USA > Missouri > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Missouri > Part 46
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Louis Baird came to Missouri from Jellico, in the eastern part of Tennessee, and located on a farm in Cole county, prior to the Civil War. Later, he moved with his family from Cole county to Raymondville, Texas county, where he was residing at the time of his death, May 2. 1903. Burial was made in the cemetery at Old Lebanon church. Mr. Baird was a capable, industrious, highly esteemed citizen, a man
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of genial, kindly manners, possessing countless friends. Mrs. Baird makes her home with her son, John B., in Warrensburg. She is now, in 1917, in her ninety-first year and until the last year has been as active as one much younger than she. For the past year, Mrs. Baird has been blind, but, with marvelous fortitude and strength of spirit, she is bravely and cheerfully bearing the affliction that has blighted the closing years of a good, pure, useful life. There is no one in John- son county more worthy of great respect and honor than Mrs. Hannah Baird.
John B. Baird, a prominent citizen of Warrensburg, a highly skilled marble and granite cutter of the firm of Baird & Townsend, was born July 12, 1871, in Texas county, Missouri, near Raymondville. He is the son of Louis and Hannah (Broyles) Baird, both of whom were natives of Campbell county, Tennessee. Louis Baird was born Octo- ber 14, 1824, and Hannah (Broyles) Baird was born March 6, 1827. They were united in marriage at Jellico, Tennessee, December 25, 1845, and to them were born the following children: Tasy and Nancy, twins, born in 1846; Louis and Hannah, twins, who both died seven weeks after birth; Mrs. Elizabeth Mckinney, deceased; Mrs. Keisiah Benefield, deceased; Mrs. Martha J. Mckinney, Elston, Missouri; Mrs. Samantha Smith, Nile, Missouri: Mrs. Eliza Emaline Cook, Yeiser, Colorado; Mrs. Margaret Y. Birlew, deceased; Mrs. Rebecca Demaries Gil- more ; Mrs. Mary Faulkner Lemons, Birchtree, Missouri; Lawson Bell Wallace, Mountaingrove, Missouri; John Bowman, the subject of this review ; and one child died in infancy. The father's death occurred May 2. 1903. During the Civil War he served in the Missouri State Militia at Centertown, Missouri, in Captain Wilhite's company and Colonel Terry's regiment. He was a Union man and a life-long Democrat. The mother has made her home with her son. John Bowman, since the death of her husband. She is now ninety-one years of age and although afflicted with blindness for the past year, Mrs. Baird is still able to walk about the home.
John B. Baird received his education in the public schools of Texas county, Missouri. He was obliged to walk six miles to go to school, but he was an ambitious lad and enthusiastic about learning. He early in life learned the carpenter's trade and at the age of twenty-three years began life for himself. working at his trade and farming. Mr. Baird came to Warrensburg, in 1898 and was employed in work on the new
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court house the first year he lived in this city. He did his first work in stone cutting with T. F. Bailey, the veteran marble cutter of Warrens- burg, in 1898. In the same year, the firm of Farley Brothers entered the marble and granite business in Warrensburg, succeeding T. F. Bailey. In 1908, Baird & Townsend succeeded Farley Brothers and have con- tinued the business to the present time. This firm has their business establishment at 113 and 115 East Pine street. They have a large patronage and no dissatisfied customers.
April 1, 1893, John B. Baird and Lula Hayden were united in marriage. Lula (Hayden) Baird is the daughter of Frank T. and Frankie (Meadows) Hayden. Mrs. Hayden was born in Washington county, Virginia. Her death occurred in 1897 and interment was made in Ja- cobia Chapel cemetery. Mr. Hayden is now residing at Columbus, Mis- souri. To John B. and Lula Baird have been born two children: Eula May, who is a graduate of the Warrensburg State Normal School in the class of 1916, and for the past year was engaged in teaching, and is now located at Cody, Wyoming; Nada, who is a student in the War- rensburg State Normal School. Mr. and Mrs. Baird reside at 111 Broad street in a handsome, modern residence, a home of ten rooms, and all the latest conveniences. Mr. Baird has a workshop in con- nection with his garage, and in his little shop does much of his work. He possesses ability as a cabinet worker and his excellent taste and skill are manifested in his home.
Mr. Baird is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Woodmen of the World and the Court of Honor. Mr. and Mrs. Baird are valued highly among Johnson county's most respected citizens.
Laura L. Runyon, the associate professor of history in the War- rensburg State Normal School, was born in Springfield, Illinois, the daughter of John C. and Harriet (Chase) Runyon, the former a native of New Jersey and the publisher of the "Courier News" at Plainfield, in that state, at the time of his death. Miss Runyon is of Scotch and French descent and a member of one of the most distinguished families in America. The genealogy of her mother, Harriet (Chase) Runyon, traces back to the same ancestors as those of the renowned Salmon P. Chase, an American statesman, Secretary of the Treasury from 1861 until December, 1864. and then chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States until his death in 1873. To. John C. and Harriet
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(Chase) Runyon were born the following children: Orrin E., deceased; David M., Plainfield, New Jersey; Elma H., Plainfield, New Jersey; Laura L., the subject of this review; Charles W., Plainfield, New Jer- sey ; Harry C., Plainfield, New Jersey; Marian, the wife of C. L. Mof- fett, of Lebanon, New Jersey; and Adalaide, the wife of Gerald Olliff, who is at the time of this writing, on the battleship "Oklahoma" in the United States Navy. The Runyon family have long been promi- nent in the historical annals of this country and was one of the leading colonial families. The ancestors of John C. Runyon came to America in 1682 and settled in that section of New Jersey, which later became Union county. Isaac Goodrich, a great-great-grandfather of Laura L. Runyon, was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Both parents of Miss Runyon are now deceased.
The elementary education of Laura L. Runyon was received in the public schools and the high school of Plainfield, New Jersey. After completing the high school course, she entered the University of Chi- cago, from which institution she is a graduate and has her master's degree. Miss Runyon was engaged in teaching in the elementary schools of the university for five years prior to coming to Warrensburg in 1903. At that time she was employed as superintendent of the Normal Training School. She is now associate professor in the de- partment of history and conducts classes in the State Normal School. Miss Runyon has charge of four courses in Modern History-Greek, Roman, Methods in History, and Nineteenth Century History.
Miss Runyon is a member of the Daughters of the American Revo- lution and a charter member of the Warrensburg chapter. She now holds the position of regent. She has taken an active and commend- able interest in locating historical spots in Johnson county and was the one who suggested the marking of the grave of Martin Warren, which act was perhaps the first of the countless valuable ones of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The city of Warrensburg was named in honor of Martin Warren.
William E. Sutton, secretary and treasurer of the Roseland Farm & Manufacturing Company of Warrensburg, was born in Warrensburg township in 1876. He is the son of J. W. and Nannie E. (Coats) Sutton, the former, a native of Kentucky, and the latter of Johnson county. J. W. Sutton was born near Danville, Kentucky, the son of William Sutton, Sr., and when eight years of age came to Missouri with his
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parents, who settled on land about four miles east of Warrensburg. which Mr. Sutton entered from the government early in the fifties. William Sutton was engaged in farming and was a prosperous and well-known citizen of Johnson county. His death occurred on the old home place and interment was made in the Sutton cemetery. Nan- nie E. (Coats) Sutton is the daughter of Bowen Coats, an honored and esteemed pioneer of Johnson county, and Lucinda (Warren) Coats, a grandchild of Martin Warren, in whose honor the city of Warrens- burg was named. J. W. and Nannie E. Sutton are the parents of the following children: Lillian, the wife of Arch Greim, of Warrensburg; William E., the subject of this review : and Bertie, who is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Sutton reside in Warrensburg township on the farm five miles southeast of Warrensburg, where William E., the subject of this review, was born. Mr. Sutton is an industrious, efficient farmer and stockman and the owner of a splendid stock farm of two hundred seventy-six acres of valuable land.
The primary education of William E. Sutton was obtained in the country schools of Warrensburg township. . He later entered the War- rensburg State Normal School and also was a student in the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois, after leaving the Normal School For several years after completing his school work, Mr. Sutton was engaged in teaching school in Johnson county. In 1910, he accepted a position with the Roseland Farm & Manufacturing Company as book- keeper. At the present time he is secretary and treasurer of the com- pany.
The Roseland Farm & Manufacturing Company manufactured ice and pork products. In winter they sell fresh meats and in the summer time sell the cured and packed meats and manufactured ice. The company employs usually fifteen men and they have an excellent and profitable business. William E. Sutton pays the closest attention to all the details of the trade and much of the success which the company has deservedly had is due in no small measure to his careful management of the finances and general supervision.
February 19, 1913, William E. Sutton and Mabel Cline were united in marriage. Mrs. Sutton is the daughter of J. E. and Emily Cline, of Pueblo, Colorado. Mr. Cline is now deceased and Mrs. Cline resides with her daughter, Mrs. William E. Sutton. To William E. and Mabel (Cline) Sutton has been born one child, a daughter, Vivian. Mr. and Mrs. Sutton reside at 347 East Market street in Warrensburg.
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James H. Hering, late prominent hardware and lumber merchant of Centerview for a quarter century, was a native of Maryland. He was born in 1838 in Frederick county, a son of Joshua and Susanna Hering, both or whom were members of leading colonial families of Maryland. Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Hering were the parents of the fol- lowing children, who are now living: Mrs. Joseph C. Martin, Thur- mont, Maryland; Mrs. F. A. Norris, Steelton, Pennsylvania; Dr. D. W. Hering, New York City; F. E., Wilmington, Delaware; and John M., the well known citizen of Johnson county, of the Realty Securities Cor- poration. Both father and mother have long since been deceased.
The Herings resided for many years in the city of Baltimore and there James H. Hering spent most of his boyhood days and early man- hood. During the Civil War, Mr. Hering enlisted with the Army of the Potomac and served throughout the four years of conflict, being mustered out and honorably discharged in 1865, with the rank of first lieutenant. In the year after the war had ended, in 1866, James H. Hering came to Warrensburg, Missouri two or three weeks after the Repp family had moved from Maryland to Johnson county. Mr. Her- ing located at Centerview a few years later and engaged in the hard- ware and lumber business, following this vocation for nearly twenty- six years.
In 1867 James H. Hering and Sarah Repp, daughter of Ephraim B. Repp, of Warrensburg, Missouri, but a former resident of Mary- land, were united in marriage. To this union were born nine children, six of whom are now living: Mrs. Mary S. Hunter, Newton, Kansas; Mrs. Jessie Delaney, Centerview, Missouri; J. Clinton, Washington, D. C .; Margaret E., the wife of Rodney Hull, of Centerview, Missouri ; Elizabeth, the wife of Raymond Graham, of Los Angeles, California ; and E. P., Centerview, Missouri, who is one of the owners now of his father's hardware establishment. For four years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Hering resided at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Mr. Hering was a carpenter by trade and he was engaged in this occupation many years. He purchased eighty acres of land south of Warrensburg, when he first came to Missouri, and four years later sold this tract and settled in Centerview. He succeeded well in the mercantile business and was known all over Johnson county.
Mr. Hering was active in the ranks of the Republican party. He was a member of the Colonel Grover Post of the Grand Army of the
JAMES H. HERING.
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Republic and he had been an earnest and consistent Christian, a mem- ber of the Baptist church for forty years. As there was no Baptist church in Centerview, Mr. Hering worked with the Presbyterians. He was deeply interested in educational and all public matters and in the advancement of his community and his long life of seventy-two years and six months was spent in nobly doing his part in aiding the growth and development of his chosen county. The following is an extract copied from an article, relative to the loss of James H. Hering, which appeared in the local paper at the time of his death in 1911:
"Mr. Hering was a man of irreproachable character, with a circle of friends as large as his acquaintanceship, and he will be sadly missed, by Centerview and Johnson county. *
"The funeral of J. H. Hering at Centerview, Wednesday, was attended by an immense concourse of people, gathered to pay the last sad tribute to a beloved citizen. The stores of Centerview were all closed, the merchants and clerks attending the funeral. A touching sermon was preached by Reverend J. O. Staples and the body of a good man was laid to rest. Mr. Hering made no claim to greatness and was a man of unostentatious disposition, but he left the greatest memorial of all-an unsullied reputation."
The widow of James H. Hering owns the homestead and her son, E. P., and his family make their home with her in Centerview. In 1911, E. P. Hering and Edward Repp formed a partnership and assumed charge of the hardware and lumber business formerly owned by Mr. Hering's father. They are at this time carrying a stock valued at twenty thousand dollars. Their business slogan is, "Everything with which to build." Mr. Hering and Mr. Repp are both excellent business men and have a host of friends, who desire that the new firm succeed as well as did the old in the mercantile world.
In 1907, E. P. Hering was united in marriage with Harriet Cecil Gowans, daughter of A. D. and Mary Gowans, pioneers of Johnson county. To this union have been born two children: Pauline and James, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Hering are highly regarded in Centerview, where they are numbered among the best citizens.
William Shockey, president of the Roseland Farm & Manufac- turing Company of Warrensburg, was born one mile east of St. Louis, Missouri, on the home place of the Shockeys, which was located on
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the banks of Horseshoe Lake. He was born in 1869, the son of John E. and Mary E. (Beems) Shockey, the former a native of Kentuckey and the latter of Illinois. They were the parents of the following children: Josie B., the wife of Charles B. Ming, formerly of Warrens- burg, but now residing in Los Angeles, California; who is the son of the honored pioneer of Warrensburg, in whose honor the street was named Ming: Kate S., the wife of Albert Morrow, now deceased, and she resides in Jefferson City, Missouri; Nellie S., the wife of John F. Grote, of Clinton, Iowa; Lovell, who was a well-known citizen of St. Louis, Missouri, who died in 1914 and he was interred in the cemetery at Warrensburg; and Mayme, wife of Edgar M. Scott, of St. Louis, Missouri.
John E. Shockey moved with his family to Johnson county in 1871 and settled in Warrensburg, where he was for a long time engaged in conducting a livery, feed and sale stable. He later entered the mercan- tile business in partnership with W. H. Lee, the firm owning a hardware store where the Citizens Bank is now located. Mr. Shockey abandoned the hardware business and engaged in the grocery business, associated with Alex O. Redford and J. Ray Kelley. He was succeeded in busi- ness by his son, William Shockey, in 1892. The father died in 1903 and was buried in the Warrensburg cemetery. Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Shockey has resided in St. Louis, Missouri.
William Shockey attended the public schools of Warrensburg and the Warrensburg State Normal School and completed the C course in 1887. He was for a number of years employed by the mercantile firm, Shockey & Kelley, in Warrensburg. Later, William Shockey and Dean S. Redford were associated in business, under the firm name of Red- ford & Shockey. Mr. Shockey purchased Mr. Redford's interest in the firm and for several years conducted the grocery business alone, until 1905. Since 1907 he has devoted his entire attention to the inter- ests of the Roseland Farm & Manufacturing Company, of which he is president. William Shockey is also general manager of the com- pany and has sole charge of the sales department. William E. Sut- ton and Arch Greim attended to the buying.
The Roseland Farm & Manufacturing Company began business on the farm belonging to Charlie Baile near Pertle Springs, in 1898. The low price of hogs in 1897 was the underlying cause, responsibile for the establishment of this factory. At this time, William Shockey
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was in the grocery business, his store being located on Pine street in Warrensburg. Mr. Baile raised and fed hogs extensively and he killed the animals, made sausage, cured the hams, and made other products, which Mr. Shockey handled through his store and assisted in market- ing all the products, which he was unable to sell in his store. This firm made a specialty of country-cured sausage and hams and they furnished the best hotels and restaurants with their products. The first year, 1898, about three or possibly four hundred hogs were killed. The business has grown marvelously within the past score of years and six thousand hogs were killed during the past year.
In 1907, Mr. Shockey purchased the interest of Mr. Baile and moved the factory to the Eureka Mills building, the location of the first large mill in Johnson county, and has continued the business at this place ever since that time. The company employs fifteen men the entire year. They sell both fresh and cured meats. In 1909, the firm began the manufacture of ice in connection with their meat business and they now have a large storage plant for ice in connection with their factory. This plant has a storage capacity of one thousand tons of ice and the walls of the building are seventeen inches in thickness, with four inches of cork lining the entire structure. The cost of the cork alone was three thousand dollars. The pump capacity is forty gallons a minute. The well, an eight hundred foot drilled well, used in connection with the manufacture of ice, furnishes water for cooling purposes alone, as the ice is manufactured from the city water. The plant ordinarily has a capacity of fifteen tons of ice each day, with a storage of thirty tons, used in connection with their meat products. The meat is smoked with green hickory wood. The Roseland Farm & Manufacturing Com- pany own their electric light plant and, in 1917, are installing a ferti- lizing plant. The meats in storage are kept at a minimum tempera- ture of thirty-four degrees and every sanitary precaution is taken in the handling of the products. The demand for these products is much greater than the production. The company owns fifteen acres of land within the city limits of Warrensburg and their plant is located at 333 and 335 East Gay street on the railroad switch. This business estab- lishment is one of which Johnson county is proud to claim.
April 27, 1898, William B. Shockey and Blanche Harwood were united in marriage. Mrs. Shockey is the daughter of Robert B. and Rosa E. (DesCombes) Harwood. Robert B. Harwood was one of
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the most respected of the brave pioneers of Johnson county. He served the county as county clerk for two terms. Mr. Harwood was one of Warrensburg's best citizens and his death was the source of the deepest regret in this community. Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Har- wood has made her home with her daughter, Mrs. William Shockey. To William B. and Blanche (Harwood) Shockey have been born two children : William Harwood and Eleanor Blanche. Mr. and Mrs. Shockey reside at 408 Normal avenue, in Warrensburg.
William Shockey is affiliated with the Corinthian Lodge No. 265, of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Demolay Chapter No. 26, of the Royal Arch Masons. He is one of Johnson county's pro- gressive citizens.
Ben T. Sams, one of Warrensburg's successful business men, was born in Franklin county, Missouri, in 1860. He is the son of Edward and Jessey (Oxley) Sams, both of whom were natives of England. Edward Sams was born in Ware, the son of John Hill Sams, who was a native Englishman. When Edward was a young man, the Sams fam- ily went to Australia, during the period of the excited rush to the gold fields there, and they remained in that country nearly five years. Ed- ward Sams was one of the first men in the Ballarat mines of New South Wales. Jessey (Oxley) Sams was born in London and with her par- ents went to Australia, where she met and was united in marriage with Edward Sams. The two families returned to England and thence came to Missouri about 1856, settling in Johnson county in 1867, after a temporary sojourn in Franklin county. John Hill Sams manufactured an excellent quality of English ale. but as the settlers of Missouri pre- ferred beer to ale, his business venture was unsuccessful.
When the Sams family moved to Warrensburg, Edward Sams estab- lished a factory at the corner of Culton and Warren streets, where he engaged in the manufacture of pop. The product of this factory was shipped to Clinton, Lexington, Sedalia, Kansas City, Missouri, and Leavenworth, Kansas and to many smaller places. The water used in the manufacture of this beverage was obtained from the well, which is located on the Henry Love property. Pop then retailed at ten cents a bottle, a case of two dozen bottles costing one dollar and thirty-five cents. The cork was held in the bottle by a wire, which must be pushed off and the gas inside the bottle would then force out the cork with a loud pop, and thus the drink came by its.name here. John Hill Sams and
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his family were intimate friends of Gen. Francis M. Cockrell and of J. H. Houx and his family, all being members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church of Warrensburg. Nellie Sams, the wife of John Hill Sams, died in 1880 and two years later her husband died and the remains of both are interred in the cemetery at Warrensburg. The death of their son, Edward Sams, occurred in 1905 in Warrensburg. His wife survived him but four years, her death occurring in Warrens- burg in 1909. They are buried in the cemetery at Warrens- burg. Edward and Jessey ( Oxley) Sams were the parents of the fol- lowing children: George Anglesey, who was born on board ship "An- glesey" en route to England from Australia just as the vessel was rounding Cape Horn, and he is now residing at Portland, Oregon, where he is engaged in the harness business, being a saddler by trade ; Ben T., the subject of this review; Walter, who was a jeweler and inventor, formerly in the jewelry business in Warrensburg, one of his inventions being the Sams' blowpipe, which is used by all up-to-date dentists and jewelers, and his death occurred July 6, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois; Eleanor, who is the wife of J. P. Christopher, of Shreveport. Louisiana : William E., who for twenty-five years was engaged in the jewelry business in Clinton. Missouri, and is now employed as salesman with the Jaccard Jewelry Company of Kansas City, Missouri; James, a druggist, Ocean Park, California.
Ben T. Sams received his education in the city schools of War- rensburg. He was a student in the Warrensburg State Normal School when Professor Osborn, as principal, sent young Sams home one day for lack of application to the study of grammar. The lad found it sometimes difficult to concentrate his attention upon subjects distaste- ful to him and his mind would wander to the life outside the walls of the school room. Ben T. Sams was a youth of much pride and he never returned to school. Years afterward. Professor Osborn desired a range for his home and he came to make his purchase at the hard- ware store owned by Mr. Sams. Mr. Sams sold the range to the pro- fessor and took it to his home. While he was employed in putting up the stove. the professor said, "Mr. Sams, do you remember the day I sent you home from school?" Mr. Sams remembered it as well as if it had occurred but the preceding day. "Well." said the professor, "I remember it distinctly, too, and I realize that I made a great mistake." I have learned a whole lot more about boys and their
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