History of Johnson County, Missouri, Part 86

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

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McNeal, all of Pittsville, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Browning are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, South.

Politically, W. T. Browning has always been a firm and uncompro- mising Democrat and he has ever taken a keen interest in the trend of public questions and events. Although numbered among the well-to-do citizens of Johnson county, Mr. Browning is one of the most unosten- tatious of men, openhearted and candid in manner, retaining in his demeanor the candor and courtesy of the olden-time Southern gentle- man. Such is, in brief, the life history of one who has indelibly stamped the impress of his own strong personality on the growth and develop- ment of his community where so many years of his long life have been spent. His record will stand as a lasting monument in the years to come when his labors are ended and his name has become a precious memory.

W. P. Halley, a worthy representative of an honored and respected pioneer family of Saline county Missouri, is one of the most capable and enterprising agriculturists of Columbus township. He was born in October, 1868 in Saline county, a son of J. A. and Susan E. Halley. Mr. and Mrs. Halley, the parents of W. P., the subject of this review, were noble types of the sturdy pioneer, citizens of broad humanitarian principles, earnest purposes, clean, moral lives. They did all in their power to uplift their fellowmen and promote the welfare of the com- munity in which they had settled. The Halleys were widely known and respected for their genuine worth.

In the common schools of Saline county, W. P. Halley obtained his early education. Later, he attended business college and completed the course in the commercial school located at Stanberry, Missouri in Gentry county. After leaving school, Mr. Halley began life for himself on the farm in Saline county. He moved thence in 1905 to his present country home in Columbus township, Johnson county. The Halley farm comprises two hundred sixty-four acres of land, the original pur- chase, and one hundred six acres purchased in 1915, in all, three hun- dred seventy acres of some of the best farm land in this section of the state. The place is supplied with an abundance of water and, having four large barns, is well equipped for handling stock. At the time of this writing, in 1917, Mr. Halley has forty head of high grade cattle, seventy head of sheep, and one hundred thirty head of pure-bred black Poland China hogs. He has a registered male at the head of the herd

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of hogs. He has had excellent success in stock raising and also in general farming, harvesting, this past season of 1917, eleven hundred bushels of wheat, six hundred bushels of oats, and fifteen tons of hay and in addition had ninety acres of the farm in corn. Mr. Halley has planted one hundred thirty acres of the place in winter wheat. He is a progressive and well-informed farmer and he is doing all in his power to bring the soil up to a high state of cultivation, rotating his crops, plant- ing clover, pasturing the land, and keeping his manure spreader con- stantly working. Mr. Halley has been very successful also in growing alfalfa and he is an enthusiastic advocate of this crop. In 1911, he built the present residence, a nine-room structure, comfortably arranged and modern throughout.

In 1894, W. P. Halley and Clara May Lewis, daughter of J. A Lewis, of Saline county, were united in marriage and to this union have been born three sons: Morris P., Elmer L., and William Alfred, all of whom are at home with their parents. The two oldest sons, Morris P. and Elmer L., are associated with their father in farming and stock raising. William Alfred is attending school at Odessa, Missouri.

Mr. Halley is one of the comparatively recent arrivals in Johnson county, having located here twelve years ago, yet he has already taken a place among the leading and influential citizens of his township. He believes in progress and is sparing no trouble or expense in a laudable effort to make his farm one of the best in the county. He prosecutes his farm work according to the most advanced methods of modern agriculture and personally he enjoys a large measure of popularity. By a careful observance of the ethics of life Mr. and Mrs. Halley have secured for themselves the kind regard and highest respect of all their neighbors and fellowcitizens in Columbus township.

Dr. W. B. Turnbow a prominent physician of Johnson county resid- ing at Pittsville, Missouri, is a native of Kentucky. He was born in 1862 in Graves county, a son of Thomas Jefferson. Jr. and Mary (Coch- rum) Turnbow, the former, a son of Thomas Jefferson Turnbow, Sr., an early-day teamster and the latter, a daughter of Bannester Cochrum, a well-known and prosperous farmer of Calloway county, Kentucky. Thomas Jefferson Turnbow, Sr. was a leading stockman of Kentucky and a man of much civic pride and public spirit. He assisted in staking out the road from Paducah in McCracken county to Calloway county

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and helped drag a heavy log over the tall grass to make the first trail. The father of Dr. Turnbow was killed during the Civil War.

Doctor Turnbow is a graduate of the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, which is the oldest medical college in the state. After completing his college work in Ohio, Doctor Turnbow returned to his native state and began the practice of his profession at Linville. Graves county, moving his office later to Pilotoak in Graves county. In 1891, the doctor obtained his medical degree and after practicing medicine eighteen years in Kentucky, he moved to Missouri and in 1909 located his office at Holden. One year afterward he moved to Pittsville, Missouri, where he has continued to reside for the past eight years, engaged in active practice. The doctor has calls for his services eight and ten miles from the city, but with his Ford it is only a few moments until he is at the most distant patient's bedside.

In addition to his large, handsome residence, a house of ten rooms, in Pittsville, Doctor Turnbow owns a small tract of land comprising ten acres and he is keenly interested in stock raising. His grandfather was a lover of animals and probably the doctor has inherited his inter- est. All his spare moments are given to attending to the care of his fine Poland Chinas and to a flock of twenty-five geese, his Plymouth Rock chickens, and the Jersey cows on his little farm. Doctor Turn- bow has a pond for his geese and he sells them at ten dollars a pair.

In 1891, Dr. W. B. Turnbow was united in marriage with Martha J. Seay, of Graves county, Kentucky, and to them have been born seven chidren, six of whom are now living: Lloyd Jefferson, Pittsville, Missouri; Thomas S., Holden, Missouri; William B., Jr., Pittsville, Missouri; Mary C., Ruby Ann, and Joseph C., at home with their parents. The two oldest sons are now married and are engaged in farming in Johnson county.

Doctor and Mrs. Turnbow are members of the Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints and services are frequently held at their home. The meetings are well attended and Rev. L. E. Hills and other widely- known ministers conduct the devotional exercises. Doctor Turnbow is a valued member of the Odd Fellows and, politically, he is a Demo- crat.

R. D. Bradley and R. J. Bradley, widely known throughout this section of Missouri as the "Bradley boys," are sons of F. M. and Ellen (Fulkerson) Bradley, who were well-known and highly respected pio-

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neers of Missouri, among the first and best of the early settlers of Johnson county. F. M. Bradley was born in Kentucky in 1827, a son of Richard T. Bradley, a veteran of the Revolution of 1776. His mother was a daughter of Jonathan Baker, a leading colonist of the early days. Richard T. Bradley was one of the body of troops sent to Florida in 1817 under General Andrew Jackson to quell the Semi- nole Indians and the border warfare there. In 1829, the Bradleys came to Missouri and settled on Spanish Oak. The son, F. M., was then a child two years of age. Richard T. Bradley engaged in the stock business extensively and became very prosperous. He died in 1868 and five years later was followed in death by his wife, one of the noblest of the pioneer women. She, too, was a native of Kentucky.

F. M. Bradley was reared in Johnson county. He remained with his parents until he attained maturity ad then entered the stock busi- ness for himself. He entered a large tract of land from the government and was the owner, at one time, of four hundred acres of valuable land. His sons, R. D., and R. J., now reside at the old homestead of the Bradleys. F. M. Bradley was united in marriage with Ellen Fulker- son, daughter of Reuben Fulkerson, a member of one of the oldest fami- lies of Missouri. To this union were born three children, who are now living: Alice Stonewall, who resides in Nevada; R. D. and R. J., subjects of this review. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley experienced not only the trials of pioneer life but also the sorrows of war. Their home was burned to the ground during the Civil War. The father died in 1902 and three years later Mrs. Bradley joined him in death. Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Bradley were numbered among the county's best citizens and a multitude of friends in Johnson county have mourned their loss.

R. D. Bradley was born June 10, 1872, and in September of the following year his brother. R. J., was born on the home place in John- son county. With the exception of two years' residence in Holden, the brothers have always lived at the Bradley homestead. They have managed the farm since they were small boys and cared for the stock when they were sixteen and fourteen years oid, respectively. The Brad- ley brothers are recognized as expert stockmen far beyond the confines of Johnson county. At the present time, in 1917, they are raising and feeding a large number of cattle, mules, and hogs, although their herds are not so large now as formerly. R. D. Bradley owns one hundred twenty acres and R. J. Bradley one hundred sixty acres of the home

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place and, in addition, they manage the land owned by their sister, Alice. They have the place in excellent condition and repair and recently fenced the entire farm with woven wire fencing. Both R. D. and R. J. Bradley are stanch Democrats and good, substantial citizens of John- son county.

John P. Ayler and William H. Ayler, proprietors of the "Lincoln Valley Stock Farm" in Jackson township, are the sons of Ernestus and Sarah (Mills) Ayler, well-remembered and respected pioneers of John- son county. Ernestus Ayler was born in Germany. The name Ayler suggests Teutonic origin. In the fatherland, Ernestus Ayler grew to manhood and was educated near the place of his birth. The indus- trial conditions of his native land being unfavorable for a young man of ambition, such as he, and having heard and read of the great coun- try, abounding in better opportunities, which lay beyond the sea, to which so many of his countrymen had immigrated, Mr. Ayler deter- mined to leave Germany and embark for the new world. At the age of twenty-one years, he was engaged in teaching school in America. Later, he abandoned the teaching profession and entered the packing house business, from which he was obliged to retire within a short time on account of deafness, an affliction that befell him in early man- hood. He then purchased a farm in Indiana, which place he sold after a few years and thence moved to Johnson county, Missouri, in 1856. Before coming West, Ernestus Ayler and Sarah Mills were married. To them were born seven children, six of whom are now living: A. S., who resides in New Mexico; P. B., Kingsville, Missouri; Mrs. Rhoda Hennings, Holden, Missouri; John P. and William H., the subjects of this review; and Mrs. Sarah Mills, Holden, Missouri.

Ernestus Ayler purchased a farm of two hundred acres of the choicest land in Johnson county in 1856 for ten dollars an acre. He farmed extensively and was especially fortunate in stock raising. Mr. Ayler had been thoroughly educated in his native land and all his life was a constant reader, keen thinker, and intelligent observer. He made a specialty of handling stock and in his day in Johnson county the stockman was permitted unlimited grazing territory. Mr. Ayler spent two years in Kansas and at the time he was there, during the Civil War period, he saw the raid made by Quantrill and his men. When he returned to his home in Missouri, he found havoc and destruction where he had left a well-improved farm. Not a fence, or vestige of

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one, could be found on the entire place. All had been burned by the enemy at some time during the absence of the owner. Indefatigably, Mr. Ayler set to work to begin anew and his efforts were crowned with deserved success and prosperity. The end of a long life of tire- less activity came in January, 1905. The life of Ernestus Ayler has furnished evidence in proof of the truth of the old adage, which states that, "Success is not the result of genius, but the outcome of clear judgment and practical experience."

John P. Ayler was born in Johnson county in 1857 and William H. Ayler was born in 1859. The Ayler boys attended the school held at Lincoln school house, where Milo Martin was employed as teacher when they began their educational career. When they were lads in their teens, there was still much open prairie land in this county and timber was plentiful along the streams. The two young brothers used to furnish the timber and split logs to sell the rails for one dollar a hundred. There are rails yet, on their farm, which were split by them in their boyhood days. The Ayler brothers jointly own a valuable farm comprising four hundred eighty-seven acres of land in Jackson township, a place widely known as "Lincoln Valley Stock Farm," where they are engaged in raising jacks, stallions, and mules, extensively. They also have a number of good Shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs. The past season of 1917, the Ayler boys harvested one hundred sixty tons of hay and twelve hundred bushels of oats and they had ten acres of the farm in wheat and nearly one hundred acres in corn. The place is abundantly watered and nicely improved. Their home is a pleasant, com- fortable residence and there are numerous, commodious barns and other needed farm buildings on the farm. John P. and William H. Ayler are both unmarried.

Beginning life as railsplitters, even as the immortal Lincoln, the Ayler boys have persistently pushed forward and upward until they are now the proprietors of one of the most valuable farms in the state. Descendants of sterling pioneer ancestry, John P. and William H. Ayler are distinctively representative of the best husbandmen of Johnson county. The Ayler brothers have always been firm, uncompromising Republicans. Though both take a deep interest in public and political affairs neither has ever pursued the chimera of political prestige.

M. H. Davis, a well-known pioneer citizen of Johnson county, is one

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of the respected farmers of Jackson township. Mr. Davis is a native of Illinois. He was born in 1842 in Scott county, a son of R. C. and Elizabeth S. (Baldridge) Davis. The lineage of the particular branch of the Davis family to which M. H. Davis belongs has been traced back to colonial ancestors who settled in Tennessee in the early part of the eighteenth century. R. C. Davis was a son of James Davis, a native of Tennessee, who moved to Illinois several years prior to the time of the Civil War. Elizabeth S. (Baldridge) Davis was a daughter of James Baldridge, a veteran of the Revolution of 1776, was married in a fort, during the Revolutionary War. James Baldridge was a native of Eng- land and a member of a wealthy family of high social rank in Great Britain. The great-great-grandfather Baldridge was united in marriage with Miss Holmes, whose family was in all probability connected withi the Holmes family that produced America's great poet and humorist, Oliver Wendell Holmes. The first known Holmes to arrive in this country was John Holmes, who came from England to Woodstock, Connecticut, with the first settlers in 1686. When M. H. Davis was ten years of age. he moved with his parents to Iowa and in that state was reared to manhood and was residing at the time of his marriage.

In the spring of 1867, R. C. Davis and his son, M. H., came to Johnson county. M. H. Davis purchased a small tract of land, compris- ing sixty-five acres, and built a one-room house on the farm and in this they resided for several years, while they were breaking native sod and developing the land for the production of wheat. Mr. Davis, whose name introduces this sketch, recalls the days when much of the county was open prairie and trails in place of roads, led in all directions. He is now the owner of one hundred thirty acres of well-improved, abundantly watered, productive land, on which he is raising grain, hay, and stock. This season of 1917. he had thirty acres of the farm in corn and has planted twenty acres in wheat and harvested fifteen tons of hay and five hundred bushels of oats. He raises Shorthorns, Poland Chinas, and good horses. The residence was built in 1867 but additions have been since made and the appearance of the home entirely altered in 1883.

In 1864. M. H. Davis and Mary Ballard were united in marriage. Mrs. Davis was a daughter of James Ballard, of Indiana. When Mrs. Davis was an infant, her father died. Mrs. Ballard moved with her daughter to Putnam county, Missouri, in 1860 and they were there resid- ing at the time of the latter's marriage to Mr. Davis. Mr. and Mrs. Davis

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crossed the plains in 1864 and lived for a time in Canon City, Colorado. In the spring of 1867, they came to Johnson county, Missouri, with the parents of Mr. Davis. To Mr. and Mrs. Davis were born six children, three of whom are now living: Mrs. Margaret A. Carter, Pittsville, Missouri; Mrs. Elizabeth B. Rice, Pittsville, Missouri; and John H., Pittsville, Missouri. Mrs. Davis, one of the most beloved of the noble pioneer women of Johnson county, died September 15, 1917.

Seventy-five years have come and gone since M. H. Davis first saw the light of day in Illinois, seventy-five years covering probably the most momentous period in the world's history, seventy-five years fraught with the greatest opportunities and responsibilities humanity has ever known. It has been "good to be here" during the past three- quarters of a century. During all these years Mr. Davis has discharged every duty devolved upon him in a highly commendable manner and has nobly done his part in bettering the material prosperity of his community.

C. Noland, an industrious and enterprising agriculturist of Jack- son township, is distinctively one of the leading citizens of Johnson county. Mr. Noland was born in Clark county, Kentucky, in 1874, a son of John and Belle (Garner) Noland, both of whom were members of prominent colonial families of Kentucky. John Noland was a son of a wealthy and influential plantation owner, who was also an extensive slaveholder. Just before the outbreak of the Civil War, one of the slaves was bribed to poison the Nolands and John Noland was one among the members of the family who suffered most intensely from the poisoning. In early life, Mr. Noland, the father of the subject of this review, became an auctioneer and it was said of him that he enjoyed "crying a sale" so much he would do so without recompense rather than to miss the opportunity. He came to Missouri in 1879 and located in Jackson county, where most of his life was spent. Near the close of his career, he moved to Johnson county and for one year resided on a farm of eighty acres which he had purchased. He died in 1908. Belle (Garner) Noland was a daughter of James Garner, a well-known citizen of Winchester, Kentucky. To John and Belle Noland were born four children, two of whom are now living: Mrs. Fannie Gunn, Kingsville, Missouri; and C. Noland, the subject of this review.

Mr. Noland was a child, nearly six years of age, when he came to Missouri with his parents. He was reared to manhood and edu-

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cated in the public schools of Jackson county and early in life chose the ancient and honorable vocation of farming as his. Until eleven years ago, he followed farming and stock raising in Jackson county, but since 1906 Mr. Noland has been a resident of Johnson county. He purchased at that time one hundred sixty acres of land in Jackson township and to his original holdings has since added until he is now the owner of two hundred three acres of land. He has been especially fortunate in stock raising and has, at the time of this writing, in 1917, thirty-eight head of cattle and a large number of Duroc Jersey hogs, having at times as many as three hundred head. The Noland farm is very productive and well adapted for grain growing as well as stock raising. Mr. Noland has at this time one hundred twenty-five acres of corn land and the grain harvested from this field will more than pay for the soil in which it is growing. He specializes in corn grow- ing and the production of hogs for the market and is making a marked success. The place is kept in excellent condition, the improvements in good repair, and all the fences in fine order, the general appearance of the farm bespeaking the care and thrift of an intelligent, capable yeoman. The Noland farm in itself possesses much historic interest. A spring on the place was discovered by the paternal grandfather of Judge Cockrell in the early days, after he had dreamed about it several different times. It is a farm rich in pioneer history.

In 1899, the marriage of Mr. Noland and Retta Waters, daughter of James and Alice M. Waters, was solemnized. James Waters was a son of Thomas Waters, a native of Ireland. Thomas Waters was born in 1831 and at the age of twenty-one years emigrated from his native land and came to America. He was united in marriage with Rose McCarty, who was also a native of Ireland. To James and Alice M. Waters were born eight children, as follow: Mrs. Carrie Workman, Westplains, Missouri; Thomas W., Independence, Missouri; Mrs. Ida E. Rodgers, deceased; Mrs. Retta Noland, the wife of the subject of this review; Omer S., Kingsville, Missouri; Mrs. Jennie Agnes Cole, Independence, Missouri: Dora L. and Lydia, who died in infancy. C. and Retta (Waters) Noland are the parents of five children, four of whom are now living: Garner D., John C., deceased; Raymond W .; Bettie F., and Charles T., all of whom are at home with their parents.

Thus is briefly traced the life story of one of this county's best citizens. It is the story of a good, honest man, one who is doing his

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work wisely and well and is contributing all in his power to the mate- rial upbuilding of his community. Mr. Noland is a comparatively recent comer in Johnson county, but during the past eleven years he and Mrs. Noland have attained an enviable standing in Jackson township and in the years to come when they retire to a life of ease and comfort, they may be consoled with the complacent reflection that their past was one of usefulness to their fellowmen and that they leave to their descendants a name unblemished and one which will be recalled with affectionate pride and gratitude.

M. R. Neil was born in 1851 in Center county, Pennsylvania, son of John and Nancy (Riddle) Neil. John Neil and all his children were born in the same house on the homestead in Center county, Pennsyl- vania. John Neil was a well-to-do and industrious farmer, a prominent man of public affairs in Pennsylvania in his day, and at one time tax collector in Center county. In those days the collector went to every home when collecting the taxes and thus the work of that office was far from light and easy. Reverend Lynn pronounced the ceremony which united in marriage John Neil and Nancy Riddle, the marriage taking place in Center county, and the same minister later baptized each of their children. who were as follow: M. R., of this review; James, who died at Windsor. Missouri: William, Pomeroy, Washington; Ira, Leeton, Missouri; and Belle. Pomeroy. Washington. The mother was also a native of Center county, Pennsylvania. The family moved to Illi- nois in 1854 and March 28, 1868, they moved from Illinois to Missouri, where they settled in Benton county on a farm of three hundred eighty acres of land. Mr. Neil engaged in farming and stock raising on this place and from 1868 until his death in 1881 never missed but one year raising splendid crops. He died in November, 1881. on the home place in Benton county. John Neil was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, a member of high degree, and of the Odd Fellows. He was an honest, honorable, capable citizen, a man worthy of the greatest respect and esteem.

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History of Johnson County, Missouri, Part 86

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