USA > Missouri > Harrison County > History of Harrison County, Missouri > Part 41
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
any, Missouri. The farm is well watered and nicely improved. Mr. Selby raises cattle, hogs and has fed cattle. He raises the Chester White reg- istered hogs.
Mr. Selby was married August 14, 1918 to Clarice Pearl Neff, a daughter of Jesse S. and Martha Neff, both of whom live in Bethany, Mis- souri. To Mr. and Mrs. Selby has been born one child, Frederick Earl, born June 23, 1921.
Mr. Selby has very capably filled the office of township trustee of Bethany Township for six years, his term expiring in April, 1921. He is a progressive and wide-awake young farmer and is meeting with success.
A pioneer school house, known as the Ground-hog school house, made of logs, stood on the farm when John F. Selby purchased the place. The school was located about one-eighth mile from the present residence of Joshua Selby, and was torn down by Mr. Selby after he came here. Many of the children of the early pioneers attended school here. It was very primitive and on the east side there was a log removed to let in light.
John W. Bacon, who is successfully engaged in farming and stock raising in Bethany Township, and a member of a pioneer family of this county, was born in Bethany Township, February 26, 1875, the son of Henry C. and Mary D. (Kinkade) Bacon. Henry C. Bacon was also born in this township, October 16, 1846, and is now living in Bethany, having retired from the farm in 1901. His father, Levi Bacon, came to Harrison County from Ohio, June 4, 1846, and settled in Bethany Township, entering land in section 34. Levi Bacon died here about 1879 and is buried at Antioch. His wife, Permelia (Wilkinson) Bacon, died a few years later, at the age of sixty-nine years.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bacon were the parents of the following chil- dren: John W., the subject of this sketch; Cora Catherine, the wife of Ben Hall, who lives on the Levi Bacon homestead; Clara Jane, the wife of W. R. Bartlett, who lives on the first farm of Levi Bacon; Georgia E., Levi and Flora Alice, all three of whom died in infancy.
John W. Bacon was educated at Woodland School, and, with the exception of four years, has lived in Bthany and this township all of his life. Mr. Bacon owns 440 acres of land, 100 acres in section 34; sixty acres in section 29, and the remainder in section 33. He does general farming and stock raising and has met with merited success. Mr. Bacon also has a modern residence in town.
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John W. Bacon was married November 4, 1903, to Josie Howe, a daughter of J. C. and Emma (Sutton) Howe of Bethany. Mrs. Emma Howe was a daughter of Captain Sutton, a pioneer of Cypress Township. Mr. and Mrs. Howe were the parents of the following children: Lizzie, the wife of H. K. Ellis of Baca County, Colorado; Mrs. Bacon; Myrtle, the wife of E. P. Reed of Nevada, Missouri; Blanche, the wife of Warren Davis of New Hampton; James H. of Los Animas, Colorado; Ruth, of Kansas City, Missouri; Doris, a teacher at Blythedale, Missouri.
Mr. and Mrs. Bacon have four children: Mary Frances, now a student of Bethany High School; Ruth Elizabeth, Clara Kathryn and Henry Creighton.
Mr. Bacon is a member of the Knights of Pythias at Bethany, the Woodmen of the World and the Yeoman lodges.
S. S. Bacon of Bethany, Missouri, is an uncle of J. W. Bacon, and was a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted for service from Har- rison County.
The paternal great grandfather of J. W. Bacon started to California from this county in 1849 and, while on the way, when crossing the desert, was poisoned by drinking impure water. They had been out of water for several days previous to finding water of any kind.
Solomon Wilkinson, the great grandfather of John W. Bacon, was a drummer in the War of 1812, and was a pioneer of Cypress Township, and died here. His great grandson, Levi C. Wilkinson of Bethany, was in the World War, with the 35th Division in France, and a sketch of him appears in this volume.
The Bacon family stand high in this county, and are all well respected citizens.
J. R. S. Utterback, a highly respected and leading farmer of Cypress Township, was born in Putnam County, Indiana, February 8, 1873, the son of John N. and Rachel Ellen Utterback. John Utterback died in June, 1920, in Brimson, Missouri, where he had lived for twenty-five years, and his wife died in Putnam County, Indiana, in 1873.
Mr. and Mrs. John Utterback were the parents of the following chil- dren: John William B. of Brimson, Missouri; and J. R. S., the subject of this sketch.
J. R. S. Utterback was educated in the public and high schools of Hume and Newman, Illinois, and after finishing his education, he en-
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
gaged in farming in Illinois, prior to coming to Harrison County, in 1896, where he rented land for about ten years, and finally bought eighty acres of land, and gradually increasing his acreage, until at the present time, he owns 448 acres in Cypress Township, about 200 acres of which is in Big Creek bottom and second bottom, all in Cypress Township, with the exception of forty acres in Bethany Township. The entire farm is under cultivation, and is as fine a farm as the county affords.
Mr. Utterback was married in 1893 to Amanda C. Nees, of Edgar County, Illinois. She is a native of Indiana and a daughter of George and Mary Nees, both deceased. Mrs. Utterback was reared and educated in Illinois.
Mr. and Mrs. Utterback are the parents of the following children: Ruth, the wife of H. McQuerry of Cypress Township; Mabel, the wife of Walker Flint of Cypress Township; John Shelton and William Morton and James Wilbur, all at home.
Mr. Utterback is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has filled the office of Democratic committeeman of Cypress Township for several years, and is clerk of School District Number 125.
Nathan T. Slatten, a successful farmer and stockman of Cypress Township, was born August 25, 1888, in Sherman Township, the son of James L. and Rozetta (Bartlett) Slatten.
James L. Slatten was born March 24, 1860, in Sherman Township, where he now lives. His wife died October 4, 1918, and is buried in Bethany, Missouri. Tyre Slatten, grandfather of Nathan Slatten. was one of the earliest settlers of Sherman Township, where he entered land now owned by James Slatten. He died in 1912 at the age of eighty-eight years. Nathan Bartlett, maternal grandfather of Nathan Slatten, lives in Ridgeway, Missouri.
The children of James L. and Rozetta Slatten are: Lizzie, the wife of Bert Guyman of Bethany, Missouri; Essie, the wife of Cliff Selby of Sherman Township; Nathan T., the subject of this sketch; Edith, the wife of Forest White of Independence, Kansas; Harlan and Amon of Sher- man Township; and Elva, who lives on the home place.
Nathan T. Slatten was educated in the public schools of Sherman Township, and in Bethany, Missouri. He farmed in Sherman Township until 1913, when he moved to the W. H. Leazenby farm, where he now
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
lives. Mr. Slatten farms 200 acres here, nearly all bottom land and he also feeds stock, being quite successful.
August 30, 1911, Nathan T. Slatten was married to Bertha May Leazenby, a daughter of W. H. and Rhoda May (Neff) Leazenby of Mount Mariah, Missouri. W. H. Leazenby was born in Trail Creek Township January 13, 1861, and his wife was born in Fox Creek Township. His father was one of the pioneer settlers of Yankee Ridge.
Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Leazenby were the parents of the following children: Albert B., who died at the age of twenty-six years; Charles E. of Mount Mariah, Missouri; Eugene of Madison Township; Mrs. Slat- ten; J. Harlan of Ridgeway, Missouri; Robert H., who lives at home; Ruth A., the wife of Jack Dale of Bethany, Missouri; and Mary Lucille, who died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Slatten have two children: Albert Lewis and William Nathan.
The Slatten family are well known and among the substantial citizens of Harrison County.
Ira Omar Thompson, a well known citizen of Cypress Township, was born in this township, November 9, 1879, the son of William A. and Mary E. (Keller) Thompson. William Thompson was born in Jackson County, Ohio, and died in Cypress Township, July 31, 1902, and is buried in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery. His wife was also a native of Jackson County, Ohio, and was born April 6, 1853. She now lives in Bethany, Missouri. In 1872, William Thompson left Ohio and settled in this township, where he engaged in stock raising and farming.
Mr. and Mrs. William Thompson were the parents of the following chil- dren: William Ora, who died in infancy; Ira Omar, of this sketch; Etta Maude, the wife of C. J. Sutton, on the home place; Essie May, the wife of Roscolia M. Slaughter of Daviess County, Missouri; Minnie E., the wife of James F. Caraway, of Gentry County, Missouri; and Milton Arthur of Cypress Township, who married Elsie V. Claycomb.
Ira Omar Thompson was educated in the public schools of this town- ship and has followed farming and run a sawmill and thresher since finish- ing his education. He farms twenty acres of land, and besides his numer- ous duties, has found time to serve the township in the capacity of town- ship collector, having filled this position for seven years. Mr. Thompson has operated a thresher for twenty-eight consecutive seasons and owned
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a rig for twenty-two years. He has his second J. I. Case thresher and Eclipse engine, and when not operating this machine runs a sawmill.
July 2, 1899, Mr. Thompson was married to Lizzie Harmon, who was born November 12, 1878 and died September 12, 1913 and is buried at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery. They were the parents of the following chil- dren: Nellie, the wife of Harvey Yost of Daviess County, Missouri; Wil- liam O., Beatrice and Bertha I., all at home; and Mettie, deceased.
Mr. Thompson was married the second time February 14, 1914 to Nellie E. Kirk, a daughter of Henry and Ella (Copeland) Kirk. Mr. Kirk lives in Pattonsburg, Missouri, and his wife died January 13, 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have two children: Dorothy Lee and Milton I.
Mr. Thompson's grandfather, John Thompson, was born in North- umberland County, Pennsylvania, April 2, 1806 and died June 26, 1879, in Madison County, Ohio, and is buried at Georgesville Cemetery. His wife, who was Eliza Joyce of Jackson County, Ohio, was born in 1854 and died at the age of twenty-nine years and is buried in Union cemetery at Liberty Hall, Jackson County, Ohio.
Hugh Thompson, a cousin of William A. Thompson, was a veteran of the Civil War and at battle of Chickamauga he was wounded and for eight years he did not regain consciousness, until February, 1871. He was a wanderer all that time with the past obliterated from his mind and a fall in Illinois relieved the pressure from his brain which was caused by a bullet, and his past then gradually returned to him, but it was not until 1887 that he established his identity through the G. A. R. Post in Meade County, Kansas.
Fourteen of the Thompson family have served in the wars of this country as soldiers as shown by the history of the Thompson family, which was printed in 1911 and this does not include those who were in the World War.
Mr. Thompson is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Coffey, Missouri, Encampment at Bethany and of the Modern Wood- men of America at Bridgeport, Missouri.
Garland A. Miller, a successful farmer of Adams Township, and proprietor of Hickory Grove Farm, was born in Daviess County, Mis- souri, June 13, 1863, the son of Jacob E. and Elizabeth (Miller) Miller, both of whom died in Cypress Township, the former is buried at Bethany and the latter at Pleasant Ridge.
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
Jacob E. Miller was a veteran of the Civil War, enlisting from Beth- any, Missouri, with Company E of Missouri Infantry, and serving four and one-half years. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Shiloh and was in prison for several weeks. After the war, he settled in Cypress Township and lived here until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob E. Miller were the parents of the following children: R. H., of southern Missouri; Garland, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Martha Salmon, deceased; Mrs. Mary Mooney, of Nebraska; and Charlie, deceased.
Garland Miller was educated in the schools of Harrison County, Mis- souri, and has made his own way in the world since he was thirteen years of age, at which time, he began working for his uncle, James Mitchen, for $13.00 per month. He worked by the month for several years before he bought his present farm in 1895, which consists of 140 acres. Mr. Miller has a fine farm, which he has extensively improved himself. He has a fine residence, barn, two poultry houses and other buildings. He raises pure bred Rhode Island chickens, black Poland-China hogs, also raises cattle and Shropshire sheep. His farm is well watered with three wells and a pond. This farm is situated six and one-half miles northeast of Coffey and four and one-half miles southwest of Blue Ridge.
Mr. Miller was married March 30, 1889, to Arminta Courter, a daugh- ter of D. C. and Chloe Courter, pioneers of Cypress Township, who settled here in 1844. D. C. Courter was a native of Ohio and his wife a native of Virginia.
To Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been born the following children: Altha J., the wife of E. J. Parette, who live on the home place, and who have three children, Grace Juanita, Fay Leone and Roberta Maxine; Cleo Pearl, the wife of Verne A. Boyles of South Dakota, and who have two children, Garland and Leon, and a daughter Pearl Arline, deceased; Kenneth C., a graduate of Bethany High School of class 1918 and who is a member of the class 1922, Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, and who was in the students' army training corps at the Northwestern University for three months in 1918 and 1919, discontinuing when the armistice was signed; Ethel, who died at the age of seventeen years, who was a student at Bethany High School at the time of her death; and three children who are deceased.
Mr. Miller has been in favor of good schools all of his life and is a progressive citizen. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Coffey, Missouri. He is a stockholder of the Bank of Coffey, Missouri.
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HISTORY OF IIARRISON COUNTY
M. F. Oxford, well known business man and prominent attorney of Cainsville, was born on a farm two miles north of Bethany, November 10, 1848, the son of Jacob B. and Mary (McCany) Oxford, who were the parents of nine children.
Jacob B. Oxford was born in Buncum County, North Carolina, the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Rogers) Oxford who moved to Kentucky in early days and came to Grundy County, Missouri about 1840. They reared a large family before coming to Daviess County and died on their home place in that county. Their son, Jacob B., was a farmer and came to Harrison County in 1845 where he engaged in farming. He died near Gallatin while on a visit in 1882, at the age of sixty-seven. His first wife was Mary Davidson and they had one child, a son, J. D. Oxford, who was a minister in the Christian Church in Harrison County for more than forty years. Jacob B. Oxford was married the second time to Mary Mc- Cany, a native of Virginia and a daughter of Andrew and Miss (Collins) McCany, both natives of Virginia who came to Daviess County, Missouri in pioneer days and suffered the hardships and privations of those early times. They were driven from their home during the Mormon War and the house was burned. Mrs. Oxford was a descendant of Terrance Mc- Cany who was a soldier in the American Revolution and the grandfather of Andrew McCany. Mrs. Oxford died in 1879 at the age of sixty-three. Jacob B. Orford was a Democrat in politics and at one time served as county assessor. He was a man with very strong and decided opinions in both politics and religion and had a strong faculty for making friends.
M. F. Oxford was reared on a farm and attended the district school until he was grown when he went to a select school at Cainsville conducted by Mr. Shaeffer. Mr. Oxford then taught school in Harrison and Mercer counties for four years and in 1872 he went into the grocery business at Cainsville with S. D. Rardin. After two years Mr. Oxford sold his interest in the business to his partner and then in company with C. M. Scott, James Moss, Sr., and H. T. Rogers he went to California with a view to locating in that state. None of the party was pleased with the country so they returned to Cainsville and Mr. Oxford, in partnership with his cousin, R. L. Oxford, bought the Moss and Hagan general merchandise stock. The two partners were brothers-in-law and the firm was known as the Oxford Brothers. In the fall of 1883, M. F. Oxford bought his partner's interest and conducted the store alone until 1900, when he took his son, O. H., in as a partner. This firm continued in business until 1915 when Mr. Oxford closed out his interest to his son and began the
M. F. OXFORD
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
practice of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1903, having studied law through text books. He has been a successful attorney in general prac- tice and has been the attorney for the Cainsville Bank for twelve years. He was one of the men who helped organize the bank and has been on the official board for practically all the time since the bank started busi- ness. Mr. Oxford owns three farms which he manages efficiently, con- ducting the work on the 500 acres while attending to his other varied duties.
M. F. Oxford was married December 25, 1869 to Sarah Jane Cham- bers who was born on a farm near Cainsville in Mercer County, February 5, 1851, the daughter of Isiah and Miria (Kennedy) Chambers, both natives of Indiana and early settlers of Mercer County. To the union of M. T. and Sarah Jane (Chambers) Oxford the following children were born: Nora, deceased; Cora, now the wife of William J. Burrows, son of Congressman Burrows, and living on the old Burrows home place in Mer- cer County ; Gertrude, married to L. B. Gillihan, a successful attorney at Gallitan; Oscar H., secretary of a land agency at Des Moines, Iowa ; and Maude, married to O. L. Fitterer, a banker and grocer in partnership with his brother at Gallitan. Mr. and Mrs. Oxford have also five grand- children: Ruth, Bonnie and William O. Burrows; Lewis Oxford and Kathelyn Gillihan.
Mr. Oxford is a Democrat in politics. He was a candidate for repre- sentative of the county in 1886, but was defeated. He has been an active member of the Baptist Church since he was eleven years old. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1872 and in all those years has never drawn money from the lodge except for one thirty days illness when he was in a hospital, and his standing in the lodge has never been questioned.
Mr. Oxford is one of the interesting men of his community who by inheritance and training is an energetic, capable and high minded citizen.
P. C. Puls, a successful farmer and stockman of Adams Township, was born in Knox County, Missouri, July 16, 1880, the son of J. A. and Margaret (Snooks) Puls. J. A. Puls lives in Harrison County, Missouri, and is seventy-six years of age, and his wife, who was born in Knox County, died in Scotland, Missouri, in 1885 and is buried in Knox County.
Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Puls were the parents of the following children: Theodosia, the wife of Joseph Matlick of Scotland County; Orena, the
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wife of Thomas Cunning of Scotland County, Missouri; Mabie, the wife of Charles Wagner of Sherman Township; Cora, the wife of John Nighthait of Cypress Township; Perry of Eaglesville, Missouri; Pierce of Lewiston, Idaho; Everett of Adams Township and P. C. Puls.
P. C. Pule was educated in the Scotland and Harrison County public schools and came to Harrison County when twelve years of age with his parents, who settled in Adams Township. He was reared on his father's farm, and, after finishing school, rented land for a few years, and bought his first farm of 160 acres twelve years ago, in Adams Township. He sold it and bought his present farm of 176 acres, forty acres in Cypress and the remainder in Adams Township. This was formerly the Clint Potter farm. The place has fair improvements, and the entire farm is under cultivation. Mr. Puls also rents his father's farm of eighty acres and does general farming and stock raising.
Mr. Puls was married September 7, 1900, to Pearl E. Nighthait of Sherman Township, a native of this township, and daughter of Philip and Elizabeth Nighthait. Philip Nighthait is deceased and is wife lives in Sherman Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Puls have four children: Vesta and Vera, who are in their second year at Bethany High School; Gerald LaVerne and Gerard Pershing.
Mr. Puls is a progressive farmer and also a public spirited citizen. He and his family are among the leading citizens of the county.
George Albert Pash, a successful farmer of Cypress Township, was born in Logan County, Ohio, November 13, 1849, the son of Richard and Hannah (Lease) Pash, both of whom died in Logan County, Ohio. Henry Pash, the father of Richard Pash, was killed in the War of 1812.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Pash were the parents of the following chil- dren: Colbert Fenton, who died in 1919 at the age of eighty years; Nancy Ann, deceased; John Richard of Logan County, Ohio; William of Muncie, Indiana; George A., of this sketch; and Mead, a tinner of Logan County, Ohio.
George Albert Pash was educated in the public schools of Logan County, Ohio, and came to Harrison County, Missouri, in 1887, and located on the farm where he now lives. His father-in-law, Oliver Raymond, had purchased this place about 1858, and lived here a short time, then
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
returned to Ohio, and died in Mespotamia, Sheridan County, Ohio, Novem- ber, 1889. He was born in New York, in 1826, and his wife, Savilla Koplin, was born near Akron, Ohio, in 1832, and died at the home of George A. Pash in 1896, and is buried in Coffey Cemetery. Mrs. George Pash is the only one living of the Raymond family, her sister, Mrs. Lucia Barr, having died in Phoenix, Arizona.
Mr. and Mrs. George Pash moved to their present home in 1887 and have resided here since that time. The farm, which consists of 160 acres. is situated three miles from Coffey, Missouri. Mr. Pash does general farming, and is very successful. Two acres of the farm are in orchard. Mr. and Mrs. Pash were married April 15, 1880, and they had the following children: Bertha, who died at the age of thirteen years; Harvey R., of Daviess County, who married Mamie Fields; Ernest of Julesburg, Colo- rado, who married Inez Magee; Albert B. of Daviess County, who married Maud Nellie Adams; Ola Grace, who died when six years of age; Sherman T. of Bridgeport, who married Ava Strong; Lucia, wife of Fred Denham, of Gridley, Kansas; Richard Homer of Adams Township, who married Ova Foaster; Meade M. of Hancock, Iowa; Orval M. and Iva H., both at home; and Morris L., who lives in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Pash have twenty- nine living grandchildren and three deceased.
Homer Pash was in United States service at Camp Dodge, Iowa, during the World War, and was mustered out December, 1918. Meade M. Pash enlisted in the United States Army August, 1918, and was sent to Camp Pike, Arkansas, where he remained for six weeks, and was overseas for six months with Company L of the 12th Battalion. Upon his return from France, he was appointed assessor of Butler Township.
Ray Endicott, an enterprising young man of Adams Township, was born near Bolton, east of Gilman, Missouri, February 7, 1891, the son of H. E. and Ottie (McLey) Endicott. Mrs. Ottie Endicott died near Bolton, Missouri, and her husband lives in Mitchell County, Kansas. Ray Endicott is their only child, but, by a former marriage of H. E. Endicott, he has three children: George, Charles and William, all of Mitchell County, Kansas.
Ray Endicott was educated in the public schools in Missouri and Nebraska, and, during the World War, attended the Rhae Auto School of Kansas City, Missouri, and, after finishing a course there, enlisted at Camp Dodge in the Mechanics Division of the United States Army Corps,
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
and was retained there until the war closed. His division was due to go overseas on the 9th of November, but, owing to the armistice being signed, he was mustered out at Bethany, Missouri.
Ray Endicott was married July 9, 1917, to Nora Justice, a daughter of T. A. Justice and wife of Cypress Township, who now live in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Endicott have two children: Harold and Reva Maxine.
For the past two years, Mr. Endicott has been with the Blue Ridge Garage, and is a very efficient mechanic. He is well and favorably known throughout the town.
Arthur Justice, a brother of Mrs. Endicott, was in the United States Navy for eighteen months, having enlisted from Harrison County. He was a gun pointer on the United States Battleship Oregon in the European waters. He married Georgia Richardson, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. F. Richardson, and they are now on a farm in Cypress Township.
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