USA > Missouri > Lafayette County > History of Lafayette county, Mo. , carefully written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of its townships, cities, towns, and villages > Part 69
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
United States assessor, 2d division of 6th district of Missouri, and was in this service about six years, or until the internal revenue tax was abol- ished. During this time he received a letter from his superior officer which speaks volumes for his integrity, efficiency and success as a public officer. The letter is here given:
UNITED STATES INTERNAL REVENUE, ASSESSOR'S OFFICE, 6TH DIST. Mo., KANSAS CITY, March 30, 1870. Mr. Henry Turner, U. S. Asst. Assessor, Lexington, Mo :
DEAR SIR :- Please accept my thanks for the excellent manner in which you have gotten up your annual list for 1870. It is perfect in every res- pect, is the first to reach this office, represents every town in your divi- sion, and is within a fraction of double in amount that for the year 1869. With such officers, the government cannot long remain in debt. I hope that you may return many more such favors to the government.
I have the honor, sir, to remain, Yours, etc.,
JOSHUA THORNE, Assessor 6th District, Missouri.
Mr. Turner naturally feels proud of this, and many other evidences which prove that he has been faithful and true in every public trust. Mrs. Turner died at Lexington, May 21, 1880, aged 74 years and two months. Their children were the following: Isabella and Phebe, (twins), born at Wilton, England, March 14, 1834. Isabella married Washington Zing- ling, of Lexington, Mo., now deceased. Phebe married Henry Switzer, of Lexington, now of Kansas City. She died in 1865. Mary Jane, born April 22, 1838; married George Matthew, of Dover township, Lafayette county. Emma Elizabeth, born Oct. 24, 1839; married Henry Taubman, of Lexington, deceased. Henry William, born August 2, 1841; married Miss Fleta Carroll, of Lexington, and is now serving his second term as postmaster. Edwin, born Nov. 9, 1843; not married. Anna, born March 14, 1846; married S. S. Earle, of Lexington. All of the above children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Turner, at Wilton, in England. Josephene was born at Richmond, in Ray county, August 19, 1849. She married Mr. Switzer, of Kansas City, former husband of her deceased sister Phebe; and he died in April, 1880. Mr. Turner has 32 grandchildren now living, and four have died.
LEXINGTON TOWNSHIP. JAMES S. PRICE,
postoffice, Lexington, Mo., son of John and Jane Price, who moved from Warrensburg, Johnson county, Mo., to St. Louis county, in 1861; then to St. Charles county, Ills .; then back to Warrensburg, Mo., in 1866, and in
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
1872, to this county, living near Dover for several years, and then settled in the suburbs of Lexington, Mo. James S. Price was born in Warrens- burg, Mo., May 31, 1852. He entered the Jerseyville, Ills., College at 17 years of age, remaining three years, and at the age of 20, studied medi- cine one year at Jerseyville; then read law four years in Warrensburg, Mo., ยท feeling that he had not the necessary nerve for dissections. While read- ing law, he felt that he was called to preach the gospel. In 1874 he con- cluded to preach, and in Dec. 1878, preached his first sermon, and was ordained the third Sunday in August, 1879. He was called to Long Branch church, where he has been preaching three years, and has built up a good congregation. He belongs to the Baptist persuasion, and has charge of two other congregations.
UPTON WILSON.
Mr. Wilson, a prominent farmer and stock raiser, of Lexington town- ship: was born in Bullitt county, Kentucky. Was educated at Hanover College, Indiana. He came to Missouri in 1837, and settled in Johnson county, where he remained until 1877, when he moved to Lafayette county, where he has since resided. Mr. Wilson was united in marriage in 1855, to Miss Catherine D. Neill, of Lafayette county. They have five children, named as follows: Stephen N., Lee F., Charles M., Mathew, and Mary. Postoffice, Lexington.
JUDGE B. D. WEEDIN,
P. O. Lexington, Missouri. The subject of this sketch was born in Glas- gow, Kentucky, September 24, 1831. His father, Caleb Weedin, is of English, and his mother; Eliza S. Moore, of Welsh descent. His father was a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and died near Danville, Kentucky, March 16, 1864. Judge Weedin was raised princi- pally in Logan county, Kentucky, when he removed with his parents to Danville, Kentucky, where he was chiefly educated, graduating at Center College in 1853. Immediately after leaving college, at the early age of twenty-two, he was elected county surveyor, which office he resigned to move to Missouri, which he did in 1855, and settled in this county, where he has lived ever since. He first located in Lexington, and was soon after
appointed deputy surveyor. He served as deputy one year, was then appointed surveyor to fill a vacancy, and was then elected to fill unexpired term. The war coming on, his office was vacated by the Gamble govern- ment. In 1861 he volunteered in the M. S. G. for three months, and then joined the confederate army, and was in the artillery service to the end of the war. He was in most of the principal battles; as Lone Jack, Pine Bluff, Jenkins Ferry, Prairie Grove, Little Rock, etc., etc. He was never wounded or captured. At the close of the war he returned to this county,
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
and settled down on a farm, to begin life anew. In the fall of 1874 he was elected by the Democracy as associate judge of the county court, but resigned, with the whole bench, before his term expired, rather than levy an obnoxious tax upon the people. He continued upon his farm until 1880, when he was again elected county surveyor on the Democratic ticket. On the 31st of August, 1865, he was married to Miss Martha A. Lankford, also of this county. This lady died January 19, 1879, having borne seven children, three of whom are now living, two sons and one daughter. Since his wife's death, his sister, Miss Anna E. Weedin, has lived with him, leaving her home in Kentucky for that purpose. He is a member of the C. P. church, and also a member of the Masonic order. His grandfather, Samuel S. Moore, was born at Louisville, Kentucky, when that city was only a frontier fort.
N. C. EWING,
P. O. Lexington, Missouri; son of Robert and Elizabeth Ewing, was born in this county September 24, 1830, and here he was also raised and educated. His calling is that of a farmer, and all his life has been spent on a Lafayette county farm. His parents were natives of Logan county, Kentucky, his father first coming to this county in 1818 or 1819. After remaining here a short time, he returned to Kentucky, and married in 1821. He then moved to Missouri and settled in this county, where he resided until his death. The subject of this sketch was married April 17, 1856, to Miss Catherine W. Wilcoxen, of this county, formerly of Fred- erick county, Maryland. By this union he had four children, three of them living: Anna H., Joel H., and Young. He and his family are members of the C. P. church, of which he is a deacon. He is a successful farmer and a public spirited citizen.
FERDINAND D. SMITH,
P. O. Lexington, Missouri; was born in Buford county, Virginia, August 14, 1832. His father Jno. W. Smith, was an extensive southern trader, and died in 1846 in North Carolina, on his way home from a southern tour. In 1847 his widowed mother moved with her family to Missouri, and settled in Pettis county, where the subject of this sketch lived, with her until 1850. In 1850 he went to California, where he remained seven years, engaged in mining, and made some money. He returned to Mis- souri and settled at Wellington, in this county, where his mother and sisters were then living. In 1858 he went to Salt Lake City on a freight- ing expedition of Russell & Waddell, as wagon master, in which he was absent eighteen months. He then returned to this county, and settled on a farm on Texas Prairie. December 13, 1859, he was married to Miss Mary E. Van Camp, daughter of William Van Camp, of Lexington, now
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
deceased. In 1863 he moved to Pettis county, and remained there until the war closed. In 1867 his wife died, and in 1869 he mar- ried again, this time to Miss Matilda H. Young, daughter of Ex-Gov. James Young, who was acting governor of Missouri, in 1844. In 1870 he sold his farm in Pettis county and returned to this county, where he has since resided, on a fine farm, six miles southeast of Lexington. By his first marriage he had three children, two now living, Leslie and Ada Mary. By his second wife he has one child, Sallie Left- wich. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Church South, his first wife was a member of the Christian church. He also belongs to the Masonic order.
REV. HIRAM M. BLEDSOE, SR.,
deceased. The subject of this sketch, though no longer among the living, will long be remembered as among the prominent old settlers of this county. He was born in Cumberland county, Ky., in 1798. The exact day of his birth is not now known, the record in the old family bible hav- ing been destroyed by fire in 1865. The family is of English origin on the paternal, and Irish on the maternal side. When a boy they moved to Bour- bon county Ky., where he grew to manhood on a farm, and was educated. When still quite a young man he was elected sheriff of Bourbon county, and continued to fill that office for many years, and subsequently repre- sented the county in the Kentucky legislature. In 1832, he moved to this county, and entered an extensive tract of land in this and Cass counties. After coming to Missouri, he withdrew from politics, and turned his atten- tion more particularly to religion and theological subjects. Having been raised in the Christian church, he became a minister of that denomination, and has organized many churches in this portion of the state. All the latter years of his life were devoted to this work; yet he was a successful business man, and managed his large farm admirably. When about twenty-one years of age he married Miss Susan T. Hughes, of Paris Ky., and became the father of seven children, five sons and two daughters, five of whom are now living :- Hiram M. Jr., Joseph, Agnes E., wife of Thomas Ingle, of Cass county, Carrie F., wife of E. A. Eddy, also of Cass county, and Robert Davis, which last now represents the family on the old homestead in this county. Robert D. Bledsoe was married in Nov. 1868, to Miss Ottie Perrie, of Lexington, Mo., and has two children living. He served four years in the C. S. A., first in his brother Hiram's famous battery, and afterwards in a battery commanded by his brother Joseph, and was in the battles of Lexington, Prairie Grove, Newtonia, Pea Ridge, and in many skirmishes. Hiram Bledsoe, Sr., closed his use- ful and eventful life at his home in this county in November 1878, at the age of eighty years.
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
JOHN P. BEAR,
P. O. Lexington Mo. Was born in Rockingham county Va., June 8, 1834, and is the son of John and Elizabeth Bear. In his tenth year he moved with his parents to this county and settled on a farm, where he was then raised and educated. Soon after he was grown, he and his brother William took the management of their father's farm, he being dis- abled by rheumatism. By natural inclination he took up the carpenter's trade, and he still does his own work in that line. In the fall of 1861, he enlisted in the state guard for three months. In 1862, he was taken pris- oner at home by the federals, just as he was starting south. He made a run for it, but they caught him, and sent him to St. Louis; held him one week, and then released him on a bond of one thousand dollars, to secure his loyalty. He returned home and remained quiet until he was drafted, when he fled to Nebraska, and continued there to the end of the war, and then returned to his farm in this county. On the 11th day of Nov. 1864, he was married to Miss Mary Ann Gray, daughter of Rev. F. R. Gray, and has six living children. They are both members of the Pres- byterian church. He is also a member of the Grange.
WILLIAM J. BEAR,
P. O. Lexington, Mo. Son of John and Elizabeth Bear. Was born in Rockingham county Va., March 5, 1821, and having come to this county as early as 1844, may be counted as one of the old settlers. Having been raised on a farm, on coming to this county he engaged in farming. His father was early disabled by rheumatism, and he with his younger brother- took charge of the farm. His father died in 1870. The two brothers. have bought out most of the heirs, and they both reside on the original farm, nine miles southeast of Lexington. In 1861, after the battle of Lex- ington he went south with Gen. Price, and was enrolled in Co. B., 6th regiment Missouri volunteers C. S. A., and served in the west until the winter of 1863, when he was discharged. He was in the battles of Lex- ington, Pea Ridge, and a number of lesser note. He then went to Va., and enlisted in a company of exchanged prisoners, mostly Missourians, in 62d Va. regiment of mounted infantry. In the battle of New Market, his company was cut to pieces, and the fragments joined a company of inde- pendent rangers, and served to the end of the war. He then returned to his home in this county. January 6, 1871, he was married to Miss Eliza- beth Rice, daughter of Augustus Rice, a native of Va., now deceased. They have only one child living: . William. He is a member of the Pres- byterian church.
BB
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
LEWIS P. GREEN,
P. O. Lexington, Missouri. Is son of Col. Levi Green, who died in this county, April, 1875, and who will long be remembered for the prom- inent part he played in the county. He was once president of the Farm- ers' bank of Lexington, and always took an active part in the politics of the county, though he held no political offices. Louis P. Green was born in Sumner county, Tennessee, November 3, 1831. His father, Col. Green, was married to Miss Betty P. Guerrant, November 22, 1829, she being his second wife. When Lewis was about six years old he came with his father to this county, and settled on a tract of land seven miles southeast of Lexington, where he was raised and educated, partly in Lexington and partly by Rev. G. L. Yantis, at Sweet Springs. After quitting school he returned to his home and managed his father's farm, until his father's death. He now owns 250 acres, including the old homestead. November 22, 1853, he was married to Miss Mary Murrell, daughter of the late Samuel Murrell, of Lexington, Missouri. Burdened with his own family, his aged parents, and many slaves, he could not enter the southern army, but participated in the battle of Lexington. He remained quietly on his farm during the war. One of his brothers died in the army. Since the war he has given his attention to the management of his farm, and has taken an active part in politics. His family are members of the Presbyterian church, of which his father was a zealous member. He belongs to no secret order, unless the Patrons of Husbandry may be called such. He has had seven children of whom six are now living.
GEORGE. B. GORDON,
P. O. Lexington, Missouri, is a native of this county, and was born on the old Fulkerson homestead, now known as the Ramey farm, six miles south- east of Lexington, January 25, 1848. He was raised and educated in this county. During the war he was at school, and hence took no part in the bloody struggle. He was raised a farmer and pursued no other calling. His father, Linn B. Gordon, lives in this county, was a farmer before him, and has raised his sons to agricultural pursuits. At the age of twenty George began to farm on the farm where he now lives, known as the Joseph Shelby place. On the 24th day of December, 1869, he was mar- ried to Miss Mary Ann Shelby, daughter of Joseph B. Shelby, a cousin of Gen. Joe O. Shelby, whose fame in the war was so great, and so well known to all Missourians. They have four children, all living. He belongs to the Christian church at Dover, as does also his wife. He is a mason, and politically, a democrat. For so young a man, he has already established an eminent character for integrity, sagacity, and industry, and has proven himself a successful farmer.
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
LINN B. SHELBY,
P. O. Lexington, Missouri. The subject of this sketch is a cousin of Gen. Joe Shelby, whose name so frequently occurs in the history of the war, and was born on the old Thomas Shelby homestead, six miles east of Lexington, on the Dover.road, April 13, 1859. He is the son of Thomas and Nancy Shelby-his mother's maiden name being Gordon; her father having emigrated here at a very early day. Mr. Shelby was raised and educated in this county; and on the 17th day of October, 1879, was mar- ried to Miss Lillie M. Kelley, daughter of Mr. James E. Kelley, also of this. county. They have one child, a son, named Mark Hughes Shelby. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian church, membership at Lex- ington. He is now living on a farm three miles from Page City, and has a bright future before him.
THOMAS B. CAMPBELL,
P. O. Dover, Mo. Was born in Huntsville, Ala., June 16, 1824. His parents, James and Ann Eliza Campbell, came to this county at an early day, and his father died here in Dover in 1872, and his mother is still liv- ing in this county. The maiden name of the latter was Jennings, daughter of David Jennings, one of the pioneer settlers of this county. When Thomas was about two years of age he moved with his parents to this county, settling on the place where he now resides, where he was raised. He was educated in the county and at the State University in Columbia, Mo., where he graduated in the class of 1851. Leaving college, he returned home and went to farming in this county. In the war he was in hearty sympathy with the South, but took no active part in the war. He remained quietly and was never so much as arrested during the entire war. Jan. 15, 1856, he was married to Miss Sallie M. Hicks, daughter of A. B. Hicks, of Fayette, Howard county, Mo. They have had five child- ren, four of whom are now living-three sons and one daughter. He is a member of the Christian church and also his wife. He is a Mason, with fellowship at Dover. He has a fine farm of six hundred acres in the best part of the county, and takes great interest in the stock business. He stands high as a man of integrity and honor, and is an enterprising and public-spirited citizen.
ROBERT JACKSON SMITH,
P. O. Lexington, Mo. The subject of this sketch is one of the old citizens of this county; was born in Caldwell county, Ky., April 14, 1815. He is the son of Robert and Lucy Smith, his mother's maiden name being Gor- don. He lived in Caldwell county, Ky., until he was about sixteen years of age, and was principally educated there. In the fall of 1831 he moved with his widowed mother to this county, and in 1833 he settled on the
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
farm on which he now resides, seven miles southeast of Lexington. His father died shortly before his birth, and his mother never remarried. In January, 185S, she died in this county. On the 12th of Feb., 1844, he was married, for the first time, to Miss Susan C. Thornbrugh, a native of Vir- ginia, who had recently moved to Missouri. She lived about five years and died Jan. 21, 1849. Subsequently he married Miss Mary C. Nowlin, of Ray county, Mo. There was only one child, a son, by the first mar- riage, who died in infancy. By the second marriage he has six children living-five daughters and one son-Lucy C., wife of John P. Ardinger, of Aullville, Mo .; Susan E., wife of Chas. W. Ford, of this county; Mary Alice, wife of Berry Hughes, of Ray county, Mo .; Thomas B., Sallie C. and Fannie B. Though he sympathized with the South, Mr. Smith remained quietly on his farm during the war. By keeping silence he man- aged to get along without much disturbance save some loss of personal property. Except two years spent in Jackson county, he has always lived in this country since 1831. He is a Presbyterian, and his wife a Mission- ary Baptist. Mr. Smith stands high as a citizen and as a Granger, and has taken an active part in politics. He is a Democrat.
WM. T. HAYES,
P. O. Lexington. The subject of this sketch is a native of Maryland, where he was born in Montgomery county, Feb. 18, 1821. His father Abraham Hayes, deceased, moved to this county in 1849, and died here in 1861. His mother, Elizabeth E. Hayes, was a daughter of Col. Wm. Tillord, a French Huguenot, who settled on a plantation on Chesapeake Bay and worked a large number of slaves. He was a colonel in the Revo- lutionary war and gave liberally of his means to the cause of the colonies. Mr. Hayes' grandfather on the paternal side was from Wales. He was raised and educated in his native county, and came with his father to this county in 1849; and this has been his home ever since. When of age he began clerking in Georgetown, D. C., in a dry goods store. He then went to merchandising in Monocacy on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. When he came to this county he went to trading. He then purchased a farm, which he has increased to 560 acres of splendid land, about 2 miles east of Lexington. His residence commands a fine view of the river, and of Ray and Carroll counties. For several years he was engaged in freighting for Russell, Waddell & Majors to 1862. From then to the end of the war he was employed in freighting and in cattle trading for himself. He therefore took no part in the war, though his sympathies were all with the lost cause. After the war he returned to this county and devoted himself to farming. He was married July 18, 1865, to Miss Alice Belle Ward, daughter of Allen D. Ward, formerly of Mason county, Ky. They have three children, all sons, living: William T., Franklin Ward and Karl
+
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
Wilson. He is a member of the Grange. Mrs. Hayes is a member of the Christian church.
AUSBURN S. MULLENIX,
postoffice Lexington, Mo. Was born in Pendleton District, S. C., April 21, 1808. His parents, Joseph and Sallie Mullenix, moved to Tennessee when he was three years old, and there he was raised and educated. He was raised on a farm, and has followed that calling all his life. December, 1842, he moved to this county, where he has lived since, and owns 530 acres of land. He took no part in the war, but had two sons in the con- federate army. One of them-Henry-died from disease contracted in camp. He was married, the first time, in 1822, to Mrs. Nancy Bratton, who lived only four years thereafter, and died in 1826. He again married in 1829, to Miss Tirzah Dale, daughter of Rev. Wm. Dale, of Tennessee. He had three children by his first marriage and seven by his last. Of these, six children, one son and five daughters, are now living. He is a member of the Baptist church in Lexington. His wife belongs to the same. Before the war he served as justice of the peace for four years. He expects to live in this county the rest of his life.
JOHN R. FORD,
was born at Danville, Ky., May 8, 1801. He is the son of Charles and Elizabeth Ford, natives of Virginia. His father died when he was but 11 years old. He was raised by his mother, who never again married, receiving his education at Danville. He remained there until 18 years old. He then went to Natchez and engaged in raising cotton. He lived there until 1835, being married Dec. 1, 1831, to Caroline, daughter of Col. Jas. Foster, who died in 1833. They had nine children, six sons and three daughters, all living at this time except one son, who was killed during the war. His name was John R., Jr., being 23 years old at the time he enlisted. He received a gun-shot wound near Corinth, from which he died. There were two other sons in the confedrate army, one of whom, James Foster, was severely wounded at Gettysburg, from which he recov- ered. Charles W., the youngest, enlisted in '63, being at the time only 16 years old, serving under Gen. Shelby. On leaving Natchez, Mr. Ford returned to Danville, and engaged in farming until 1858. He then moved to Pettis county, Mo., and there settled. He was living there at the time the war broke out. Before the close of the war Mr. Ford removed to Lexington, and remained three years with his son-in-law, the Rev. L. G. Barbour, who was president of the Elizabeth Aull college, and now of Central university, of Richmond, Ky. In '65 Mr. Ford bought the home- stead of Gen. Shields. They have one married daughter still residing in Lexington-Carrie, wife of Xenophon Ryland; also one in St. Louis, wife
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
of E. L. Breding. Mr. Ford and wife are both members of the Presby- terian church, and have lived together in married state for over half a cen- tury. 'Politically Mr. Ford is a life-long democrat of Andrew Jackson school, and cast his first presidential vote for that old battle-scarred hero.
MAJ. A. G. YOUNG.
The subject of this sketch was born in Hawkins county, east Tennes- see, Sept. 26, 1794, remaining in the county of his birth until 1830, when he moved to Missouri, settling in Lafayette county, where he now resides. Maj. Young served in the war of 1812, under Gen. Cook. Maj. Young acquired his title from having been a major of the 1st battalion of the 4th regiment of Tennessee militia. He also held the rank of captain in the Black Hawk war, but was never called out. He served in the Mormon war, in 1838. Mr. Young was too old to take part in the last war, but he had two sons in the confederate army; he also had one son in the Mexican war under Gen. Doniphan. Mr. Young was first married on the 22nd of July, 1824, to Miss Elizabeth McChesney, of Virginia. Ten children were born of this marriage, seven sons and three daughters, five of whom are now living. His first wife died Dec. 30, 1845, and he was again married on Dec. 7, 1874, to Miss Sarah A. Hogan, daughter of Gen. David Hogan. Maj. Young and wife are members of the Presbyterian church, as are all his children.
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