USA > Missouri > Henry County > History of Henry County, Missouri > Part 80
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September 25, 1908, Mr. Ming was united in marriage with Miss Stella Keeler, who was born in Illinois, a daughter of Orville L. (de- ceased) and Elizabeth A. Keeler, who formerly resided in Henry County. Mr. Keeler died at Lowrie City and Mrs. Keeler now makes her home in Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Ming have children as follow: Morris Milton, born August, 1909; and William Orville, who died at the age of two years.
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Mr. Ming is a Democrat and is one of the recognized leaders of his party in Henry County. He has served as school trustee and at the pres- ent time is township committeeman for Davis township. He is a director and vice-president of the bank of La Due, Missouri. He and Mrs. Ming are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Mt. Carmel.
William F. Ming .- The Ming family is one of the old and promi- nent pioneer families of Missouri, a worthy representative of which family is William F. Ming, now living retired in Clinton, Missouri. Mr. Ming was born at Gray's Summit, Franklin County, Missouri, February 1, 1850. He is the son of James M. and Jemima (Osborn) Ming, natives of Virginia.
James M. Ming was born in 1826 and died in 1911. He was a son of Woolrich Ming, a native of Virginia, who migrated to Franklin County, Missouri, during the early thirties and settled in that county. James M. Ming was here reared to young manhood and became a merchant and farmer. During his early life he went to Montana and took out a wagon or trainload of merchandise which he disposed of in Virginia City, during the early sixties. After remaining there for two years he returned to Franklin County and became prominently identified with Franklin County affairs. He was successful as a merchant and became a large land owner. He was elected county judge in Franklin County and served as a member of the county court at a time when the county was sued for the amount of railroad bonds issued some years before. Mainly through his efforts a compromise was effected with the bond holders and a settlement obtained which satisfied all parties concerned and saved the county a vast amount of litigation and expense. He traded merchandise for land in Henry County which he gave outright to his sons. Besides his business at Gray's Summit he established a wholesale business at St. Louis and con- ducted a succesful business in the city while continuing to make his home in Franklin County. He was father of ten children, the following of whom were reared to maturity: William F., subject of this review; E. D., a resident of Franklin County ; Clara, wife of Dr. A. H. May, Washington, Missouri; Fannie, deceased wife of Doctor Wallace; Emmet, deceased, for- merly lived in Henry County, later going to Oklahoma.
After attending the common schools of his native county, William F. Ming studied for two years in St. Louis University. He then took up farming and stock raising as a life vocation. Coming to Henry County in 1879, he took charge of a tract of land in Davis township in partner --
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ship with his brother. Later his brother, E. D. Ming, moved back to Franklin County, and William F. bought his brother's interest in the farm. He increased his holdings to 800 acres and resided on the farm until 1906, at which time he made his home in Clinton. Mr. Ming improved his land from raw prairie and was very successful as a stock raiser and feeder, producing large herds of cattle for the markets each year.
On January 3, 1878, William F. Ming and Miss Celeste Jeffries were united in marriage. The following children were born of this marriage: Robert D., now living on the home place in Davis township; Carrie, at home with her parents; Dr. Charles Morris Ming, a physician now under- going special training at Cornell University for service in the National Army as surgeon. The mother of the foregoing children was born Oc- tober 2, 1854, in Franklin County, Missouri, the daughter of Charles and Alvira (Adams) Jeffries, natives of Virginia, who were early settlers of Franklin County. Charles Jeffries died at his home in that county in 1872.
Mr. Ming is a Democrat. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World.
George W. Cruce .- The late George W. Cruce was one of the oldest pioneer settlers of Henry County. Mr. Cruce was born September 11, 1829, in Crittendon County, Kentucky, and died March 26, 1912, at his home in Clinton, Missouri. He was the son of James and Nancy (Harri- son) Cruce, who spent all of their lives in Kentucky. George W. Cruce made his first trip to Missouri in 1854, and after viewing the country with the intention of settling in the western part of the State he returned home. After a stay of two years in Kentucky he came to Henry Couny and pur- chased his farm in Davis township. Two years after coming to this county he was married to Miss Frances G. Hester. Three children were born of this marriage: Ella, died at the age of five years; George Cruce, born 1860, resides with his mother in Clinton; Marshall R., born 1863, resides in Nevada, Missouri.
Mr. and Mrs. Cruce improved a splendid tract of 400 acres of land in the northwest corner of Davis township and resided there until 1898, when they retired to a home in Clinton. In 1880 they removed to Whites- boro, Texas, so as to be with their son who was engaged in business in that city. They resided in Texas for eleven years and then returned to Cilnton.
Mrs. Frances G. (Hester) Cruce was born May 22, 1838, in Tennessee,
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the daughter of Thomas and Mary E. (Baynum) Hester, natives of Vir- ginia, who were pioneer settlers of Kentucky and who came to Missouri as early as 1840 and made a settlement in St. Clair County. Thomas Hes- ter died in St. Clair County in 1841 and his widow then came to Henry County and lived here with her children. During the Civil War period the family removed to Kentucky, where they remained for a short time, and then came back to Missouri and made their home in Warrensburg for four years. After the war they came to Henry County. Mr. and Mrs. Cruce accompanied them to Kentucky, where Mrs. Cruce's youngest son was born. Her daughter, Mary E. Cruce, died in Crittendon County, Kentucky. There were fourteen children in the Hester family, eight of whom were reared: Anthony N., Robert, Thomas, Martha B., Mary A., Juliet, Eliza, and Frances G. (Cruce) the only surviving member of the family.
George Cruce, who makes his home with his mother in Clinton, has been a successful farmer and has been married and is father of six chil- dren : George G., living in Canada ; Robert J., lives in Montana; Mrs. Ella Clairy, lives near Urich, Missouri; James G., who is cultivating the Cruce home place; Mrs. Mary F. Hedland lives in Warrensburg; Paul lives in Clinton. Mrs. Frances G. Cruce has eleven great-grandchildren. For the past sixty-four years she has been a member of the Christian Church and active in religious works. She is the only living charter member of the Clinton Christian Church.
Mrs. Cruce recalls the early pioneer days spent in St. Clair County and that the settlers went to mill at what was known as Captain Lena's Mill on Sac River. They went to market by ox-team to Osceola, at that time a landing port for the boats which came up the Osage River. Mrs. Hester owned a number of slaves, seventeen in all, who did all the work of the farm and were very devoted to their mistress. All of the children were well educated and received every advantage possible to give them during those early days. They were prosperous and happy until the war broke out, eventually causing Mrs. Hester to lose all of her slaves and the family fortunes were considerably weakened.
George W. Cruce was a Democrat and was one of the leaders of his party in Henry County for a number of years. He was a self-educated man and was highly intelligent. For over twenty years he served as justice of the peace for Davis township. He was a member of the Christian Church and while a resident of Whitesboro, Texas, he served as deacon
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of the church. For over sixty-two years he was a Mason and took an active interest in the affairs of this order.
R. A. Guynn, president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Mont- rose, Missouri, was born in Pennsylvania, December 10, 1860, and is the son of Vincent and Hannah (Shelby) Guynn, both natives of Pennsyl- vania. Hannah (Shelby) Guynn was a niece of Gen. J. O. Shelby of Civil War fame. The Guynns migrated to Illinois in 1861 and came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1867, locating upon a partly improved farm in Bear Creek township, which Mr. Guynn purchased. In later years Vincent Guynn lost his health and retired to a home in Montrose, where he died in 1883 at the age of 55 years. His wife, Hannah, was born in 1832 and died in 1885. They were parents of seven children: R. A., subject of this sketch ; Mrs. Jennie Sagesser, deceased; Mrs. Annie Walker, a widow living at Appleton City, Missouri; Mrs. Linnie Williams, residing in Ohio; John, deceased; May, and Richard, deceased.
The early education of R. A. Guynn was obtained in the public schools of Calhoun, where his father was located prior to settling upon his farm near Montrose. He pursued a course in pharmacy and in 1872 he estab- lished a drug store in Montrose. For a period of thirty-five years he was successfully engaged in the drug business and is one of the oldest busi- ness men of Montrose in point of years of service in business. He engaged in the banking business in 1907 and is making a success of finance. Mr. Guynn is interested in agricultural pursuits and owns a splendid farm of 428 acres near Montrose, the cultivation of which he personally oversees.
R. A. Guynn and Miss Zella Kistler were united in marriage in 1893. Mrs. Zella Guynn is a native of Ohio and a daughter of J. C. Kistler, who resides upon a farm one mile west of Clinton. Six children have blessed this union: Emmet, born in 1894, resides upon a farm north of Clinton ; Reuben, born 1895, a chemist by profession, now in the national service, as first sergeant at the Base Hospital, Fort Doniphan, enlisted at Kansas City, Missouri, in April, 1917, disposed of his drug business at Kansas City, first stationed at Jefferson Barracks, then at Fort Snelling and now at Fort Doniphan, was married when home on furlough to Miss Mattie Wallace, a teacher in the Chilhowee, Missouri, schools; Lucille, born 1897, a graduate of the Clinton High School and a teacher in the Franklin school at Clinton ; Genevieve, born 1899, a student in the Chicago Conservatory of Music; Shelby, born 1901, graduate of the Clinton High School, class of 1918; Zella, born 1903, student in the Montrose High School, class of 1918.
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Mr. Guynn is a Democrat in politics and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He is one of the substantial and leading citi- zens of Montrose whose influence has ever been on the side of advance- ment for his home city and the surrounding territory.
Farmers and Merchants Bank, Montrose, Missouri .- The statements of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Montrose, Missouri, show that the region tributary to Montrose is prospering as never before in its his- tory. From November 20, 1917, to March 4, 1918, this bank had an in- crease of deposits exceeding $50,000, which is no small item for a bank in a small city. This bank was established in 1907 with a cash capital of $10,000 by Mr. R. A. Guynn and others. Mr. Guynn was the first presi- dent of the bank, and the first cashier was Mr. Linton. The present officers are: R. A. Guynn, president; C. M. Clark, cashier; Charles H. Engeman, vice-president ; R. A. Guynn, C. M. Clark, Charles H. Engeman, J. N. Kauman, C. J. Kauman, Mrs. W. J. Brownsberger, and Mrs. R. A. Guynn, directors. Every dollar invested in the stock of this bank is owned and controlled by home people and is distributed among twenty stock- holders.
The official statement of this bank as made to the State Bank Com- missioner on March 4, 1918, shows a capital stock of $10,000; surplus of $8,000 ; undivided profits of $2,500; and total deposits of $187,742. This bank is an United States Depository for postal savings.
Nicholas Bayard Conrad, attorney at law, Montrose, Missouri, mem- ber of the Clinton bar and actively engaged in practice since 1894, was born in Henry County, two miles east of Montrose, May 4, 1868, a son of John and Elizabeth Margaret (Wolfrum) Conrad, the former a native of Canton Graubuenden, Switzerland, and the latter of Bavaria, Germany. In early life the father was a stone cutter, learning the trade in the old country. His family had lived in Switzerland for many generations and was of old crusader stock. When twenty-eight years of age he crossed the Atlantic to the new world, intending to work his way across the conti- nent to California, where he had relatives. He was a cousin of John Sutter, in whose mill-race gold was discovered in California in 1848. But while he was at Leavenworth, Kansas, the Civil War broke out and he enlisted in the Second Regiment of Kansas Infantry as a private, becoming a member of Company A. He re-enlisted, serving in all four years. He saw General Lyon shot at Wilson's Creek, and was afterwards at the battles of Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga and Chattanooga. He was
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twice wounded, once by a musket ball, and again by having his collar bone broken by a piece of shell, but was never in a hospital.
Elizabeth M. Wolfrum came from Germany in 1839 with her father, mother, and three brothers. They were on the ocean all winter, having suffered shipwreck and went up the river to their destination, Kansas City, where she lived with her father ten years. Her father had been a soldier in the German army and had served under Blucher at Water- loo, and the father wished to get his sons away from the danger of European wars, but two of them died from disease contracted while serv- ing the Union during the Civil War. Her father's brother, Jacob Wol- from, came to Henry County in 1839 and entered land. In 1849 she was married to Andrew Gunther of Jefferson City and they moved to Henry County, two miles east of where Montrose now stands, bought out her uncle and built a new log house, a mill and a distillery. Four children were born of this marriage: Mrs. Rosalie Berneker, of El Centro, Cali- fornia; Andrew J. Gunther of Montrose, Missouri; Mrs. Fritz Datweiler of Clinton, Missouri; and Mrs. Theresa Brownsberger of Montrose, Mis- souri. Andrew Gunther enlisted in the Federal Army in 1861 and was shot the same year. In 1866 the widow married John Conrad and two children were born to this marriage: Nicholas B. and Albert M. Conrad. John Conrad died August 4, 1887, and Elizabeth M. Conrad died July 5, 1903.
N. B. Conrad supplemented his early education by study in the Clin- ton Academy under Prof. E. P. Lamkin. Mr. Conrad received the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts, and was valedictorian of his class. He then taught school five years, obtaining his certificate from County Commissioner W. W. Palmer and had at that time the highest grade of any first grade certificate in the county. Mr. Conrad afterward pursued a law course at the University of Missouri, graduating in the law class of 1894 in the first rank with distinction and wrote one of the prize theses of the year, and in June, 1896, was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of the State. In 1906 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Henry County, the only Republican ever elected in the county for over forty years. During his incumbency of the office he made an efficient offi- cer and never had an indictment quashed. For some years, Mr. Conrad was the editor of the "Henry County Republican" of Clinton, Missouri.
On September 22, 1896, Mr. Conrad was married to Miss Emma L. Arnold, who was born in Wisconsin, a daughter of Christian C. and Sarah
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J. (Snowden) Arnold, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Canada. The father learned the millers trade in the East and upon his removal from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin engaged in the milling busi- ness in that State for a number of years. In 1883 he removed with his family to Montrose, where he operated a mill for a number of years, and afterwards for fifteen years was owner and editor of the "Montrose Rec- ord." Mr. Arnold was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the Forty-first Pennsylvania Volunteer Reserve Corps three years, partici- pating in many hard fought battles, among them being the battles of the Wilderness and Gettysburg. Mrs. Conrad was educated in the public schools of Wisconsin and Missouri and graduated from the Montrose High School as valedictorian of her class. She taught for three years in the Montrose public schools, and later graduated from the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Conrad: Elizabeth Margaret, Arnold Bayard, and Wolfrom Snowden. Mr. and Mrs. Conrad are active members of the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Conrad is an elder. He is a Mason and has filled all the chairs in his Masonic lodge and has taken the Royal Arch De- gree.
Edwin B. Hunt .- Under arching and spreading trees at the cross- roads in the center of Walker township, where the little cluster of build- ings known as the town of Piper stands, is the Hunt blacksmith shop. Al- ways busy, jolly, friendly to all, ever ready to do work which requires skill and strength, Edwin B. Hunt has conducted his blacksmith and wagon shop for the past fifteen years and has waxed prosperous as the years have passed. He is one of the "old timers" of Henry County in the sense that he is native-born to Henry County, his father before him having been one of the pioneers of Walker township.
Edwin B. Hunt was born October 20, 1868, on a farm located just a half mile south of his place of business. He is the son of William (born April 11, 1809; died April, 1874) and Priscilla (Covey) Hunt (born De- cember 6, 1825), and at present the oldest living pioneer woman of Henry County.
William Hunt was a native of North Carolina, and his wife, Priscilla, was a native of Tennessee. His first wife was Agubeth Hunt, who was born in 1816 and died in 1846. The following children were born of this marriage: Elizabeth, Mary Margaret, John, William H., and James W., all of whom are deceased. By the second marriage the following children were born: William, John Samuel, Enoch Johnson, Joseph Levi, William
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Robert, George Jacob, Edwin B., Lydia Ellen, Nancy Hester, Susan Pris- cilla, Martha Jane, and Elizabeth Catharine.
William Hunt came to Henry County from Pettis County, Missouri, in the early fifties and entered a large tract of free Government land in Walker township. He died upon his home place near Piper and his aged widow now makes her home with Edwin B. Hunt. Of the twelve children born to William and Priscilla Hunt, six are living: Edwin B .; John S., Washington; W. R., Idaho; Mrs. Elizabeth Raybourn, Idaho; and two half-brothers; also William H. Hunt, Deepwater township, and Mrs. Mary Reavis, Bear Creek township.
Mr. Hunt learned the trade of blacksmith under Thomas J. Pitts, but since his boyhood days has been skilled in iron work and showed a special aptitude for the smithing trade. His first shop was located one mile west of Piper, and in 1910 he located at Piper, his present location. He has not only made a success of blacksmith but has been and is a success- ful farmer. He is owner of 400 acres of land in the immediate neigh- borhood, his holdings including the Hunt home place.
Mr. Hunt was married in April, 1888, to Martha C. Long, daughter of J. C. Long, one of the early settlers of Henry County. Mrs. Martha C. Hunt was born October 28, 1867, in Henry County, and is the daugh- ter of John C. and Ruth (Burgess) Long, natives of Miller County, Missouri, who located in Henry County in 1866 and spent the remainder of their lives in this county. There were ten children in the Long family, nine of whom are living: Mrs. Pink Osborn, Oklahoma; Mrs. Eva Chad- well, Oklahoma; Doc Long, Lowry County, Missouri; Mrs. Nellie Jack- son, living in Lowry County, Missouri; Kid Long, and Dutch Long, St. Clair County, Missouri; Mrs. Mary . Edwards, St. Clair County, Mis- souri; Mrs. Edwin B. Hunt; Arch Long, Kansas.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Edwin B. Hunt are as follow: Pearl, a farmer in Walker township; Mrs. Ruth F. Hill, Walker township; James J., Charles A., and Ervin J., who is farming the Hunt acreage. Mr. Hunt has always been a Republican. He has served as a member of the town- ship board and is the present justice of the peace of Walker township. He and Mrs. Hunt are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Andrew Wally was born in Switzerland, May 14, 1853, and is the son of Joseph and Bertha (Minch) Wally, both of whom were natives of the Canton of Graubunden, Switzerland, and immigrated to America in 1870. They first located in Michigan, where they joined their son Andrew, who had preceded them to this country. From Michigan they went to
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Illinois and in 1871 they came to Montrose, Missouri, where Joseph Wally followed his trade of stonemason and also engaged in farming. Recently he removed to his son's ranch in western Arkansas and is making his home there. He was born in 1827. Mrs. Joseph Walley was born in 1836 and died in 1911. They were parents of four children: Mrs. Margaret Negg, deceased; Mrs. Eve Herman died in Bates County, Missouri, April 18, 1918; Mrs. Mary Kloeppinger, Rockville, Missouri; and Andrew Wally, subject of this sketch.
When he had attained the age of fifteen years, Andrew Wally left his native land in order to find fortune in America. He first located in Michigan, from there went to Illinois and in 1871 he arrived in Montrose. For a period of two years he was employed as section hand on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad. For seven years he was engaged in the mercantile business in the employ of O. S. Johnson. In 1880 he em- barked in business on his own account with a small stock of hardware goods and a small capital which represented his savings for the past seven years. The business grew constantly and in 1885, Mr. Wally found it necessary to erect a new building, now known as the Wally building, in order to adequately house his large stock of hardware and implements. Mr. Wally succeeded in building up one of the largest hardware concerns in Henry County and he continued to operate the business until his re- tirement from active business affairs in 1910. He is owner of a large and well-equipped ranch in Benton County, Arkansas, located six miles west of Gravette. Mr. and Mrs. Wally divide their time between the ranch and Montrose. They have a beautiful, modern home in Montrose, built of stucco and very attractive both inside and out.
Mr. Wally was married in 1883 to Wilhelmina Beckman, who was born in 1858 at Stadfelt, Saxony, Germany, and is the daughter of Hein- rich and Amelia (Reinhart) Beckman, the latter of whom died in her native country in 1864. Heinrich Beckman immigrated to America in 1872 and settled on a farm located fifteen miles from Washington, Mis- souri. He died on his farm. Mr. and Mrs. Wally have one son and a daughter: Joseph Henry, engaged in business in Kansas City, married Edna Regnier, and has two children, Joseph, Jr., aged five years, and Bettie, one year old; Minnie, wife of Wallace Carl Duewel, who is oper- ating the Wally ranch in Arkansas.
Mr. Wally was formerly a Republican but of late years has become an independent voter. He has filled all local offices in Montrose during
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his long business career in this city and was always found in the fore- front of civic movements which were intended for the betterment of the community in general. He and Mrs. Wally are members of the Presby- terian Church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and is also a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge, and the Commandery.
Bruce M. Wilson, farmer and stockman, Montrose, Missouri, is a na- tive son of Henry County and is a member of one of the oldest and most prominent of the pioneer families of the county. He was born in Deep- water township, October 8, 1867, on the old Wilson homestead and is the son of Joseph H. Wilson, concerning whom an extended biography is given in this volume. He was educated in the public schools of Deepwater township and the Methodist Episcopal College at Morrisville, Missouri. Mr. Wilson has always been engaged in farming and stock raising and resided on the farm until his removal to a home in Montrose, Missouri, December 22, 1916. He is owner of 236 acres of land in Henry County and is cultivating the old home place of the Wilson family in partner- ship with Edward Houx.
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