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 117

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 117
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 117
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 117
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 117

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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cation by habits of study since his maturity. He was married, July 14, 1836, to Eliza J., a daughter of Lawrence and Mary (Norton) Buskirk. They had eight children: William L. (de- ceased), James R., George T., Judson S., Joseph H., Margaret J. (deceased) and Charles S. (deceased). The first mentioned died in the Federal service. Joseph H. is the president of a college at Springfield, Ill., and George T. is a member of the Legislature. February 5, 1882, his wife died, and October 14, 1884, he married Martha A. (Makemsom) Moore. He and his wife are members of the Baptist Church. Our subject is a Democrat in politics, and was elected judge of the county court in 1850, and re-elected twice afterward. He was appointed to that position under the provisional goverment of 1861. He was again elected in 1872, and served six years. He served as justice for about six years also. He is the sixth of seven children of Ralph and Margaret (Wharton) Collins, natives of Durham, England, and Pendleton County, Ky., respectively. His father, Ralph, took part in the battle in which Gen. St. Clair was defeated.

Hon. George T. Collins was born September 10, 1842, in Scot- land County, the son of Judge John C. Collins, whose sketch will be found elsewhere. Our subject was reared in his native county, attended the public schools, and also spent a year in an academy in Lee County, Iowa. He was reared upon a farm and there remained with exception of a period of time he was in the Federal service in the late war, until 1876, since which time he has devoted all his time to the study of law, which for a num- ber of years he had devoted only the hours not occupied on the farm, or in the school room. He married, February 27, 1866, Miss Cornelia A. Ryhtmine, who died in January, 1876. He was admitted to the bar in September, 1877. On December 23, 1877, he was married to his present wife, Catherine M. Gorin. Our sub- ject is a radical Democrat, and as such was elected to represent his county in 1886, in the Legislature. In the Thirty-fourth As- sembly he served on committees on education, roads and high- ways, and constitutional amendments. Our subject is a Mason, an encampment member of the I. O. O. F., and a member of the A. O. U. W. He holds to the faith of the Baptist Church, and has for three successive years been elected as moderator of the Pleasant Grove Baptist Association.

George T. Collins, a citizen of Schuyler County, and a res- ident of Independence Township, was born in Adams County, Ill., April 18, 1834, and is the son of Hosea and Sarah A. (Wheeler) Collins, both natives of Pendleton County, Ky. The father was a farmer, and died in Schuyler County, Mo., May 6, 1874, and was a few days beyond his sixty-sixth year. The mother was of English descent, and died in Schuyler County, Mo.,

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February 14, 1885, and was over seventy-four years of age at the time of her death. Both parents were members of the Mis- sionary Baptist. Church. Our subject is the eldest of eleven children, ten now living. His parents moved to Illinois shortly after their marriage, settled five miles west of Memphis in March, 1838, when our subject was but four years of age. He remained with his father until June 8, 1854, when he married Miss Samantha J. Slavin, a native of Marion County, Mo., born February 8, 1836, and died in Scotland County, Mo., April 18, 1874, or on our subject's birthday. She was a daughter of George D. Slavin, and a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. To this marriage were born five children, all living: Elizabeth A., Oscar F., Albert H., Sarah A. and James L. Our subject after marriage purchased part of the old homestead, and to this he ad- ded more land until 1860, when he sold out and rented land for six years in different portions of Scotland and Schuyler Counties. In 1864 he went across the plains to Idaho, but returned the same year. In 1867 he moved back to his old farm, which he purchased before the war, and, after remaining on this farm until 1881, he sold out and purchased a farm in Schuyler County, and three years later again sold out and purchased where he now lives. Novem- ber 4, 1875, he married Sarah J. Pryor, a native of Pike County, Ill., born November 14, 1841, and the daughter of James B. Pryor. To this union one daughter, Rosalie, was born. Our subject is a Mason, and one of the old settlers of the county. He can remember when the Indians were numerous, and when all kinds of game were plentiful.

Capt. Charles R. Combs was born in Albany, N. Y., Novem- ber 25, 1829, the son of Robert and Mary Combs, who both died when our subject was but a child. Charles R. came west in 1848, and spent a few years in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky. He came to Alexandria, Mo., in 1856, and followed various mercantile pursuits until the opening of the war. At that time he and Capt. Spellman organized a company, which became Com- pany C, in Col. Moore's regiment. He served as first lieutenant of this company, and after the battle of Athens he organized a cavalry company, and after serving as first lieutenant of Company C, Seventh Missouri Cavalry, he was promoted captain, and mustered out as such in 1864, after nearly four years of service. After a year's residence in Keokuk, he came to Memphis in 1866, and the following year engaged in his present business. He is the largest dealer here in eggs, butter, hides, poultry, feathers, etc., and ships largely to New York, Chicago and other places. He has four teams engaged in buying produce, and does an annual business of about $60,000. He was married in 1853 to Cather-

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ine T. Cornelius, of Covington, Ky. Their children are Alice (the wife of V. H. Rees), William, Frank, Fielding, Mary, Robert, Lucy and Leslie. Our subject is a Republican, has served five years on the city council, and is now city treasurer. He is iden- tified in the following fraternities: I. O. O. F., A. O. U. W. and is a Knight Templar. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Hamilton Cone, one of the leading farmers of Scotland Coun- ty, was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, July 1, 1828. He is the eldest of six sons and two daughters born to Dr. Jared and Eliza A. (Ross) Cone. The former was the son of Jared Cone, Sr., a native of Hampton County, Mass., who came to Ohio when a young man, and located in Granville. He was a carpenter by trade, but always lived upon a farm. He died about 1857. When the father was about twelve years of age he was sent to South Wil- burn, Mass., where he was educated for his position. When about twenty-one years of age he began the practice of medicine at West Carlisle, and continued till about 1838. He then moved to Mus- kingum County, where he continued to practice his profession, and also merchandising. In 1855 his entire family came to Scot- land County, and located on a quarter section of land adjoining the farm of our subject. He died there June 13, 1885. He was mar- ried twice. His first wife died May 3, 1866, and in February, 1867, he married Margaret H. Clark, of Iowa, who still survives him. Hamilton, the eldest child, was educated chiefly at Gran- ville, Ohio, at what is now Dennison University. After leaving school he worked upon a farm, and managed his father's store un- til they moved to Missouri, when he located upon his present farm, which now consists of 440 acres. In 1876 he erected a handsome dwelling upon a beautiful site. On September 7, 1852, he was united to Almina R., a native of Coshocton County, Ohio, where they were married, and a daughter of Jesse and Susanna (Farwell) Lawrence, natives of Keene, N. H. A few years later they moved to Ohio, where the father died in 1851, and the mother in 1865. Our subject has the following children: Ellen R., Jesse J., Charles M., Orrin L. and Laura M. The first and last of whom are married. Mr. Cone and his wife are members of the Baptist Church. He is a Republican, and one of the representative men of the county.

Morton Cone, the fourth son of Dr. Jared Cone, was born on February 11, 1833. He received his education in the schools of Adamsville, Ohio. On leaving school he began learning the car- penter's trade, which took him a surprisingly short time, and soon after he went to Chicago and thence to Rock Island, at both of which places he worked on equal pay with men who had followed

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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.

the trade for years. In a few months he returned to Ohio, and soon set out with the rest of the family for Scotland County, Mo. After his arrival, in company with his brothers, he set to work to improve a quarter section of land for his parents. This work occupied two years, at the end of which time he married, and bought eighty acres of land, upon which he has since resided. He then worked at his trade until the war, since which time he has been engaged in farming. He has been remarkably success- ful, and is now the owner of 700 acres of land, including the old homestead. He has a handsome residence, and his farm is otherwise well improved. On December 31, 1857, he was joined in marriage with Evelin Weyer, a native of Highland County, Ohio, and daughter of John A. and Nancy (Folk) Weyer. To them have been born nine children, seven of whom are living. They are Walter J., Charles C., Jared C., Ida A. (Mrs. Thomas Mc William), Morton S., Jennie G. and Lois M. Mrs. Cone is a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Cone's political prin- ciples are Republican.

Judge David B. Cooper, a prominent resident of Jefferson Township, Scotland Co., Mo., was born in Washington County, Penn., near Pittsburgh, April 30, 1817, and is the son of Sylvanus and Mary (Bryant) Cooper, natives of New Jersey, born in 1777 and 1780, respectively. The father was a very successful farmer, and died near Winfield, Henry Co., Iowa, in 1865, at an advanced age. The mother of our subject was of German extrac- tion, and died in Washington County, Penn., in 1843. Both parents were members of the Presbyterian Church for many years, the father being an elder in the same. Our subject was the third of twelve children, ten now living. He received a liberal education in the schools of Washington County, Penn., and remained on the farm until twenty-one years of age, when he engaged in merchandising with a younger brother at Washing- ton, Penn., and there continued for two years. He then sold out, and purchased a farm, after which he engaged in agricult- ural pursuits, which he has continued ever since. In 1840 he married Hannah Dille, a native of Washington, Washington Co., Penn., born in 1822, and the daughter of Ezra and Mary Dille. To this marriage were born ten children, all living: Mary J., Milton D., Ellen, Oliver G., Emma T., Frank D., Linie B., Ida, Charles W. and Edward S. In 1880 our subject sold his farm, and moved to Lee County, Iowa, where he farmed and also speculated in land. In the spring of 1857 he sold out, and moved to Scotland County, Mo., where he purchased the land he now owns. He was school director while in Iowa, and was elected clerk of the elections. In 1862 he was elected county judge,

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and after two years, when all the officers were thrown out, he was appointed by Gov. Gamble, and at the next general election was re-elected by the people and served in all about eight years. Our subject is a Republican and a worthy and enterprising citizen.

Capt. John P. Craig is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born in 1834. He came west in 1854, and before the war was engaged at Keosauqua, Iowa, in the furniture business. At the opening of the conflict he raised part of a company, and entered the Fif- teenth Iowa Volunter Infantry as first lieutenant, promoted to cap- tian, and served for sixteen months, when he was compelled to resign because of complete break in health. He was also provost-marshal of Van Buren County, Iowa, for one year, and then engaged at Keo- sauqua in the drug business. In company with H. C. McArthur he brought his business to Memphis in 1865, and conducted it success- fully for ten years. He then entered the lumber business, which he continued until 1879, when he and G. W. Coster built the Scotland Mills, which they owned and operated until 1880, when Mr. Craig bought out the entire interest. In the spring of 1887 he changed the name to the Memphis Roller Mills, and remodeled it, and put in the new roller system. It is one of the best equipped mills in Northeast Missouri, with six sets of rolls, a capacity of fifty barrels per day, and a force of six men. He purchases all the wheat offered in the Memphis market. He was married, in May, 1856, to Mary A. Miller, a native of Ohio. They have three sons and five daughters living. Our subject is a Republican, and served as postmaster for three years at Memphis, Mo. He is the present commander of the G. A. R. at Memphis, and is also a Mason. He and his wife are members of the Congregational Church.

Maj. Robert D. Cramer, lawyer, was born in Ohio, May 12, 1836, the son of George and Hannah ( Wilson) Cramer, natives, respectively, of Virginia and North Carolina. The father came to Jefferson County, Iowa, in 1856, and has spent a successful life as a farmer and stock raiser, and is now in his eighty-third year. The mother died in 1860. Their children are Caroline, wife of N. M. Longfellow; Louisa, wife of W. T. Johnson; John W .; Vashti, wife of L. D. Johnson; Ann E., wife of T. Rowland; a deceased infant daughter, and Frances M., deceased wife of J. Gardner. Our subject is the fifth child, and received a good education at his country home in Ohio, so that he was able to follow teaching from his nineteenth year until after he came to Iowa. In that State he taught school during the day, and was a vocal music teacher in the evening. In 1862 he joined Com- pany G, Thirtieth Iowa Infantry. He was captain until after the fall of Vicksburg, when he became major, and as such was mus-

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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.

tered out June 16, 1865. He was seriously wounded at Arkansaw Post. He had read law some before the war, and now entered the law school at Ann Arbor, Mich. After his graduation, in 1867, he came to Missouri, and was admitted to the bar. He has been very successful, and has been a prominent Republican ever since the birth of that party. He served two years as county attorney, and several terms as attorney for the city. In 1884 he was a dele- gate to the famous Chicago convention, and in 1886 was a promi- nent candidate for Congress from the First District, but entered the race in convention under protest, well knowing the hopeless min- ority of his party. His first wife was Martha Pettyjohn, de- ceased. Their children are Lewis W., Flora E. (wife of C. M. Teet- ers), and Robert O. April 25, 1867, he was united to Sallie M. Gray, of Ohio. Their only child is Ada B. Our subject has been com- mander of the G. A. R. at his place, and has passed all the chairs of the A. F. & A. M. and served as E. C. of Memphis Commandery No. 41. He is also a member of the A. O. U. W. and I. O. O. F. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is very prominent, being a lay delegate in 1880 from the Missouri conference to the general conference that met at Cincinnati, Ohio, and filling other important positions.

James Crawford, an influential citizen, and resident of Miller Township, Scotland Co., Mo., is a native of Greene County, East Tenn., born in March, 1815, and is the son of John and Susanah Crawford, both natives of Greene County, Tenn., where they passed their last days. The father was a farmer, and both were members of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject is the third of eight children, five now living. He remained in Ten- nessee, until 1845, when he moved to Scotland County, Mo. He began with little or nothing, but, having superior business abil- ity, and being determined to succeed, all obstacles melted before him. He now owns 683 acres of improved land, and is suc- ceeding unusually well. In 1842 he married Susanah Tadlock, a native of Greene County, Tenn. She was for many years a member of the Christian Church, and died, December 25, 1886, aged seventy-one. Ten children were born to this union (eight of whom are now living): Susanah, Ruthey, Margaret Ann, Elizabeth, John, Hamilton, William T., Serena, Mary and Dianah; the last two named are deceased. Our subject has been a member of the Christian Church, and is a Democrat dyed in the wool. When this county was first settled he was considered one of the best hunters to be found. During the late war he be- longed to Capt. Dumis' company of Home Guards, and was in two battles, and in many skirmishes.

Granville Daggs, a prominent farmer and breeder of Short-

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horn cattle, was born in Scotland County, November 7, 1848, where he has spent his life. He spent his youth on a farm, and in common and select schools, besides graduating from Commercial College, at Quincy Ill., under Prof. D. L. Musselman, June 14, 1871. He now owns 340 acres of land, besides other property in the county. He was married, in 1873, to Laura C., a daughter of Dr. William and Lucy (Goodloe) Biggs, natives of New York and Virginia, respectively. Mr. Daggs and his wife are mem- bers of the Primitive Methodist Church, while his political faith is that of the Democracy. His father, Andrew J., was a native of Virginia, and, although he began as a poor man, he became a man of considerable property. His wife, Sarah M. Arnold, a na- tive of Kentucky, became the mother of eight children, of whom our subject is the third. The grandparents were Ruel and Nancy (Frazier) Daggs natives of West Virginia, and among the early settlers of Clark County, Mo. He was of English descent, and his paternal grandparent's name was Rodney. The mother, Sarah M., was a daughter of Lewis M. and Hannah (Phillips) Arnold, natives of Henry County, Va., and of English origin. They moved to Kentucky in 1818, where he was a manu- facturer of tobacco, and after he came to Clark County he devoted himself to farming. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His parents, Elisha and Sallie (Marshall) Arnold, were natives of Maryland, but spent most of their lives in Virginia. Mrs. Lewis Arnold was a daughter of Zachariah and Cassandra (Garrett) Phillpot, natives of Maryland, whence they moved to Virginia.

Isaac P. Davis, farmer and stock raiser, was born June 5, 1826, in Madison County, Ky., the third of ten children of Charles and Elizabeth ( Carter) Davis, natives of Maryland and probably of Kentucky. The father served as a county judge of Van Buren County, Iowa, for two years, and was a life-long Democrat. He was of Welsh-Irish stock, his grandmother being a native of Ireland, and his great-grandfather a native of Wales. The grandfather, Isaac Davis, was a native of Maryland, and afterward lived and died in Kentucky. Our subject was eight years old when his parents came to Montgomery County, Mo., and soon after went to what is now Van Buren County, Iowa. They came to Scotland County in 1849, where he has since resided. He was educated in the subscription schools in Iowa, and began life for himself at the age of twenty-two. He

received $900 from his father, but had begun as a day laborer, and, excepting that money, he has made all of his own property. He now owns a large estate amounting to 946 acres. March 13, 1856, he married Talitha J., a daughter of S. G . Weekly, a native

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of Virginia. Their children were Henry B. (deceased ) Luthena (now Mrs. Calahan), Stephen G. (married to Dora J., daughter of John W. Kerr), Frances M., Loran, Jennie J., Olive M. (deceased) and an infant (who died unnamed). Our subject is a Republican, and during the war commanded Company C, Twenty- ninth Missouri Cavalry of the State militia.

James K. P. Dawson, a resident of Miller Township, Scot- land Co., Mo., was born in Bracken County, Ky., September 19, 1844, and is the son of William and Priscilla ( Patterson) Daw- son. The father was a native of Bracken County, Ky., born in 1811, of English descent, and is now a resident of Scotland County, Mo. He came from Kentucky to Missouri in 1845, and has been a farmer all his life. In 1866 he was elected judge of his district, and served six years. He was president of the court while in Kentucky, and organized a company for the Mexican war. He was elected captain, but was not called into service. In the spring of 1861 he enlisted in Company A, Second Missouri Cavalry, Federal service, and served with credit for four years. While at home, and after he had sent in his resigna- tion, Porter's guerrillas attempted to take him prisoner, but he resisted, and was severely wounded by them and taken prisoner. He was retained as such for a week, when they released him. Dr. Ailward, a surgeon, was taken from the same bed in which Capt. William Dawson was sleeping, while a prisoner, and hung. The same fate awaited Mr. Dawson, but the guard refused to give him up, being acquainted with him. The mother of our subject was born in Augusta, Ky., was of Irish descent, and died in Scotland County, Mo., in 1880, when sixty-six years of age. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject is the fifth of twelve children, seven now living. He attended the common schools of Scotland County, and finished at the seminary at Francisville, Clark Co., Mo. In 1865 he enlisted in Company I, Fifty-first Missouri Volunteer Infantry, Federal Army, and served six months, when he was mustered out with the rank of corporal. Before going to the war he had served some time with the State militia. He taught school tor about ten years during the winter months, and farmed during the summer. November 1, 1871, he married Miss Eliza Mc William, a native of Van Buren County, Iowa, born December 8, 1851, and the daughter of Crawford and Elizabeth (Moore) Mc William. By this union our subject became the father of seven children, five now living: Elizabeth J., William, Margaret, Bessie Grace and John A. The names of those deceased are Crawford and Andrew. After marriage our subject purchased land in Jefferson County, but sold this in 1873, and purchased part of

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the land (125 acres) that he now owns. To this he has added 230 acres, and has improved the whole so that he now has a val- uable farm. Mr. Dawson is one of the county's most esteemed and honored citizens, and he and wife are members of the Cum- berland Presbyterian Church.

William H. Drake, the fifth child of William and Mary ( Holland) Drake, was born in Bedford County, Va., April 27, 1830. He was reared at home receiving only a limited education. At the age of twenty years he began life for himself by working on a farm by the month. In 1851 he came to Scotland County, and worked for one season, but spent the next year in Kentucky. He then married and returned to Scotland County, but soon went to Iowa, where he remained for six years. He came once more to Scot- land County, and bought forty-eight acres of land, which he sub- sequently engaged for the eighty acres upon which he now resides. On September 24, 1852, he was united in marriage with Sarah J. Hopkins, a native of Kentucky, born May 13, 1832, and a daughter of William and Lavinia (Collins) Hopkins, both natives of Kentucky. To this marriage have been born the fol- lowing children: Martha M. (Mrs. John A. Weyer), William M., James W. and Isaac T. Both Mr. Drake and his wife are members of the Baptist Church. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. In politics he is a Democrat, and is one of the highly esteemed citizens of the county.

James C. Drake, a prominent and influential farmer of Scot- land County, Mo., was born in Hardin County, Ky., April 27, 1835. He is one of nine children born to William Drake and. Mary (Holland) Drake. The former was born in Virginia, the son of William Drake, Sr. He grew to manhood in that State, and a few years after marriage removed to Hardin County, Ky., where he lived upon a farm until the spring of 1854. He then came to Bentonsport, Iowa, and the next fall located in Union (then Greene) Township, Mo. He subsequently lived in Johnson Township, and finally located on the line between Miller and Union Township. He died in 1864. He was twice married, his first wife dying about 1840. He afterward married Mary Paul, by whom he was the father of six children. James C. re- mained at home in support of the family until he was twenty years of age. In 1856 he purchased eighty acres of land in Union Township, which he afterward exchanged with his brother for unimproved land, which he sold. He then purchased a farm of ninety acres in Miller Township, where he lived until 1878, when he bought the farm of 2382 acres, upon which he has since resided, and which he has transformed into one of the neatest farm homes in the county. On December 20, 1860, Mr. Drake

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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.

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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 117

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