USA > Missouri > Harrison County > History of Harrison County, Missouri > Part 42
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
Henry G. Sutton, a successful contractor of Bethany, Missouri, was born in Daviess County, Missouri, August 5, 1870, the son of John Harvey and Ellen F. (Hubbard) Sutton.
John Harvey Sutton was born November 26, 1846 in Rush County, Indiana, the son of Jacob and Nancy A. (Durgin) Sutton. George Sutton, the paternal grandfather of John H. Sutton, spent his life as a farmer in Preble County, Ohio, and died there about the year 1860, when past seventy years of age. During the War of 1812, he saw service under General Hull. He and his wife, Hannah Sutton, were the parents of the following children: John, a carpenter in Franklin County, Indiana, and who taught this trade to Jacob Sutton; Aaron, who died in Daviess County, Missouri, in 1867; Samuel, a farmer, who died in Harrison County in 1909; Noah, who died in Knox County, Indiana; Simeon, who died in Bethany, Missouri, in 1910; Harvey Jacob, who died in 1867; Benjamin, who died in Harrison County in 1902; Sarah, the wife of Williamson Pugh, who died in Indiana; Letitia, the wife of William Dickson, of Wichita, Kansas; Julia Orson Guard, who died in 1914. Harvey Sutton lived near Rutland, Illinois; Simeon Harvey was a captain of volunteers in Missouri during the Civil War and was captured by the enemy at the Battle of Glasgow; and Benjamin Sutton was with General Sherman's army on its famous march to the sea. He was wounded at the Battle of Atlanta.
541
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
Jacob Sutton, the father of John Harvey Sutton, was born in Preble County, Ohio, May 2, 1823, and during his boyhood, acquired a fair edu- ation, and learned the trade of carpenter with his eldest brother. He moved to Indiana in 1844 and engaged in this work there for several years when he located in Missouri. Among his works of construction were the Hubbard and Westfieling residences in Harrison County, two well known houses in days before the Civil War. Jacob Sutton entered the Union Army, during the war, and enlisted with Merrill's Horse, Second Missouri Cavalry, Company F. His regiment served in Missouri and Arkansas and he participated in the battles of Wilson Creek, Kirkville and Little Rock, and in eastern Tennessee and Alabama, he did scout duty, taking part in minor engagements. He died in October, 1867, on his farm in Harrison County, Missouri. He was a Republican and cast his first vote for John C. Fremont. He was a member of the Christian Church and served the Coffey congregation as elder.
Jacob Sutton married Nancy A. Durgin in 1846, a daughter of Ahira G. Durgin of Daviess County, Missouri. Ahira Durgin was a farmer, millwright and carpenter and was born in Rutland, Vermont, October 12, 1804, and died November, 1864. He came to Missouri in 1841 from Deca- tur County, Indiana, and did much work as millwright in Daviess County. He was captain of Militia, Union troops, during the Civil War. Captain Durgin was a justice of the peace, a member of several commissions in laying out state roads, and a member of the Christian Church.
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Sutton were the parents of the following children : John Harvey, father of Henry G .; Sarah E., who died; Ahira G., a fruit farmer of Branson, Missouri; Letitia A., who married William Bolin of Spencer, South Dakota; Mary, who died in childhood; Frances Caroline Reichel, whose husband is a dairyman in Puget Sound, Washington.
John Harvey Sutton was educated in the rural schools, Bethany Col- legiate Institute and Old Chillicothe Seminary. He taught school in Da- viess and Harrison counties and eventually learned the carpenter trade under the tutelage of his father, and entered the contracting business at Jameson, Missouri, where he built a school house and many other build- ings. He lived there for fifteen years and then went to Pratt, Kansas, and, while there, erected some of the best buildings of the town. He came to Bethany, Missouri, in 1889 and continued to work here until his death in 1920. The Methodist, Christian and Baptist churches were built by him. From 1898 to 1903, he built, among other buildings, the court house and high school at Grant City Missouri, and from 1911 to 1913, he
542
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
erected the Pythian Home at Springfield, two churches at Pattonsburg and the High School and Peoples Exchange Bank at Jamesport, Missouri. He was appointed assessor of Harrison County by Governor Folk in 1906, and was a delegate to the Missouri State convention in 1910. He served for eight years in the Bethany council, and was on the water works and finance committee during the construction of the water works.
John Harvey Sutton was married May 13, 1868, to Ellen F. Hub- bard, a daughter of Captain Elijah Hubbard, and they are the parents of the following children: Leonard H., who died at Liberal, Kansas, July, 1913; Henry G., the subject of this sketch; Fred K. of Liberal, Kansas; Ralph H. of Little Rock, Arkansas; Sadie, the wife of S. B. Stockwell; Nell K., former county superintendent of schools of Harrison County ; John H., Jr., contractor at Pattonsburg, Missouri; and Herbert D. of Bethany, Missouri.
Henry G. Sutton was married in 1891 to Gertrude H. Thomas, who died in October, 1920. She was a daughter of Lon and Mary J. Thomas, both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Sutton were the parents of a daughter, Fay, the wife of Horace W. Dunn of Bethany, Missouri.
Mr. Sutton has been contracting for the past thirty years and was in partnership with his father until about fifteen years ago. He has constructed some of the best buildings in this city, among which are the Knights of Pythias Hall and the buildings of the Harrison County Fair Grounds. Mr. Sutton has also done sixty per cent of the paving in the City of Bethany. He now has the contract for the bridge work on the Jefferson Highway, which passes through this county. Among other buildings Mr. Sutton has erected are: The Barlow building, Deal build- ing, Edson garage, Bridges, Webb, Jones, Walter Lingle, and Frank Cuddy residences, and a hundred others.
Mr. Sutton is a member of the Christian Church and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge. He is well known in Bethany and Harrison County, and is a substantial and highly respected citizen.
W. H. Courter, proprietor of Fairview Stock Farm, is one of the suc- cessful and enterprising farmers and stockmen of Harrison County. He was born in Cypress Township, March 4, 1853, two and one-fourth miles west of where he now resides, in Adams Township, the son of D. C. and Chloey Jane (Miller) Courter. The latter was born in Jackson County,
543
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
Ohio, a daughter of Adam Miller and wife, pioneers of Cypress Township. D. C. Courter, Sr., was a stockman and farmer and owned 500 acres of land at the time of his death, in 1897.
Mr. and Mrs. Dewitt Clinton Courter were the parents of the follow- ing children: James I., who died in 1910 and who married Martha Jane Ballard; W. H., the subject of this sketch; J. M., who married Jennie Rice, and who died in 1919; Garland, who died in 1910; Dewitt C., Jr., of Coffey, Missouri; George, a farmer of Cypress Township, who married Pemelia Britcher; Minta, the wife of G. A. Miller, a sketch of whom appears in this book; Delcina, the wife of L. B. Binney of Gallatin, Mis- souri ; and Samuel, deceased, who married Lottie McClure.
W. H. Courter was educated in the public schools of Pleasant Ridge and Reynolds districts, and lived with his parents until he was thirty- three years of age. He was married November 22, 1886, to Mary Fannie Iddings of Daviess County, a daughter of Lafayette W. and N. E. Iddings, both deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Courter are the parents of the following children: Ezra L., of Daviess County, Missouri; Elinor, who died at the age of thirteen years; Iva, of Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Aura Everly, of Daviess County ; Nova H., who lives at home; Norval, on the home place, who married Ethel Gardner; Judson C. and Orris D. both at home.
Ezra L. Courter enlisted in the United States Army in April, 1918, at Bethany, Missouri, as a mechanic. He was transferred to Camp Jack- son, South Carolina, and to Alabama, and at Camp Mclellan, Alabama, he was made top sergeant quite some time before the armistice was signed. Nova H. Courter enlisted at Bethany, Missouri, and was sent to Camp Funston, where he was kept with the Medical Corps of the 28th Field Artillery. He was mustered out January 24, 1919, and is now assisting with the farm work on the home place; he is also left fielder for the Bethany base ball team.
Mr. Courter owns 500 acres of land, all of which, except eighty acres, is in Cypress Township. When he first began working for himself, he went in debt for his first eighty acres, which he sold later and bought 195 acres, and gradually added to his farm until he has his present valu- able place. He rebuilt his residence, built new barn and fences, and has one of the finest farms in Adams Township. Mr. Courter has fed cattle and hogs extensively, and his farm is well watered. His farm is well improved with good buildings suitable for stock raising.
544
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
Mr. Courter has always been a booster for schools and churches and is a man of progressive ideas. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Coffey, Missouri.
Maj. Randall Wilson, a well known and successful attorney at Beth- any, was born May 26, 1889, in Bethany, Missouri, the son of J. C. and Alice E. (Turner) Wilson.
Randall Wilson received his education in the public school of Bethany, Wentworth Military Academy from which he graduated in 1907, the Uni- versity of Missouri and the Law School of the University of Michigan from which he graduated in 1912. He at once began the practice of law in Beth- any, associating himself with his father, Judge J. C. Wilson, and continued in the practice until June, 1916, when he entered the United States service . and went with his company to the Mexican border. He had enlisted at his home town in Company "G", 4th Infantry (Missouri) N. G. U. S. and was elected captain of the company at the date of his enlistment. He re- turned home from the Mexican border in March, 1917 and again took up the practice of law with his father remaining at his home until August, 1917.
When the United States declared war against Germany, he again volunteered his services, entering the service of the United States again in August, 1917; he went with his company to Camp Doniphan, Okla- homa. In October of that year the Fourth Missouri and the Third Kan- sas Infantry were merged into the 139th U. S. Infantry, 35th Division, and Randall Wilson was placed in command of Company "G" of that organ- ization.
In April, 1918, he with his organization was ordered overseas and he remained in command of this organization until October 6, 1918. During his command, this organization participated in the defensive sector of the Voges Mountains, the battle of St. Mihiel and the battle of the Argonne Forest. Following the battle of the Argonne Forest, Randall Wilson was, by order, made operations officer of his regiment and directed the opera- tions of his regiment until November of that year.
Captain Wilson was promoted to the rank of major on October 29, 1918 while he was at Verdun, and in November was placed in command of the first battalion of his regiment which battalion he commanded until January, 1919, when by order of the commanding general of the 35th
.
MAJOR RANDALL WILSON
545
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
Division, he was transferred to the command of the second battalion of the 140th Infantry for the purpose of raising the standard of that bat- talion. Having accomplished his mission, in March, 1919, he was re- turned to the command of the first battalion of the 139th Infantry. In April, 1919, he was again transferred and was placed in command of the 114th Military Police Battalion with headquarters at Lyons, France, the second largest city in France. He was ordered home in June and mus- tered out of service at Camp Dix, New Jersey, July 8, 1919.
For his valor and devotion to duty in the battle of the Argonne, Major Wilson was cited by Gen. John J. Pershing, being awarded the Silver Star citation, the highest award of the General Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces; General Traub, commanding the 35th Division, and by his regimental commander.
Major Wilson has been engaged in the practice of law in partnership with his father since his return from the World War. In April, 1920, he was appointed city attorney and is serving the city in that capacity at the time of the writing of this sketch. His training in law added to the broad experience which he obtained by his service in the World War have helped to make him one of the valuable and progressive citizens of his native town. Major Wilson is a member of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of the Elks, one of the first lodges in the United States to give and provide a hospital for soldiers of the World War. He is one of the founders of the "Wilson-Axline Post", No. 216, Department of Mis- souri, American Legion.
Major Wilson married November 24, 1915 to Monte L. Ballard, a daughter of Judge John R. and Lola (Barlow) Ballard, of Bethany. Major and Mrs. Wilson have one son, Pershing, born January 7, 1918.
Homer Rollen, better known as Homer Hamaker, a prominent and successful farmer of Adams Township, was born in Ray County, Missouri, April 30, 1874, and was reared by Oliver Hamaker in Harrison County, Missouri, three miles south of Blue Ridge, Missouri. His father, Mr. Rollen, was a veteran of the Civil War, and died from injuries received while in the service.
When Homer Hamaker was four years of age, he came to Daviess County, Missouri, with his uncle, Isaac Odell, who now lives in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Homer Hamaker was educated in the public schools
(30)
546
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
of this county, and has lived in Adams Township ever since he came here. He owns a valuabe farm of 320 acres, three-fourths mile west of Blue Ridge, and this is a well improved place, with good residence, tenat house, two barns, etc. Mr. Hamaker purchased this farm in July, 1919, and was formerly known as the John Oram farm.
Mr. Hamaker does general farming and stock raising, and is quite successful.
Homer Hamaker was married in 1899 to Osa Oram, a daughter of John and Jennie Oram. Mrs. Jennie Oram died in April, 1919, and her hus- band now lives in Gilman, Missouri. Mrs. Hamaker was born near Mel- bourne, Missouri, and received her education there.
Mr. and Mrs. John Oram were the parents of the following children : Mrs. Dora Taggart, deceased; Mrs. Nancy Cole of Bethany, Missouri; Mrs. Osa Hamaker; and Marian, of Melbourne, Missouri.
Mr. and Mrs. Hamaker are the parents of five children: Delbert, Willis, Emmett, Dean and Edna Fay.
Homer Hamaker is well known and highly respected in Adams Town- ship, where he and Mrs. Hamaker have many friends and acquaintances.
Jesse L. Lowe, one of Harrison County's honored veterans of the World War, was born in Gentry County, Missouri, October 30, 1887, the son of W. N. and Lulu J. (Roberts) Lowe.
W. N. Lowe was born in Gentry County and his wife in DeKalb County. They now live in Gilman City. Their children were: Charlie, living in Gilman City; Curtis, living in Coin, Iowa; Roy, living in Billings, Montana; Mintie, living in Gilman City ; Lennie, now Mrs. C. E. Davisson, of Gilman City; and Jesse L., the subject of this sketch. By a former marriage of W. N. Lowe, he had a daughter, Mecie, now Mrs. Charles Fusson of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Jesse L. Lowe was educated in the public schools of Gentry County and was a painter by trade prior to entering the World War. He enlisted for service in the army, July 2, 1917 at St. Joseph, Missouri. He was sent to Nevada, Missouri, for training and remained six weeks; then went to Camp Doniphan, Fort Sill, Oklahoma; from there to Camp Mills, New York, April 10, 1918; and overseas on April 25, 1918. He arrived in Liverpool, England, and from there was sent to Havre, France. He par- ticipated in the battles in Vosges Mountains and was wounded there Aug-
547
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
ust 9, 1918, receiving four wounds from a hand grenade, one in the head, two in the leg, and two in the body. He was taken to a field hospital in Cruth, France, and then to the Base Hospital at Vishie, and finally to Savonne, from which place he was sent home on October 15, 1918. He landed at New York, October 25, 1918 and remained in the hospital on Ellis Island for a week, then was taken to Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and from there to Fort Dodge, Iowa. He was discharged as ninety per cent disabled, February 28, 1919. In June, 1919, he was taken to a hospital in St. Joseph for an operation, remaining in the hospital for two weeks.
Mr. Lowe served in Company M, 139th Infantry, 35th Division and is one of the men recently placed by the government on the permanent total disability list. He makes his home in Gilman City, Missouri, where he is esteemed most highly for his service to the country.
W. H. Oram, prominent pioneer citizen of Harrison County, Missouri, was born in Harrison County five miles north of Gilman City, September 2, 1849, the son of John Owen and Sophia (Payne) Oram.
John Owen Oram was born in Maryland. He moved to Ohio in the early days and then came to Daviess County, Missouri in 1839. Later he traded for the farm upon which W. H. was born and where John Owen Oram continued to live until his death in September, 1878. Sophia (Payne) Oram was born in Ohio, and was married there. She died at the home place one and one-half miles east of Gilman City in 1874. Both she and her husband are buried in Mitchell Cemetery, near Melbourne. Their children were: Thomas, living in Gilman City; James, a Civil War veteran, now deceased; Elizabeth, later Mrs. Scott and now deceased; Rachel, later Mrs. Ward and now deceased; Edward, deceased; W. H., the subject of this sketch; John, now living in Gilman City ; Sarah, now Mrs. Burrell, of Gilman City; Mary, now Mrs. Claybaugh, of Seneca, Nebraska; and Charles D., now living in Denver, Colorado.
W. H. Oram was educated in the rural schools of Harrison County, attending the Hagerty school part of the time. He took up the vocation of farming, buying land in Daviess and Harrison counties, and then buy- ing out the heirs of his parents until he at one time had 1120 acres of land. He recently sold 440 acres to his oldest son. Mr. Oram was an extensive farmer and stockman and was known throughout the county for his enterprise and success. He now has 160 acres of land adjoining
548
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
the townsite of Gilman City. He has lived here since 1915 and has a modern home with electricity and water installed.
W. H. Oram was married in 1872 to Elizabeth Ward, a daughter of James F. and Rebecca (Staley) Ward. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ward were born in Sangamon County, Illinois. They came to Missouri in 1856, and settled two and one-half miles east of Bancroft. Mrs. Ward died in 1870 and Mr. Ward died in Gilman City, February 20, 1908. They are buried in Mitchell Cemetery. To James F. and Rebecca (Staley) Ward the fol- lowing children were born: Mary Jane, later Mrs. Oram, deceased; Eliza- beth, now Mrs. W. H. Oram; J. D., now living in Oklahoma; William, Gilman City; Lucretia Oram, Gilman City; Marian F., Gilman City ; Louisa, now Mrs. Lirley, of Gilman City; Robert, deceased; and Rosa, deceased.
To W. H. and Elizabeth (Ward) Oram the following children were born: Sylvester, now living on the home farm in Sugar Creek Township, married to Mrs. Lizzie Burrell and has three children, Bertha, Doris and William; C. F., a brief sketch of whom appears later; and Rebecca Pearl, living in Daviess County, seven miles southeast of Gilman City, married to Edmond Leigh, a farmer and stockman. They have four children liv- ing; Charles F., Opal, Harry B., and Willena. Their oldest girl, Estella, died at the age of sixteen.
Mr. Oram helped organize the bank at Melbourne and his son, C. F., was the first cashier. Both Mr. and Mrs. Oram are stockholders in the Citizens Bank of Gilman City which Mr. Oram assisted in organizing.
The Citizens Bank of Gilman City was organized in 1906 with a capital stock of $15,000.00. The first cashier was Ed Case; he was suc- ceeded by J. O. Oliphant, who was succeeded by D. E. Fair. Mr. Fair was the cashier until 1912, when the present cashier, C. F. Oram, went into office. The present capital stock of the bank is 15,000 with a surplus of $25,000.00 and deposits of $110,000.00. The present officers of the bank are: M. F. Ward, president; John Brown, vice-president; C. F. Oram, cashier ; and C. F. Oram, E. L. Moulin, H. V. Hutchinson, G. W. Dowell. and G. W. Oram, directors. The bank owns the brick building in which its business is conducted. This building was constructed in 1911.
C. F. Oram, cashier of the Citizens Bank, was born in Daviess County, August 27, 1878, the son of the subject of this sketch. He was educated in the public schools of Harrison County and followed the vocation of farming prior to his acceptance of his present position. He still conducts
549
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
his farm of 360 acres, six miles southeast of Gilman City and does general farming and stock raising. He was married to Tressie Shaffer of Daviess County, November 4, 1901. She is the daughter of John M. and Susanna (Lierley) Shaffer, both of Gilman City, Missouri. C. F. and Tressie (Shaffer) Oram have one daughter, Eva Pearl.
The Oram family has always been prominent in Harrison County where the members have stood for high ideals in citizenship and for everything that tends toward progress. The community is justly proud of the record of the Oram family.
Josiah Bogue, a well known and highly respected pioneer settler of Harrison County, was born in Fox Creek Township, October 13, 1848, the son of Joseph and Hannah (Wiles) Bogue.
Joseph and Hannah (Wiles) Bogue were married in Indiana and came to Missouri in 1837. They stopped in Daviess County, then came to Fox Creek Township, Harrison County, where they took up a claim which they later sold to Daniel Brown. They then took up land near Bolton, Mis- souri, and in 1872, they moved to Cloud County, Kansas. Joseph Bogue died in Courtland, Kansas, and is buried in Cloud County, Kansas. His wife, who died several years before her husband, is buried in Springer Cemetery, Harrison County, Missouri.
To Joseph and Hannah (Wiles) Bogue the following children were born: Sarah Jane, now Mrs. Anderson Foster of Gilman City; John, who died at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, while serving in the Union army ; Margaret, now deceased, who married James Manville and died in Sugar Creek Township; Elizabeth, now deceased, who married William Springer, for several years judge of the county court of Harrison County ; Josiah, the subject of this sketch ; J. Hugh, who died at Jamestown, Cloud County, Kansas; Mary, now the wife of Thomas Frisbie; Martha, now the wife of John Jolly of Kansas: Jonathan, now living in Manhattan, Kansas; and Jesse, now living in the west.
Josiah Bogue was educated in the public schools of Harrison County and except for two years spent in Grundy County, has lived here all of his life. Harrison County has been the scene of many changes during the lifetime of Mr. Bogue. He tells of how there were only three families liv- ing near his prairie home in the early days. They were the families of Lewis Charlton; old Mr. Barker, who lived in a dugout in what is now
550
HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
Sherman Township; and old Mr. Buck, who lived on the west side of Pole Cat Creek near Bethany. When the families needed groceries, the neigh- bors all clubbed together and sent an ox team to Brunswick, Missouri, taking along for exchange, beeswax, deer meat, deer hides and coon skins while they brought back groceries and leather which was made into shoes by Hill Lyons who lived about eight miles northeast of the present site of Gilman City. The corn raised on the farm was taken to an old horse power mill near Eagleville owned by Mr. Taylor. In those days, Fox Creek, Adams, and Sherman townships were open prairie. Sugar Creek and Fox were partly wooded. On all of this wild land were to be found wild turkeys and deer. It required from four to six yoke of oxen to break the prairie land, and Mr. Bogue often drove the ox teams in this work. He says that he was always afraid of the rattle snakes and never quite got used to their being so friendly.
Mr. Bogue was a blacksmith at Bolton, Trenton, and Blue Ridge for thirty years and a hotel keeper at Gilman City from 1900 to 1903. For the twelve years following, he was with the Haynes Furniture Company, since that time has has been living in Gilman City where he has a nice home and owns six lots near his residence and four in the south part of town. He raises chickens, keeps Jersey cows, and looks after his flowers, enjoying a well earned leisure. Besides his other business interests. Mr. Bogue is a stockholder in the Gilman City Bank.
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.