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 51
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 51
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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.
Jesse B. Emerson was born October 22, 1828, in Guernsey County, Ohio, and when thirteen moved with his parents to Morgan County, Ohio, where he lived until the spring of 1864, when he purchased and moved upon the farm in Harrison County, Mo., where he has since resided. Having been reared upon a farm, he has since followed that occupation, and at the age of twenty-two began life with 100 acres of land, to which he has added until he is now the possessor of 800 acres in his home place, and 320 acres in another tract. He was married in 1850 to Miss Jane E. Lamb, a native of Massachusetts, who moved to Morgan County, Ohio, at the age of nine with her parents, where she was reared to womanhood. She is a daughter of Alvin and Lucy (Brown) Lamb, natives of Massachusetts, and is the mother of the following named children: Wilson (deceased), Carlton B., Edgar E., Alma L. and Grant. Mr. Emerson is a Republican in politics, and his first presidential vote was cast for John C. Fremont. He is the eldest child of five born to Ezekiel and Rebecca (Blackmer) Emerson. His maternal grandparents, Timothy and Jane (Sampson) Blackmer, were natives of Massachusetts, who moved to Vermont, and from there in an early day to Ohio, upon the Muskingum River, where they died upon the second farm purchased by them, and which is now owned by their youngest son. The paternal grandparents, Ezekiel and Jane (Burlingame) Emerson, were natives of Rhode Island, and the former was superintendent in the second cotton factory erected in the United States, which was built at Slatersville, R. I. He com- manded a regiment in the War of 1812, and a sword which he cap- tured from an English officer at the battle of Bunker Hill is now in the possession of Henry Emerson, a brother of our subject. He served as justice of the peace eighteen years continuously. The Emerson family is of English descent, three brothers having emigrated from England to the United States about 1787.
James S. Emerson, proprietor of the Hotel Emerson at Bethany, is a native of County Fermanagh, Ireland, born February 28, 1858, where he was reared and educated. In the fall of 1884 he came to the United States, and located first at Ellsworth, Kas., where he suc- cessfully engaged in the hotel, real estate and mercantile business. In October, 1887, he came to Bethany, and purchased the Poynter hotel property, which he refurnished and refitted, and has since suc- cessfully conducted. As it is a first-class hotel he controls the leading patronage of the traveling public, whose wants he always strives to supply. He has also established a real estate, loan and insurance business in Bethany, and being himself the owner of large and valu-
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HARRISON COUNTY.
able ranches in Kansas and the West, devotes a great deal of atten- tion to the real estate branch of the business. May 26, 1886, he mar- ried Jennie Wilson, a native of County Armagh, by whom he has one child named John Edgar. Mr. Emerson is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
E. D. Emry was born in Marion County, November 26, 1849, and is a son of Christopher and Sarah (Hanna) Emry, who are of German descent, and natives of near Columbus, Ohio, and Marion County, Ind., respectively. They came to Harrison County, Mo., in 1855, and located in Madison Township, where our subject made his home with them until twenty-two years of age, with the exception of sixteen months spent in his native county. He was united in marriage in Harrison County, Mo., in 1872, with Miss Mary Emma Myers, a native of this county, and has since been engaged in farming. He rented land for some time, and in 1877 moved upon his present place, which contains 145 acres of well-stocked and improved land, which is all the result of industry and economy. Mr. Emry is an enterprising and well respected man, and has served his township as school director for about seven years. To himself and wife three children have been born: Parvin F., Christopher and Frederick B., aged fourteen, ten and five years, respectively.
Joel J. Fair, a farmer, stock raiser and mechanic of Adams Township, was born in Holmes County, Ohio, in 1835, and is the son of Jacob and Eva (Deal) Fair. The former, of Dutch origin, was born near Baltimore, Md., moved thence to Cumberland County, Penn., thence to Holmes County, Ohio, where he followed the occupation of farming, and died about the last of the late war. The mother was born in Pennsylvania, and died about 1843. Joel J. remained at home till the age of thirteen, when he learned the cabinet trade, and has followed it more or less ever since. In 1854 he went to South Bend, Ind., the next year going on to Harrison County, where he entered land in Adams Township, and has since resided there, at present liv- ing three miles east of Blue Ridge. He was married in 1857 to Miss Sarah, daughter of Isaac and Rebecca Brown, formerly of North Carolina, though Sarah was born in Indiana. Their union has been blessed with nine children, eight of whom are living: Dr. Jesse F., of Kansas; Deal E., professor of penmanship; Sarah J., wife of Henry Alden, of Iowa; Chas. S., a farmer and licensed minister of the Chris- tian Union Church; Joel Ulysses, Cora A., Clarence Eugene and Anna Belle. He served as corporal during the Rebellion, and was also justice of the peace about twelve years. In politics he was a Republican, and
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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.
a member of the I. O. O. F. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian Union Church. Starting in life as a poor boy, Mr. Fair has by industry and perseverance worked his way up, until he now owns a fine farm of 400 acres of land, and is in every sense of the word a representative citizen of Harrison County.
Joseph A. R. Fanning is a native of Missouri, and was born in Platte County, January 6, 1846. His father, John Fanning, was born in Kentucky, January 1, 1809, and his mother, Sarah J. (Shuck) Fanning, was born in Washington County, Ky., December 17, 1819. The family were among the early settlers of Ralls County, Mo., and from there moved to Platte County, in 1840, being also early settlers of that county. In the spring of 1846 they came to Harrison County, where the father entered land, and improved a farm in Butler Town- ship, where he died in 1856, leaving a widow who still survives. J. A. R. passed his youth near his present location, and in February, 1862, enlisted for three years in the First Missouri State Militia, and served until discharged December 2, 1862. He served in several skir- mishes, and in August, 1862, was wounded near Jameson, Daviess County, and being permanently disabled was discharged in December, 1862. He carries several Confederate bullets in his body to this day. After his discharge at Lexington, Mo., he returned home, and in the year 1863 went west, spending the following eight years in Montana, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Nevada. The greater part of the time was spent in Montana engaged in mining. In the fall of 1871, having returned to Harrison County, he was married February 19, 1872, to Margaret Ann, daughter of William Querry, and a native of Mis- souri. After his marriage Mr. Fanning engaged in farming upon the home place and in October, 1876, located upon his present property. He at first bought 120 acres, but he now owns 240 acres, sixty of which are timbered pasture, and the balance in meadow, pasture and plow land. His farm is well improved, and he has an orchard of about 300 trees. He commenced life with only $300 or $400, but by the exercise of prudence and economy is now ranked among the substan- tial men of Butler Township. To himself and wife, who are both members of the Methodist Church, the following children have been born: Eva, Ida J., Mary E., Viola, Clarissa Ellen, Oscar and Har- vey. Mr. Fanning is a Republican, but has never held office.
Reuben Foltz, farmer and stock raiser of Section 29, Township 63, Range 29, was born in Page County, Va., May 2, 1829. His father, Reuben Foltz, was born in the same county in 1778, and is a son of Rev. Reuben Foltz, who was a Lutheran minister, born in Pennsylvania
:
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HARRISON COUNTY.
at an early day, and who died at the age of ninety. The father of our subject grew to manhood in his native State, and there married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Martin Kite, and a native of Page County. Mr. Foltz was a teacher during his younger days, but later engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 1863, his burial taking place on Easter Sunday. For about eight years he served as justice of the peace. The subject of this sketch was one of the family of seven sons and four daughters, all of whom grew to maturity. Six sons and two daughters are now living. Reuben is the only child who resides in Harrison County, Mo .; he was reared in his native State, and in 1848 went to Illinois, where he lived with a cousin about eighteen months. In 1850 he went to Indiana, and passed a year near Terre Haute, after which he lived in Virginia until September, 1852, at which time he located where he has since resided in Harrison County, Mo. He was married in Gentry Country, Mo., in October, 1852, to Rachel C. Buchanan, a widow, and daughter of Matthew Duncan, and a native of Kentucky, who moved to Missouri with her parents when young. Mrs. Foltz is the mother of the following chil- dren: By her first marriage, Sarah, wife of William Allen, of Noda- way County, and Stephen Z. (deceased); by her second marriage, Reuben M.,'Polly Ann (wife of Slaughter Foltz), James B., and Ruth. In October, 1863, Mr. Foltz enlisted in Company C, Twelfth Mis- souri Cavalry, and served until discharged at Leavenworth in April, 1866, having spent one year on the plains fighting the Indians. He at one time owned 400 acres of land, part of which he gave to his children, and now owns himself but 130 acres, which are well im- proved and cultivated. He is a member of the G. A. R., and him- self and wife belong to the Christian Church, of which he is an elder.
Martin A. Ford was born in Syracuse, N. Y., November 13, 1849, and is a son of Oliver S. and Emily H. (Baldwin) Ford, whom he accompanied to Chicago, Ill., in 1861. He there learned the tinner's trade, at which he worked several years, and afterward was employed as a traveling salesman for a wholesale hardware house of that city and St. Joseph, Mo. In 1881 he came to Bethany, Mo., and bought out the firm of Vories Bros., and has since been interested in the hardware business in this city. He has a full and select line of hard- ware, stoves, and tinware, and controls a large share of the trade in this line at Bethany and in the county. For the past three years William G. Lewis, of St. Joseph, has been a partner in the business. Mr. Ford married Mary A. Jobes, a native of New York, and the mother of two children: Edna and Grace. Mr. Ford is a Republican
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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.
in politics, a Knight Templar in Masonry, and is recognized among the successful and enterprising business men of Bethany.
Charles Fosdick was born in Geauga County, Ohio, May 17, 1847, and is a son of John M. and Ann (Andrews) Fosdick, natives of New York State, and of French and Scotch descent. In early life they accompanied their parents to Ohio, and after their marriage in that State located in Geauga County. A few years later they moved to Walworth County, Wis., and from there moved to Sauk County, where the father died in October, 1861, aged fifty-seven. The mother still makes her home there. The father was a carpenter and cabinet maker by trade, and worked at same in connection with farming. In politics he was a Democrat. Charles is the third of ten children, and passed his youth upon a farm. He received a common-school educa- tion, and at the youthful age of fifteen enlisted in Company K, Fifth Iowa Infantry. He participated in the battles of Iuka, siege of Vicks- burg and Corinth, Ireland, Mo., Jackson, Champion's Hill, and at the battle of Mission Ridge was captured and went as a prisoner of war to Atlanta and then to Belle Isle, Va. From there he went to Ander- sonville, South Charleston, Wilmington and Goldsboro, N. C. The sufferings and tortures endured by him in these prisons led him to write a book entitled "Five Hundred Days in a Rebel Prison," which has been published this year. September 28, 1875, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah C. Hurst, a native of Illinois. After liv-
ing in different places until 1874 Mr. F. came to Harrison County, Mo., and about nine years ago purchased his present property of 110 acres, upon which he is successfully engaged in stock raising. To himself and wife two sons and three daughters have been born. Mr. Fos- dick is a Republican, and a member of the G. A. R., Post No. 208, at Blythedale.
John J. Foster was born in Greene County, Tenn., April 10, 1815. His father, Robert Foster, was also a native of Tennessee, born in 1812, a farmer by occupation, who died in Greene County, where he had always lived; he served in the War of 1812 under Gen. Jackson. J. J. Foster is one of a family of nine children, born to Robert and Mercy (Johnson) Foster, and grew to maturity upon the farm where he was born. He was married in his native county to Sarah Hankins, December 29, 1837, and afterward engaged in farming until 1850. In the fall of that year he moved to Harrison County, Mo., and the following year settled upon the land where he has since resided. He purchased 320 acres of land, the most of which was timbered, and 240 acres of which is now well improved and devoted to meadow, pasture and plow land.
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HARRISON COUNTY.
He lives in a good one-story house, has two good barns, other out- buildings and a nice orchard. He is a Democrat, and as such has filled several local offices of trust and honor, among them being the office of justice of the peace, which he filled seven years. March 12, 1841, Mr. Foster married his second wife, whose maiden name was Mary Maloney. She is a native of Tennessee, and the mother of the following children: Eliza Jane (wife of M. V. Toombs), Hugh, Nancy E. (wife of Frank Chips), Margaret (wife of Joe Funk), Mary (wife of Hezekiah Allen, of Kansas), William, Martha (wife of Reuben Fultz, Jr.), John B. and Emma (deceased wife of William Brown, who left one child). Mr. and Mrs. Foster are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The farm is now being managed by Mr. Foster's two sons, Hugh and John B., the former of whom in the spring of 1877 spent some three years in Eastern Ore- gon, engaged in the stock business. He passed the winter of 1879 in California, and after traveling through several Territories returned home in 1880.
Robert Frazier was born in Ohio County, W. Va., June 23, 1823, and is a son of Samuel and Eleanor (Robinson) Frazier. The father was born in Burkes County, Va., August 28, 1776, and was of Scotch descent. His father was a captain-general in the Revolutionary War. The mother was born in Beaver County, Penn., February 5, 1878, and was of Irish descent. Samuel Frazier was married in Ohio County, Va., March 29, 1798, and was a pioneer settler of Virginia, where until late years there was a fort known as " Frazier's Fort," in honor of Robert Frazier's grandfather. To Samuel Frazier and wife twelve children were born, of whom seven are still living. Elizabeth (Frazier) McCoy died May 9, 1879, and her death was the first in the family from the year 1800. The eldest son is now eighty-seven years of age, and the youngest (Robert Frazier) is sixty-four. Samuel Frazier and his wife died March 31, 1850 and July 25, 1850, respec- tively, of cholera. There are several keepsakes in the family now owned by our subject, among which may be mentioned an old pocket- book of his father's which contains an old $50 note, and a pocketbook and steelyards brought by his maternal grandfather from Ireland at an early day. Robert Frazier was reared in bis native State where his parents passed their entire lives, and there learned the miller's trade of his father. November 28, 1843, he wedded Miss Emily E. Knode, a native of Ohio County, and the daughter of Samuel Knode, a hotel keeper and farmer of that county. In 1851 he went to Knox County, Ohio, where he engaged in farming thirteen years, and then came to Har-
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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.
rison County, Mo., where he has since resided, and owns a well stocked farm of 160 acres, and is classed among the well-to-do farmers. Mr. Frazier is a Republican, and under Lincoln's administration served as postmaster for five years. Himself and wife are members of the . Presbyterian Church. All the children are married, and belong to the Methodist Church.
William Frazier was born in Belmont County, Ohio, July 14, 1836. His parents, Andrew and Emily (McCoy) Frazier, were natives of Ohio County, W. Va., and of Scotch-Irish and Irish descent, respectively. They were married August 13, 1825, and the next spring moved to Belmont County, Ohio, and afterward lived in Muskingum County several years. In 1854 they moved to Knox County, Ohio, and in 1878 came to "Akron Settlement," Harrison County, Mo., where the father died in 1880, aged seventy-six, and the mother in 1881, aged seventy-three. William was reared and received a limited education in his native State, and in 1861 was wedded to Miss Elizabeth McClel- land, a native of Knox County, Ohio, and daughter of John and Mar- garet (Williams) McClelland. In 1865 Mr. Frazier immigrated to Harrison County, Mo., and purchased his present place where he has since made his home. From raw prairie land he has converted this tract into one of the well-cultivated and improved farms of this sec- tion of the country. His farm contains 290 acres, and is beautifully located in what is known as "Akron Settlement." During the Rebellion Mr. Frazier enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served on picket duty but participated in no regular engagement. He is a Republican in poli- tics, and a member of the G. A. R. To Mr. and Mrs. Frazier four children have been born, three of whom are living: Rosa B., William R. (deceased), Frances E. and Lloyd. Rosa B. is the wife of Rev. C. C. Hembree, of Kansas City, and Frances E., the wife of J. D. Good. Mr. Frazier and wife are leading and active members of the Presbyterian Church, in which the former is an elder.
W. L. Frazier was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, December 5, 1837, and is a son of David and Mary (Sisson) Frazier, natives of Ohio County, W. Va. The father was a farmer, and after his marriage left his native county, and engaged in farming in Muskingum County, Ohio, until 1869, when he came to Harrison County, Mo. Both him- self and wife were worthy members of the Presbyterian Church, and now lie buried in Akron graveyard in Harrison County. W. L. Frazier is the eldest of a family of six children, four of whom are living. His sister is a resident of this county, one brother lives in
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HARRISON COUNTY.
Garden Grove, Iowa, and one in Hutchinson County, Dak. He was reared in Muskingum County, and after receiving a district school education attended a college at New Concord for five sessions. July 4, 1856, he was united in marriage with Miss Nancy J. McDonald, daughter of William McDonald, of New Concord, Ohio. In 1869 Mr. Frazier accompanied his parents to Harrison County, Mo., where he farmed until 1880, since which time he has been employed by Mr. M. F. Oxford, in one of the leading mercantile establishments of Cainesville. To himself and wife six children have been born, two of whom are living: Carrie O., wife of L. P. Ammons, of Hutchinson County, Dak., and Nettie L., a teacher at Princeton, in the interme- diate department of the high school. Mr. Frazier is a prosperous. citizen, owning one-tenth interest in eighty acres of real estate joining the town of Cainesville, and a nice residence. Himself, wife and youngest daughter belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his eldest daughter and her husband belong to the Presbyterian Church.
John A. Frazier was born in Belmont County, Ohio, in 1838, and is a son of Andrew and Emily (McCoy) Frazier. [See sketch of William Frazier. ] He accompanied his father upon his journeys through Ohio, and came with him to Harrison County, Mo. His edu- cation was limited to the neighborhood common schools, and at the age of twenty-one he began life for himself, by working upon his father's farm. At the age of twenty-three he left the parental roof and enlisted in Company G, Twentieth Ohio Infantry. He was in the Government service three years, and participated in the siege of Vicksburg, Shiloh, Fort Donelson and many other battles. During a skirmish near Bolivar, Tenn., he was wounded in the right shoulder, where the ball still remains. Upon the expiration of his term of serv- ice, and after receiving an honorable discharge, Mr. Frazier returned to Ohio, and in 1865 came by wagon to Harrison County, Mo., where he remained one year. He then passed another year in Ohio, after which he located permanently in Clay Township, Mo., where he has since lived. In 1867 Mr. Frazier married Miss Martha J. Morgan, a native of Muskingum County, Ohio, and daughter of Richard and Nancy (McCann) Morgan, who were of English and Irish descent, and had a family of nine children, seven of whom are living and residents of Missouri. The mother is now deceased, but the father lives with Mrs. Frazier, and is eighty-two years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Frazier have had four children, all of whom died in childhood, none living over the age of three. Bessie died suddenly of diphtheria in Septem-
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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.
ber, 1886, aged two years and twenty-seven days. Mr. and Mrs. Frazier are highly honored citizens, and worthy members of the Pres- byterian Church. Mr. Frazier is a substantial farmer, having 320 acres of well-situated, improved and cultivated land, and in politics he affiliates with the Republican party.
Jonathan Cary Frisby, a prominent farmer and stock dealer resid- ing at Bethany, was born April 30, 1817, in Muskingum County, Ohio, and reared in Morgan County of that State. He moved to Mc- Lean County, Ill., September 21, 1839, where he resided until 1860. He then came to Harrison County, Mo., and purchased a small farm, four miles east from Bethany, which he improved and cleared, and to which he brought his family in the spring of 1861. He began life for himself when twenty-two years old with no property, but is now the owner of several tracts of land near Bethany, besides some prop- erty in a distant part of the county, in all amounting to about 900 acres. He also owns three houses and lots, and three half blocks in Bethany, and is considered one of the substantial men of the place. April 11, 1839, he married Miss Sarah J. Briggs, who was born November 10, 1822, and is a daughter of John and Mary (Boles) Briggs, natives of Morgan. County, Ohio, and of Irish descent. To this union eleven children have been born: John O. (deceased), Mary J. (deceased), Sarah (deceased), Thomas (deceased), James O., Adna H., Catherine (wife of Dr. Jackson Walker), Perry J., Frank, Ezra H. and Jennie. Mr. and Mrs. Frisby are members of no church, but incline toward the Methodist faith. Mr. Frisby is a Republican in politics, and October 22, 1861, enlisted in Company B, Fifty- seventh Missouri State Militia. He was made first lieutenant of his company, and afterward promoted to the captaincy of Company D, Fifty-seventh Missouri State Militia, serving as such until the close of the war. He has belonged to the Masonic fraternity for thirty-two years, and is a member of the Blue Lodge. He was elected to the office of county judge of Harrison County in the fall of 1865, and served efficiently as such four years. He now devotes his attention to stock raising and farming, in which he is very successful. He has one brother, Russel E., who died in 1856, and one sister, Rebecca, who married Richard Smith, and died in McLean County, Ill., in 1844. He is the eldest of three children of James and Catherine (Eveland) Frisby, natives of Pennsylvania, who moved to Morgan County, Ohio, in their youth. The father died April 24, 1857, in McLean County, Ill., aged seventy-five. The mother afterward came to Harrison County, Mo., where she died February 20, 1871, aged
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HARRISON COUNTY.
eighty years. James F. enlisted in the Indian War when seventeen, and served as teamster under Gen. Harrison, and while with others he was carrying supplies to the soldiers who fought in the battle of Tippe- canoe, was taken a prisoner with the rest. He and two others were the only ones of those captured who succeeded in making their escape to the fort of the guards and teamsters. He was an honored and up- right citizen in the counties where he resided, and a son of Jonathan Carey Frisby, a native of Germany. Mrs. Frisby was a native of England.
James Oscar Frisby, a farmer and stock raiser of Sherman Town- ship, was born in McLean County, Ill., November 24, 1843, and in the fall of 1861 he removed with his parents to Harrison County, Mo. July 1, 1879, he went to Kansas and engaged in the cattle business, but a year later returned to Harrison County, where he has since resided. He began life for himself at the age of twenty-one, with 160 acres of land, but has increased his possessions to 1,640 acres of land, nicely improved and well equipped in every way for the pursuit of agriculture, making him one of the largest land holders in the county. November 17, 1867, he married Miss Sarah Fair, daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth Ann (Kizer) Fair, natives of Ohio and Indiana, respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. Frisby three children have been born: Lecta, John A., and Carey J. Mr. Frisby is a Republican in politics, and served three years in the Union army; was in the Forty-third Missouri Volunteers, and is now a member of the G. A. R. He is the second of eleven children born to J. C. and Sarah (Briggs) Frisby [see sketch], and is one of the enterprising citizens of the county.
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