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 54
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 54
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WILLIAM G. MIRICK
was born July 11, 1826, in Petersburg, Boone county, Kentucky, and was the son of John T. Mirick, born in Buffalo, New York, in 1800, and Elizabeth (Youell ) Mirick, a native of Boone county, Kentucky, born in 1808. The latter was a daughter of James and Lucy Youell. They were married August 10, 1825, and to them were born eleven children, six now living - Lucinda ( wife of Samuel Beall ), Sophia F. (widow of Volney Williams), John L. (who married Miss Mary W. Campbell), Price, Isabella ( wife of Thomas Callison ), and William G. John T. Mirick died in September, 1860, and his widow June 23, 1871. William G. Mirick was married May 1, 1850, to Miss Mary E. Conner, daughter of Paschal and Nellie Conner, of Florence, Boone county, Kentucky. By this union there were seven children - Adelaide C., born February 1, 1851, married Emil Miller, of Boon- ville, April 15, 1876 ; J. McConnell, born March 6, 1853, died Jan- mary, 31, 1855 ; William G., born July 20, 1854 ; Joe Cooper, born February 15, 1857 ; Charles W., born April 13, 1858, and now with two brothers and his father, in the iron and steel works of Pueblo ; Nellie, born June 17, 1861 ; and Frank G., born June 8, 1866. In 1849, Mr. Mirick removed to Alton, Illinois, but a year later returned to Kentucky, then, after his marriage, going again to Alton. In about a year and a half he came to Boone county, Missouri, and shortly afterwards removed to this county and township, purchasing eighty acres of land, on which he has since resided. He was a warm
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
friend of Colonel Joe Cooper, of Fort Cooper memory, and during the time of that hero wrote an interesting sketch of his life, which was published in the St. Louis Times, and copied by the Howard county Advertiser of February 19, 1874.
LARKIN L. MUNDAY,
farmer. Mr. Munday comes of revolutionary stock, on both his father's and mother's sides of the family. His paternal grandfather came to this country from England before the outbreak of the war for independence, and served through the entire struggle as a soldier in the Continental army. His maternal grandfather did like service for the then infant republic. Rollin* and Matilda Munday, his parents, were natives of Albemarle county, Virginia, where they married and lived until their deaths. His father, however, was married twice. His first wife having died in 1854, he was married some years after- wards to Miss Melissa Hall, of that county. Of the first marriage there are now living, three sons ; and of the second, three daughters and two sons, Rollin Munday was a successful farmer of his native county, and a large landed proprietor. He died April 20, 1879, at
the advanced age of eighty-one. Larkin L. Munday was born December 13, 1830, and was reared in his native county ( Albemarle county, Virginia ), where he lived until 1856, when he came to this state and settled in Boone county. After he grew np he followed overseeing in Virginia, but since he came to Missouri he has been engaged in farming, except while doing service in the Confederate army. In 1861, he cast his fortunes with the south, and followed the ill-starred flag of bars and stars, through four long years of danger and hardships, finally surrendering at Shreveport, Louisiana, at the close of the war. Returning then, he stopped a few months in Saline county, and then settled permanently in Howard, where he has since lived. On the 14th of January, 1869, he was married to Miss La- vinia Ainsworth, of this county. They have five children living - Horace, born March 17, 1871; Walter K., born March 25, 1874; Emma, born March 28, 1876; D. Pearl, born December 13, 1879 ; and Hardy, born December 12, 1881. Mr. Munday is a member of the I. O. O. F.
WILLIAM R. QUINLEY, DECEASED.
William R. Quinley, who for many years was a successful mer- chant of Boonsboro, in which business he was engaged at the time of his death April 10, 1883, was the second of a family of seven children born to Richmond and Margaret J. ( Jennings ) Quinly, of this county, but originally of Kentucky. Of these, four are now living - Sarah E., wife of M. N. Amick ; Henry T., married Nannie M. Carson, niece of Kit Carson ; James A., married Mollie Wilker- son ; and John F., married Dora Carson. William R. Quinly, de-
* Evidently named for Rollin the historian.
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
ceased, was born in Howard county, Missouri, January 16, 1840, and was reared on his father's farm, receiving an ordinary education in the common schools in youth. He followed farming after he grew up and until 1870, when he sold his farm and engaged in merchan- dising in Boonsboro, which he followed until the time of his death. June 1, 1864, he was married to Miss Mary C., daughter of Samuel and Hettie Pulliam, of this county, Nine children were born to them, of whom eight are now living - Lillie B., born February 22, 1865 ; Samuel R., born June 7, 1866 ; Robert T., born January 26, 1868 ; James W., born March 19, 1870; Wayman F., born May 28, 1872, died March 27, 1873; Olena R. and Galena H., twins, born July 2, 1875 ; Clasidie B., born May 31, 1877 ; and Elsie F., born April 27, 1880. Mr. Quinley, the father, was for many years before his death, an earnest and exemplary member of the Christian church, and he died, as he had lived, true to the faith that teaches -
There is no Death! What seems so is transition; This life of mortal breath Is but a suburb of the life elysian, Whose portal we call Death.
REV. WILLIAM H. ROBERTSON.
Rev. Robertson was ordained a minister August 24, 1879, at Rose Hill, in Howard county, since which he has led an active and useful life in his sacred calling. Not only to the pulpit but to Sabbath schools, to temperance work, and to every duty that an earn- est and faithful minister should perform, he devotes himself with great zeal and energy. He was one of a family of nine children, seven of whom are still living, born to Solomon and Eliza (Nelson ) Robertson, the father a native of Indiana, and the mother of Ken- tucky. Both parents reside in this county, with whom Rev. William Robertson now lives. He was born in Paris, Kentucky, February 19, 1838, and there learned the blacksmith trade, which he made his permanent occupation. But like Bunyan, feeling that he was called upon to devote himself to the ministry, he studied the Scriptures with great earnestness, and qualified himself for the work he had to do. Besides his church work he also has a neat farm, substantially im- proved, which he manages with success, and on which his parents now live. He has been twice married. His first wife, formerly Miss Nan- nie E. Allen, of Clark county, Kentucky, died March 18, 1860. August 27, 1863, he was married to Miss Sarah H., sister to his for- mer wife. Of this union there are two children: Willie A. and Charlie L. His last wife died February 26, 1874.
DAVID T. ROBERTSON,
farmer. Mr. Robertson is a native of Bourbon county, Kentucky, born December 16, 1844, whence he removed to this state. He started out in life without a dollar, and, by industry and economy,
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
has saved up enough from his hard earnings, besides making a good, comfortable living for himself and family, to buy an excellent tract of land, which he is now improving in a substantial manner. He was married to Miss Anna Quick, of Cooper county, Missouri, April 2, 1876, but she died October 13, 1879, leaving one child, Ula B. About two years afterwards, August 25, 1881, he was married a sec- ond time, Miss Ruhanah Shipp, of this county, then becoming his wife. They have one daughter, Iola. Mr. R. is a democrat, and his wife is a member of the Christian church.
JAMES M. REYNOLDS,
farmer. Mr. Reynolds was one of a family of eighteen children, nine sons and nine daughters, born to William and Nancy ( Bennett ) Rey- nolds, originally of Patrick county, Virginia; but only seven chil- dren now survive, three sons and four danghters. In 1816 the parents ( the same year they were married ) came from Virginia and settled in Chariton county, this state, remaining there a few years, and then locating in Howard county. Stopping, however, in this county only a short time, they went from here to Johnson county, where they purchased 1,600 acres of land, and made that their per- manent home, or at least until the death of the father, which occurred in 1860. Mrs. Reynolds survived her husband twenty-three years, dying in 1883, having remained a widow from 1860 until her death. James Reynolds grew up on his father's farm, and has followed farm- ing as his regular occupation. He now owns a good farm in Chariton township, and has it substantially and comfortably improved. He re- moved to this county from Johnson in 1849, and since that time has con- tinued to reside here. He was married December 1, 1846, to Miss Emeline Crowley, of this county. They have four children living : William, born February 15, 1849 ; Daniel, born December 24, 1851; Charles W., born December 18, 1857, and Green, born June 11, 1859. Mr. R. is a member of the P. of H., and a strong advocate of the politico-economic philosophy of the greenback party.
EDWARD C. SHARP, M. D.
A physician of a high order of attainments, professional and other- wise, who, although still a young man, has shown himself to be a thoroughly skilful and successful practitioner by his experience in this county and elsewhere, is Dr. Sharp, whose name heads this sketch. He was born in Lafayette, Indiana, November 27, 1855, and in early youth had the advantages offered by the excellent public schools of that city. In 1872, having mastered the curriculum of studies taught in the public schools, he entered the national normal school of Lebanon, Ohio, in which he remained as a student for two years. He then directed his attention to medicine, and studied that science under the preceptorage of Dr. Washburn, an old and eminent physician of Lafayette, several years, and in 1878 began a regular
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
course in the Medical College of Louisville, Kentucky, from which he graduated two years afterwards. He then returned to Lafayette and commenced the practice of his profession in association with his old preceptor, and soon established himself among the people and in the estimation of the profession as a physician of superior ability. But, in obedience to the law that gave the new world to civilization, and that is now peopling its vast domains in the west with the best energy of the age-the law of enterprise, he came further west to seek his fortune, after having practised in Lafayette two years, and finally settled permanently in Lisbon, this county, where his merits as a physician, and his worth as a citizen, are rapidly becoming known ; and his life promises a future of great usefulness to those among whom he lives. He was married in Dayton, Ohio, December 25, 1874, to Miss Mary Burton, who was taken from him by death, February 13, 1878. After the lapse of about four years he was married May 18, 1882, to Miss Ada, daughter of James and Mattie Ware, of Pleasant Green, Cooper county, this state. By his first marriage there are two sons : Charles and Burton. Both the doctor and his wife are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. His father, N. Sharp, and his mother, who prior to her marriage was Miss Mary A. Perrin, were both natives of Lynchburg, Va.
CALEB THOMAS,
farmer. When Caleb Thomas was nine years of age death deprived him of his father, and two years afterwards his mother also died, thus leaving him an orphan in the world, and practically without a penny. But without the influence of tender parents to advise and encourage him and to bring him up in the way of uprightness and industry, he has manfully made his own way in the world, and is now one of the successful farmers of Howard county and a citizen and neighbor re- spected by all who know him. By his own honest toil, and by saving what his labor made him, he first bought a tract of 120 acres of land, and since then has kept adding to it, until now he has a fine farm of 354 acres, well improved, with good houses, barns, fences, pastures, etc., and has his place well stocked. How few sons with wealthy parents to help them along do as well as he has ! He was born in Pulaski county, Kentucky, January 12, 1843, and his father, Lorenzo D., was a native of the same state, and was a blacksmith and wagon- maker by occupation. His mother, originally Miss Rebecca Bobbitt, was born December 27, 1822, and was married to Lorenzo D. March 25, 1841. Three children are now living of this union - Caleb, born as stated above ; Sarah, wife of Thos. J. Gallimore, residing in Ar- kansas, and Griffith, married to Miss Sallie K. Tuggle, of this county. The family first immigrated into Ohio, where the father died in 1852. They then shortly came to Howard county, and here Mrs. Thomas was married to Fielding Shipp, but she died in 1854. November 19, 1866, Mr. Thomas was married to Miss Mary E. Yelton, of this county. Of this union five children are now living - Mattie L., born
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND' COOPER COUNTIES.
February 28, 1868 ; William M., born August 14, 1870 ; Rebecca M., born November 29, 1872; Alice H., born February 5, 1879, and James W., born March 27, 1883. Both parents are members of the Christian church.
HIRAM WILKERSON,
farmer, stock raiser and miller. If the men who are prominent in the development of the material resources of a country ; who are large producers of what others live on, from which all prosperity springs ; if such men are entitled to be called the leading men of their respective communities, then Hiram Wilkerson is one of the leading men of Boone's Lick township and of Howard county, for he is a large grain producer and stock raiser ; and besides, is a prominent miller of the county. And these important interests are all his by the produc- tion of his own exertions, by his own honest toil. Such men build up a country, are of value to the community in which they live. He is a native of the township where he now resides, and was born on the 15th of September, 1830. He was a son of William Wilkerson and wife, originally Miss Polly Krutz, residents of this county. He was reared on a farm, and followed that occupation on his own account to some extent before reaching his majority, and at the age of twenty- two was in a sitnation to purchase himself a tract of land. By indus- try, economy and good management he has continued adding to his possessions, until now he has nearly 600 acres of splendid land, and his homestead, containing 399 aeres, is one of the choice farms of the county, and he is one of the business-like, prosperous, money-making farmers of the county. He also has two saw mills, and his flouring mill is said to be one of the best in the surrounding section of country. Ou the 15th of September, 1852, he was married to Miss Millie Tug- gle, of this county, and from this union there are eight children living, as follows : Henry L., born March 30, 1854 ; Patrick H., born July 15, 1855 ; Robert T., born September 6, 1857, now a resident of the state of Nevada, where he married Miss Lotta Beasley ; Lawrence, born April 16, 1860; Mollie, born August 17, 1862 ; William C., born January 23, 1864 ; Charles, born May 24, 1865, and Ledrew, born September 20, 1869. Mrs. Wilkerson died January 3, 1875. About three years afterwards Mr. Wilkerson was married again. His pres- ent wife, before her marriage to Mr. W., was Mrs. Mary Evans, of Cooper county, Missouri. Mr. Wilkerson and his present wife are both members of the Christian church, and he is a member of the I. O. O. F.
LINSEY W. WILKERSON,
farmer and carpenter. Mr. Wilkerson emigrated from Albemarle coun- ty, Virginia, and settled in this county, where he has since lived and followed farming and carpentery. He was born September 22, 1825, and was one of a family of nine children. His father, Wm. P. Wil- kerson, and his mother, whose maiden name was Nancy Sandridge,
36
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
were both natives of Albemarle county, and were there married in 1824. His first wife dying, Wm. P. Wilkerson was married a second time, but his second wife lived only a short time. He was again married in 1879, and they now live in their native county in Virginia. Before coming to Missouri, Linsey W. was married December 24, 1846, to Miss Eliza Thomas, and eleven children have been born to them, but six of whom, however, are now living - Nancy E., born June 19, 1856, wife of Edward Jones ; Mary E., born March 21, 1858, wife of Anderson Quinley ; James Everett, born July 31, 1864 ; Sallie A., born May 25, 1867, and Linsey H., born October 26, 1870. Mr. Wilkerson and wife are both members of the Christian church at Boonsboro.
J. T. WOOD, M. D.
Dr. Wood, a thoroughly educated and successful physician of Howard county, was born in Mason county, Kentucky, January 31, 1846. When a youth twelve years of age, the family having removed to Boone county, Missouri, he entered Walnut grove academy, in that county, in which he remained as a student for six years. He then began the study of medicine under Dr. A. P. Spence, of Rocheport, and in 1868 went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he became a student in the medical college of that city. After the close of the college term in Louisville, he continued his studies under Dr. Taliaferro Buckner, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1869 entered the college of medicine and surgery of Cincinnati, from which he graduated with honor with the class of 1870. Immediately after his graduation he came to Lisbon, Howard county, and engaged actively in the practice of his profession, where he remained six years and built up an exten- sive and Incrative practice. He then changed his location to Boons- boro, to which his reputation as an able and successful physician had preceded him, and the result is that he occupies a front position in his profession in this section of the county. In December, 1878, he and Dr. Moore formed a copartnership in the practice in Boonsboro, and the firm commands a large practice. Dr. Wood was married to Miss Ellen, daughter of D. P. Taylor, of this county, formerly of Vir- ginia. Of this union there are three children living. The doctor is a member of Arrow Rock Lodge, No. 55, A. F. and A. M., and also of the A. O. U. W. at Boonsboro. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church. His father, John T. Wood, was a native of Ohio, but his mother, formerly Miss Rachel Webb, was originally of Mason county, Kentucky, and the doctor is one of three children now living reared by them - two sons and one daughter.
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
MONITEAU TOWNSHIP.
COLEMAN BROWN,
farmer, section 5. Coleman Brown was the second of a family of eight children born to Jonathan and Sarah ( Sutton ) Brown, of Saline (formerly Gallatin ) county, Illinois. Both parents were originally of Kentucky, but early in life settled in Illinois, where their family of children were born and principally reared. The father died in 1858, the mother in 1881. But four of their children are now living : Cole- man, of this county ; two brothers, one in Ralls county and one in California, and a sister in Moniteau county. Coleman Brown was born in Saline county, Illinois, May 30, 1824, and came to Howard county in 1847, where he has since lived. He was married February 18, 1856, to Miss Martha H. Cheshire, a native of this county, born in 1834. Her parents, David and Catherine ( Murphy ) Cheshire, came to this county from Kentucky in 1836, but two years afterwards went to Morgan county, where they lived until 1880, when they returned to Howard, since which they have made this their home. On attain- ing manhood, Coleman Brown adopted farming - to which he had been brought up - as his permanent occupation, and has since fol- lowed it with satisfactory success. He has a good farm, substantially and comfortably improved, and, besides growing considerable quanti- ties of grain, raises some live stock for the markets. September 20, 1874, his wife died, having been the mother of nine children, eight of whom are living, Jesse R., John C., George N., Orr S., Catherine, Mandie, Livina and Elizabeth Pitcher, of Barton county. Mr. B. has been a member of the Christian church for twenty-five years, and has never had a law-suit in his life.
JOSEPH M. CORNELIUS,
farmer and plasterer, section 25. Jesse Cornelius, the grandfather of Joseph, was one of the very first settlers of this county, and in the pioneer days of the country opened a farm near where the subject of this sketch now lives. Here John Cornelius, the father of Joseph, grew up and was married to Miss Jane Means, formerly of Kentucky. Of their family of children Joseph was born March 17, 1836. His mother died in 1865 and his father some ten or twelve years before. At the age of twenty-four Joseph was married May 10, 1860, to Miss Amanda, daughter of George and Mary Adams, and of this union four children have been born ; Effie, the eldest, died when five years old ; Josephine and Ellie both at home, and the fourth child died in infancy. Mr. Cornelius is a plasterer by trade, and has an excellent reputation as an industrious, efficient artisan in that calling. He is a conscien- tious, earnest member of the M. E. church sonth.
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
ZACHARIAH CREWS,
farmer, section 16. Mr. Crews, although reared on a farm, clerked for some time, while a young man, in a store at Rocheport, Boone county. But in 1864 he was married, and a short time afterwards re- turned to farming, which he has since followed with excellent success. His parents, Milton and Rhoda (Fox) Crews, were natives of Ken- tucky, and in Madison county of that state Zachariah was born, March 16, 1841. When he was a year old his parents removed to Howard county, but three years afterwards went back to Kentucky, where the son grew up to his fourteenth year. He then returned to this vicinity, where he grew to manhood and received the principal part of his education. Having followed-mercantile clerking for some time, February 4, 1864, he was married to Miss Matilda A., daughter of James Means. After this he turned his attention to farming, and now has a fine place of over 300 acres, well improved, and in excellent condition. He is a prominent grain producer, particularly of wheat and corn, the former of which he grows annually about 200 acres. They have three children - Willie, Auna and Zach.
GEORGE W. DRAKE, SR.,
farmer, section 19. When George W. was ten years of age, in 1833, his parents came from Kentucky to Howard county, this state, and settled in Moniteau township, on the nplands, but four years after- wards they moved down on the river and followed farming in the more fertile lauds of the bottoms. There the son grew to manhood, and when he was twenty-one years of age he was married, December 5, 1844, to Miss Nancy J., daughter of John F. Jordan. Ten years afterwards, however, she died, aged thirty-one years to a day. She left one child - Jesse H. - that died the following year. July 5, 1855, he was married a second time, Miss Susan S., daughter of Enoch Crews, of this county, then becoming his wife. April 29, 1865, she was also taken from him by death. Five children were born of this imion, four of whom are living - Charles E., born April 9, 1856; Ebemelech S., born March 4, 1858 ; Joseph T., born November 13, 1860 ; and Sarah E., born December 9, 1862. George W., Jr., died, aged one year. February 5, 1867, Mr. Drake was married to Miss Martha C., daughter of Samuel Pearson, of Moniteau township. She was born February 14, 1836, and of their union three children are now living - Louisiana, born March 9, 1872; Laura E., born May 10, 1874 ; and Edna P., born September 26, 1876. Mr. Drake has made farming his occupation through life thus far, and now has 425 acres of fine land. His homestead includes over 200 acres, and is comfortably and substantially improved. He and his wife are both church members. He has been a member of the M. E. church south for over forty years. His father, Charles Drake, was a native of Virginia, and his mother, whose maiden name was Mary Swearingen, was originally from Maryland. However, they settled in Kentucky
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.
early in life, where their family was partly reared, before they came to Missouri. George W., our subject, was born in Bullitt county, of that state, where they resided, October 8, 1823.
GEORGE W. DRAKE, JR.,
farmer, section 14. George W. Drake, Jr., commenced life for him- self without a single advantage that nature did not give him ; brawn and brain, vigor and honesty, were all he had. Education, except very limited, such as he had been able to pick up in early youth, means to begin with, nor the prestige of an influential family he did not have. Starting out in the world alone, at the age of eighteen (when he came to this county ), he worked three years as a journey- man at the blacksmith trade, and was then able to get a small tract of land (a part of his present farm of 550 acres), on which he went to work with an energy and intelligence that has brought him more than an ordinary measure of success. He has long been comfortably fixed in life, has reared a worthy family, and has maintained a name above reproach. To such an ancestor, his descendants of the future will well be proud to trace their origin. He was born in Marion county, this state, March 14, 1836. Death robbed him of both parents in 1852, one following the other across the silent river the succeeding day.
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