History of Johnson County, Missouri, Part 64

Author: Cockrell, Ewing
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Topeka, Kan. : Historical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1234

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February 26, 1865, H. C. Morton was united in marriage with Lucy Margaret Ezell, of Warrensburg, the daughter of William Edward and Louisa Virginia Ezell, the former, a native of Virginia and the latter, of Kentucky. Both parents are now deceased and their remains rest in the Greer cemetery, south of Warrensburg. Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Morton are the parents of six children: Charlie, Warrensburg, Mis-

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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY .

souri; Mrs. Lucy Phillips, who resides in Post Oak township; Albert, Warrensburg, Missouri; Emery Ezell, who is a graduate of the War- rensburg State Normal School and is now employed as superintendent in the Clayton County Seat School, St. Louis county, Missouri; Lola, who is a graduate and post-graduate of the Warrensburg State Nor- mal School and of the University of New York City, from which insti- tution she will soon obtain her master's degree and she is now the supervisor of Domestic Science and Art in Charleston, Illinois, one of the highest salaried teachers in the county; and Mrs. Winnie Etherton, who is the wife of Henry C. Etherton, a prominent attorney of St. Louis, Missouri, residing in a suburb of St. Louis.

H. C. Morton deserves much praise and commendation for the success that has deservedly come through his own efforts. Handi- capped as he was, by the lack of a good education, Mr. Morton struggled persistently upward. He learned to read after he was married. No one in Johnson county, perhaps, appreciates the value of educational advantages surrounding the youth of the present day, as does H. C. Morton, who had so few, when he was a lad and desired so much to learn. He has "fought a good fight" and Johnson county is proud to claim him as one of its citizens.

J. L. Carpenter, a prosperous farmer and stockman of Chilhowee township, is a member of one of Johnson county's most worthy pioneer families. He was born in Johnson county, Missouri, in 1864, a son of Thomas N. and Sarah (Howerton) Carpenter. Thomas N. Carpenter was a son of Wilson D. Carpenter, who settled on a tract of land in Johnson county at the place where Carpenter cemetery is now located. This burial ground was established in 1845 and the first grave made there was made for the remains of Marshall Carpenter. Wilson D. Carpenter was one of the early-day teachers and a successful farmer and stockman as well. Thomas N. Carpenter entered eighty acres of land in Johnson county at the time of his marriage with Sarah Hower- ton, daughter of Mr. William H. Howerton, of Honey creek, Henry county. From time to time, Mr. Carpenter increased his holdings and at one time was owner of eight hundred ninety-six acres of choice land in Johnson county. He was engaged in farming and stock raising on a large scale and became very influential in public affairs. Thomas N. Carpenter was well educated and a keen thinker and his opinion on all matters connected with the business interests was favored with the greatest respect by all members of the community. He was the lead-

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ing spirit of all religious and social gatherings, his kindly, pleasant manners making him a favorite with both young and old. Mr. Carpenter was a devout and earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and it was he who hauled practically all the lumber used in the construction of the church building at Prairie View, hauling it in ox- wagons from Lexington. The pioneer preachers were always made welcome at the Carpenter home and among those who partook of Thomas N. Carpenter's hospitality were: Reverends F. E. Pitts, Wal- lace, Peter Cobb, Thomas Cobb, Wooldridge, and Murphy. All the wants of the ministers of the Gospel were bountifully and cheerfully supplied by Mr. Carpenter, who considered it not only his duty but his gracious privilege to do so. Thomas N. Carpenter was born at Franklin, Kentucky, August 27, 1826, and died December 27, 1900.

Mr. Carpenter's father and mother built the primitive log cabin, which was the Carpenter home for years. The mother handed up the boards and the father nailed them in place. The house was a double log one, rude but comfortable. The Carpenter children often watched their mother make their clothing, from the time she carded the wool and spun it until she wove the cloth on the loom, which is still pre- served at the old homestead, and fashioned it. J. F. and T. W. Car- penter attended school in a building, which was erected for school purposes by his father, where a "subscription school" was held. Of this school, Gordon Turner, Will Boyer, and Beldon Lewis were early- day teachers. There was much open prairie when J. L. Carpenter was a youth .. Wild game was plentiful and his father often killed deer while he stood in his own doorway. Large numbers of prairie chickens were caught and the traps emptied and set again and again. The Carpenters sent the prairie chickens back east.

The young people of Mr. Carpenter's day were not without amuse- ments and they had many happy times attending the country dances, parties, "singing schools." and "writing schools." He recalls a man, who was want to pass through the country buying horses and for whom all the little children daily watched. Colonel Tutt, renowned for his bag of "yaller boys." He would toss the gold coin into a yard, where the little ones played, and laugh heartily as he watched them scramble for it. He often left the bag of gold in the yard over night, when he remained with one of the settlers, for in those days a thief was unknown. Most of the pioneers were poor. but all were as honest as the light.

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J. F. Carpenter, the brother of J. L. Carpenter, once found a sack con- taining six thousand dollars. He learned within a short time that the money belonged to Jack Burford and to him the entire amount was gladly returned and no reward was asked.

J. F. Carpenter is visiting his brother, J. L., at the time of this writing. In 1887, he was united in marriage with Charlotte Gillum, the daughter of Isaac Gillum, a pioneer of Henry county. To them have been born the following children: Richard M., Kansas City, Mis- souri; Henry B., Rich Hill, Missouri; Mrs. Grace Brockhahn, Here- ford, Texas; and Mrs. Una B. Pritchard, of South Dakota. J. L. Car- penter has never married. He is the owner of two hundred eighty acres of land, nearly half of which is in pasture. Mrs. Rice is his housekeeper. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas N. Carpenter were the parents of the following: Thomas W., Blairstown, Missouri; J. F., of whom mention has been made; R. K., deceased; Mrs. Mary J. Sprague, Chilhowee ; J. L., subject of this review; Mrs. Martha Rice, wife of Harry L. Rice, on the home place ; and Lizzie, deceased. Mrs. Carpenter was born in Madison, North Carolina, May 13, 1830, and died May 11, 1911.

Mrs. Mary Jane (Stone) Eppright, one of Johnson county's noblest pioneer women, widow of George Eppright, a late prosperous and influ- ential farmer and stockman of Johnson county, was born in Post Oak township, daughter of Salathiel Stone, who settled on a farm in that section of Johnson county in 1839.

In 1874, George Eppright and Mary Jane Stone were united in marriage. George Eppright was a son of Jacob and Catherine Epp- right, the former of German descent. To Mr. and Mrs. Eppright were born two sons: Charles S., who was born in 1876 and with whom Mrs. Mary Jane Eppright now makes her home on the farm in Centerview township, where he is engaged in farming and stock raising : and George W., a well-to-do farmer and stockman of Chilhowee township, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Eppright was twice married. His first wife was a Miss Starkey. He died in 1900. He was an honest, industrious, capable citizen, one who has been sadly missed in this community.

Mrs. Mary Jane Eppright has made her home in this county all her life and the relation of her youthful experiences furnishes an excellent picture of pioneer life in Missouri. She possesses a remarkable memory and well recalls the early churches, homes, schools, and pleasures. Shi-

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loh Presbyterian church was the first to be organized and the church structure to be erected in the vicinity of their home. Preachers of all denominations proclaimed the Gospel there among the first of whom were: Reverends Ridley, "Uncle Billy" Caldwell, Benton Farr, Ben Thomas, Carter, Birchfield, and "Uncle Ilugh" Smith. Her father taught the "subscription school," which she attended. The school was held in a log house, having a clapboard roof, greased paper window, and puncheon floor. She sat on one of the puncheon benches which were placed around the three sides of the room. On one side of the room was a sort of shelf made of a puncheon, built against the wall, high enough for the older boys and girls to write upon. This was what was called a "loud school," for when the teacher would say, "Study your spelling lessons," every child in the school would take his book and shout his lesson at the top of his voice. This made great confusion. Nathan Perry, who succeeded Mr. Stone as teacher, introduced the first "silent study" in this part of Missouri. The early settlers enjoyed one another more in the days of long ago, visiting more frequently, and giving accommodations more cheerfully. When a girl, Mrs. Epp- right immensely enjoyed the old-fashioned camp-meetings. The pio- neers would turn the calves with the cows and all go to the meeting, where scores of families would "camp out" and have great times. The mail was received but once weekly. Letters were not stamped in those days, but one paid twenty-five cents at the time he received a letter. As money was often very scarce in the homes of the pioneers a hand- ful of letters was far from desirable. There was very much hard work to be done in the pioneer homes. All the clothing was provided by labor in the home and usually by the mother. Mrs. Eppright has carded, spun, wove, and colored the wool and then fashioned it into clothing for the different members of her family.

Mrs. Mary Jane Eppright is worthy of the greatest respect and consideration. The advantages and pleasures we now enjoy could not exist were it not that men and women, such as she. toiled long and hard in days gone by and did without much which we think so neces- sary. Such brave, true lives have made this beautiful country possible.

W. S. Early, a successful and prosperous farmer and stockman of Chilhowee township. is a native of Ohio. He was born in 1866. the son of Jacob and Sarah A. (Weaver) Early, whose parents were Virginians, who had settled in Ohio in the early days. Jacob Early was the son of

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Samuel Early. Sarah A. (Weaver) Early was the daughter of David Weaver, of Rockingham county, Virginia. Jacob Early was a veteran of the Union army, in which he had served three years during the Civil War. His death occurred in Ohio several years ago.

Mr. Early, whose name introduces this sketch, attended school at Oakland, where Miss Williams was employed as teacher. In the days of his youth, he heard many of the pioneer preachers expound the Scrip- tures, among whom he recalls: Reverends Reavis, Dr. Reese, Houx, and Gillam. W. S. Early was fifteen years of age when he came to Mis- souri in 1880 and with his brother, D. S. Early, located on a farm south of Warrensburg, where the Earlys purchased one hundred sixty acres of land and resided for five years. At the close of that period of time, D. S. and W. S. Early purchased the interests of the other members of the family in the farm and then when they had sold the place, W. S. Early moved to Warrensburg, where he entered the feed and grain business and conducted a wagon yard. In the meantime he had mar- ried and for five years was engaged in farming and stock raising on the place owned by his wife's father. In 1895, Mr. Early moved to the Jacob Eppright farm. He and Mrs. Early are now owners of three hundred twenty acres of choice farm land in Chilhowee township, two hundred acres of which are in pasture land and grass. In 1905, Mr. Early built a handsome residence, a house of thirteen rooms, where he and his wife reside. He raises a large number of Duroc Jersey hogs and Short- horn cattle annually and Mrs. Early always raises a fine flock of Rhode Island Red chickens each year. She has complete charge of the poultry on the farm and has been remarkably successful in the management of her department of the farm work.

In 1886, W. S. Early and Berea M. Eppright were united in mar- riage . Mrs. Early is the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Jane Eppright. The Epprights were among the first settlers of this county, to which they came in a very early day. A more comprehensive account of the family appears elsewhere in this volume. Berea M. (Eppright) Early has one sister now living. Mrs. Myrtle C. Mitchell, of Colorado. Mrs. Early well remembers how her mother was want to take the wool. which the father had cut from the sheep they raised, down to the creek and there wash it before she began to card and spin it. Her family went to church every Sunday in the farm wagon. The Eppright children attended school at Pleasant Green and when Mrs. Early was a young

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girl, she knew personally Reverend Kavanaugh and frequently heard her uncle, J. Cal Litteral, preach. He was considered one of the most able of the pioneer evangelists. To Mr. and Mrs. Early have been born five children: Jacob F., Centerview, Missouri; Forest D., Warrensburg, Missouri; Mrs. Blanche Weigand, Centerview, Missouri; Willard J. II., Warrensburg, Missouri: and Charles E., Centerview, Missouri. The Early family is well known and highly respected in Johnson county. Mr. and Mrs. Early are worthy and valued members of the Cumber- land Presbyterian church.

Nelson Chapman, an enterprising and influential farmer and stock- man of Chilhowee township, is a native of Indiana. He was born in 1870, a son of George and Mary E. Chapman. The father was a son of Uriah Chapman, a successful and prosperous farmer of Lawrence county, Indiana. George Chapman was a veteran of the Civil War, a member of the Seventeenth Indiana Infantry. serving with Wilder's Lightning bridage. He was with Sherman on his famous march to the sea and he took an active part in many hard-fought engagements and important battles. For his exceptional bravery on the field of battle, Mr. Chapman was awarded a medal, showered with encomiums by comrades and officers, and called "Little Chappy". After the war had ended, he returned to the farm in Indiana and was there engaged in farming until 1871. when he came to Missouri and located in Cass county, where he resided for a few years and then went back to Indiana to live for nearly three years. In 1877, George Chapman again came to Missouri and settled in Johnson county. He resided several years on a farm in Rose Hill township and then moved to the place in Chil- howee township in 1888. where he spent the remainder of his life. He died in 1904.

Nelson Chapman attended school at Pleasant Ridge in Johnson county, and Miss .Alice Quick. Miss Emma Metzler, and David Smith were at different times employed as teacher while Mr. Chapman was a pupil. He later was a pupil in the school near Magnolia, of which Miss Lizzie Houston was the teacher, and in the schools of Magnolia, and St. Cecelia's Academy. Holden. Missouri. Since he attained ma- turity, Mr. Chapman has been engaged in farming every year. In 1893, he purchased a farm of forty acres in Chilhowee township. which are adjoining his present place, a tract of eighty acres that he obtained when he sold his original farm. Mr. Chapman is interested in stock

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raising and has the farm well equipped for handling Poland China hogs and Duroc Jerseys and white face cattle, which breeds of hogs and cattle he prefers. In 1914, Mr. Chapman bought two acres of land within the town limits of Magnolia and to the home in Magnolia he has moved from the farm. He is engaged in buying and shipping cream and gardening. The season of 1917 he had twenty-five acres of his farm in corn.

Mr. Chapman is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He and Mrs. Chap- man are highly regarded in Magnolia and they are numbered among the county's excellent and most desirable citizens.

Luther W. Dawson, a member of a prominent pioneer family, was born in 1884 in Johnson county, Missouri, in a house built by his grand- father, C. W. Dawson, before the Civil War. C. W. Dawson came to Missouri from Kentucky in 1846 and purchased a farm in Johnson county, a place comprising two hundred seventy-three acres, for which he paid one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. C. W. Dawson was a native of Lexington, Kentucky. At the time the farm in Johnson county was purchased, a log house was standing on the place and this was the Daw- son. home for many years. There the father of the subject of this review was born and J. T. Dawson's brother and two sisters: John Dawson, Mrs. Susie Crutchfield, and Mrs. Kittie Wolfe.

C. W. Dawson was the owner at one time of nine hundred fifty- three acres of land in Johnson county and was considered one of the wealthiest men in the county in his day. He was a born leader and when just a mere child was dictator of his crowd of playmates and later, while still a very young boy, he became captain of the home militia in Lexington, Kentucky. He was exceedingly fond of outdoor life and spent much time on long hunting and fishing trips. The death of C. W. Dawson occurred in Johnson county in 1889. J. T. Dawson, the father of the subject of this review, is the son of C. W. and Martha Dawson. His mother died in 1893, four years after the death of her husband. J. T. Dawson was reared on his father's farm in Johnson county and early in life began working for himself. He was married in 1881 to Lillian V. Smith, the daughter of John Smith, a native of Ohio. To J. T. and Lillian V. (Smith) Dawson were born the follow- ing children: Leslie, who is a prominent attorney of Bryant, Washing- ton: Luther W., Warrensburg, Missouri: Orland, Lone Elm, Kansas;

J. T. DAWSON.

LUTHIER W. DAWSON.

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Flossie, who resides in Kingsville, Missouri; and Milton, who resides in Bryant, Washington. J. T. Dawson lives on a farm southwest of Holden.

Luther W. Dawson received his education in the district school, near his home, in Johnson county, where he was one of the best students, receiving six different prizes, and later, in Hill's Business College, Sedalia, Missouri, and the Warrensburg State Normal School. After leaving college, Mr. Dawson became interested in agricultural pursuits and in 1916 purchased a farm from his father. This place comprises three hundred thirteen acres of splendid farm land, which placed at the lowest possible figure is worth one hundred dollars an acre. Mr. Dawson has one hundred fifty-three acres in bluegrass, eighty acres in meadow, forty acres in oats, thirty-six acres in corn, and four acres in garden produce. The farm is well improved, with numerous barns, a good tenant house, and a fine farm residence, a large structure of ten rooms, which presents an imposing appearance. This residence is weather- boarded entirely with black walnut lumber. A new garage was recently added to the improvements, which is a well-constructed building 26 x 32 feet in dimensions. The Dawson place is well watered by two large ponds. Mr. Dawson has built a cistern five hundred fifty feet from the residence, where the land is slightly elevated, from which the water sup- ply for the house and barns is pumped by windmill and then piped in a complete modern „water-system. He has had splendid success as a farmer and has grown thirty bushels of wheat to the acre, but he gives most of his attention to the raising of stock. He has registered Short- horn cattle. Poland China hogs, and eight of the best mules in the state. Mr. Dawson fattens a large number of hogs each year for the market and at the time of this writing has still on hand three hundred bushels of corn two years old and one hundred bushels of corn raised in 1916. The income from coal mines on his farm, when in operation, averages about two and a half dollars a day.

In 1911. Luther W. Dawson was united in marriage with Stella Marye, the daughter of J. H. Marye, of Cooper county, Missouri. To Luther and Stella (Marye) Dawson have been born two daughters: Thelma and Hazel. Mrs. Dawson has complete charge of the poultry industry on the Dawson place and she has had splendid success raising turkeys for the market. Last year, the year of 1916. Mrs. Dawson received ninety-seven dollars and twenty-five cents for the turkeys she

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sold. Mr. Dawson takes a keen interest in all movements which have for their object the improvement of farm conditions and he is a member of the Farmers' Productive Club, which is one of the progressive, wide- awake organizations of Johnson county that are accomplishing a great amount of good in this section of Missouri. He is secretary of this club. Mr. Dawson possesses remarkable skill as a mechanic and in his own shop on the farm is able to make or repair any machinery, which is not too complicated, that he needs. Both he and his wife are valued members of the Baptist church and are numbered among the county's most esteemed and respected young citizens.

Edwin B. Little, a prosperous and influential farmer and stockman of Magnolia, Chilhowee township, is a member of a well-known pioneer family of Johnson county. He was born in 1858 in Johnson county, Mis- souri, a son of John Howe and Margaret Frances Little. John H. Little was a son of William and Jane Little, natives of Virginia. The Littles were considered very wealthy and prominent in that state, where the father owned a large plantation in Jefferson township. William Lit- tle was the first sheriff of the county in Virginia, where he resided. John H. Little came to Johnson county in 1858 and purchased nearly six hundred acres of land on the open prairie. The early settlers advised him to buy land along a creek, cautioning him of the difficulties he would encounter if he chose to live elsewhere, warning him of the cold in winter. After a heroic struggle against conditions much more adverse than they had ever been pictured, Mr. Little died in 1861, leaving the mother and her four sons and three daughters to fight poverty alone and unaided. The family endured all the privations and hardships of pioneer life and war, but Mrs. Little was one of the bravest and noblest women who came to Johnson county and uncomplainingly bore burdens that would have broken the spirit of many a stronger person. She lived to see the happier days of the coming of which she often prophesied. She died in October, 1901. To Mr. and Mrs. John H. Little were born: Charles C., who died October 9, 1917: Clara E., died October 12, 1917 : Mrs. Francis H. McDougal; J. A .: G. W., on the home place ; Mrs. Alice B. McDougal; and Edwin B., subject of this review.

E. B. Little attended the Barthick school, which was taught by John Coats and Maggie Humphrey. Among his schoolmates, whom he now recalls, were: Mr. and Mrs. S. M. Fisher, who now reside in Johnson county : R. S. Fisher : J. C. Raker, J. F. Raker. M. H. Snare ; John

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Kirkpatrick; and Thomas Kirkpatrick, of Holden. Mr. Little knew per- sonally many of the pioneer preachers and he has heard the following men many times in the early days : Reverends Levi Henshaw, "Johnny" Denton, Prather, and J. H. Houx. When E. B. Little was a lad, there was much open prairie and unbroken sod land and he frequently aided in surveying the county, carrying the chain for "Jap" Ferguson. On his father's farm, the first work given him to do was breaking sod, with the assistance of a yoke of oxen. Until he was twenty-nine years of age, Mr. Little remained at home with his mother on the home place. She was obliged to sell eighty acres of the homestead, in order to pay debts, and about 1889, E. B. bought back this tract. At the time of his marriage, in 1887, he owned one hundred acres of land. He devoted most of his time and attention to stock raising, specializing in Short- horn cattle and Poland China hogs, and in the course of time began to prosper, meeting with deserved success in practically every business venture. Now, Mr. Little owns five hundred forty acres of good farm land in Johnson county. About three hundred acres of the farm are in pasture and meadow. The Little farm is well improved and two drilled wells furnish an abundance of water, which is pumped to both the resi- dence and the barns by a gasoline engine. Mr. Little harvested a splendid crop of oats this year and he always has a nice crop of wheat.

In 1887, E. B. Little and Sue C. Stone, daughter of "Uncle Sala- thiel" Stone, an honored pioneer of Post Oak township and well-to-do farmer and stockman, were united in marriage. Mrs. Little's mother died in 1901 and her father in 1910. She has one brother deceased, R. I. Stone, and six brothers and sisters living, namely: Mrs. Sarah M. James, Mrs. Mary J. Eppright, Mrs. Melissa Sweeney. T. W. Stone, J. W. Stone, and G. W. Stone. To Mr. and Mrs. Little have been born three children: H. S., Magnolia, Missouri; E. E., Magnolia, Missouri; and Mary E., Magnolia, Missouri. In 1887. Mr. Little built an attractive and comfortable residence, a house of seven rooms, which is the present home of the entire family. He and his wife are highly regarded and valuable members of the Presbyterian church and they are numbered among the county's best and most substantial citizens.

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History of Johnson County, Missouri, Part 64

Author: Cockrell, Ewing Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Topeka, Kan. : Historical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1234

Author: Cockrell, Ewing
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Topeka, Kan. : Historical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1234