a son of John and Nancy (Twenty- man) Anderson. John Anderson was born near Miami, Ohio, in 1824. He came to Missouri in the early forties, and settled on a farm of 120 acres, three miles northwest of Prairie Home. He died in 1881. Nancy (Twentyman) Anderson was born in 1832 and died in 1862. She was a daughter of Thomas Twentyman, who was a very early settler in Cooper County, and a member of the first grand jury of Cooper County. John and Nancy (Twentyman) Anderson were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Amanda Arnold, Moniteau township; J. H., Searcy, Ark .; Mrs. Elizabeth J. Goodrich, Bolivar, Mo .; T. B., California, Mo .; and B. F., the subject of this sketch.

B. F. Anderson attended public school until he was about 15 years of age, he then attended a private school in Polk County, and later en- tered Hooper Institute at Clarksburg, Mo., where he was graduated. He engaged in teaching in 1882, his first school benig in the Lowland district . in Saline township. He taught school in this same district during the school year 1918-1919. During the intervening time he has taught in the district schools of the adjoining districts, including Highland, Lib-

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erty, Wooldridge, Bruce, Overton, and Hail Ridge. He has a long career of successful teaching to his credit, and ranks among the leading edu- cators of Cooper County. In addition to teaching, Mr. Anderson has car- ried on farming in the summertime and owns 130 acres known as "Maple Wood Farm," located one mile northwest of Wooldridge. This was for- merly a part of the H. B. Hopkins farm. The place is well improved, and it is a productive and valuable farm.

B. F. Anderson was married Nov. 7, 1883, to Miss Emma S. Hopkins, a daughter of H. B. and Rebecca (Burcham) Hopkins, Cooper County pioneers. They were the parents of the following children: Emma S., wife of B. F. Anderson, subject of this sketch; H. H., Wooldridge, Mo .; and T. B., Wooldridge. To Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have been born two children: Ida H., married W. E. Hooper, Wooldridge, Mo., and F. L., who resides at home. There are two grandchildren in the Anderson family: Emma Marjorie and Hazel Lillian Hooper.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are well known in Cooper County and rank among its most substantial representative people. Mrs. Anderson is a member of Big Lick Baptist Church. Mr. Anderson is a democrat. Cast his first vote in 1881, never missed an election, never scratched his ticket, and never sought office.

Herman P. Muntzel .- "Pleasant Valley Stock Farm," owned and oper- ated by Herman P. Muntzel, and consisting of 193 acres of valley land, well watered and drained, is one of the most beautiful and richest farms in all Missouri. No tract of fertile and productive land lies in a prettier location than this farm, which is rightly named. A winding creek makes its way through the farm and affords ample water for stock and drainage. In the background to the east are wooded hills which give a touch of beauty to the whole setting. A pretty cottage and well kept farm build- ings, set on a rise of ground above the valley, overlook the entire tract. The barn is of ample size, built by Mr. Muntzel in 1912, and is 32x50 feet in extent. The residence has been remodeled since the purchase of the farm in 1904. Herman P. Muntzel is a member of one of the most sub- stantial and highly respected pioneer families of Cooper County, which dates its advent into the county in the early forties.

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History of Cooper County, Missouri, Part 64

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