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 110
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 110
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Boonville, during which he worked at the carriage painting trade. He was married December 3, 1868, to Miss Susan Hannah, of this county. Heaven has favored them with five children : William F., John W., Meriam A., Mary S. and Maggie B. Mr. Meredith's farm contains half a section of fine and well improved land - a monument to his own honest toil and intelligent management. He also deals largely in stock of every kind, buying and shipping extensively all the time. He is a worthy member of the M. E. church and of the I. O. O. F. order.
F. W. MITZEL,
farmer and stock raiser and dealer. . Mr. Mitzel's father, Peter Mitzel, was a thrifty, intelligent Ohio farmer, who settled in this county from the Buckeye state in 1858 and followed farming and stock raising, to which F. W., the son, was brought up. F. W. Mitzel, the subject of this sketch, was but ten years old when his parents removed from Morgan county, Ohio, where he was born De- cember 2, 1848, to this county ; and hence he was principally reared in Cooper county. After he attained to manhood he engaged in farming and stock raising on his own account, and in these industries he has been very successful. In later years he has also engaged large- ly in dealing in stock, buying and shipping to the wholesale markets cattle, hogs, sheep, etc. His farm contains about three-quarters of a section of land, and is kept in excellent condition. Mr. Mitzel was married May 22, 1867, to Miss Cora Simms, of this state, but on the 5th of last March (1883), she was taken from him by death, leaving him five children : Charles, James, Matilda (named for Mr. M.'s mother, whose maiden name was Matilda Ethel ), Ernest and Lettie. Mr. Mitzel is a member of the I. O. O. F.
E. C. MOORE,
contractor and builder. The leading contractor and builder of this place and the surrounding country is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. E. C. Moore was born in Clarke county, Virginia, December 8, 1847. After reaching the age that it became necessary to choose a calling for life, he decided to adopt that of carpentry, which he at once began to learn. Having acquired this trade he fol- lowed it in Virginia with satisfactory results until 1878, when, hav- ing married in the meantime, he removed to this state with his family and located at Pilot Grove. Here he resumed work at his trade, and for the last five years he has been the principal contractor and builder of the place. He has built nearly all the houses that have been
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
erected in the town since he became one of its citizens, and he has an enviable reputation in his calling as a thorough, energetic and upright mechanic. He was married February 24, 1873, to Miss Maggie J. Smith, of Virginia. They have one child, Emma V. Mr. Moore's parents were Sylvanus and Abigail Moore, his mother's family name having been Fridly.
D. P. NIXON.
One of the most prominent, public-spirited and worthy citizens of Pilot Grove township, and of this part of the county, is the gentle- man whose name heads this sketch. An educated, progressive and enterprising farmer, formerly of Ohio, he has introduced into this county the methods of farming that have distinguished the agricul- turists of the great Buckeye state above those of any other common- wealth in the Union. And not only is he conspicuous in his locality by his success as a farmer, but in the general interests and public affairs of the community he occupies an advanced, public-spirited po- sition, striving at all times to promote the good of all, and to im- prove and develop the township and the surrounding country. He is one of a class of northern, new-era, enterprising farmers and citizens that the west and south have too few of, and of whom they could never have too many. He was born in Ross county, Ohio, February 19, 1842, and is of Virginia descent ; his father, William H. Nixon, was born in Virginia, and his mother, formerly Elizabeth Edmondston, a native of Ohio. His grandfather, David Nixon, was a native of Virginia, but became a pioneer to Ohio, and was a soldier of in- trepid courage and daring in the early Indian wars. This quality - fearless, patriotic bravery - descended undiminished to the grandson, and when the opening ball of the rebellion was sent on its mission of death over the ramparts of Fort Sumpter, he was one of the first to answer with a musket in hand, the call of the bleeding Union for help. The flag that had floated in triumph at Yorktown, New Or- leans and the capital city of the Montezumas he followed through four long years of hardships and danger, until it waved in triumph at Appomattox with "a star for every state and a state for every star." He was a volunteer in company C, 73d Ohio infantry, and was mus- tered out of the service in 1865. He was in both the battles of Bull's Run and many other leading death-duels of the war, when --
" Hand to hand, and foot to foot; Nothing there, save death, was mute ; Stroke, and thrust, and flash, and cry For quarter, or for victory, Mingle there with the volleying thunder."
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
He bears three honorable scars received in the defence of his country, the noblest insignia a patriot can wear. After the war he returned to his native state and engaged in farming and stock raising, which he followed there until 1866, when he removed to this state, and after stopping a year in Pettis county, settled in Pilot Grove township, of this county, where he has since lived. Here he has long held a place among the leading farmers and stock men of the county. His farm contains about 300 acres of excellent land, handsomely im- proved and kept in neat, tidy, farmer-like condition. December 31, 1868, he was married to Miss Christine Schlotzhaner, of this county. They have four children living : Charles W., Catherine E., Alex- ander F., and Birdie W. Mr. Nixon is a member of the M. E. church.
O. T. ORR,
farmer. Mr. Orr is of Irish descent, his grandfather, William Orr, having come over from the Emerald Isle about the middle of the last century and settled in Pennsylvania, where he reared a family. Of his children, John, the father of O. T., made Kentucky his home, and there married Nancy Steerman, a young lady originally of Virginia. Of this union O. T. Orr was born in Nicholas county, September 20, 1827, and was the youngest of a family of seven. Reared in the Blue Grass state and brought up to the occupation of farming and stock raising in his native state, he attended to the duties of fields and pas- tures and flocks and herds until 1874, when he directed his course westward along the way the " star of empire " leads, and settled in Cooper county. Here he resumed his life calling - tilling the soil - and prosecuting the first labor that occupied the Creator on the morn- ing of the sixth day, raising cattle, etc. These duties he has since followed, and his labors have been rewarded with satisfactory success. He now has a farm of about a quarter section of good land, which he has comfortably and conveniently improved, and his blue grass pas- tures are tenanted with fine cattle and other stock. He was married February 7, 1851, to Miss Elizabeth Evans, of Kentucky. They have eight children : Virginia, Robert A., Georgie, Warren, Anna Lee, V. G., Isadora and O. T. Mr. Orr is a member of the Christian church and of the Masonic order.
GEORGE T. PENDLETON, M. D., DECEASED, AND T. O. PEN- DLETON, M. D.
Dr. Geo. T. Pendleton, the father of Dr. T. O. Pendleton, was born in Jefferson county, Kentucky, December 18, 1824, and was reared
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
and educated in his native county. After completing his literary and general course, he began the study of medicine with the view of becoming a physician, and continued in this for several years. In due time he became a matriculate in the Louisville medical college, and remained a student in that institution until his gradnation. After this he engaged in the active practice of his profession in Jefferson county, and on the 1st of May, 1851, was married to Miss Catherine McGruder. In 1855, Dr. Geo. T. Pendleton and family removed to Missouri, and located in Cooper county, where the doctor became one of the leading physicians and prominent citizens of the county. He had a family of eight children, Dr. T. O. Pendleton being his eldest son. The father died here on the 25th of January, 1883, in his fifty-ninth year, having been a resident of the county nearly thirty years. Dr. Geo. T. Pen- dleton was more than a successful physician and a useful citizen, he was a good man in the highest and best sense of the term. Naturally gifted with a superior mind, he had improved it by a wide range of reading, and was more than ordinarily well informed on all the leading subjects of general thought, so that among his neighbors and acquaintances he exercised a marked influence. In all matters when a counsellor was needed by those around him, he was invariably con- sulted ; and such was the respect with which his opinions were received, that his advice was generally followed. And the purity of his character and the tenor of his conduct were in keeping with the confidence and esteem with which he was regarded. During all the long years of his residence in this county, not a breath of wrong was ever breathed against his name, but on the contrary, he was only spoken of, as he still is, in terms of praise for some good act done, or some noble quality of his mind or heart. In the practice of his pro- fession he labored more for the amelioration of suffering humanity than for his own interests. Indeed, it seemed that he cared only for his patients and was regardless of his own health, for he often visited them when he himself should have had the care of a physician. Years of constant exposure in the practice finally broke down a constitution naturally vigorous and strong, and a life that might otherwise have lasted many years more, was cut off before the serene twilight of old age had settled about him. But in the measure of life he did fill, as much good and as little evil was crowded, as but seldom marks the career of men. He sank into his grave amid the sorrow and regret of a community that had long learned to love him as a friend and benefactor. And in the light of the venerated memory he left behind may be seen faint glimmerings of that higher and richer reward he has won beyond
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
the grave. But the labor of his life was not broken off by his death. He left a son, the highest pledge of faith in humanity that man can give, who is not unworthy to succeed him. Dr. T. O. Pendleton was born in Oldham county, Kentucky, January 26, 1853. He was reared in Cooper county, Missouri, and educated in the ordinary schools. At the age of twenty-one he began the study of medicine under his father, and after a due course of study in the Missouri medical college, graduated from that institution in 1876, with high honor. After this he was engaged in the practice at Pilot Grove, until the fall of 1881, when he returned to Schell City, this state. He remained there until the fall of 1882, when he located at Marshall, Saline county. By the death of his father he was called home and he accordingly located permanantly at Pilot Grove. On the 20th of July, 1877, he was married to Miss E. S. Cunningham, of St. Clair county. They have one child, Gertrude. Dr. Pendleton is a thorough physician and enjoys an excellent reputation as a practitioner. Personally he is highly and justly popular. Unquestionably, an honorable and useful life lies before him.
GEORGE W. ROE.
Mr. Roe's father, Samuel Roe, Sr., was the founder of the town of Pilot Grove, having been the owner of the present town site, and having laid it off into town lots, and secured the establishment of the depot at this point. Samuel Roe was a native of Maryland, where he was reared and lived for some time after his marriage. His wife was formerly a Miss Sarah Shaw, of that state. In 1827 they came to Missouri, and settled in Cooper county. Here he entered the land in which Pilot Grove is now situated, and opened his farm. He died May 25, 1878. He was a man of great energy and enterprise, and was for years a leading farmer of the county. He manifested great zeal and public spirit in the building up and prosperity of Pilot Grove, and before he died, he was rewarded by seeing the place he had founded, well started and secure on the way to future importance as a business centre. Geo. W., the subject of this sketch, was born here, September 30, 1834, and was the youngest of the family of seven children. Reared on the farm, while not engaged in farm duties in youth he attended the usual sessions of the neighborhood schools, and thus acquired a common practical education. Farming has been his life occupation. When Pilot Grove was founded he warmly seconded his father in the establishment and improvement of the place, and since the latter's death, he has taken up the work himself, of
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
making the place one of the best towns along the railroad. Geo. W. Roe has an excellent farm of his own, adjoining town, and has it well improved. May 1, 1856, he was married to Miss Ann N. Maddex, originally of Virginia. They have six children : David Lee, Wm. S., Daniel W., Sallie, Era May and Chas. P. They have lost one child, Thomas E. Mr. Roe is a member of the M. E. church south.
ALEXANDER ROE.
Mr. Roe is a son of Samuel Roe, the founder of the town of Pilot Grove, an outline of whose life is given in the sketch of G. W. Roe, in this volume. Their father, however, was twice married, a fact overlooked heretofore, and Alexander was a son by the father's first wife, formerly Miss Elizabeth Leith, of Maryland, who died prior to the emigration of the family from that state. Alexander Roe was born in Caroline county, Maryland, September 22, 1819, and was therefore a lad of eight years when his father settled in this county, in 1827. Reared on a farm, farming has been his life occupation and he owns an excellent homestead where he gives his attention to grain and stock raising. He received his education in the common schools of the county, and largely under the tutorage of his father, the latter having been a teacher of some note in those days, indeed the first school the son ever attended was taught by his father. At the age of twenty-five, Alexander was married to Miss Ann Walton, of this county. They have eight children : William, Alice, John, George, Martha, Kate, Alexander and Russell. Mr. Roe is an indus- trious intelligent farmer, and enjoys the respect and esteem of all who know him. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church south.
J. W. H. ROSS, M. D.,
physician and surgeon, Pilot Grove. For nearly twenty-five years Dr. Ross has been engaged in the practice of medicine in Saline, Pettis and Cooper counties, over fourteen years of which he has been located at Pilot Grove, his present home. Thoroughly educated in his profession and a physician of long and successful experience, he has a large and excellent practice, and enjoys the unlimited confidence of the public, not only in his chosen calling but as a citizen and a man. His grandfather, Dr. G. C. Harth, was one of the oldest physicians of central Missouri, and it was under the latter's direction and instruc- tion that Dr. Ross acquired his profession. He commenced reading under his grandfather in 1856, and continning his studies, attended the St. Louis medical college in 1858-59. After this he began the prac-
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
tice of medicine in Pettis county, but returned to St. Louis in 1860, and graduated from the medical college of that city in the spring of 1861. He then practised in Saline and Cooper counties, and in 1869 located at Pilot Grove, where he has since remained. Dr. Ross was a son of William C. Ross and wife, formerly Miss L. C. Harth, daughter of Dr. Harth, and was born in Boonville, April 3, 1838. His father was a native of Virginia, but came to this county early in life. He was drowned in the Missouri river, at Boonville, March 19, 1839. The doctor is a member of the old school Presbyterian church ; also of the Masonic order and of the I. O. O. F. January 17, 1860, he was married to Miss S. L. Francisco. They have six children : George, W. C., Charles H., Bessie, Johnnie and Linn.
MARSHALL RUST,
dealer in lumber and building materials. Mr. Rust has led an active life and his activity has been not without substantial results. He now owns and conducts a large lumber yard at Pilot Grove, and also has a branch yard at Bunceton, both of which have an extensive and profit- able trade. He is one of those enterprising men that cannot content themselves with plodding along through the world without at least making an effort to accomplishing something of a substantial character in life. He was born in the Old Dominion, October 8, 1851, and was a son of Dr. John B. and Julia A. (Burgess ) Rust, late of Warren county, that state. His father died when he was fifteen years old. He then came west and located in Hannibal, Missouri. From there he went to the Phoenix City on the lakes, but soon returned to his native state. In Virginia he became a prominent railroad contractor, and followed that in the senior commonwealth of the south until 1873, when he engaged in building a road in the District of Columbia. A year later he came west again and followed railroad contracting in Missouri and Texas until 1881, when he settled at Pilot Grove, and became a partner with Mr. Mcveigh in the lumber business. This he had followed, however, in St. Louis about a year in 1874. In 1882 he became sole proprietor of the lumbering inter- ests of his firm, which he has since conducted. Mr. R. is a mem- ber of the Masonic order.
R. H. SCHLOTZHAUER.
Among the prominent young farmers of Pilot Grove township, the name that heads this sketch must not be passed in silence. Mr. Scholtzhauer has a fine farm of about 500 acres of good land, all in cul-
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
tivation, and he is a leading raiser of fine, graded cattle and the best breeds of hogs. He is a native of the county, and was born January 29, 1853. His father, Henry Scholtzhauer, was a native of Germany, but came to this country early in life and became a wealthy citizen of this state. R. H., the subject of this sketch, was given a good educa- tion in the schools of Warrenton, Warren county, and afterwards devoted himself to the industries in which he is now engaged. He is an intelligent, progressive and modern-ideaed farmer, and his fu- ture holds out every promise of a successful and useful life. He was married August 28, 1872, to Miss Caroline Stewart, of Warren county. They have five children : Earl S., Peter S., Walter S., Brice H. and Fletcher C. Two are deceased : Leland and Hattie. Mr. Scholtzhauer is a member of the M. E. church.
WILLIAM SCHUSTER.
Mr. Schuster was only two years of age when his parents emi- grated from Germany to this country in 1853, and settled in .Cooper county. Hence, in all but nativity, he is an American, having been reared and educated in this county - his life-long home. He was born in South Germany, July 4, 1851, the seventy-fifth anniversary of the great republic of the new world. His parents, Frank and The- ressa (Cleten ) Schuster, were worthy and intelligent people, and after their settlement in Cooper county enjoyed the respect and good opinion of all who knew them. William grew up to the occupation of a farmer, which he has since followed and with excellent success. He now has a good farm of nearly 200 acres, and has it substantially and com- fortably improved. He makes somewhat of a specialty of raising fine horses and mules, and has representative animals necessary to this, of the finest breeds. On the 27th of July, 1876, Mr. Schuster was mar- ried to Miss Christine Felton, of this section of the state. They have a family of five children ; Frederick, Maggie, Annie, Frank and Mary. Mr. Schuster is a member of the Catholic church.
ALFRED M. SIMMONS,
farmer and stock raiser. Among the educated, progressive and well- to-do agriculturists of Pilot Grove township, Alfred M. Simmons should be specially mentioned. Reared on a farm and having received a more than ordinarily good education in youth at the Kemper family school, he brings to the business of farming and stock raising, on his handsome farm of 400 acres of cultivated land, not only the practical experience acquired by a farm bringing up, but also the knowledge of
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
the business that can only be had through education. From the time of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, under whose direction Cassiaus Bas- sus compiled his celebrated Geoponies, or treatise on agriculture, edu- cation, not less than experience, has been thought important to the successful prosecution of agricultural industries. Alfred M. Sim- mons was born in Boonville, February 11, 1845. His father, Alfred, was a native of Bullitt county, Kentucky, where he was reared and married to Elizabeth Simmons, of which union Alfred M. was born. The father and family came to Missouri in an early day aud located in Cooper county. Here he engaged in merchandising in Boonville for a number of years, but subsequently settled on a farm in the county, where the son was reared. Farming has been Alfred M's. life oceupation, in connection, in later years, with stock raising, in both of which he has been successful. He makes specialties of short- horn cattle and fine Cotswold sheep. During the war Mr. Simmons spent two years in Montana and Wyoming. He was married in November, 1865, to Miss Mattie V. Zeller, originally of Maryland. They have six children : Louisa A., Willie, Harvey, Gracie, John and Milton. Mr. Simmons is a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the Cumberland Presbyterian church.
THOMAS M. SMITH,
farmer. Although Mr. Smith is of Virginia parentage, and was born in West Virginia August 15, 1832, he was reared in Ohio and Indiana, and remained in the latter states and in Illinois until he was thirty years of age. His father, Rice M. Smith, and his mother, prior to her marriage Miss Ann R. Robertson, were both natives of the Old Dominion, and his father was a gallant soldier under the stars and stripes in the war of 1812. Thomas was the ninth of their family of ten children, and when he was but four years old his father died in West Virginia, the year after which his mother removed with her family to Ohio, where they lived for ten years. In 1857 they pushed on further west and settled in Indiana. There Thomas grew to man- hood, and having received a good ordinary education in the free schools of Ohio and Indiana, he engaged in clerking in a store, in which he was employed five years. After this he learned the earpenter's trade, and worked at that about five years, and then turned his attention to farming, which has been since his principal employment. In 1859 he crossed over into Illinois, and farmed in that state for three years, and at the expiration of this time, came to Cooper county, this state, Farming here three years, he then removed to Johnson county, but
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
returned in 1873, since which this has been his permanent home. He owns a good farm of 200 acres, which he has well improved. He also handles some stock. June 19, 1862, he was married to Miss Margaret E. Johnston, of this county. They have one child living, Martin A., and have lost three : Robert B., Thomas M. and Anna P. How truly they may say of death :
Insatiate archer! could not one suffice ?
Thy shaft flew thrice, and thrice our hopes were slain?
Mr. Smith is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
J. E. SMITH,
furniture dealer and undertaker ; also marshal and collector of Pilot Grove. Mr. Smith comes of one of the oldest families of Virginia, his forefathers having been inhabitants of the Old Dominion from its earl- iest colonial days. His grandfather was a gallant soldier in the war for independence, and followed the flag of the new-born nation until it waved in final triumph over the battlements of Yorktown. His father, John Smith, was a worthy citizen of the grand old common- wealth, and there married and reared his family. J. E. Smith, the subject of this sketch, was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, April 17, 1837, and grew up in his native county, where he received a good, practical education. Before he attained his majority, however, he came west and from 1855 to 1860 he followed farming in Illinois. The last named year he returned to Virginia, and the war breaking out shortly afterwards, he enlisted in the ranks of his native state in de- fence of her sovereignty and institutions, and gave four years of his young manhood to the service of the south. He was in nearly all of the principal battles, from Manassas to the final surrender. He held the office of forage master in Buckhaw's battalion. After the war he resumed farming in Virginia and also engaged in the saw milling busi- ness, which he followed until 1880, when he came to Missouri and located at Pilot Grove. Here he established himself in the undertak- ing and furniture business. He has held the office of marshal since the town was incorporated, and he made the first municipal assess- ment of the place. April 7, 1864, he was married to Miss Lucy A. Marshall, of Virginia. They have four children : Emma C., Luther E., Thomas S. and Sallie E. Mr. Smith is a member of the I. O. O. F., and Mrs. Smith is a member of the Baptist church.
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