USA > Missouri > Henry County > History of Henry County, Missouri > Part 64
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Blanche, died at the age of three years; Hattie, married Sterling S. Pat- terson, who is now deceased, having left one child, Ora Ellen, who re- sides with Mr. and Mrs. Stansberry ; John W., at home; Mary J., married Cecil Gray, Big Creek township.
Mr. Stansberry has seen much of the history of Henry County in the making, as it were. He recalls when the town of Norris was known as Norris Fork and when the postoffice was established there on the star mail route from Holden, and they received mail three times each week. He recalls the first store building there which was erected by Moore & Wright. This was about 1873, and this firm carried on the mercantile business there for a number of years.
Mr. Stansberry is one of the substantial pioneer citizens of Henry County and the Stansberry family are prominent in the community.
Walter W. Cheek, a prosperous farmer and stockman of Big Creek township, is a native of Illinois. He was born in Mason County, May 7, 1862, and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Newkirk) Cheek, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Maryland. The Cheek family came to Missouri and settled in Henry County in 1883. The parents returned to Illinois and now reside at Havana, that State. They are the parents of the following children: George, Havana, Illinois; Thomas, deceased ; Walter W., the subject of this sketch; Robert died at Urich, Missouri, in 1901; John, lives at Manito, Illinois ; Samuel, St. Louis, Missouri; Frank, Phelps County, Missouri ; Fannie, died at the age of fourteen ; James Madi- son lives in South Dakota; Marietta, resides with her parents at Havana, Illinois, and Delia, died in infancy.
Walter W. Cheek came to Henry County with his parents in 1883, when he was about twenty-one years of age. He followed farming in the vicinity of Urich for a number of years and in 1890 purchased his present place in Big Creek township. This is a valuable farm of one hundred twenty acres, and is a part of the Fox estate, which was origi- nally entered from the Government by William Fox, grandfather of Mrs. Cheek. He was a very early settler in this vicinity and entered a great deal of land from the Government in Henry County. At one time he owned about eight hundred acres.
Walter W. Cheek was married to Miss Geneva A. Fox in 1888. She is a daughter of William C. Fox, a native of Kentucky, who was born in 1814. He married Emma Hornbarger, a native of Tennessee, born in 1826. William C. Fox died May 21, 1899, and his wife died in 1897, and their remains are interred in the Carpenter Cemetery.
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Mr. Cheek is not only a successful farmer and stock raiser, but takes a keen interest in local affairs and is especially interested in the public school system and for seventeen years has served as director of his school district. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Presbyterian Church and is one of the substantial citizens of Big Creek township.
William C. Fox came to Howard County, Missouri, from Kentucky. He was a "forty-niner," crossed the country and was in the gold mining country of the Pacific Coast for twelve years. Upon his return via Cape Horn, he settled in Big Creek township, Henry County. He was a farmer and stockman on a large scale. W. C. Fox had two children: Mrs. Walter Cheek and James Edgar Fox, who died in 1908 in Kansas City, where he had moved from his farm in Big Creek township.
William C. Fox was the son of James Fox, a Missouri pioneer who was one of the earliest settlers of Howard County and later of Henry County. W. C. Fox owned a fine farm of 320 acres and dealt extensively in live stock.
Thomas Marshall Swart, an extensive land owner and prosperous pioneer of Big Creek township is one of the leading citizens of Henry County. Mr. Swart was born in Kentucky, August 21, 1839, and is a son of George W. and Elizabeth (Bartlett) Swart, both natives of Nicholas County, Kentucky. The parents were both born in 1799 and the mother died at the age of forty years and the father lived to be ninety-three years old. George W. Swart was a son of James Swart of Virginia, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and served under General Wash- ington. He died in Nicholas County, Kentucky. His wife lived to the advanced age of one hundred six years.
George and Elizabeth (Bartlett) Swart were the parents of the fol- lowing children: Margaret; Mrs. Phoebe Jane Campbell; William; Mrs. Hannah Ferguson; Mrs. Elizabeth Parker; George H .; Mrs. Mary Weaver; Mrs. Fannie Wood; Angeline; Mrs. Caroline Graves ; all of whom are now deceased, and Thomas M., the subject of this sketch.
Thomas M. Swart was reared to manhood in Nicholas and Mason counties, Kentucky, and received his education in the schools of his time. He engaged in farming in his native State in early life and followed that vocation there until 1878, when he came to Henry County, Mis- souri. He settled near Maurine, where he first purchased two hundred and thirty acres at twenty dollars an acre. Before coming to Henry
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county he was engaged in raising tobacco, hemp, corn and wheat in Kentucky. He sold his land in the Blue Grass country for ninety dollars an acre. Since coming here he has followed farming and stock raising and has met with unusual success, and is now the owner of about two thousand acres of valuable land and is thus one of the largest land owners of Henry County. His children have 700 acres. His home place is well improved, as is all his land, and his is one of the finest farm residences of the county.
Mr. Swart was united in marriage December 18, 1861, with Miss Mary C. McFerrin, a native of Mason County, Kentucky. She was born in 1844 and is a daughter of James and Louisa (Paul) McFerrin, natives of Kentucky, who are both now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Swart have been born the following children: William S., married Chessie A. Ross of Blairstown and now resides on the old home place; Mary J., now the wife of Newton D. Yount of Sedalia, Missouri.
Mr. Swart is one of the substantial men of Big Creek township and is entitled to classification among Henry County's most successful eiti- zens. He is a Democrat in politics and he and Mrs. Swart are members of the Presbyterian Church.
Kapels Forsythe of Big Creek township is a descendant of one of the pioneer families of Henry County. He was born in Big Creek township March 7, 1891, a son of Edward and Jamica (George) Forsythe. George Forsythe was a native of Ohio and a son of James Forsythe, who settled in Henry County with his family in 1874. James Forsythe spent the remainder of his life in Honey Creek township, where he settled upon coming to this county. He died in 1891. Edward Forsythe died in 1916 and his wife departed this life January 20, 1897. She was a native of Henry County and a daughter of Elijah George, who was among the very early settlers in this county.
To Edward and Jamica (George) Forsythe were born the following children: Anna, married Chester Malone, Blairstown, Missouri; Ione, mar- ried Grover Fraser, who is now serving in the United States Army in France; Kapels, now serving in the United States Army in France; Noel, serving in the United States Army, now stationed at Camp Funston; Hazel, married Howard Harper, Blairstown.
Kapels Forsythe received his education in the public schools of Big Creek township and remained on the home farm until he was twenty- three years of age. In August, 1913, he went to Montana, where he home-
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steaded 320 acres of land in the yellowstone country. He has made some substantial improvements on his place and has raised fifty acres of wheat there during the present season,
The Forsythe home farm in Big Creek township consists of 160 acres of well improved and valuable land. It is located two miles northwest of Garland, a part of the place being situate in Honey Creek township.
The Forsythe family rank among the substantial and highly re- spected citizens of Henry County.
Ellet Huey .- From unbroken prairie land which was first turned by the plow drawn by oxen, Ellet Huey has created one of the most beau- tiful and fertile farms in Henry County, a place of 130 acres in the south- western part of Bethlehem township. Mr. Huey has lived upon his farm since 1866 and has witnessed the development and growth of Henry County. He has reared a splendid family of children, has seen his grand- children grow to maturity and now has great-grandchildren.
Ellet Huey was born October 3, 1842, in Montgomery County, Ohio, the son of James and Ann Elizabeth (Schwartz) Huey, natives of Ohio. The parents of Ellet Huey accompanied him to Missouri and his father died at his home. The mother also died in this county. His brother, Albert, also came west, but returned to Ohio and spent his life in that State.
In the spring of 1865 Ellet Huey enlisted in Company D, 132nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served until the close of the war under Captain Beard. In 1866 he came to Missouri in search of a home and found his location in Bethlehem township, Henry County. This was prairie and timber land.
Mr. Huey paid thirteen dollars an acre for his land, which is now worth at least seventy-five dollars an acre. He erected a log house of three rooms and one and a half stories, since adding a frame addition to the original house, which is a picturesque and comfortable affair, at- tractively shaded by great trees and reached by a driveway from the highway.
Mr. Huey was married in 1863 to Miss Margaret Palmer, who was born in Ohio in 1844. . Twelve children were born of this marriage: Lucy, Henry Harris, Robert Wilson, Ida, George, John, Wilber, Ella, May, Flor- ence and Herman. Mrs. Lucy Snyder, the eldest child, lives at Clinton, Missouri. She is mother of four children: Mrs. Pearl Stuessi, Great Falls, Montana, mother of Beverly, Keith, Wilma and Justine; Mrs. May Roberts,
ELLET HUEY
FOUR GENERATIONS OF THE HUEY FAMILY Upper: Mrs. Margaret Huey, Mrs. Lucy Jane Snyder Lower: Beverly Stuessi, Mrs. Pearl Stuessi
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Kansas City, mother of Virginia Roberts; Harry, Kansas City ; and Wilma, Clinton Missouri. Henry Harris Huey lives in Milton, Oregon, married Ollie Butt and has four children, Marion, Harold, Elba May, Oletha Rose. Robert Wilson Huey is deceased. Mrs. Ida Dooley lives in Clinton, and has three children, Ray, now a soldier in the National Army; Irene, and Howard. George Huey is a resident of Portland, Oregon, where he is a ship builder. John is a farmer in Bethlehem township, married Myrtle Herst, and has four children, Maude, Mabel, Tracy and Bessie. Wilber Huey is a farmer living near La Due, married Myrtle Cook. Mrs. Ella Oskins lives at Calhoun, Henry County, has two children, Claude and Cleo. May is at home with her parents. Florence Huey is the wife of Thomas F. Bronaugh. Herman Huey is a farmer in Bethlehem town- ship, married Alice Bailey and has seven children: Mildren, Muriel Ira, Eugene, Robert, Elmer, Buford and Bernice, twins.
James Huey was the son of Albert R. and Margaret Huey and was born October 7, 1814. Ann Elizabeth Huey was the daughter of George and Sarah Schwartz, and was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, October 4, 1838.
Mr. Huey is a Republican and he and Mrs. Huey worship at the Beth- lehem Baptist Church.
John H. Titus, a well known merchant at Norris, Missouri, is a na- tive of this State. He was born in St. Clair County, near Lowry City, November 19, 1877, and is a son of James W. and Caroline (Roberts) Titus, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Ohio. James W. Titus was born February 22, 1839, and when a young man moved to Illinois, where he was living when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted in Company H, 79th Illinois Infantry, and served for three years. He took part in a number of important battles. He was wounded severely at the battle of Stone River, and after being wounded was taken prisoner and for a time was confined in Libby Prison and later transferred to other Confederate prisons. He came to Missouri in 1865 and settled near Osceola. He made the trip through from Illinois with a team and wagon, driving a wagon which he had made by his own hands. In 1868 he moved to the present site of Lowry City. At that time that section was un- settled and his was the first house built near where the town now stands. This house is still standing and at the present time is occupied by his daughter. Mr. Titus was a carpenter and built the first store building in Lowry City, as well as several other buildings there. For a time he was
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engaged in the lumber business there. To James W. and Caroline (Rob- erts) Titus were born the following children: William D., deceased ; Mrs .. Louster E. Brown, Lowry City; Mrs. Martha A. Houk, Chico, California ; Mrs. Lydia A. Page, Sacramento, California; Thomas J., deceased; Sarah J., deceased; Francis, deceased; John H., the subject of this sketch; Ira N., deceased, and Myrtle E., deceased.
John H. Titus was reared at Lowry City and educated in the public schools. He began life as a farmer near Lowry City, where he remained seven years. He then sold out and went to Florida. He returned, how- ever, in a short time and bought a farm near Chloe, Missouri, where he was engaged in farming and stock raising until 1914. He then came to Norris and engaged in general mercantile business, to which he has since devoted his attention. He carries a very complete line of merchandise and deals extensively in farm produce. His trade extends over a large section of the country surrounding Norris, and by his integrity and hon- esty as a merchant he has won the confidence of the public. Mr. Titus. was married December 25, 1898, to Miss Rosa Huebner, a daughter of C. F. and Jennie (Crissman) Huebner, the former a native of Somerset, Ohio, and the latter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The father has been. in the mercantile business at Lowry City for the past forty years. His wife died in 1907. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Minnie Foster, Lowry City; Rosa, wife of John H. Titus, the subject of this sketch; Daisy, died at the age of thirteen; Mrs. Carrie Patterson,. Lowry City, Missouri, and Mrs. Lula Weir, Bolivar, Missouri. To Mr .. and Mrs. Titus have been born six children as follow: John Charles, Mary B., Ruth C., Jewell H., Myrtle O. and J. Harold.
Mr. Titus is one of the progressive business men of Henry County. and a valued and substantial citizen.
Prof. Ralph Lionberger, principal of the public schools of Blairstown, Missouri, is prominent in the teachers' profession of Henry County and for the past seven years has been principal of the Norris High School. Mr. Lionberger was born in Buffalo County, Nebraska, October 30, 1885. He is a son of T. R. and Etta (Thornton) Lionberger. The father is a native of Illinois and the mother of Iowa. They now reside in Leesville township, Henry County. T. R. Lionberger went to Ne- braska when he was a young man and remained in that State until 1895, when he came to Henry County, which has been his home since that time .. To T. R. Lionberger and wife have been born the following children: Ralph T., the subject of this sketch; Carrie, married Thomas Mccown,.
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Leesville township; Nellie, married Hugh Randel, Calhoun, Missouri; Cal- vin, died May 14, 1908; Gaylord, Etoile, Edwin, Otis and Harry, all re- siding at home. Ralph T. Lionberger was educated in the public schools and was graduated from the Appleton City High School in the class of 1908. He has studied in the State University at Columbia, Missouri. He taught his first term of school in the Turner district, Leesville township. He afterwards taught one year at the Appleton City Academy and one year in St. Louis County, Missouri. In 1910 he became principal of the Norris High School, and held that position for seven consecutive years. He then taught one year in high school in Benton County, and in 1918 was elected principal of the Blairstown school, which position he now holds.
Professor Lionberger was united in marriage August 28, 1910, with Miss Audrey E. Smith, a daughter of J. H. and Ellen (Nichols) Smith, of Leesville township. The Smith family are pioneers of that section of Henry County. Mrs. Lionberger was born in Leesville township and educated in the public schools of that township, Windsor High School and Appleton City Academy. Joseph H. Smith is a Virginian and served in the Confederate army with the Virginia troops. Shortly after the Civil War he came to Henry County. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Ellen Nichols, was born in Leesville township. Her mother, Catherine Parks, came to Henry County with her parents in 1835 when she was ten years of age, and they were among the very first settlers of Henry County. To J. H. and Ellen (Nichols) Smith were born the following children: Ida, Fort Collins, Colorado; Hugh, Madison, Wisconsin; J. M., Browning- ton, Missouri; Elmer, lives in Iowa; Pickney, Nevada, Missouri; Audrey E., the wife of Prof. Ralph Lionberger, the subject of this sketch; Jewette, Lincoln, Missouri; Norma, a teacher, Fort Collins, Colorado; Winifred, a teacher in Henry County, and Helen, also a Henry County teacher. To Professor and Mrs. Lionberger have been born two children, Herbert and Lowell.
Professor Lionberger is interested in farming as well as his educa- tional work and owns a valuable farm of fifty-one acres adjoining the townsite of Norris. He has an extensive acquaintance in Henry County and he and Mrs. Lionberger have many friends.
Albert W. McFarland, a prominent farmer and stockman of Big Creek township, is a member of one of the pioneer families of Henry County, whose residence in Missouri dates back to territorial date. Albert W. McFarland was born in Henry County, six miles southeast of where Blairstown now stands February 4, 1878. He is a son of William J. and
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Mary E. (Mitchell) McFarland. William J. McFarland was born in Moni- teau County, Missouri, September 26, 1834, and died December 21, 1893. His wife, Mary E. (Mitchell) McFarland, was born in Cooper County, Mis- souri, December 25, 1843, and died May 12, 1913. William J. McFarland was a soldier in the Confederate army, serving under Gen. Sterling Price. He came to Henry County in the fall of 1867 and settled in Big Creek township, where he first purchased 160 acres of land and became one of the successful farmers of Henry County. At the time of his death he was the owner of about 600 acres. William J. McFarland was a son of Jesse McFarland, who came to Missouri in 1809, and was here during the time of the disastrous earthquake in 1811. Jesse McFarland was a son of Jacob McFarland, who was a member of the first territorial legisla- ture of Missouri. He died in Moniteau County. Jesse McFarland was the first sheriff of Cooper County, Missouri. He also was the first Gov- ernment surveyor of what later became Rives County, receiving his ap- pointment in 1821, when he was twenty-one years of age. He died at Pleasant Hill, Missouri.
Albert W. McFarland received his education in the public schools of Henry County and the State Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri. Later he attended the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois, where he was graduated in the class of 1906. He then returned to Henry County, where he has since been successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising, and is recognized as one of the leading agriculturists of Henry County. His farm consists of 300 acres of valuable farm land, which is well improved.
Mr. McFarland was united in marriage July 24, 1901, with Miss Hattie Woodruff, a daughter of R. B. and Rosa (Young) Woodruff, pion- eers of Johnson County, Missouri. The Woodruff family came to Henry County forty-five years ago and now reside in Big Creek township. Mrs. McFarland has two brothers: John D. and Edgar, both residing at home with their parents. To Mr. and Mrs. McFarland have been born eight children, as follow: Augusta L., Inga, Courtney L., Ruth V., Mattie M., William J., Olive M. and Douglass W.
Mr. McFarland takes an active interest in public affairs and is one of the progressive and capable citizens of Big Creek township. He has held local office at various times and was president of the first high school board of the consolidated district, and is a member of that board now. He is also president of the township board.
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J. E. A. Hornbarger, an extensive farmer and stock raiser of Big Creek township, is a native of Tennessee. He was born in 1851 and is a son of William M. and Mary J. (Lotspiech) Hornbarger, natives of Ten- nessee. William M. Hornbarger came to Henry County in 1854 and set- tled in Big Creek township, where he bought 120 acres of land, which is now a part of J. E. A. Hornbarger's place. He remained here until 1880, when he went to Arkansas and settled near Alma, Crawford County. Later he sold that and moved to Paris, Arkansas, where he died. His wife died in Henry County. They were the parents of the following children: Jose- phine, deceased; J. E. A., the subject of this sketch; Roten L., deceased; Mrs. Fannie Millen, deceased; Maggie, deceased, and Mock, was in Okla- home when last heard from.
J. E. A. Hornbarger received his education in the pioneer schools of Henry County, attending school in the Victor district, which was then conducted on the subscription plan. The school building was a primitive log structure and he recalls his first teacher as being Miss Mollie Lot- spiech, a sister of his mother. Samuel Victor, a Baptist preacher, was also one of the pioneer teachers in this district. Mr. Hornbarger was reared amidst the pioneer surroundings of Henry County and his early life was spent under conditions that develop self reliance, and he has made his own way in the world practically since boyhood. He began farming on his own account in Big Creek township in 1873. In 1877 he bought forty acres, which was the first land that he ever owned. He has added to that from time to time and now owns 240 acres of some of the most valuable and productive land in Henry County. All the improve- ments on this place have been placed there by Mr. Hornbarger. The farm is located two miles southeast of Maurine, and is crossed by the Frisco railroad. Mr. Hornbarger carries on general farming and is also quite extensively interested in stock raising.
In 1875 Mr. Hornbarger was married to Exony Thomas, a daughter of Cornelius and Sally Thomas, Henry County pioneers, who settled in the vicinity of where Lewis Station now stands. To Mr. and Mrs. Hornbarger have been born the following children: Sally, married Charles Jagerman of Honey Creek township; Mrs. Pinkie Yount, deceased; Ruth, married Bud Harrington of Honey Creek township, and Ruby, married William Wolf of Honey Creek township.
Mr. Hornbarger has seen Henry County pass through all the stages from the primitive pioneer days to its present high state of development.
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In the early days he broke prairie with ox teanis with the old fashioned plow and later with the steel improved plow. He was here many years in advance of the corn planter and he recalls that the first corn planter owned in this vicinity was purchased by Elijah George in the early sev- enties. It was a wooden structure with the exception of the tires on the wheels. Mr. Hornbarger has contributed his part to all this development that has made Henry County the banner county of the State, and is en- titled to classification as one of its honored pioneers.
Walter S. Waugh, a prominent farmer and stockman of Big Creek township, is a native son of Henry County and a descendant of a promi- nent pioneer family of Missouri. Mr. Waugh was born in Big Creek township on the place where he now resides March 23, 1877, and is a son of John W. and Julia A. (Hamilton) Waugh, natives of Indiana and pioneers of Henry County, Missouri. A more complete sketch of the Waugh family history appears in this volume in the sketch of James H. Waugh, a brother of the subject of this sketch.
Walter S. Waugh was educated in the public schools of Henry County and was reared on the farm where he now resides. He has always been engaged in farming and stock raising and is one of the successful farmers and well known stockmen of Big Creek township. He purchased the home place in 1910. It is a splendid farm, containing 355 acres, situated two miles southwest of Norris. The place is well improved and is one of the attractive places in the township. The residence was destroyed by fire December 26, 1917. It was considered one of the finest residences in the western part of the county. Mr. Waugh is now building a residence that will be modern in every particular when completed.
Mr. Waugh was united in marriage March 20, 1902, with Miss Jessie May Anderson, daughter of J. M. Anderson of Big Creek township, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. To Mr. and Mrs. Waugh have been born the following children: Thelma Agnes, John M., Claud A., Walter W., and Joe, who died in infancy.
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