USA > Missouri > Harrison County > History of Harrison County, Missouri > Part 62
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Mr. Harper was married January 2, 1910 to Mattie Jones, born in Clay Township, the daughter of S. P. and Malinda (Cason) Jones, early settlers of this county. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Harper; Creta and Cleo, the latter deceased.
Mr. Harper is a Democrat and is identified with the Christian Church. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Harper is a capable busi- ness man who brought a wide experience to the bank and has therefore been a marked success in his line of work. He has assisted in building up the Citizens Bank and that institution is now one of the efficient banking organizations in the county.
H. W. Beeney, formerly a farmer and stockman, has now retired from active life but still lives on his farm of eighty acres in Clay Town- ship. Mr. Beeney is of English descent, his parents having been among the people who saw greater and better opportunity for prosperity and improvement in the new land of America than in their native country.
H. W. Beeney was born in Knox County, Ohio, February 8, 1846, the son of Joseph and Anna (Wright) Beeney, both natives of England where they were married. They were the parents of eleven children of whom the subject of this sketch was the tenth child born and is now the only surviving one. Mr. and Mrs. Beeney came to the United States in their youth and settled in Knox County, Ohio, where they operated a farm and where they both died.
H. W. Beeney was reared in Ohio on his parent's farm. After his marriage he came to Labette County, Kansas where he conducted a farm. In 1869 he moved to Harrison County and rented land in Clay Township. He farmed and worked in Princeton for six years and about 1883 bought his present farm. He has improved this land extensively and was successful in his work on it.
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On September 26, 1867, Mr. Beeney was married in Knox County, Ohio to Mary Riley, born in that county, August 5, 1848, the daughter of Lewis and Mary (Holland) Riley, a review of whose lives appear in this volume. To the union of H. W. and Mary (Riley) Beeney four children were born: Lewis C., deceased; Owen L., living in Phelps County ; Gracia G., now the wife of H. F. Thomas and living with her father, the subject of this sketch; and Joseph, a resident of Kansas City, Mis- souri. Mr. Beeney has four grandchildren.
Mr. Beeney is an adherent of the democratic party in his political views and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. He has the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens because of his life of integrity and industry.
Wallace W. Hurd, deceased, was a prominent farmer in Harrison County for many years. He was a native of Ohio, born in Lorain County, February 22, 1846.
Mr. Hurd's parents were Seneca M. and Ellen (Hubbard) Hurd, the former born in Ohio and the latter a native of Illinois. To their union five children were born, the oldest being Wallace W., the subject of this sketch. The only child surviving at present is a daughter; Emma, now Mrs. Turner and living at Harvard, Nebraska. After the death of Ellen (Hubbard) Hurd, Seneca Hurd married Maria Derby and to this union two children, a son and a daughter were born.
Wallace W. Hurd was a miller by trade and he worked at this occu- pation in Wisconsin and Iowa. In 1870 he came to Harrison County and bought a farm of sixty acres in Marion Township. He added to the original holding until he owned over 230 acres of land. He operated his farm successfully and in the course of time began to breed pure bred cattle. He handled only the pure bred stock and raised Herefords. This business he continued to conduct in connection with general farming until his death.
Mr. Hurd was married December 13, 1868, to Ellen Brinigar, born in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, August 23, 1850. Her parents were Michael and Emily (Kreamer) Brinigar, mentioned in connection with the review of the life of W. J. Brinigar in this volume. To this union of Wallace W. and Ellen (Brinigar) Hurd eight children were born, two of whom are now deceased. Those living are: Hattie Belle, wife of John Copper, a farmer in Chase County, Nebraska; Myron H., living at
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Kinsley, Kansas; Oscar E., a resident of Mecker, Colorado; Harvey W., of Mecker, Colorado; Ross, address unknown; and Ella Maud, now Mrs. F. J. Allman, of Blythedale. A sketch of the life of F. J. Allman ap- pears in this volume.
Wallace W. Hurd died at his home in Blythedale, Missouri, Febru- ary 15, 1918, and his widow is now living at Blythedale. Mr. Hurd was a Republican in politics and was an adherent of the Church of the Lat- ter Day Saints, of which church his widow is a member. Mr. Hurd was a member of the school board of his district, serving in that capacity with efficiency. He was a man of energy, strong purpose and industry. In his business affairs he was ever upright and fair and in his work as a citizen he was the upholder of high standards.
Ira Caldwell, a retired farmer of Marion Township and a veteran of the Civil War, is living now in Blythedale. He retains the owner- ship of eighty acres of land in sections 11 and 12 in Marion Township.
Mr. Caldwell was born in Fayette County, Indiana, May 12, 1839, the son of Train and Jane (McClure) Caldwell, both natives of Ohio. The parents of Train Caldwell were natives of Kentucky who migrated to the northwest in the early days. While on their way to their new home, they stopped near Cincinnati, then a village of four little log cabins to negotiate a treaty with the Indians, and while waiting there Train Caldwell was born in the block house where his parents stopped. Train Caldwell was a farmer all of his life. He died at Connersville, Indiana. Jane (McClure) Caldwell was a native of Adams County, Ohio, and she also died at Connersville, Indiana.
Ira Caldwell was reared on a farm in Indiana. In 1870, he went with his family to Cole County, Illinois and farmed there for four years. In 1874 he came to Harrison County and settled on a farm in Marion Township where he bought land until he had 200 acres. He improved this land and remained on it, conducting a successful business until May, 1920, when he gave up the active work of the farm and came to Blythe- dale to live.
Mr. Caldwell enlisted in the Union army in August, 1862, when President Lincoln called for 500,000 men. Mr. Caldwell was in Company I, 84th Indiana Volunteer Infantry and remained in active service throughout the war. He served under Major General Thomas and was in sixteen battles.
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Ira Caldwell was married October 10, 1867 to Margaret J. Kelsey, who was born in Rush County, Indiana, February 7, 1841. Her parents were Joab and Sallie (Broadway) Kelsey. Joab Kelsey came to Har- rison County in 1855 and homesteaded land in Marion Township, but left that same year and returned to Indiana where he remained until 1869 when he came back to Harrison County. He died here and his remains are buried in Hugh's Cemetery near Ridgeway. The remains of his wife are buried in Indiana. To their union six children that were born grew to maturity. There are only two living at present: Mrs. Cald- well and Mrs. Caroline E. Moore, a widow, living at Blythedale.
To the union of Ira and Margaret J. (Kelsey) Caldwell two chil- dren were born: Hester, for several years a teacher, now married to C. B. Harrison and living on a farm in Marion Township and Sanford, deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell are members of the Baptist Church and he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Post 551 at Blythe- dale. He is one of the hardy and intrepid men who met the difficult days of the country's history with courage and fortitude. To such we owe much credit and praise.
Mr. Caldwell has in his possession a solid silver cup inscribed "Indi- ana State Fair Premium, 1857", which was awarded him for exhibiting the best fat cow shown at the Indiana State Fair that year. He also has a pipe bowl which he whittled out with a pocket knife while he was in the army in 1863, from a laurel root which he got on Lookout Moun- tain, Tennessee. The bowl is as perfect as though it was moulded by modern machinery.
R. C. McNelly, a retired farmer of Colfax Township and the owner of 180 acres of land there, is of Irish descent and is a veteran of the Cvil War. He was born near Jefferson in Clinton County, Indiana, the son of John and Jane (Thompson) McNelly.
John McNelly was born in New Jersey, August 18, 1816. He was a wool carder by trade but later in his life became a farmer. He came to Decatur County, Iowa in 1854 and died there July 30, 1890. His wife was born in Pennsylvania, February 25, 1821 and still lives, al- though more than a hundred years old, at Ridgeway. She was mar- ried in Indiana and to her union with John McNelly six children were born, two of them now deceased.
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R. C. McNelly was the second child of his parents. He was reared on a farm and came with his parents to Iowa when he was eleven years old. He married there and in 1876 came to Harrison County where he bought his present farm which he at once began to improve. He did general farming and stock raising in both of which industries he achieved success.
Mr. McNelly was married April 27, 1870 to Catherine Asbach who was born near Bonne, Germany, July 24, 1848 and came to the United States in 1853 with her parents, John and Veronica (Proff) Asbach. They settled at Brunswick, Missouri that same year and operated a farm there, later moving to Decatur County, Iowa where they also con- ducted a farm. To the union of R. C. and Catherine (Asbach) McNelly four children were born: William, now living at home; Mary F., the widow of Mark Stanley of Lamoni, Iowa; Ida, deceased; and Gertrude, living at home. Mr. McNelly has three grandchildren, Everett, Vernon, and Gertrude Stanley. Mrs. McNelly died at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, while there being treated, November 26, 1901.
Mr. McNelly is a democrat in politics. He enlisted for service in the Civil War, October 8, 1864 in the 16th Volunteer Infantry, 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, 17th Corps, Company G, which was made up at Dubuque, Iowa. He saw service in the south and was with Sherman on his famous March to the Sea. He participated in the final Grand Review at Washington, and was mustered out of service in 1865 at Davenport, Iowa. The lives of such men as Mr. McNelly mean much in the growth of a county. By their adherence to high standards of citizenship, by their indomitable perseverance in the face of difficulties, and by their appreciation of the needs of the community they have made possible the highly organized civic body that makes the county today.
William Whittig, a retired farmer of Colfax Township and the owner of 400 acres of land there, is a man whose name belongs in a record such as this. He is the oldest living settler now in the township and the history of his life since he came to Harrison County is the story of the development of the county itself.
Mr. Whittig was born five miles from Dayton, Ohio, December 25, 1827, the son of Frederick and Barbara Whittig, the former a native of Germany and the latter born in Maryland. They were the parents of six children of whom Mr. Whittig is the only one surviving.
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Wiliam Whittig enlisted for service in the Civil War at Bethany in 1862 and was placed in the Provision Corps. He participated in the military movements around Lexington. After the war, Mr. Whittig returned to his home in Harrison County and has lived here ever since. He lived in Whiteside County, Illinois for a time when he was a young man and came to Missouri in 1856. He settled in Colfax Township and homesteaded 160 acres of land for which he paid the government two dollars an acre. To enter land, it was necessary to make payments in gold coin, a rare commodity that was difficult to obtain. The Missouri banks refused to accept Iowa money, and in turn the Iowa banks refused Missouri money. Mr. Whittig says the old "shin plasters" were the ordinary medium of exchange. Fortunately he had put away, some gold coins while he lived in Illinois and these coins he used to make the payments on his land in Harrison County.
Mr. Whittig's reminiscences of life in the early days in the county are worthy of a repetition here. They make a phase of history that we can get only through the men and women who were an integral part of those pioneer days. Mr. Whittig built a log cabin on his land, and being a poor man with a large family, he and his wife worked practically day and night to improve the farm. The cabin set in the midst of prairie grass as high as a horse and when Mr. Whittig bought cattle he kept them in the yard around the cabin with bells tied to them so he could find them in the mornings. Otherwise they would have ibeen lost in the thick prairie grass. He used oxen to break the prairie land, a slow and arduous task. He received corn from St. Joseph and then took it to a grist mill, worked by horses, where it was ground into meal. Flower was so expensive that it was used only rarely in the family. When the busy season came, Mr. Whittig often broke prairie all day and then cut corn until midnight. It was a life of privations and hard work but it laid the foundation for the well improved farm that belongs to Mr. Whittig now.
William Whittig was married to Elzabeth White, born in Elkhart County, Indiana, who died soon after the close of the Civil War at the age of thirty-six years. To this union nine children were born, six of whom are still living: Frances, deceased, married Frank Smith; Albert D., living on the home place with his father; Harvey, living in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, Martha, deceased, was married to Albert DeLong;
(43)
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Charles, living in Idaho; Leander, a resident of California; Joseph, liv- ing in Idaho; Ulysses, deceased; and Rose, at home with her father.
Mr. Whittig is a republican in his political views and is a member of the United Brethern Church. To men such as Mr. Whittig, we of today owe much. They braved the dangers of frontier life and, by their work, made possible the industrial and civic growth that have built up Harrison County.
W. C. McKiddy, a resident of Cainsville where he is the owner of property, has been a merchant, a farmer and a school teacher in this county and is a veteran of the Civil War. He was born in Knox County, Kentucky, February 3, 1845, the son of John H. and Bersheba (Fuson) McKiddy. Of the eight children born to them only two are now living. They are: W. C., the subject of this sketch, the sixth child born; and Rachel, the wife of Charles Hunter of Mercer County.
John H. McKiddy was born in Whitley County, Kentucky in 1810, the son of John and China (Rose) McKiddy, the former a native of Scotland and the latter born in Whitley County, Kentucky of English decent. John H. McKiddy died in 1849. His widow, a native of Knox County, Kentucky, born in 1819, brought her family to Mercer County, Missouri, in 1858 making the difficult overland trip driving a team of oxen, braving the privations and hardships with pluck' and a hardy endurance that were characteristics of the enterprising families who came to the untried frontier in those days. She and her family all settled on a farm which they began to improve. Mrs. McKiddy had six sons and four who served in the Civil War. Thomas, John, and Jonathan all served in Company M, Missouri State Militia Cavalry. W. C., the subject of this review, served in Company D, 44th Missouri Volunteer Infantry. Mrs. McKiddy died in February, 1865. The county may well be proud of such pioneer women for to their indominable perseverance we owe much of our present stability.
W. C. McKiddy was reared on a farm. He enlisted in the war at Princeton, Missouri, August 2, 1864 and was discharged from service at St. Louis, August 15, 1865 having seen service in some of the late battles of the war. He went back to Mercer County after the war and began farming in 1867. He sold his farm in 1876 and entered the teach- ing profession in which he remained until 1883. He received his edu- cation in the rural schools and attended a select school but was prac-
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HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY
tically a self-educated man. He taught in Mercer County and the two years from 1881 to 1883 in Cainsville. On March 31, 1883 he opened a hardware store at Cainsville which he continued to conduct for twenty years. On April 6, 1903 this store was burned and Mr. McKiddy then went into the real estate business, continuing to conduct this enter- prise until 1916 when he retired from active business life.
Mr. McKiddy was married May 10, 1883 to Ida B. Chambers, of Cainsville, who was born March 31, 1863 and died March 2, 1918. She was the daughter of John Quincy and Margaret E. (Bishop) Chambers. Her father was a blacksmith and an early settler of Harrison County. To the union of W. C. and Ida B. (Chambers) McKiddy four children were born: John H., editor of the Enid Sunday News at Enid, Oklahoma; Addie Belle, wife of E. C. Mullins of Princeton; Sylvia M., married to D. L. Oliphant and now living with her father; and Harry E., acci- dently killed at Hutchinson, Kansas. Mr. McKiddy lias nine grand- children.
Mr. McKiddy is a republican and is a member of the Baptist Church of which organization he is a deacon. He has been a notary public for twenty years. Mr. McKiddy is a man whose variety of pursuits have kept him keenly interested in phases of social and business life and he main- tains this interest. since his retirement from business.
Charles A. Kopp, enterprising farmer of Colfax Township owns 220 acres of well improved land and raises graded stock. He is a native of this county where he was born in Colfax Township, January 29, 1876, the son of John M. and Sarah (Hoffman) Kopp.
John M. Kopp was born in Wurtenberg, Germany, January 27, 1831. When he was a boy of eleven years he came to the United States with his parents and settled in Iowa. When he was thirteen years old he started to work for himself and became the owner of a good farm in Iowa. He came to Harrison County about 1858 and settled in Colfax Township. He married Sarah Hoffman of Indiana who was born in January, 1836, and grew up in Morgan County, Indiana. To their union seven children were born. Three of them are now living; I. L., living at Bethany ; Hettie E., now Mrs. Poush of Riverton, Nebraska; and Charles A., the subject of this sketch.
John M. Kopp died November 7, 1909 and his widow died October 19, 1917. Mr. Kopp was a Republican in politics and a member of the
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Christian Church. He was also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic Post at Eagleville. He served in the 23rd Volunteer Infantry, Missouri, during the Civil War and was in the Battle of Shiloh where he was wounded. He was then assigned to hospital duty and was discharged as disabled. He came back to Harrison County then, where he married and spent the remainder of his life.
Charles A. Kopp has always lived on a farm. He has therefore been connected in a very practical way with farm problems all of his life. He bought his first land in 1899, improved it, and added to his hold- ings as he could until he has acquired his present well located and nicely improved farm.
Mr. Kopp was married to Ida M. Hutton, September 13, 1899. Mrs. Kopp was born in Colfax Township, the daughter of Marcellus T. and Anna (Graham) Hutton. Mr. Hutton was born in Bedford, Indiana and Mrs. Hutton was a native of Galesburg, Illinois. They were early settlers of Harrison County. Both are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Kopp have two adopted children; Josephine E. and Roy N.
Mr. Kopp is a Republican and is a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Mr. Kopp is a reliable and sub- stantial member of his community, a man known for his integrity and progressive ideals.
W. W. McFarland, deceased, was a well known farmer in Colfax Township for many years. He was born in Winneshiek County, Iowa, October 29, 1870, the son of Daniel and Sarah (Rutledge) McFarland.
Mr. McFarland was a farmer all of his life. He was reared on his father's farm in Iowa and after he grew to manhood he bought land for himself in that state. In 1895 he came to Harrison County and rented a farm near Eaglesville. That same year, however, he bought the present McFarland farm in Colfax Township. This was at first a tract of eighty acres but Mr. McFarland added to the original holding until he owned 200 acres all well improved. He did general farming and raised graded stock attaining marked success in both lines of work. He died April 2, 1918.
W. W. McFarland was married at Fredericksburg, Iowa, December 27, 1893 to Bertha Farnum. Mrs. McFarland was born in Marengo, Iowa, where she grew to womanhood. Her father was William C. Farnum, born in Allegany County, New York, July 5, 1826. He moved to Henry
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County, Illinois in 1844 and there he married Laura L. Burt, December 5, 1850. Mrs. Farnum was born in Niagara County, New York, Decem- ber 20, 1832. To their union eight children were born, six of them still living: Willis, Frank, and Lemuel live at Canby, Minnesota; a daughter, now Mrs. Fred Swale, lives at Fredericksburg, Iowa; another daughter, Helen, is now Mrs. Monroe, living in South Dakota; and the youngest child, Bertha, is the widow of the subject of this sketch.
William C. Farnum was a veteran of the Civil War in which he served two years and four months. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1878 he moved to Iowa and in 1885 he went to Fredericksburg, Iowa, where he died November 29, 1898. Mrs. Farnum died August 11, 1900.
To the union of W. W. and Bertha (Farnum) McFarland four chil- dren were born: the oldest child died in infancy; Fola L., died in 1918; Zatha D., living at home; and W. Wyane, also living at home.
Mrs. McFarland is a member of the United Brethern Church. Mr. McFarland was identified with the Baptist Church and was a republican in his political views. He was an enterprising and progressive man in his vocation with high ideals of his civic duty, a man who was highly esteemed for his integrity.
J. D. Miller, well known as an enterprising farmer of Marion Town- ship, is now retired from active life and lives at the north edge of Eagle- ville. The Miller name is well known in this county, the parents of Mr. Miller having been early settlers here and Mr. Miller's two sons being attorneys in Bethany and Eagleville.
J. D. Miller was born in Lowell, Indiana, September 19, 1868, the son of Jacob A. and Melissa Ann (Hill) Miller to whom nine children were born. Only three of them are now living: J. D., the subject of this review; a sister, Mrs. Gatley, of Louisburg, Kansas; and J. A., liv- ing in Geddes, South Dakota.
Jacob A. Miller was born in New York, August 21, 1842. He was a farmer all of his life and has now retired and lives at Eagleville. He enlisted for service in the Civil War at Joliet, Illinois, in 1863 and was placed in Company A, 156th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He received his discharge in 1865 and in 1877 came to Harrison County and settled in Union Township. Mr. Miller with his wife and children, made the trip from Indiana to Missouri by wagon. They were twenty-one days
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on the road, fourteen days driving in the rain. Milissa Ann (Hill) Miller, born in Lowell, Indiana, November 12, 1845, died September 25, 1880 and Mr. Miller married the second time in 1881. His second wife was Addie Bonner, born in Vicksburg, Mississippi and to this union three children were born: Lloyd, living four miles west of Eagleville; Harry, a merchant, a review of whose life appears in this volume; and Iva, wife of Frank Matthews, of Fayette, Missouri.
J. D. Miller attended the rural schools in his boyhood and later was in Stanbery College at Stanbery, Missouri, for six months. He farmed on rented land for three years and then bought a farm of 120 acres three miles southeast of Hatfield. He later sold that place and pur- chased land six miles southeast of Hatfield. He remained on this farm until 1910 when he moved to Eagleville where he owned a farm of eighty acres. This he later sold and moved to Kansas City, Missouri, but in 1918 he returned to Eagleville and has made that place his home ever since. Mr. Miller has owned and sold 320 acres of land in this county.
J. D. Miller was married February 7, 1889, to Myrtle B. Fletcher, born at Civil Bend, Missouri, and to this union three children were born: Charles A., prosecuting attorney of Harrison County, at Bethany ; Le Roy, deceased; and George R., an attorney at Eagleville. Both of Mr. Miller's sons were teachers in the Missouri schools before they were admitted to the bar.
Mr. Miller is identified with the Republican party in politics and has served as a member of the board of Hamilton Township. He has always been a man of enterprise and ambition and is a reliable citizen.
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