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 85

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 85
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 85

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).

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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.

stock, grain, lands, town lots, options, or anything that promises money without work, forgetful that the country is not a dime the richer for the traffic. Nothing surprises the eastern visitor as much as the want of appreciation for their country, expressed by so many of the old and substantial farmers of this region. They get the Texas, Kansas or Colorado fever, and talk about selling beautiful farms in this fair and fertile country for the chances of fortune in one of these regions of the immigrant's Utopia, as if they were unconscious of liv- ing in one of the most favored lands upon the green earth. A six weeks' tour of some of the older and less favored states, followed by a trip of critical observation into some of the newer ones, might give these uneasy and unsettled men a spirit of happy content with their present homes and surroundings.

Cooper county has productive capacity great enough to feed a fourth of the population of Missouri, but before its wonderful native resources are developed to the maximum, it must have twenty thou- sand more men to aid in the work. Men for the thorough cultivation of forty, eighty and one hundred and twenty acre farms; for the modern butter and cheese dairy ; skilled fruit growers to plant or- chards and vineyards and wine presses ; hundreds of sterling young men from the northern states, the Canadas and Europe, to solve the farm labor problem in a country where reliable labor is scarce and wages high, and skilled artisans to found a hundred new mechanical indus- tries. All these are wanted, nor can they come a day too soon for cordial greeting from the good people of Cooper county, or the precious realization of a great destiny for one of the most inviting regions on the green earth.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

BOONVILLE TOWNSHIP.

GEORGE W. ADAMS,

farmer. One of the most substantial and successful farmers of Cooper county is Mr. George W. Adams. His grandfather, John Adams, was a native of Virginia, but settled in Kentucky in the latter part of the last century. There he lived a number of years and reared his family ; and there his son, William M., the father of George Adams, was born in Garrard county in December, 1795. Iu 1816 the family, including William M., then a young man nearly twenty-one years of age, came to Missouri and settled in Howard county, on the opposite side of the Missouri river from where George Adams now lives. In youth, William Adams acquired an excellent education, and was afterwards noted among his neighbors as a man of superior men- tal culture. In 1826 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Palmetory, originally of Kentucky, and the same year he and his wife settled on the place in Cooper, where their son, George, still resides, and where they both lived until their death ; he September 28, 1872, and she September 14, 1878. They had five children, George being the youngest. He was born December 21, 1837, and grew up on the family homestead. He attended the ordinary schools, but his father also took a deep interest in his education, and gave him constant pri- vate instruction. When about twenty years old he commenced teach- ing school himself, which he kept up during the winter season for nearly twenty years, or until 1879. Although giving a part of every year to school teaching, he is an active and successful farmer, and has made a regular business of dealing in stock. His farm numbers 400 acres of good land. He was married March 28, 1864, to Miss Emma Erwin. They have three children - Charles, Emma and Henry.

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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.

WILLIAM D. ADAMS,

farmer, section 33. Among the substantial and successful farm- ers of Cooper county, the gentleman whose name heads this sketch is worthy of special mention. He was born in Mercer county, Ken- tucky, April 12, 1818. His father, Thomas Adams, was a native of Virginia, born March 25, 1780, and was a son of Samuel Adams, of the same state. Thomas, the father of William D., came out to Kentucky when a young man, and was soon afterwards married to Miss Margaret J. Dickson, a young lady of that state, but of Scotch descent. She was about eight years his junior, being born April 4, 1788. Of this union thirteen children were born, of whom William D. was the sixth. While he was still in his infancy, in 1818, his pa- rents immigrated to this state and settled in Cooper county, on a part of the present homestead of the subject of this sketch. For sixty-five years, from its first settlement until the present time, this place has been the property respectively of father and son. Here both parents lived until their deaths ; the father August 8, 1862, and the mother seventeen years afterwards, January 9, 1879. In youth William D. had the advantages afforded by the ordinary neighborhood schools, and also attended Bonne Femme school, near Columbia, in that early day one of the best reputed colleges throughout the surrounding country. Returning from college, he resumed farm pursuits, and on the 17th day of November, 1863, was married to Miss Mary P., daughter of Dr. H. A. Thompson, of this county. Three children are living to bless their married life ; Arthur, born August 3, 1867; Wil- liam, born November 24, 1873, and Mariah H., born December 30, 1877. Mr. Adams is a member of the Presbyterian church. His farm contains nearly 400 acres, and is well improved as respects both buildings and fences, as well as arable land. On this his whole life thus far has been spent, except an absence of about four years, between 1853 and 1857, during which he was in California.

THOMAS A. BEAR,

farmer, section 8. Henry Bear, the father of Thomas A. Bear, was a native of Rockingham county, Virginia, born in 1798, but removed to Kentucky early in life, and from that state came to Missouri in 1836. Here he settled on a farm, about eight miles south of Boonville, in Cooper county, where he followed farming and blacksmithing ; being a super- ior mechanic, he also manufactured the old-time McCormick reaper to some extent, up to about 1848. In 1849 he was attracted to Califor- nia by the gold excitement, but lived only a year after reaching the

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Pacific coast, dying in the land beyond the Cordilleras in 1850. He left a widow, formerly a Miss Jane Kennerly, also a native of Vir- ginia, and nine children, Thomas A. being the first child. Thomas A. was but eleven years old at the time of his father's death, having been born in this county, on the 23d of March, 1839. Brought up on a farm, he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, and has since given his whole attention to farming. January 11th, 1870, he was married to Miss Josephine Burrus, of this county. They settled on their present farm in 1871. They have a neat place of over a quarter of section of land, and have it comfortably and substantially improved. Mr. Bear has never sought an office, and has held none, except that of school director. Their family of children are Callie E., Ada L., Harry A., and Freddie C.

CHARLES C. AND JOHN W. BELL,

of Bell Brothers, wholesale fruit and produce dealers. Prominent among those who have contributed largely, by their enterprise and energy, to the growth and prosperity of Boonville as a busi- ness centre are the Bell Brothers, the subjects of the present sketch. They are of German parentage, and were born, Charles C., in Nassau, Germany, August 30, 1848, and John W. in Boonville, Missouri, November 29, 1856. They are the youngest of five living children, of a family originally of eleven, of John A. and Catherine S. (Gross) Bell, who immigrated from Nassau to Boonville in 1848. The parents belonged to prominent families in the dukedom of Nas- san, and both had received advanced educations. The father, John A., took a thorough classical course, and subsequently held high positions in the public service. He was quite wealthy when the revo- lution of 1848 broke out, but the events of that struggle wrecked his fortune and practically drove him from the country. He sympathized strongly with the revolutionists, and became so identified with them, that the only extraction from the difficulties of his situation was in immigration to America. He therefore disposed of his property as best he could, but at a great sacrifice, and brought his family to America. They were shipwrecked on the way, entailing additional losses and hardships, and were over four months in making the journey. But he was not a man to break down under misfortunes. Arrived at Boonville, he at once went on a farm, and went to work with the courage and energy of a man just starting out in life. He soon became a prosperous farmer, and was as highly esteemed for his sterling worth and the superior culture of his mind as any man in the com-

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munity. He died here December 11th, 1865. The motto of his life was: "Do right, and fear not," and this, which his whole career faithfully illustrated, was placed, at his request, upon his monument, now marking his last resting place in Walnut Grove cemetery. His wife survived him but three years, dying August 1st, 1868. He was born February 2d, 1803, and she, January 19th, 1810. The sons, Charles C., and John W., were educated in the local schools of this county. After growing up both attended commercial college, from which they were duly graduated - Charles C. in 1868 ; John W. from Bryant & Stratton's Commercial Institute, of St. Louis, several years ago. In 1868 Charles C. began the fruit business in Boonville, be- coming the pioneer dealer of the place in this line. Cooper county being one of the largest fruit producing counties of the state, he had the business acumen to see that it offered superior advantages as a packing and shipping centre. This proved not only profitable to himself, but of the highest value to the fruit interests of the county. He has since continued to follow it, with the exception of a period of three years, during which he was engaged as a commercial traveller. In 1877 John W. beeame interested as a partner with him in the fruit business, and they have since conducted it together. It has increased in volume and importance far beyond their expectations. They not only ship large quantities of fruit to different parts of the country, but also make heavy consignments direct to Europe. Of apples, alone, (dried and green) they ship annually over 20,000 barrels. Besides fruit, they also deal largely in produce and grain, particularly potatoes in the produce line. In point of means they rank among the substantial business men of the community. Charles C. has lately erected a handsome brick residence on one of the choice sites of Boon- ville, a building that is highly creditable to the city. He is a member of the eity council, and takes an active interest in all matters of pub- lic concern. It is to his enterprise and public spirit that is due the formation and incorporation of the Walnut Grove Cemetery associa- tion, and the consequent improvement of that silent city of the dead. Charles C. served for eleven months in the Union army during the war.

JOHN BERNARD,

manufacturer of cigars and dealer in tobacco. One of the successful and enterprising citizens of Boonville, who have risen in the world by their own exertions and personal worth, is Mr. Bernard, the subject of the present sketch. He is a native of France, and was born in Lorraine (now a part of Germany), in November, 1819. When a

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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.

lad ten years of age he was brought to this country by his parents, who emigrated to America in 1829. Landing at New York they re- mained there until the following spring, when they came west to Can- ton, Ohio. From Canton they afterwards removed to Bolivar, in the same state, and lived there until 1838, when they came to St. Louis. John Bernard, the eldest of the family of six children, attended the common schools of Ohio, but early went to work to earn something toward his own support and that of the family. For some time he drove horses on the Cleveland canal, prior to the time that General Garfield was employed in the same class of work. Subsequently he learned the cigar maker's trade under his father, who was a master of that trade, and he has followed this with but little interruption from then until now. He worked at his trade in St. Louis from 1838 (when he began to learn it) up to 1844, at the expiration of which time he went to Kansas City and was there until December of the fol- lowing year. From Kansas City he returned to St. Louis by horse- hack, making the trip in thirteen days, and remained in the Mound City, his old home, following his trade until he came to the city of Boonville. He established his present business in this place in the year 1851, and has since conducted it with the most grati- fying success. He has long occupied a well earned standing among the leading cigar manufacturers and tobacco dealers of central Mis- souri. He is the original manufacturer of the celebrated Dexter cigar, a brand known for its excellence and popularity from Maine to Cali- fornia, and from the lakes to the gulf. Mr. Bernard's success in life has not been nnattended by substantial evidences of prosperity. By industry and good management he has accumulated a comfortable competence to rely upon, when it becomes necessary for him to give himself over to the rest and ease of old age. He has held various offices in the public service. He was a member of the school board of Boonville for nineteen years, from 1863 to 1882. For many years he held the office of justice of the peace, and served from time to time as member of the city council for the last twenty years or more. In 1862 he was a member of the militia for a short time. June 11, 1848, Mr. Bernard was married to Mrs. Mary Schneider, a widow lady, and a Hanoverian by birth. They have five children - Kate, Louis, Susan, Mary and John, Jr.

FREDERICK J. BOLLER

was born April 10, 1844, in Nassan city, Germany, his father being John Henry Boller, born January 11, 1802, in Hachenburg, duke-

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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.

dom of Nassau, Germany, who, on April 25, 1830, married Miss Johanette E. L. Lanio, born May 11, 1806, in Nassau city. They had nine children : Elizabeth W., born February 18, 1831 ( wife of Philip Gross ) ; Charles William, born December 28, 1832, and mar- ried to Miss Paulina Gritzmacher ; Wilhelmina C., born January 7, 1835 (wife of Frederick C. Wenig ; she died March 24, 1882, leav- ing one child, Mary, three children being deceased ) ; Henry C., born May 12, 1837 ; William A., born September 8, 1839 ; Johanette E., born January 23, 1842 (married Peter Klein ), died March 29, 1874 ; Augustus W., born November 20, 1846; Lanra P., born April 10, 1850 (wife of Chas. Fiedler) ; and Frederick J., the subject of this sketch, and the seventh in the family. He married Miss Doratha W. Wehlmina of Cooper county, Missouri, March 18, 1873, and to them have been born five children : August H., born November 29, 1874 ; William, born December 28, 1876, died January 6, 1877; Sophie L., born April 10, 1878 ; Laura L., born September 8, 1880 ; and Johanette C., born March 23, 1883. John H. Boller, the father of Frederick J., came from Germany in 1848, settling at Boonville, Missouri, and subsequently purchased a farm about three miles west of the city, on which he remained until his death, July 15, 1864. He was a Union man, and while on his way home from Boonville, seated in his carriage, was shot and instantly killed, four bullets piercing his body. He was among the first men to introduce the grape culture in this county. His second wife died October 28, 1875. By his first marriage he had three children ; the oldest died in infancy in Germany, Henrietta married Peter Rems, of Belleville, Illinois, and they were both burned to death in their home at that place, July 16, 1875 ; Gotfried C., born July 11, 1828, married Miss Matilda Katz, of Cooper county, and was killed by bushwhackers, having been taken from his home, stripped and brutally murdered - beaten to death, after having received two shots in his temple. F. J. Boller has a fine farm of 160 acres on section 32. He raises grapes and fruit quite extensively, producing about 1,500 gallons of wine annu- ally. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran church.

HON. HARVEY BUNCE,

vice-president of the Central National bank. Mr. Bunce, who has long been one of the leading men of Cooper county, and one of its most influential and nseful citizens, when a boy sixteen years of age, was apprenticed to the ship carpenter's trade, under a firm in New York city, and worked faithfully under them for four years. From

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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.

that time to this his life has been one of unceasing industry, gradual- ly advancing him in the world, until now he occupies a position in business affairs and in the estimation of the public that but few of the youths of his own age, favored by every opportunity that wealth and the best educational advantages could afford, have attained. His life is another striking illustration of the old adage that " success is in the man, not his opportunities." He was born in Queen's county, New York, October 28, 1816. His parents, Harvey and Keziah Jarvis, were both natives of that state, and Harvey, Jr., was the elder of the only two children they reared. In the early years of his youth, Har_ vey Bunce, the son, attended the usual sessions of the common schools, when not otherwise employed, and by studying as faithfully as he worked, acquired the rudiments of a good ordinary education. After learning the ship builder's trade, under Messrs. Bayless & Co., in New York city, believing there were better opportunities in the west for men of industry and enterprise, he came to Missouri in 1837. Here he followed bridge building and carpentering for ten years, and became widely known, not only as a superior mechanic, but as an ex- cellent citizen and a man of good business qualifications. In 1847 he engaged in farming, and one year afterwards was elected county as- sessor, and was chosen at the next election sheriff of the county, which position he held by regular re-elections until 1861, when he re- signed the office. In 1862 he was appointed public administrator, and afterwards held that office for twelve years. However, for the years 1862-63 he represented the county in the legislature, and in 1864 was a member of the state constitutional convention, that framed the so-called Drake constitution. In business affairs his success was equally marked. He soon became one of the farmers of the county and a leading bank stockholder. In 1866 he was made a director of the Central National bank of Boonville, and served in that capacity for fifteen years, and in 1881 was elected vice-president of the bank. His landed, bank and other property interests rank among the most important in the county. On the 23d of March, 1840, he was mar- ried to Miss Mary A., daughter of Major William Moore, an early pioneer and prominent citizen of this county. They have four chil- dren - Edward B., Cordelia E., William M. and Mary.

E. B. BUNCE,

county clerk of Cooper county. Mr. Bunce, son of Hon. Harvey Bunce, was born and reared in Cooper county, and except a four years' residence in California, he has made this his permanent home.

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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.

He was born April 11, 1844, and was educated in the schools of Boon- ville. In 1862, then a young man eighteen years of age, he went to the Pacific coast, and was engaged as a salesman in a wholesale house in San Francisco most of the time for four years. He then returned to Cooper county, and in 1867 commenced merchandising in Pales- tine, continning business there until the fall of 1868, when he located in Bunceton, where he sold goods until 1873. From merchandising he turned his attention to farming, following that occupation with marked success until his election, in 1882, to the office of county clerk, the position he now holds. Mr. Bunce is a man of good edu- cation, thorough business qualifications and strict integrity, and, added to these, he is of an obliging disposition, gentlemanly and courteous to the last degree in manners, and possesses every element of a pop- ular and useful public official. He will doubtless continue to hold a high position in the estimation of the community where he lives and of all who know him. In the month of November, 1867, he was married to Miss Maggie O., daughter of James H. O'Brien, of Boon- ville. They have five children - Jennie, Emma J., Harvey, Nannic G. and Charles.

JOSEPH BYLER,

farmer, section 18. Mr. Byler, although not a large farmer, is a very successful one, and handles his place of 204 acres to as good advan- tage as many do theirs whose farms are far larger than his. He has it well improved, and cultivates it according to the most approved methods, so as to get the greatest yield from the amount of land planted. He is a native of this county, but his father, Joseph, Sr., now deceased, was a Pennsylvanian by birth, and came here as early as 1818, having married before leaving his native state. He settled on a farm about two and a half miles south of Rankin's mill, where he resided until his death, in 1857. Joseph, Jr., was the seventh of the family of nine children, and was reared on the homestead near Rankin's mill. He was born there, May 7, 1826, and remained at home until 1849, when he went to California to seek his fortune in the mines of the Pacific coast. He returned in 1851 and engaged in farm- ing, and in 1857 was married, June 17, to Miss Henrietta Crawford. Two years after his marriage he settled on his present farm, where he has since lived. Mr. and Mrs. Byler have but one child - a son - Harry L. One son - Graham -is deceased. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church.

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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND COOPER COUNTIES.

JUDGE JAMES MADISON CAMPBELL,

associate judge of the county court. Judge Campbell, who now occu- pies the honorable and responsible position of an associate judge of the county court, is a native of the county, and is a descendant of one of its early pioneer families. His parents, Russell and Fanny ( Mat- tox ) Campbell, who were from Tennessee, where they were married in 1812, settled in this county in 1818. After living a few years on the bluff near Overton, and then for a time south of Saline, they made their permanent home on the farm where the judge now lives. The mother died September 5, 1862, in her seventy-first year, and the father March 1, 1877, in his eighty-sixth year. He was a noble rep- resentative of the hardy, brave-hearted men of the early days of the county, whose hands and brain laid broad and deep the foundations for the growth and prosperity of the county. His old age was spent in the comfort which his earlier years of industry had provided, and nothing delighted him more than to recount to those around him his varied experiences in the first settlement of the county. Like most of those of his time, he was ardently fond of hunting, and even late in life his greatest pleasure was to take his gun and dog and spend a few hours in that pastime. Although not a member of any church, he was a close student of the Bible, and his life was a true exemplification of the preceptsit teaches. His wife, a noble, good woman, was a faithful, true Christian in the sense that he was, and also an earnest, zealous church member through most of her life, and until she passed away in death. The Baptist church was her denomination. They had nine children, of whom only four are living - James M. (the judge), Leretta, wife of Sylvester Stiffler ; Fanny, wife of 'Squire J. M. Freeman, and Thomas J., of Brownsville, Neb. James M. Campbell, the sixth of this family, was born in Saline township July 15, 1825, and grew up on his father's farm, receiving in youth, by attendance at the neighbor- hood schools and by study at home, a good practical education. Reared on a farm, farming not unnaturally became his occupation for life. When in his thirty-first year, October 21, 1857, he was married to Miss Susan Gale, daughter of Dr. R. M. W. Gale, one of the oldest and best physicians of the county. She was born at the Gale home- stead in Saline township, Angust 4, 1840, so that the judge and she were reared together from children ; she died June 12, 1880. They had four children - Augusta, Theophilus, Dora and Maggie. Augusta, however, died December 31, 1868; Theophilus died in infancy ; Dora, born November 25, 1861, is the wife of John A. Mills, having married October 8, 1879, and they have two children, Eugenie and Speed ;

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Maggie died November 21, 1878, aged eight years. Dr. Robert M. W. Gale, the father of Mrs. Campbell, and wife, formerly Miss Dorothy Shackelford, had a family of eight children, but two of whom are now living - William T. Gale and his youngest sister, Margaret, wife of George Connor. Two brothers, Joseph and Robert, died in the Rock Island military prison during the war; Julia, the wife of Dr. A. J. Lacy, died in 1870; Edwin died at the age of seventeen years, and Alonzo died in infancy. Dr. Gale was a graduate of the medical department of the University of Lexington, Ken- tucky, and came to this county from Scott county, Kentucky. He was one of the most scientific and successful physicians that ever practised in this part of the state, and a man widely known and highly esteemed for his many noble qualities of mind and heart. Judge Campbell has been a successful farmer, but has now retired from active farm duties, having rented his farm to his son-in- law, who is now conducting it. He has always taken a deep interest in the material development, educational needs and public affairs of the county, and because of his well-known solicitude for the general wel- fare, and his thorough acquaintance with public events, as well as of his qualifications, sterling integrity and popularity, he has often been called upon to serve the people of the county in various official capac- ities ; but devoid of all ambition for a political life or for advancement to official position, he steadily refused to become a candidate for any office until 1882, when he was prevailed upon by the solicitations of leading men all over the county to permit the use of his name for the office of county judge, to which he finally consented, and was, there- fore, chosen to that office at the regular fall election, by a majority of his fellow-citizens highly complimentary to him as an individual and as a leading citizen of the county. He is now serving the people in that capacity, and he and his associates, Judges J. J. Hoge and W. P. McMahan, are earnestly and faithfully striving to so administer the affairs of the county, so far as the duties of the county court extend, that when they retire from office they may justly receive the greeting of the people : " Well done, good and faithful servants." The judge has been a member of the Baptist church at Big Lick since 1852.

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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