USA > Missouri > Cooper County > History of Cooper County, Missouri > Part 98
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Thomas R. Peyton and Mrs. Peyton are worthy and consistent mem- bers of the Christian Church. They are held in the highest respect and esteem by all who know them, and they number their friends by the score. Mr. Peyton is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Hermann Frederick Herfurth, assistant engineer of the Missouri Re- formatory, Boonville, is one of Cooper County's most respected citizens. H. F. Herfurth was born in Germany in 1872, and came to this country in 1882 with his parents, John Frederick and Wilhelmina Herfurth, who located in Cooper County, where the father died in 1892. The widowed mother resides in Moniteau County, Mo., now making her home with a
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son and a daughter. The children of John Frederick and Wilhelmina Herfurth are, as follow: John Frederick, Jr., of Moniteau County ; Mar- tha, the wife of Charles Gropp, of Moniteau County ; Herman Frederick, the subject of this sketch; and Selma, of Moniteau County.
H. F. Herfurth attended school in Cooper County. He has practically made his own way in the world since he was a child 13 years of age. He began his business career in Moniteau County, but prior to that he had been employed in farm work, laboring for $7 a month and chopping cord- wood for 35 cents a cord. H. F. Herfurth was manager of a farm in Clark's Fork township for seven years, the owner of the farm being W. B. Windsor. H. F. Herfurth was in business in Moniteau County for seven years, and for three years was engaged in the manufacturing busi- ness in St. Louis, manufacturing raincoats and dealing in automobile ac- cessories. He received the appointment as assistant to the chief engineer under J. W. Bozarth, at present chief engineer at the Missouri Reforma- tory, Boonville. The engineering department furnishes electric light and power for all the buildings of the Reformatory.
In September, 1917, Hermann Frederick Herfurth and Elizabeth Ott were united in marriage. Mrs. Herfurth is a daughter of L. C. Ott, of Franklin County, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Ott now reside at Berger, Mo. To Mr. and Mrs. Herfurth has been born one child, a daughter, Frances Bessie. The Herfurths are valued members of the Evangelical Church and they are numbered among the best families of Boonville.
H. F. Herfurth has surmounted countless obstacles to make the suc- cess in life which he has thus far achieved. He taught himself to read the English language by translating at home the German Bible into Eng- lish, and when he saw the value and necessity of reading English he tenaciously clung to his resolve to master the language, and he is now able to read well, and he is a constant reader. He is captain of the Honor Company, a squad of 75 boys of the Reformatory. It is the captain's duty to keep close watch upon the morals of the lads. Captain Herfurth takes much pride in his work, is a most efficient officer, and he is making good citizens of the boys under his charge.
William R. Scott, teacher and gardener, one of Cooper County's best known citizens, was born in Boonville, Oct. 18, 1876, a son of William C. and Lucy (Moore) Scott. William C. Scott was born in 1837 in Cooper County. He is a member of one of the first families of Missouri, a son of an honored and brave pioneer, who settled in Boonville in 1815. Mr. Scott was in the early days a freighter from Boonville to southwestern
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Missouri in the days of the steamboat. He is at the present time a resi- dent of Boonville. Mrs. Scott was a native of Cooper County. She died here about 1882. The children of William C. and Lucy Scott are; Mrs. J. P. Logan, of Boonville; Dr. W. M., of Iberia, Mo .; Dr. L. E., of Belle- ville, Ill .; William R., the subject of this sketch ; H. A., of Missoula, Mont .; and Mrs. L. Comstock, of Seattle, Wash., twins.
W. R. Scott is a graduate of the Boonville High School, a member of the class of 1894. After completing the high school course, he was for 12 years prospecting and mining in Washington, Montana and Oregon. In 1915, he returned to Boonville, and he has since then been employed in the capacity of teacher and gardener at the Boonville Training School, now the Missouri Reformatory. He teaches during the winter seasons and is engaged in gardening in the summers. He is captain of Company F, about 65 boys being under his charge. Captain Scott enjoys his work and is giving his best efforts to advance the pupils of his classes.
Feb. 11, 1918, William R. Scott and Ruth Tuttle were united in mar- riage. Mrs. Scott is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Tuttle, of Boon- ville. J. B. Tuttle is employed by the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company. Mrs. Scott was born, reared, and educated in Boonville. To Mr. and Mrs. Scott has been born one child, a son, William R., Jr., born Jan. 20, 1919, the representative of the fourth generation of the Scott family in Cooper County. Mrs. Scott has one sister and two brothers living: Mrs. William Pieper, of St. Joseph, Mo .; Morton, of Boonville; and Chester, of Boonville.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott are widely and favorably known in Cooper County, and in Boonville they are numbered among the city's best citizens and most respected families.
Capt. C. S. Hanna, the competent blacksmith of the Boonville Train- ing School, now the Missouri Reformatory, is a native of Howard County. Captain Hanna was born July 3, 1857, a son of Frank and Sarah (Hall) Hanna, the former a native of Virginia, and the latter of Indiana.
Frank Hanna, with his three brothers, William, James, and Harvey, came from Virginia in 1812, and located first in Grundy County, and later settled on a farm in Howard County, near the present site of Fayette, Mo. With his brothers, Frank Hanna was first engaged in farming, and later entered a cabinet shop in Fayette, the shop owned by Samuel Majors. He died in Howard County in 1872, and his remains were interred in the cemetery at Fayette. Mrs. Hanna died in 1876 and she was laid to rest in the cemetery at Fayette. The children of Frank and Sarah (Hall) Hanna
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are, as follow: James, William, and Robert, deceased; Capt. C. S., the subject of this sketch; Virginia, deceased; Rebecca, who married George Thurman and is now deceased; and Bessie. The Hanna family were Hanna family were among the first settlers of Missouri, and at the time of the coming of the three brothers to Howard County, deer were very plentiful, and Frank Hanna frequently went on deer chases on and near the present townsite of Fayette.
Captain Hanna obtained his elementary education in the public schools of Howard County, Mo. Until he was about 30 years of age, he followed farming in Howard county, and he then learned the blacksmith's trade in Fayette, serving his apprenticeship under Mr. McClammer. Captain Hanna followed blacksmithing at Fayette until he moved to Boon- ville, six years ago, and he was thus employed in this city until he was appointed in March, 1918, blacksmith of the Training School. He in- structs the boys of the school, who are under his charge, in the trade of blacksmithing, and there could be found no more efficient mechanic and thorough teacher. Two lads, Bernard Lloyd and John Jewer, who were under Captain Hanna's supervision, left the school recently to take good position in St. Louis, Mo., and they are both "making good." Captain Hanna frequently receives letters from the boys, telling him how much they appreciate all he did for them. It is his desire and ambition to do all within his power to assist the boys under his care to become good citizens.
In 1884, Capt. C. S. Hanna and Ida R. Watkins were united in mar- riage. Mrs. Hanna is a daughter of John and Martha Watkins, of New Franklin, honored pioneers of Howard County. Both father and mother are now deceased, and their remains rest in Walnut Ridge Cemetery in Howard County. The children of John and Martha Watkins are: Mrs. C. S. Hanna, the wife of the subject of this sketch; John, of New Frank- lin; Mrs. Emma Canole, of New Franklin ; Mrs. Claude Maupin, of Sedalia ; Mrs. Anna McGavoc, of New Franklin; Mrs. Eula Minor, of New Frank- lin; Mrs. Cliff Drake, of Fayette; Mrs. Martha Harris, of Moberly ; and James, a farmer, of New Franklin. Mr. and Mrs. Hanna are the parents of four children: Lela G., the wife of William Wells, of Boonville; C. W., clerk in H. T. Zugales' general merchandise stort of Boonville; Eula, a student in the Boonville High School; and Russell, grade school. Mr. and Mrs. William Wells are the parents of one child, a daughter, Louise.
Captain Hanna is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and in politics he is a democrat. He and Mrs. Hanna are highly respected
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and valued in Boonville and Cooper County, and they have a host of friends in their community.
Dr. Robert E. Howlett, a venerable retired physician, formerly sur- geon at Confederate Home at Higginsville, and during the Civil War a surgeon in the Confederate Army, for many years a practicing physician at Otterville, one of the best known men in Cooper County, is a native of Virginia. Doctor Howlett was born near Richmond, Va., March 19, 1836, son of James M. and Harriet (Hatcher) Howlett, the former of whom became a resident of Cooper County in 1843 and here spent the remainder of his life.
The Howletts are one of the oldest families in America, the family having been founded on this side by three brothers of that name, who came over from Wales in the early days of the Jamestown settlement, and thus became established here among the first of the Virginia colonists. James M. Howlett was born at Chesterfield, Va., April 1, 1801, a son of John Howlett and wife, the latter of whom was a Goode, also natives of Vir- ginia, who spent all their lives in that State. He married Harriet Hatcher, who was born in Chesterfield County, Va., in 1806, and who died in 1842. Of the children born to that union seven grew to maturity. Of these Doctor Howlett is now the only survivor. The others were Thomas T., James A., Anna B., who was the wife of Rev. William Eustace; John M., Daniel and Martha. In 1845, the mother of these children then having been dead about three years, James M. Howlett married Anna Maria Pey- ton, who also was born in Virginia, and who died in 1860 at the age of 48 years. That union was without issue. It was in 1843, the year follow- ing the death of his first wife, that James M. Howlett disposed of his interests in Virginia and with his family came to Cooper County and established himself on a farm in Lebanon township, where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1873, he then being 72 years of age.
It was on that pioneer farm in Lebanon township that Doctor How- lett grew to manhood. He was educated in the public schools and by the special instruction given him at home by his stepmother, who had been a school teacher in Virginia. He early became attracted to the study of medicine, and after some preliminary reading along that line, in 1858 entered the St. Louis Medical College, from which institution he was graduated in 1861, the year of the breaking out of the Civil War. He straightway put aside his ambition for a medical career and at once en- listed as a private for service in the Confederate Army. Three months
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DR. ROBERT E. HOWLETT
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er he was raised from the ranks and commissioned assistant surgeon the army. In this important capacity, Doctor Howlett continued to rve the army until the close of the war. He then returned to his home this county and opened an office for the practice of his profession at terville. In 1867 he went to New York City for a post-graduate course the medical college there, returning to his office at Otterville in April, 68. A year later he married, and two years after his marriage (in 71) became attracted to the possibilities which seemed to offer in con- ction with a point for practice in Mississippi, and moved to that State, t 18 months later returned to Otterville and resumed his practice there, ntinuing thus actively engaged until his appointment in December, 01, to the post of physician to the Confederate Soldiers Home at Hig- nsville, Mo. While thus officially stationed at the home the Doctor und his health beginning to break, and in 1903 he resigned his post and turned to Otterville, where he is now living retired from active practice, ing now in the 84th year of his age. Doctor Howlett has for many ars been recognized as one of the leading physicians in this part of the ate, and during his many years of practice in this county ever took an rnest interest in the deliberations of the local and State medical socie- s, as well as the American Medical Association, of which societies he is an active member. The Doctor is a democrat, and formerly took an tive part in local and State political affairs, but was never a seeker after blis office. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the local lodges of the cient Free and Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd llows, and is the oldest Mason as well as the oldest Odd Fellow in Otter- le.
April 6, 1869, in Mississippi, Dr. Robert E. Howlett was united in arriage to Eliza Marian Howell, who was born in Alabama on Aug. 12, 43, daughter of A. Y. and Phoebe D. (Ingram) Howell, natives of North rolina, whose last days were spent in Mississippi, and to this union ree children have been born, namely: Dr. Robert E. Howlett, Jr., a acticing physician at Richland, Mo .; Helen H., widow of the late Prof. A. Edwards, of Kansas City, and Addic Nolton, who has ever remained home, and whose comfortable home at the eastern edge of ( terville now shared by his parents. A. N. Howlett is a well-to-do farmer and ockman, the owner of a fine farm of 170 acres just at the edge of town, here he and his wife and his aged parents are pleasantly situated. His fe, before her marriage, was Clarice Weyand. ' Her parents were early ttlers in Vernon County, Mo.
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William A. Hoefer, a prominent citizen of Cooper County, is a native of Boonville. He was born July 17, 1874, a son of Henry L. and Mary A. (Krust) Hoefer, the former a native of Nassau, Germany.
Henry L. Hoefer was born Aug. 22, 1823. He came to America in 1846 and settled in Cooper County in 1847. He entered the mercantile business at Boonville, and followed his vocation of painter and interior decorator. He enlisted in the Civil War, Aug. 18, 1862, and served in the State Militia. He was promoted to first lieutenant, Company G, 52nd Regiment, and he served in the army until the war closed. Mary A. (Krust) Hoefer was born in 1838 at Hesse, Daunstadt. She immigrated to America in 1853 with the Hoffmeister family. They were located at Mendota, Ill., for two years. She came to Cooper County in 1858, and is at the present time a resident of Boonville.
Capt. Archie Burr Bates, of Kemper Military School, was born Jan. 6, 1883, at Churdan, Iowa, a son of E. W. and Hattie (Easter) Bates, the former a native of Illinois, and the latter of Iowa, now residents of Persia, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Bates are the parents of the following chil- dren: Orin E., a prosperous merchant of Pittsburg, Kan .; Capt. Archie Burr, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Blanche Ferguson, of Nevada, Iowa; L. E. of Des Moines, Iowa; Forest E., of Corsicana, Texas; Miss Edith, and Mrs. Ethel Cox, twins, the former of Boonville, and the latter of Indianola, Iowa.
Captain Bates attended Churdan High School three years and Ogden High School one year. He pursued the business course at Simpson Col- lege, Indianola, Iowa, and he is a graduate of this institution, a member of the class of 1904. After completing his college work, Captain Bates entered the teaching profession and taught school at Pendleton, Ore., one. year, and at Mount Vernon, Wash., one term. Thence he returned to Iowa, and at Des Moines entered Iowa Business College and studied short- hand and typewriting. Upon completing the course, he was engaged in teaching in the school for six months. Captain Bates came to Boonville as principal of the commercial department of Kemper Military School. When this school became a corporation in 1909, he was elected secretary, a position which he still retains at the time of this writing in 1919. Cap- tain Bates has been post adjutant for the past ten years.
July 31, 1907, Capt. Archie Burr Bates and Martha Frances Breiner, a daughter of Mrs. Ida M. Breiner Harlow, of Churdan, Iowa, were mar- ried. The father of Mrs. Bates died when she was an infant, and her mother afterward married William F. Harlow, and they now reside at
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hurdan, Iowa. Mrs. Bates has three brothers, all residents of Churdan, wa: Verle, Wilmer, and Elmore. Captain and Mrs. Bates are the arents of two daughters: Ida Frances and Martha Burr. They are alued members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Captain ates is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Boonville.
Captain Bates is well known and respected in Cooper County as a entleman and a scholar. He and Mrs. Bates have innumerable friends this section of the State, and they have the highest regard of all who now them.
Oscar F. Case, the widely-known and competent blacksmith, pro- rietor of the machine shop at Gooch's Mill in Cooper County, is a native Illinois. Mr. Case was born in Kane County in 1849, a son of A. J. nd Julia A. (Morris) Case, the former a native of New York, and the tter of Long Island. Mr. and Mrs. Case moved from New York to linois, and from Illinois to Bremer County, Iowa, where they both died. scar F. Case is the only living member of his father's family, and he the eldest of four sons born to A. J. and Julia A. Case, the others being ; follow: Prentice, Ernest, and Wirt, all deceased.
Mr. Case, the subject of this sketch, attended school at Waverly, wa. In May, 1864, he enlisted in Iowa with Company E. 44th Iowa ifantry, and served until October, 1864. He was active in service in ennessee and in Mississippi under the command of Gen. A. J. Smith. 1 1867, Mr. Case came to Missouri and located at Connor's Mill, one of le pioneer mills of Cooper County. This was a steam and water mill, 'ected by James F. Connor in the days long prior to the Civil war. The ttlers from 40 and 50 miles distant came to the mill to have their grain round. Kiln-dried flour was made there, and this fact was widely Ivertised in 1849, at the time of the wild exodus from the East to the old field newly discovered in California, and the fortune hunters, read- g the advertisement in the St. Louis papers, crossed the Missouri River : Rocheport, on the ferry to obtain the flour, which was guaranteed to eep for a long time. Wagon trains, three-fourths of a mile in length, sited the mill to be served with the far-famed flour. James F. Connor nployed 23 assistants at his mill, and, in addition, he operated a large rm, and had 13 yoke of cattle, besides horses and mules.
In 1879, Oscar F. Case moved to Gooch's Mill, and built his black- nithing shop, and at this place he has ever since been located. His shop fitted for work of all kinds with up-to-date machinery. In 1897, Mr. ase added machinery, and one year later he began handling farm ma-
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chinery. He operates two forges and his work in his shop and the busi- ness of his store keeps him constantly "on the job." He is the owner of a trip hammer and power blower, there being but one other such blower in the county.
In 1872, Mr. Case was united in marriage with Nancy R. Durnil, of Connor's Mill. To Mr. and Mrs. Oscar F. Case were born the following children: Mrs. Julia Shafer, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Wirt and Bert, twins, the former, now deceased, and the latter a machinist, who has been in the service of the United States for the past year; and Andrew, at home. Mr. Case is very proud of his six grandchildren: Mamie Shafer; Oscar F., Jr., Catherine, Julia, Audra, and Elizabeth. Mrs. Case died in Novem- ber, 1918, and her remains were laid to rest in the cemetery at Gooch's Mill.
Oscar F. Case is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Work- men and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is highly respected in Cooper County.
Louis Gantner, a prominent manufacturer of Boonville, is a native of Cooper County. Mr. Gantner was born in Boonville, Nov. 21, 1861, a son of Andy and Rosa Gantner.
Andy Gantner was born in 1835 in Baden, Germany. He immigrated to America in 1854 and settled in Boonville. Mr. Gantner was, by trade, a brick and stone contractor. He erected many building in Boonville's business district, more than any other one builder in the county. He built the wings of the old public school on Sixth Street in Boonville ; a part of the Kemper Military School buildings; the Nelson residence; the Mc- Pherson residence; and the Triggs residence. During the Civil War, he enlisted with the Unon Army and served under Colonel Eppstein. Rosa (Diringer) Gantner was born in Alsace in 1836, and she came to America in 1849 with her parents, who settled in Boonville. Andy and Rosa Gant- ner were the parents of ten children. The father died Oct. 5, 1890, and the mother died Dec. 9, 1912.
Andy and Rosa Gantner were married in Boonville in 1856, and Mr. Gantner built a sandstone house on Triggs' Hill in Boonville, where all the Gantner children were born. There the father died and Mrs. Gant- ner sold the residence to Ewing Roberts. The old homestead of the Gantners still stands in Boonville. Andy and Louis Gantner were part- ners for eight years, and father and son built the Catholic Church in Boonville.
In the public schools and in the Catholic School in Boonville, Louis Gantner received his education. He was born, reared, and educated in
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this city, and he has thus far spent his life here. He has, since attaining maturity, been engaged in manufacturing and contracting, and is now a member and manager of the firm owning the Boonville Brick Company. This company, of which J. H. Stretz and Louis Gantner are the sole mem- bers, succeeded Claus Stammerjohn about 1905. The plant is located in west Boonville, near the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad. It has a daily capacity of 20,000 bricks. The firm is engaged in general contract- ing, and it has erected many hundred buildings in Cooper County, among them the County Home, the pipe factory in Boonville, and the St. Joseph Hospital. Mr. Gantner and Mr. Stretz are capable, energetic business men, and the marked success they have achieved reflects great credit upon themselves and brings much renown to Boonville.
In 1889, Louis Gantner was united in marriage with Sophia Gart- hoffner, of Boonville, a daughter of George and Victoria Garthoffner. To Mr. and Mrs. Gantner have been born the following children: Helen, a graduate of the Boonville High School, and graduate of the Warrens- burg State Normal School, now a teacher in the Boonville schools; Lenore, a graduate of the Boonville High School, now a stenographer in St. Louis, Mo .; Ernest, who died in infancy; Walter, who enlisted in the service of the United States in August, 1917, at Washington University, and is now, at the time of this writing, in France with Unit 21, Hospital Corpd; George, a law student at St. Louis University, of St. Louis, Mo .; Bertrand, a student pharmacist in St. Louis, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Gantner and their children are worthy members of the Catholic Church. Mr. Gantner is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Modern Woodmen of America. The Gantners reside at 726 Spring street in Boonville. Mr. Gantner has served one term as member of the City Council. For more than 40 years, the Gantner name has been an honored and highly regarded name in Cooper County, the synonym of honest industry, efficiency, and integrity.
W. E. Hooper, the present efficient postmaster of Wooldridge, Mo., and the well known engrossing clerk of the State Senate, is a native Mis- sourian. He was born at Clarksburg, Moniteau County, in 1876, the son of Prof. J. N. and Georgia (Amos) Hooper. Prof. J. N. Hooper estab- lished Hooper Institute and conducted that institution for many years. He died in 1894, and his widow now resides at Jefferson City, Mo. They were the parents of three children: W. E., the subject of this sketch ; Mrs. W. J. Wooldridge, and Dr. D. E. Hooper, of Warsaw, Mo.
W. E. Hooper settled in Cooper County about 20 years ago, and for the past 18 years has been postmaster at Wooldridge. Mr. Hooper was
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married in 1904 to Miss Ida Anderson, a daughter of Benjamin Frank and Emma S. Anderson, who now reside in Saline township, Cooper County. Mr. Anderson is a native of Cooper County, as is also his wife, who bore the maiden name of Emma Hopkins. They were the parents of two children, F. L. and Ida, the latter now the wife of W. E. Hooper, the subject of this sketch. To Mr. and Mrs. Hooper have been born two children : Marjorie E. and Hazel L.
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