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 74
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 74
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Andrew H. Sexton, of Marion Township, Mercer Co., Mo., is the son of Isaac F. and Polly A. Sexton, who came from Kentucky to Indiana in the year 1818, where Andrew H. was born, in Sullivan County, November 1, 1831. He accompanied his parents to Mercer County, Mo., in the year 1854, where he bought Government land,
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worked out by the month much of the time till the spring of 1859, and was then carried west by the Pike's Peak gold excitement, walking from Leavenworth to Denver City and far up in the Rockies in search of gold, but found it not. He then returned, and began farming, continuing until the war began, when he enlisted August 12, 1861, in Company B, Fifth Kansas Cavalry. He served his country three years and four days, being mustered out August 15, 1864, broken down with disease and hardships. On October 16, 1864, Mr. Sexton was married to Samanthe E. Snyder, a native of Kentucky, by whom five sons and three daughters were born, of which number six are still living: Almira E. (deceased), Emily J., Mary A., John M., Ira F., Hunter E. (deceased), Cassius A. and Bird. Mrs. Sexton died December 2, 1885, leaving him a farm and his children to care for. He still fol- lows farming and stock raising on the land he bought from the Government. He is a member of the G. A. R., and attends the meetings of the same when his health permits, though now very feeble.
Capt. Joel H. Shelly was born in Luzerne County, Penn., Decem- ber 19, 1838, and is a son of John and Mary (Shook) Shelly, also natives of Pennsylvania, where they lived and died. Joel H. arrived at manhood in his native State, and was educated at Wyoming Semi- nary in his native county. In 1857 he went to Iowa, and two years later left that State and came to Princeton. He served as deputy county and circuit clerk here until September, 1861, and then served as adjutant of Col. Clark's battalion of Missouri Militia until April, 1862; he then enlisted in Company H, Sixth Missouri State Militia Cavalry, in which he served as second and first lieutenant over two years. In June, 1864, he was commissioned as captain of Company B, Thirteenth Regiment Missouri Veteran Volunteer Cavalry, in which he remained until mustered out in May, 1866. After the war Mr. Shelly returned to Princeton, where he has since resided. He is one of the active and enterprising business men of Princeton, where he has been engaged in the mercantile business over twenty years. In August, 1885, he was appointed postmaster of the town, which posi- tion he is filling in a satisfactory manner. Capt. Shelly has been twice married, but death claimed both his wives. He has one living child-Frank P .- a son by his first wife, whose maiden name was Margaret E. Prichard. Capt. Shelly is a Democrat, and has served two terms as treasurer of Mercer County by election, and one term as collector by appointment of the Governor, on account of the change in law at that time. He is a Knight Templar in Masonry, and a member of the I. O. O. F., A. O. U. W. and G. A. R.
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John L. Shipley, M. D., a leading physician and surgeon residing at Ravanna, was born in Kentucky, July 22, 1842, and is a son of Will- iam P. and Louisa (Lowry) Shipley, natives of East Tennessee, who died in Clark County, Iowa, in February, 1881, and the State of Ken- tucky in 1848, respectively. John L. attended an academy when fourteen years old, which was taught by Prof. George T. Carpenter, now president of Drake University, Iowa. Here he studied four years, during which time he began the study of medicine. In July, 1862, his studies were interrupted by his enlistment in the Twenty- third Iowa, in which he served three years. After 364 days' service as a private, on account of courage and valiant conduct at Black River Bridge, Miss., he was promoted to the first lieutenancy, June 17, 1863, which position he filled with fidelity until the close of the war. He participated in every battle in which his regiment was engaged. After his return home he resumed the study of his chosen profession at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and after completing his profes- sional education he located in Trenton, Grundy Co., Mo. Here he enjoyed a large practice for ten years, although during the last two years of his residence he was unable to attend to his business on account of rheumatism. In 1876 he moved with his family to Mercer County, Mo., and has since resided in the town of Ravanna. Although he has had many worthy competitors, Dr. Shipley has had good success, and is now one of the leading physicians and surgeons of the county, enjoying a large and lucrative practice. September 25, 1865, he was united in marriage to Bertha E. Richey, a daughter of John D. Richey, a pioneer settler of Iowa. To this union eight children were born, seven now living: Edgar P., Cora M., Bessie, Glen D., Flora E., Claude Jay and Bert C. Dr. Shipley is a member of the A. F. &. A. M., and his wife is a member of the Christian Church. While in Grundy County Dr. Shipley was quite prominent in politics, and frequently takes an active interest in the same in Mercer County.
Israel Smith is a son of Nathaniel and Nancy (Hill) Smith, and was born in Greene County, Penn., October 17, 1812. His father was of German descent, and born in Tyler County, Va., in 1785. His occu- pation was that of farming, and at the age of twenty-five he went to Greene County, Penn., where he was married to Nancy Hill, and in the fall of 1816 immigrated to Knox County, Ohio, where he died October 17, 1830. The mother was of English descent, born in Pennsylvania in 1795, and died October 2, 1867, in Mercer County, Mo. She was the mother of eleven children of whom Israel is the
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second. He was four years old when the family moved to Ohio, and lived at home until the age of twenty. In May, 1831, he married Miss Rebecca Arbuckle, a native of Pennsylvania, born September 2, 1807. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith eleven children have been born, eight of whom are living: Israel F., John L., Nancy, Margaret (wife of E. J. Abrahams), Rebecca (wife of Berry Rose), Mary M. (wife of Noah Carter), William J. and Julia B. Mr. Smith lived in Knox and Franklin Counties, Ohio, until 1840, and then settled below Prince- ton, Mercer Co., Mo. In 1846 he entered eighty acres of his present farm, which at one time contained 770 acres, but now consists of 490. He is an old settler of the county, and when he first came here was obliged to go to Chillicothe for his mail and to Trenton to mill. In 1850 he made a five months' trip to California driving an ox team. He remained there about nine months, and then returned by land on muleback, ninety days being consumed in the journey. In 1862 he again went to California, and in 1853 made the return trip in sixty- six days, which made the third time he traveled the distance upon the same mule. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Fifth Kansas Cavalry, for three years. He was in the battles at Drywood, Morristown and numerous skirmishes, and was finally discharged at Helena, after a year's service. Before the war he was a Democrat, and cast his presidential vote for Jackson in 1832, but since the war has been a Republican. Mr. Smith lost his wife March 24, 1885, and his descendants consist of eleven children, forty-nine grandchil- dren and twenty great-grandchildren.
Isaac K. Smith was born in Davie County, N. C., in the year 1821, and is a son of Arthur and Mary (Ellis) Smith. The father was of English and German descent, and born in North Carolina about 1790, where he was married in 1815 and died in 1828. He was a farmer by occupation, and a soldier in the War of 1812. His wife was also a native of North Carolina, born in 1792 and died in 1861. Isaac K. Smith is one of a family of five children, three of whom are liv- ing. He was but seven years of age at the time of his father's death, and in 1830 accompanied his mother to Wayne County, Ind. In 1883 his mother became the wife of Jesse Ellis, who died ein Madison County, Ind., whither he had moved in 1835. Isaac remained with his mother until his marriage May 16, 1847, to Miss Clarinda Murphy, who was born in Ohio in 1830, and was the mother of the following six children: Leroy (deceased); Monroe, Alonzo (deceased), John, Mary (wife of Jacob Coon) and William. Mr. Smith lost his wife July 22, 1862, and December 14, 1862, married Miss Catherine
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Schwinn, who was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, in 1841, and came to America in 1860. To this union nine children have been born: Effie (deceased), Sarah Ann (wife of Gilbert Pittman), Charles, Ida, Isaac (deceased), Amos, Minnie, Drue and Bessie. In 1868 Mr. Smith immigrated to Mercer County, Mo., where he bought 240 acres of land in Section 1, Township 64, Range 14, upon which he moved, and where he has since resided engaged in farming and stock raising and keeping on an average of forty head of stock. He is a Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for Polk in 1844.
Aaron Smith is a son of Jonathan and Catherine (Stafford) Smith, and was born in Franklin County, Ind., in 1828. The father was of Irish and Dutch descent, born in Tennessee in 1805, and when three years old was taken to Kentucky. In his youth he went to Franklin County, Ind., where he was married, and from which place he emi- grated to Daviess County, Mo., in the fall of 1840, where he now resides. He has been a Baptist minister since 1844; for a few year's had charge of three churches, and for many years had charge of two. Owing to ill health he has not been actively engaged in his ministerial duties of late years. For four years he served his township as justice of the peace. His wife is of English descent, was born in Kentucky in 1804, and died in 1876. Aaron is the second of a family of eleven children, all of whom lived to maturity. When twelve years old he was taken by his parents to Daviess County, Mo., with whom he con- tinued to live until of age. In November, 1849, he married Miss Eliza Jane Mitchell, who was born in Indiana in 1829, and by whom he has had five children: John W., Sarah L. (wife of Henry Davis), William F., Jonathan D. and Mary C. In 1852 he went overland to California, the trip occupying three months, and when there worked in mines and upon a ranch for $110 per month. In 1853 he returned to Missouri, and purchased 164 acres in Harrison County. In 1863 he went to Marion County, Iowa, and in 1865 came to Mercer County, Mo., where he settled in Morgan Township, and in 1865 bought 197 acres of land where he now resides. He is a Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for Pierce in 1852. Mr. Smith lost his first wife on July 18, 1860, and August 29, 1861, married Miss Clarinda Agnes McG -. Mrs. Smith was born in Callaway County, Mo., in 1834, and to her and Mr. Smith the following children have been born: Frances Jane, David Madison, Benjamin Lockhart and George W. Mrs. Smith and two sons are members of the Christian Church, and Mr. Smith belongs to the Masonic fraternity, of which he is a member of the Blue Lodge.
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John Snyder was born February 3, 1815, in Whitley County, Ky., and is a son of Jacob and Anna Snyder, both natives of Virginia, who, a short time after their marriage, settled in Whitley County, Ky. At that time they had two sons and one daughter, having lost one daugh- ter while on their journey, whom they buried near Cumberland Gap. They entered 113 acres of land upon the banks of the Cumberland River, out of which they proceeded to make a home. One of the ear- liest memories of John Snyder is the drowning of his father in the Cumberland River, while in bathing with his sons. Although John was but three years old at the time, the sad sight was vividly stamped upon his mind. The family was left in but poor circumstances, but the mother managed to keep the family together, and rear her children on the farm. John received but a meager education during his youth, as his services were required upon the farm, and he remembers often working for neighbors all day for a half-bushel of corn. He remained with his mother until his marriage to Diana M., daughter of William Brown, of Whitley County, Ky., October 29, 1839. This union was blessed with three sons: William H., born November 15, 1840; James M., born September 4, 1843, and Zachariah T., born February 15, 1848. In 1850 Mr. Snyder sold his property in Kentucky, and with a wagon drawn by three yoke of oxen started westward. In forty - four days he arrived in Mercer County, Mo., October 24, 1850. He found the country sparsely settled, but untroubled by the Indians, who had but a short time previous been driven away. Here he pur- chased eighty acres of land, upon which was a log cabin, and into this moved his family. He entered 240 acres adjoining his purchase, which he improved, and then turned his entire attention to farming, in which he was successful. Here three more children were born: Emily E., born February 26, 1853; George M., born August 26, 1857, and Doctor F., born August 1, 1862. The eldest son afterward died in the service of the Union army. Mr. Snyder did not serve in the army, as he was exempt on account of poor health, but he aided the Union cause all he could at home. He has always been interested in the progress and welfare of his county, and after the war was elected to the presidency of the board of the county court, over which he presided about fifteen years, during which time there was always money enough in the treasury to pay all just claims. In 1875 he was admitted to the bar, and has since followed the legal profession. In politics he is a Republican in principle, but holds principles higher than party triumphs, and votes for the man he thinks best for the position. He is regarded as one of the leading men in the promotion
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of the welfare of the county, and was the means of having the railroad built through same. He is an enterprising and highly respected citi- zen, and himself and wife are blessed with a large circle of admiring friends.
Hezekiah Snyder was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., March 25, 1825, and is a son of Peter and Lydia (Row) Snyder, also natives of Westmoreland County, Penn., and born in 1794.and 1805, respect- ively. The father was a carpenter by trade, but owned a farm in Pennsylvania which he had cultivated, and which he sold in 1868, and while upon a visit to Missouri, in 1866, he determined to end his days in this State. His death occurred at the residence of his son in 1869. His father, Mathias Snyder, was a native of Pennsylvania, and a sol- dier in the War of 1812. Lydia (Row) Snyder returned to Westmore- land County, Penn., after the death of her husband, and although advanced in years still retains her faculties and enjoys good health. For some time she has been visiting her son in Mercer County. She is a member of the German Reformed Church, as was also her hus- band. Hezekiah is the eldest of a family of nine children, seven of whom are living. His early education was received at the common schools of Pennsylvania, and he lived with his parents until twenty- one years of age. He then engaged in the stable business until his removal to Green County, Wis., where he lived two years. Since his residence in Mercer County, where he came in 1857, he has been engaged in farming and stock raising, and makes a specialty of horses. He owns 220 acres of good land, which, under his care, has been greatly improved. When he left Wisconsin his intention was to locate in Kansas, but on account of the trouble there at that time he stopped in Missouri, at which time his earthly possessions consisted of a team and wagon. In 1847 he married Lucy Painter, a native of Westmore- land County, Penn., born in 1825. Her father was also a native of that county, and died in Mercer County, Mo., in May, 1886, aged eighty-four. To Mr. and Mrs. Snyder ten children have been born, all living and all married save one: Elijah, Alexander H., Diana, Eliza J., John B., Lida A., Lydia E., Agnes M., George W. (unmar- ried) and Mary V. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are members of the Pres- byterian Church, although formerly they belonged to the German Reformed. He is a stanch Republican, and himself and wife are highly respected and esteemed citizens.
James M. Snyder was born in Whitley County, Ky., September 4, 1843, and is a son of John and Diana Snyder, natives of Kentucky, who immigrated to Mercer County, Mo., in 1850, bringing with them
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three sons: William H. H., Zacharias I. and James M. £ The latter remained at home with his parents and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his marriage with Mrs. Sarah J. Graham, widow of John Gra- ham, and a daughter of William Alley, of Mercer County. This mar- riage occurred December 6, 1868, and Mr. Snyder immediately moved upon his own farm. Mr. Snyder is the owner of eighty acres of land, well improved and cultivated, considerable town property, and also has a hotel and a blacksmith shop. He has never had any children of his own, but adopted a little girl, who is known by the name of Birdie M. Snyder, who is being educated and well cared for by her adopted parents. She is a daughter of George Persons, and was born October 31, 1874. While her parents were making an overland journey in a wagon her mother was thrown from the wagon and killed. Mr. Snyder is an enterprising citizen, and a Republican in politics. He is a public-spirited man, and a liberal supporter of laudable public enterprises.
William and David Speer, president and cashier, respectively, of the Bank of Princeton, and dealers in hardware, farm implements, stoves, sewing machines, etc., founded their present extensive busi- ness in Princeton in the spring of 1871. Their father, John Speer, was born in South Carolina in 1810, and was married in Ohio to Nancy Stanfield, who afterward died in that State. The father afterward married Jane Stevens in Ohio, of which union there is one surviving daughter. To his first marriage three sons were born, of whom two are now living. John Speer died in Lee County, Iowa, in 1856. His paternal grandfather emigrated from Ireland to South Carolina, in which State the family lived for many years. William and David Speer were born to their father's first marriage, and are natives of Greene County, Ohio, where they were born August 19, 1834, and January 3, 1840, respectively. They were principally reared in their native county, but in 1856 accompanied their parents to Lee County, Iowa. William, who was the eldest son of the family, soon after en- gaged in the mercantile business at Centreville, Iowa, a few years, and in 1862 located at Ravanna, Mercer Co., Mo., where he engaged in the mercantile and live stock trade until 1868. He was then elected sheriff of the county, which office he filled two terms of two years each with efficiency and credit, and after the expiration of same he became identified with the banking interests of Princeton, and also a partner in the hardware firm of Speer Bros. since 1871. In 1858 he married Phobe A. Lantz, a native of Wayne County, Ind., by whom two sons and two daughters were born: John C. (deceased),
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Clifford E., Maggie and Jessie. Mrs. Speer died July 10, 1885. Mr. Speer is a member of the A. F. & A. M., the I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W. David Speer, the second subject of this sketch, returned to Ohio to complete his education, and two years later embarked in the mercantile business at Corydon, Iowa, where he remained until 1864. He then came to Princeton, and engaged in business two years, after which he resided in Ottumwa, Iowa, until 1871. He then returned to Princeton, and has since had control of the business interests of Speer Bros. In 1862 he married Julia F. Graves, a native of Iowa, by whom three sons and two daughters have been born. One son is now deceased. Mr. David Speer was a member of the county court in 1885 and 1886, and is a member of the I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W.
John J. Stanley was born in Chariton County, Mo., August 30, 1842, and is a son of Duncan R. and Elizabeth Frances (Wilkerson) Stanley, natives of Cooper County, Mo., and Virginia, respectively. Jonathan R. Stanley, the grandfather of John J., was one of the pio- neer settlers of Missouri, and located in Boone County, about 1815. Duncan R. moved to Mercer County in 1844, and settled seven miles southeast of Princeton upon a claim where he resided, success- fully engaging in farming until 1865. He then removed to Linn County, where he died in July, 1887, in his sixty-seventh year, leav- ing a widow and the following children: John J .; Eva, wife of Enslow Gose, of Linn County, Mo. ; Virginia Frances, wife of G. P. Larrimore of Mill Grove; Louisa P., Colman C. and Louis R. John J. spent his youth upon his father's farm, and received a good common-school education. Upon the breaking out of the war he enlisted in Company D, Second Missouri Volunteer Cavalry known as Merrill's Horse, and served four years and three months, during which time he was first a private and then a non-commissioned officer. After the cessation of hostilities he engaged in farming in Mercer County until 1874, and then engaged in the mercantile business at Mill Grove successfully, until 1876. He then served as constable until 1880, during which time he was interested in stock trading, which business he afterward continued in connection with his farming until November, 1886. In 1880 he was also census enumerator. In 1886 he was elected sheriff by the Republicans, of which party he is a stanch member, and is now discharging the duties of that office with general satisfaction. He is Junior Vice-Commander of the G. A. R., Capt. Stanley Post, No. 79, and is one of the most enterprising and respected citizens of the county. Himself and wife are members of the Christian Union Church.
R. W. Steckman, attorney of Princeton, was admitted to the Mer-
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cer County bar in 1880, but being elected probate judge, January, 1879, he did not practice his profession until the expiration of his term of office, January 1, 1887. F He was born in Bedford County, Penn., November 30, 1849, and educated and principally reared in Brown County, Ill. In the spring of 1872 he came to Mercer County, Mo., whither his parents had preceded him in the fall of 1871. In 1874 he returned to Brown County, Ill., and there married Melvina Harris, a native of that county. He subsequently taught school in Mercer and Grundy Counties during the winter seasons, and devoted his time to agricultural pursuits during the summer seasons, until he was elected probate judge. To Mr. and Mrs. Steckman two sons and three daughters have been born. Mr. Steckman is a worthy member of the Masonic fraternity, and belongs to the I. O. O. F. He is the eldest child of a family of four sons and three daughters (two now deceased) born to Philip and Mary (Kerr) Steckman, natives of Bed- ford County, Penn., and born in 1813 and 1820, respectively, where they were married. The father died in Grundy County, Mo., in 1880, and the mother is at present a resident of Trenton, Mo. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Henry Steckman, immigrated to America from Germany, and died in Pennsylvania.
John W. Stockman was born in Bourbon County, Ky., January 7, 1831, and reared in Putnam County, Ind. His father, Francis Stock- man was born in England in March, 1788, and about 1820 immigrated to the United States, and permanently located in Bourbon County, Ky., although he was married in Montgomery County, Ky., to Sallie A. Kelly. After his marriage he lived in Bourbon County, Ky., about twelve years. Mr. and Mrs. Stockman then moved to Putnam County, Ind., upon a farm, where they lived until 1837, when they removed to Mercer County, Mo., where their deaths occurred December 15, 1859, and March 6, 1872, respectively. John W. lived with his parents until his marriage in Putnam County, Ind., in March, 1857, to Rebecca Lewis, daughter of Absalom Lewis, and a native of Decatur County, Ind. To Mr. and Mrs. Stockman eight children have been born, of whom all save one are now living: Frances Lewis, Edward E., Mary J., Martha A., Horace G., Harriet E. and John W. After his marriage Mr. Stockman immediately went to Kansas in search of a home, leaving his wife with his father and mother. After three months' absence he returned to Putnam County, Ind., and a short time afterward his parents and himself and wife removed to Mercer County, Mo. He then settled upon his present farm, which contains 460 acres of well improved land, upon which he is successfully engaged in farm-
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ing and stock raising. He is a Republican, and has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since twenty-one years of age. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
William M. Summers was born July 18, 1833, in Jefferson County, Tenn. His father, Manering Summers, and his mother, Ma- hala, were natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively, and married in Tennessee, afterward making their home in Jefferson County. When William M. was fifteen years old he accompanied his parents to Burlington, Iowa, living in that State about five years. He then moved to Mercer County, Mo., where he married Catherine C. Bryan, daughter of Allen A. Bryan, by whom seven children were born, five now living, and two married and residents of Missouri. When he first came to Mercer County Mr. Summers entered 120 acres of land one mile west of the present site of Lineville, but has since added to his possession until now he is the owner of 410 acres of good land, and also owns nine town lots in Somerset, Mercer County. He is engaged in the drug business in Lineville just over the Missouri line, and is one of the enterprising and energetic business men of the place, carrying a stock of goods valued at about $3,000. He is a member of Somerset Lodge, No. 206, in Masonry, and in politics is a Republican.
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