USA > Missouri > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Missouri > Part 71
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Arthur L. Curran .- The grocery firm of Curran, Schulenberger and Hausam, Independence, Mo. is one of the leading grocery concerns of Independence and is foremost in the business in this city. Every member of this firm is a native of Missouri and have catered to the public in the capacity of grocers since boyhood. The fine trade enjoyed by this enter- prising firm has been built up by courteous treatment of their many cus- tomers, selling only the best quality of goods, and selling at the lowest possible margin of profit consistent with good business management.
Arthur L. Curran was born on a farm near Grain Valley, Mo., in 1883. He is a son of David H. and Minnie (Montgomery) Curran, the former a native of Ohio and the latter a native of Jackson County. David H. Curran came to Jackson County prior to the Civil War with his father, Henry Curran, who settled on a farm two and a half miles west of Grain Valley. After many years spent as a farmer he moved to Independence where his death occurred in 1918 at the advanced age of 87 years. David H. Curran followed farming pursuits for a number of years and is now living retired at Tulsa, Okla. Mrs. Curran died in 1889 and her remains are buried in Blue Springs cemetery. They were parents of two children: Arthur L. Curran of this sketch; and Maud, wife of James Talbot, Tulsa, Okla.
After attending the public schools, Arthur L. Curran studied in Inde- pendence High School and Brown's Business College, at Kansas City. Prior to engaging in business on his own account, Mr. Curran was in the employ of A. J. Bundschu, and the Boley Clothing Company of Independ- ence. In 1911 in partnership with Roy H. Schulenberg, they opened a grocery store on South Main street. In May, 1918, A. G. Hausam pur- chased an interest and the firm is now operated under the name of Curran, Schulenberger and Hausam, at 120 West Maple on the north side of the court house square.
Mr. Curran was married Dec. 5, 1907 to Armeda Schulenberg, a
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daughter of William and Mary Schulenberg of Independence, the latter of whom died in 1897. The children born to this marriage are: David Harold and Mary Catherine.
The Curran residence is located at 115 West Sea avenue. Mr. Cur- ran was a member of the Independence city council in 1916 and 1917. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Loyal Order of Moose.
John E. Harvey, farmer and stockman, Lexington road, Blue town- ship, Jackson County, was born near Clinton, Mo., June 10, 1882. He is a son of William and Palmyra (Houche) Harvey, the former of whom now resides in Kansas City. William Harvey followed farming in Henry County for several years and came to Kansas City in about 1895. Mrs. Harvey died at the Harvey home in Kansas City in 1913 and she is buried in Washington cemetery. The children of the Harvey family are: Mrs. Laura Wells, Clinton, Mo .; G. A., Sedalia, Mo .; Edward, living in Iowa; O. J. Harvey, Kansas City; Mrs. Pearl Braden, Kansas City; John E. Harvey, subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Pollard, Kansas City; Earl, Kansas City.
John E. Harvey was reared and educated in Henry County. His first business was that of produce dealer and he was connected for some time with the Independence Ice and Cold Storage Company and followed various occupations until he removed to his present home on the Lexing- ton road. Besides his own place of ten acres, Mr. Harvey is farming 160 acres which is in alfalfa, orchard and pasture. In addition to his farm- ing operations, Mr. Harvey is in the employ of Jackson County as road builder.
Mr. Harvey was married June 20, 1906 to Miss Nellie Anderson of Independence. She is a daughter of M. W. and Julia (Daniels) Anderson, both of whom are deceased. Mr. Anderson came to Jackson County from Kentucky in 1830 and settled in Blue township. He served in the Con- federate army during the Civil War. He later became associated with Cornelius Chiles and removed to Independence and was president of the Anderson-Chiles Banking Company, which was later merged with the First National Bank of Independence. Mr. Anderson died Jan. 20, 1906. Mrs. Anderson died in 1887. She was a daughter of Robert Daniels who was reared on the farm now owned by Robert Barr and died there July 24, 1883. The children born to M. W. and Julia Anderson are as follow: Mrs. Kate Turner, wife of Robert S. Turner, she died Aug. 1, 1904; and Mrs. Nellie Harvey of this review, born and reared in Independence.
Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have two children: Matthew W. and Julia May. Mr. Harvey is a member of the Yeomen and the Woodmen of the World.
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Charles E. St. Clair, of Oak Grove, Mo., has led an interesting and eventful life from the time his parents and their family drove across the country from Virginia in 1843 and located in Jackson County. Mr. St. Clair was born June 5, 1835, in Roanoke County, Va., and is a son of Robert and Elmira (Hewitt) St. Clair, natives, respectively, of Roanoke and Bedford counties, Va.
The St. Clair family drove from Roanoke County, Va., to Jackson County, with the family and all of their movable possessions loaded on wagons, in the fall of 1843. They located on a farm one mile north of Pink Hill, and six miles northwest of Oak Grove, where the father bought a pre-emption claim. The first home of the family was a one-room log cabin, with a loft overhead, where the children slept. This cabin had a mud and stick and sod chimney. The St. Clair family consisted of ten children, five sons and five daughters, as follows: Mary Elizabeth, died . in 1855, was the wife of James McFarland; Charles Edward, of this review ; Rev. John Haston, a Methodist preacher, died in 1899; Mrs. Julia Kirby, Everett Palmer, and Mrs. Emily Kirby, deceased; Harvey, deceased; Mrs. Virginia Clarkson, Kansas; and Mrs. Ann Henry Simpson, Hutchinson, Kan .; and George, a member of the Kansas City police force.
Three of the sons, Charles E., J. H. and Harvey, served with the Con- federate army during the Civil War. Harvey was killed during the Bat- tle of Port Gibson, Miss. The mother of the family died in 1865, just a day after the boys returned home from the war. The father died in 1868.
In June, 1861, Charles E. St. Clair enlisted in Company B, Sixth Mis- souri cavalry, in the State service, and was subsequently engaged in the regular Confederate service. He became a member of Gen. Francis M. Cockrell's brigade, French's division, and was directly under the command of Col. Eugene Irvin, and saw active service in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Gen. Joseph E. Johnson was his first corps commander, and at Atlanta, Ga., the command was turned over to General Hood. Mr. St. Clair took part in the battles of Pea Ridge, Ark., Corinth, Miss., Port Gibson, Baker's Creek, Big Black or Magnolia Grove, the siege of Vicks- burg, Dalton, Ga., Resaca Station, Franklin and Nashville, Tenn., and Fort Blakely, in Mobile Bay, where he was captured and sent to Ship Island with a batch of prisoners who were guarded by blacks.
His father having accumulated 400 acres of land Charles E. St. Clair settled on the home farm after the war, and in 1871 he was married. He continued farming until 1891, and then removed to old Blue Springs. Mr.
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St. Clair still owns 125 acres of land, and is one of the well-to-do citizens of Jackson County. In 1903 he removed to Oak Grove.
Mr. St. Clair was married in 1871 to Mary Lauretta Mann, and the following children have been born to this union: Minnie Ethel, married Claude Thomas, and died Dec. 31, 1901; Myra Lee, wife of Herman Lef- holz, Sniabar township, is the mother of five children, Lawrence St. Clair, Georgia Lee, Mary Josephine and Anna Pauline, twins, and Gussie. The mother of the foregoing children was born in Loudoun County, Va., in 1846, and died in February, 1903. She was a daughter of William and Lee Anna (Mann), who came to Jackson County in 1867.
Mr. St. Clair has always been a stanch Democrat. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He is one of the best known and popular of the octogenarians of Jackson County, and is remarkably well preserved, despite his great age. During later years he has become somewhat of a globe trotter, and has traveled extensively over 26 states, both east and west. He has spent a winter in California, going there with John W. Hudson in 1910, and has spent five winters in Arizona.
Mr. St. Clair is a member of the United Confederate Veterans, and is a regular delegate to all State and National conventions. He was a dele- gate to the Twenty-second annual convention of ex-Confederate veterans at Atlanta, Ga., from October 7th to 10th.
Joseph B. Beets, a pioneer resident of Blue township, was born in Cass County, Mo., in 1843, and is a son of James and Elizabeth (Ruggles) Beets, the former of whom was born in Tennessee and died in Jackson County at the age of 77 years. His wife, Elizabeth Beets, was born in Virginia, and she also attained the age of 77 years. In 1853 James Beets located with his family, in Miami County, Kan., at that time called Lykins County, and settled on a homestead about seven miles northwest of Paola, Kan. James Beets was a Democrat but was a Union sympathizer and was inclined to be loyal to the Federal government. This feeling did not save him from the depredations of the Kansas Unionists, however, and in 1861 he suffered the loss of his live stock which were stolen and run off by raiders. He practically had to leave the state and later joined General Price's army and served for two years with the Confederate forces. He then returned to his family who had settled near the present site of Atherton. Soon after his return, Order No. 11 was issued and he took his family to Iowa where they remained for two years and then went to Nebraska. In 1865 they returned to Jackson County and Mr. Beets rented the Hifner farm until 1866 when he located on the present
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home farm now owned by his grandson, Charles E. Beets. This farm con- sists of 190 acres and is situated three and a half miles southwest of Atherton. It is improved with a handsome brick residence built in 1918. One hundred and sixty acres of the farm is river bottom land and the balance is upland. The farm is devoted to the production of corn, wheat and potatoes, 50 acres of the land having been planted to potatoes in 1919. The children born to James E. and Elizabeth Beets are: Joseph B., of this review; Henry R., George W., Independence, Mo .; James D., Independence, Mo .; William J., deceased; Mrs. Cordelia Ann Hifner.
Henry R. Beets was born in Cass County, Mo., in 1845, and now re- sides with his brother, George W. Beets, in Fort Osage township. He married Julia Slacker, now deceased, and has five children, as follow: Lela, Fred T., who served three months in the National Army; James Ray- mond, now in the service of the United States Navy, stationed at Hamp- ton Roads, Va .; Dorothy Virginia ; and Henry R.
Joseph B. Beets, subject of this sketch, was married in March, 1875, to Leonora Jones, who was born and reared near Atherton, Mo. She died in 1912, and her remains are buried at Salem church cemetery. The Beets children are: Charles E. and James R. Beets.
John F. Moseley, "Shadow Lawn Farm" .- That a family can live comfortably and also save money from each year's operations on a small farm in Jackson County has been demonstrated by Mr. and Mrs. John F. Moseley on their place of 15 acres three-fourths of a mile south of Inde- pendence. Mr. Moseley purchased his farm in 1911 and he and his family moved thereon in 1912. Four acres of the place are devoted to apples, cherries, plums and other fruits. Three acres are in alfalfa and the balance of the land is pasture. The farm supports four cows and a horse and from 250 to 300 chickens are raised each year of the pure bred Buff Orpington breed. Mrs. Moseley sells from 16 to 27 pounds of butter each week, five to eight pints of cream, 10 gallons of buttermilk and from 35 to 42 pounds of cottage cheese, saving the "whey" for the hogs which are raised for the purpose of providing meat for the family. In January of 1919 the hens produced 500 eggs. In February they produced 300 eggs, and she has had an average of 1,200 gallons of cherries during the past five years. In eight years past, Mrs. Moseley has had but four washings and one ironing done outside of her own home. Mr. and Mrs. Moseley do all the work of the farm and hire no help. During the past season, Mr. Moseley put up ten tons of alfalfa. and only paid out $1.85 for help. Each year he butchers six or seven hogs and during 1918 he put up 1,600
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pounds of bacon. What this couple have done and are doing on a small farm should be an inspiration and guide for others to do likewise. They have plenty, do not have to overwork, have no fears for the future and best of all, have that feeling of independence, without the worry and troubles which beset the large land owner during these times of scarcity of labor and high wages for farm help.
John F. Moseley was born in Louisiana, Mo., May 24, 1861, and is a son of William R. and Mary E. (McCree) Moseley the former of whom was an early settler in Pike County, Mo., and served with the Federal forces during the Civil War. William R. Moseley died in Louisiana in 1873. After his death and upon the opening of Oklahoma Territory to settle- ment, his widow went to Oklahoma and took up a homestead claim near Garber, Garfield County. She died there April 18, 1915. The children of the Moseley family are: Martha, wife of Charles McRae, Rock Island, Ill. ; Eva, wife of Harvey Cobb, Garber, Oklahoma; John F., of this review ; Lillie died in Oklahoma.
After being educated in the public school, John F. Moseley learned the trade of pottery maker at White Hall and for 20 years he followed his trade at Macomb, Ill. In 1902 he located in Blackwater, Mo. and remained there for eight years. He then located in Kansas City where he engaged in contracting under the firm name of Moore and Moseley. In 1911 he purchased his present farm "Shadow Lawn" and settled down to the peace- ful and comfortable life of a country gentleman.
Mr. Moseley was married in Feb. 10, 1884 to Miss Victoria Cramer, a daughter of Gabriel A. and Mary Jane (Jeffress) Cramer. Gabriel A. Cramer was born in Cooper County, Mo., July 28, 1824 and died there in August, 1913. He was a son of Gabriel Cramer a native of Pennsyl- vania while his mother was a native of Virginia, her parents coming to Missouri in 1817 in a keel boat up the Missouri River, settling near Black- water, Cooper County. The children born to Gabriel A. and Mary Cramer are: Milton, Blackwater, Mo .; Mary, deceased wife of Wright Hamilton; Lucy, deceased wife of Amos O'Neal of Cooper County; Caroline died at the age of 14 years; Gabriel A., died at the age of 61 years; Mrs. Vic- toria Moseley of this review; Susan was the wife of Peter Beck and died in 1874. Gabriel A. Cramer was president of the Farmers Stock Bank of Blackwater for a number of years, from its organization until his death in 1913. He was a large land owner, becoming owner of 520 acres in Cooper County which he sold to his son a few years prior to his death.
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Mr. and Mrs. Moseley have one daughter, Mary Magdalene, wife of J. H. Moore, Sedalia, Mo.
When Mr. and Mrs. Moseley began their married life they had but $16.00 in capital. They are honest, well meaning and industrious citizens who are a distinct gain to Jackson County. Broad gauged in their views, well informed, happy and contented in their surroundings they are well satisfied with their lot. Mrs. Moseley is a member of the Universalist church.
John R. Leinweber, president of the Citizens Bank of Lees Summit and one of the most extensive farmers and stockmen in Jackson County, is a native of Illinois. He was born in Mason County, Dec. 9, 1865, and is a son of Martin and Katherine (Rigle) Leinweber. Martin Leinweber was born in Hamburg, Germany, Feb. 21, 1824. He was reared to man- hood in his native land and in 1854, came to America, landing in New York. He worked at common labor for a time and later came west, locat- ing in Illinois. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted at Havana, Ill. and served in an Illinois cavalry regiment in the Union army for three years and three months. He was married at Paducah, Ky., Jan. 27, 1864 to Katherine Rigle, who was born at Paducah, Ky., April 26, 1846. After the close of the Civil War, Martin Leinweber settled on a farm in Mason County, Ill., where he resided for 30 years. He sold his place in Illinois and when he was about to move to Jackson County, he was accidentally drowned in Henry County, Mo., while endeavoring to ford Willow Branch creek. He was a successful business man and during the course of his career, had become very well to do. At the time of his death he was the owner of 1,840 acres of land in Jackson County and 1,820 acres in Henry County, Mo. and his vast estate is still undivided among the heirs.
To Martin and Katherine (Rigle) Leinweber were born 12 children, as follow: John R., the subject of this sketch; Mary, married Edward Stansberry, Mason County, Ill .; Elizabeth, married H. D. Hiller, Prairie township, Jackson County; Annie, married H. J. Hiller, Mason County, Ill .; Martin, Prairie township, Jackson County; Minnie, married Fred Garlish, Mason County, Ill .; Martha, married Herman Boeck, and is now deceased; Clara married William Dark, Prairie township; Katie, deceased; Emma, married E. Ritter, Prairie township; George resides in Kansas City, Mo .; and Elvina married H. Beach and lives in Prairie township. The mother of these children now resides with her son, John R., the sub- ject of this sketch.
John R. Leinweber was reared on a farm and received his education
JOHN R. LEINWEBER.
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in the public schools. Early in life he became familiar with the various details of farming and stock raising, and has made this field of endeavor his life occupation and has met with well merited success. He is now operating 1,150 acres of land and is the owner of. 450 acres of some of the best land in Jackson County. His place is well improved, with a good modern residence and other farm buildings. He carries on farming on a large scale, using tractors and other up to date farm machinery. The place has two large silos of 400 tons capacity and also a grain elevator with a capacity of 18,000 bushels. He makes a specialty of breeding pure bred Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. He holds private stock sales on an average of twice a year, and always finds ready market for his excellent strain of stock.
Mr. Leinweber was united in marriage Feb. 18, 1890, with Miss Dora Hiller, a native of Dearborn County, Ind., born Oct. 11, 1870. Her par- ents were natives of Hanover, Germany, and early settlers in Mason County, Ill. To Mr. and Mrs. Leinweber have been born five children as follows: Addie, married Paul Fisher and resides in Texas; Elsie, Alfred, Katherine and Martha, all of whom reside at home with their parents except the married daughter.
Mr. Leinweber was one of the organizers of the Citizens Bank of Lees Summit in 1906 and has been a stockholder in that institution since its organization and served as its president since 1916. He is a stock holder in the Drover's Packing Plant of Kansas City, Mo., and he is president of the Farmers Mutual Fire and Lightning Insurance Company of Jack- son County, Mo. He is a Democrat and a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Leinweber is accustomed to doing things on a large scale, and his progressive methods and business capacity have won for him a high rank among Jackson County's leading citizens.
Murt Sullivan, manager of the Atherton Elevator Company, Atherton, Mo., was born at Carters Creek, Murray County, Tenn. in 1869. He is a son of John and Mary L. (McKee) Sullivan who came to Jackson County, Mo., resided for some time in this county and at Kansas City and finally located in Clay County where they spent a number of years and returned to Jackson County. John Sullivan died in Jackson County in 1907. Mrs. Sullivan died in 1905. Their children are: Murt Sullivan, of this review; Robert, a farmer near Sibley, Mo .; Jerry, a farmer near Sibley, Mo .; and John P., Fort Osage township; Mrs. Elizabeth Jones, Sibley, Mo .; Mrs. Angie Hostetter, Blue Springs, Mo .; Daniel, Denver, Col .; Mrs. Julia James, Buckner, Mo.
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Murt Sullivan was reared to the life of a farmer and stockman and is owner of a fine farm of 278 acres, of Missouri River bottom land adjacent to Atherton on the north. For some years he was a breeder of registered Poland China hogs and made a success of this branch of animal husbandry. He has been in charge of the grain elevator at Atherton since its incep- tion and has made a success of the business through a policy of fair and honest dealings with its patrons and conducting the business in such a fair manner as to attract and hold the trade of the Atherton territory.
Mr. Sullivan was married in 1904 to Susie L. Fuhr, of Sibley, Mo., a daughter of Lawrence and Susan (Alkire) Fuhr, both of whom are de- ceased, the former dying in 1906 and the latter having departed this life in 1896.
Adam Hill, farmer and dairyman, Blue township, is a native son of Jackson County, and a member of one of the oldest pioneer families of this section of Missouri. He was born on the Hill farm, Sept. 28, 1875, and is a son of William Moberly Hill, who was born July 6, 1836, and died Nov. 27, 1912. His mother was Ann Elizabeth (Gossett) Hill, and she was born Nov. 10, 1850, and departed this life Nov. 4, 1880. William Moberly Hill was a son of Adam Hill, a pioneer of Jackson County, who came here from Kentucky in 1833, was a blacksmith by trade, and built the first race track in Jackson County. This track was laid out north of the present electric line at Englewood, and he later built a track on the farm now owned by Jo L. Hill and Frank Alston. Further details of the Hill family history will be found in the sketch of Jo L. Hill, in this volume.
Adam Hill was educated in the Rock Creek school, and the Marma- duke Military Academy, and the State University at Columbia. He grad- uated from Marmaduke Academy in 1893. After studying at the univer- sity he returned home and followed farming. For eight years he has been conducting a dairy. Mr. Hill is the owner of 40 acres, located at Overton and Eighteenth streets, in Blue township. This farm is improved with a five-room bungalow and a dairy barn and horse barn. His herd of 16 milch cows includes four registered Jerseys. This farm is well watered, be- sides having city water, Rock Creek runs through the Hill land.
Mr. Hill was married Dec. 12, 1906, to Miss Julia Forlow, of Blue township, a daughter of William and Mary Forlow. Mr. Forlow resides with his daughter. Mrs. Forlow died Aug. 28, 1890, and her remains are interred in Woodlawn cemetery. The Forlow children are: Miss Minnie Forlow, a nurse, Kansas City, Mo .; Norma, wife of J. W. Hunter; Frank, Englewood, Mo .; Oliver, Kansas City, Mo .; Mrs. Adam Hill, of this sketch ;
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Jacob, Sheffield, Mo .; Bettie, wife of Dr. W. W. Hobbs, Raytown, Mo .; Jennie, wife of Joseph Denton, Independence, Mo .; Ena, wife of G. C. Boyd, Weisre, Idaho.
Mr. and Mrs. Hill have a daughter, Frances Hill.
Robert Lee Bennett, proprietor of a flourishing furniture and under- taking business at Sugar Creek, the first of its kind to be established in that place, was born in Surrey County, N. C., Jan. 1, 1876. He is a son of James and Lavina (Boyles) Bennett, both of whom were natives of North Carolina, who spent their lives in the State of their nativity. They were the parents of seven children, as follow: William, Rufus E., David F., James N., John L., Sallie Ann, and Robert Lee. James Bennett enlisted in the Federal Army and was detailed as a hammer man, and operated a forge for the making of iron work of all kinds used in the army. He lived to be 72 years of age. His wife died at the age of 68. Both are buried at Sulphur Springs, N. C.
Robert Lee Bennett attended school at Pilot Mountain, N. C. He served as deputy sheriff for four years, and then followed farming until he came to Jackson County, Mo., in 1903. For five years he was in the employ of the Redman-Baker Grocery Company, and was then in the em- 'ploy of the Wyandotte Furniture Company for four years. On Oct. 20, 1916, he opened his furniture and undertaking business at Sugar Creek, and has built up a splendid and profitable trade.
Mr. Bennett was married Oct. 22, 1908, to Miss Emma L. Shrank, of Independence, Mo., a daghter of John and Ellen Shrank, the latter of whom is deceased, and the former lives at 830 North Spring street, with Mr. Bennett. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have two children: Ellen, and Elbert Pershing.
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