USA > Missouri > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Missouri > Part 40
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Mr. Gore is a stanch Wilson Democrat. Both he and Mrs. Gore are members of the Christian church. Mr. Gore joined the Christian church when 16 years of age and Mrs. Gore united with the church and was baptized in the Missburi River when 13 years old.
During his entire life Mr. Gore has been a strong opponent of liquor and has devotsa his time and talents to the eradication of the saloons and the suppression of the liquor traffic. He fought the whiskey drug stores and has lived to see National prohibition ushered in as a reward for his labors. He assisted in closing the last saloon in Blue Springs and has made speeches in behalf of temperance and prohibition in all parts of the state. "Uncle Billy" Gore, as he is widely known in Jackson County, is highly respected and liked by all who know him.
John O. Capelle, ex-treasurer of Jackson County, and large land owner of Sniabar township, is one of the best known citizens of the county. Mr. Capelle was born Sept. 17, 1851, on a farm one mile west of the present site of Grain Valley. He is a son of Britton M. (born 1809, died 1890) and Sarah A. (Clayton) Capelle (born 1812, died 1871). Brit- ton M. Capelle was a native of North Carolina and whose parents moved to Simpson County, Kentucky, and thence to Jackson County, Missouri, in 1838. Mr. Capelle entered government land and became a large land owner; all of the land which he owned, excepting 80 acres, being still owned by his descendants. During the Civil War, when Order No. 11 was in effect, he removed with his family to Lafayette County. He was active and influential in county affairs, and owned nearly 500 acres of land in
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Sniabar township. Britton M. and Sarah Ann Capelle were the parents of eight children: Mrs. Benetta Ann Dyer, deceased; Mrs. Susan R. Kirby, deceased; Charles and Mary M. deceased; Mrs. Martha J. Wright, de- ceased; David C., deceased; John O., of this review; and Truston Pope, deceased.
John O. Capelle was married in November, 1881, to Miss Elizabeth Duncan, born in Jackson County of Kentucky parents, a daughter of Thomas J. Duncan, who settled in Jackson County as early as 1836. She was born in this county in 1848, and died in 1908.
Two children were born to John O. and Elizabeth Capelle, one of whom is living, Charles Capelle, aged 37 years, an attorney by profession, and employed in the Chrisman Sawyer Bank at Independence.
Mr. Capelle is owner of over 325 acres of land, 200 acres of which is comprised in his home place near Grain Valley, and 80 acres near Oak Grove, and 47 acres one-half mile west of Grain Valley. He is interested financially in the Bank of Grain Valley. Mr. Capelle is a Democrat. He has always been prominent in the affairs of his party, and was elected to the important office of treasurer of Jackson County in 1892, and served in this office during 1893, 1894, 1895 and 1896. He is a Thirty- second Degree Mason, and is also affiliated with the Woodmen of the World.
Thomas Phelps, farmer and dairyman, residing near Elm Park, in Blue township, owner of 37 and a half acres of well improved and valu- able property, was born on a farm within one-fourth mile of his present home, June 8, 1859. He is a son of Josiah Phelps, who was born in 1819, and died in 1885. His mother, Ann H. Oldham, was born in 1834, and died in 1887.
Josiah Phelps was born in Kentucky. He was three times married, his second wife being a Miss Mabley. He came to Jackson County in the forties and improved a farm on Indian Creek, later settling on a farm east of Independence, where he becam well to do and the owner of 360 acres of land. He followed farming and stock raising during his entire life. To Josiah and Anne H. Phelps were born eight children: Erastus O., Independence, Mo .; Thomas, of this review; John, living in Oklahoma; Rosa, deceased; Nicholas H., deputy county marshall of this county ; Marion, a farmer near Blue Springs, Mo .; Jane R., deceased; Mrs. Julia Chapman, Blue Springs, Mo.
Tom Phelps attended the Oldham school and was married when 21 years old. He first rented a farm near Raytown for a few years, and in
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1892 purchased his present home place, where he and Mrs. Phelps have one of the pretty country places in Jackson County. Mr. Phelps was married Feb. 15, 1882, to Miss Lizzie E. Shumate, who was born in Ray County, near Richmond, Mo., May 15, 1861. She is a daughter of Samuel (born 1832, died 1904) and Elizabeth (Greenlee) Shumate, the latter of whom was born in 1840, and resides at 1714 Kansas avenue, Kansas City, Mo. Samuel Shumate and his wife were natives of Lawrence County, Ohio. They came to Missouri and settled in Ray County in 1860, moving to a farm near Raytown, Mo., in 1872. They were the parents of seven children : Elizabeth Phelps, of this review; John W., deceased; Charles, residing on a farm near Blue Springs; George, deceased; Silas, Kansas City, Mo., with his mother; Susia, lives with her mother.
An uncle of Thomas Phelps, Richard, or "Dick" Phelps, died while crossing the plains in the early days. Mr. Phelps is a Democrat. He and Mrs. Phelps are members of the Christian church. Mr. Phelps is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World.
Joel Franklin Chiles .- No history of Jackson County would be com- plete without an account of the Chiles family in this county and its various members. This family was established in this county at a time when much of this section of Missouri was a wilderness, and the members of the family, ancestors of those of the present day, were prominent in the early affairs of Jackson County. Their influence was considerable and beneficial, and they have been noted for three generations for their progressiveness and ability to do things worth while. Every public move- ment of consequence having for its object the promotion of the welfare of the people, has always had the support of the Chiles family. To this day members of this family occupy the same high prestige held by their forebears in the affairs of Jackson County.
The advent of the family into Jackson County begins properly with Henry or "Jack" Chiles, who came here with his wife from Kentucky during the early pioneer days, and settled in Fort Osage township, where he developed a large farm. His wife was Sarah (Ballinger). Chiles, and they had a family of children as follow: John, born Nov. 24, 1790, and died July 27, 1811; Richard B., born Nov. 20, 1792; Henry, born Feb. 1, 1796; Susan, born Aug. 14, 1798; Christopher, born Dec. 1, 1800; James, born Aug. 16, 1803; Joel Franklin, born Jan. 20, 1806; William, born Feb. 20, 1808; Joseph B., born July 16, 1810; and Alexander E., born Nov. 14, 1814.
The Chiles family is of distinctly Southern origin of English descent.
JOEL FRANKLIN CHILES.
MRS. AZUBAH (SKINNER) CHILES.
JOEL F. CHILES.
-
C. C. CHILES.
P. S. CHILES.
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They were first established in old Virginia, and after the Revolutionary period they followed the passage westward of the vanguard of the brave and hardy pioneers who settled and reclaimed the wilderness, then known as Kentucky, or the "Dark and Bloody Ground."
Joel Franklin Chiles, who came to Jackson County in 1831, was born in Clark County, Ky., a son of Henry or "Jack" Chiles. He was born there Jan. 20, 1806, and died at his home in Jackson County, Feb. 1, 1855.
He was married Aug. 6, 1828, to Azubah Skinner, who was born March 14, 1809. In the fall of 1831 he moved from Kentucky to Jackson County, with his wife and two children, Isaac S. and Cornelius Carr Chiles. He settled in Fort Osage township, in what has always been known as the Six Mile country. In the fall of 1832 he began the erection of the Chiles home, which is still standing on the Chiles land, and in a good state of repair. He purchased wooded land at a cost of $4.00 per acre, and entered large tracts of prairie land from the government. Negro slaves which he brought with him from Kentucky did the greater part of the work of clearing the ground and caring for the crops. The first home of the family was a one-room log cabin. The second house which Mr. Chiles began the erection of in 1832, was a four-room structure, which was built of hard wood lumber, hewn from the forests on the Chiles land. This house has since been weatherboarded and ceiled with hand dressed walnut lumber, and is in a good state of preservation. The original Chiles home place comprised 320 acres, but to this Mr. Chiles added in the course of time several hundred acres of land lying contiguous to the home place.
The children born to Joel Franklin and Azubah (Skinner) Chiles are as follow: Isaac S., born July 9, 1829, was a forty-niner, and died in 1874; Cornelius Carr, born May 30, 1831; Richard Ballinger, born in No- vember, 1833, and died Oct. 31, 1850; William G., born June 22, 1836, see biography; Henry C. Chiles, born May 28, 1838, see biography; Caldwell Chiles, born June 28, 1840, see biography ; Phineas S. Chiles, born May 7, 1842, and died Dec. 31, 1918; Mary Jane Chiles, born March 5, 1844; Sarah Margaret, born June 14, 1846, and died May 6, 1899; Joel Franklin Chiles, born July 18, 1848; Eliza Gates Chiles, born June 19, 1850, and died Feb. 29, 1852; Mrs. Anna A. (Perrin) Chiles, born May 13, 1852.
Sarah Margaret Chiles, at the time of the evacuation of Jackson County, in compliance with Order No. 11, drove through to Platte County, Mo., via Lexington, with ox teams. For 20 years prior to her death she was an incurable invalid, and during that long period of suffering she was never known to utter a word of complaint; rather, she was the help-
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ful friend to all the countryside. For 12 years she was utterly helpless. Yet, during the entire time, she was always ready to assist her friends, and consoled those whose troubles seemed harder than they could endure. People came to the home to receive heartening and cheerful words at her bedside. They carried to her their troubles, and made her their confident and she advised with them and consoled them. Her time was spent in do- ing beautiful embroidery work. A patient, lovable woman, whose every deed was a kindness, and who never allowed her mind to dwell upon her own affliction, but thought of her friends and neighbors.
Isaac S. Chiles went to California in 1849, and made his home in that State until his death. Joseph Ballinger Chiles, son of "Jack" Chiles, was born in Clark County, Ky., in 1816, was also a pioneer in California, going to the Pacific coast as early as 1841. Henry Chiles, another son of "Jack" Chiles, was killed in the Florida War in 1838. William Chiles, another son of "Jack" Chiles, went to California in 1849, and subsequently died of cholera.
Joel Franklin Chiles was a well educated man, whose learned proclivi- ties made him extremely useful in the pioneer days of Jackson County. He was a skilled surveyor, whose services were often in demand in the early days. During the Civil War, when Order No. 11 was issued, the members of the Chiles family removed to Platte County, Mo., and re- mained there until 1864.
William G. Chiles enlisted in the Confederate Army and was taken prisoner by the Federals. Caldwell Chiles served throughout the war un- der Gen. Joe Shelby, in Morris Langhorne's company.
After the death of their mother, Aug. 4, 1874, the unmarried children of Joel F. Chiles formed a corporation or co-partnership for the manage- ment of the Chiles interests, and for years they managed the estate to- gether. Anna Chiles was the first to marry and leave the partnership ar- rangement. Joel F. was the next to set up a home of his own. After the death of Caldwell and Margaret the sole management and ownership of the estate fell to Miss Mary Jane Chiles, of this review. She has man- aged wisely and well, adding to the estate until it now comprises the grand total of 999 acres of valuable land, situated west of the Six Mile Baptist Church. This land is in one body and extends for over a mile, almost to the bridge across the Blue River.
Joel Franklin Chiles served as justice of the peace for some years, and took an active part in the early civic and political affairs of his adopted county, in which he was a man of influence. He was a charter
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member of Lodge No. 76, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. An appre- ciation of the man himself which appeared in the Jackson County "Sen- tinel," on the occasion of his death, in 1855, has this to say of Mr. Chiles : "He had endeared himself to the people of his neighborhood, by his kind and gentle manner, and his gentlemanly bearing. Endowed with a mind, strong, liberal and comprehensive, he readily entered into all schemes and measures presented, whose tendency was to aggrandize the county, or ameliorate the condition of his neighbors. A warm friend to education, he was ever foremost in every scheme to promote its extension. Devoted to the interests of upper Missouri, he was always found ready to promote by his counsel or his means, the development of its resources, and con- tributed as largely, and perhaps more largely than any other man in the county, to the improvement of the various breeds of livestock. A success- ful agriculturist, he was a patron of the useful inventions that have been introduced to make farming pleasant and profitable. A kind and affec- tionate husband, and a devoted father, his death left a void never to be filled. He was always a patron of the church and attended the church ser- vices, and in the protracted illness which ended in his death, he expressed his confidence in the truth of religion, and on the day before his death, remarked to a neighbor, a minister of the gospel, that he felt at peace with all mankind, and at peace with God, and that he felt no fear of death."
Phineas Caldwell Chiles, member of one of the oldest of the pioneer families of Jackson County, is farming 200 acres of the Chiles estate in Fort Osage township. He was born in Fort Osage township, Dec. 28, 1883, and is a son of the late Joel F. Chiles, and a grandson of Joel Frank- lin Chiles, one of the first of the pioneer settlers of Jackson County.
P. C. Chiles was educated in the public schools and William Jewell College, Liberty, Mo. He has always followed farming and stock raising, and has made a success.
Mr. Chiles was married March 1, 1911, to Miss Olive Harrold, of In- dependence, a daughter of the late Charles Harrold, of Bates County, Mo. Her mother was Emma (Cairns) Harrold, who came to Independence after the death of her husband, and spent her last days in this city. One child has blessed this marriage: Lutie Thornton Chiles, born Dec. 2, 1911.
Mr. Chiles is a Democrat. He became affiliated with Lodge No. 76, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Independence, Mo., in 1909. Many years ago, his grandfather, Joel Franklin Chiles, was one of the charter members of, and assisted in the organization of this lodge.
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Tradition and precedent rule strongly among the members of the Chiles family, and P. C. Chiles is emulating his father, as deacon of the Six Mile Baptist Church. He is an excellent citizen, and is progressive in his views, and enterprising.
William B. Duke, secretary of the Paxton-Duke Sales Company, was born Dec. 10, 1893, in Independence and is a son of William B. and Henri- etta (Stonestreet) Duke. The former was a native of Kentucky and came to Jackson County when a boy, dying here in 1897. Mrs. Henrietta Duke was born in Jackson County and died at the age of 32 years. The chil- dren of the family are: Mary, wife of Howard C. Holton, Princeton, N. J. and William B. of this review.
Henry Duke, grandfather of William B. Duke, was a native of Ken- tucky.
The education of William B. Duke was obtained in the public schools and Wentworth Military Academy, Lexington, Mo. Prior to making con- nection with the Paxton-Duke Sales Company, Mr. Duke and Edward N. Paxton started a garage on West Maple street which was the forerunner of the present large concern.
Mr. Duke was married Nov. 3, 1907 to Miss Louise Winton, a daugh- ter of M. C. and Nellie Winton, of Independence. Mr. and Mrs. Duke have a daughter, Lucretia Duke. They reside at 511 North Delaware.
Mr. Duke is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Elijah Carel, late citizen of Sniabar township, was a man of worth and integrity, who was industrious and enterprising, and made a success of his farming operations in Jackson County, where he resided for six years prior to his death. Mr. Carel was born in Indiana, in 1850, and died in Jackson County, Aug. 30, 1910. He was united in marriage with Miss Annie E. Dempsey, at Vandalia, Ill., March 2, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Carel came to Missouri in 1875, and first located in Clay County, becom- ing owners of a farm, which they sold in 1903 and then located in Osage County, Kansas. Floods in that county caused them to sell out and come to Jackson County, where they purchased a fine farm of 100 acres, lo- cated nine miles east of Independence, on the rock road. This farm is nicely improved with a brick residence and good buildings, and is very valuable.
Five children were born to Elijah and Annie E. Carel, as follow: Edward, Georgia, Harry, Minnie and Robert. Edward Carel married Miss Jennie Doyle, and is a stationery engineer in Kansas City. Harry
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lives at home, married Tina Behr, and has four children, Mildred, Hazel, Bernice and Maude. Mrs. Minnie Hunter lives in Kansas City, and has two children, Frances and George Carel Hunter. Robert lives in Kansas City, married Florence Shepherd and has four children, Vivian, Cyrus, Grace and Robert.
Mrs. Carel is of Pennsylvania ancestry, and was reared by her grand- mother, her parents, William and Harriet Dempsey, having died when she was but two years old. She is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
John B. Strode .- For nearly four score years the Strode family have been prominently identified with the history of Jackson County and John B. Strode, well-to-do farmer and stockman of Sniabar township is a worthy descendant of sturdy pioneer ancestors. The farm home of Mr. Strode, located three and a half miles north of the town of Blue Springs, is one of the finest in this section of Missouri. Mr. Strode has recently com- pleted a modern residence of seven rooms, fitted with every convenience to make life worth living on the farm. He tore down a large house on the place built in 1875 by his father, Charles E. Strode. Much of the ma- terial used in the construction of the old home was in a good state of preservation and went in to the making of the new home. About forty- five years ago, John B. Strode hauled the lumber used in the building of this old home from Independence when but 16 years of age. The Strode farms consist of 293 acres of fertile, well kept and valuable land. The farm is devoted to the production of live stock for the markets and up- wards of 300 head of hogs of the Duroc breed and from 75 to 100 head of Hereford cattle are fattened for sale each year. The farm is equipped with one concrete silo having a capacity of 180 tons of silage.
Charles E. Strode, father of John B. Strode, was born in Bourbon County, Ky., Dec. 23, 1814 and died in Jackson County, Mo., Dec. 13, 1882. He was a son of James and Margaret (Foreman) Strode, both of whom were natives of Virginia. James Strode was a government surveyor who located in Kentucky in 1788, in the days when Kentucky was a wild and unsettled region, and Daniel Boone and his brave compatriots were hav- ing constant battles with the Indians. His party camped at May's Lick and there he met his future wife. James Strode died in 1828. He had one son, John Strode who fought in the War of 1812. Charles E. Strode, imbued with the pioneering instinct crossed the intervening country and came with the first vanguard of pioneers from Kentucky in 1833. He first settled on the place now owned by L. Gossert, built a log cabin and
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made his home there for a few years. Removing to Independence, he operated a blacksmith shop in partnership with his brother-in-law, Robert Weston, and later engaged in the mercantile business. He moved to the Strode farm in 1872 and lived for three years in a log house, then in 1875 building the large eight room house which has recently made way for the modern Strode residence. It might be well to state here, however, that Charles E. Strode came from Tennessee to Missouri, his parents having moved from Kentucky to Tennessee in 1816 and he was reared there to young manhood. During the Civil War he was a Southern sympathizer but took no active part in the struggle between the North and the South. He accumulated a total of 287 acres of land but sold 160 acres, leaving a total of 127 acres in the home place.
Charles E. Strode was a Democrat and was prominent in the affairs of his party in Jackson County. At the time of his death he was judge of the county court and was serving his second term in this official capacity. He was a member of the Christian church and was universally respected as an upright citizen of high integrity and purpose.
When a young man, Charles E. Strode was married to Miss Sarah Weston who bore him children as follow: Charles H., living in California ; E. W., died in 1917; Mrs. Mary Cooper, deceased; Florence, deceased; Mrs. Ella Parker, Miami County, Kan .; John B., of this review; Mrs. Belle Smith, Mercer County, Ill .; Walter, living at Bates City, Lafayette County, Mo .. The mother of the foregoing children was born in 1820 and died in 1898. She was born near Malta Bend, Saline County, Mo. and was a daughter of Samuel and Margaret (Clemonson) Weston. Samuel Weston was of Scotch-Irish descent and his wife was a daughter of English parents.
John B. Strode attended the Independence schools and was 13 years old when his father moved to the farm. He cared for his father on the home place to the end of his days and came into possession of the home place through inheritance and purchase. It is self evident that he has succeeded in his life vocation when one gets a view of his broad acres and splendid home surroundings. Two sets of improvements are located on the Strode farms.
The Strode family is of English origin and traces back to the time of Charles I. The Strodes were arrayed on the side of the Stuarts dur- ing the struggle between the royal family and the Stuarts-and the head of the family was forced to flee for his life.
October 11, 1888, John B. Strode was united in marriage with Miss Dollie Stayton, a daughter of Moses Stayton, who was a son of John
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Stayton an early Jackson County pioneer who became owner of 1,700 acres of land which stretched from Fairmount church to Independence in the early days. The wife of Moses Stayton was Lucy Hite who was born in Kentucky and came to Miller County, Mo.
John B. and Dollie Strode have reared four children: Herschell, Inez, James Pascal and Edith. Herschell Strode was born Nov. 29, 1889, mar- ried Nellie Harris and has one child, John. He is a farmer near Blue Springs. James Pascal Strode was born May 23, 1892, married Leola Hall and has one child, Dorothy. Inez Strode was born Oct. 24, 1894 and is at home with her parents. Edith Strode was born Aug. 15, 1897 and is at home.
Mr. Strode has always been a Democrat and a member of the Chris- tian church. He is one of the best informed citizens of Jackson County, who can converse intelligently on many subjects. Gifted with a good memory, a student of history, he is keenly alive to the understanding of the great events of recent and present years. Mr. Strode is widely and favorably known in Jackson County and stands high among his fellow men as a worthy member of society.
William M. Cruwell .- On the Cruwell homestead, southeast of Inde- pendence, in Blue township, is located one of the old time log houses of ante bellum days. This structure was erected by John Marshall during the early thirties and was built by slave labor. It is remarkable from the fact of its size, the house being two stories in height with two large rooms on the ground floor, separated by a hallway. Immense stone chim- neys are situated at each end of the house, and wide cavernous fire- places fill the corresponding ends of the rooms. Mr. Cruwell made his home in this log house for four years after purchasing the farm in 1882, and then erected his present handsome frame house, which sets far back from the highway.
William M. Cruwell was born in Franklin County, Missouri, Dec. 22, 1838. He is a son of Lewis Cruwell, who died in 1845. His mother was Mary (Engel) Cruwell, who died in 1848. Left an orphan at the early age of seven years, William M. Cruwell was reared among strangers, and worked out for as low as 10 cents a day during his boyhood. For a time when he was grown he worked as a laborer in Franklin, Mo., and during the seventies he bought a farm in Osage County, which he cultivated until he came to Jackson County, in 1882, and bought his present home- stead of 120 acres, which he has improved into a valuable and hand- some place.
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