USA > Missouri > Harrison County > History of Harrison County, Missouri > Part 31
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Argil Tilley married Artie B. Clark, a daughter of William M. and Minnie (Schofield) Clark of Bethany, December 26, 1914. Mrs. Tilley was born in Harrison County, Missouri, and was educated in the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Tilley have two children: Wilda and Eva Elizabeth. Mr. Tilley and his brother, William, have won prizes the past two years on Reed's yellow dent corn, as follows: Gentry County Corn Show at Albany, Missouri, on ten ears, in 1919; first premium at King City, in 1919, on ten ears; champion and grand champion at King City, Missouri, on ten ears in 1919; third premium on single ear at King City, in 1919; fourth premium on five acres of corn at Harrison County Corn Show in 1919; seventh premium at Missouri State Corn Show in 1919. In 1920, they won the following premiums: First premium, on ten ears at Albany, Missouri, Gentry County Corn Show; first premium at Harrison County, five acre yield contest, with yield of 115.8 bushels per acre; second pre- mium at King City Corn Show on ten ears; fourth premium at King City Corn Show on ten ears; fifth premium on single ear at King City Corn Show; first premium at Missouri State Corn Show, on ten ears; second premium at Missouri State Corn Show on five-acre yield contest; fourth premium at Missouri State Corn Show on single ear; and fifth premium at same show, also. The premiums have amounted to more than $300.00, and these brothers have the record of growing the largest yield of any one on a five-acre plat.
William H. Richter, a successful and enterprising farmer of Adams Township, was born in Fulton County, Indiana, September 9, 1848, the son of James and Eleanor (Gorden) Richter. Mrs. Richter was of the Gordon family of Scotland. She died in 1852, in Indiana, and James Richter died about the year 1891 and is buried in the Independent Order of Odd
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Fellows Cemetery at Bethany, Missouri. James Richter came to Missouri in 1855 and settled near Bethany, where he entered 800 acres of land. He had the only house on the prairie between Bethany and Bancroft. Mr. and Mrs. James Richter were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Marie Pettit of Denver, Colorado, William H., the subject of this sketch; and eight children, who are deceased.
William H. Richter attended a subscription school in his boyhood days, which was conducted by Mrs. Henry Boyce at her home, about five miles east of Bethany. This was before public schools were organized, and the subscription schools charged $1.00 per month for each pupil.
June 1, 1871, Mr. Richter was married to Eliza J. Elwell, the widow of Capt. George W. Elwell, and after their marriage they moved to the farm where they now live. At that time the residence was a cabin, and all the land was raw prairie. Mr. Richter now has three sets of buildings, six barns, and there are now forty-two buildings on the farm of different kinds, all put up by Mr. Richter. At one time he had one of the finest fish ponds on his place to be found anywhere. The pond covered one and one-half acres and had twelve feet of water in its deepest places. It was stocked with bass, crappie, channel cat fish, and there are still a few fish in the pond. The farm comprises 370 acres, and is located four miles northwest of Gilman. The original cabin into which Mr. Richter moved had a puncheon floor, with cracks wide enough for the knives, forks and spoons to drop through. He borrowed $10.00 to get married and gave the preacher, the Reverend Cave, father of Alfred Cave, of Bethany, half of that amount, and during their early married life Mr. and Mrs. Richter lived on yellow corn bread rather than go in debt for flour. Mr. Richter taught school in the winters for seven years and farmed during the summer, and went barefooted in the summer until thirty years of age. In the early days the food consisted of corn bread, wild hog and venison. Mr. Richter's first team was an old blind horse and a crippled one. His place now shows the signs of a thrifty farmer and successful business man. He has always been identified with the Republican party and takes an active part in the affairs of the township. For the past twenty-two years Mr. Richter has been breeding Shorthorn cattle and has one of the finest herds in the county. "Hallwood Count 3rd," the head of his herd, weighs 2,500 pounds and is one of the largest animals of this kind to be found in this section of the State, and his herd of seventy-five cattle is among the best in the State. Mr. Richter recently shipped a car of
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these cattle to Washington, and he ships stock all over the country. Seventy acres of the farm is in alfalfa, which product Mr. Richter has specialized in to the extent that he makes lectures on the raising of alfalfa. His oldest piece of alfalfa is ten years old and has been cut thirty-seven times, and, in 1920, yielded seven tons per acre.
Mr. and Mrs. Richter are the parents of the following children: Frank, born June 8, 1872, who married Harriett Carr, of Michigan, and who live on the home place; James G., born August 3, 1884, married Ruth Vosburg. They live in Daviess County, Missouri.
Mr. Richter has never belonged to a secret society and has never had his life insured. He is one of the most respected and best known men in the county.
O. H. Nally, a progressive and successful farmer of Adams Township, was born in Jackson County, Ohio, March 20, 1852, the son of William and Patsy (Gillespie) Nally, both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. William Nally came to Missouri in 1865 and settled first in Livingston County for three years, then moved to Harrison County in Adams Township in 1868 and bought 7371/2 acres of land from William Hillman, formerly the Westfield farm. William Nally and family made this their home here until his death, December 31, 1888. His wife died in January, 1888, and both are buried in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery.
Mr. and Mrs. William Nally were the parents of the following chil- dren: Lucinda Barlow, widow of James Barlow, deceased; Susie, the widow of Edward Poore, who lives in Jackson County, Ohio; Sarah J., the wife of Livingston Gibbons, of Chillicothe, Missouri; W. Jasper, deceased ; Winfield S., of Morton County, Kansas; Moses, who died in 1878; O. H., the subject of this sketch; Harvey Nally, of Cainsville, Missouri; and Frank, deceased.
O. H. Nally received his education in the public schools of Ohio and Missouri, and for the past forty-four years has lived on his present farm of 340 acres of land, which is located six and one-half miles northwest of Gilman. This is a well improved place with good residence, barn, cribs, granary, etc. The farm is well watered and is one of the best stock farms in this section. Since Mr. Nally moved here, a cottonwood tree grew on the farm, which was cut down recently and made 248 feet of lumber.
O. H. Nally was married November 30, 1873, to Samantha J. Burris, a daughter of Jefferson and Sarah T. (Cherington) Burris, both deceased.
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Mrs. Burris died in Ohio and her husband then located in Mitchelville, where he lived until his death.
Mr. and Mrs. Nally are the parents of the following children: Mrs. Cornelia May Cope, deceased; Charles, a ranchman of Colorado, who married Pearl Mitchell; Moses Earl, of Nodaway County, Missouri, who married Willa Knowles; Alvin, a farmer of Harrison County, Missouri; Walden E., of Adams Township, who married Laura Beals; Frank, of Colorado, who married a Miss Jersey, of Nodaway County, Missouri; Gladys E. Meek, who died in 1920; George, of Blue Ridge, who married Leta Haselden; and Harvey, of Colorado. The last named tried to get in the army during the World War, but was rejected. Frank Nally enlisted in the army from Harrison County, August, 1918, and was sent to training camp near Waco, Texas, where he was discharged at the close of the war.
Mr. Nally has found time besides his agricultural pursuits to take part in the affairs of his township, and has served on the township board for many years and also on the school board. He and his family are well respected citizens and have many friends throughout the county.
The grandfather of O. H. Nally, Moses Nally, was a native of Alber- marle County, Virginia, but left there in 1817 and located in Jackson County, Ohio. He was a farmer and brought with him to Ohio white seed corn, this seed from this corn being known as the Nally corn. When O. H. Nally went to Ohio in January, 1901, a cousin of his still had corn from the original seed, and Mr. Nally brought some of it home and planted on his farm in Harrison County.
Thomas J. Higgins, a well known farmer and stockman of Adams Township, was born in Rush County, Indiana, May 31, 1834, the son of Talbert and Matilda (Jones) Higgins. Mr. and Mrs. Talbert Higgins came to Missouri in 1839 and settled in Daviess County, near Coffey, be- fore the land was surveyed. Mr. Higgins was killed by a falling tree in February, 1840, and he was the first one buried in the cemetery at Coffey, Missouri. His widow died in Adams Township in January, 1901, and is buried at Coffey, Missouri.
Mr. and Mrs. Talbert Higgins were the parents of the following chil- dren: Thomas J., of this sketch; Mrs. Louisa Thomas, deceased; A. D., a veteran of the Civil War, died October 14, 1921, and is buried at Coffey, Missouri; and Talbert, who also served in the Civil War. By a second
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marriage of Mrs. Talbert Higgins to John Burns she had a son and (laughter: Henry Clay Burns and Mrs. Margaret Beckett, both of whom are deceased.
Thomas J. Higgins came to Harrison County when six years of age, and has lived on his present farm since 1860. Mr. Higgins was in the Civil War, enlisting in 1863 with the Missouri State Militia, Company F. Third Regiment, and was in this company for ninety days, during which time he was stationed in Platte County, near Old Weston.
Thomas J. Higgins was married August 16, 1855, to Christina Myers, a daughter of Abraham and Mary (Bryant) Myers, both deceased. Mrs. Higgins died May 23, 1915, and is buried at Coffey, Missouri.
Mr. and Mrs. Higgins are the parents of the following children: Emma and Robert Y., both deceased; Elizabeth, the wife of William P. Hutcherson, of Coffey, Missouri; Lillian, the wife of Columbia Hiatt, and who is deceased; Louisa Jane, the wife of John Galbreath, of Bethany, Missouri; Abraham, of Gilman, Missouri, who married Cora Gillilan; and Joseph T., of Adams Township.
Joseph T. Higgins owns eighty acres of land four and one-half miles northwest of Gilman. December 26, 1897, he married Lura H. Young, a daughter of W. B. and Elizabeth Williams Young ,of Blue Ridge, Missouri. Mrs. Young was a daughter of David N. Williams, an early settler of Adams Township, who located here in 1869. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph T. Hig- gins have two sons: Hugh and Thomas B. Hugh Higgins was married June 1, 1921, to Gertrude Hayes, of Amuston, Alabama.
Joseph T. Higgins is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Gilman, and of the Scottish Rite at St. Joseph, Missouri. He has served as collector for fourteen years and constable for ten years, and is well and favorably known throughout the county.
When Thomas J. Higgins came to this county there were no mills nearer than Richmond, Ray County, more than 100 miles away. The neighbors would assemble their grist and one wagon would take the lot and get it ground. At that time oxen and horses were used for mode of travel and in the field. The country was open prairie from Cypress to Sugar Creek, and the flies were so bad that teams could hardly be driven across the prairie in the summer. Mr. Higgins broke a great deal of prairie land with a yoke of oxen. When he was a boy he used to supply the harvest hands with whiskey and water, the men in the fields having
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their choice. He often went to Bethany with a jug, and purchased whiskey for twenty-five cents per gallon.
Hugh Higgins, a son of Joseph T. Higgins, enlisted October 9, 1919, with the Nineteenth Company in the General Service Infantry, detached service, under command of the adjutant general at Washington and served until October, 1920. George T. Higgins, a son of Abraham Higgins, en- listed in the Twelfth Engineer Corps, and went overseas with the Rain- bow Division, and served all during the war, but was murdered March, 1919, in France, for his money. He was a dispatch bearer, attached to the General Staff, and was found eight miles from camp with his motor- cycle and guns gone, and he had been shot in the back of his head. His body has been returned and is buried at Gilman City, Missouri.
William Galbraith, a nephew of Joseph Higgins, enlisted at Camp Tay- lor, Kentucky, and went overseas with the First Division.
Lester C. Eberhardt, a progressive and well known young dentist of Gilman City, Missouri, was born in Downs, Illinois, April 9, 1891, the soul of Charles A. and Mattie (Mitchell) Eberhart.
Charles A. Eberhart was born in Point Marion, Pennsylvania, and his wife was born in Downs, Illinois. They came from Illinois to Gilman City in 1902, where they still live. Mr. Eberhart is a farmer and stock- buyer of prominence in the county. To Charles A. and Mattie (Mitchell) Eberhart the following children were born: Floyd E., now a farmer in Daviess County, Missouri, and Elma Irene, twin sister of Floyd E., now Mrs. Allen R. Clinton, of Kansas City, Missouri; and Lester C., the sub- ject of this sketch.
Lester C. Eberhart was educated in the public schools of Illinois and the Gilman City High School. He graduated from the Gem City Business College in Quincy, Illinois, and then entered Kansas City Dental College, from which he graduated in 1918. He enlisted for service in the World War and was sent to Camp Pike, in Arkansas, where he served in the Dental Corps, Dental Infirmary No. 1. He stayed here for the five months until the close of the war, when he returned to Gilman City. He has been practicing dentistry here since February, 1919.
Doctor Eberhart was married to Dewam Shaffer in Gilman City, Mis- souri, April 6, 1921. Mrs. Eberhart is a daughter of Oscar Shaffer, of
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Amsterdam, Missouri. She was born in Missouri and was educated in the public schools here.
Doctor Eberhart is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in Gilman City. He is one of Harrison County's best known and promising young men and is deservedly popular with his large clientage.
Franklin P. Burris, deceased, a well known pioneer of Harrison County, was born in Jackson County, Ohio, in 1852, and in 1854 came with his parents to Harrison County, Missouri, and settled on a farm now owned by the Burris estate, where Mrs. Franklin Burris now lives.
George and Elizabeth (Henry) Burris, parents of Franklin Burris, moved to Bethany in 1881 and lived here until their deaths; he died in 1893 and his wife in 1904 and both are buried in Burris Cemetery on the home place. Mr. and Mrs. George Burris were the parents of the fol- lowing children: Franklin P., the subject of this sketch; Weltha E. Mitchean, of Los Angeles, California; Sarah Cornelia, the wife of John M. Howell, of Davis City, Iowa; Lydia, the wife of Lawrence Hughes, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ; Mollie, deceased, the wife of Mart Daily; Cora B., the wife of William Weller, the latter is deceased and the former lives in Oklahoma; Susie, the wife of W. N. Rucker, of Norman, Oklahoma; and Warren, who was accidentally killed when five years of age, and the other died in infancy.
Franklin P. Burris died December 27, 1911. Prior to his death, he owned the home place, which consists of more than 500 acres, eighty acres of which is in Bethany Township and the remainder in Cypress Township.
Mr. Burris was president of the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Harrison County for twenty years and was one of its organ- izers. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World, Yeoman, Modern Woodmen of America and the Bankers Life.
October 4, 1877, Mr. Burris was married to Emma C. Barlow, a daughter of James and Lucinda (Nally) Barlow, who came from Ohio in 1865 and settled near Chillicothe where they remained until 1869 when they came to Harrison County. They were both natives of Ohio. Mrs. Burris was born in Jackson County, Ohio, and educated in the schools there and taught school two years prior to her marriage. She was one
FRANKLIN P. BURRIS
MRS. FRANKLIN P. BURRIS
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of a family of nine children and eight of them were teachers. Further history of the Barlow family appears in this volume.
Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Burris were the parents of the following chil- dren: George R., of Mt. Moriah, Missouri, who married Etta Clinken- beard; J. Harvey, of Denver, Colorado, who married Gertrude Roleke; W. Clay, of Bethany, who married Abbie England; F. Ed, who died at the age of twenty-nine years, and who was a teacher in the high school in Helena, Montana, prior to his fatal illness; K. Clifford, of Bethany Township, who married Myra Brown; Don Cabot, who died in infancy ; L. Ruth, the wife of Raymond Carter, of White Oak Township; Joe, of Bethany Township, who married Zola Myers; Mary E., who lives at home and teaches school in this county; Grace, at home, who is a student in Bethany High School; John J., of St. Joseph, Missouri; and Robert Bruce at home.
Mrs. Burris has the following grandchildren: Burris and Edward Carter, Elizabeth and George Roscoe Burris and Anna Lee.
The home farm was named Maplewood Farm because of the maple grove just east of the residence. The Burris home is a pretty one, the residence setting back from the road, a row of cedar trees on either side of the spacious yard. The cedars were put out in 1880 and forest trees also decorate the lawn, and a large elm tree just north of the residence adds to the beauty of the place.
The Burris family are well known and highly respected throughout the county. Mrs. Burris is a member of the Methodist Church and her husband was also a Methodist.
Charles Platz. a prosperous and leading farmer of Adams Township, was born in St. Joseph County, Indiana, April 14, 1859, the son of Chris- topher and Amanda (Hazeldon) Platz. Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Platz came to Harrison County, Missouri, in October, 1865, and settled on the farm where Charles now lives, where they lived until 1898, when they moved to Lincoln County, Oklahoma. At the time Christopher Platz located here, the place was very much run down, the residence being a log hut without a floor, the floor having been stolen during the war; also the fences were gone. The farm, which consisted of eighty acres, and which Mr. Platz purchased for $750.00, was formerly owned by a Mr. Spheres, one of the early settlers here.
(23)
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Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Platz were the parents of the following children : William L., who was killed in a runaway accident in 1885; Charles, the subject of this sketch; Clara F (Rice) Evans, of Marshall, Oklahoma ; and Ida M. Thomas, of Welston, Oklahoma. Clara Evans has three sons: Jesse and Ross Rice, of Idaho, and Christopher Rice, of Hennessey, Okla- homa. Ida Thomas has two children: Verla and Ivan.
Charles Platz was married December 24, 1885, to Melissa Wright, a daughter of Ambrose Wright and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Platz lived in Sherman Township for four years, and eight years in Adams Township, prior to moving to their present farm, of 320 acres, located one-half mile west of Blue Ridge. This farm has two sets of improvements, two resi- dences, two barns, and other buildings. The residence which Mr. and Mrs. Platz occupy was built in 1918, and is a two story, neatly furnished home. Mr. Platz has an excellent orchard, consisting of 100 bearing peach trees, apple, plum, English walnut and persimmon trees, and he also raises berries. Mr. Platz has six registered Duroc Jersey hogs, six grade Hol- stein heifers and a registered Holstein bull, and raises the pure bred Plymouth Rock and Rhode Island Red chickens.
Mr. and Mrs. Platz reared Gladys Nally, who married Edgar Meek. She died January 9, 1920, Icaving three children: Dale, born March 17, 1907; Viola, born April 19, 1909; and Helen, born November 26, 1917. Mr. and Mrs. Platz also gave Stella Reed a home for one year, and at the present time Mildred and Gladys Nally are making their home with them.
Mrs. Platz was born in Noble County, Indiana, and educated in Iowa. Washington, Indiana and Missouri public schools. She has taught music all of her life and has published three pieces of music which have had a very good sale. She also won a scholarship in Bush Temple Conservatory at Chicago, Illinois, on a piece of four score work, and has written poems for many years, "Old Glory" and "The Star Ahead" being among the best known. Mrs. Platz was state superintendent of the purity department for ten years and county president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union from 1912 to 1920, and has been connected with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union since 1896. Mrs. Platz has very capably assisted in the prohibition work of the State, doing work in various coun- ties. She is well known as a public speaker and has composed several songs, both humorous and pathetic.
Ambrose Wright, Mrs. Platz's father, was born in New York in 1831, the son of Oliver and Amanda (Potter) Wright. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver
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Wright located in Noble, Indiana, in 1836, and lived there until their death. Ambrose Wright located in Ringgold County, Iowa, at the age of twenty-three years and entered land there. He lived in Iowa for nine years and returned to Indiana, coming to Harrison County, Missouri, in 1882 and settled in Adams Township, where he has lived ever since, with the exception of a short time which he spent in Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Wright were the parents of the following chil- dren: Ambrose; Jonathan, deceased; William, deceased; Charity Cramer, deceased; Dr. Reuben Wright, deceased; Mrs. Jane Broughton, deceased ; and Oliver, a drum major in the Civil War.
Ambrose Wright was married first in 1857 to Ruth Goodell, deceased, and they were the parents of the following children: Jonathan, Charity, J. A. and Lora. All of the children are deceased with the exception of Jonathan Wright. Ambrose Wright married a second time to Adaline Roth, and they were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Melissa Platz; Mrs. Marie Dale; Sherman E., a railway mail clerk out of Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Fannie Johnson; Mrs. Enoch McClure; and Luther, of Oklahoma.
Harry C. Shroyer, one of the live, progressive men of Bethany, and manager of the Shroyer Music Company, is a son of John W. Shroyer, who died March 20, 1916.
John W. Shroyer was born in Anderson, Indiana, in 1842, and was educated there, but moved to Iowa when a young man and was married at Waterloo, Iowa, to Mary A. Krautz, of that place. Mrs. Shroyer is living and spends her time at Waterloo, Iowa, in the winter and in the summer stays with her son, Harry C. Shroyer. From Iowa, Mr. Shroyer went to Kansas, where he stayed for eighteen months, at the end of which time he came to Bethany and located here permanently in 1886. His first business venture here was in the broom manufacturing business when he established a plant just northwest of the square on Central Street. He organized the music company in 1893, but continued the broom making plant for several years afterward. John Shroyer was a member of the Knights of Pythias and an active G. A. R. man. During the Civil War he served in Company G, Eighty-fourth Indiana Volunteers.
Harry C. Shroyer began with his father when but fourteen years of age. In the year 1893 he quit school on account of ill health and went on the wagon, driving through the county selling organs. He made his
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first organ sale in 1895 to Joe Pontus, who lived north of Ridgeway, Mr. Pontus paying therefor $140.00. Mr. Shroyer still does a great deal of outside work and the business has increased until Mr. Shroyer not only sells organs, but handles pianos, talking machines, player pianos and everything in the musical line. He recently sold the band of New Hamp- ton a full set of musical instruments. This company also has a branch at Albany, Missouri, with Norman Morgan as manager, and has four trucks on the road selling and delivering instruments.
The Shroyer Music Company has an extensive business in Harrison, Gentry, Worth and adjoining counties and are also doing a nice business in Iowa. Mr. Shroyer is a hustler, working early and late, and is the fourth largest dealer in Edison phonographs in the Des Moines-Sioux City district, selling more than' $60,000.00 worth of Edisons in 1920. Mr. Shroyer was on the program for a talk June 21, 1921, on salesmanship, his subject being: "Get Out and Get It."
Harry C. Shroyer was married to Margaret I. King, of Bethany, Mis- souri, December 25, 1907, and they have one daughter, Jean.
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