USA > Missouri > Mercer County > History of Harrison and Mercer Counties, Missouri : from the earliest times to the present : together with sundry personal, business, and professional sketches and family records : besides a condensed history of the State of Missouri, etc > Part 50
USA > Missouri > Harrison County > History of Harrison and Mercer Counties, Missouri : from the earliest times to the present : together with sundry personal, business, and professional sketches and family records : besides a condensed history of the State of Missouri, etc > Part 50
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Calvin Crows was born in North Carolina in June, 1830, and is a son of Martin and Susan (Wagoner) Crows, natives of North Carolina, and of German descent. The parents emigrated from North Carolina to Clay County, Ind., from which place the father hauled goods to Louisville for a livelihood, although he had previously worked at Louis- ville, carrying stone for the first road paved leading from the Ohio River to Bear Grass Creek. He continued to live in Clay County until his children were reared and married, and then, as the greater number of them had gone to Illinois, he immigrated with his wife to Jasper County of that State, where they both died in a few years. Mr. Crows was a Whig during the days of that party, and afterward became a Republican. He was a strong Union man, and sent nine sons to fight for the suppression of the Rebellion; the tenth son, Andrew, was chosen to remain at home and care for the families of those who went to the front. They served during nearly the entire war as fol- lows: Winston in Company I, Twenty-ninth Iowa; William, Benja- min, Harrison and Frederick in Company A, Forty-third Indiana;
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Calvin and Eli, in Company F, Forty-sixth Illinois; Henry, Seventy- first Indiana, and Stephen, in Company H, First Iowa Cavalry; William died at Helena; Winston and William were also soldiers in the Mexican War; Harrison was a Confederate prisoner nine months, and Henry died at Libby prison; Stephen served three years, and left . the army much disabled; Calvin was wounded in his face and lost the sight of one eye. He was reared in Indiana and at the age of twenty- one began life there as an independent farmer, first, however, renting land for two years. In 1853 he went to Jasper County, Ill., and from there to Richland, Ill., where he married Miss Christine Green- wood, a native of Washington County, Ind., and daughter of Henry Greenwood. He served in the war from January 1, 1862, until June of that year under Col. John A. Davis, and engaged in but two battles -Fort Donelson and Shiloh. The wound received at the last named battle is still open, and was the reason of his discharge. He then returned to his family, and in 1853 went to Mercer County, Mo. Two years later he came to Harrison County, where after many adversities he has become one of the leading and well-to-do farmer citizens. He lost some of his property by not having investigated the titles to land he purchased, but now owns about 300 acres well stocked and im- proved. He draws a pension of $24 per month, and is a member of the G. A. R. He has eleven children: Henry W., Martin, Fred, Gen- eral, Mary M., Minnie M., William S., John G., Charles, Orvil and Harvey. He serves his township as school director and road overseer.
James R. Cunningham, judge of the Harrison County Probate Court, was born in McMinn County, Tenn., March 11, 1834, and is a son of Marshall N. and Sarah (Smith) Cunningham, natives of Blount County, Tenn., and Albemarle County, Va., respectively. The father immigrated to Missouri in 1852, and located in Gentry County, where both parents died. They had six children: James R., Moses, Charles M., Robert A. (deceased), Richard S. and George W. James R. was reared to manhood upon a farm, and after coming to Missouri with his father was employed as a clerk in the mer- cantile business at Albany three years. He afterward served as deputy county and circuit clerk, and in 1868 was elected county court clerk for one term of four years. He served as provost-marshal at Albany during the war, and in 1864 engaged in the mercantile business there, in which he continued until 1872. From 1869 to 1871 he filled the office of postmaster with satisfaction. He then removed to his farm in Gentry County, and from there in 1875 came to Bethany, where he served a while as deputy county clerk, deputy sheriff, and was
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employed some time in the treasury office. In 1880 he was elected probate judge, a position which he has since ably filled by re-election. He has been a stanch Republican during and since the war, and as such has been elected to his various offices. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. encampment. May 9, 1867, he married Virginia A. McConkey, a native of Gentry County, Mo., by whom he has four children: Mary, Sarah, Loura E. and Arthur R. The Judge and his worthy wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and highly esteemed among Bethany's popular citizens.
Nelson Church was born in Springville, Erie Co., N. Y., Septem- ber 17, 1836. His father was a native of Connecticut, and his mother of Vermont, and they were married in Erie County in 1835. The father was of Scotch-Irish descent, and the mother, Franco-English. The family resided in Erie County until 1850, when they immigrated to Jefferson County, Wis., then supposed to be in the far west. The children-four in number, one son and three daughters-were edu- cated in the public schools and academies of Wisconsin, married, and scattered over the west in the usual way. The family are all now living except the father and eldest daughter, who are buried in Wis- consin. In the summer of 1859 the subject of this sketch was mar- ried to Felicie H. Hale, of Belvidere, Ill., where he resided until the War of the Rebellion was furiously raging, when, obeying the Presi- dent's call for "300,000 more,". in December, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Thirteenth Regiment Illinois Cavalry, experienced three years of hard service, and was discharged January 1, 1865. . After the war he resided in Wisconsin and Illinois, but in consequence of disease contracted in the army was unable to engage in any business until the autumn of 1868, when he removed from Illinois to Harrison County, Mo., and commenced life anew by teaching school and farming. In 1872 Mr. Church was elected county superintendent of public schools for Harrison County, and held the office until it was abolished by act of the Legislature and changed to the office of county commissioner. He served in that capacity until April, 1875. He had purchased land near Mount Moriah, in the Grand River valley, and resided there until the summer of 1875, when, on account of bad health, he removed with his family to Mitchell County, Kas., where he remained nearly two years, and returned home; and again in 1880, for the same reason, he immigrated to the State of Mississippi, and resided on the Gulf coast until the fall of 1881, when he again returned to Mount Moriah and engaged in the hardware and harness trade. At the general election in 1886,
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he was elected representative for Harrison County in the thirty-fourth General Assembly, his term of office expiring in November, 1888. In September, 1887, in connection with a joint stock association, he purchased an interest in and became managing editor of the Bethany Republican, and is now conducting the paper. He has but one son, and he is of age, and now one of the prominent school teachers of Harrison County. Recently Mr. Church has removed from Mount Moriah to Bethany, where he now resides.
Joseph A. Cushman was born in Henry County, Iowa, December, 8, 1852, and is a son of Andrew R. and Eliza G. (Walker) Cushman, natives of Canada and England, respectively. He came to Missouri with his parents in the fall of 1859, and was reared to manhood in Scotland County, where he learned the wagon-maker's trade, after which he engaged in the business upon his own account at Memphis, Mo., from 1875 until the spring of 1887. In June of that year he came to Bethany and leased the "Pitt" shops which he has since successfully conducted. He manufactures and handles farm and spring wagons, buggies, carriages, etc., and also has a general black- smith and repair shop, and is meeting with good and well-deserved success. November 1, 1885, Mr. Cushman married Caroline P. Gates, a native of Scotland County, Mo., and the mother of one son, Aubrey R. Mr. Cushman is a Republican, and one of the reliable and respected business men of Bethany. Himself and wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Pleasant Daniel, a farmer and stock raiser of Section 11, Township 62, Range 29, was born in Green County, Ky., June 8, 1823, and is a son of Thomas and Chloe (Shofner) Daniel, natives of West Virginia and Kentucky, respectively. The family moved from Kentucky to Morgan County, Ill., in an early day, and there resided until the spring of 1840, when they settled in what is now Butler Township, Harrison Co., Mo. There the father lived upon land he had entered and improved, until his death March 31, 1868. His wife's death occurred November 10, 1884. Pleasant Daniel is the eldest of a fam- ily of five sons and five daughters, all living, and six of them residents of Harrison County. Our subject came with his parents to this county, and September 28, 1848, was married, in Daviess County, to Lucilla, daughter of Samuel Bennet, and a native of Kentucky. After his marriage he located upon 160 acres of land he had entered, upon which he built a house and improved a farm. He has since bought and sold land, so that he now owns about the original amount, which is well cultivated and improved. Mr. Daniels has been
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twice married. By his first marriage one child, Chloe, wife of Will- iam Lowe, of Nebraska, was born, and to his second the following children: Pamela (wife of Hudson Lowe, of Gentry County), Thomas S. (of Colorado), Alexander C., Lucy Ann (deceased wife of R. M. Duncan, who died January 15, 1887, aged thirty-one), Margaret E. (wife of Byron W. Knight, of Daviess County), James H., Rebecca E. (wife of James Flint, of Dakota), and Ida A. (wife of William W. Salmon). Previous to the war Mr. Daniel was a Democrat, but is now a stanch Republican, and has served his township as justice of the peace for six years. He has also held several other local offices of trust and honor, and once served two terms as registrar. Mr. Daniel relates as an incident of his pioneer life in Missouri, that as there was no mill near, he hauled a large load of wheat 150 miles with an ox team, which his family ground in an old-fashioned coffee-mill. About 150 bushels were ground in this way, and the corn meal was made with an iron wedge and mortar.
Joseph De Golia, a native of Steuben County, N. Y., was born in 1828, and is a great-grandson of Joseph De Golia, who came to Canada as a French soldier, and afterward immigrated to New York colony, where he married, lived and died; a grandson of James De Golia, a Revolutionary soldier and pensioner, and a son of John and Hannah De Golia, who were natives of New York, the former born March 2, 1785, and the latter June 16, 1788, and were married February 21, 1805, the father's death occurring in 1832. Joseph received an aca- demic school education, and when about eighteen spent three years as a clerk. In 1850 he went to California, engaged in mining and mer- chandising, and while there, in 1861, enlisted in Company C, Fifth Cal- ifornia Infantry, and after three years' service in Texas and the Terri- tories, was discharged in December, 1864, in New Mexico, but re-en- listed and was finally discharged in September, 1866, at Santa Fe, N. M. In that year he went to Harrison County, Mo., where he was married in 1867 to Miss Sarah, daughter of Ezekiel and Minerva (Cook) Haines, residents of Daviess County, Mo., though Mrs. De Golia was born in Montgomery County, Ind. This union has resulted in four children: Judson V., Mondora Alice (deceased), Georgiana and Fanny Ellen. Politically he was formerly a Republican, casting his first vote for Gen. Scott, but now belongs to the Union Labor party. He and wife are members of the Grange, Patrons of Hus- bandry, of the Missionary Baptist Church, and he of the G. A. R. By his perseverance and good management he has acquired a beautiful, well-improved farm near Bancroft, where he resides. Always an
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ardent worker in educational enterprises, and for the welfare of the public, he enjoys the esteem of a large circle of friends.
James L. Downing, M. D., a resident physician of Eagleville, Harrison Co., Mo., was born at Burgettstown, Washington Co., Penn., October 14, 1833. His parents, Edward E., and Sarah (Lynn) Downing, were of Irish and Scotch descent. The father was born in Ireland in 1785, and when five years of age came with an uncle to America, and passed his youth in Downingtown, Penn., and Boston, Mass. The mother was born in Washington County, Penn., in 1797, whither her parents had come from Scotland. She was married to Edward E. Downing in her native county, and in 1835 they immigrated to Holmes County, Ohio. In the spring of 1853, they went to Ben- ton County, Iowa, and a year later removed to Marshall County, where Mrs. Downing died 'in 1855, aged fifty-eight. The father was a Whig in politics, and by trade a carpenter and painter. After the death of his wife he visited several Western States, and was not heard from until 1861, when news arrived from St Louis. James L. Downing received a district school education during his youth, which he has since improved by reading and observation. He also learned his father's trade which he followed in Ohio and Iowa until 1858. In the fall of 1853 he married Miss Mary A. Burd, a native of Holmes County, Ohio, and daughter of George and Mary M. Burd. He came to Harrison County, Mo., in 1859, and having been admitted to the bar brought his family here in the spring of 1860. He qualified himself for the practice of law in Marshall County, Iowa, where he studied under Hon. T. J. Wilson, and continued to practice his profession in Eagleville until 1864. In 1864, having previously studied medicine at Eagleville under Dr. H. J. Skinner, he abandoned law for the practice of medicine, and has since lived in and near Eagleville, where he enjoys a large and lucrative practice. To himself and wife three sons and seven daughters have been born, two sons and five daughters now living.
William M. Dunn, of Bethany, was born in Washington County, Va., and is a son of John and Mary (McCulloch) Dunn, both natives of Virginia, where the father died and the mother still resides. William was reared to manhood in his native State, and there secured a good English education. He embarked in the mercantile business early in life, and has followed it ever since. He came to Bethany in March, 1866, where he has continued to remain in business, meeting with good and well deserved success. He was married April 7, 1870, to Desdemona Monson, daughter of Thomas Monson, of Bethany, who
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died February 13, 1874, leaving one son-William Victor. Mr. Dunn is a Democrat in politics, and one of the substantial and enter- prising business men of Bethany. Robert H. Dunn, a brother of William M., and his business partner, was also born in Washington County, Va. He was reared and educated there, and in 1869 came to Bethany, where since 1874 he has been in business with his brother, the firm name being Dunn Bros. & Co. June 11, 1873, he was united in marriage with Clara Blackburn, a native of Bethany, and daughter of Dr. C. J. Blackburn. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn have two children: Helen E. and Horace W. He is also a Democrat in politics, and an enterprising man. The firm consists of the Dunn Bros. & W. F. Cuddy, and carries on an extensive general mercantile business. About 1868 W. M. Dunn bought the interest of Thomas Monson, of the firm of Monson & McGeorge, and until 1874 the firm was known as McGeorge & Dunn. The former was then succeeded by R. H. Dunn, and in 1878 Mr. Cuddy became a member of the firm. The building which is a three-story brick is owned by William M. Dunn. Mr. William F. Cuddy was born in Washington County, Va., in March, 1854; and is a son of David and Mary (Dunn) Cuddy, natives of that State. William was reared and educated in Virginia, and came to Bethany in 1875, where he first was employed as a clerk, but afterward became a member of the above firm. In March, 1887, he married Jean Morrison, a native of Osceola, Iowa. In politics he is a Democrat.
T. A. Dunn is a son of Philip and Lucinda J. (Patterson) Dunn, natives of Kentucky and Virginia, respectively, and was born in La Rue County, Ky., February 14, 1853. The father is now a well-to-do farmer and stock raiser of La Rue County, where T. A. was reared to manhood and received a good common-school education. He came to Missouri in 1871, and engaged in the mercantile business at Meadville until 1881, when he came to Bethany and established his present gro- cery business. In 1882 he moved into his present commodious quar-' ters in the Athenæum Building, which is erected upon the southeast corner of the public square. Here Mr. Dunn carries one of the larg- est and best selected stocks of staple and fancy groceries, flour, provis- ions, queensware, etc., in the city. October 21, 1874, he married Miss Grace LaRue, a native of the county of that name in Kentucky, and a member of the Baptist Church, as is also Mr. Dunn. Mr. Dunn is a Democrat, and a Knights Templar Mason. He is one of the enter- prising business men of the town, and has been the American Express agent of this place since June, 1883.
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Edwin R. Durham was born in Canton, Fulton Co., Ill., August 1, 1853, and is a son of Jonathan Martin and Mary A. (Brown) Dur- ham, natives of New Jersey and Virginia, respectively. The father was a resident of Illinois many years, and during the Rebellion fought in the Union army. His death occurred at the hospital of Bowling Green, Ky., February 15, 1862. The mother afterward became the wife of Theodore A. Smith, now a resident of Grant Township, Harri- son Co., Mo. [See sketch. ] Edwin R. came to this State and county in company with his mother and family in 1866, and until 1871 resided here upon a farm. He then returned to Illinois, but in 1875 came to Bethany, and for three years served as deputy postmaster. In 1880 he accepted a position in the collector's office, and later became deputy assessor. For the past five years he has been the efficient deputy of Col. W. P. Robinson, the county clerk. In politics he is a stanch Re- publican. He has been the captain of Lieut. J. B. McClure's Camp of the Sons of Veterans since its organization at Bethany, and is also quar- termaster of the division of Missouri of this order. February 14, 1877, he was united in marriage with Lottie McClure, a native of Grundy County, Mo., and daughter of the late Joseph McClure, of Bethany. This union has been blessed with two children: Grace and Bertie Vir- ginia. Mr. and Mrs. Durham are members of the Christian Church.
W. H. Eades, a prominent farmer and stock raiser of Jefferson Township, was born in 1830, in Bourbon County, Ky., and at the age of four years was taken to Morgan County, Ill., where he was reared. In 1856 he moved to Harrison County, Mo. He began life for him- self at the age of fifteen a poor young man, but by the exercise of prudence and economy, together with good management, has become a successful man, and is now the owner of 290 acres of fine land, well improved and equipped for agricultural pursuits. At one time he was a very extensive dealer and shipper in stock. He was united in mar- riage, in 1856, to Miss Lucy Calef, a native of Concord, N. H. This union was blessed with five children: Laura (wife of Mr. W. P. Robin- son), Marion (deceased), Horatio, Lellah (deceased) and Ora, also deceased. Dr. Eades is a Republican in politics, and has served his township four years as justice of the peace. During the Rebellion he served his country in Company D, Fifty-seventh Missouri State Mili- tia Cavalry, and was the lieutenant of his company during the entire war. He organized the first company of Home Guards raised in Har- rison County. He is the tenth of eleven children born to Horatio and Margaret (Mosterson) Eades, natives of Bourbon County, Ky., near Paris. The father served through two campaigns in the War of 1812,
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and was a son of Thomas Eades. Our subject entered the land in Jefferson Township upon which he now resides in 1855, and moved upon the same the next year.
Winifield S. Eades was born in Rockcastle County, Ky., August 3, 1848, and is a son of William Eades, a prominent farmer citizen of Jefferson Township, Mo. [see sketch]. He came to Harrison County with his father in 1857, and was reared to manhood here upon a farm. In 1875 he came to Bethany, and for awhile engaged in wagon-making, conducting a shop of his own about a year, and then was employed by J. F. Pitt, a carriage-builder and wagon-maker, a number of years. In January, 1884, he established his present business, and is now the owner of the building which he occupies, which is situated two blocks east of the northeast corner of the public square. Here he is occupied in the manufacture and sale of buggies and carriages, and also has a general repair and blacksmith shop. In 1881 Mr. Eades was united in marriage with Sarah E. (Buck) Roberts, a native of Bethany, and the mother of one son-William D. Mr. Eades had been previously. mar- ried, and of that union there is also one son -- Charles O. Mr. Eades is a Democrat in politics, and is a Select Knight of the A. O. U. W .. Himself and wife belong to the Christian Church, and rank among the good citizens of Bethany.
Moses H. Eades, the subject of this sketch, was born in Rock- castle County, Ky., April 3, 1851. His parents, William and Mary L. Eades, were also natives of Kentucky. The family moved to Hen- dricks County, Ind., in the autumn of 1853, where they resided until the fall of 1857, at which time they came to Harrison County, Mo. In the spring of 1868, William Eades purchased a partly improved farm six miles north of Bethany, on which he still resides. William Eades was married in 1843 to Mary L. Hudnall, by whom he had twelve children, Moses H., being the sixth child. The father was twice married, his first wife having died in 1863. Moses H. was reared and received a common-school education in Harrison County, after which he attended the Bethany high school. For several years he engaged in teaching in the public schools of Harrison County. In the spring of 1874 he began the study of medicine under Dr. J. Walker, of Bethany, and in the winter of 1875-76 he attended his first lectures at Ann Arbor, Mich. From the spring of 1876 till the fall of 1877 he practiced his profession at New Hampton, when he went to Mount Moriah, where he again engaged in the practice of medicine.
Judge Edward L. Ellis, a pioneer farmer of Adams Township, 33
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was born in Bourbon County, Ky., May 28, 1813, and is the son of Elder Samuel and Jane (Todd) Ellis, the former of Virginia, but who when a youth accompanied his parents to Bourbon County, Ky., where he married Miss Todd, a native of that State, and in 1836 removed to Decatur County, Ind., thence in 1857 to Harrison County, Mo., locating in Cypress Township, where he died in 1866, universally beloved and esteemed. For several years Elder S. was associate judge of the circuit court in Indiana, and was one of the pioneer preachers of Kentucky, having entered the ministry when quite young, following his profession under the order of the Christian Church, until the time of his death. His wife was for many years a devout member of the same church, and died at the home of her son, Edward, in 1873. The Judge was reared at home, without school advantages, but through his own efforts obtained a good education, and has taught school at different times in Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri. In 1838 he went to Decatur, Ind., where he married in January, 1841, Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Robert and Nancy Ford, early settlers in Indiana, who immigrated to Missouri in 1841. This union has resulted in eight children, seven of whom are now living: Robert S., of Kansas; Nancy J., wife of Joseph Bonser, of Bethany; Irene B., wife of G. C. Harboard, of Daviess County; John J .; Amanda M., widow of James Mithhem; Cassandra M., wife of F. P. Marsteller, of Kansas, and Mary E., wife of John E. Ford. Mrs. Ellis died in Au- gust, 1860, and the following January, the Judge married Mrs. Elizabeth J. Brady, daughter of Abraham and Mary Myers. This union has been blessed with three children, but one of whom is living-Henry Kesler. In October, 1841, Mr. Ellis went to Daviess County, Mo., and in 1843 he moved to Harrison County, Mo., and settled on his present farm, five and one-half miles southwest of Blue Ridge, where he has since resided. In 1850 he was elected county judge, which office he filled about twelve years, by appointment and election. Dur- ing the war he was secretary of the Union League, and since then has served as justice of the peace, township clerk, assessor, and district clerk. In politics he was raised a Whig, casting his first vote for Gen. Harrison in 1836, but in 1860 voted for Douglas, the first Demo- cratic candidate for whom he ever cast his ballot. He has for many years been a prominent member of the P. of H. Both the Judge and his wife are members of the Christian Church. By his industry and persistent efforts he now owns a fine farm of 290 acres, 250 of which are improved, and 40 in timber, and for his zealous work in the interest of educational and other undertakings, is greatly esteemed by all.
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