USA > Missouri > Gentry County > History of Daviess and Gentry counties, Missouri > Part 26
USA > Missouri > Daviess County > History of Daviess and Gentry counties, Missouri > Part 26
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100
Walter Richardson Alexander was educated in the Public School at Gallatin, was a student in the University of Missouri for two years and completed his academic and law courses at George Washington University, Washington, D. C., and was admitted to the bar in the latter city. He served as Secretary of the United States Commissioners to the Interna- tional Conference on Safety of Life at Sea at London, England in 1913 and 1914. In February, 1917 he entered the legal department of the United States Shipping Board and was serving in that capacity February 1, 1918 when he enlisted in the U. S. Army Aviation Corps in the World War. He was called into active service June 1, 1918, and went immediately into active training and qualified as an observer with the rank of second lieu- tenant. On Feb. 1, 1919, he was transferred to the reserve, with the rank of second lieutenant Aviation Section Signal Reserve Corps, U. S. Army, and ten days later resumed his position with the U. S. Shipping Board. On December 21, 1920, while preparing to make a flight in an army air- plane at Bolling Field, Anacostia, D. C., Lieutenant Alexander was struck on the head by the propellar of the machine and killed instantly. He was accounted one of the brilliant young men in his profession and had entered
336
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
upon a useful career, and met tragic death in the line of duty. The Sec- retary of War and the U. S. Shipping Board presented Judge Alexander with testimonials of the fine character and services rendered by their son.
Judge Alexander has been an active member of the Christian church from his youth. In June, 1917, his alma mater, Christian University, con- ferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts in recognition of his public services. In the annals of Missouri the name of Judge Alexander will live as representing the finest, highest type of citizen the state has produced. It is with more than ordinary pride that the state points to such men. Such a life and service to state and nation should be an inspiration to the youth of our land, and proves what may be achieved by devotion to a laud- able ambition to make for oneself a name worthy to be remembered.
Homer Feurt, the efficient and well known president of the Farmers Exchange Bank at Gallatin, has filled all of the offices from bookkeeper to president in the bank, and hence is thoroughly conversant with every detail of the business of the institution. For this reason he is one of the most valuable officers, as well as one of the most competent financiers of the county.
Homer Feurt was born on Nov. 1, 1876, at Jameson, the son of T. A. and Mary E. (Prewett) Feurt, to whom three children were born: Ora, the wife of N. R. Barnett, living near Gallatin; Cort, a farmer near Jameson; and Homer, the subject of this review. T. A. Feurt and his wife now live on a farm near Jameson.
Homer Feurt was reared on a farm, and attended the rural schools in his boyhood. Later he was a student in Grand River College, and in 1899 became engaged in work in the Farmers Exchange Bank at Galla- tin. He worked in the bank before and after school hours, and was steadily promoted, until he reached his present position to which he was elected in February, 1915. Mr. Feurt has land holdings of 280 acres, most of which is in Daviess County, and the remainder in Colorado.
On June 3, 1909, Mr. Feurt was married to Numa F. Netherton, who was born near Bancroft, the daughter of Moses G. and Almira C. (Brown) Netherton. Mr. and Mrs. Netherton were both born in Daviess County, and are both now dead. Mr. and Mrs. Feurt have three chil- dren: Thomas N., Robert G., and Frances C.
Mr. Feurt is a Democrat, and is identified with the Christian Church in which he is a deacon. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge. In 1918, Mr. Feurt was elected to the office of mayor of Gallatin, and served with distinction for two years. He has been a member of the Board of Education of Galla- tin for six years, and is now the vice president of that body. Mr. Feurt
337
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
is a man of keen and alert intellect, a broad and intense understanding of financial affairs, and possessing a high degree of civic pride. He is an asset to his community.
Dr. R. V. Thompson, well known business man of Daviess County and the efficient cashier of the Farmers Exchange Bank at Gallatin, is a native of New York, where he was born, Feb. 27, 1864, the son of Rich- ard and Hester (Booth) Thompson. His father was of English parent- age, and spent all of his life in New York, where he was a miller by trade, and where he died in 1868. Mrs. Thompson, a native of New York, brought her family of ten children to Livingston County, after the death of her husband. She bought a small tract of unimproved land, which was later improved by her children, and on this farm she spent the remainder of her life. She died in 1898.
R. V. Thompson, the ninth child born to his parents, attended the schools of Livingston County, and later was a student in the old Avalon College at Avalon, an educational institution under the management of the United Brethern Church. This college was later moved to Trenton, about 1891. Dr. Thompson began the study of medicine under the tute- lage of Dr. T. W. Foster, and studied with him for two years. He then went to St. Louis, where he graduated at the Missouri Medical College March 5, 1889. He began practicing his profession at Jamesport, and in 1892, and later took a post graduate course in Chicago at the Chicago Polyclinic. After completing his work there he returned to Jamesport, and was actively engaged in his profession until 1897, when he accepted a position as cashier of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Jamesport. Two years later he resigned this place, and resumed the practice of med- icine. At the end of three years, he again accepted a position as cashier in the bank, which place he retained until he was elected president of the bank in 1909. Two years later the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Jamesport was consolidated with the First National Bank at that place, and the institution has since been known as the Commercial Bank of Jamesport. In 1915 Dr. Thompson came to Gallatin as the cashier of the Farmers Exchange Bank, and has filled that office in a highly compe- tent manner ever since.
Dr. Thompson was married on Feb. 11, 1891, to Jennie Nickell, a daughter of Rev. W. N. Nickell. Rev. Nickell has been identified with the Missouri Presbytery throughout a long career as a Presbyterian min- ister. He is now in charge of the church at Lowry City. Dr. and Mrs. Thompson have three children: Blanche, married to J. Frank Smith of Colorado: Victor, living in Colorado; and Mary Frances.
Dr. Thompson is a Democrat, and is a member of the Knights of
333
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
Pythias Lodge. He served as coroner of Daviess County for two terms, and was the mayor of Jamesport for one term. For a period of 17 years he was a member of the Board of Education at Jamesport and was the treasurer of that organization. In his professional associations, Dr. Thompson is a member of the Daviess County Medical Society, the Grand River Medical Society, the North Missouri Medical Society, and the Missouri State Medical Association. He is one of the highly es- teemed and influential citizens of Daviess County, a man who in busi- ness, in his official capacity in his community, and as a private individ- ual, manifests a keen and intense appreciation of all that pertains to the welfare of the town and its citizens.
Joseph McElvain, esteemed throughout his community as one of the rising young business men, is the assistant cashier of the Farmers Exchange Bank at Gallatin. He was born on a farm in Allen Township, Worth County, Feb. 25, 1886, the son of Cyrus and Ottie (Beaver) Mc- Elvain.
Cyrus McElvain was born in Perry County, Ill., in 1848, the son of Judge Andrew J. and Deborah (Combs) McElvain. When Cyrus McEl- vain was six years old, his parents moved to Worth County, Missouri, and settled in a part of that county which was then incorporated in Gen- try County. They made the trip from Illinois to Missouri in wagons, and, because of a delay in receiving their relinquishment rights to the land, which they took up, the family was forced to live in the wagons for a time after they reached Missouri. They camped by the roadside, and lived in the open, no uncommon experience for the pioneers of that day. Judge McElvain had spent his life in Illinois, where he was born; and his wife, a native of Tennessee, had come with her parents to Illinois in 1835, so both of them were familiar with the hardships of the newly set- tled middle west. To their union five children were born, Cyrus, the father of Joseph McElvain, being the second. Judge McElvain served in the legislature for two terms, and was one of the prominent men of his day in northwest Missouri.
Cyrus McElvain was reared on a farm and farmed land in Worth County until 1875 when he moved to Fremont County, Iowa. He located on a farm there and remained in Iowa until 1881, when he returned to Worth County. In 1870 he married Olive M. Beaver, born in Crawford County, Ohio, the daughter of Samuel and Mary (Emery) Beaver, early settlers of Worth County. To the union of Cyrus and Olive M. (Beaver) McElvain the following children were born : Maisie, the wife of W. Spill- man, a hardware merchant of Grant City; Willard; Stella, married to Peter Bram, in the hardware business at Denver; Fred; Bessie; Josie,
339
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
the wife of E. Martin of Allendale; Andrew; Joseph, the subject of this review; Edna, married to Fred Williams, who is in the mercantile busi- ness at Denver; Alpha; and Millie. Mrs. McElvain died, Nov. 7, 1921, at the age of 69 years, and Mr. McElvain still lives on his farm in Worth County. He is a Republican, and is a member of the Baptist Church.
Joseph McElvain was reared on the farm. He attended the rural schools and later was a student in Northwest Missouri College at Al- bany. He began his work in the banking business as a clerk in the Bank of Albany. He was afterwards made the assistant cashier in that bank ; but resigned that position in September, 1911, to come to Gallatin, where he was made the assistant cashier of the Farmers Exchange Bank. During the year 1911, Mr. McElvain built an all modern bungalow in Gallatin, which has been his home ever since.
On Dec. 24, 1908, Mr. McElvain was married to Alpha Harrison, born in Albany, the daughter of Alex and Mary (Hilton) Harrison. Mr. Harrison was a produce and coal dealer. Both he and his wife are dead. Mr. and Mrs. McElvain have one son, Donald, born on Jan. 27, 1913.
Joseph McElvain is a Republican, and is identified with the Bap- tist Church. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is an alert business man, and a citizen of high civic ideals.
A. J. Place, representative business man of Daviess County, is the cashier of the First National Bank at Gallatin. He was born in Sheridan Township in this county on March 10, 1872, the son of W. H. and Mar- garet C. (McBrayer) Place.
W. H. Place was born in Daviess County, Missouri, in August, 1851. In his early life he taught school, and later became a farmer. He at- tended the rural schools of Daviess County and taught here for more than 20 years. He was a Bible student of ability, and was accounted one of the best read men on the subject of Jewish and Ancient History in the community. He was a staunch adherent of the Christian Church, and was a Republican. His father, Peleg Place, was a native of Ohio, who came to Daviess County in pioneer days. W. H. Place filled some of the offices of his township, where he was held in high esteem. In 1870 he married Margaret C. McBrayer, born in Sheridan Township in 1853, the daughter of A. J. and Nancy (McCrary) McBrayer. They were na- tives of South Carolina and were among the first to begin farming in Daviess County. W. H. Place died in 1913 and Mrs. Place died in 1915. Their remains are buried in Brown Cemetery. Their children were: A. J., the subject of this review; Osta, married R. T. Scott and lives on a farm near Winston; P. M. engaged in the mercantile business at Jules- burg, Col .; and Della, married to W. J. Gann, a merchant at Gallatin.
340
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
A. J. Place was reared on a farm; attended first the rural schools of Daviess County ; and later was a student in Kidder Institute at Kid- der. In 1892 he entered the produce business at Gallatin, and has been connected with various merchantile pursuits since that time. In Janu- ary, 1907, he was made the assistant cashier of the First National Bank, and in 1912 became the cashier of that institution, which position he has filled in a competent and thoroughly efficient way ever since.
Mr. Place married Sarah A. Whitt on Dec. 23, 1893. She was born in Monroe Township, the daughter of H. A. and Sarah (Place) Whitt, both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Place have nine children: Marion, in the mercantile business at Cameron ; Ollus, a merchant at Gallatin ; Ros- coe N., connected with a bank at Sterling, Col .; Otis K., a resident of Pocatello, Idaho; Russell, clerking in Gallatin; Osta Irene, a student in Central College at Lexington ; and Charles and Lewis, both in the Galla- tin High School; and Robert, a student in the grammar school.
Mr. Place is a Republican and a member of the Christian Church. He belongs to the Masons and the Yeoman Lodges. He is an able officer in the bank, a man of marked business acumen, and an excellent citizen.
Miss Hallie Burton, the capable and progressive county superin- tendent of public schools of Daviess County, has her office in the court- house at Gallatin. Miss Burton is thoroughly competent to handle the school situation of the county as she was born and reared in Gallatin, and has been an integral part of the school system of this part of the state, both as a student in college and later as a teacher.
Miss Burton is the daughter of Dr. J. W. and Eliza C. (Woodward) Burton, the former a native of Lawrence County, Indiana, where he was born, Nov. 29, 1842. His parents were Eli and Mahala (Conley) Bur- ton, both natives of North Carolina. Eli Burton went to Indiana when he reached manhood, and settled on a farm. He and his wife reared a family of nine children. Dr. John W. Burton attended the rural schools in Indiana, and then entered the University of Michigan from which in- stitution he received the degree of LL. B. In 1861 he enlisted for service in the Civil War, and became a private in the 50th Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He served for three years, and was mustered out as a corporal. He participated in the battles and skirmishes in Tennes- see, Kentucky and Arkansas, including the battles of Mumfordville, Camden, and the assault on Little Rock.
In March, 1865, Dr. Burton returned to Indiana, where he began to read law at Bedford with A. B. Carlton. In 1866 he entered the Uni- versity of Michigan, and in the spring of 1868 he came to Carrollton,
341
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
Mo., where he was admitted to the bar. He later became interested in dentistry, and took up that study. In 1872 he moved to Gallatin, where he became a well known dentist. His clientage included patients from Gentry, Harrison, Grundy, Caldwell, and Livingston Counties, in all of which places he was recognized as a progressive and scientific dentist.
Dr. Burton married Eliza Catherine Woodward on Nov. 29, 1882. She was born near Cainsville, April 23, 1859, and was a prominent teacher in the county before her marriage. She was a daughter of John and Julia Anna (Kennedy) Woodward. Elder John Woodward was born in Jennings County, Indiana, Jan. 11, 1821, and lived there until ten years of age when the family moved to Decatur County where he lived 15 or 16 years. He professed religion and was married to Miss Julia Ann Kennedy. In 1847 he and wife emigrated to Harrison County, Missouri, and settled on the land adjoining Cainsville. In December, 1847 he and his wife united with the Baptist Church by letter. Shortly afterward he was licensed to preach and was ordained. In May, 1840, and most of the time up to his death he was actively engaged in the ministry. He died Dec. 17, 1898. He preached almost 60 years ; he was a charter member of the Masonic Lodge and was Worshipful Master for 12 or 15 years. He was an active worker in Temperance. He was chaplain of the 3rd Regiment, M. S. M. during the Civil War. Julia Ann Kennedy was born in Delaware County, N. Y., and came to Indiana when but a child. She was born Aug. 27, 1820, and died Feb. 16, 1893.
To Dr. Burton and wife the following children were born: Hallie, the subject of this review; Anna, died in 1914; Jay, died in 1907; and Isom now connected with the street railway company in Los Angeles, Calif. Mrs. Burton died at her home in Gallatin on April 9, 1917. Dr. Burton is now a resident of Texarkana, Ark.
Hallie Burton grew up in Gallatin, and after completing her school work there, became a student in Chillicothe Normal, Grand River Col- lege at Gallatin, and the Missouri State University. She holds a Life State Certificate and has had a varied and interesting teaching experi- ence which has kept her in close touch with the vital issues of the pub- lic schools. She taught at Gallatin for five years; at Jameson one year; a year at Coffey and five years in the rural schools. She has handled the work in every grade from the 1st to the 12th, and is therefore thor- oughly conversant with the needs and standards for each grade.
Miss Burton is the first woman ever elected to a county office by Daviess County. In April, 1915, she was elected to the position of county superintendent of public schools, and in 1919 she was re-elected to the same position. This record is conclusive proof of the support
342
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
which Miss Burton has from the county. She has made an excellent of- ficial, and under her expert direction the schools of the county have made marked progress. No part of the county history shows more con- clusively the calibre of the citizens than does the part dealing with the attitude toward providing educational facilities for the children of the community. Miss Burton as the leader, and the men and women of the county as her able assistants have co-operated in building up the schools of Daviess County.
John Musselman, well known in Daviess County as a farmer, a hardware merchant at Gallatin, and who served as the mayor of Galla- tin, is a native of the county. He was born in Grand River Township, four miles east of Jameson. His parents were Amos and Amanda A. (Drummond) Musselman, who lived for a short time on the farm where their son, John, was born on June 29, 1863.
Amos Musselman was born in Paulding County, Ohio, in 1834. He came to Daviess County in 1858, where he taught school for a time, and later became a boot and shoe maker at Jamesport. He moved to a farm five miles northeast of Gallatin a short time afterwards, and in 1861 be- gan farming. Mr. Musselman was the owner of 320 acres of land, and was one of the successful farmers of his township. He was a Republican, and served as the justice of the peace in Grand River Township. He was married in Daviess County to Amanda A. Drummond, born near James- port in 1842 and to their union the following children were born : Cyrus, a retired farmer living at Gallatin; John, the subject of this review; Ella, married to J. R. Foster of Jamesport; Celia, the wife of Samuel Grant of Jamesport; Homer, an oil dealer at Gallatin ; and Robert, farm- ing in Grand River Township. Mrs. Musselman died in 1911, and Mr. Musselman died in 1921. Their remains are buried in the Masonic Cem- etery at Jamesport.
John Musselman was reared on the farm and attended the rural schools. He farmed in Grand River Township, where he was the owner of 283 acres of land. He and his brother, Robert, now operate a farm in partnership. In December, 1908, Mr. Musselman moved to Gallatin, and the next year he bought a hardware store in partnership with J. A. Mann. This business relation was maintained for four years, when Mr. Musselman traded the stock to S. B. Scott for a farm near Altamont. Mr. Musselman and Mr. Mann operated the farm for more than three years, when they again bought the hardware stock from Mr. Scott. They continued to operate the store until June, 1921, when Mr. Mann sold out to John N. Brown. The firm is now known as Musselman and
343
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
Brown Hardware and Implements Company, and does a thriving busi- ness. The store is located on the north side of the Square, and is one of the well established enterprises of the town.
On Dec. 24, 1896, Mr. Musselman was married to Arminta King, who was born, reared, and married in Springfield, Ill. She was the daughter of W. and Dulcenia (Barnett) King; the former of whom died many years ago, and the latter died at the home of Mrs. Musselman on July 28, 1921, at the age of 91 years. Mr. and Mrs. Musselman are rear- ing a niece of Mr. Musselman's. Frances.
Mr. Musselman is a Republican, and is a member of the Masonic Lodge. In the spring of 1920 he was elected to the office of mayor of Gallatin, and made a competent and progressive official for one term. A fire wagon was installed, the debt on it paid off, 800 feet of water main has been laid, an ordinance prohibiting the parking of cars any place ex- cept the middle of the street has been passed, and a sewer survey, look- ing toward a complete modern sewage system, has been completed. Mr. Musselman is now serving on the committee in charge of the draining of the Muddy Creek. He is a man of high civic ideals, capable and practi- cal in all of his work, a citizen of whom his town is justly proud.
D. Luther Lowrie, the assistant postmaster at Gallatin, was born, reared, and educated in this community. His parents were H. C. and Nannie (Sharrah) Lowrie, to whose union four children were born as follows: Walter C., Glenrock, Wyo .: Grace, the wife of Elmer Kirk- patrick of Hamburg, Iowa; Joseph H., a rural mail carrier at Gallatin; and D. Luther, the subject of this sketch, born at Gallatin, June 20, 1899.
H. C. Lowrie was born in Pennsylvania, Feb. 28, 1857. He came to Gallatin in his youth and was a meat merchant for a few years, later ac- cepting a position as a traveling salesman for a packing house, and working out of Kansas City, Mo., where he now lives. His wife, Nan- nie A. (Sharrah) Lowrie, was born in Daviess County on Jan. 2, 1861. She lived on a farm until she was eight years old, when her parents died, and she went to live with David Boggs and wife at Gallatin. Mr. Boggs was a furniture dealer, a carpenter, and an expert cabinet maker. He made a great deal of the furniture, which was sold from his store. Mrs. Lowrie is a member of the Baptist Church, and now makes her home at Gallatin.
D. Luther Lowrie graduated from the Gallatin High School in 1917, and then went to clerk in Fitterer and Sons grocery store. He later clerked in a jewelry store for Frank Wynne, and remained in that posi-
.
344
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
tion until July, 1918, when he took the civil service examinations, and was given a temporary appointment as rural route carrier on Route No. 5, while his brother, the regular incumbent, was in service in the World War. In March, 1919, Mr. Lowrie was made assistant postmaster at Gal- latin, and has since capably filled that position.
Mr. Lowrie was married on Jan. 25, 1920, to Goldie Mae Railsback, born in Daviess County, the daughter of Richard T. and Viola (McGar- vin) Railsback. Mr. Railsback died in September, 1918, and Mrs. Rails- back now ilves on her farm eight miles east of Gallatin. To Mr. and Mrs. Lowrie one child has been born, a son, Richard Edwin.
Mr. Lowrie is a Democrat, and is a member of the Baptist church. He is an energetic and capable young man, who has the esteem of the entire community.
Colonel Boyd Dudley and his son, Boyd Dudley, Jr., are members of a family that has been connected with the history of the United States since the very early colonial days. The Dudley family has been an asset to every community where its members have settled. While Mr. Dudley was never in the military service, he has, for more than a quarter of a cen- tury, been called, and known as Colonel Dudley. He has been an integral part of the development of Daviess County ; and Boyd Dudley, Jr., although he no longer lives in the state, is a Missouri trained man, one whom the state is proud to claim as a son.
William Dudley, an ancestor of Colonel Boyd Dudley, was born in Rich- mond, Surrey, England, in 1600. He migrated to the American Colonies, and died in Connectciut in 1683. A son, William, was born at sea in 1639. One of William Dudley's sons, Samuel, was born in Connecticut, in 1712, and was the father of another Samuel Dudley, also born in Connecticut, in 1763. He was one of the seven children born to his parents, and was the grandfather of Colonel Boyd Dudley. Samuel Dudley enlisted for service in the Colonial Army during the Revolutionary War, when he was but 13 years old. He had a great fondness for the sea, and after his six years of service for the country, wanted to become a sailor. But his mother in- duced him to go to West Virginia, and locate on a farm, and there he mar- ried and reared a family. One of his sons was Alpheus H. Dudley.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.