USA > Missouri > Henry County > History of Henry County, Missouri > Part 51
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James A. Boyd was born in Jackson, Alabama, June 28, 1826, and is now making his home in Windsor, one of the oldest residents of Henry County. He was reared in the southland and became a plantation owner, using slaves to the number of 100 to perform the work of his plantation. During the Civil War he was engaged in the manufacture of saltpetre for the Confederate government, saltpetre being an important ingredient used in the making of gunpowder. At the close of the war he removed to Illinois and located near Jacksonville, where he remained until 1868. He then moved to Lafayette County, Missouri, where he was engaged in farming until 1894, when he came to Henry County, and after a few years spent in farming he located in Windsor and has resided there for the past twenty years. Mrs. Mary D. (Forsey) Boyd was born July 26, 1832, and departed this life January 5, 1910. To James A. and Mary D. Boyd were born eleven children, eight of whom are living, as follows:
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Mrs. Harriet Hurt, a widow living at Windsor, with her father; Eliza, lives with her father; Thomas K., lives in Kansas; William, deceased; James A., Jr., lives at Ault, Colorado; Mattie L., deceased; Mrs. Mary D. Jackson, a widow, lives in Idaho; David M., is a farmer in Tebo township; Forsey is deceased; Lindley lives at Wichita, Kansas; John W. is the youngest of the family.
Reared upon the farm, John W. Boyd received his education in the district school and spent some months as a student in the State Normal School at Warrensburg. He accompanied his parents to Henry County in 1894 and purchased his present farm, consisting of 161 acres, which he bought on his own account and forty acres which his wife inherited.
December 29, 1897, John W. Boyd and Miss Annie Allen were united in marriage. Two children have been born to this marriage: Julia and Helen. Mrs. Annie (Allen) Boyd was born in Tebo township, Henry County, January 13, 1876, a daughter of William M. and Julia (Harris) Allen, who were parents of seven children: William R., Ava, Missouri; Mrs. Esther Hurt, Aberdeen, Idaho; Mrs. John W. Boyd, of this review; Charles, deceased; twins died in infancy; John Allen, the youngest son of the family, makes his home with Mr. and Mrs. Boyd.
William M. Allen was born in Tebo township December 10, 1838, and died February 15, 1914. He was the son of George J. Allen, a native of Buncombe County, North Carolina, who came to Henry County and set- tled here in 1835. George Allen was accompanied by his brother, Robert W. Allen, and their father, James Allen. The Allens were among the very earliest pioneers of Tebo township and assisted in the organization of the first schools and church in the township. They were among the founders of Salem Presbyterian Church, which was the first church of that denomination to be organized in Henry County. William M. Allen was married January 12, 1870, to Julia Harris, who was born in St. Clair County, Missouri, September 3, 1849, and departed this life May 28, 1885. To William M. and Julia Allen belong the credit and honor of having reared a splendid family of sons and daughters and who were among the earliest of the pioneer families of this county.
The Democratic party has always had the allegiance of John W. Boyd and he has held the office of tax collector of his township for a period of four years. His time is fully occupied with his farming and live stock operations and he has little choice for political affairs. He and Mrs. Boyd are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and are highly esteemed as excellent and worthy citizens of Henry County.
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Eugene E. Wall .- The day of the old time methods of tilling the soil in Missouri with its attendant waste and depletion of fertility and natural resources is fast passing. Intelligent methods of crop raising, conserv- ing the richness of the soil and the application of scientific knowledge to crop production and the raising of live stock is taking the place of the former slipshod methods of hit and miss ways of farming. It has been ascertained that it costs less to produce live stock of the pure bred va- riety and to fatten them for the markets than to raise the former scrub cattle and hogs with which the Missouri farms were formerly stocked. Here and there in the different counties of the State a number of intel- ligent and highly progressive agriculturists and live stock men are taking the lead in this latest development in the science of animal husbandry. Where formerly the stockman gave little heed to the kind of cattle and hogs which he raised from year to year, there are now leaders who keep and produce only the best and purest bred stock which in turn is dis- persed over the country among others who see the need of improving their herds, and a vast amount of good results. A leader in the produc- tion of fine live stock, and one of the most successful and widely known breeders in the State of Missouri is Eugene E. Wall of Tebo township, Henry County. Mr. Wall embarked in the pure bred live stock industry in 1895, and now maintains one of the most famous herds of registered Hereford cattle in the country. His Herefords have been exhibited through- out the country at various State fairs and the American Royal Stock Show at Kansas City. In the season of 1911, Mr. Wall sold a carload of cattle which brought the highest price on the Kansas City market, known up to that time, the cattle bringing $12.50 per hundred weight, a price of two dollars over and above the top market price. Again in 1912, he received $12.20 per hundred for a carload of cattle. Mr. Wall's herd leader, "Beau Merry" No. 566449, was bred by Gudgell and Simpson, and the animal is valued at over $4,000. The fine cattle produced on the Wall farm are sold in many Western and Southern States, and he holds public sales which are attended by buyers from all sections of the country. Mr. Wall is also a breeder of Duroc Jersey hogs.
Eugene E. Wall was born in Tebo township, June 26, 1860, the son of Julius F. and Bettie (Woolfolk) Wall, who were parents of two chil- dren : Eugene E., subject of this sketch ; and Julius F., a druggist in Wind- sor. The father of these boys was killed on August 16, 1862, while par- ticipating in the Battle of Lone Jack, he having enlisted with the Con-
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federate forces at the outbreak of the Civil War. He was born in North Carolina in 1830 and accompanied his parents to Henry County, Missouri, in 1836, the family settling on the farm now owned by Eugene E. Wall, of this review. The grandfather of Eugene E. Wall was Mason Wall, who was well known among the early pioneers of Henry County.
On the 10th of August, 1862, about 100 boys of northern Henry and southern Johnson County met in an elm grove, about three miles southwest of where Leeton now stands. Doctor Warren was made cap- tain of the company. The following day Julius F. Wall joined this com- pany. This company joined the command of General Cockrell in the west- ern part of Henry County and were sworn into the Confederate service in the afternoon of August 15th. This was about four miles west of Lone Jack, and in the night of the 15th they marched into Lone Jack, where the battle was fought on August 16. Julius F. Wall and a num- ber of others of this county were killed in this battle and were buried by their comrades on the battlefield where they had fallen. After the war a monument was erected to mark the graves of the Confederate dead. Julius F. Wall's father, Mason Wall, was a native of North Carolina and fought in the War of 1812 and was made major. After the war he received a grant of land from the Government for his services. In 1836, Mason Wall came to Henry County.
Mrs. Bettie (Woolfolk) Wall was born in Boone County, Missouri, and her parents, formerly from Kentucky, settled in Henry County, in 1856. After the death of Julius F. Wall, his widow married James H. Bass. Four children were born of this marriage: Mrs. Kate Carmichael, Holden, Missouri; Mrs. Sallie Hayden, widow, living at Pueblo, Colorado; Mrs. Ella Grinstead, deceased; Mrs. Bessie Rex, Drexel, Missouri. The mother of these children departed this life in 1900.
After attending the district school and the Windsor public school, Eugene E. Wall studied for one year, 1876-1877, in Central College at Fayette, Missouri. From 1877 to 1881, he was engaged in the sheep business in western Texas. Returning to Windsor, he was connected with the furniture and undertaking business there until his marriage in 1883, at which time he purchased the old home place of the family and engaged in farming and live stock raising. Mr. Wall has prospered as he deserved and is owner of 720 acres of well improved farm land.
March 7, 1883, Eugene E. Wall and Miss Anna Sutherland were united in marriage. Mrs. Anna Wall was born February 4, 1863, in
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Boone County, Missouri, the daughter of Logan and Margaret (Harris) Sutherland, natives of Kentucky, both of whom are descended from Co- lonial Revolutionary stock. To this marriage five children have been born: Charles S., a farmer in Tebo township; Julius F., a private in the National Army ; Mrs. Helen Pigg, Windsor, Missouri, who with her mother, is a member of the daughters of the American Revolution; Logan and John W., at home with their parents.
Mr. Wall is allied with the Democratic party, but confines his inter- est and activities in politics to voting. He and Mrs. Wall are members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Wall is affiliated with the American Hereford Breeders' Association and takes considerable interest in the affairs of this association.
August W. Pruessner .- The successful career of August W. Pruess- ner of Leesville, Missouri, began in 1885 when he purchased a lease on a tract of Grand River land and for three years tilled the land with fair success. He then bought sixty acres near the New Church in Bethlehem township, upon which he resided for four years and added forty acres during his tenure of the farm. Since his boyhood days Mr. Pruessner has known nothing but hard, continuous labor. He resided for three years in Benton County, Missouri, and bought land east of Warsaw, upon which he lived for three years. In 1897 he located upon 200 acres for which he traded. This land was located on the Benton-Henry County line and he cultivated it for three years. He accumulated 400 acres and improved the farm to a considerable extent. In 1905 he moved to Leesville and bought eighty-five acres of his present home place, which consists of 305 acres in all. He owns in addition to this another farm of 40034 acres on Tebo Creek, eighty acres of which lies in Henry County and the balance in Benton County. One hundred acres of the Pruessner land were sown to wheat, which has yielded (1918) the splendid crop of fifteen bushels to the acre; 180 acres are in corn, which promises to give a fine yield, and thirty-five acres of oats. The rest of the land is sown to grasses and pasture for the live stock. Twenty horses and mules are kept on the piace and from ninety to 100 head of cattle are fattened annually for the markets. The farm produces from fifty to 400 head of hogs annually. The Pruessner ranch is one of the most modern and best equipped in Henry County. A silo is filled each year with green forage. The plow- ing and harrowing is done with a modern tractor. A grist mill is also operated by the same power. The ranch is equipped with the most mod-
A. W. PRUESSNER AND FAMILY
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ern farm machinery so as to expedite the farm work and do it more eco- nomically with the least labor possible.
August W. Pruessner was born in Germany in May, 1866, the son of Simon and Florence Pruessner, the latter of whom died when August W. was a youth. The Pruessners came to America in 1867 and settled in Osage County, Missouri, and later in Gasconade County. From there they went to Kansas and settled in Henry County in 1886. The elder Pruessner was a farmer.
In October of 1887 August W. Pruessner and Martha Fisher were united in marriage. Mrs. Martha Pruessner was born in Saline County, the daughter of Christ Fisher, a native of Pennsylvania and one of the old settlers in this county, moving from Saline to St. Clair County and thence to Henry County. The children born to August W. and Martha Pruessner are as follows: Christ, died when young; Elizabeth, was edu- cated at the Warrensburg Normal School and has taught three terms of school, now a student at Clinton Business College; Albert, born February 15, 1894, is a farmer, married Vivian Swazey; Janie, former student at Warrensburg State Normal School and now student at Clinton Business College; Oscar, born July 27, 1898, is assisting in the home farming opera- tions and is a capable and energetic young man; Ethel, Veda, at home; Everett, died in infancy. In addition to the other conveniences on this splendidly equipped farm the Pruessners have a late "Studebaker Six" which takes the family to town or city in a few minutes.
Mr. Pruessner is a Republican, although he has had little time for political matters. He was reared a Presbyterian but has embraced the faith as exemplified by the Baptist teachings. Of late years Mr. Pruess- ner's health has been such that it has become necessary for him to shift the burden of caring for the farming operations to the shoulders of his capable and energetic sons, who are successful farmers. His career has reached its zenith, having achieved wealth and position in the agricul- tural life of Henry County he can well be content to let others take up the task of carrying onward the work so well done.
Richard W. Edmondson, mail carrier for Rural Route No. 18, Wind- sor, Missouri, was born March 23, 1876, in Windsor township. He is the son of James W. Edmondson, concerning whom an extended review is given elsewhere in this volume.
Mr. Edmondson was educated in the district school of his home neighborhood and remained on the home farm until April 26, 1898. He
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then enlisted as a private soldier in Company F, 2nd Missouri Volunteer Infantry Regiment for service in the Spanish-American War. He re- ceived his honorable discharge from the service on March 9, 1899, and returned to the home farm. He was employed at farm labor near Lewis Station until October 9, 1899, and then enlisted in Company, 40th United States Volunteer Infantry Regiment, for service in the Philippines. He saw much active service in the island and was promoted to the post of duty sergeant. For five weeks he was ill with malaria contracted in the Philippines. He received his honorable discharge from the service at the Presidio, California, June 24, 1901. Upon his return home his father told him that he had a position waiting for him and he learned that a rural mail route was being organized out of Windsor which would pay a salary of $500 a year. Postmaster George W. Schweer assisted him in obtaining the appointment. On January 1, 1902, he began his duties as carrier. Mr. Edmondson's salary has since been increased to $1,450.
On February 29, 1904, Richard W. Edmondson and Miss Addie Mason were united in marriage. They have one child, Herschel, born January 12, 1905. Mrs. Addie Edmondson was born in Pettis County, Missouri, the daughter of Thomas and Mary C. (Woods) Mason, natives of Illinois, and who were farmers in Benton and Pettis Counties. Mr. Mason is deceased and Mrs. Mason now lives at Vincennes, Indiana, with a daughter.
Mr. Edmondson is a stockholder of the First National Bank of Wind- sor and is interested financially in the Farmers Elevator Company. He is a Republican in politics and is a member and deacon of the Christian Church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Rebekahs and the Modern Woodmen of Anierica.
Bryce F. Richardson, cashier of the Peoples Bank, Calhoun, Missouri, is a native of Henry County. He was born on a farm in Springfield town- ship, October 24, 1873, the son of Francis B. and Mary E. (Holland) Rich- ardson, who were parents of four children: Luther, manager of the Cal- houn, Missouri, Telephone Company; Lucian C., a farmer in Tebo town- ship; Clyde N., a farmer of Deercreek township; Bryce F., subject of this sketch.
Francis B. Richardson was born in Monongahela County, West Vir- ginia, in 1837, and immigrated to Missouri in 1869, locating on a farm in Springfield township, where he followed agricultural pursuits until his retirement to a home in Clinton in 1909. Mrs. Mary E. Richardson was also born in West Virginia in 1840.
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Bryce F. Richardson is self-made and has accomplished much for a comparatively young man. He was educated in the district school and the Calhoun High School and also studied in Central College, Fayette, Missouri. In 1900 he saw the need of a telephone system for the con- venience of the people of Calhoun and vicinity, and accordingly organized and placed in operation the first telephone line ever in operation in this vicinity. This was known as the Tebo Telephone Company and Mr. Richardson conducted the concern until he disposed of it in 1909. He then assisted materially in the organization of the Peoples Bank of Cal- houn and became the first and present cashier of this bank, which has met with a gratifying growth during its nine years of operation. The president of this bank is M. D. Finks, the vice-president is W. C. Butler, a substantial merchant of Calhoun.
Mr. Richardson was married April 2, 1901, to Miss Emma N. Finks, who was born in Tebo township, the daughter of Milton D. Finks, a retired farmer of Calhoun. Five children have been born of this marriage: Will- iam F., Homer C., Hazel L., Bettie F., and Lillian.
The Democratic party has the support of Mr. Richardson, although he does not take an exceedingly active part in political affairs. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
Michael Edwards, a leading merchant of Calhoun, Missouri, is a native of New York, and was born in Monroe County, that State, August 23, 1856. He is the son of Patrick and Ellen (Dowling) Edwards who were parents of twelve children, five of whom are living.
Patrick Edwards was born in County Clare, Ireland, January 8, 1820, and died October 27, 1887. He left his native land in 1848, after having followed seafaring life for a number of years, finally settling in New York, where he engaged in railroad work as trainman and was also en- gaged in railroad construction. In 1867, he located in Franklin County, Missouri, and followed railroading for three years, coming to Henry County in 1870. He became track foreman for the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railway at Lewis Station and held this position until his retire- ment, a short time prior to his death. Mrs. Ellen Edwards was also born in County Clare, Ireland, September 25, 1832, and died in September, 1877. The parents of Michael Edwards were married in New York.
Michael Edwards accompanied his parents to Henry County and also worked on the railroad and followed mining for some years. In 1888,
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he opened a general merchandise store at Calhoun and has become one of the town's most successful and enterprising business men. He was mar- ried October 31, 1882, to Miss Ella Minish, born in Calhoun, daughter of Isaac and Priscilla (Linn) Minish, the former located in Calhoun as early as 1856 and followed the trade of watchmaker for several years, also serving as postmaster of the town, dying in this city in 1905. To Michael and Ella Edwards have been born six children: James W., assisting his father in the Edwards store; Patricia, in Washington; Mary F., wife of D. L. Green, Windsor, Missouri; Thomas, formerly assisting his father, now a private in the National Army, attending the Rahe Army School at Kansas City, Missouri; Margaret, wife of W. L. Graham, St. Louis, Mis- souri ; Arthur, at home.
Mr. Edwards is a member of the Catholic church, as are several members of his family. He has always been a Democrat and is one of the substantial citizens of Calhoun, who has built up an excellent and flourishing trade by the exercise of honest and dependable methods of do- ing business.
Clyde N. Richardson is manager of the Calhoun Elevator and owner of 200 acres of well improved land in Deer Creek township. Mr. Richard- son is a native of Henry County, born February 22, 1875, in Springfield township, and is the son of Francis B. and Mary E. (Holland) Richardson. See sketch of Brice F. Richardson for complete history of this family.
Clyde Richardson was educated in the Calhoun schools and "Central College" of Fayette, Missouri, and when a lad in his early teens, he left the parental roof to work for himself. For a number of years he rented the home farm from his father until he purchased 120 acres in 1910 in Deer Creek township. He followed his farming operations exclusively un- til he was made manager of the Calhoun Elevator Company in March, 1917.
May 28, 1904, Clyde Richardson was united in marriage to Eliza Finks, who taught school for a number of years prior to her marriage. She is a native of Tebo township, and a daughter of Milton D. and Bettie (Lewis) Finks. They are retired farmers, making their home in Cal- houn. One child, Francis Milton, born February 13, 1905, has come to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Richardson and he is attending the schools of Calhoun to fit himself for his future life work.
Mr. Richardson's political views are in harmony with the Demo- cratic party, and he has served his community as township assessor
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for the years 1910 to 1914. He is steward of the Methodist Church, South, and a member of same.
Abraham Wiley .- The late Abraham Wiley, born March 20, 1820, was one of the true pioneers of this section. He was one of the men who laid the foundations of the social, religious, political and industrial life of Henry County. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, a son of William and Margaret (Whitson) Wiley. They were the parents of six boys and three girls, all born in Tennessee ere the family left their home in the crude ox-wagon for their slow and perilous journey to Lafayette County, Missouri. This was in 1830, and they remained in that county until 1833, when they came to Henry County to homestead 160 acres in Tebo township. The first night of their arrival upon Tebo Creek, an unusual display of shooting star illuminated the sky and it was a source of delight and a means of remembering their first night near their future home.
In 1854, Abraham Wiley homesteaded 240 acres in Deer Creek town- ship and for the following thirty-four years he made it his home, changing it from a wild timber land, where the deer and buffalo were in their native haunts, to the cultivated fields of waving grain. Mr. Wiley was a carpenter, a trade learned in his youth, and helped in the building of the Baptist Church in Clinton, Missouri, besides various other edifices. He was a leader in the organization of East District school and the South Methodist Church, not alone lending his financial aid but his strong arm as well, in its reconstruction. His moral and religious life was an asset to the community in which he lived and labored.
January 25, 1857, Abraham Wiley married Angeline Woolfolk, who was born April 25, 1833, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, the daughter of Charles Thomas and Polly Ann (Payne) Woolfolk, natives of Kentucky. They emigrated to Boone County, Missouri, in 1840, and in 1856 they came to Henry County, where they homesteaded in Deer Creek township, where Mrs. Wiley has made her home since her husband's demise. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Wiley, as follows: Mrs. Nannie McElwrath, deceased wife of Alonzo McElwrath; Maggie, who was postmistress of the Lewis Station from 1902 to 1907, is now living with her mother; Robert G. lives two miles northeast of Clinton; Charles L., a sketch of whom is in this volume. Mrs. Nannie McElwrath left four children: Mrs. Mora Lillian Nesbitt, Deer Creek township; Charles L., merchant at Lewis Station; Helen N. and Hallie.
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Mrs. Wiley's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Woolfolk, were slave holders in Kentucky and brought their slaves with them to Missouri. They were in the family until their release after the Civil War. Abraham Wiley, in his capacity of carpenter, helped in the building of the first homes in Clin- ton, Missouri, and was influential in many of its affairs. He passed away in 1901 in Lewis Station, Missouri, where he had made his home since 1899.
Robert Lee Jones is a successful farmer and an extensive mule dealer of Tebo township, who owns and operates a farm in section 36. Mr. Jones is a young man who gives promise of being one of the leading agriculturists of his community. He was born June 26, 1885, in Tebo township, Henry County, the son of Reuben A. and Fannie (Parks) Jones, who are also farming in Tebo township.
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