History of Howard and Cooper counties, Missouri : written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of its townships, towns, and villages : together with a condensed history of Missouri, a reliable and detailed history of Howard and Cooper counties-- its pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens, general and local statistics of great value, incidents and reminiscences, Part 108

Author: National Historical Company
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: St. Louis : National Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1198

USA > Missouri > Cooper County > History of Howard and Cooper counties, Missouri : written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of its townships, towns, and villages : together with a condensed history of Missouri, a reliable and detailed history of Howard and Cooper counties-- its pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens, general and local statistics of great value, incidents and reminiscences > Part 108
USA > Missouri > Howard County > History of Howard and Cooper counties, Missouri : written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of its townships, towns, and villages : together with a condensed history of Missouri, a reliable and detailed history of Howard and Cooper counties-- its pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens, general and local statistics of great value, incidents and reminiscences > Part 108

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CAPTAIN JOHN H. STEPHENS,

farmer and stock raiser. In any worthy history of Cooper county the Stephens family will always occupy a couspicnous and honorable place. They were among the first settlers of the county, and from its pioneer days have been prominently identified with its history - with its material development, its public and business affairs, and with its social life. The founder of the family in this county, now so numerous, prominent and influential, was a sturdy son of the Old Dominion, a worthy descendant of the brave-hearted and knightly cavaliers who settled in that colony during the first century of the colonization of the country. Joseph Stephens, a man of the most stirring enterprise, and of unconquerable resolution, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, left a home of comparative ease in Vir- ginia and became, with his family, a pioneer settler in the new country of Kentucky. But later on, learning of the material wealth of cen- tral Missouri, he determined to cast his fortunes with this, then little known, wilderness. Accordingly, he arrived in Cooper connty, with his family, in 1816; and here he spent the remainder of his days. He bought a large body of land at the land sales of 1818, and on a

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part of this, near where the town of Bunceton now stands, improved a large farm. There were five sons in his family : William, Peter, Lawrence C., Joseph and James M. Lawrence C., the third son and the father of John H., was born before his parents left Virginia, but was partly reared in Cooper county. After he grew up he was married here to Miss Margaret P., a daughter of Major Wm. H. Moore, another pioneer settler of the county. Of this union seven children were born, five sons and two daughters, of which family Captain John H. Stephens was the third. Lawrence C. Stephens inherited all the stronger and better qualities of his father's character. He came up in an age of the country when school advantages were out of the question ; yet, naturally of a superior mind, and animated by an earnest desire for knowledge, largely by his own exertions, and with- ont the aid of an instructor, he succeeded in acquiring an excellent, practical education. Not only this. All through life he was a con- stant and judicious reader of the best class of books, so that he be- came a man of extensive information. In the industrial and business activities of life, he was abundantly successful. Brought up to habits of industry and sober frugality, a lifetime of well directed energy could hardly have failed to produce substantial results. He became one of the most substantial citizens of the county - the possessor of a handsome estate. But he did not make the pursuit of wealth the controlling influence of his life. He was keenly alive to all the duties and responsibilities of citizenship, and to the moral and religious in- terests of society. That a man of his qualities of head and heart would hold a high place in the confidence and esteem of those around him, was to have been expected. And so it was with Judge Stephens. None ever stood higher in the respect and estimation of the commu- nity than he. Though free from all political ambition, and preferring the quiet and independence of private life to the perplexities of offi- cial station, he did not let his personal inclinations stand in the way of duty when called upon to serve the public. Besides positions of minor importance, he was a member of the county court for a number of years, and also represented his county in the state legislature. In office and in private affairs he was the same clear-headed, conscien- tious and upright man. Public interests could not have been en- trusted to safer hands. . For many years before his death he was an earnest and exemplary member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church ; and in church, as in every other relation of life, his character shone out with singular brightness. Not only in professions, not only in sentiment and convictions, was he a follower of the Cross ;

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but in acts and deeds he was more than he professed. Though always ready with counsel and advice for those in distress, he invariably pre- faced what he said by substantial aid when it was needed ; and his liberality was not of the calculating, business-like kind, but as gener- ous and abundant as the noble impulses of his own free, open-hearted nature. To the church he gave freely of his means for the advance- ment of the cause of religion, and for all benevolent purposes. In a word, he was a sincere, practical and useful Christian man. He died at his home in this county, on the 13th day of March, 1873, passing away peacefully when at last the end came, and in the bosom of his family, after a long and useful life, in which there was as little to re- gret as seldom falls to the lot of men -

" Two hands upon the breast, And labor's done; Two pale feet cross'd in rest, The race is won."

Captain John H. Stephens, the third of Judge Stephens' family, and a brother to the late Colonel Joseph Stephens, of Boonville, was born at his father's homestead in this county, on the 19th day of June, 1829. His father having been a prominent farmer and stock raiser of the county, John H. was brought up to these occupations. From what has been said of his father, it goes without statement that the early education of the son was not suffered to fall into neglect. John H. had the benefit of good common schools, and afterwards, also, of a course in the Boonville high school. He continued with his father on the farm until after his marriage, which occurred on the 20th of June, 1855. He was then married to Miss Margaret R., a refined and accomplished daughter of Reuben A. Ewing, of this county. Mrs. Stephens comes of one of the best families of this section of the state. She was educated at Boonville. After his marriage Captain Stephens located in the northern part of the county and engaged in merchandising. He also conducted a large farm. He was occupied with these interests when the war broke out, and had already taken rank among the leading, successful men of the county. Of Virginia ante- cedents and of southern kindred, he not unnaturally sympathized with the south in that unfortunate struggle. Under Governor Jackson's first call, in 1861, for volunteers to defend the state and repel northern invasion, he raised a company of which he was elected captain, and served in the state guard until he was captured during the fall of the same year. During his service he was a participant in the battle at Boonville. After his capture he was paroled by the Federal authori-

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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.

ties. He kept his parole of honor, and did not afterwards take up arms against the government at Washington. He remained at home until 1863, when the condition of affairs became such, that if he had longer continued in the county, he would have been compelled to again take a hand in the war. He therefore left home, and remained away nearly the whole time until after the restoration of peace. Re- turning in 1865, he bought his present farm and engaged in farming and stock raising. In both of these interests he has been more than ordinarily successful. The following year, in 1866, he also turned his attention to railroad contracting -the building of roads under contract - which he followed with excellent success for eleven years, carrying on, at the same time, his farming and stock interests. While in the railroad business, Captain Stephens enjoyed a high reputation among railroad men as a contractor of energy, reliability and business capacity. He not only executed his contracts with unusual dispatch, but did his work thoroughly, and to the entire satisfaction of the managers ; and, while his terms were always reasonable and fair, still he never failed to make substantial profits upon his undertakings ; indeed, he was one of the most successful of contractors. In his agri- cultural interests he has shown the same high order of business qualities. He is recognized as one of the most successful farmers and stock raisers in this section of the state. His farm contains 800 acres of as fine land as there is in the county, and besides this he has large landed interests elsewhere in the county. He also has a large cattle ranch in Texas. Captain Stephens' stock interests are confined mainly to cattle and sheep, although he also has other kinds of stock. Ile has one of the best herds of high grade cattle in the surrounding country, and over 1,000 head of fine merino sheep. Mention of these facts throws more light on his career, as an agriculturist and business man, than anything that could be said aside from them, and for that reason only they are stated. As a clear-headed, successful man of the world, he has shown himself to be not unworthy of the ancestor he sprang from, nor of the name he bears. And what is true of him in this particular is true in every other. But he is still among the living, and the converse of the rule, " That we should not praise the living," is nearly as true as the rule itself - " That we should not speak ill of the dead." Captain and Mrs. Stephens have a family of four children : Sallie E., now the wife of John W. Wheeler, of Bates county ; Anna R., now the wife of Robert L. Harriman, also of Bates county ; Mattie, Gussie and Clara Lindell, the last two at present attending school. The captain and wife, together with their three

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eldest daughters, are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church ; and the captain is also a member of the Masonic order.

W. H. H. STEPHENS,

farmer and raiser of fine stock. Mr. W. H. H. Stephens is another worthy representative of the family whose name he bears, that has been so long and so prominently identified with the material develop- ment and social life of Cooper county. He is a native of this county and was born October 20, 1839. His father, James M. Stephens, son of Joseph Stephens, came to this county with his parents when a lad seven years of age, in 1817. They settled near where Bunceton now stands. Arriving too late in the fall to build a house, they had to spend their first winter in Missouri, in what was called a " half-faced camp." But Joseph Stephens possessed the qualities that make brave- hearted, successful men. He went to work with pioneer courage and soon became a worthy and prosperous farmer. In these early days and amid the scenes and hardships of pioneer life, James M. grew up to manhood. The school advantages of the county were very indiffer- ent and hence his education was limited to the common, elementary branches. But what he lacked in book knowledge he more than made up by observation and good, common sense. When he was of age his father gave him 160 acres of good land in the timber near his own homestead. On this the son opened a farm, and after building a good residence, was married to Miss Mary A., daughter of David Adams, Esq., a prominent farmer near Boonville. On this place James M. Stephens lived until his death ou the 3d of November, 1882, at the ripe age of nearly seventy-three years, having been born in Ken- tucky, January 13, 1810. By a life of industry, intelligent economy and good management he added to his landed possessions and other property interests until he became a wealthy man. He reared a large family of children and brought them up under such influences, and gave them such advantages, that have become an honor to his name and memory and a credit to the community in which they live. In every relation of life, James M. Stephens acquitted himself with singular merit and approbation. As a citizen he was true to every duty, public-spirited, yet modest and unassuming ; as a neighbor none were more kind and considerate of others than he ; socially he was pleasant, affable and peculiarly agreeable in his intercourse with those about him ; and in his domestic relations he was a model as a husband and father. For a number of years he was a faithful and earnest member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and his life was a beautiful illustration of the faith he professed, for in works of Christian charity,

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in contributions to the poor, in liberality to the church and its minis- ters, in doing unto others as we would have them do unto us, in short, in all good works, none were before him, and none were more quiet or un- obstrusive in doing what they did than he. He did his kindnesses not for the praise of others, but for the approval of his conscience and from the prompting of his own heart. However, he did them quietly, without ostentation, and oftentimes in secret. He was a man in whose death all that knew him felt a heavy personal loss, for he died without a known enemy and deeply mourned by the whole commun- ity. Such was the father of W. H. H. Stephens, and the son is not an unworthy descendant of his father. W. H. H., unlike his father, had good school advantages in youth. His early years were spent on the farm and in the common schools. Afterwards he entered West- minster college, where he remained as a student for two years, thus acquiring an excellent education. When the war broke out he was a young man twenty-two years of age, and he became a volunteer in the Missouri state guards, called out by Governor Jackson. During the first year of the conflict, however, he was taken prisoner by the Union forces and released on parole of honor not to take up arms against the government again during the war. He kept his pledge of honor and abstained from further participation in the struggle. In the fall of 1863 he went to California, where he remained until the spring of 1866, engaged in the sheep business and in farming. He then re- turned to Cooper county and in the fall of the following year was married to Miss Cordelia, daughter of Hon. H. Bunce, of Boonville, a wealthy banker of that city. His wife was born and reared in this county and was educated at the Cumberland college, of Boonville. After his marriage, Mr. Stephens improved a farm on the prairie near Bunceton, where he lived until 1875, when he settled on his present place. Here he has an excellent farm with a good residence, and other- wise well improved. He makes a specialty of breeding and raising thoroughbred, short horn and high grade cattle, of which he has a fine herd. He also gives special attention to breeding and raising fine sheep. Mr. and Mrs. Stephens have a family of three children : Florence, Mary L. and Bunce. Both parents are members of the Presbyterian church.

GEORGE L. STEPHENS,

merchant and postmaster. Among the prominent business men of Bunceton the gentleman whose name heads this sketch may, without impropriety, be singled out for special mention. He is a native of this county, and is one of that worthy and excellent family whose name

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he bears, that has contributed so much to the material prosperity and social esprit of this county. His father, Joseph Stephens Sr., came here from Kentucky, of which state he was a native, in 1814, and settled on the land where the town of Bunceton now stands. Joseph Stephens was a successful farmer, an eminently respected citizen, and in every way a worthy, good man. He was twice married ; first to Elizabeth Cropper and after her death to Sarah Marshall, a widow lady, daughter of James Covert. By each he reared a family. Of the last union there were three sons, George L., the subject of this sketch, being the youngest. He was born June 29, 1850, and re- ceived a good English education in a private academy. After com- pleting his school course, he engaged in teaching, which he followed during the winter months for about twelve years. In the fore-winter of 1880 he established his present merchandising business at Bunce- ton, to which he has since given his entire attention. He carries a good stock of groceries, notions, etc., and has a substantial, prosper- ous trade. On the 7th of March, 1872, Mr. Stephens was married to Miss Ella, danghter of Larry Stephens, of Moniteau county. His wife, however, is a native of Cooper county. Mr. and Mrs. Stephens have a family of three children : Walter T., Maria Blanche and Ada May. Both parents are members of the Christian church, and Mr. Stephens is a member of the Masonic order.

W. J. WYAN,

general merchant, Bell Air, For over sixty years Jacob and W. J. Wyan, father and son (the father, however being now deceased ), have been engaged in merchandising in Cooper county. The father was a native of Hagerstown, Maryland, where he grew to manhood and after his majority, removed to Rockingham county, Virginia. Re- maining in Virginia a few years he then came out to Kentucky, and thence, in 1820, came to Boonville, Missouri, where at once engaged in merchandising. However, prior to his removal to this state he had served in the army through the war of 1812, and had made a gallant record as a soldier. Here at Boonville he became a successful merchant and a prominent citizen. Such was his standing here as a substantial, capable business mau and his personal popularity, that he was called upon to fill the responsible office of county treasurer, which position he accepted and filled for a number of years with marked ability and fidelity. He was three times married, W. J., the subject of this sketch, being a son by his last wife, previously Nancy Shanks, a native of Lincoln county, Kentucky. W. J. Wyan, the son, was born in Boonvillle, June 8, 1825, and received his primary education by private instruction. He then entered the state university at

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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.

Columbia, in which he continued as a student for four years. After the conclusion of his university course, Mr. Wyan returned to Boon- ville and followed merchandising here some fifteen years. But in the spring of 1868 he removed to Bell Air, his present location, where he has since followed merchandising. However, during this time, there was an interim of eight years that he was engaged in dealing in stock, but he resumed his regular mercantile business in 1882. He carries a large and well selected stock of goods, and his wide acquaintance with the custom of the surrounding county, together with his long established reputation as a first-class merchant and an upright man, command him an extensive and lucrative trade. On the 17th of August, 1847, Mr. Wyan was married to Miss C. J., daughter of Judge H. R. Menefee, of this county. She is a native of Virginia, and was reared and educated in Rappahannock county, from which she came to this county with her parents prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Wyan have a family of five children : Robert F., William F., Wyatt T., H. T. and Wesley J., all grown to maturity. Both par- ents are members of the M. E. church, south, and Mr. W. is a mem- ber of the Masonic order - Wallace lodge, No. 456, at Bunceton.

PILOT GROVE TOWNSHIP.

WILLIAM M. ALLEN,

farmer, section 5. William Allen, the grandfather of W. M., was one of the pioneer settlers of Kentucky, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a native of Virginia, but his son James H., the father of the subject of the present sketch, was born after he set- tled in the Blue Grass state in Fayette county, in September, 1801. After James H. Allen grew to manhood he was married in his native state to Miss Sarah McDowell, sister to Dr. MeDowell, of St. Louis, the founder of the medical college of that city. Of this union W. M. was born in Fayette county, July 2, 1830, the same county in which his father was born, twenty-nine years before. Mrs. Allen died when W. M. was about twelve years of age. However, the son grew up, and by the time he reached his majority had acquired a good ordinary English education. From 1850 to 1860 there was a rush ot immigration to Iowa, and in 1856 young Allen joined the westward- bound column of emigrants. Arriving in Iowa he engaged in the drug business, which he followed for two years, and then, 1858, came to

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Cooper county, Missouri, and turned his attention exclusively to farming. In this he was engaged when the war broke out in 1861, and, like most of the young men of the county, with southern ante- cedents, he became a soldier of the new born southern republic. He followed the brilliant star of the Confederacy from its rise until it sank behind the horizon of blood and fire to rise no more. The names of fifty-three battles are written in his army record, where -

" The waves Of the mysterious death never moaned ; The tramp, the shout, the fearful thunder roar Of red-breathed cannon, and the wailing cry Of myriad victims, filled the-air."

After the war he returned to Cooper county and resumed farming, which he has since followed and with substantial success. He has an excellent homestead well improved. October 5, 1867, he was mar- ried to Miss Cora Bonhannon. They have five children : James, Hugh, Sarah, Matthew and Mary. He is a member of the M. E. church,

PROFESSOR WILLIAM R. ANNAN.

Professor Annan is of Scotch descent, his grandfather, John Annan, having settled in Canada from the land of Wallace and Burns about the beginning of the present century. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, Of his family of children John, Jr., came to the United States and, marrying Miss Mary D. Martin here, originally of Orange county, Virginia, settled in Randolph county, Missouri, where William R., the subject of this sketch, was born February 1, 1846. Twelve years after the birth of this son the parents removed to Cooper county, making their permanent home in Pilot Grove township, and here Wil- liam R. grew to manhood. Possessed of a quick, active mind, the son, by great diligence and assiduity in his studies, acquired an excellent education in the ordinary English course, and at a comparatively early age began teaching school which he has since kept up with more or less regularity. As a school teacher he has long been regarded as one of most practical, successful and efficient in the county. Farming has also engaged a large share of his attention, and in this industry he has achieved excellent success. He owns a good farm of over 200 acres, neatly and substantially improved. February 27, 1867, he was mar- ried to Anna Roe, of Henry county, Missouri. They have four chil- dren, having lost three. Those living are : Robert, Edna, Maud and George V. Mr. Annan has held numerous township offices, and is a prominent member of the I. O. O. F.

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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.

HANNIBAL ARMSTRONG.

of Long & Armstrong, dealers in hardware, agricultural implements, and manufacturers of plows, wagons, etc. ; also, blacksmiths. Mr. Armstrong is a native of Tennessee, but came from that state at a comparatively early age with his parents, Samuel and Mary ( Sprawl ) Armstrong, who emigrated to Missouri in 1853, and settled in Polk county. There Hannibal Armstrong grew to manhood and followed farming until 1874, when, having married in the mean time, he remov- ed to this county with his family and settled in Pilot Grove. He con- tinued in the occupation of farming here until 1876, when he engaged in the hardware business with Mr. Long. They have a large two-story business house and have it well stocked with an excellent assort- ment of the different kinds of goods in their line, including agricul- tural implements, wagons, plows, etc. They also carry on a large wood-work and blacksmith shop in connection with their other busi- ness. They are both men of business ability and of upright popular dispositions, and as a result they have an extensive and profitable cus-

tom in their lines of trade Mr. Armstrong was married October 29, 1867, to Miss Nancy Long, formerly of Virginia. They have one child living, Charles L. In June 1861 Mr. Armstrong enlisted in Capt. Mitchell's company of state guards, and served six months, the limit of their enlistment, after which he enlisted in company A, of Gen. Shelby's cavalry, and served until the close of the war, being 2d lientenant of the company. Most of the time, during this service, however, he was taken prisoner and held for six months, after which he was exchanged and finally surrendered at the close of the war at Shreveport, La. He participated in all the hard fought battles in which his command was engaged. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the I. O. O. F.

JAMES BARTON,

editor and Proprietor of the Pilot Grove Bee. Mr. Barton establish- ed the Bee in September, 1882, and thus far it has been attended with the most gratifying success. He is a gentleman of good educa- tion, of practical experience in the newspaper business, and possessed in no ordinary measure with the qualities that go far toward assuring success in whatever calling one may engage. He was born in Ander- son county, Missouri, February 21, 1855, and was educated in the schools of Mexico, the county seat of that county. His father, Levi Barton was born in Warren county, Kentucky, but came to this state early in life, and for many years followed farming in Anderson county,

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Author: National Historical Company Publication date: 1883 Publisher: St. Louis : National Historical Co. Number of Pages: 1198

Author: National Historical Company
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: St. Louis : National Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1198