USA > Missouri > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Missouri > Part 55
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most eminent families of the early days. Two widely known and dis- tinguished men of our day are descendants of the Craig family of Ken- tucky: Governor Shirley of Kentucky, and Edward Eggleston, the poet and historian, author of "True Stories of American Life and Adven- ture," "A First Book in American History," "A History of the United States and Its People." "Stories of Great Americans for Little Ameri- cans," and many historical novels. Mary Jane (Guthrie) Craig was the daughter of Livingston M. Guthrie, who was also a native of Kentucky and of Scotch descent. Reuben Craig and Mary Jane Guthrie were united in marriage in Kentucky and in 1867 came to Missouri, where they located in Callaway county. They remained in that county seven years and in 1874 moved to Johnson county, where they settled on a farm in Grover township. To Reuben and Mary Craig were born three children: Leonval T., Knob Noster, Missouri; Mrs. Lucy Snell, who died in 1896; and A. M., the subject of this review. Reuben Craig was well known and highly respected in Johnson county. Mrs. Craig died in 1884 on the farm in Grover township and three years later she was followed in death by her husband, the death of Reuben Craig occur- ring in 1887.
A. M. Craig was a boy nine years of age. when he came to Missouri with his parents. He attended school in Callaway and Johnson coun- ties. He was sixteen years old when the Craig family moved in 1874 to the farm in Grover township. near Knob Noster, and he attended school in Knob Noster. Marion Bigley taught the school and Mr. Craig recalls among his classmates, W. F. Denton, C. W. Weidman. T. E. Rigg, and S. J. Dudley. From earliest boyhood. A. M. Craig assisted his father with the work of the farm. He now owns a splendid farm in Washington township. Johnson county.
In 1883, A. M. Craig was united in marriage with Fannie E. Souther, the daughter of Simeon and Mahala Souther, who were honored pio- neers of Johnson county, coming from Kentucky at an early day. To A. M. Craig and Fannie E. (Souther) Craig have been born four chil- dren: Mary M., Gladys L., George M .. and Francis A.
Mr. Craig entered the real estate business in Knob Noster in 1896, in which he has since been successfully engaged. Land in Mis- souri has increased in value threefold since that time. Farmers in John- son county are engaging more and more in the dairy business, which, in a large measure, accounts for part of the increase in land valuation.
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Besides his farm in Washington township, Mr. Craig is owner of his real estate office in Knob Noster, his handsome residence, a modern struc- ture of nine rooms, and several store buildings in Knob Noster. For the past fourteen years, he has been public administrator and for fifteen years, he has been manager of the Home Telephone Company. Mr. and Mrs. Craig take active interest in church work, both being valued members of the Knob Noster Christian church. Mr. Craig has been superintendent of the Christian Sunday school for many years and an elder in the church. He is also a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mrs. Belle A. (Post) Hunter, widow of the late Samuel F. Hunter, one of Johnson county's bravest and noblest women, owner of "The Pines," a beautiful country home five miles southeast of Warrensburg, is a native of Pennsylvania. She was born in Washington county, Penn- sylvania, the daughter of Clark Post, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania. Clark Post is the son of William and Margaret (Lindley) Post, of Pennsylvania. Margaret (Lindley) Post was the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Morgan) Lindley, one of the best of the old colonial families of Revolutionary ancestry. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Clark Post, the following are now living: Etta M., who is the wife of Charles Post, of Spencerville. Ohio; Frank S., of Portland, Oregon : John L., who resides on the homestead near Clays- ville, Pennsylvania, and who represented his home county, Washington county, in the state Legislature in 1913 and 1914; and Mrs. Belle A. Hunter, the subject of this review.
The Post family moved from Pennsylvania in 1870 to a farm located in Pottawatomie county, near Manhattan, Kansas, where they resided for thirteen years, when they moved to Johnson county, Missouri, where Clark Post purchased the present home of Mrs. Hunter. About ten years after the daughter, Belle A., was married, Mr. and Mrs. Hunter purchased the farm in Warrensburg township and her father and mother returned to their old home in Washington county, Pennsylvania, where they are now residing. Mr. and Mrs. Clark Post celebrated their golden wedding anniversary December 16, 1916, at the old homestead in Penn- sylvania and their four children were all present, with thirteen of the fourteen grandchildren. Three of the Post children were graduates of the Warrensburg State Normal School.
SAMUEL F. HUNTER.
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November 10, 1886, Samuel F. Hunter and Belle A. Post were united in marriage. Samuel F. Hunter was born October 14, 1860, in Hawkins county, Tennessee. He was the son of Calvin C. and Martha J. (Eidson) Hunter, the former, a native of South Carolina and the latter, a native of Tennessee. Calvin C. Hunter was born in 1835 and Martha J. (Eidson) Hunter in 1832. They were united in marriage in Tennessee and to them were born the following children: John W., of Knob Noster, Missouri; William E., who resides at Missoula, Mon- tana; Samuel F., the deceased husband of the subject of this review; Hillery G., of Knob Noster, Missouri; R. W., who resides at Polson, Montana; Charles S., of Knob Noster, Missouri; and Mary Magdalene, who is the wife of P. A. Riggle, of New Rockford, North Dakota. Calvin C. Hunter enlisted in the Civil War, serving with the Con- federate army for four years. He enlisted in Tennessee as a private and at the battle of Vicksburg was promoted to the position of first lieutenant as reward for valor in battle. After the Civil War had ended, Calvin C. Hunter moved with his family in 1870 to Missouri, where they settled on a farm northeast of Knob Noster in Johnson county. His death occurred at the home of his son, William, in Missoula, Montana, in 1913. His wife had preceded her husband in death six years before. her death occurring in 1907, and the remains of both parents of Samuel F. Hunter are interred in the cemetery at Warrensburg.
Samuel F. Hunter was educated in the public schools of Johnson county. He remained at home with his parents until the time of his marriage. In 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel F. Hunter moved on the farm six miles northeast of Knob Noster, where they resided for seven years. They moved to the present home of Mrs. Hunter in 1893, which they purchased from her parents. The farm comprises one hundred sixty acres of valuable land, well located and supplied with an abundance of water. Spring branch flows through the place, which is chiefly devoted to stock raising, practically all the farm being in pasture land. Mrs. Hunter has at the present time fourteen cows at "The Pines" and is conducting a very profitable business in selling cream to the Warrensburg Creamery Company. The farm was named "The Pines" because of the fine. old pine trees, which shade the lawn, trees which are probably the oldest. having been planted seventy-five years ago, and undoubtedly the largest and most splendid in the township. "The Pines" is nicely improved and kept. In 1907, the barn, 40 x 56 feet
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in dimensions, was built. Mr. Hunter always took great pride in keep- ing the place in the best condition and repair.
To Samuel F. and Belle A. (Post) Hunter were born six children: Naomi Belle, who is now the wife of Otto F. Greim, the prosperous young proprietor of "Hillcrest Farm" in Warrensburg township, and to them has been born a son, Otto F., Jr., born March 27, 1917, the first and only grandchild; Edna Lucile, a teacher; Clark Calvin; Nana Lois Post, a student in Warrensburg State Normal; John Dale, and Glenn Samuel. Five children are at home at "The Pines" with their mother. There are no better trained, more interesting children in this state than the Hunter children. The father died September 13, 1916, and burial was made in the cemetery at Warrensburg. Mrs. Hunter is keeping their little family together on the farm, which place she is managing remarkably well.
In 1906, Samuel F. Hunter was elected road commissioner for Warrensburg township and he served in this position with great satis- faction to all his constituents for two terms. Mr. Hunter was highly intellectual man, broad minded, capable, and progressive, one who pos- sessed many qualities worthy of the greatest respect and esteem. His loss to the citizenship of Johnson county has been deeply felt and mourned. He was a member and active worker in Mt. Zion Cumber- land Presbyterian church. For a number of years he was superin- tendent of the Sunday School, for some years he also had charge of the Valley school house Sunday School. For twenty years prior to his death he was active in Sunday School work and until his health failed him he continued in the Lord's work. Mr. Hunter was one of the ruling elders of Mt. Zion Cumberland church.
G. B. Bozarth, who has long been recognized as one of Johnson county's leading citizens, is a worthy representative of an honored and respected pioneer family of Johnson county. Mr. Bozarth was born February 6, 1862, near Jacksonville in Morgan county, Illinois, a son of Abram Johnson and Olive (Ticknor) Bozarth, both of whom were natives of Illinois. The Bozarths are of French and the Ticknors of English descent. The maternal grandmother of G. B. Bozarth was a direct descendant of the Richardsons, who were among the one hundred two Pilgrims that set sail in the "Mayflower" from Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620. The Richardsons in England have for centuries been a noted family. Samuel Richardson (1689-1761), was
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the discoverer of a new literary form, the modern novel, and the author of many well-known books, among which are, "Pamela," "Clarissa Har- lowe," and "Sir Charles Grandison." Sir John Richardson (1787-1865). a distinguished naturalist, was a surgeon in the English navy and an Arctic explorer, whose works on Arctic zoology have been widely studied. He was knighted in 1846. The Richardsons who came to the New World in the "Mayflower" were closely connected with the fami- lies that produced the author and the explorer.
Olive (Ticknor) Bozarth died in Illinois in 1864. She left three children motherless: Arthur, who died in October, 1880; Dr. Charles Walter, who is now a prominent physician of Los Angeles, California ; and G. B., the subject of this review. The father remarried and to the second union was born one child, a son : Dr. J. R. Bozarth. a well-known physician of Centerview, Missouri.
In the spring of 1866, Abram Bozarth came with his family to Johnson county, Missouri, and they settled near Kirkpatrick's Mill, now the site of Valley City, on a tract of land comprising five hundred acres, which he purchased for about fifteen dollars an acre. The farm was all "raw land," three hundred sixty acres of which were open prairie lying to the southeast and the remainder was in timber. By much hard labor, Abram Bozarth cleared and reduced to a good state of cultivation his vast acres and in a few years was one of the prosperous and suc- cessful farmers of his community.
During the Civil War, Abram Bozarth enlisted with the Union army, serving with the Twenty-seventh Illinois Infantry as captain under Logan, Grant, and Sherman for nearly three years. Though he had been a Federal soldier, Mr. Bozarth was not imbittered by the conflict and in after years spent countless days and nights cheerfully giving assistance to some ex-Confederate friend or neighbor in times of trouble or grief. As in war, so in peace, Abram Bozarth was a leader of men. It will be remembered that it was he who killed the "Marshall Branch Railroad Bond" proposition in Simpson and Grover townships, which was as crooked a business deal as has ever been promulgated in Johnson county. Innocent of its true import. Abram Bozarth was originally a "booster" for the proposition, but when he was approached with a counter-proposition to accept a secret share of the "hush fund," he was highly indignant, promptly turned down the offer, and used his influence, which was by no means small, to defeat the bonds and he accomplished his purpose.
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Although a busy man, deeply immersed in his private business inter- ests, Abram Bozarth unselfishly gave much of his time to the advance- ment of education and the church. He was one of the founders of Valley City Christian church and of this religious institution was an elder for many years. As a citizen, neighbor, and friend, no man in this county occupied a larger place in the respect and esteem of his fellow-men than did Abram Bozarth. In the social circles of his com- munity, he was a favorite. He lived wisely and well, discharging in the fear of his Master all the duties of citizenship, and leaving a record as an honorable, honest, courteous gentleman, a name of which his descen- dants may be justly proud. Captain Bozarth died May 1, 1906 and his remains were laid to rest in the cemetery at Knob Noster. His widow survives and she is now residing in Warrensburg.
December 30, 1880, the marriage of G. B. Bozarth and Mary S. Foster was solemnized. Mary S. (Foster) Bozarth was born Novem- ber 16, 1858, on her father's farm in Johnson county. She is a member of a prominent pioneer family of this county, a family that was among the first settlers of Missouri. Mrs. Bozarth is a daughter of Sanford Foster, who was born in Kentucky on January 17, 1829, a son of James Foster, who came to Missouri from Kentucky bringing his family and a vanguard of slaves as early as 1840. The Fosters were wealthy planta- tion owners in the South and they cleared and cultivated as much as a section of land in Johnson county, Missouri. They were dominant factors in the growth, development, and upbuilding of the county. James Foster died on his farm in Johnson county May 7, 1867. To G. B. and Mary S. (Foster) Bozarth have been born the following children: Bessie Lee, who was born March 8, 1882, married Charles E. McNary, of Barton county, Missouri, on December 23, 1902, and died August 8, 1913 ; Hattie May, who was born May 2, 1885, married Milton A. Boone on September 22, 1907, and they are now residing on a farm in Simpson township: Olive Ann, who was born September 3. 1888, married B. W. Bracken on April 5, 1906, and they reside on a farm in Hazel Hill town- ship: Frank Foster, who was born July 25, 1890: Beulah L., who was born August 1, 1894, married J. C. Erdweiss on May 22, 1913, and they now reside in Lafayette county: Charles A., who was born May 16, 1898: and Willie S., who was born January 5, 1900. Frank Foster, Charles A., and Willie S. are now at home with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Bozarth have resided in Simpson township, with the exception of six years, all their married lives. They own one hundred twenty acres
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of the Sanford Foster place and their residence is located on the site of an old, Indian camping ground. The first white man to locate here was "Uncle George" Angel, who settled in Johnson county in a very early day. Sanford Foster was the next owner of this farm and since 1852 the title to the land has never once passed out of the ownership of some member of the Foster family. Mr. and Mrs. Bozarth are highly respected members of the Valley City Christian church. Mr. Bozarth is a firm adherent to the principles of the Republican party. The Bozartlı home is well known to the best people of Johnson county and the influence of the Bozarths has long been exerted in behalf of all that conduces to kindness, benevolence, and right living.
Edwin P. Minor, a successful and enterprising farmer and stock- man of Simpson township, is a member of one of the first families of Missouri and a son of one the first settlers of Marion county. Mr. Minor was born April 9, 1858, in Adams county, Illinois, a son of Thomas and Nancy C. (Collier) Minor, both of whom were natives of Kentucky.
When Thomas Minor was a youth, fifteen years of age, he came with his parents from Kentucky to Missouri and they settled on a farm in Marion county near Hannibal, about 1837. On this farm he grew to manhood and in Marion county, Missouri, was united in marriage with Nancy C. Collier. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Minor left Missouri shortly after their marriage and went to Illinois and in that state resided until after the Civil War, when they returned to Missouri. To Thomas and Nancy C. Minor were born eleven children, five of whom died in infancy or in childhood, six were reared to maturity, and four are now living, at the time of this writing, in 1917: Mrs. Martha J. Fry, who died in August, 1868; Thomas Henry, who died in August, 1874; William R .; Mrs. William Foster, who owns the Minor homestead in Simpson town- ship; Mrs. C. O. Bales; and Edwin P., the subject of this review. Dur- ing the Civil War, Thomas Minor enlisted in the Federal army and served throughout the war with Company F. Thirty-sixth Illinois In- fantry under General Thomas, who was known as the "Rock of Chicka- mauga." Mr. Minor took an active and effective part in the battles of Franklin and Nashville and in numerous other engagements.
In 1869, the Minors returned from Illinois to Missouri and this time they settled in Johnson county in 1870 on a tract of land, comprising twenty acres, in Simpson township and on this little farm Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Minor spent the remainder of their lives. The father died September 11, 1904. The mother had preceded her husband in death
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about six years. It is a pleasure to commemorate, inadequate though the memoir may be, the life of one who, though engaged in the mani- fold duties of an active agriculturist and upon whom rested the grave responsibility of providing and caring for a large family, proved himself an upright, courageous, patriotic citizen and when the call of his country became imperative did not shirk but went bravely forth in its defense, to suffer and to die-if need be-for "Old Glory." Measured by the true standard of value, which is not that of dollars and cents, the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Minor were decidedly successful.
The early life of Edwin P. Minor was spent on his father's farm in Simpson township. He was a lad, twelve years of age, when his parents moved back to Missouri from Illinois. He attended the district school near his home when opportunity was so given, but he did not complete the prescribed course of study on account of his services being required at home. Mr. Minor has worked hard ever since he has been large enough to manage a plow and other farm implements of labor. He left school at the early age of sixteen years and when he had reached the age at which young men are supposed to sever home ties and begin life for themselves, Mr. Minor was self-supporting. He labored as a "hired hand" for several years and then with his savings purchased a team of horses and the needed farm implements, rented a tract of land in Illinois, and for eleven years was engaged in farming in that state. He returned to Johnson county, Missouri, in 1894 and rented a farm, comprising ninety-two acres, in Simpson township, which place he pur- chased the ensuing year, paying seventeen hundred dollars for the land. Since acquiring the ownership of this farm, Mr. Minor has improved it, adding the residence. barn, chicken-house, and other farm buildings. He has cleared twenty-five acres and now has the entire farm under a high state of cultivation. As a producer of grain, Edwin P. Minor has few equals and he has also achieved splendid success as a breeder of cattle, hogs and horses.
March 25, 1885, Edwin P. Minor and Nettie Jones were united in marriage in Stillwell, Hancock county, Illinois. To this union were born six children: Carl Thomas, born October 19, 1886, married Kate Gibson, and they reside in Warrensburg, Missouri; Ralph, born March 27. 1888, married Stella Pollock, and they reside in Centerview township, John- son county ; Floy Viola, born March 14, 1890, married Charles Horn, and they reside in Warrensburg, Missouri: Zola C., born October 9, 1892; George, born February 28, 1894; and Nettie May, born June 18,
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1902, and died August 10, 1902. The mother died a few days after the birth of Nettie May, on June 29, 1902. September 6, 1905, the marriage of Mr. Minor and Mrs. Nellie M. ( Medis) South, daughter of Isaac Medis, of Warrensburg, Missouri, and widow of Arthur B. South, was solemnized. To Mr. and Mrs. Minor have been born two children : Ruth Leone, born July 31, 1906 and Edwin Paul, Jr., born January 30, 1908. By her first husband, Mrs. Nellie MI. South Minor is the mother of three children: Frank D., born December 27, 1895; Nellie Marie, born March 29, 1900; and Ora Gertrude, born August 10, 1902.
Some idea of the magnitude of the labor performed by Edwin P. Minor since he came to Simpson township more than a score of years ago may be had when one thinks how long a time and how much work is involved in clearing one acre of ground and then know that he has cleared twenty-five, an undertaking from which the young men of today would shrink, quite probably. From early morn until late at night the strokes of his ax might be heard echoing and re-echoing through the silent wood. Endowed by nature with superb physical powers and blessed with splendid health, Mr. Minor has made rapid progress improv- ing his tract of land and now the timber and brush are supplanted by cultivated fields and a substantial residence stands where once stood a rude, log cabin home. Mr. Minor takes an active interest in politics and he votes the Democratic ticket, but has never aspired to official posi- tion. He has always been deeply interested in the material prosperity of his community and has freely contributed his influence and support to all movements having for their object the moral uplift of his fellow-men.
Henry Park, M. D., a prominent and highly valued physician of Knob Noster, Missouri. was born in Johnson county in 1858. He is the son of John and Letitia (Bigham) Park, the former a son of William Park, who lived and died in Kentucky, and the latter, a daughter of Mr. Bigham. of Alabama. John Park was born in Kentucky in 1818. He left Kentucky in early manhood and came to Missouri in 1845, locat- ing in Pettis county, where he remained twelve years. In 1857, he moved to Johnson county, where he purchased four hundred forty acres of land and engaged in farming and stock raising. John Park was well known throughout Johnson county and was highly esteemed and re- spected. Perhaps few men in this section of the state have as many friends and acquaintances as had he. and his death in 1894 was the source of deepest regret to scores of men and women in this community.
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He was a citizen possessing many qualities commanding respect and worthy of the greatest honor and esteem. Mrs. Park made her home with her son, Dr. Henry Park, until her death in 1916.
Henry Park attended the public schools of Johnson county and the Warrensburg State Normal School. He is a graduate of Barnes' Uni- versity in the class of 1893. For ten years he was engaged in the teach- ing profession, four years of which were spent in Kansas, before he entered the medical school. Doctor Park began the practice of medicine at Dunksburg, Missouri. In 1893 and in 1909 he entered the medical profession at Knob Noster where he now has a very large practice, a patronage which encompasses a circuit of ten miles in practically all directions from Knob Noster. Dr. Park drives a car and is thus enabled to reach his most distant patient within thirty minutes of receiving the call.
Dr. Henry Park was united in marriage with Susan Swope in 1882. Susan (Swope) Park is the daughter of Milton Swope, a native of Ken- tucky. To Dr. and Mrs. Park have been born two children: Mrs. Bertha Winston, Lamonte, Missouri; and Pinkney F., who is attend- ing the Bennett Medical College at Chicago, Illinois. Dr. and Mrs. Park are members of the Christian church, of which Dr. Park is a highly regarded elder. The Park home, which is located in Knob Noster, is a large, modern structure, built of brick, containing ten spacious rooms and a splendid basement. Dr. Park's office is located at his residence.
Politically, Dr. Park is affiliated with the Democratic party. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and is local registrar and a member of the Johnson county and State Medical Societies.
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