USA > Missouri > Henry County > History of Henry County, Missouri > Part 75
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Aaron Stone received his education in the public schools of Agricola, Missouri, and in early life engaged in farming for himself. He has leased and operated his present place for the past ten years. He carries on stock raising on an extensive scale as well as general farming. At times he has as many as two carloads of cattle ready for the market. He is also one of the well-known and successful hog raisers of Henry County. He specializes in red hogs and at this writing has on hand about one hundred head. Mr. Stone owns a farm of one hundred forty-two and one- half acres in Shawnee township which he rents.
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In February, 1902, Aaron Stone was united in marriage with Miss Alice Baldrock, a daughter of Richard and Margaret (Richards) Bald- rock, natives of Missouri. Mrs. Stone was born in Cooper County, and reared and educated in Clinton, where her father was engaged in the livery business for a number of years, and where he and his wife now reside. He was the first man to operate a sprinkling wagon on the streets of Clinton. To Mr. and Mrs. Stone have been born one daughter, Mar- garet. A son died in infancy.
Mr. Stone is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Chil- howee, Missouri. He takes a commendable interest in public affairs and is now serving as a member of the school board of District No. 17. He is one of the progressive and substantial men of the younger genera- tion in Henry County.
Clinton E. Butcher, farmer and stockman of Big Creek township, is a native son of Henry County, and was born on the Butcher homestead, located just two and one-fourth miles southwest of Norris, in Big Creek township. He was born August 24, 1875 and is the son of Alexander M. and Margaret (Waugh) Butcher, an extended biography of whom ap- pears in this volume. Mr. C. E. Butcher is one of nine children born to his parents, as follow: Mrs. F. M. Engle, Warrensburg, Missouri; James Wallace, Urich, Missouri; P. P., deceased; Frank S., lives at Lawrence, Kansas; Charles W., Centerview, Missouri; Milton E. and Harry E., de- ceased; Mrs. Frank M. Gray, Big Creek township:
Clinton E. Butcher was educated in the Norris public school and at- tended the Warrensburg State Normal School for two terms. He has always followed farming and has made a splendid success. For many years he has followed the practice of feeding considerable numbers of cattle and hogs each year and is widely known as a successful stock raiser.
November 17, 1897, Clinton E. Butcher and Edith Bertha McQuitty were united in marriage. Mrs. Edith Butcher is the daughter of George W. and Martha M. McQuitty, both of whom are deceased, and a sketch of whom appears in this history. Mr. McQuitty was a native of Boone County, Missouri, and his wife was born near Frankfort, Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. McQuitty were parents of children as follow: William T., Mrs. Edith Butcher, George N., Mrs. Alice McQuitty, Mrs. Mattie Crews ; Mrs. Maude Maize. By a former marriage, Mr. McQuitty was father of two children. John R., Welch, Oklahoma; and Elizabeth A., deceased.
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To Clinton E. and Edith Butcher have been born children as fol- low: Marion J., a graduate of the Norris High School, class of 1917; Frank G., a student in the Norris High School; Elmer G., and Mary Alice.
The residence of Mr. and Mrs. Butcher is a modern structure and was erected in 1910. It is a house of eleven rooms, with hot and cold running water, acetyline lighting system, and the farm buildings are in accord with the residence. The output of live stock from the Butcher farm will run from 100 to 150 head of cattle and from 200 to 300 head of hogs annually. The home farm consists of 320 acres and is situated one mile east of Norris. Mr. Butcher owns another tract of land consisting of 240 acres, situated one-half mile west of Norris. Both of these farms have good improvements. Mr. Butcher purchased his home farm in 1906 from T. S. B. Slaughter, who had bought it from Thomas Casey in 1901. Mr. Casey had previously purchased the tract from Robert B. Casey. The land was originally entered for settlement by Elizmond Basey and P. D. Lane and one other party.
Mr. Butcher is a Republican and a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Chilhowee, the Chapter at Warrensburg, and he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America of Blairstown. Mrs. Butcher is a member of the Baptist Church, and Mr. and Mrs. Butcher have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances throughout this section of Mis- souri.
Charles F. Crews, a progressive farmer and stockman of Big Creek township, who is farming 110 acres of land, is one of the leading farm- ers of this County. Mr. Crews is a native of Henry County and was born in 1882 at Windsor, Missouri. He is the son of Samuel P. and Clara (Snell- ing) Crews, a sketch of whom appears in this volume.
Samuel Crews was born in 1852 in Boone County, Missouri, and his wife is a native of Henry County. They are engaged in farming in Shaw- nee township. They have the following children: Darrell, Huntingdale, Missouri; Essie, the wife of Nathan Gilliam of Big Creek township; Charles F., the subject of this sketch; Snelling, farming in Shawnee township; and Raymond, of Big Creek township.
Charles F. Crews received his education at Huntingdale schools, Huntingdale, Missouri, and since early manhood, he has been engaged in general farming and stock raising. He is one of the successful farm- ers of Big Creek township.
Mr. Crews was married May 9, 1906, to Martha McQuitty. She
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is a daughter of W. G. and Martha McQuitty, of whom extensive men- tion is made in this volume; see biographical sketches of George and Will- iam McQuitty. One daughter, Dorothy, has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Crews.
Mr. Crews is one of the substantial men of Henry County and comes of pioneer Missouri stock. He is public spirited and one of Henry county's foremost citizens.
Samuel P. Crews, a well-known farmer and stockman, is a native Missourian. He was born in Boone County, Missouri, in 1852, a son of Erasmus and Elvira E. (Crosswhite) Crews, who were pioneers of that county. They came in the flush of youth to conquer the wilderness and convert its wild fertility to cultivated fields of wheat and corn. They moved to Windsor, Missouri in 1870 and later moved to Huntingdale, Mis- souri, where they spent the rest of their lives and are laid away in the Carrsville Cemetery. Four children, all of whom are living and success- ful in their several vocations, were born to them as follows: William, the first born, is in Reno, Nevada; Samuel P., the subject of this sketch; Floyd J., in Kansas City, Missouri; and Everett, resides in the State of Washington.
Samuel Crews received his education in the public schools of Wind- sor, where his parents settled in 1870. In 1883, he purchased a farm of fifty-five acres in Shawnee township, which he has improved and success- fully farmed to the present time.
In 1874, Samuel Crews and Clara E. Snelling were married and five children have been born to them as follows: Darrell, a farmer of Hunt- ingdale, Missouri, who has one daughter, Fay, and a son, Samuel; Estelle E., now Mrs. N. F. Williams of Big Creek township, Henry County ; Charles F., of Big Creek township, Henry County, has one daughter, Dorothy; Snelling E., a farmer of Shawnee township, Henry County, has two daughters, Wilma and Estelle; and Raymond, who is a farmer of Big Creek township.
Mr. and Mrs. Crews are members of the Carrsville Baptist Church and are loyal workers of the same. The Crews family are well known in Pettis County and stand high in the community.
Charles A. Hendricks .- Charles Hendricks is a grandson of Asa Hendricks, who came from Kentucky in 1832, locating in Bogard town- ship, Henry County, shortly afterward. His days were spent in reclaim- ing the wild lands from their native unproductiveness and made the fields
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blossom as the rose, with the cumbersome oxen and crude tools with which he had to work. He and his wife are laid away in the fields from which they received the blessings of food for so many years. Their son, James M., the father of Charles Hendricks, was born in Bogard township May 25, 1839, and shared with his father many of the hard- ships of those earlier days and is now enjoying the fruit of the labors of those by-gone times.
Charles A. Hendricks was born November 1, 1863, in Pettis County, Missouri, and is the son of James M. and Mary (Brooks) Hendricks. The former is making his home with his son and enjoying the work of caring for twenty hives of bees. His early life was spent in traveling over the southwestern States and farming in Henry County. His wife was born in Indiana in 1841, and she was laid to rest in 1901. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Elizabeth Irene Hall of Bogard township; Charles A., Big Creek township; Mrs. Martha Susan Hall of Bogard township; John W., of Bogard township; Mrs. Amanda Bell Mor- gan of Honey Creek township; Sarah Ellen Hall of Oregon; George W., deceased; J. R., residing in North Dakota; Millie Ann Hall residing in Colorado.
The Rural schools of Bunker Hill and Cornet District aided in the education of Mr. Hendricks. His first purchase of land was 120 acres in 1892 and later added 80 acres, making 200 acres in Big Creek township, which he is tilling.
October 22, 1892, was solemnized the marriage of Charles Hendricks and Cora Norris, who is the daughter of William A. and Virginia Norris, whose sketch appears in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks are the parents of the following children: Eunice, Inez and Brooksey at home with their parents.
For a number of years Mr. Hendricks has been a school director and takes an active interest in the things which are for the uplift and pro- gressiveness of his community.
William H. Rector .- The northwestern part of Henry County was largely settled by people from Ohio who came to this county. to found new homes after the close of the Civil War. The returned Union veterans, finding the best places usurped in their Eastern home localities by the stay-at-homes, looked to the westward and heeded Horace Greeley's advice to "Go West." They came in scores and hundreds to western Missouri. Such a man was the father of William H. Rector, large land
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owner and stockman of Bogard township. William H. Rector was born July 7, 1875, in Bogard township, the son of Henry E. and Margaret (Clay) Rector.
Henry Rector was born January 26, 1842, in Ohio and departed this life on April 8, 1875. His remains were laid to rest in Grant Cemetery, Cass County, Missouri. He was reared to young manhood in Ohio and enlisted in an Ohio Regiment of Volunteers for service in the Union Army on August 8, 1861. He faithfully served the Union on the southern battlefields for three years and received an honorable discharge from the service. Not content to remain at home while the victory had not yet been attained by the North, he again enlisted and served until the close of the war. He attained to the rank of captain of his company.
Captain Rector came to Henry County after the close of the war and purchased land here, where he remained engaged in peaceful agri- cultural pursuits until his death. To Henry and Margaret Clay Rector were born three children: Henry and an infant, deceased; and William H. Rector, of this review. The mother of these children was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, January 26, 1836, and she and Mr. Rector were married November 29, 1869, in Bogard township. She was the daughter of Henry Clay, a native of Pennsylvania, and early settler of Henry County. After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Rector married Leonard Elliot in 1884. Mr. Elliot died a few years later and the widow was then mar- ried on December 27, 1892, to Rev. Henry Willey, a United Brethren minister who passed away in 1914 at Urich, Missouri. Mrs. Margaret (Rector) Willey died on April 22, 1914.
William H. Rector was reared to maturity in Bogard township, re- ceived his education in the district school of his neighborhood and learned to till the soil. Mr. Rector is owner of 525 acres of well-improved land which he, with the assistance of his sons, is tilling. He has from forty to fifty sheep and many cattle grazing on his broad acres.
On September 5, 1894, William H. Rector was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Gamlin, who was born February 22, 1870, at Ship- man, Macoupin County, Illinois. She is the daughter of John and Eliza- beth (Baker) Gamlin, natives of England and now reside in Montgomery County, Illinois. To John and Elizabeth Gamlin were born the following children: Mrs. Catherine Rector; John, Bogard township; William, Sweet Water, Nebraska; Matthew, Jacksonville, Illinois; Joseph, Raymond, Illi- nois; Walter and Leroy, deceased ; Mrs. Mary Burke, deceased; Mrs. Virgie Gamlin, Nokamis, Illinois ; and Mrs. Nellie Henry, Raymond, Illinois. Mrs.
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William Rector was partly reared in Pettis County and was educated in the district schools of that county.
To William H. and Catherine Rector were born children as follow: John W., farming with his father, married .Caroline Stewart; Walter E., Howard D., Mary E., Ida M., Paul F., Herbert Russell, and Ellen Lucille, all of whom are at home with their parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Rector are useful citizens who are popular with their neighbors and friends and are industrious and enterprising. Mr. Rector is a Republican and he and Mrs. Rector are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Blairstown.
Walter R. McCown is the son of pioneer people who came to Henry County before the Civil War and labored faithfully and hard that their posterity might enjoy the privilege of the present time. Mr. McCown was born April 18, 1863, in Bethlehem township, Henry County, and now resides one and one-half miles from his birthplace. His parents, Will- iam H., and Elizabeth (Hockersmith) McCown, were born in Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively. In 1840, with a rude ox-team as conveyance, they braved the terrors of the unknown country to trade with the In- dians of Burham, Texas. They employed a native Indian as interpreter and for three years plied their business of trading with the Indians.
In 1843, they again wended their way eastward and this time located in Bethlehem township, Henry County, where one hundred twenty acres of land were purchased. Forty-seven acres of the land were in timber and this was felled to build the rude log cabin and enclose the farm with a rail fence. A few years of residence here, spent in hard labor, was ended by the selling of the farm and returning to Kentucky, whence a year later they returned and purchased fifty-five acres in Leesville township, where they spent their remaining days and are now laid at rest in the Bethlehem Township Cemetery. They were the parents of the following children: Burr, deceased; Mary, deceased, wife of Capt. Gran- ville Deaurah, a Union veteran of the Civil War; Melvin, resides at Kan- sas City, Missouri ; Mrs. Luam Edwards, San Francisco, California; Luther, Osage township; Mrs. Elizabeth Minick, Leesville township; Walter R., the subject of this sketch and W. H., twins. W. H. lives at Malvern, Iowa. Louis died in 1914, leaving a wife and three children.
Walter Mccown has spent his life in agricultural pursuits in this county and is now the owner of 160 acres of well tilled land. He also
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handles a large number of cattle, sheep and mules which he is constantly selling and buying for the markets. His early education was received in the district schools and in the early life he rented land until 1908, when he purchased 35 acres. In 1909 he purchased 80 acres and 40 acres in 1917. He has made improvements on his farm, building two good barns, and also remodeling his home. A natural spring on the farm is piped to cement tanks for the cattle and is considered one of the best springs of the numerous ones throughout the county.
The first marriage of Mr. McCown to Fannie Greer was in 1886. She was laid to rest in Good Hope Cemetery in 1901. The following children came to bless this union: Edgar Earl, died at the age of five; Ora, wife of Isaac Harvey of Leesville township; Lulu, wife of Emmett Bailey, residing at Hancock, Iowa; Florence, wife of J. B. Simmonds of Deepwater, Missouri; Blanche, wife of Adolph Zobrist, Hancock, Iowa. In 1902 Mr. McCown was married to Allie Hammond and five children have been born to this union: John Shelby, Wilber, Elbert, Walter and Beulah, all at home with their parents.
Mr. McCown is one of the substantial men of Henry County and well deserves to be classed as one of its progressive citizens.
Thomas M. Swindell, a prominent farmer and stockman of Big Creek township, is a native of this county, and comes from a pioneer family. He was born in Shawnee township in 1857, and is a son of William D. and Anna (Freeman) Swindell, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Shawnee township, Henry County. William D. Swindell was a son of J. B. Swindell, one of the earliest settlers of Shawnee township, and the second merchant to have a store at Huntingdale. He conducted a mercantile business there for many years, and was also engaged in farm- ing in that vicinity, where he spent the latter part of his life. William D. Swindell always made his home in Henry County, although his death occurred at Mounds, Oklahoma, in 1913. His wife died in Shawnee town- ship in 1878. William D. and Anna (Freeman) Swindell were the parents of the following children: T. M., the subject of this sketch; James W., Mounds, Oklahoma, and Mrs. Sallie Rucker, deceased.
T. M. Swindell was reared and educated at Huntingdale. He has made farming and stock raising his principal occupations and has met with well deserved success. He owns a well improved farm of 326 acres in Big Creek township, and is one of the well-known and successful stock men in that township.
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Mr. Swindell was married in 1889 to Miss Ida Fisher of Big Creek township. She is a daughter of Cunningham S. and Jane (Miller) Fisher, pioneers of Big Creek township, who came here in 1856, and settled on the farm the south half of which is now owned by Mr. Swindell. Mr. Fisher died in 1901 and Mrs. Fisher now lives near Blairstown. They were the parents of the following children: Ab, Urich, Missouri; Ida, the wife of T. M. Swindell, the subject of this sketch; and Mrs. Snsan Shep- herd, of Blairstown, Missouri.
To Mr. and Mrs. Swindell have been born the following children: Beulah, married Ray Butcher, Junction City, Kansas, who is now a private in the National Army; Rolla A., resides at home with his parents, now in training at Camp Funston; Orvil, a manual training teacher and athletic director in the public schools at Cape Girardeau, enlisted in United States Navy and now at Great Lakes Naval Training Station. All the Swindell children are graduates of the consolidated high school and the State Normal School at Warrensburg. Roy W., a student and graduate of the high school and Warrensburg Normal College.
Mr. Swindell has always taken an active interest in the betterment and upbuilding of the public school system and was one of the promoters of the Norris High School, which for a number of years played an important part in the educational sphere of Henry County and was later merged in the first consolidated high school district of Henry County. Mr. Swin- dell is a progressive and public spirited citizen and ranks as one of the leaders in Henry County.
John M. Bennett, a prominent farmer and stock raiser of Osage town- ship, was born December 27, 1855, in Benton County, Missouri, the son of John and Martha (Ham) Bennett. John Bennett, Sr., was born 1820 in Logan County, Kentucky, where with his parents he shared the pioneer hardships and experiences. In 1856 he moved to West Point, Bates County, and engaged in farming. While conducting his peaceful occupa- tion of tilling the soil until the Civil War broke out. Mr. Bennett joined the Confederate Army, enlisting at West Point, Missouri, in Raines' Division of Price's Army. Four years of warfare brought many ex- periences to the men who fought under starry skies and the bright glar- ing sun, but soon, the dove of peace had again spread her wings over our nation and the boys in blue and grey resumed their peaceful occupa- tions.
Mr. John Bennett, Sr., and Martha Ham were married and ten chil-
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dren were born to their union, all of whom are living. They are as follows: William F., residing at Orange, California; Green L., a merch- ant of Green Ridge, Missouri; James E., ex-sheriff of Henry County, now living at Clinton, Missouri; Susan, the wife of Judge Milton Rurrell of Pettis County, Missouri; John M., subject of this sketch; Martha J., wife of Robert Mayfield of Little Rock, Arkansas; Mrs. Lillie Schnabel, judge of Benton County Court; Harrison, Spokane, Washington; Walter L., Rockville, Missouri; Edward, operating the home farm in Pettis County, Missouri. In 1830, when the Ham family moved from Franklin, Howard County, the Indians were still among his native haunts and resented the coming of the white man upon his hunting grounds. Mr. Ham located near Windsor and for many years worked hard to reclaim the virgin soil to civilized fertility. His daughter, Martha (Ham) Bennett, was born in 1822 in Howard County and died in 1906. Her husband had been laid to rest in 1883.
John M. Bennett, the subject of this sketch, received his education in Pettis County and until 1901, he followed farming pursuits in that county. In 1901 he came to Henry County and purchased the present farm and has successfully conducted his business here since then. He owns 342 acres of land and raises cattle and sheep, as well as carrying on general farming.
March 15, 1863, John Bennett and Willie S. Hines were united in marriage. They are the parents of five children, as follows: Virgil, a soldier in the National Army, now at Camp Funston; James R., Jewel Ruby, Grace, and Naomi, who continue to make their home with their parents. Mrs. Bennett was the daughter of Brantley and Margaret (Douglas) Hines. Brantley Hines was a member of the Confederate Army and upon returning to his home was drowned as the boat "Ken- tucky," sank in the Red River. Mrs. Hines lived to a good old age and is now laid to rest in the Windsor Cemetery.
Mr. Bennett and his son Virgil are members of the Modern Wood- men of America, and Mrs. Bennett affiliates with the Royal Neighbors, also a member of the Christian Church.
Jacob F. Snyder, a prominent farmer and stockman of Osage town- ship, is a native son of Henry County. He was born in this township September 10, 1869, and is a son of Rudolph and Mary Snyder. The Snyder family came to Henry County from Ohio in the early fifties. They came by steamboat as far as Warsaw and from there walked to their future home in Osage township. The father died about 1889, and the
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mother departed this life in 1903. Their remains rest side by side in Mount Zion Cemetery. They were the parents of the following children: Elizabeth, deceased; Mary, married Lawrence Acker and resides in Hick- ory County, Missouri; Philip, deceased; J. D. lives at Lowery City, Mis- souri; M. R., Johnson County, Missouri, and Jacob F., the subject of this sketch.
Jacob F. Snyder was reared to manhood in Henry County and re- ceived his education in the public schools. He has followed farming and stock raising since early life and is one of the successful farmers and stockmen of southern Henry County. His farm is known as "Grand View Stock Farm," and is one of the ideal places of Osage township. It is lo- cated about eight miles south and east of Brownington, on the Warsaw and Brownington road. Mr. Snyder owns 1,040 acres of some of the most valuable land in the county. The place is well improved and all modern farming methods are in vogue here. Mr. Snyder is one of the extensive stockmen of this section and ships from three to five carloads of cattle and hogs annually. He also raises horses and mules on an extensive scale.
July 23, 1890, Jacob F. Snyder was united in marriage with Miss Emma E. Knisely, a daughter of Joseph and Affia (Hopple) Knisely, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Pennsylvania. They were early settlers in Henry County, coming here about 1868. They are both now deceased and their remains are buried in the Mount Zion Cemetery. They were the parents of the following children: Alta Ann, deceased; Emma E. married Jacob F., Snyder, the subject of this sketch; M. R. resides in Osage township, and Mrs. Bertha Stewart, Osage township. To Jacob F. Snyder and wife have been born the following children: Ruby married Claud Greenwell, Osage township; Don R. married Lena Stewart and lives in Osage township; Lena, at home with her parents; Florence married Perry Barker, Osage township; Jacob F. Jr .; Audra Earl and Violet B. The three last mentioned reside at home with their parents. Mr. Snyder is one of the substantial men of Henry County . and the Snyder family are well known and highly respected.
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