USA > Missouri > Henry County > History of Henry County, Missouri > Part 52
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Robert Lee Jones was reared on the home farm and attended the High- land district school and the Calhoun High School. In 1909 he purchased his present farm of sixty-five acres and is conducting a successful farming business. He also is dealing in mules, buying and selling them the year around.
February 17, 1909, Robert L. Jones and Maude Dannatt were united in marriage. She was born in Clinton County, Iowa, and is the daughter of Samuel and Amelia (Rice) Dannatt. Mr. and Mrs. Dannatt, with their family, came to Deer Creek township, Henry County, in 1904 and pur- chased 120 acres of land, which they farmed until their retirement in 1909, when they moved to Clinton, Missouri. In 1913 they moved to Calhoun, Missouri, where they now reside.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents of four children as follows: Ethlyn Bonita, Floyd Kenneth, Ada Caroline, and Elsie Wonita. The family are members of the Baptist church and Mr. Jones votes the Democratic ticket. He is one of the substantial and progressive young men of Henry County.
Charles L. Wiley, a progressive farmer and stockman of Deer Creek township, is a descendant of the earliest pioneers of Henry County. Charles Wiley was born August 25, 1871, in Deer Creek township on the old homestead of his parents, Abraham and Angeline (Woolfolk) Wiley. A history of this family appears in this volume.
Charles Wiley received his education in the district schools and very early in life began for himself, by hard work as a farmer. He mar- ried Sallie Elizabeth Showalter October 3, 1895. She is the daugh-
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ter of Jacob and Sarah Belle (Beaty) Showalter, the former born in Ohio January 8, 1840, and the latter was born in Henry County, Missouri, in 1838. Jacob Showalter served as a soldier in the 128th Indiana Infantry Regiment of Volunteers, fought in many battles and was wounded at Chattanooga. He came to Henry County not long after the Civil War closed. He died January 8, 1908, and his wife departed this life August 2, 1910. They reared their family in Deer Creek township upon the farm of 382 acres, where their daughter, Mrs. Wiley, now lives. Mrs. Wiley was born on this farm February 6, 1873, and received her educa- tion in the rural schools. She has one sister, Mrs. Lillie Diehl. Three children have come to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wiley. They are: Cecil, now a private in Rahe's Army School, Kansas City, Missouri; Mary and Walter.
Mr and Mrs. Wiley are the owners of 981 acres of land in Deer Creek and Tebo townships. They are farming 500 acres, and renting the rest to tenants. Mr. Wiley is president of the Bank of Calhoun and school director of district No. 41. He realizes the opportunities of feeding large herds of cattle in his vast acreage, and he does this from year to year, often shipping five and six carloads of beef cattle per year.
Mr. Wiley is a Democrat and a public spirited citizen. In the Red Cross and Liberty Loan drives, he spent many days of his valuable time looking after Uncle Sam's business, as well as his own.
Charles Newman .- For the past fifty years Charles Newman has made his home at his present residence in Deer Creek township. He was born July 1, 1860, in Vernon County, Missouri, the son of Jonathan and Martha J. (Prior) Newman. They were born in Cooper County, Missouri, and Tennessee, respectively. In 1866, they left their home in Vernon County, Missouri, and lived on land in Johnson County for two years; then they came to Henry County and rented the farm which was originally owned by Abraham Wiley for two years, after which they settled on the "Newman Homestead" in Deer Creek township, and followed their farming activities. Jonathan Newman was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the Confederate Army. He passed away December 6, 1892, and his wife survived him until 1912.
Charles Newman attended the district school and has always re- mained on the home farm, looking after its interests and the number- less tasks of conducting it successfully. August 19, 1891, Mr. Newman was married to Columbia J. Goff, the daughter of Lewis I. and Sarah
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(Wiley) Goff, who were born in Henry County, descendants of pioneer settlers. Mrs. Columbia Newman was born in Tebo township, August 18, 1862, and received her education in the district schools. Twins, Lewis and Mary, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Newman. Mary died in infancy and Lewis, born April 21, 1893, became a private in the National Army February 26, 1918, and is now serving in the 354th In- fantry Regiment, 89th Division of the United States Army, now "Some- where in France." Lewis is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. and Mrs. Newman own 241 acres of land. He is not seeking political honors, but exercises his right of franchise by voting the Demo- cratic ticket. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Church, South.
Joseph H. Smith .- Forty-eight years ago Joseph H. Smith came from his old Virginia home and settled upon a tract of timber land in the south- western part of Leesville township, cleared the land, placed it in cultiva- tion and in the course of time built a good home and beautified his sur- roundings. During all these years he has been well content to live upon his eighty acre farm engrossed with the duty of rearing and educating his large family of children. He has become well to do, gained wisdom with age, kept himself well informed on the events of the day and takes a keen interest in living and all that is going on in the world.
Joseph H. Smith was born April 21, 1845, in Patrick County, Vir- ginia. He is the son of Foulks and Mary Ann (Handy) Smith, both of whom were members of old Virginia families, the former of English ex- traction and the latter of German descent. Foulks and Mary Ann Smith were parents of children as follow: Mrs. Lucinda Deatheridge, San An- tonio, Texas; Samuel F., a soldier in the Confederate Army, killed in the fighting around Fort Donelson; Mary E., deceased; Ruth, died in early childhood; Joseph H., of this review; George F., a farmer in Leesville township; Mrs. Elitha Warner, living in Nebraska; Mrs. Sarah Alice Smith, deceased ; John L. Smith, a bachelor, lives just south of his brother's place; Mrs. Ida Deatheridge, living on a farm one mile north. Foulks Smith came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1871 and spent his last daye among his children, dying in October, 1878, at the age of sixty-eight years.
Joseph H. Smith enlisted in 1861 in Company A, 50th Regiment Vir- ginia Infantry of the Confederate Army and served until the surrender of General Lee. He fought in the following battles: Fort Donelson, Fred-
JOSEPH H. SMITH
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ericksburg, Sharpsburg, Winchester, Gettysburg, the Seven Days Battle of the Wilderness, besides many skirmishes and minor engagements. He was twice slightly wounded in battle. During a skirmish in Blackwater, Virginia, General Pryor was in command of the division. The Confed- erates were encamped near the enemy in a grove in the fall of the year. The night was rather chilly. Some of the soldiers woke up, stirred the smouldering fires, and before daylight the enemy captured the picket posts. An attack followed. The camp woke up and began to defend themselves. Shells began to come thick and fast. The Confederates were all surprised and excited but finally got in line for battle. Colonel Poague, commander of the regiment, was killed during the first part of the attack by the Unionists. As the men were lined up ready to begin the fight and repulse the Unionists and the firing was becoming faster and faster, all along the line, just at sunrise, General Pryor came riding down the line. Joseph H. Smith was standing munching away at a roasted sweet potato. He was still somewhat excited especially over the death of Colonel Poague, yet could find time to eat. As the general came near the young soldier he called out: "General, did you know that Colonel Poague was killed ?" The general stopped his horse, eyed the soldier boy and his big sweet potato, and said: "Did you ever hear of a war but what somebody was killed? Please give me part of that potato." The general took half of the sweet potato and the fighting went on.
Returning to his home after the close of the war Mr. Smith found the whole country devastated, farms ruined, people penniless, business stagnant, and the outlook for the future so discouraging that he deemed it useless to try to make a new start. Added to these drawbacks was the restless feeling which possessed the returned soldier, who had been use to stirring outdoor life for four years. He decided to come West. Accordingly, in the fall of 1866, he came to Henry County, Missouri, with little capital and began the improvement of his fine farm, which he purchased in 1870, in Leesville township. During over half a century he has been one of the respected and influential figures in the citizenship of Henry County and is widely known for his progressiveness.
Mr. Smith was married in 1869 to Mrs. Frances Helen (Parks) Nichols, a widow. The children born to this marriage are: Ida Lee, a teacher in Colorado; Hugh A., holding a professorship as head of the department of romance and languages at Wisconsin University, Madison, Wisconsin, holds a master's and doctor's degree and has studied at Harvard Uni-
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versity ; Elmer, living in Iowa; Pinckney, who studied at the Missouri University ; John M., a farmer in Leesville township; Audrey, wife of Professor Lionberger, Norris, Henry County; Mrs. Mary Jewett Poague, Benton County, Missouri; Norma, a teacher in the public schools of Colo- rado; Winifred and Helen, at home with their parents, and are teachers. Every member of this family has taught school, excepting Elmer. Each of the children has attended high school, either at Windsor, Clinton or Appleton City. Mrs. Frances Helen Smith, mother of this fine family, was born in Henry County in 1854, and is the daughter of Mrs. Catherine Nichols, a widow who came to Henry County during the early thirties.
The Democratic party has always had the firm support of Mr. Smith, and he has always taken a keen interest in political matters, although he has never been a seeker after political preferment. The cause of educa- tion has generally been uppermost in his desires and he has lent his energies and influence toward the building of good schools in his neigh- borhood and has always been emphatically in favor of better educational advantages for the young. He was one of the leaders in the movement which culminated in the erection of a more modern building in his school district and is a firm friend of good schools. He is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. Keen, intelligent, well posted on everyday events, he is a fine conversationalist who impresses one with his progressive ideas and broad outlook upon life.
Fred Batschelet .- Fifty-six years ago, Fred Batschelet, pioneer set- tler and large land owner of Davis township, left the old home of his parents in Switzerland and crossed the ocean to America in search of fortune and a permanent home. After some years, he found what he was desiring in Henry County, Missouri, and besides having accumulated a fortune in land and money, he has contributed one of the largest families of the county to the land of his adoption. Were the fact that he has reared a large family of fourteen children to sturdy manhood and womanhood the only thing which he had accomplished, he would still be worthy of an honored place in the historical annals of his adopted county. This is not all, however. Before Mr. Batschelet had learned the language and customs of his adopted country, and before he had obtained a foothold here in the making of his own career, he offered his services in behalf of the preservation of the Union, and is one of the few remaining Union veterans in Henry County.
Fred Batschelet was born July 10, 1842, in the Canton of Berne,
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Switzerland, and is the son of Benedict and Elizabeth (Weber) Batschelet, who were parents of five children. Benedict and Elizabeth Batschelet lived and died in the land of their nativity. Fred Batschelet was reared to the life of a farmer, but learned the baker's trade in his youth. In 1862 he immigrated to America and first settled in Illinois where he remained for three years. During the last year of the Civil War he served in the Union Army in Company A of the 40th Missouri Volun- teer Infantry Regiment. For a time he was detailed to provost guard duty in the South.
While a citizen of Illinois, he was married and sometime later he located in St. Louis. In the year 1870 he, with his brother John, came to Henry County and invested in a tract of 106 acres. The brothers cultivated this tract in partnership for about four years and then each undertook to farm for himself. From this small beginning, Mr. Batsche- let has accumulated an entire section of land, or 640 acres.
Mr. Batschelet was married in 1866 at Highland, Illinois, to Miss Anna Pfister, who was born in Switzerland, April 30, 1848, and came to America when a child with her parents who settled at Highland, Illi- nois. Fourteen children have been born to this union, as follows: Fred and Godfred, twins, born in Illinois, are farmers in Davis township; John, a farmer, living near Lewis Station; Benedict, a farmer in Davis town- ship; Minnie, wife of Daniel Dehn, Clinton township; Robert, lives in Oklahoma; Albert, a farmer in Bear Creek township; William, Davis township; Anna, wife of W. E. Hillebrand, Davis township; Mary, wife of Allen Mitchell, living on a farm near Montrose; Caroline, Bertha, Ed- ward, and Rosa, at home with their parents.
Mr. Batschelet is a Republican and has been active in civic affairs in his township during his long years of residence here. He assisted in the organization of School District No. 42 and is a valuable citizen. Three years ago he retired from active farm labor, advancing years com- pelling him to relinquish much of his activity which had brought him prosperity during the years in which he has been farming in Henry County. He is a member of the Reformed Church. Few men can look back over a lifetime of endeavor and point to a better record of achieve- ment than can Mr. Batschelet.
Jacob A. Marks .- In the death of the late Jacob A. Marks of Davis township, Henry County lost a good, industrious citizen, who stood high in the community and ranked among the real old settlers of this county, and western Missouri.
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Jacob A. Marks was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1846, and departed this life at his home in Davis township, May 10, 1917. He was the son of John and Susanna (Schroeder) Marks, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Pennsylvania Dutch extraction. The Marks family, consisting of the parents and six children, came to Henry County in 1866. During the first years of his residence here, Mr. Marks worked as a farm laborer. At the time of his marriage to Susan M. Hibler, he settled upon an eighty-acre tract which his wife had inherited from the Hibler estate. This tract, Mr. and Mrs. Marks improved and in- creased to a total of 200 acres. Mr. Marks was an industrious and enter- prising farmer and stockman and a successful citizen. His death was a distinct loss to the county.
On December 11, 1876, Jacob A. Marks and Susan M. Hibler were united in marriage and this marriage was blessed with ten children, as follows: The first child died in infancy; Maud, wife of David Burdick, Nevada, Missouri, mother of four children, Roy Marks, Margaret Ellen, Mildred Ruth, Leland Wilson; Thomas H., Kansas City, Missouri; Char- lotte, wife of G. L. Gregory, San Diego, California, has one child, Leon G .; Laura B., deceased; James B., farming the home place; Samuel, an en- listed man on the U. S. S. Wisconsin, United States Navy; Ruth V., Rolla B., and George Dewey, at home with their mother.
Mrs. Susan M. (Hibler) Marks was born in Walker township, Henry County, August 11, 1856, and is the daughter of Henry R. Hibler, one of the best known of the early pioneer settlers of Henry County, a sketch of whom appears in connection with that of Joseph F. Hibler of Walker township. Henry Hibler was an extensive stockman and a large land owner, who in the early pioneer days drove herds of cattle for the set- tlers to St. Louis and there disposed of them in the stock markets. Mrs. Hibler is capably managing her estate of 200 acres, and is also inter- ested in the Dixie Oil Company, a producing and dividend paying oil com- pany of Kansas. She is also a stockholder in the Sedalia Packing Com- pany.
Mr. Marks was a Democrat and served as justice of the peace of Davis township. He was a member of the Methodist Church South and lived a Christian and upright life. He was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His descendants have just cause to be proud of his career as a citizen, an exemplary, honorable man in every sense that the words imply ; he was likewise a kind husband and a good father.
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Charles Jacobs Simonds, a successful dairyman of Henry County, was born March 16, 1873, in Palmyra, McCoupin County, Illinois, the son of Charles Granby and Mary J. (McConthey) Simonds. They were the parents of four children, and by a former marriage to Elizabeth McConthey, sister of Mary McConthey, Mr. Simonds had three children. Charles G. Simonds was born May 1, 1831, in Roodhouse, Green County, Illinois, and followed farming in that county until his removal to Cass County, Missouri, in 1878. He is a son of Joshua and Lulu Ann Simonds, the former a native of New York, where he was born January 8, 1802. In the very early days, and the opening up of Illinois, Joshua Simonds came to Roodhouse, Illinois, and conducted a general merchandise store, where he died September 10, 1834. Charles G. Simonds, his son, passed away November 12, 1902, in Ft. Scott, Kansas.
Charles Jacobs Simonds received his education in the rural schools of Cass County and the schools of Harrisonville and Warrensburg, Mis- souri. In 1899, he rented land in Cass County and continued to farm until 1902, when he came to Henry County and purchased the Thomas Gray farm, east of Calhoun. The following year he disposed of this land and purchased his present farm. He built a new house and made various other improvements.
The marriage of Charles Simonds and Lulu Alta Funk was solemnized, September 26, 1899, in Cass County. Mrs. Simonds was born May 9, 1878, in Cass County, a daughter of Joseph and Mary F. (Swank) Funk. Joseph Funk was born July 5, 1845, in Wheeling, West Virginia, and his wife was born November 22, 1850, in Virginia. They now reside on their farm in Cass County, Missouri.
Mr. and Mrs. Simonds are the parents of six children: Marion Ashby, Joseph Charles, Mary Eunice, Perry Lawrence, Linneus Albert and Lulu Alta, all of whom are at home with their parents.
For the past six years, Mr. Simonds has been conducting a dairy business and his herd of Jersey cattle is increasing year by year with corresponding increase in the financial gains. He operates 250 acres of land, 200 acres of which he owns. Mr. Simonds is a Democrat, and is a member of the school board. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator at Calhoun, and a member of the Mystic Workers.
John Tubbesing .- The rich farming lands of Henry County have been attractive to farmers of other counties and we find many men from other places coming here and purchasing this land for their homes. One
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of those who has made Henry County his home is John D. Tubbesing, a prominent farmer and stockman, who was born May 23, 1866, in Frank- lin County, Missouri, a son of William F. and Anna Tubbesing. For a more complete record of this family, see sketch of William Tubbesing, which appears in this volume.
John Tubbesing was reared in Franklin and Jefferson counties, Mis- souri, and in 1890 came to Henry County, where he rented land for one year, and afterwards returned to Jefferson County.
In April, 1891, John D. Tubbesing and Zetta Fox were married and in 1897 came to Henry County to set up their home. They purchased eighty acres of land in Tebo township, section 30, and later purchased their present farm. In the years gone by sons and daughters have come to bless their home as follow: Freddie and Edward, deceased; Lena, Her- man, Lizzie, William, John and Harry at home with their parents. The mother of this family was born in September, 1866, in Jefferson County, Missouri, the daughter of John Fox, an early settler in Jefferson County, where he and his wife now reside.
Mr. Tubbesing is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and owns 292 acres of land. He is a stockholder of the Farmers Elevator Company of Clin- ton, Missouri, and one of the substantial citizens of Henry County. He is public spirited and enterprising and has made good.
Edward F. Cuthrell is a successful farmer of Tebo township, who owns 590 acres of well improved land. This farm of generous proportions had its nucleus in 240 acres purchased in 1902 and Mr. Cuthrell has added to it until he has 590 acres of good farm land. Mr. Edward F. Cuthrell was born in Davie County, North Carolina, December 17, 1875, the son of James F. and Nettie (McBride) Cuthrell. James Cuthrell was a native of North Carolina and served in the Confederate Army for a short while, but was discharged because of disability. He was a tiller of the soil and lived to an advanced age, passing away in 1911. His wife, also a native of North Carolina, survived him until June, 1917, when she was laid away.
Edward F. Cuthrell remained in his native State until he was seven- teen years of age, when he came to Clinton, Missouri, in 1892 and re- ceived employment as a farm hand. After five years of work as a farm hand Mr. Cuthrell in 1897 rented land for himself, until by dint of hard labor and economy, he was able to purchase the 240 acres, the nucleus of the present farm, in 1902. He made needed improvements, building" a large barn 64x100 feet in extent and various other outbuildings.
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February 3, 1894, Edward Cuthrell and Emma Gilkerson were united in marriage, and are the parents of the following children: Hattie, wife of E. Wilson, farmer of Tebo township; Taylor, a soldier in the United States Army; Rolla, in the United States Navy; Elmer, in Iowa; Alpha, Edward, Effie and Pauline at home with their father. The mother of this family, Mrs. Emma (Gilkerson) Cuthrell, was born in 1878 in Fields Creek township, Henry County, the daughter of Charles and Mollie (Page) Gilkerson, the former a native of Henry County and the latter of Lafay- ette County, Missouri. They live in California. In June, 1910, Mrs. Cuthrell passed away and her younger daughters are shouldering the re- sponsibility of the home making since her demise.
Mr. Cuthrell has been an extensive breeder of jacks, road horses,. Percheron and Belgian horses for twenty years. He has been a member of the Methodist Church since childhood.
John H. Royston .- "Uncle John Henry" Royston, as he was lovingly called by his friends, was one of the upright and conscientious men who make for the betterment of mankind. He was a devout member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and always active in religious work. His friends and rlatives who honor his memory say that he was never known to use profanity. Such a man was the late John H. Royston, who was born May 12, 1827, and departed this life February 2, 1898. John Royston left his birthplace, Caroline County, Virginia, with his parents, Thomas W. and Susannah Royston, when a very young child. They first located in Monroe County, Missouri, and remained there until 1841, when they came to Henry County, Missouri, locating on the Grand River in the southeastern part of the county. They were God-fearing people who put their whole trust in His care, knowing that He cared for them among the wild and uninhabited lands of Missouri, as well as the more thickly settled part of their native State. They impressed their lives upon their son, who followed so faithfully his early training.
John Royston was one of those "forty-niners" who left their homes and families and crossed the plains to California. He left Clinton April 16, 1849, and arrived in California August 8, 1849. Many never returned, but Mr. Royston came back to his old home and was married to Rachel Harris September 5, 1855. She was born June 29, 1836, in Charitan County, Missouri, and was reared by Major Daniel Ashby of Mexican and Indian War fame. Major Ashby was one of the early men in the county and won for himself, through his bravery and uprightness, a name hon- ored by Henry County people.
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Mr. and Mrs. Royston set up their home on the present farm in Deer Creek township and reared their sons and daughters, as follow: Mollie, at home; George, manager of the old home place, was born De- cember 28, 1857, in Deer Creek township, educated in the district school and has devoted his best energies to the farming business, knowing Na- ture in all of her moods and how best to woo the crops from her unwilling hand. He owns 160 acres of land in partnership with his brother, John E., the farm being known as the Royston Brothers farm. The other children are Grace D., deceased; Samuel and Susan, deceased; Anna, at home; Thomas W., in Oklahoma; John E. and Mora at home. Mrs. Roy- ston, at the advanced age of eighty-two years, is still active in her home and a blessing to her children.
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