USA > Missouri > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Missouri > Part 57
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Thomas B. Hudspeth was born on the farm where he is now living, in 1849. He is a son of Thomas Jefferson Hudspeth, who was born in Kentucky, Feb. 17, 1805, and died Nov. 16, 1849. Thomas J. Hudspeth died of mountain fever, contracted while in California, he having been one of the forty-niners who crossed the plains and mountains when the first news of the great gold strike in California was given out to the world. He was a son of William Hudspeth, a native of North Carolina, who first emigrated to Kentucky and thence came to Jackson County, Mo., in 1826, and settled here in 1828, his first trip being for the purpose of looking over the country and securing a location. William Hudspeth was a son of Major Hudspeth, who was a soldier and officer in the Amer- ican Army during the Revolution. Thomas Jefferson Hudspeth was mar- ried in Jackson County, Nov. 29, 1829, to Cynthia Hambright, a daughter of James Hambright, who was a son of Colonel Hambright, of North Car- olina, who was also a soldier of the Revolution. James Hambright came to Jackson County in 1826, when the first official survey of the county was made, and the county organized. The children born to Thomas Jef- ferson and Cynthia Hudspeth were: Henrietta, deceased; Mrs. Missouri Kimsey, Buckner, Mo .; Mary P., deceased; William James, deceased ; Mrs.
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Sarah Adaline Truitt, Buckner, Mo .; Thomas B., of this review. The mother of the foregoing children was born April 20, 1813, and died Jan. 6, 1883.
· Twice during the Civil War the Hudspeth home was burned and looted of its contents by Redlegs from Kansas. In 1863, when the ma- rauders surrounded the home, and set fire to it, Mrs. Hudspeth tried to save some fine silk coverlets from their hands. She and the servants were carrying them out, but the Redlegs seized them and carried them away with other loot on their saddles. They filled their saddle bags with house- hold treasures, which could never be replaced. They also drove away nearly all of the negroes but Sam, Herod and Dan, who remained loyal to the family, and were with them in the years of reconstruction after the war. The old family bible, which had been in the family since 1832, was miraculously saved, however, and was dug up out of the embers with the edges somewhat charred. The family library of books was in a box built into the wall of the house. Mrs. Hudspeth conceived the idea that the bible might be intact, and she told the negro Sam to try for it. She said, "Sam, scratch in there with a rake, maybe the old bible is not burned up." Sam replied, "Old Miss, that's all foolishness." Sam, however, raked the embers and discovered the bible, which Mr. Hudspeth treasures to this day.
When General Ewing issued Order No. 11, Mrs. Hudspeth was told to take her family and go to Kansas. However, she did not cross the border, but she and her children went to Richmond, Ray County, with Thomas B. Hudspeth's uncle, John Hambright. The war over they returned to the old home place, and Thomas B. Hudspeth set to work, with assistance, to rebuild the home and buildings. He has resided on the place ever since, and has placed every building and improvement now visible on the old farm.
Mr. Hudspeth was married Dec. 16, 1885, to Mattie Scott, who was born in Johnson County, near Rose Hill, in 1859. She is a daughter of Sydney and Sophronia (Baker) Scott. Sydney Scott was a son of William Scott, a soldier of the American Revolution, and a cousin of Gen. Winfield Scott. The following children have been born to this union: One child died in infancy, and Walter Scott Hudspeth.
Walter Scott Hudspeth was born Dec. 4, 1888. He enlisted in the United States Army on Nov. 6, 1916, convinced that his country would eventually take part in the great conflict which was then engulfing the entire world. He joined the coast artillery on the Pacific coast, and
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crossed the Atlantic with the American Expeditionary Forces as a sar- geant of heavy artillery. He took part in all of the great engagements on the western front in France, which resulted in the defeat of the Huns, and since his return to America he has been stationed at Camp Taylor, Ky., with the exception of a month's visit at home on a furlough. Mr. and Mrs. Hudspeth are both proud of the fact that their only son kept alive the traditions of the family in the great World War.
Mr. Hudspeth is a pronounced Democrat. He and Mrs. Hudspeth are members of the Christian church. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias Lodge, of Independence. He is a fine, hospitable gentleman of the old school, who has hosts of friends in Jackson County.
James Alexander McKitterick, one of the largest land owners of Jack- son County, and one of the best known breeders in this section of the State, is a native of Iowa. He owns 985 acres of land in Prairie township, where he is engaged in general farming and breeding Hereford cattle and mam- moth jacks. Mr. McKitterick has been engaged in breeding for the past 30 years, and is recognized as one of the most successful in the business. He has frequently sold stock from his farm by the carload, for range pur- poses in the West. He has also been quite extensively engaged in breeding hogs, and as far back as 1879 he shipped the first carload of hogs to Las Vegas, N. M., that was ever shipped to that territory.
Mr. McKitterick was born in Washington County, Iowa, April 27, 1858, a son of William and Elizabeth (Johnson) McKitterick, both natives of Ohio, and descendants of old American families. William McKitterick was born April 1, 1818. He remained in Ohio until 1854, when he removed to Iowa with his wife. He was engaged in farming there until December, 1865, when he came to Missouri, and settled in Parkville. In 1867, he came to Jackson County, and settled on the place in Prairie township which is now owned by J. A. McKitterick.
William McKitterick was a son of Alexander and Mary (McKnight) McKitterick, natives of Scotland and Pennsylvania, respectively. In 1814 Alexander McKitterick built the first water mill in Harrison County, Ohio. He lived and died amidst the pioneer surroundings of the early days in Ohio. He took up a claim of government land in Harrison County, Ohio, in 1812, when his nearest neighbor was seven miles distant.
William McKitterick was one of five children born to Alexander and Mary (McKnight) McKitterick, as follow: Catherine, lived to age of 80 years, and died unmarried; Mrs. Jane Tipton ; William; James, deceased ; and Mrs. Nancy Fisher, deceased. After the death of Alexander McKit-
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terick his widow married William Ross, and they lived in Morgan County, Ohio, and three children were born to them, as follow: Mrs. Lottie Wil- son, deceased; John, went West and located at Seattle, Wash., and owned what was known as the Ross addition; and Mrs. Mary Ann Easlick.
Elizabeth Johnson McKitterick, mother of James Alexander McKit- terick, was born Aug. 18, 1830, and died in Jackson County March 28, 1895, and her husband, William McKitterick, died Feb. 9, 1890. They were the parents of five children, as follow: Mary Ann, born Nov. 9, 1859, de- ceased; Mrs. Catherine H. Hughes, born April 14, 1856, and died at Rose- berg, Oregon, Jan. 13, 1877; James Alexander, the subject of this review ; one child, born in June, 1862, died in infancy, and Merritt, born March 21, 1871, died when three days old.
James Alexander McKitterick was reared on his father's farm and at- tended the district schools and a college which was then located at Green- wood. In 1880, he entered Bryant and Stratton's Business College, at Chi- cago, where he completed the general course. He then went to western Kansas, where he had previously invested in the cattle business while in college, and for about five years he was engaged in the cattle business on the plains of western Kansas, and during that time he played the roll of the early day cowboy in real life. In 1884, he bought his first land in Jack- son County, although he was interested in farming in this county 10 or 12 years previous to that. He planted his first crop in 1872. He is now the owner of one of the valuable farms of Jackson County, which is under a high state of cultivation, and constantly increasing in value.
July 29, 1890, Mr. McKitterick was united in marriage with Miss Jen- nie Estelle Simmons, a native of Jackson County. She is a daughter of John F. and Margarie (Sullivan) Simmons, natives of Illinois, who came to Jackson County in 1869, and are now both deceased. They were the par- ents of five children, of whom Mrs. McKitterick is the second in order of birth. To Mr. and Mrs. McKitterick have been born four children, as fol- low: Nellie E., married John W. Johnson, Lees Summit; William J., at home with his parents; James A., a student of veterinary surgery in the State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kan .; and Robert W., deceased.
Mr. McKitterick is a Republican, but inclined to be independent in local affairs. He has frequently been a delegate to his party conventions. He is well known over a broad scope of territory, and is one of Jackson County's successful men of affairs. Mr. McKitterick has ever been a close observer and a student of men and affairs, and he has a remarkable memory, especially in the matter of dates.
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Jesse M. Cave, a prominent farmer and stockman, of Van Buren township, is a descendant of a pioneer family of Jackson County, who have been conspicuously identified with this section since 1838. Mr. Cave was born at Lone Jack, Feb. 22, 1857, a son of Bartlett B. and Lucinda (Row- land) Cave, who were the parents of four children, as follows: William H., lives in the State of Washington; Jesse M., the subject of this sketch ; Lucenda, deceased, and Phenella, deceased. Lucenda Rowland Cave, the mother of these children, was accidentally killed at the Battle of Lone Jack, and during that engagement her home was burned to the ground.
Bartlett B. Cave married for his second wife, Amelia Satterfield, a native of Tennessee, and six children were born to that union, as follows: Dr. Frank Cave, a physician, Kansas City, Mo .; Susan, married Bert Palmer, a bank cashier at Kansas City, Mo .; Benjamin, deceased; Luttie, married Charles Jones, and is now deceased; Noah, also deceased; and Sallie, married John Grinter, Independence.
Bartlett B. Cave, father of Jesse M. Cave, was born in North Carolina, April 22, 1832, and died in Jackson County, in November, 1910. He came to Jackson County in 1838, and settled on a farm near Lone Jack. For a number of years he and Nora Hunt operated a carding mill in the vicinity of Lone Jack. His first wife, Lucinda Rowland, who was killed at the Battle of Lone Jack, was a native of Kentucky, and came to Jackson County with her parents when she was a young girl.
Jesse M. Cave spent his boyhood days amidst the pioneer surroundings of eastern Jackson County, and attended the district school, such as it was in those early days, but he obtained the greater part of his educa- tion in the hard school of life. He has always been a close observer and a student of men and events, and it may be fittingly said of him that he is a self-made man. In early life he learned the carpenter trade, and has worked at it considerably during the course of his career. He bought his first land in 1887, and in 1891 bought additional acreage, and is now the owner of 99 acres, upon which he has made extensive improvements. He carries on general farming and stock raising, and has met with success.
Jan. 8, 1881, Mr. Cave was married to Miss Sarah Satterfield, a na- tive of Lafayette County, Mo., born June 29, 1853. She is a daughter of Green D. and Nancy (Joyce) Satterfield, the former a native of Tennes- see, and the latter of Virginia. To Mr. and Mrs. Cave have been born six children, as follows: Nellie, married A. D. Dale, Kansas City, Mo .; Luella, resides in Kansas City, Mo .; William, deceased; Margaret, married
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Frank Chaudoin, Salina, Kan .; Everett, deceased; and Mary, resides in Kansas City, Mo.
Mr. Cave is a Democrat and takes an active interest in local public affairs, and is public spirited and is progressive. He has served on the local school board and held the office of road overseer. He holds member- ship in the Independent, Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Wood- men of America.
Jesse B. Yankee, cashier of the Bank of Lone Jack, Lone Jack, Mo., is a native of Missouri, and a member of one of the well known pioneer fami- lies of this section of the State. Mr. Yankee was born in Lafayette County, April 13, 1863. He is a son of Wesley and Sarah (Franklin) Yankee, to whom were born seven children, as follow: Frank, lives in Van Buren township; Fannie, married Lopez Thompson, and resides in Cass County ; Anna, married Boone Smith, Cooper County; Emogene, married A. F. Houston, Cass County ; Jesse B., the subject of this sketch ; William K., In .. dependence ; and Emma, married Jacob Hunt, Van Buren township. By a former marriage, to a Miss Underwood, Wesley Yankee was the father of five children, as follow: James A., deceased; Samuel, deceased; Amelia, married Sam McGlathery, and is now deceased; Joseph, deceased ; and Eliza, married William H. Maxwell, and is now a widow, residing in Kansas City, Mo.
· Wesley Yankee was born in Boyle County, Ky., and came to Jackson County with his parents in 1837. He was a son of Samuel and Ann (Graves) Yankee, natives of Kentucky. He was a farmer and spent his life in Jackson County, where he and his wife both died.
Jesse B. Yankee spent his boyhood days on his father's farm and attended the district schools. When he was 21 years of age he began life for himself, operating the home farm. Later he and his brother, Wil- liam K., bought a farm in partnership. Mr. Yankee's next business ven- ture was in the livery business at Lees Summit. He was successful in this and purchased his brother's interest in the farm, which they jointly owned, and now owns 115 acres of valuable land in Van Buren township. He disposed of his livery business in Lees Summit in 1891, and was engaged in farming until 1911, when he became cashier of the Bank of Lone Jack, and since that time has devoted himself to that position. The Bank of Lone Jack was organized in 1909, and Mr. Yankee was one of the organizers. This bank has had a constant growth and a steady in- crease in its volume of business since its organization, and is one of the
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substantial financial institutions to be found in the smaller towns of the State.
Mr. Yankee was united in marriage Nov. 15, 1888, with Miss Minnie Trundle, a native of Kentucky. She is a daughter of Nicholas and Sarah (McClintock) Trundle, both natives of Bourbon County, Ky., and early settlers in Jackson County. The Trundle family came to Jackson County about 1868, and the parents are both now deceased.
Mr. Yankee is a Democrat and a member of the Christian church. His lodge affiliations are with the Masons and the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica. He is a capable financier and well qualified for the responsible position which he holds.
Daniel F. Triplett, prosperous farmer of Fort Osage township, has lived all of his life on the Triplett farm in the Six Mile neighborhood. He was born on this farm, Dec. 14, 1858, and is a son of Eli and Margaret (Hart) Triplett, natives of West Virginia.
Eli Triplett came to Jackson County during the early forties, and was in this county when news came of the discovery of gold in California. He crossed the plains and mountains en route to the Pacific coast with an ox-teams, mined gold for some months, and returned home with his gold by way of the Isthmus of Panama, his dunnage being carried across the Isth- mus by a small burro. He came up the Missouri and Mississippi rivers by steamboat, and then made a trip back to West Virginia. He settled in Jackson County in 1857, on the place now owned by his son, Daniel F. Triplett. Eli Triplett was a skilled carpenter and cabinet maker, in his day being considered the finest skilled workman in the neighborhood. He was kept busily employed by the settlers until the outbreak of the Civil War, when the family removed to Ray County, on account of Order No. 11. They returned to the home after the war closed, and Eli Triplett lived on his place until his death, in 1879, at the age of 61 years. His wife, Mar- garet, was born in 1834, and died in 1887. She was a daughter of James Hart, who was a scion of one of the old and distinguished colonial fami- lies of America. He was a son of James Hart, who married Nellie Cheno- with. James Hart was a son of Daniel Hart, who married Margaret Bland. Daniel Hart was a son of John Hart, whom the official records show, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a great patriot during the Revolutionary period. Daniel Hart was born at the ancestral home in New Jersey, in 1778, and moved to Randolph County, Va., in 1794. In 1819 he was elected to represent the county in the State Legislature. Eli Triplett was the father of three children: Daniel F., of this review; Ida
DANIEL F. TRIPLETT AND WIFE.
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Triplett, living in Harrison County, Mo .; Mrs. Emma Pemberton, wife of Elwin Pemberton, living on a farm north of the Triplett place in Fort Osage township.
Daniel F. Triplett attended the Six Mile Academy, which held its sessions in a log school house. This was a splendid school in the early days, and had students who came for many miles around. He was reared on the home farm, and came into possession of it through inheritance, and purchase of the interests of the other heirs. The Triplett farm con- sists of 202 acres, upon which is a fine orchard.
Mr. Triplett was married in 1884 to Miss Ada Gallagher, who was born in Sumner County, Ill., April 16, 1863. She is a daughter of John and Katie Gallagher, the former of whom was born on the Atlantic ocean when his parents were crossing the sea from England to America. The Gallaghers came to Jackson County, Mo., from Illinois, in 1865. Four children have been born to this marriage: Vernon H., on the home farm; Mrs. Lelia Hostetter, Fort Osage township; Bernard W., east of Buckner; Hugh D., a student in the Missouri State University; Carrie, attending the Buckner High School; Roger Layton died of typhoid fever in August, 1911, at the age of 20 years. When the Liberty Bell was brought to Kan- sas City in 1917 for the purpose of arousing the patriotism of the people of the West, Miss Carrie Triplett had a place of honor, and took part in the exercises for the day, because of the fact that she was a direct lineal descendant of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Mr. Triplett is an independent voter. He and his family are members of the Six Mile Baptist Church. He is affiliated with the Odd Fellows Lodge of Sibley, and the Yeomen, and is one of the most substantial citi- zens of Jackson County.
Hiram B. Tucker, a substantial and well-to-do farmer and stockman of Van Buren township, is a native of Jackson County, and a descendant of one of the pioneer families of this section of Missouri. Mr. Tucker was born in the township where he now resides, Jan. 17, 1858. He is a son of Thomas B. and Martha A. (Powell) Tucker, who were the parents of six children, of whom Hiram B. was the eldest. The others are as follows: Anna E., deceased; Thomas J., lives in Van Buren township; William T., resides in Oklahoma; Louisa R., married F. E. Calvert, Ft. Smith, Ark .; and Mrs. Ruby Brain, Van Buren township.
Thomas B. Tucker was born in Surry County, N. C., Dec. 10, 1824, and died in 1908. He came to Missouri with his parents in 1835, when he was 11 years of age. The Tucker family settled on a farm about one
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and one-half miles from Hiram B. Tucker's present place. Martha A. Powell, mother of Hiram B. Tucker, was born in Jackson County, just east of Independence, May 16, 1835, and now resides in Jackson County, making her home with her son, Thomas J.
Hiram B. Tucker was reared on his father's farm in Jackson County, and received his education in the public schools and William Jewell Col- lege. He was reared to the ways of farm life and since early boyhood has been familiar with the details of farming. In 1900 he purchased his present farm, which consists of 120 acres of valuable land in Van Buren township. He has made improvements and has been generally successful in his farming operations.
Mr. Tucker was married in November, 1894, to Miss Francis E. Cox, a native of Jackson County, and a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Keirsey) Cox, the former a native of North Carolina, and the latter of Jackson County. To Mr. and Mrs. Tucker have been born one child, Mattie Elizabeth, who resides at home with her parents.
Mr. Tucker is a Democrat and a member of the Baptist church. The Tucker family is well known and prominent in Jackson County.
Isaac W. Steele, a leading farmer of Prairie township, where he owns and operates a farm of 240 acres, is a member of one of Jackson County's pioneer families. He bears the unusual distinction of having been born on a farm in Kansas City, Mo., Feb. 19, 1854. His father's farm was located between what is now Ninth and Eighteenth streets, along Jackson avenue, and the house stood near the corner of Twelfth street and Jackson avenue.
Isaac W. Steele is a son of Hardin and Jane (Harr) Steele, the former a native of Bath County, Kentucky, born in 1800, and the latter of Penn- sylvania. They were the parents of three children, as follow: Alvin, Har- risonville, Mo .; Isaac W., the subject of this sketch, and one died in infancy. The mother was first married to Mr. Eacott, and to that union six children were born, one of whom is now living, Mrs. Mollie Hutchinson, of Leeds, Missouri.
Hardin Steele came to Missouri about 1828, and in 1830 settled at Westport Landing, which is now within the limits of Kansas City. He was a farmer, and followed that vocation during his active career. He died in 1875.
Isaac W. Steele was reared on his father's farm, and educated in the public schools of Jackson County. He attended school in a house that stood where Elmwood cemetery is now located in Kansas City. He began his career as a farmer, operating his father's farm. In 1886 he bought his
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present place in Prairie township, where he is the owner of 240 acres, which is mostly devoted to the production of small grain. Mr. Steele has made many improvements on his place, and is one of Jackson County's most successful farmers. He uses modern methods in his farming, and his place is well equipped with the most practical farm machinery.
Mr. Steele married Levonia Marrow, a native of Arkansas, and five children have been born to them, as follow: Archie, who lives on the home place in Prairie township; Nannie, married Dr. Carson, Willsall, Mont .; Clarence, Scammon, Kan .; Emily, married E. Jones, Lees Summit; and Edward, Kansas City, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Steele have ten grandchildren.
Mr. Steele is a Democrat, and a member of the Masonic lodge. He is a public spirited and a progressive citizen, and is widely and favorably known in Jackson County.
William J. Willsey, hardware salesman at Greenwood, Mo., although a native of Illinois, has been identified with Jackson County for 45 years. He was born in Pike County, Illinois, Oct. 1, 1858, and is the son of John J. and Elizabeth (McClintock) Willsey. He is the eldest of four children born to his parents, the others being: Lucenda, married Walter Merry. Argentine, Kan .; Mary, married William McCullick, Greenwood, Mo., and one child died in infancy.
John J. Willsey was born in the State of New York, July 19, 1832, and died in Jackson County, in August, 1919. He removed from his native State to Illinois in the early sixties, and in 1875 came to Missouri and set- tled in Prairie township, Jackson County. He followed farming and stock raising, and was very successful, owning at the time of his death property in Greenwood. He was a son of James Willsey, who was also a native of New York, and settled in Vernon County, Missouri, sometime after his son settled in this State. Elizabeth McClintock Willsey was born in Indiana, Dec. 14, 1833, and now lives with her youngest daughter, Mrs. William McCullick, Greenwood.
William J. Willsey came to Missouri with his parents in 1875, and remained on the home place until 1893. He then began farming on his own account. He became the owner of a farm in Jackson County, which he improved and operated until 1918, when he sold it and bought 160 acres in Linn County, Kansas.
Mr. Willsey was first married to Miss Lucinda Jones, a native of Taz- well County, Illinois, and one child was born to that union, Mrs. Addie F. Welch, Baxter Springs, Kan. Mr. Willsey was married the second time, Oct. 3, 1892, to Lydia Harger, a native of Jackson County. She is a daugh-
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