History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records, Part 116

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.)
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: St. Louis, Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1308

USA > Missouri > Scotland County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 116
USA > Missouri > Lewis County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 116
USA > Missouri > Clark County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 116
USA > Missouri > Knox County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 116

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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afterward studied law at Lancaster, Mo. Judge Billups is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and in politics is a Democrat, and it is safe to say no man stands higher in the esti- mation of the people.

J. H. Billups, merchant, was born May 25, 1846, and is the only son of Guinn and Frances J. (Boren) Billups, the former a native of Virginia, and the latter a native of Kentucky. The parents were one of the first couples married in Scotland County, where they had come with their parents. They located near Hydetown, and after the father's death, in 1848, the mother married R. H. Mudd, by whom she had five children, three of whom now survive. She died July 4, 1858. Our subject re- mained with his mother until her death, after which he made his home with his grandfather, J. D. Boren, and after two years there went to live with J. E. Billups. He was married, August 3, 1866, to Emily, a daughter of Nicholas Jones, one of the earli- est settlers of the county. At the same time he purchased 200 acres of land, upon which he resided until his removal to his present home in 1880. Since August, 1886, he engaged in mer- chandising, together with farming. They are highly respected people, and have a family of six children, whose names are Dora, Maggie, Blanche, Benjamin, Walter and Sherman. His wife is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, while Mr. Billups' political faith is somewhat Republican, though not strongly partisan.

John J. Bourn, a well-to-do farmer and stock dealer of Scot- land County, Mo., and a resident of Miller Township, was born in Howard County, Mo., September 17, 1836, son of John D. and Nancy (Higbee) Bourn. It is thought that the father was a native of Fayette County, Ky. He died in Scotland County, Mo., in the year 1878, when eighty-four years of age. He came from Lexington, Ky., to Howard County, Mo., at a very early date, and was one of the county's early settlers. In 1841 he moved to Scotland County, where he followed the plasterer's trade for some time. He then turned his attention to farming and to the office of magistrate, having been elected to that office, which he held for several years. His father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The mother of our subject was a native of Fayette County, Ky., and at the time of her death, which oc- curred in July, 1868, was sixty seven years of age. She was the daughter of Joseph Higbee, a native of Germany, who came to America before the Revolutionary war, and took part in that memorable struggle. The parents of our subject were members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and to their marriage were born eight children. He received a fair education in the schools

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of Lewis County, Mo., and Davis County, Iowa. At the age of twenty-one he left his parents, and began to improve the property he now calls home. He remained a resident of Scotland County until 1865, when he made a tour westward, and worked in the mines near Virginia City, Mont. Since 1867 he has made Scot land County, Mo., his home. On the 24th of February, 1860, he wedded Miss Adeline Stewart, a native of Ohio, born Septem- ber 9, 1839, and died in November, 1861. She was a daughter of William Stewart, and was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. To this marriage was born one son, James E. January 24, 1864, our subject married Julia A. Buford, a daughter of Henry P. Buford. She was born in Schuyler County, Mo., April 10, 1844, and by her marriage became the mother of two chil- dren, both sons: Robert H. and John D. The former is de- ceased. Our subject is a Freemason, is a decided advocate of the Democratic platform, and he and his wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church.

Benjamin F. Bourn was born in this county September 26, 1841, the son of John D. and Nancy (Higbee) Bourn, natives of Virginia and Kentucky. The father came to this State about 1825, and in 1839 located in the northwest part of this county, where he followed farming until his death in October, 1877. The mother died in July, 1868. Their children are William, Joseph S., John J. and Benjamin F .; four are deceased. Our subject was trained as a farmer, and spent six years in the far west when a young man. He also worked at the carpenter's trade. In 1876 he was elected county judge for a term of six years. He served but two years, however, when the new law made it necessary for him to be re-elected for four years. He was president of the county court, and in 1882 became tax collector. In 1883 he came to Memphis, and has for the last two years been one of the firm of . Smith, Bourn & Co., grocers and dealers in stone, glass, and queensware. The other members of the firm are T. M. Smith and T. McAllister. They have a fine stock, and do a large busi-

Our subject has also an estate of 280 acres of improved ness.

land. He was married in 1872 to Victoria A., the daughter of the late William Colvin. By his marriage with Nancy Arnett his children are Byron, Arthur, Maud, Benjamin and Culvin. Our subject was elected by his party, the Democracy, to his positions of public trust. He is a Royal Arch Mason.

Hon. William P. Browning, a prominent farmer of Scotland County, was born in Pike County, Ill., December 3, 1838. He is one of four sons and two daughters born to Caleb and Penelope (Power) Browning. The father was born in Kentucky in 1800, and did not move to Pike County, Ill., until 1830, when he became

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one of the first settlers. He was very successful in his operations, and afterward removed to Iowa and finally, about 1878, removed to Kansas where he died. His wife had died in 1840, in Illinois, whither she had come from her native State-Kentucky. Our subject was only two years of age at her death, and lived with his brother on the old homestead until he reached his majority. His career as a teacher began when he was but eighteen years old, and was carried on in Brown and Macoupin Counties until his en- listment, August 3, 1861. He served in Company C, Twenty- seventh Illinois Infantry until September 20, 1864, when he was mustered out of service. He participated in the battles of Bel- mont, siege of Corinth, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and numerous other places ; was commissioned second lieutenant in November, 1863; he was captured at Chickamauga, but escaped the next evening, and returned to his command in Chattanooga. At Mission Ridge he was shot through both legs, and was not afterward able to perform military duty. He came to Scotland County in April, 1865, and purchased a farm which he has since increased from 270 to 310 acres. He gives a greater part of his attention to stock raising, especially cattle and mules. He has a fine barn also for this purpose, erected at a cost of $2,500. He was married, November 15, 1866, to S. E. Harrington, a native of Pike County, Ill., and daughter of Martin and Catherine Harring- ton. Their children are Alfred H., Charles P., Albert C., Martin P., Mary E. and Annie M. Both Mr. and Mrs. Browning are members of the Christian Church. He is a prominent, and in local affairs an independent, Republican, and served from 1868 to 1870 as a representative in the Legislature. He is recognized as one of the leading and influential citizens.

Judge William W. Buford, a resident of Miller Township, and judge of the Western District of Scotland County, was born in Macoupin County, Ill., March 11, 1837, and is the son of Henry P. and Emily E. (Murley) Buford. The Buford family is of French descent. During the time of the expulsion of the Hugue- nots from France, the ancestors of our subject crossed the English channel to England, and their descendants came to America, and were among the first settlers of Virginia; their family dis- tinguished themselves for gallant service rendered the United States during the struggle for independence. Since that time the Buford family have been noted politicians and soldiers. Thomas Buford the grandfather of our subject, was a native Virginian, and died while on his return from the army during the war of 1812. He was a lieutenant, and was a resident of Kentucky at the time of his death. Henry P. Buford was born in Lincoln County, Ky., June 2, 1798, and is now living in Schuyler County,

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Mo. A few years after his marriage, and when a young man, he moved to Morgan County, Ill., from there to Macoupin County, Ill., afterward to Macon County, Mo., in 1840, and to Schuyler County, Mo., in 1842. While a resident of Macoupin County, Ill., he served several years as magistrate, and while in Schuyler County held the same position from the time the first court was held in that county until the breaking out of the war. Of his father's family he is the only one now living, and is not only one of the oldest settlers of the county but one of the oldest men, and can tell many interesting anecdotes of the early settling of Mis- souri. His first presidential vote was cast for Monroe, and since then he has been strictly Democratic in principle. In March, 1824, he married Emily Murley, a native of Cumberland County, Ky., born in 1801, and died in Scotland County, Mo., in 1879. While living in Kentucky both were members of the Christian Church, but after coming to Missouri, there being no church of that denomination, Mrs. Buford joined the Baptist Church. Thomas J. and our subject were twins and the sixth and seventh of a family of eleven children, eight now living. Our subject received a very liberal education during youth, and afterward made a tour of a number of the Western States. December 5, 1862, he returned and married Miss Margaret E. Hays, a native of Greene County, East Tenn., born in 1839, and died in Schuyler County, Mo., January 12, 1881. She was a daughter of Aaron and Catherine Hays, and was a member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church South. Three children were the fruits of this union -all living, viz .: Thomas L. Mary C., and Elma C. Our subject rented land for three years after his marriage, after which he purchased land in Schuyler County, where he resided until 1881, when he sold out and purchased a large tract of some of the best land in Scotland County. In 1886 he was elected judge of the Western District of Scotland County. He is a member of the Christian Church, and is Democratic in his political views.

Hezekiah Bull, an enterprising farmer, was born in High- land County, Ohio, June 22, 1827. He is the fourth of a family of five sons and four daughters born to Walter and Margaret (Mount) Bull, natives of Ohio and New Jersey, respectively. They were married in Ohio, and lived upon a farm in Highland County until after the death of Mrs. Bull. The father then re- moved to Clermont County, where he married a second time, and had three children. Our subject remained at home until three or four years after the death of his mother. In his seventeenth year he began working on he farm by the month, and continued to do so for about six years. He was married, April 4, 1850, to Abigail E., a daughter of James and Mary (Somers) Burris, natives of

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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.

North Carolina. £ She was born in Marion County, Ind., where her parents resided until their death. In August, 1850, he came to Scotland County, and located on the land he now owns, about half a mile south of his present location, where he bought a claim of sixty-one acres; to this he has added from time to time, until he now owns 422 acres. In 1856 he moved to his present residence, which, within the last five years, he has made one of the finest in the country. He gives special attention to the rais- ing of cattle, horses and hogs. During the war he belonged to the State militia. Their children are Marietta, Chandler E., Emily J., William W., Clara F., Hosea A., Lorena E., Minnie A., Evvie and Effie and Ernest G. Evvie died in 1870, aged nine months; William W. died in 1879, at the age of twenty-one; Minnie A. died in 1885, at the age of eighteen. Mr. Bull and his wife hold to the faith of the Universalist Church. Our subject is a Democrat, and is one of the substantial and highly esteemed residents of the country.

George Buskirk, county treasurer, was born in Grant County, Ky., September 26, 1812. He is the son of Lawrence and Mary A. (Norton) Buskirk. The grandfather was a Pennsylvanian, who went at an early date to Nicholas County, Ky., in one of which States the father was born. The name was originally Van Buskirk, but the prefix has been dropped. The mother was a Kentuckian. They came to the Northwest about 1838, and after three years in Adams County, Ill., they came to near Winchester, this State, and bought a farm. The father died in April, 1872, at the age of eighty-one years, and the mother followed him the next September, at about the age of eighty-two. Their children were George; Martha A., the wife of T. S. Myers; Eliza, the de- ceased wife of Judge Collins; William; Amanda (deceased wife of J. Morris, also deceased) ; and Armilda, the wife of J. Crook. Our subject was reared on a farm, and had the meager advantages of the old log schoolhouse. He left home in 1834, and two years later came to Missouri, and bought a claim when the land was not surveyed; the next year sold his claim, and set- tled three and a half miles east of Memphis, near Fort Donelson and Edinburg, where he has a fine estate of over 198 acres. Our subject is an " Old Hickory" Democrat, and has never wa- vered from those principles. He has served in various local offices, and in November, 1886, was elected to his present posi- tion by his party, and is serving in an efficient manner. He was married, on October 28,1834, to Louisa Clark, of his native coun- ty, who died in August, 1876. They had a family of ten children, and those living are Lucinda, the wife of W. H. Walker; Mary J., the wife of A. B. Baker; Susanna, the wife of J. Gilbert; Elizabeth, the wife of L. S. Farmer, and William H.

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James S. Busey, a prominent farmer and stock raiser in Harrison Township, was born in Shelby County, Ky., in 1824, moved to Champaign County, Ill., in 1846, and to Scotland County, Mo., in 1854, where he has since resided. He began life for himself a poor man at the age of twenty-one, and the property he now possesses is the result of his own labor and good management. He has a splendidly improved farm of 247 acres on which he resides. He was married in 1847 to Miss Caroline Webb, a daughter of Richard and Hester Webb, natives of Shelby County, Ky., and who afterward moved to DeWitt County, where they died. To Mr. and Mrs. Busey eight children have been born, viz .: Arthur (deceased), William H., two who died in infancy, Martha J. (deceased), Sarah (now Mrs. Worth- ington), Amanda (now Mrs. Hughes) and Richard (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Busey are members of the Presbyterian Church, in which Mr. Busey has been a ruling elder for twelve years. He is a Democrat, and is the eldest of fourteen children of Arthur and Sarah Busey, natives of Shelby County, Ky. The former was a drummer in the war of 1812, under Gen. Jackson, and an active member of the Baptist Church. He was success- fully engaged in farming all his life, and died about 1878. Mrs. Busey died in 1873. Mr. and Busey were of Irish descent, and Mr. Busey was a son of Isaac Busey, a native of Virginia, and one of the early settlers of Shelby County, Ky. He afterward moved to Champaign County, Ill., where he died at the age of ninety.

Isaac J. Butler, Jr., a prominent farmer and stock raiser in Jef- ferson Township, was born November 24, 1842, in Scotland County, Mo., where he has since resided with the exception of eight months spent in Illinois, and four years he was in Nevada, during which time he was engaged in mining. The rest of his life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. He was reared on the farm, and began life for himself when he became of age. He was then a poor man, but by his energy and perseverance is now the owner of a nicely improved farm upon which he resides, and also owns other tracts of land in the county. He has been unfortunate, and lost considerable by sickness, fire, etc. He was married April 15, 1863, to Miss Frances E. Morris, a daughter of Daniel Morris, a native of Kentucky. To Mr. and Mrs. Butler one child, William D., was born. Mrs. Butler died March 12, 1865, and Mr. Butler afterward married, August 12, 1866, Miss Agnes Fifer, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Fifer) Fifer, natives of Rockingham and Augusta Counties, Va., respectively. Mr. Fifer is. of Pennsylvania German descent. To Mr. and Mrs. Butler four children have been born: Aby Jane Elizabeth, Laura

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Bell, Charles Ellis, and one who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Butler are members of the United Brethren Church. Mr. Butler is a Democrat, but votes for men and principles rather than for party. He was road commissioner for six years, and has also served in other official capacities. He served about two years in the late war, in Company I, Twenty-first Missouri Infantry. He is the fifth of ten children of Isaac and Hester (Pierce) Butler, natives of Coshocton County, Ohio, who moved to what is now Scotland County, in 1838. The father was a son of Joseph and Abigail (Sovereign) Butler, natives of Virginia. Joseph But- ler was a soldier in the early Indian war, and one of the early settlers of Virginia, and later one of the early settlers of Zanes- ville, Ohio. He has eleven children, of which Isaac Butler was the youngest.

A. B. Chaney, druggist and stockman, at Sand Hill, was born in January, 1854, within two miles of Sand Hill. He lived on the farm until twenty-four years old, when he engaged in the drug business at his present location. He has also shipped consider- able stock, and owns a stock of goods and residence at Sand Hill, and also possesses a fine stable horse. He was married in 1877 to Miss Sarah E. Boone, a daughter of Milton and Ann ( Cun- ningham) Boone, old residents of Knox County, Mo. Mr. and Mrs. Chaney have had five children: Alice E., Ethel I., Ivy (de- ceased), Inez (deceased) and Allison Boone. In politics Mr. Chaney is an Independent. He is the seventh of eight children of Thomas A. and Nancy (Greenwade ) Chaney, natives of Mary- land, who moved to Scotland County, Mo., in 1841, where Mr. Chaney died about 1858, aged fifty-six years. Mrs. Chaney is still living, and residing about two miles northwest of Sand Hill, aged seventy-seven years. Mrs. Chaney was one of the pioneer members of the Methodist Church in that part of the country.

Edward Chronic, a prominent citizen of Scotland County, Mo., and a resident of Jefferson Township, was born in Edgar County, Ill., January 16, 1849, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Winn) Chronic. The father was born and reared in Illinois, and moved to Iowa about 1852, but afterward moved to Scotland County, Mo., and from there to Doniphan County, Kas., where he died in 1860. He was of Pennsylvania Dutch extrac- tion. The mother of our subject was also a native of Illinois, and died in the same county in which her husband's death oc- curred. She was of English descent, and both were members of the Baptist Church. Our subject is the third of seven children, only two of whom it is thought are now living. Mr. Chronic received the rudiments of an education in Scotland County, Mo., and this has been improved by general reading, and contact with all kinds

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of business. He was only ten years of age when his father died, and after that misfortune he left Kansas and returned to Scotland County, Mo., where he worked at anything he could get to do. At the age of sixteen he rented land, since which time he has bought, sold and traded, until he moved to where he now resides. In 1865 Miss Martha Floyd became his wife; she was born in Iowa, and died in Scotland County, Mo., when thirty-two years of age. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and to her mar- riage were born five children, three now living: Lizzie, Rosetta H. and Mary C .; Charles and James are deceased. In 1883 our subject married Miss Mary McGary, an excellent lady. Our subject's honest dealing and generosity have made him re- spected by all his acquaintances. He has been one of the great traders of Scotland County, and his success has been the result of his early formed determination to succeed.

Judge James M. Clark, & well-respected citizen of Jefferson Township, Scotland County, was born in Grant County, Ky., July 4, 1843, and is the son of Eli and Mary E. (Draper) Clark. The father was born in Grant County, Ky., was of Irish descent, and died in Scotland County, Mo., in 1869, being about fifty-six years of age at the time of his decease. He came to Missouri about 1864, and followed agricultural pursuits all his life. The mother of our subject was a native of Grant County, Ky., was of German descent, and died in Scotland County, Mo., in 1870. She was a member of the Baptist Church for many years, and at the time of her death was also about fifty-six years of age. Of their large family, five now living, our subject is the fourth. He received the rudiments of an education in Kentucky, but in the fall of 1862 he left his studies, and enlisted in Company G, Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, Confederate Army, and served in a brigade organized by Gen. Buford, but was afterward assigned to the command of Gen. John H. Morgan, and served with credit until taken prisoner in Ohio. He was then taken to Camp Mor- ton, Ind., where he was kept a prisoner about three months. He was then taken to Camp Douglas, Chicago, Ill., where he re- mained until December 15, 1863, where he was one of the seventy- nine who escaped through a tunnel dug out for that purpose. He then came to Scotland County, Mo., and after visiting in Illinois returned to Scotland County, and since then has been engaged in agricultural pursuits at his present place of residence, since the spring of 1867. In 1866 he married Miss Martha E. Baker, who was born in Memphis, Mo., in 1849, and is a daughter of H. C. Baker. To our subject's marriage was born a large family of children, two of whom are deceased-one son and one daughter. In 1882 our subject was elected judge of the western district of

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Scotland County, and in 1884 he was re-elected. He is a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F., and a decided Democrat. His wife is a member of the Christian Church.

Cody Brothers & Co., dealers in groceries and queensware, embrace John W. Cody, B. H. Cody and L. C. Cody. John W. Cody is the son of Curtis and Sarah (Cade) Cody, the parents being natives of North Carolina and Delaware, respectively. They lived in Fountain County, Ind., engaged in agricultural pursuits until October, 1839, at which time they immigrated to Scotland County, Mo., and settled on a tract of land situated six miles. north of the present site of Memphis. In 1850 they sold out, and moved on a tract of 340 acres situated a mile and a half east of Memphis, where they remained until 1857, at which date they sold out and moved to Memphis, where they spent the winter and spring of 1858. They then moved on a farm where the father died in 1863, and where the mother continued until 1866, at which date she moved with her son, John W., to his farm, and there with her son and daughter remained until 1878. She then moved to Cowley County, Kas., to live with her daughter, and there she remained until her death in 1884. John W. was born December 22, 1831; received his education in the common dis- trict schools of Scotland County, Mo., and at the age of twenty went to California, where he engaged in gold mining for about three years. In 1854 he married Miss Mary H. Gunn, a native of Hennepin, Ill., born July 12, 1836, and the daughter of Thomas and Mildred (Baker) Gunn, and to them were born seven chil- dren, two being deceased. John W. made his property by his own efforts, and now owns 250 acres of land upon which he is re- siding, and also owns a portion of the grocery business. He is a Democrat in politics, and cast his first presidential vote for Frank- lin Pierce. He is a member of the F. & A. M., Memphis Lodge, No. 16, also A. O. U. W., No. 106, and he and wife are members of the Christian Church. Byron H. was educated in Memphis, and first began in the mercantile business as a clerk about 1880. He continued to hold that position until he became a member of the present firm. June 4, 1885, he married Miss Cora K. Pitkin, daughter of H. G. Pitkin. B. H. Cody is a Democrat in politics, and is identified with the following fraternities: The F. & A. M., in the royal arch degree, K. of P., and A. O. U. W. Their pres- ent firm was organized in April, 1877. They have a full and selected stock of fancy groceries, queensware, flour, feed, provis- ions, etc., with an extensive country and city trade.

Judge John C. Collins, a retired farmer, was born November 24, 1813, in Pendleton (now Grant) County, Ky. He came to Scotland County, in September 1836, and has acquired his edu-

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History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records, Part 116

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.) Publication date: 1887 Publisher: St. Louis, Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co. Number of Pages: 1308

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.)
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: St. Louis, Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1308