USA > Missouri > Harrison County > History of Harrison County, Missouri > Part 37
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To Joseph and Elizabeth (Cockrell) Webb were born eight children as follows: W. L., Bethany, Missouri; Mattie, married E. A. Deupree, Dora, Missouri; C. T., Bethany ; Mary Catherine, married E. W. Pullum, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Joseph E., lives in California; J. R., the sub- ject of this sketch; Sarah Elizabeth married G. W. Hannah, Kansas City, Missouri ; and James Albert, Bethany, Missouri.
J. R. Webb was reared on the home place where he now resides and began farming and stock raising at an early age. He remained with his father until the latter's death, when he received 160 acres of land. Later he bought the interests of other heirs of the estate and also bought other land until he is now the owner of 1250 acres, nearly all of which is situ- ated in Trail Creek Township. He operates most of his land himself but rents a great deal on shares and thus it is all under his immediate man- agement and control. He carries on general farming and stock raising and raises cattle extensively. He also buys and feeds large numbers of cattle for the market and in ordinary times markets about 200 head annually. He raises principally Durham and Whitefaced cattle.
J. R. WEBB AND FAMILY
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Mr. Webb's land is so situated that nearly all of it is within view of his residence which occupies a commanding eminence overlooking a large section of the surrounding country. The residence is a large modern well built structure with all modern conveniences and was erected by Mr. Webb about 1916. The foundation is built of stone, a great deal of which was taken from the chimney of the old pioneer home of the Webb family, which stood on the same place as the present residence.
Mr. Webb was married April 2, 1893, to Miss Dora Wethers, who was born and reared in Fox Creek Township. She is the daughter of William H. Wethers, a native of Mattoon, Illinois. He settled in Fox Creek Town- ship about fifty years ago and still resides there. To Mr. and Mrs. Webb have been born one child, Catherine Marie. She was educated in the Lady's Liberty College, at Liberty, Missouri; Hardin College, at Mexico, Missouri, and the Gem City Business College, at Quincy, Illinois, and now resides at home with her parents.
Mr. Webb is a progressive and successful man of affairs and the Webb family ranks among the leading representative people of Harrison County.
F. W. Sherer and T. B. Sherer are prominent in the business world of Bethany, where they are connected, the former as the owner and registered pharmacist, and the latter as the registered pharmacist, with the Sherer Drug Company, one of the historic pioneer firms of the county. This store was established prior to the Civil War. The original company was succeeded, before the war, by T. B. Sherer, father of the present owner. T. B. Sherer was succeeded by T. B. Sherer and Son, and that firm in turn succeeded by Sherer and Butler, later the present firm of Sherer Drug Company took over the business. The history of the Sherer family is thus the account of practically the entire history of this drug store. T. B. Sherer of the old firm, was a native of Pennsylvania and served an apprenticeship in business in New York City. Several years before the turbulent period of the strife between the states, he came to Harrison County where he taught school and was in business. He died in 1908 at the age of seventy-five and his remains are buried in Miriam Cemetery. He was married in Bethany to Serena Allen, deceased. at the age of thirty-nine. Their children were: C. A. Sherer, a resident of Bethany ; Bert, deceased; William, deceased; F. W., one of the subjects of the present sketch; and a daughter, Anna, died in infancy.
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F. W. Sherer was born in Bethany, Missouri, in 1870, and received his education in St. Joseph and Wentworth Military Academy at Lexing- ton, Missouri. He has followed the drug business all of his life and is thoroughly conversant with every phase of it. He married Myrtle Tur- ner in 1893. She is the daughter of Robert and Rebecca Turner, both belonging to pioneer families of Harrison County. Robert Turner died in Bethany and his remains are buried in Miriam Cemetery. His wife lives with a daughter, now the wife of Dr. Buts of Bethany. F. W. Sherer and his wife, Myrtle (Turner) Sherer, have three children: T. B., a sketch of whom is included in this review; Dorothy, now Mrs. Harlan Slatten of Bethany; and Charles T., now a student in the Bethany High School.
T. B. Sherer was born May 2, 1896, in Bethany. He was educated in Bethany, graduating from the Bethany High School at the age of fifteen. He is a registered pharmacist and learned the drug business from his father with whom he has been associated in the store since finishing high school. By inheritance and environment he has been given opportunity to develop the strong business acumen which he possesses, and he has been successful in his work. He was married May 20, 1917, to Ethel Sadler of Independence, Missouri, a daughter of J. L. Sadler, who is a retired contractor of Independence. Mr. and Mrs. Sherer have two daughters: Marjory Elizabeth, and Gretchen Jane.
F. W. Sherer is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Royal Arch Chapter and Commandery ; the Modern Woodmen of America ; the Woodmen of the World; and the Knights of Pythias. T. B. Sherer is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Bethany. Both . F. W. Sherer and his son, T. B. Sherer, are progressive business men.
Olin Kies, prominent farmer and business man of Harrison County, was born in Sherman Township, July 12, 1867, and has been intimately connected with the growth of the county for most of his life. As a progressive farmer, large land owner, and president of the First Na- tional Bank of Bethany, Mr. Kies has been in touch with the various phases of the commercial development of his community.
He is the son of Archibald and Jane (Somerville) Kies, both deceased. Archibald Kies was born in New York where he was also married. He came to Missouri in the forties and settled in Sherman Township, enter-
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ing the land upon which his son, Olin, was born as well as the children of Olin Kies. Archibald Kies owned 320 acres of land now owned by his son. Jane (Somerville) Kies died about 1911. They had two children, of whom Olin Kies is the only one living.
Olin Kies was educated in the public school of the county and spent one term in the Ridgeway High School. He has followed farming of Bethany. Here he has a nice residence, a good barn, and an acre and a half of orchard. Besides this place, Mr. Kies owns three other farms: the Prairie View Farm of 657 acres in Fox Creek and Sherman Townships ; 200 acres and eighty acres in Fox Creek and Trail Creek Townships; and 400 acres in another tract in Trail Creek. Mr. Kies operates all of these farms and feeds cattle and hogs. In addition to these duties, Mr. Kies has been the president of the First National Bank of Bethany since the or- ganization of that institution.
Mr. Kies was married August 2, 1888 to Ida Moss of Trial Creek Township, daughter of John L. and Martha (Hickman) Moss, the latter died in 1881; the former lives in Trail Creek Township on the home place. He was born in Mercer County, is a veteran of the Civil War having enlisted in the Union Army from Missouri and serving through- out the war, and is now seventy-seven years old. Mrs. Kies' maternal grandfather, Alfred Hickman was a native of Kentucky who settled in Mercer County where he entered land south of Cainsville on Grand River. Here the mother of Mrs. Kies was born. Mr. Hickman, even before 1845, carried mail from Cainsville to Maryville in Nodaway County, follow- ing the old Indian trail on horseback and taking his route through the present site of Bethany. He was one of the pioneers who, sturdy and intrepid, did much to make possible the present progress of the county. He died on his farm four miles west of Mt. Moriah and his remains are buried in Cain's Cemetery southeast of Cainsville in Mercer County.
To Olin and Ida (Moss) Kies the following children were born; Bonnie C. married to Ethel Selby and died at the age of twenty-two, leaving one son, Doyle, now twelve years old; Dorris, married Delpha Smith, a daugh- ter of James and Mary (Barger) Smith, and now living on the home farm; and Samuel, married Myrtle Linthacum, a daughter of Bert and Hettie (Ross) Linthacum and living at home. Dorris Kies is a veteran of the World War. He enlisted in May, 1918, was sent to Camp Dodge, May 22, 1918, and was placed with the 351st Infantry, 88th Division. He went overseas in August 1918 and returned home in June, 1919 after a service of thir-
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
teen months. He is now living on the Prairie View Farm where he was born.
Olin Kies is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias Lodge. He served two terms, 1911 to 1915, as judge of the county court of Harrison County. The Kies family has always been prominent in the county where the name stands for high standards of citizenship and business acumen.
Frank A. Premer, one of the highly respected citizens of Bethany Township, Harrison County, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, April 7, 1861, the son of W. B. and Catherine D. (Romesburg) Premer.
W. B. Premer was born in Wayne County, Ohio, and came to Mis- souri in 1872, settling in Martinsville, where he died November 6, 1906, at the age of seventy; his wife, now eighty-one years old, still lives in Martinsville where she is the oldest inhabitant of the town. W. B. Premer was a veteran of the Civil War, in which he served three and one-half years. He was disabled while in service.
To W. B. and Catherine D. (Romesburg) Premer the following chil- dren were born: Frank A., the subject of this sketch; Fred, died at the age of twenty-four years in Martinsville; and Ida, later Mrs. Snyder of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and died in 1918.
Frank A. Premer received his education in the public schools of Ohio, and Harrison County, and later attended school in Stanberry, Mis- souri. For thirty-three years, he was a teacher in Harrison County, teaching his last school at Washington Center in 1916. He bought his present home of G. W. Myers in 1908. It is a farm three-fourths of a mile south of the Bethany line. Mr. Premer has followed dairying and hog-raising here for the last ten years, and for the last three years, he has raised corn and wheat.
Mr. Premer was married to Martha E. Funk, June 6, 1884. Mrs. Premer is a daughter of Adam and Susan (Eisenbarger) Funk. Adam Funk was born in Allen County, Ohio, and has been a resident of Harri- son County, Missouri since 1861. His home place was three miles north- east of Martinsville where he lived until 1914 when he came to live with his daughter Mrs. Premer. Mr. Funk was justice of the peace of Dallas Township for many years, and still takes an active interest in all civic affairs although he is now ninety-one years old. He served in the Mis-
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souri State Militia during the Civil War. Mr. Funk is one of the fine and respected citizens of the community. His wife, Susan (Eisenbarger) Funk died in Martinsville in November, 1914, and is buried in McGee Cemetery.
To Frank A. and Martha E. (Funk) Premer the following chlidren were born: Edna, now Mrs. J. W. Cox of Bethany, Missouri; Mildred, now Mrs. John J. Carter of Pattonsburg, Missouri; Raymond, a veteran of the World War, enlisted December 16, 1916, suffered a stroke of paralysis in 1917, was mustered out of service March 31, 1920, and is now in the Missouri State University taking an agriculture course; Doug- las, married to Elmina Holley and now living in Ridgeway, Missouri; Phyllis, now Mrs. Ralph Flint of Bethany, Missouri; Lowell married to Helen Pugh of Coffey, Missouri, and now a rural mail carrier in Eagle- ville, Missouri; Donald, living at home; and Lois, a student in high school.
Mr. Premer is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America in Bridgeport, Missouri. Having taught school for so many years and in various places in the county, Mr. Premer is a well known and well liked citizen. He is esteemed all over the county for his long years of efficient service.
George C. Nelson, an enterprising young farmer of Harrison County, was born in Bethany Township, March 2, 1884, the son of Robert L. and Melissa Ann (Phillebaum) Nelson, both natives of Harrison County, who grew up and were married here and now live on their farm adjoining the George C. Nelson farm on the north. Their children are: Edgar. a resident of Bethany ; Isaac E., of Bethany; Margaret, the county agent of Linneus County; Lena, now the wife of Edgar Rogers of White Oak Township; Bertha, who was married to Willis Sapp and is now deceased; George E., the subject of the present sketch; and Charlie, now living at Grand Fork, North Dakota.
George C. Nelson was educated in the public schools in Harrison County and, with the exception of three years spent in the State of Cali- fornia, has lived here all of his life. He remained with his parents until he was twenty years old, getting practical experience and training in farming. He bought his present farm in October, 1919; prior to that time he had purchased ninety-eight acres adjoining this place, thus making a farm of 140 acres. His residence is located one and one-half miles west of Bethany on the Southwest Trail and he has good farm buildings on
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the place. The farm is well shaded and Mr. Nelson has put extensive improvements on it. He raises Rhode Island chickens and has about 800 fowls all together. He also raises hogs and cattle. The farm pre- sents an attractive, well kept appearance.
Mr. Nelson was married June 29, 1916, to Pearl Cranor, a daughter of James and Carrier (Coulter) Cranor. James Cranor was born near King City, died at Albany about 1910, and is buried in Albany. Carrie (Coulter) Cranor was born in Ohio and now lives in Los Angeles, Cali- fornia. Their children were: Pearl, born at Albany and educated there, now Mrs. Nelson; and Opal, now the wife of H. D. Wilcox of Los Angeles. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have one son, James Robert, born April 29, 1919.
Mr. Nelson is a young man who stands well in his community.
Nelson B. Harrison, well known dairyman and stock raiser of Har- rison County, was born in Jackson County, Ohio, October 11, 1879, the son of Thomas J. and Gertrude (Williams) Harrison.
Thomas Jay Harrison, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Jackson County, Ohio, January 9, 1846, the son of Nelson and Mar- garet (Buck) Harrison. Nelson Harrison was born in Rockingham, Vir- ginia, and died in 1857. He is buried in Jefferson Township, Jackson County, Ohio. His wife died in Jackson County, Ohio, and is buried in Liberty Township in that county. Thomas Jay Harrison was educated in the public schools of Ohio and in the State University at Athens, Ohio, where he graduated in the course in 1868, and in the Greek course in 1870. He taught school in Jackson and Gallia counties in Ohio, farming during the season, until 1880, when he came to Missouri, and located near Gardner Station in Harrison County, buying 156 acres of land of Anthony Enloe for ten dollars per acre. Eighteen months later he sold this land to Mr. Bartlett and bought the 120 acres, now his home, four miles southwest of Bethany in Bethany Township on Rural Route No. 5. Thirty-five acres of the land was broken, but there were no improvements except the fences. In 1884, Mr. Harrison built his present residence, a six- room house with a basement. He has followed dairying since 1890, and has been very successful.
Thomas Jay Harrison was married to Gertrude Leslie Williams in July, 1870. Mrs. Harrison was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsyl- vania, in 1853. She was educated in the public schools of Ohio. She
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died in 1893 and is buried in Burris Cemetery in Harrison County, Mis- souri. To Thomas Jay and Gertrude L. (Williams) Harrison, the fol- lowing children were born: Grace, a graduate of the Missouri State University, and a teacher in Harrisonville, Cass County, Missouri, at the time of her death in 1898 at the age of twenty-six; Cora Lee, born in February, 1875, a graduate of the Missouri State University, and a teacher in Harrison County at the time of her death in September, 1920; Emma, a graduate of Wesleyan College at Cameron, Missouri, formerly a teacher in Harrison County schools, and now Mrs. Willard Link of Mount Ayr, Iowa; Lois, a graduate of the Bethany High School and of the State Teachers College of Maryville, Missouri, now Mrs. James Mc- Queery of St. Joseph, Missouri; John Scott, educated in Bethany High School and the Missouri State University, now teaching and conducting a ranch in Prosser, Washington; Nelson Burr, the subject of this sketch; Isaac Fletcher, a graduate of the Bethany High School and of the En- gineering Department of the Missouri State University, now the general manager of a tile factory in Birmingham, Alabama; and Carey, educated in Bethany High School and Missouri State University, now doing gen- eral farming in Union Township, Harrison County.
Thomas Jay Harrison was a member of the Ohio Legislature, elected from Jackson County in 1873 and serving until 1876. He was a public spirited man, standing well in his community. His interest in education is shown by the fact that all of his children were sent to schools for ad- vanced work.
Nelson B. Harrison, the subject of this review, was educated in the public schools of Harrison County and graduated from the Missouri State University in 1905 with the degrees of B. S. in M. E. He has followed farming all of his life. He and his brother, Carey, bought the eighty acres on which Nelson B. now lives, in 1912. This with forty given to them by their father made 120 acres. Later N. B. Harrison bought his brother's interest in the place. Mr. Harrison put all the improvements on the place except the barn. The Mitchellville schoolhouse is on one corner of the farm. The place is well fenced, being hog tight, and has a good residence recently remodeled. The house is only one-half mile from the Jefferson Highway. Mr. Harrison conducts a dairy and has twenty- seven registered and grade Jersey cattle. He also raises Duroc Jersey hogs and Rhode Island Red chickens.
Nelson B. Harrison was married to Eunice E. Link in 1912. She is
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a daughter of J. H. and Etta Link of Mount Ayr, Iowa, and was born in Ringold County, Iowa. Her parents formerly lived near Hatfield in Har- rison County. To Nelson B. and Eunice E. (Link) Harrison the following children were born: Marjorie, Cecil, Keith, died at the age of two and one-half years; and Catherine.
Mr. Harrison is a member of the Knights of Pythias at Bethany and belongs to the Methodist Church. The Harrison family is well known in the county, belonging to the group of families that have fostered the growth of Harrison County since early days.
Mr. Harrison was a member of Company D, 4th Missouri Volunteer Infantry and served in the Spanish-American War in 1898.
W. H. H. Gillespie, a well known retired citizen of Bethany and ex- sheriff of this county, was born in Jackson County, Ohio, June 22, 1842, the son of W. B. and Rhoda (Miller) Gillespie.
Mrs. W. B. Gillespie was a native of Virginia. Her mother who was Nancy Flynn had quite an interesting and tragic experience in childhood. While her father was clearing land in Virginia in pioneer days he was killed by Indians just when he had finished fencing his land. The Indians took all of the family prisoners except one girl who jumped into a sink hole and escaped. Nancy Flynn was kept prisoner by the Indians until she was twelve or fourteen years of age, when she was rescued by three white men who had been informed of her identity by a white family where she had been sent by the Indians for milk. A scar caused by a burn was the clue that identified her as she had no knowledge of her par- ents, having been captured in infancy.
W. B. Gillespie was born in Virginia in 1811 and later moved to Jack- son County, Ohio, where he married and lived until 1844. Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Gillespie came to Missouri in the fall of 1844 and settled six miles south of Bethany, where W. H. H. Gillespie was reared. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie died there and are buried in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie were the parents of the following children: F. M., who died at the military home in Leavenworth, Kansas, and who was in Com- pany F, Merrill's Horse, 2nd Missouri Cavalry, enlisting August 1, 1861; Nancy, who died at the age of twenty-five years; W. H. H., the subject of this sketch; Z. T., who died in Oklahoma in 1918; and W. S., who died in Cypress Township.
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W. H. H. GILLESPIE
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
W. H. H. Gillespie enlisted in the army, August 1, 1861, at Bethany, Missouri, in Merrill's Horse or 2nd Missouri Cavalry and served for nine months, when he was discharged on account of measles. August 1, 1863, he enlisted in 1st Missouri State Militia Cavalry and, while in service, lost an arm at Lexington, Missouri. Upon his discharge from the army, he taught school for sixteen years. In the fall election of 1886, he was elected sheriff of Harrison County and reelected in 1888, serving four years. Since then, he has made his home in Bethany with the exception of one year that he spent in Colorado on a claim.
W. H. H. Gillespie was married December 18, 1868 to Hannah A. Sutton, a daughter of Benjamin and Rachel Sutton, of Cypress Township. Mr. and Mrs. Satton came here from Indiana in 1865 and settled in Cypress Township. They both died in Benton County, Missouri, where they are buried.
Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie are the parents of the following children: Alma Louise, the wife of the Rev. Eugene Leazenby, a Methodist minister of Crawfordsville, Indiana; Florence Ethel, the wife of Harry Williams, of Grand Junction, Colorado; Charles Lester, who married Bessie Wright and who lives in Davenport, Iowa; and four children who died in infancy.
Mr. Gillespie is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Bethany. He is a substantial citizen and stands high in the community and county.
Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie are members of the Christian Church.
Lewis Hefner, the competent and popular manager of the Miner Frees Lumber Yard at New Hampton, Missouri was born in Jefferson Township, Harrison County, November 30, 1877, the son of W. L. and Anna J. (Easton) Hefner, both still living six miles north of Bethany at Mount Moriah Chapel in Jefferson Township.
W. L. Hefner was born three miles south of his present residence in the same township, February 22, 1854. He was the son of Lewis and Elizabeth (Brown) Hefner who came to Missouri from Virginia in 1852, settling in Harrison County and improving the farm now owned by H. J. Hefner, a son of Lewis Hefner. Lewis Hefner and his wife both died on the home place and are buried in Miriam Cemetery. W. L. Hefner con- tinues to do general farming. He has filled some of the offices in his township and is ranked as one of the progressive farmers.
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To W. L. and Ann J. (Easton) Hefner the following children were born: Lewis, the subject of this sketch; Delpha, now Mrs. Warren Boler of Bethany, Missouri; Minnie, the wife of Robert Buzzard of Sherman Township; and Frankie, who died in infancy.
Lewis Hefner was educated in the rural schools of Harrison County. He followed the vocation of farming in Jefferson Township until 1912. He then went to Martinsville, Missouri, where he held the position of clerk in a store for eighteen months. In July, 1915, he began work with the Miner Frees Lumber Company of Bethany, Missouri, and has been the manager of the yard in New Hampton ever since August 1, 1920. This lumber yard carries a full and complete line of building materials.
Lewis Hefner was married February 2, 1901 to Ollie L. Hefner, a native of Harrison County. Her parents were W. J. and Anna E. Hefner. Her father died in July, 1913 and is buried in Lakin, Kansas; her mother still lives in Lakin, Kansas. Mrs. Hefner was educated in the public schools of Harrison County.
Lewis Hefner is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Daughters of Rebecca Lodge, the Modern Woodman of America En- campment, and the Knights of Pythias Lodge. He is known in his com- munity as an upright and reliable citizen.
Dr. Alfred L. Wessling, a competent physician and progressive citizen of New Hampton, Missouri, was born in Pulaski County, Missouri, Febru- ary 18, 1886, the son of Joseph and Anna (Well) Wessling. Joseph Wessling located in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1872 and practiced his trade, that of milling. He left St. Louis and moved to Pulaski and later to LaClede County, but returned to St. Louis where he lived until his death in 1915. His wife resides in St. Louis, Missouri.
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