History of Johnson County, Missouri, Part 79

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

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February 12, 1861, J. P. Ozias and Sophronia Pretzinger were mar- ried in Preble county, Ohio. To them were born three sons: Dr. Charles O., Kansas City, Missouri: Dr. Newell J., who is in the employ of the Metropolitan Railway Company of Kansas City, Missouri; and

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Oscar E., deceased. The mother died in 1874 in Centerview township and is buried in the cemetery at Warrensburg. Mr. Ozias remarried, his second wife being Sarah Conrad, of Licking county, Ohio. She was born near Newark. Mrs. Ozias' parents were of French lineage and natives of North Carolina. To J. P. and Sarah (Conrad) Ozias have been born two daughters: Marie, the wife of Harry Dillard. of Kansas City. Missouri; and Ruby, the wife of William Berner, of Kansas City, Missouri. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ozias are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Ozias is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, being affiliated with the Blue Lodge, the Commandery, the Knights Templar, a member of the Scottish Rite, and of the Mystic Shrine at Kansas City, and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of Warrensburg.

In Ohio, prior to coming to Johnson county, J. P. Ozias was a member of the home guards and was in active service with the state militia during Morgan's raid in that state. Mr. Ozias has always taken a keen interest in public and civic affairs and he served four terms as city councilman of Warrensburg. On April 2. 1907, he was elected mayor of Warrensburg for two years. J. P. Ozias made a good clean, aggressive fight and as he was an enthusiastic temperance man, during his incumbency the city of Warrensburg voted dry. His administration was an aggressive one in the enforcement of prohibition in accordance with the verdict of the people. And, regardless of cutting off the reve- nue derived from the saloons, his administration was a success finan- cially and he went out of office with a larger surplus fund in the treas- ury than when he went in. He is now interested in farming and stock raising, as well as in other local enterprises.

J. W. Jordan, the widely-known and prosperous dealer in poultry, butter, and eggs at Warrensburg, Missouri, was born in Howard county, Missouri. He is a son of James D. Jordan, who came with his father, James Jordan, Sr., to Missouri in 1819 and settled in Howard county, where several years later both father and son died.

Until he was thirty years of age, J. W. Jordan engaged in farm- ing. At that time he entered the livery business and also speculated in horses. For the past eleven years, Mr. Jordan has been located in Warrensburg, where he buys and sells poultry, butter, and eggs. His estimate on the value of this produce sold in Johnson county is more than a million dollars annually-that means prior to the present world

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war. Mr. Jordan, himself, has bought at this one stand more than sixty thousand dollars worth of produce. He has in one year dressed for the market at least seven carloads of turkeys, aggregating one hun- dred thirty thousand pounds. Poultry products have been reduced dur- ing the past few years, due to the light crops. The prices of the past year have gone as high as thirty-seven cents for eggs, twenty-one cents for hens, and twenty-four cents for turkeys. Mr. Jordan ships carload lots to the New York and Chicago markets. He believes that Chicago is the greatest market in the world. At Warsaw, Missouri, J. W. Jordan entered the poultry business and in 1906, three months after entering this business, he came to Warrensburg and opened his place of trade on Pine street, where he remained about six years, when he moved to his present location on the west side of the public square. When his place of business was located on Pine street, Mr. Jordan had forty men employed one week picking turkeys and at the end of the week one hundred eighteen coops containing in all one thousand turkeys were left untouched. At that time, he shipped a carload of turkeys every other day and he has had as much as seventeen and eighteen thousand dollars worth of turkeys at one time on the road to market.

In 1900, J. W. Jordan and Margaret L. Beeson, of Pilot Grove, Missouri, were married. To them were born two children: J. W., Jr., and Martha Louise. The mother died March 28, 1908. Mr. Jordan remarried, his second wife being Myrtle Hyatt, daughter of Theodore Hyatt, the present clerk of Johnson county. To J. W. and Myrtle (Hyatt) Jordan has been born one child, a daughter, Ina Jaquelin.

Mrs. Mollie M. (Tyler) Hickman, the highly respected widow of the late William Logan Hickman, a prominent and esteemed merchant of Warernsburg, Missouri, was born in 1862 near Knob Noster. She is a member of one of Johnson county's best pioneer families, a daugh- ter of James K. and Jane (Hocker) Tyler. James K. Tyler was born in Kentucky, whence his family moved to Indiana, and from that state to Missouri. Prior to the Civil War, Mr. Tyler was engaged in the mercantile business at Knob Noster. He enlisted in the Confederate service under General Sterling Price and served throughout the war. After the struggle had closed, Mr. Tyler returned to Knob Noster, where he owned a splendid country place seven miles north of the city. The Tyler home was known as "Summit Home" and was one of the finest and best-kept in this part of the state. Jane (Hocker) Tyler was

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a daughter of Larkin Hocker and wife. Mrs. Hocker's name before lier marriage was Thornton. Mrs. James K. Tyler and Mrs. John E. Robinson were sisters. To James K. and Jane Tyler were born the following children: Mollie M., the widow of William Logan Hickman; Sterling P., Warrensburg township; Larkin M., who is employed in the United States railway mail service, Kansas City, Missouri; James S., a merchant at Volmer, Idaho; and Elmer H., a farmer, Cement, Oklahoma. The mother died in 1882 and interment was made in the Hocker cemetery. Mr. Tyler remarried in 1882, his second wife being Anna Cruce. To James K. and Anna (Cruce) Tyler was born one child, Edith, who is now the wife of Mr. Killebrew, a druggist of Kan- sas City, Missouri. Mr. Tyler was elected treasurer of Johnson county about 1880 and served two terms in that capacity. His death occurred in 1914 and his remains were interred in the cemetery at Warrensburg.

Mollie M. (Tyler) Hickman received her education in the schools of Camden Point and Warrensburg. January 29, 1882, she was united in marriage with William Logan Hickman. Mr. Hickman was born in Kentucky in 1857. He came to Warrensburg, Missouri with his parents, James and Eliza (Duncan) Hickman. James Hickman was a druggist in the old town and later resided on a farm near Warrens- burg. He returned to Kentucky during the Civil War and, while he was away, his drug store and everything in his home were destroyed. When he came back after the war had ended he found himself ruined financially. His death occurred at the age of forty years and burial was made in the cemetery at Warrensburg. In January, 1913, Mrs. Hickman followed her husband in death and she, too, was interred in the Warrensburg cemetery.

William Logan Hickman attended the city schools of Warrens- burg. In early life, he began working for himself as clerk in the Gilke- son Drug Store. In 1883 he entered the grocery business, which he abandoned a few years later to engage in the clothing business. He was thus employed at the time of his death July 30, 1911. Mr. Hick- man was an honest, honorable, and capable business man, one who has been sadly missed from the ranks of the best citizens of Warrensburg.

The following children were born to William Logan and Mollie M. Hickman: Jane Tyler, the wife of Charles Clay, who is employed in agricultural work for the government at Manilla, Philippine Islands, and they are the parents of one son, Charles Hickman: Elsie Lee, the

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wife of Christopher Johnson, who is the manager of the Hickman Mer- cantile Company, of Warrensburg, and they have one son, Christopher Lee, Jr .: Mary, the wife of Ernest Kenagy, of Sedalia, Missouri; Louise, who is a graduate of the Warrensburg State Normal School in the class of 1917; Mollie L. and Laura M., twins, deceased; and James L., who died in infancy. Mrs. Hickman has resided at her pres- ent home at 200 East Gay street since 1882.

Christopher Johnson, the efficient and enterprising manager of the Hickman Mercantile Company of Warrensburg, Missouri, was born in Jackson county, Missouri in 1884. He is the oldest of three children born to his parents, Isaiah and Della (Dudgeon) Johnson, the chil- dren being, as follow: Christopher; Mrs. Ottola Sullivan, Indepen- dence, Missouri; and Erse, who is in the employ of the Union Pacific Railway Company, with headquarters at Emporia, Kansas. Isaiah Johnson was born in 1859 in Jackson county, Missouri, a son of Samuel Johnson, an early settler of Buckner, Missouri, where his death occurred. Della (Dudgeon) Johnson was born in Kentucky, a daugh- ter of Dandridge and Susan Dudgeon, who were later pioneers of Ray county, Missouri.

Mr. Johnson, the subject of this review, was a student at Wood- land College, Independence, Missouri, at the Warrensburg State Nor- mal School, and at the School of Mines, Rolla, Missouri. After com- pleting his education. Mr. Johnson was engaged in railroading in Okla- homa for the Santa Fe company for six months, for the Mexican Central in old Mexico for two years, employed in the engineering department, and then he was engaged in civil engineering in the United States for three years. In the spring of 1909, he purchased an interest in the Hickman Mercantile Company of Warrensburg and when Mr. Hickman's death occurred eighteen months later, Christopher Johnson succeeded him as manager. The Hickman Mercantile Company have their place of business well located at 115 North Holden street, where they have one of the best and most up-to-date stores in the city. They handle men's and boys' furnishings, a complete line of Kuppenheimer clothes and Selz shoes. The store is exceedingly well kept, the stock being always fresh, clean, neatly and attractively displayed. Christo- pher Johnson deserves much credit and praise for his capable manage- ment of the company's business interests. He is a young man, ener- getic and enthusiastic, a "booster" for everything which will help the

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advancement of Warrensburg and Johnson county. For the past three years, he has been the city engineer of Warrensburg.

In 1909, Christopher. Johnson and Elsie Hickman were united in marriage. Elsie (Hickman) Johnson is a daughter of William Logan and Mollie M. (Tyler) Hickman. Mr. Hickman died July 30, 1911 and the widowed mother, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this vol- ume, is now residing in Warrensburg. To Christopher and Elsie John- son has been born one son, Christopher Lee, Jr. Mr. Johnson is a valued member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, a member of the Blue Lodge of which he is High Priest, and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

Robert F. Boone, the efficient and well-known county assessor of Johnson county, Missouri, is a descendant of Squire Boone. He was born May 6, 1874 in Lafayette county, Missouri, son of George M. and Sallie J. (Boone) Boone. George M. Boone was born August 6, 1843 in Kentucky. He was a son of Samuel Boone, who was a descendant of Squire Boone, a brother of the celebrated Daniel. Samuel. Boone's death occurred at Eldorado Springs but his home was in Lafayette county. His remains were interred in Mt. Tabor cemetery. George M. Boone lived in Lafayette county nearly sixty years. He and Sallie J. Boone were cousins. They were married August 16, 1870 and to them were born the following children: Ira, who is farming on the home place; Robert F., the subject of this review; Mrs. Bettie McMul- len, Holden, Missouri; Mrs. Lula Wilson, Centerview, Missouri; and Mrs. Anna Pace, Warrensburg, Missouri. George M. Boone came with his father to Jackson county, Missouri when he, George M., was a child twelve years of age. In 1859 he moved to Lafayette county where he engaged in farming and stock raising. His death occurred April 22, 1917, on the home place. He was nearly seventy-four years of age. Both father and son, Samuel and George M. Boone, were veterans of the Confederate army. George M. Boone enlisted in Com- pany G, Missouri Infantry and served more than three years. Four brothers of George M. also were in the Confederate service, as follow: William, Fletcher, Manlius, and Robert . Mrs. Boone, the widow of George M., survives her husband and is now living on the home place in Lafayette county.

Robert F. Boone received his early education in a country school. He attended the Warrensburg State Normal, taking the two years'

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course preparatory to teaching. He later was in attendance at the State Normal during several different summer terms. Mr. Boone taught his first school in Newton county, Missouri in the fall of 1899. He taught four terms there and for twelve years was a teacher in the rural schools of Johnson county. Mr. Boone taught school in addi- tion to farming. He owns an eighty acre farm in Simpson township which was his home until he was elected county assessor in the fall of 1916. He assumed the duties of his office June 1. 1917. He will have seven deputies to assist him with the work. Mr. Boone was elected for a term of four years.

April 10, 1901, Robert F. Boone was united in marriage with Ada Caruthers, daughter of W. P. and Fannie ( Meador) Caruthers, of Neosho, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Caruthers are still residing in Neosho, Missouri. To Robert F. and Ada Boone have been born the following children: Forest, Eula, Floyd, Lula Lee, Bennett, Gladys, Zelma, and Robert F., Jr. All the children, except the oldest, were born in Johnson county. The first child, Forest, was born in Newton county. Floyd is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Boone are numbered among the best and most highly respected citizens of Johnson county.

C. H. Harrison, proprietor of the Harrison Book and Stationery Store in Warrensburg, Missouri, is the veteran book dealer of War- rensburg. He is a member of a distinguished pioneer family of John- son county, Missouri. He was born October 26, 1865 in Hazel Hill township, son of John Wesley and Eliza C. (Ovens) Harrison, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume.

Mr. Harrison, the subject of this review. received his education in the public schools of Warrensburg. After leaving school, he was employed for three and a half years by the Christopher Dry Goods Company, when they were located where the E. N. Warnick Hardware Company is now. July 7. 1885, Mr. Harrison purchased the Brooks & Williams' stock of books and stationery, located at 115 Pine street where he has for the past thirty-two years continued the business. He has in the meantime added wallpaper to his stock. The store occupies a room 25 × 90 feet in dimensions and is attractive, neat, and well kept. Mr. Harrison carries school books and a large line of miscellaneous books.

November 8, 1885, C. H. Harrison and Pauline Holliday, daughter of Thompson and Paulina (Phillips) Holliday, of Holliday, Missouri,

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were united in marriage. To C. H. and Pauline (Holliday) Harrison have been born two sons: C. Holliday Harrison, who married Rose Palmer, of Lexington, Missouri, and is associated in business with his father, C. H. Harrison; and Don, who is in the employ of the Clark Brothers' Shoe Company of Warrensburg, Missouri and resides at home with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. C. Holliday Harrison are the parents of one child, a daughter.

C. H. Harrison is a man of decided literary tastes. He is a con- stant reader and keen thinker and no one in Johnson county is better posted than he upon current events. Politically, Mr. Harrison is affil- iated with the Socialist party. The first organization of the Socialist party in Warrensburg was made in 1900 and a county ticket was placed in the field at that time. The local organization existed twelve years and then was reorganized in 1912. C. H. Harrison was the Socialist candidate for Congress from the sixth congressional district in 1914. The sixth congressional district of Missouri had at that time about eight hundred dues-paying members of the Socialist organization. A thorough patriot, Mr. Harrison firmly believes that the present social conditions must and will be corrected only through education of the common people who comprise the vast majority of the population. Quiet and unassuming in demeanor, Mr. Harrison has made many friends in Johnson county and he ranks high among his business asso- ciates as an honest, honorable, conscientious man.

G. Allen Gilbert, who for the past twenty-eight years has been agent for the Standard Oil Company in Warrensburg, Missouri, was born at the home of his father, which was located at 222 East Gay street in Warrensburg, Missouri, the site of the present residence of Mr. Gilbert. He is a son of George M. and Mary Eliza (Allen) Gil- bert, natives of New York. George M. Gilbert was born in New York in 1829. Mary Eliza (Allen) Gilbert was born in August, 1838 in New York. They came to Missouri in 1865 and located in Warrens- burg, where George M. Gilbert entered the grocery business, opening a store on South Holden street. He continued in business at that loca- tion for some time, when the store was burned. Mr. Gilbert then moved to a new location on North Holden street and opened another grocery store. In 1889 he and his son, G. Allen, purchased the business in Warrensburg of B. Harris & Company. They did an extensive busi- ness in hides, pelts, furs, scrap iron, and metal. The son, G. Allen,

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the subject of this review, traveled for many years and bought from other dealers. George M. Gilbert died in August, 1915 at the age of eighty-six years. His wife had preceded him in death five years, her death occurring at the age of seventy-one years. Both parents were buried in the cemetery at Warrensburg.

G. Allen Gilbert attended the public schools of Warrensburg, Mis- souri and the Warrensburg State Normal School. At the age of six- teen years, he was employed by B. Harris & Company and when eighteen years of age was associated in business with his father. Mr. Gilbert has been in business at his present location for the past fifteen years. His office formerly was on Railroad street but has been recently moved to the other end of the lot, which is 50 x 133 feet in dimensions, and now faces East Pine street. Prior to the breaking out of the pres- ent world war, Mr. Gilbert shipped many furs to the London market. He is now doing a large business, buying and shipping pelts, hides, scrap iron, wool, and salt. For nearly thirty years, Mr. Gilbert has been agent for the Standard Oil Company at Warrensburg, Missouri, operating the distributing station at this place. Oil is furnished Knob Noster, Centerview, Fayetteville, Cornelia, Columbus and all the sur- rounding towns. Mr. Gilbert not only has many friends, but is one of the successful business men of the county.

In 1909, G. Allen Gilbert was united in marriage with Frances M. Glenn, daughter of Charles F. and Mary Elizabeth (Reed) Glenn, of Jefferson City, Missouri. Mrs. Gilbert's father died May 18, 1917 in Jefferson City. To G. Allen and Frances M. (Glenn) Gilbert has been born one child, a son, Charles Allen. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert are num- bered among the county's most respected and substantial citizens.

Lonna Louis DesCombes, a progressive, young business man of Warrensburg, Missouri, one of the owners of "The Auto Shop," is a representative of the fourth generation of the DesCombes family in Johnson county, Missouri. Mr. DesCombes was born in Henry county, Missouri in 1889, son of John Louis and Nora (Elliott) DesCombes, the former, a native of Johnson county, Missouri and the latter, of Henry county, Missouri. John L. DesCombes was born in Johnson county on a farm near Leeton. He is a son of Thomas Louis Des- Combes, a native of Johnson county, who was born near Leeton. The father of Thomas L. DesCombes, Charles Louis DesCombes, was of French descent. Charles Louis DesCombes emigrated from Switzer-

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land to America and came to Missouri, where he settled on a farm in Johnson county near Leeton. His son, Thomas Louis at Leeton, and grandson, John Louis at Warrensburg, still live in Johnson county. John Louis and Nora (Elliott) DesCombes are the parents of ten chil- dren: Lonna Louis, the subject of this review; Lloyd E., who is employed as machinist in an automobile factory in Springfield, Ohio; Virginia C., who is the wife of T. E. Thompson, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Russell D., a machinist employed in an automobile factory in Springfield, Ohio; Donald R. and Doris M., twins, Warrensburg, Missouri; Arlie I., Warrensburg, Missouri: Eugene, Warrensburg, Missouri; Ruby Ella and Ruth Anna, twins, who are at home with their parents. One child, John Herbert, died in early childhood.

Lonna Louis DesCombes attended the public schools of Windsor, Missouri, the Warrensburg State Normal School, and the University of Wisconsin. For four years, Mr. DesCombes was a professor in the Industrial Arts department of the Warrensburg State Normal School, resigning this position March 1, 1917 and entering the auto- mobile business in Warrensburg. He opened "The Auto Shop" March 1, 1917 in partnership with A. H. Gilkeson at 122 West Pine street. Mr. Gilkeson is assistant cashier of the Commercial Bank of Warrens- burg and Mr. DesCombes has complete charge of the shop. Their specialties are Overland and Dort cars, Goodrich tires, and expert auto repairing. They carry a complete line of auto accessories and storage batteries and are one of the best and most progressive firms in the city. Both young men are capable, alert, and industrious, in a word- "hustlers." They have enjoyed a large patronage from the very start and there is no reason why they should not make a splendid success.

May 29, 1917, Lonna Louis DesCombes was united in marriage with Kathryne Gallaher, daughter of John A. and Pauline (Gillum) Gallaher, of Warrensburg, Missouri. John A. Gallaher, who served with distinction as State Geologist of Missouri and was widely known also as a mining expert, was born in Monroe county. Tennessee. His parents were James A. and Mary Weir Gallaher, and the father, who was a native of Virginia, was reared in Tennessee. Both came of colonial families and Mrs. Gallaher was descended from the Lyle family which settled in Virginia in 1740. John A. Gallaher served through the Civil War in the Confederate army and bore the scars of wounds received in action. He at one time owned the site of Montserrat and

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the town was first named Gallaher in his honor. He was a student and scientist, a lecturer of note, and contributed numerous important papers to leading scientific and class journals. He was the author of the "Geology of Missouri" and a work entitled "Cosmic Philosophy." Pauline (Gillum) Gallaher is a native of Johnson county, a member of a prominent and distinguished pioneer family. Mrs. Gallaher is still living at 214 Broad street in Warrensburg. Mr. and Mrs. DesCombes reside in Warrensburg at 214 Broad street. Mr. DesCombes is a mem- ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of Warrensburg.

K. G. Tempel, superintendent of the County Home of Johnson county, Missouri, was born in Germany in 1857. He emigrated from his native land in 1881 and came to America and to Warrensburg, Mis- souri, February 15, 1886. He is a son of Christian F. and Anna Chris- tina Tempel, who were the parents of twelve children, six sons and six daughters.

K. Gottlieb Tempel was educated in the schools of Germany. In April, 1881, he came to America and located in Missouri for a short time and then moved to Kansas on a farm near Fort Scott, where he remained several years, when he returned to Missouri and settled in Johnson county. Mr. Tempel arrived in Warrensburg, February 15, 1886 and this city has been his home ever since that time. For many years, he was employed in the stone quarries. Mr. Tempel served two terms as city marshal of Warrensburg and one term as deputy sheriff, being appointed to the latter position by James A. Koch. After his time as a public official had expired, the Tempel family moved to the farm twelve miles south of Warrensburg, a place of forty acres, which Mr. Tempel later sold and purchased two hundred forty acres of fine farm land seven miles northeast of Warrensburg. This is one of the best farms in Johnson county, being well improved and located.

September 6, 1884, K. G. Tempel and Elizabeth Myers, of St. Joseph, Missouri, were united in marriage and to them were born two children, one son and one daughter: Herman, who resides on the home farm in Montserrat township; and Emma, the wife of C. M. Pfeffer, of Montserrat township. Elizabeth (Myers) Tempel died April 1, 1892. October 13, 1892, K. G. Tempel was married to Anna Katherine Hunker, daughter of George and Ursula Hunker, both of whom were natives of Germany. Mrs. Tempel was born in Leidringen, Germany. Her father died in the fatherland and when she was twenty years of

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History of Johnson County, Missouri, Part 79

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