History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri, Part 53

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 998

USA > Missouri > Cedar County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 53
USA > Missouri > Dade County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 53
USA > Missouri > Barton County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 53
USA > Missouri > Hickory County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 53
USA > Missouri > Polk County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 53

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Levi Hartman, farmer and stockman of Hickory County, Mo., was born in East Tennessee on the 16th of September, 1816, and is a son of Joseph and Jennie (Walker) Hartman, and grandson of Joseph Hartman. The latter and wife were resi- dents of Maryland, and emigrated to Tennessee, where they spent the remainder of their lives, and were buried on their farm. Joseph Hartman, the father of Levi, was born and reared in Tennessee, the former event occurring in 1765, and his death in 1830. The maternal grandfather was born and spent his life in Tennessee. He was of Scotch extraction, while the Hartmans were Dutch. Levi Hartman grew to manhood in Washington County, Tenn., and in 1846 went to Iowa, where he was married, October 27, to Miss Mary J. Rouse, who was born in Indiana, February 19, 1828, and the result of their union has been five children, all of whom are living and have reached mature years: John D .; Joseph, who is collector of Hickory County; Martha E., wife of Henry L. Pitts; Eliza J., wife of George Lindsey; and Maggie, wife of Edward Murray. In 1867 Mr. Hartman came to Hickory County, Mo., of which he has been a resident ever since, and is the owner of 300 acres of excellent land. He is a Democrat politically. His wife is a daughter of David and Eliza (Manson) Rouse, who were born in Kentucky, May 21, 1803, and April 7, 1808, respectively. They were married in their native State, and afterward moved to Indiana, later to Iowa, and next became residents of Kansas, where the father died September 14, 1870. They were the parents of eight girls and two boys. The mother is still living.

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Judge William C. Hickman, ex-judge of the Eastern district of Hickory County, Mo., was born in Wilson County, Tenn., near Lebanon, August 2, 1832, and is a son of Snowden and Frances (Newman) Hickman, who were born in North Carolina and Virginia, and died in Wilson County, Tenn., in 1852, at the age of fifty years, and in Hickory County, Mo., in 1882, at the age of eighty-two years, respectively. The former was a child of four years of age when his parents took him to Tennessee, and there he grew to manhood, married, and was engaged in farming and stock raising until his death. His father, who also bore the name of Snowden, was born in North Carolina, followed the occupation of farming, and died in Wilson County, Tenn. The mother was a daughter of Joel Newman, a Virginian, who lived and died in his native State. He was a Revolutionary soldier. Judge William C. Hickman is the second of six children, three now living: Zachariah, a practicing physician, of Benton, Ill .; Martha Ann; and the judge, who was educated, and resided in Wilson County, Tenn., until eighteen years of age. In 1851 he came West, and roamed around for a number of years. In 1853 he crossed the plains with an ox-team, taking the Carson route, and at the end of six months and eighteen days reached the Golden Gate, having suffered many hardships and privations on the jour- ney. He was engaged in teaming, ditching and other occupations, in that State, for about four years, then returned home via the Isth- mus of Panama, Cuba and New Orleans, bringing with him about $2,400, which he had earned while in the West. After staying for a time in Tennessee, he came to Missouri and purchased land, on which he has since resided. In 1863 he enlisted in Company B, Eighth Missouri State Militia, and served until the close of the war, when he returned home, and began trying to retrieve his fallen fortunes, having been a heavy loser during the war. He has been very successful, and is now the owner of about 1,600 acres of land, some of which is the most valuable in Hickory County. He has been a Democrat since the death of the Whig party, and, in 1878, was elected by that party as county judge from the Eastern district, and was re-elected in 1882, thus show- ing how the people of the county appreciate his merits, his dis- trict being strongly Republican. He at all times supports edu- cational and religious enterprises, and is always public spirited and enterprising. Martha Hicks, a daughter of Thomas M. Hicks, became his wife December 17, 1857. She was born in Wilson County, Tenn., in 1833 (July 14), and, by Mr. Hickman, became the mother of seven children, who are living: Fanny, wife of George W. Morgan, of Kansas; Cora, wife of William Y. Bennett, of Hickory County, Mo .; Robert, a farmer of Hickory County; Nina, Charles, Horace and Joel N. Alice, the second

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child, died when two years of age. Mrs. Hickman is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Edward B. Huffman. Among the prosperous farmers and stockmen of Hickory County, Mo., worthy of mention, is Mr. Huffman, who was born in Hardy County, Va., in 1834. His grandfather was a Pennsylvania Dutchman, but afterward located in Virginia. He served in the Revolutionary War under Washington, and was present at Yorktown when Cornwallis sur- rendered. He lived to the extreme old age of ninety-six years, and died on the North River, in Virginia. His son, L. Huffman, the father of our subject, was born in Hardy County, Va., in 1803, and there grew to manhood and married Miss Anna Burch, who was also born in that State, her birth occurring in 1802. November 10, 1842, he emigrated to Benton County, Mo., being among the pioneer settlers of the county, and there spent the rest of his days, dying in March, 1864. His wife had died in Virginia, in 1834, having borne a family of four children, of whom our subject is the youngest. He was eight years of age when he came with his father to Missouri, and has seen much of the growth and prosperity of the State. From early boyhood he has been familiar with farm life, and is now the owner of a fine farm of 230 acres, which is under cultivation and well improved, on which he located in 1882, having previously been a resident of Benton County. He served in the Volunteer Cavalry of the Missouri State Militia during the late war, and received his discharge at St. Louis, at the end of two years, July 19, 1865. He is a Democrat in his political views, and cast his first presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas. In 1859 he was married to Miss Jane Johnston, who was born in Benton County, Mo., in 1838, and died August 5, 1872, having borne the following family: Mary A., wife of John Wicklyfe; Nancy, wife of Richard Barnett; Clara B., who died at the age of thirteen years; John A., who died when ten months old; Charley E., Ella J. and Becca J. July 5, 1874, Mr. Huffman married Martha J. Barnett, who was born December 28, 1856. Their children are: Anna, who died when ten months old; Willie, James Walter, Elbert G., Minnie and Laura. The family belong to the Christian Church, and Mr. Huffman is a Mason.

M. C. Jenkins, of Hickory County, Mo., was born in Orange County, Ind., in 1831. His parents, William and Elizabeth (Pritchard) Jenkins, were natives of North Carolina, the former's birth occurring in 1808. After residing until manhood in his native State, he moved to Indiana about 1831, and in the fall of 1842 emigrated to Missouri, locating in Benton County, where he helped erect the first grist-mill in this section of the country. He was a farmer and merchant throughout life, and died in 1864, having been an earnest member of the Baptist Church and

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a Whig in politics. He and wife were the parents of eight children. The paternal grandfather was born in Scotland, and emigrated to America previous to the Revolutionary War. It is said of him by his descendants that he gave a half-bushel of dollars for a substitute during that war. M. C. Jenkins, our subject, was reared to manhood in Benton County, and was married in the spring of 1853 to Miss Nancy Barnett. They settled in Hickory County, and began tilling the soil. Mrs. Jenkins was born in Kentucky in 1829, and by Mr. Jenkins is the mother of eight children: Thomas J .; Paulina, wife of C. S. Thompson; Schyler B .; Harriet E., wife of J. C. Brown; Jennie, wife of J. R. Nease; Leatha, Nellie and Mattie. Mrs. Jenkins is a daughter of Mr. Schyler and Elizabeth (Harrison) Barnett, the father being a native of Virginia, as was also his father. Schyler died in Missouri, having been a farmer throughout life. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins are members of the Christian Church, and he is a Democrat politically, and a member of the Agricul- tural Wheel.

Frederick Kern is in every respect worthy of honorable men- tion in these pages, for during his residence here he has been one of the honest and industrious tillers of the soil. He was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1822, and is one of four sur- viving members of a family of five children born to Christian and Johanna (Folk) Kern, who were born in the kingdom of Wurtemberg in 1789 and 1783 respectively. The father was a weaver by trade, and followed this occupation until his death, in 1847, followed by his wife in 1850. Frederick Kern attained mature years, and was educated in his native land, and in his youth learned the machinist's trade, at which he worked until his twenty-first year; then joined the regular army of Germany, serving six years. At the end of that time he came to the United States (in 1849), being the first of his family to cross the ocean, and landed in New York City in June, 1849, the voyage having taken forty-three days, but only remained in that city a short time, when he moved to Ohio, where he worked on a farm during the summer. In the fall he began blacksmithing, and helped to fit up the steamboat Hollister to run on Lake Erie, and for one season was second engineer of the boat. He next went to Chicago, thence to Peru, Ill., where he worked at black- smithing five months, and then went to Memphis, Tenn., from which place he went to Rock Island, Ill., and then spent some time in Cincinnati, Ohio. He went from this city to Peoria, Ill., where he made his home for some time, and was there married to Miss Catherine Laubenstein, who bore him two children: William H., and Charles F., who died in 1878, at the age of twenty-two years. In 1858 Mr. Kern went to Kansas, but re- turned to Illinois in 1861, and, when the war broke out, joined the

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Forty-seventh Illinois Infantry for one year, and was at Forts Spanish and Blakely. After the war he resided in Illinois until 1866, and then came to Missouri, and began working at his trade in Wheatland, being the first blacksmith of the place. In 1878 he gave up blacksmithing, and purchased 120 acres of land, on which he has since lived. He is non-partisan in politics, and is a member of the Lutheran Church, his wife being a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their only son was born in 1854, in Illinois, and in 1880 was married to Miss Sarah A. Prosser, who was born in England in 1863. They reside with Mr. Kern, and have two children, Frederick and Letta E.

E. M. Kerr, one of the worthy residents of Hickory County, Mo., and a successful farmer and stock-raiser, is a native of Mar- ion County, Ohio, born in 1841, and is a son of E. and Jane (Madden) Kerr, who were born in Pennsylvania and Virginia, in 1807 and 1806, respectively. The father was reared to manhood in his native State, but was married in Ohio, and soon after located in Indiana, and, after residing successively in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana, died in the latter State in 1870, having been a faith- ful soldier in the Federal Army in Company G, Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry, and was also promoted to hospital steward. His wife died in 1869, also in Indiana. The paternal grandfather was an Englishman who came to America prior to the Revolution, and took an active part in that struggle. He died in Pennsyl- vania. The maternal grandfather was born and spent his life in Virginia. E. M. Kerr is the only one of his parents' four children " who is living. He attained manhood in Indiana, and received his education in the common schools. He was married there to Miss S. Elmira Keen, who was a native of the State, born in 1845, and was engaged in farming in that State until 1870, when he sold out and came to Missouri, purchasing his present farm in Hickory County in 1883. During the war he joined Company B, Fifty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under W. Q. Gresham, as a private, but was promoted to second lieutenant in the same company, and participated in the siege of Corinth, siege of Vicks- burg, Atlanta, in which battle he saw Gresham immediately after he was wounded, and saw McPherson fifteen minutes before he was killed; siege of Savannah, being with Sherman on his march to the sea, and was discharged at Louisville, Ky., and mustered out of service at Indianapolis, Ind. He has ever since been a strong Republican, and is a member of the G. A. R. He belongs to the Agricultural Wheel.

Rev. P. S. Lehmann, a minister of the Mennonite Church in Hickory County, Mo., was born in Switzerland in November, 1821. His parents Peter and Katie (Tschantz) Lehmann, were born in Switzerland, the former in 1780, and died there in 1864. The grandfather, Michael Lehmann, was a farmer in that country.

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Rev. P. S. Lehmann is next to the youngest of nine children, and received a good German education in his native land. After teaching school for some time, he was married in 1846 to Miss Verena Sprunger, who was born in 1828, and their union has been blessed in the birth of eight children: Annie, wife of Christian Luginbill; Mary, wife of Christian Gillium; Rachel, wife of P. Gil- lium; Katie, wife of David Ninschwander; Japhet; Dinah, wife of Joel Welty; Emma, and Lydia. In 1852 Mr. Lehmann removed with his family to the United States, and, after residing and living in Indiana for sixteen years, he came to Missouri, and settled in Hickory County, on a fine farm of 205 acres, which he has tilled in connection with his ministerial duties ever since, having been engaged in the latter occupation since 1848. His daughter Emma is one of the successful teach- ers of Hickory County, and is an exceptionally intelligent young lady.

Capt. W. H. Liggett, of Hickory County, Mo., was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, March 14, 1831, and, after attending the common schools, completed his education by attending an academy in Knox County, of that State. In 1857 he went to Iowa, and was engaged in teaching school in Fayette County until May, 1858, when he came to Missouri, and entered 120 acres of land in Hickory County, but was engaged in teaching school until the spring of 1859, when he married Miss Louera E. Heath, in Benton County, Mo., and moved upon his farm, and, in connection with tilling the soil, followed pedagoguing during 1859 and 1860. When the Rebellion broke out he organized Company D, Hickory County Battalion of the Missouri Home Guards, and was orderly sergeant until the company was dis- banded in November, 1861. December 29 of that year, the company became a part of the Missouri State Militia, and the following year Mr. Liggett became sergeant-major on the non- commissioned staff in the Eighth Cavalry Missouri State Militia Volunteers. In June, 1862, he was appointed circuit and county clerk of Hickory County, and was discharged from the army, when the reorganization of the civil and municipal law took place, to enter upon the duties of said clerkships, and afterward became captain of Company C, in the Sixtieth Regiment En- rolled Missouri Militia, during Price's raid. through Missouri, and served in this capacity until the close of the war. He held the position of county and circuit clerk until the spring of 1867, when he was elected school commissioner, and held that position until 1869, when elected probate judge, which office he held until 1879. He and William Q. Paxton were the chief founders of the Hickory County Mirror, a weekly newspaper, the first paper published in Hickory County, which was organized in 1874, the editors being Moore and Tiller. He is a very wealthy farmer,

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and owns about 2,000 acres of land, a considerable portion of which he devotes to the propagation of a good grade of stock. He has been president of the Hickory County Bank for some time, is a Republican in politics and is a Master Mason. His children are as follows: Alexander C., who died at the age of seven years; Minnie, wife of S. A. Jackson; Ida M., who died when twenty years of age; Eva, a student at Columbia, Mo .; Henry Paxton, and Ernest Cuthbert. Mr. Liggett's father, William Liggett, was born in Pennsylvania, October 5, 1795, and died in Ohio on the 4th of July, 1874. His wife, Nancy (Vin- cent) Liggett, was also born in Pennsylvania, her birth occurring February 9, 1797, and her death September 18, 1851. They were reared and married in their native State, and became the parents of eight children, three of whom are living. The pater- nal grandfather, Alexander Liggett, and grandmother, Isabella (McCloy) Liggett, were born in Pennsylvania October 4, 1775, and September 19, 1771, and died in their native State in 1866 and 1841, respectively. They were married January 5, 1795.

G. W. Lindsey, sheriff of Hickory County, Mo., was born on the 10th of September, 1849. His father, James Lindsey, was born on Kentucky soil in 1818, and removed to Illinois with his parents when a boy, where he grew to manhood. He was one of the pioneers of Hickory County, and was here married to Miss Cynthia Jones, who was born in Tennessee in 1820. They are still living, and their union was blessed in the birth of eight children, G. W. Lindsey being the fourth in order of birth. The paternal great-grandfather was an Englishman who came to America and helped to free the colonists from the mother country, serving under George Washington. His son, the grandfather of our subject, was born in the " Palmetto State," and resided suc- cessively in Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri. The maternal grandfather was a Tennesseean. G. W. Lindsey grew to man- hood in Hickory County, and supplemented his common school education by an attendance in graded schools for two years, after which he engaged in teaching in Hickory and adjoining counties, continuing this occupation for a number of years. May 6, 1877, he was married to Miss E. J. Hartman, by whom he has three children: Myrtle E., Inez Iola and Grace H. Mr. Lindsey was engaged in merchandising for a number of years, but in 1880 dis- continued this work to engage in agricultural pursuits, in which he has been quite successful, being the owner of a good farm of 320 acres. He is a Republican in politics, and was elected on that ticket as sheriff of Hickory County, which position he is now filling. He is a Master Mason.

Lycurgus Lindsey, an old and prominent citizen of Hickory County, Mo., was born in Butler County, Ky., November 8, 1825, and is a son of Amos and Mary (Madison) Lindsey, natives,

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respectively, of South Carolina and Kentucky. The former died in Hickory County, at the residence of his son, Lycurgus, in 1875, at the age of eighty-eight years, his wife having died in 1868, when in the seventies. He came with his parents to Virginia from South Carolina, thence to Kentucky, where he married and resided until 1833, and from that time until 1836 was a resident of Scott County, Ill. At the later date they located in Hickory County (then called Polk County), where their declining years were spent. They were church members of many years' stand- ing, and, while residing in Kentucky, the father served as justice of the peace for many years, and was also sheriff for some time. After coming to Missouri, he served as county judge for a number of years, and was a successful farmer throughout life. His father, Abraham, was born in the " Palmetto State," and was of English descent, as was also the Madison family. Mrs. Lind- sey's father, James Madison, was an active participant in the War of 1812, and acted as interpreter at different treaties that were made with the Indians, he being familiar with the Indian lan- guage There were born to the marriage of Amos and Mary Lindsey, ten children, nine of whom are living at the present time: Irena Romans, Anthony W., James and Abraham (twins), Nancy (Hayes), Amos F., Lycurgus, Alfred, Thomas and John J. Amos Frost is deceased. Lycurgus received his education in the schools of Illinois, and in Hickory County, Mo. He remained at home and worked on the farm until twenty-one years of age, and, after working as a farm-hand for some time, rented land and began farming on his own responsibility. In 1852 he made his first purchase of land, which consisted of forty acres, but he is now the owner of 900 of as good land as there is in the county, the home farm consisting of 340 acres, all of which is under fence and well improved. He was a heavy loser during the war, but has managed to retrieve his fortunes. In 1861 he organized Company D of Col. McClurg's regiment, and was commissioned its captain, serving in this capacity until December of that year, when he began serving as first lieutenant of Company B, Eighth Missouri Militia, with which he remained until receiving his dis- charge in March, 1865. He was in no regular engagements, and was never wounded or taken prisoner. In 1868, 1869 and 1870 he served as deputy sheriff of the county, having been appointed (he has been a Republican for many years), and discharged the duties of his office ably and well. January 16, 1851, he was married to Miss Lucy, a daughter of Samuel and Lucy (Wheeler) Tobey. She was born near Madison, Ind., December 2, 1833, and her marriage with Mr. Lindsey resulted in the birth of seven children: Josephine, wife of Luther J. Slavens, a merchant of Urbana, Dallas County, Mo .; Emma, wife of James S. Thurs- ton, of Urbana, Mo .; Matilda, wife of William Coon, a farmer

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of Hickory County; Laura, wife of John White, of Cross Timbers, Mo .; and Eugene T., at home. Those deceased are: Cynthia Ann, who died when twenty-two years of age, the wife of John T. Pendleton; and Mary, who died at the age of twenty- eight years, the wife of Benjamin F. Creed, treasurer of Hickory County. The mother of these children is a consistent member of the Christian Church.

Judge Benjamin L. Mallonee, presiding judge of Hickory County, Mo., deserves honorable mention as one of the public- spirited and enterprising citizens of the county, and it is but fair to say that his good name has remained unsullied, and that he has won the confidence and respect of all who know him. He was born in Baltimore, Md., January 20, 1848, and is the young- est of three surviving members of a family of seven children born to John A. and Rachel (Lym) Mallonee, who were born near Annapolis and in Baltimore, Md., in 1790 and 1814, and died in Baltimore in 1860 and 1862, respectively. The grand- father, John Mallonee, was a member of the Continental army in the Revolutionary War, and died in Maryland, at the advanced age of ninety-eight years. John A. Mallonee served in the War of 1812. When starting out in life for himself, he left the farm and went to Baltimore, where he finally became a merchant, but, failing in business, he became a bookkeeper, which occupation he followed until his death. Benjamin L. Mallonee received an excellent education in the schools of Baltimore, and, when nine- teen years of age, concluded he would seek his fortune in the · West, and accordingly came to Missouri, and located in Hickory County, and was engaged in merchandising in Pittsburg until 1872, at which date he sold out and turned his attention to farm- ing, and dealing in and raising stock. His enterprises have been attended with good success, and he is considered one of the pros- perous residents of the county. In 1874 he went to Texas County, and while there was appointed constable, serving over a year. From 1882 till 1886, he served as justice of the peace, and was then elected associate judge of the Eastern district, and in the following election he was elected presiding judge, and has faith- fully filled the duties of this position up to the present time. "On the IIth of October, 1869, he was married to Lucy K. Kendall, a daughter of Edward J. Kendall. She was born in Morgan County, Ill., August 12, 1850, and she and Mr. Mallonee are the parents of five children: Leonard, Harriet Frances, Lucretia, Rachel and Victorine. Clara T. died when five years of age.

Frank Mieler is one of the numerous successful farmers and stockmen of Cross Timbers Township, Hickory County, Mo., and was born in Alsace, France in 1842; He was there reared and educated, and was by trade a contractor and builder, at which he ivorked after coming to the United States in 1871. He landed

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at Castle Garden on the 5th of February of that year, and, after remaining in the city of New York for three years, went to Wood- land, of the same State, where he resided two years, then to West- chester, remaining two years, then returned to New York City, where he was engaged in contracting and building for seven years, his services being employed on some of the largest build- ings in the city. He emigrated West to Missouri, and followed the same occupation at West Pilot and around Kansas City, Mo.,

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History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri, Part 53

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co. Number of Pages: 998

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 998