USA > Missouri > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Missouri > Part 74
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
August 30, 1891, Riley Coats and Maud Ames were united in mar- riage. Mrs. Coats' parents, William B. and Clara L. Ames, were resi- dents of Hazel Hill township. A historical sketch of the Ames family appears elsewhere in this volume. To Mr. and Mrs. Coats have been born two children: Harold R., who was born in April, 1897, and now lives at home with his parents; and Gaylord, who died in 1900, at the age of seven years. Mr. Coats has an established reputation in John- son county for honesty, uprightness, and fine morality. He and Mrs. Coats are highly respected and esteemed in their community.
Alpha E. Pollock and Cleo F. Pollock, popularly known as the Pollock brothers, well-known merchants of Fayetteville, Missouri, the former, the capable postmaster of Fayetteville, are sons of the late S. D. Pollock and Martha (Gott) Pollock, the former, a native of Ken- tucky and the latter, of Johnson county, Missouri. S. D. Pollock was born August 24, 1844. He was an efficient and versatile workman, hav- ing mastered the trades of carpenter, engineer, and blacksmith, and, in addition, was considered an excellent farmer. He came from Kentucky to Missouri in 1867 and located for the first three years at Knob Noster and then moved to a farm in Hazel Hill township. Most of the resi- dences in the town of Fayetteville and vicinity were built by S. D. Pollock. He was united in marriage with Mattie Gott, who was born in Johnson county on August 24, 1844, the daughter of Reverend Jonathan Gott, a prominent pioneer Baptist minister. Reverend Gott was a native of Kentucky. He came as a missionary of the Baptist church to Johnson county about 1846. He conducted missions in Johnson, Lafayette, and adjoining counties and organized many congregations of the Baptist denomination. Reverend Gott possessed a fine saddle-horse and always rode horseback to meet with the settlers at the appointed places. He held services in the old log church at Liberty, at Providence, at Bethel, and at Mount Prairie. It was no easy task for him to go from place to place, through the dense forests and muddy swamps, yet Reverend Gott was always brave and cheerful and no preacher was more loved by the early settlers, who would willingly share with him all that they had. To S. D. and Martha (Gott) Pollock were born ten children: Mrs. Martha Kelsay, Hazel Hill township; Mrs. Bertie Burriss, Tipton, Mis- souri; Mrs. Anna Brown, Kingsville, Missouri; Mrs. Blanche Ludlam, Fayetteville, Missouri; Roy. Fayetteville, Missouri; Alpha E., of this review: Everett. Fayetteville, Missouri; Mrs. Stella Minor, Centerview.
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Missouri; Cleo F., of this review ; and Opal, who lives at home with her mother. The Pollock home, on the Greenlee place, was destroyed by a cyclone, April 29, 1911. The residence was totally wrecked and all their household goods blown away, but none of the family in the house was injured. Mrs. Pollock now resides in Fayetteville, where she owns a pleasant and comfortable home.
In 1910, the Pollock brothers assumed charge of the Landis General Store in Fayetteville, which establishment they purchased at that time and have ever since owned and managed. In March, 1915, Alpha E., the elder brother, was appointed postmaster of Fayetteville, which posi- tion he now occupies. There is one rural route out of Fayetteville and T. C. Lamb is the mail carrier. Mr. Pollock, the postmaster and mer- chant, was engaged in farming for several years prior to entering the mechantile business. Both of the brothers are industrious, upright, young men, citizens of Johnson county worthy of the fine success which inevitably has and will attend all their best efforts.
December 30, 1908, Alpha E. Pollock and Mamie Fishback were united in marriage. Mrs. Pollock is the daughter of Dr. M. L. Fishback, one of the leading physicians of Johnson county, located at Fayetteville. To Mr. and Mrs. Pollock have been born three children: Lulu May, Allen, and an infant son. Mr. and Mrs. Pollock reside in Fayetteville, where they own their home.
Cleo F. Pollock and Myrtle Wyre, daughter of S. Lee Wyre ,of Fayetteville, were united in marriage in 1916. To them was born a son, December 18, 1916. Mrs. Cleo F. Pollock was born in Hazel Hill town- ship. The Pollock family is widely known' and respected in Johnson county, every member of which bears an honorable and enviable reputation.
H. R. Garrison, the efficient secretary and treasurer of the Vitt- Mayes Manufacturing Company of Warrensburg, Missouri, was born in Schell City, Missouri, in 1886. He is a son of J. W. and Florence (Davis) Garrison. J. W. Garrison is a native of Illinois. He came to Missouri about thirty-eight years ago and to Johnson county in 1892. Mr. Garrison was engaged for several years in conducting the old St. Cloud Hotel in Warrensburg. At the time of this writing, in 1917, J. W. Garrison is in southeastern Oklahoma. traveling for the Vitt- Mayes Manufacturing Company. Florence (Davis) Garrison is a daugh- ter of Robert Davis, a native of Pennsylvania, who settled in Schell City several years after the Civil War. Mr. Davis was a veteran of
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
the Confederacy. To J. W. and Florence (Davis) Garrison have been born the following children: Mabel, who is the wife of H. P. Bryant, of Marshall, Missouri; and H. R., the subject of this review.
H. R. Garrison is a graduate of the Warrensburg High School and he was a student of the Warrensburg State Normal School for several terms. In 1907, Mr. Garrison went to Garvin, Oklahoma, and for six years was in the employ of the Bank of Garvin. He returned to Warrensburg in 1913 and accepted a position as secretary and treas- urer of the Vitt-Mayes Manufacturing Company, which position he holds at the present time, in 1917. This company is one of Warrens- burg's best business firms, a progressive, enterprising, alert manufac- turing establishment. A brief history of the company will be found elsewhere in this volume. The company is engaged in the manufacture of garments and at the present time in making khaki uniforms. Vitt- Mayes Manufacturing Company has never yet been able to supply the demand for their product.
In 1907, H. R. Garrison was united in marriage with Wyota Camp- bell, the daughter of R. L. Campbell, a prominent citizen of Warrens- burg, the present chairman of the board of directors of the American Trust Company of Warrensburg. To H. R. and Wyota (Campbell) Garrison has been born a son, James Robert. Mr. and Mrs. Garrison are highly esteemed and popular young citizens of Johnson county. Their home is in Warrensburg at 203 South street.
Frank N. Ames, proprietor of "Elm-Waln Farm," is one of John- son county's most valued citizens. He was born August 29, 1853 in Litchfield county, Connecticut, the son of William B. and Clara Lam- bert (Allen) Ames. William B. Ames was a native of Litchfield county, Connecticut. He came to Johnson county, Missouri and October 22, 1869 settled on the farm in Hazel Hill township, which is now owned by his son, Frank N., the subject of this review. At the time of the coming of the Ames family to this place, there was an old plantation house standing on it, an "L" shaped structure, built with three large chimneys, four fireplaces, and of two stories, the entire house covered with black walnut weather boarding. The frame had been put together by mortising. This house was burned to the ground March 8. 1877. In it had taken place the horrible Sweitzer murder in 1866, the cold- bloodedness of which gave rise to the organization of the Vigilance Committee, which put an end to the horrors inflicted upon innocent
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
victims by desperadoes, who followed their trade in this vicinity. Will- iam B. Ames rebuilt the home in the same year, 1877, and the resi- dence, a house of eight rooms constructed of white pine, is today one of the most attractive homes in the township. The Ames farm was originally owned by Joel Walker. Mr. Ames had nearly four hundred acres of land and on his farm raised grain and stock. William B. and Clara L. Ames were the parents of the following children: Olive, who died in Connecticut; Nellie, who died in Connecticut; Frank N., the subject of this review; Herbert L., Larned, Kansas; Mrs. Mand Coats, Hazel Hill township, Johnson county; and William C., who died Sep- tember 7, 1893. The mother, who was also a native of Connecticut, died March 13, 1891 and in 1893, she was joined in death by her hus- band. The parents and their children, who have gone on before, are all buried in Liberty cemetery.
Frank N. Ames obtained a good common school education and he has since added to his store of knowledge by reading widely on many subjects and by observing closely. Mr. Ames is a reader of dis- criminating tastes and he has chosen from the inexhaustible field of literature only the best and now is conceded to be one of the well informed, most thoroughly educated men in this county. From boy- hood, he has made his way in the world, though he was employed in work on the home farm until the time of his marriage, at the age of thirty-one years. In 1884. Mr. Ames purchased forty acres of land from his father and later acquired the homestead. He now owns one hundred eighty-five acres of land, located six and one-half miles north of Warrensburg on the Lexington road, a place that is widely known as "Elm-Waln Farm." For many years. Mr. Ames has raised hogs, usually keeping from one hundred to one hundred fifty head of Poland China hogs on the farm. He raises annually from twenty-five to thirty choice cattle and at the present time owns one of the finest Shorthorn steers in the country. In the dry year of 1878. Mr. Ames dug a well on his place, seventeen feet deep, which is a real "gusher," a veritable fount everflowing, for it has furnished an abundance of water for all
purposes even in the dryest seasons. Mr. Ames is not now engaged in the actual work of the farm. but in supervising and managing the same. his plans being carried out by others.
December 31. 1885. Frank N. Ames and Fannie Narron, the daugh- ter of James and Susan (White) Narron, of Simpson township. were
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
united in marriage. Mrs. Ames was engaged in teaching school for eight years prior to her marriage and she was one of the most highly valued and prominent teachers in Johnson county. James H. Narron came to Missouri with his father, Haywood Narron, who left Tennessee about 1840 to make the new home in the West and they first located in Lexington, coming thence to Simpson township, where the elder Narron entered land from the government, perhaps in 1856. On this farm, the father and mother spent the rest of their lives. Mrs. James Narron died in 1886 and she was followed in death by her husband in 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Narron were the parents of nine children: Fannie, the wife of Frank N. Ames, the subject of this review; James Augustus, of Iowa; Mrs. Lizzie Stewart, Independence, Missouri; Mrs. Lottie Tidswell, Independence, Missouri; Mrs. Daisy Cook, Independence, Missouri; Benjamin, Elbert, Colorado; Mrs. Della A. Truitt, Richmond, California ; John W., Richmond. California; and Mrs. Blanche Mac- Quiddy, Bakersfield, California. To Frank N. and Fannie Ames have been born two children: Edith Grace, who was a student of the War- rensburg State Normal School and died a few weeks before she would have graduated; and Loris, who died in infancy at the age of five months. Mr. and Mrs. Ames are enrolled among the county's best families and most respected and intelligent citizens.
Thomas Henderson, a well-known and respected farmer and stock- man of Columbus township, is a son of one of Johnson county's brave. noble pioneers. He was born in Columbus township October 17, 1855. one of ten children born to his parents, J. W. and Lena Ann (Houx) Henderson. J. W. Henderson was a native of Kentucky. He came to Missouri in the spring of 1839, coming on horseback the entire distance and carrying what little money he had in his saddle bags. He settled on the farm now owned by his son, Thomas, a place located one-fourth mile north of Columbus, where he lived for fifty-four years and engaged in general farming. J. W. Henderson was the son of William Hender- son, who came to Missouri within a few years after his son had settled here. J. W. Henderson, at the time of his death. was an extensive landowner, proprietor of the Nancy Greenwell home. Lena Ann ( Houx) Henderson was a daughter of Nicholas Houx. an honored pioneer of Johnson county. He came to this county in 1827 and is well known as he who established the first cemetery in Johnson county and the first person to be buried there. mention of which is made elsewhere in
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
this volume. The children of J. W. and Lena Ann Henderson were. as follow: Mrs. Elizabeth Letton, Nevada, Missouri; William, Jr., of Arkansas; Mrs. Pattie Wolfe, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Thomas, the subject of this review: Mrs. Emily Jane Peffer, deceased; Mrs. Alice Simpson, deceased; Nicholas, deceased; and three children died in infancy. J. W. Henderson was justice of the peace for many years and was universally known ever afterward as Squire Henderson. He was industrious and thrifty and, from the first, prospered. He owned several farms, comprising in all more than seven hundred acres of land. which included the places now owned by Thomas Henderson, B. F. Simmerman, Milton Clifton, Ed Wilhoff, and "Jeff" Coffman, besides the Captain Raker farm and the Specker farm. Squire Henderson died in 1893.
In an old log school house, which stood in the site of the present district school house, in Columbus township, Thomas Henderson received his education. After attaining maturity, he resided in Barton county for three years, where he was engaged in farming. Mr. Henderson returned to Johnson county to remain one year, when he moved to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, and for ten years lived in that part of the country. Upon his return to Johnson county, he purchased the Raker farm, which he afterward sold and bought one hundred forty- nine acres of the homestead, which is his present country home place. He has added all the improvements and he now has a nicely improved. well- kept and equipped stock and grain farm, every acre under a high state of cultivation.
In 1882, Thomas Henderson and Della Stotts were united in mar- riage. Mrs. Henderson was formerly from Chautauqua county. Kansas. To this union have been born three sons: Joseph W., at home: Archie, Pittsville, Missouri: and Victor, of Montana. Mr. and Mrs. Henderson are widely known and universally esteemed in this county, where the Henderson family has for nearly eighty years been considered one of the very best and most substantial families.
Mr. Henderson relates several incidents of significant historical interest in Johnson county. The old elmn tree, under which the first court in Johnson county was held on the farm of Nicholas Houx, was blown down in the spring of 1916. A part of the original Nicholas Houx homestead is now owned by Fred Specker and a part is the present site of the city of Columbus. Mr. Henderson recalls an amusing event
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
relative to early day judicial procedure in Johnson county. The first two men convicted of crime in this county were placed under a wagon box for safe keeping and upon the top of the upturned box were sta- tioned two guards. The quarters of the convicts were extremely close and uncomfortable, although there was plenty of room for meditation. Becoming thirsty, they pled with their wardens to send for some stimu- lating liquor. The not unwilling wardens did so and helped themselves so well and so frequently to the gallon of whiskey, that when they awakened from a long, deep, drunken stupor they found themselves where the criminals should have been and no trace of the former pris- oners. Johnson county's first "jail birds" had flown.
J. F. Dalton, a successful and industrious farmer and stockman of Columbus township, is a native of Johnson county and a member of a highly respected pioneer family of Columbus township. Mr. Dalton was born January 8, 1857 on his father's farm in Columbus township, a son of W. R. and Sabina Dalton. The father was born in Virginia in 1814, son of William Dalton. William Dalton and his four sons, W. R .. Frank. R. R., and A. F., came to Missouri from Virginia in 1837 and located in Johnson county in 1838 or 1839. settling on the farm now owned by J. F. Dalton, the subject of this review. The elder Dalton died within a few years after coming West and he was buried in the family cemetery. His four sons are all deceased, also. To W. R. and Sabina Dalton were born ten children: William Matthew, a Confederate veteran, who fought in the Civil War with "Fighting Joe" Shelby, and who was serving his second term as probate judge in Bates county when his death occurred; Mrs. Fannie Kincheloe. deceased: Robert, a Confederate veteran. who served under Generals Price and Shelby and was wounded seriously at the battle of Corinth, Mississippi, and several years after the Civil War held the position of treasurer of Johnson county for four years, his death occurring in April. 1914: Mrs. Frank Ramsey. Warrensburg. Missouri; Mrs. Rebecca Long. deceased; Mrs. M. L. Pemberton. Chilhowee, Missouri; Mrs. Ella Fox, who has resided in Colorado, Texas for the past thirty years; Mrs. N. S. Bailey. Denver. Colorado: J. F., the subject of this review: and Maggie. Oklahoma City. Oklahoma. The mother died in 1896 and the father in 1900. Both parents were laid to rest in Mount Tabor cemetery.
J. F. Dalton attended school at McCoy school house in district Number 83, which school house is located on the Dalton farm. Mr.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
Dalton recalls among the early school teachers of this district the fol- lowing men and women: Miss S. M. Young: John W. McGivans, who taught several terms of school here: George McDorman; Miss Belle Renick, who taught the school after the Civil War, when it was held in a private residence, the schoolhouse having been ruined during the war; Miss Bettie Levicy, recently deceased : and Miss Lizzie Emmons, of Pittsville, Missouri. Mr. Dalton has always lived on the farm he now owns. He inherited a part of the homestead and purchased the interests of the other heirs and in addition has bought forty adjoining acres and now the Dalton place comprises two hundred eight acres of land located five miles northeast of Columbus. The farm is well watered and fitted for both general farming and stock raising. Mr. Dalton cil- tivates from fifty to seventy-five acres of this place each year and keeps the remainder in grass and pasture. He has built a new barn and rebuilt the residence since he acquired the ownership of the farm.
In 1902. J. F. Dalton and Cora L. Alkire, of Lafayette county, were united in marriage and to them has been born one child, a son. Leroy. who is now attending school at McCoy school house. Mr. Dalton has made a splendid success of raising high grade Shorthorn cattle, keeping a registered male on the farm, and Poland China hogs. He is an ener- getic, intelligent stockman and worthy of success. Both he and Mrs. Dalton are well known and highly regarded among the county's best citizens.
Lewis L. Burris, a progressive and successful farmer and stockman of Columbus township, is a member of a prominent pioneer family of Missouri. Mr. Burris was born on the farm where he now resides December 17, 1868, a son of Captain Lewis and Elizabeth (Upton) Burris, the father, a native of Lafayette county and the mother, of Randolph, Missouri. Captain Burris was a Confederate captain of the regiment from Nodaway county. He was a son of Ennis Burris, who came to Missouri when a child. with his mother. The father of Ennis Burris was killed in Tennessee during an Indian raid on their settlement in that state. He was a native of Virginia and had resided in Tennessee but a short time. when his untimely and tragic death occurred. Those of the settlers who were left unharmed moved to St. Louis and with these came Ennis Burris and his mother. The Burris family located in Nodaway county and there the son, Ennis, grew to manhood and married. Both he and his wife died at the Burris home-
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
stead in Nodaway county and were buried in the family cemetery there. More than fifty years later, their remains were removed to the cemetery at Maryville, Missouri. In 1867 or 1868, Lewis Burris, Sr. moved to Johnson county and located in Columbus township on the farm now owned by his son, Lewis, Jr. The elder Burris resided on this place until 1886 and then moved to Warrensburg. To Lewis, Sr. and Eliza- betli (Upton) Burris were born four children: Cornelia M., who resides with the widowed mother in Warrensburg, Missouri; Charles T., who lives in the old home; H. J., Kansas City, Missouri; and Lewis L., the subject of this review. By a former marriage, Lewis Burris, Sr. was the father of four children: George A., deceased; Mrs. Margaret F. Ramsey. Odessa, Missouri: W. E., Warrensburg, Missouri; and Mrs. Lena G. Howe, deceased. The father died in 1911 and burial was made in the cemetery at Warrensburg. The mother still makes her home in Warrensburg.
Lewis L. Burris attended the public schools of Johnson county and the Warrensburg State Normal School. At the age of twenty-one years, he began life for himself engaged in teaching school. Mr. Burris taught at Shiloh schoolhouse and then for three years lived in California. On his return to Johnson county, he associated with his father in the busi- ness of cattle raising and farming. Mr. Burris inherited a part of the home place and with Mrs. Burris, who also inherited land from the Smith estate, and in addition they purchased ninety acres of land and now have two hundred acres of choice farm land in Columbus and Hazel Hill townships. He has improved this tract of land and this past year, of 1917, remodeled the residence, which was built in 1897. He has a large barn, 40 x 48 feet in dimensions, for hay and cattle and a smaller one for horses. Mr. Burris is interested in stock raising, specializing in pure-bred Polled Angus cattle, with which breed he began twenty-five years ago. For several years, he, his father, and his brother, Charles T., were in partnership in cattle raising and they kept at one time from fifty to seventy-five head of Polled Angus cattle on the farm. Mr. Burris has at the present time sixty head of this breed. He also has thirty-five head of Oxford sheep and seventy-five head of hogs. He has always sold his stock in the home market and in 1916 could not fill the demand. Mr. Burris is an expert stockman and from the beginning has had marked success.
In 1893, Lewis L. Burris and Cora A. Smith, daughter of John H. and Ella (Coleman) Smith, of Hazel Hill township, were united in
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
marriage. Both parents of Mrs. Burris are now deceased and their remains lie interred in Mount Tabor cemetery in Lafayette county. To Lewis L. and Mrs. Burris have been born four children: Lewis U., at home with his parents; Mrs. J. S. Kinney, Warrensburg, Missouri ; Mar- jorie, who is now a student at the Warrensburg State Normal School; and Murl, at home.
A half century ago, the Burris family settled in Johnson county. The name has always stood for the best things in life, morally, socially, and commercially and the son, Lewis L., has admirably maintained the family's record for unimpeachable honor and honesty. Both he and Mrs. Burris are numbered among Johnson county's best and most sub- stantial citizens.
Major James N. Warnick, a late prominent citizen of Warrensburg, Missouri, was one of the most distinguished of the early pioneers of Johnson county. He was born August 2, 1799 in Tennessee and in that state was reared to maturity. November 13, 1823, he was united in marriage with Siny P. Payton. daughter of John Payton, of Wilson county, Tennessee. They came to Missouri in May, 1833 and located temporarily in Lexington. In the autumn of the same year, Mr. and Mrs. James N. Warnick came to Johnson county, where they settled on a large tract of land in Post Oak township.
When the Warnick family settled in Johnson county, it was the period of Indian depredations. Within a very brief period after their coming, the militia was called out to protect the settlers from murderous bands of Osage Indians, who were committing atrocities among the outlying settlements. James N. Warnick was a born leader of men and as captain of the home guard, heading one of the companies of militia, drove back the savages to their reservation. He later distinguished himself further during the Mormon trouble. At this time, he received his title as major, when his regiment was organized under the state militia laws and he was elected to that position in the army.
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