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 95

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 95
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 95
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 95
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 95

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).

John Shaffer was born in Fountain County, Ind., in 1837, and is the third of nine children of John and Polina Shaffer. [See history of parents in sketch of James Shaffer. ] The subject ac- companied his parents to Clark County, Mo., and was living with them at the death of his father, which occurred in 1850. He then remained with his mother until he became of age, when he married Caroline Anderson in 1858, after which he began lifefor himself, renting a farm until he had accumulated enough to pur- chase eighty acres of the farm which he now owns. To this first purchase he has kept adding, until he now owns 207 acres of land under a good state of cultivation. His wife is a daughter of Jacob and Eliza Anderson, natives of Kentucky, and by her he has had eleven children, nine of whom are now living: Henry C., Lucinda (wife of George Gilbert), Sarah E., James, Timoleon A., Robert and Ethel B. Our subject has been a farmer and stock raiser of Clark County for forty years, and has been elected and served three terms as township assessor, but has held no other public office. He is a Republican, and served in the Mis- souri State Militia. He donates to all laudable (especially edu- cational) enterprises.

James Shaffer was born in Fountain County, Ind., in 1842, and is a son of John and Paulina (Trinkle) Shaffer, both natives of Virginia, who were married in 1832, and settled on a farm in Indiana, where they engaged in farming and stock raising until 1847, when they took their departure for Clark County, Mo., where they arrived the same year, and resumed their old occupa- tion, which they continued until the death of John Shaffer, which occurred in Clark County, Mo., in 1850. Our subject accom-

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panied his parents to Clark County in 1847. February 8, 1862, he was married to Lucy A. Christy, and he and his wife lived on the old place, which in the short space of two years he had purchased, and which at that time consisted of 299 acres of good. land, which is now well improved. He has since improved and added to his first purchase, and now owns a comfortable residence and 500 acres of the best of land. The wife of the subject is a daughter of William and Mary Rice Christy, natives of Kentucky, who were married in their native State, where they remained until 1851, when they came to Clark County, and settled upon a farm, where the father died in 1878. The mother is still living in Clark County, and is in her seventy-ninth year. Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer have been blessed with eight children, seven of whom are living: Mary C., Lavenia E. (wife of James Stewart), Maranda. M., Oscar, Lucy A., James and Robertia; Ora is deceased. Mr. Shaffer has been a farmer of this county for forty years, and, although he began life as a poor man, is now considered one of the substantial farmers of this part of the county. He and his wife are both members of the Christian Church. He has been a Democrat all his life, but has never aspired to any public office. He served in the Missouri State Militia during the war, and is still interested in the general prosperity and welfare of the country.

Levi Sherman, a son of Duty and Nancy ( Emerson ) Sherman, was born in Massachusetts in 1820. His parents were also. natives of that State, and of English descent. When our subject came to Clark County, Mo., he settled upon the farm of which he is now a resident, and which contains 300 acres, all highly improved and under a good state of cultivation. His wife, Nancy L. (Lowry) Sherman, is a daughter of Robert M. and Emily (St. Clair) Lowry, natives of Pennsylvania, and was born in 1832 in Ohio. This union has been blessed with six children: Hiram F., Emily J., Mason G., Ursula M., William L. and Florence N. Our subject served in the Ohio State Militia until rejected on ac- count of disability. He has always taken an active part in politics, and is a supporter of the Democratic party, but has never aspired to or held public office. He is a liberal donator to all laudable . enterprises. Four of his children are members of the church.

J. M. Shore, dealer in general merchandise, drugs, furniture, including cabinet work, machinery, etc., is also the largest grain dealer in the western portion of the county. In 1882 he came from Lewiston, Lewis Co., Mo., where he has been engaged in an extensive business for thirteen years, and settled at Luray. He is a lifelong merchant, having begun the business when only twelve years of age, and has continued ever since. He was born

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in Indiana in 1848, and in 1868 he married Miss Melissa J. Mc- Key, of Ohio, and the daughter of James and Cordelia McKey. She was born in the year 1848, and by her marriage became the mother of six children. all sons. Mr. Shore and wife are mem- bers of the Christian Church, and he is also a member of the I. O. O. F. and A. H. T. A. He has a fine farm of 240 acres situated three and a half miles west of Luray, and this his eldest son, L. J., manages. Our subject handles all kinds of stock, and has built up a good trade. He is a good citizen, and com- mands the esteem of all who know him.

Arthur Shuler. one of the well-to-do farmers of Clark County, was born in the State of Ohio in 1840, and is the son of Daniel T. and Keziah Shuler, who died in Ohio, and who were engaged in farming and trading on the Mississippi, down as far as New Orleans. Our subject accompanied his father when he moved from Ohio to Clark County, in 1850, and settled upon a farm in Sweet Home Township. February 18, 1861, he married Rebecca Thompson, a daughter of Patterson Thompson, but was left a widower in 1862. He afterward married Louisa J. McKee, daughter of William and Anna McKee. This happy union was blessed with five children, named as follows: Mary A., Nellie M., James O., one unnamed and Berthie. All of these are now living but Nellie M. and the fourth one. Our subject moved to Peakes- ville in 1864, where he successfully engaged in the merchandise trade. At this place his second wife departed this life, and in 1873 he married the daughter of Bruce and Ollie Calvert, the former of whom being a well-to-do farmer of Ohio. This last marriage was blessed with one child, a girl, Alpha M. Our subject left Peakesville in 1873, and located four miles west of that place, on a farm of 148 acres, upon which he raised stock successfully, but in 1875 moved on the farm known as the "J. W. Summers farm," and remained there two years, when he moved on the "D. N. Lapsley farm," where he dealt in stock to a con- siderable extent, and accumulated quite a little money. In 1872 he moved to his farm near Peakesville, which he had previously purchased, and has resided there ever since, proving himself a successful farmer and stock raiser. Mr. Shuler is a member of the I. O. O. F., and is a Republican. His wife is united with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Mr. and Mrs. Shuler both enjoy the blessing of good health, and rank among the highly respected citizens of Clark County.

Daniel C. Sickels, a wide-a-wake, thorough-going citizen of Clark County, Mo., is a native of the State of New York, born in the year 1829, and is the son of Daniel and Catherine Sickels, both natives of New York State. The father died in Clark

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CLARK COUNTY.

County in 1861. The mother is still living, and is a resident of Vernon County, Mo., and is in her eighty-seventh year. She stood on the bluffs of the Hudson River in 1813, and witnessed the cannonading between the American and British fleets. Our subject passed his youthful days engaged in the carpenter's trade, and in 1834 he went with his parents to Petersburg, Va., where he remained until 1844, when he returned with his parents to Quincy, Ill., and in 1851 they moved to Clark County, Mo. In 1856 our subject went to Pike County, Mo., but returned in 1860, and purchased forty acres of land, which he cleared, and upon which he erected a log house. In 1866 he purchased eighty acres, in 1868 five acres, in 1883 fifty acres, and in 1887 146 acres, all of which he cleared with the exception of the last purchase. He is energetic and industrious, and has been very successful in raising and trading in stock. In September, 1862, he married Miss Louis Williams, who bore him three chil- dren: Adie, John B. and Mary J. Mrs. Sickels was reared from infancy by Mr. A. W. Lawrence and wife, of this county. Our subject is Democratic in his political views.

E. P. Smith, farmer and stock raiser, was born in 1826 in Butler County, Ohio, the fifth of twelve children of Frederick and Sarah (Reed) Smith, the former born about 1795 in Ger- many, and the latter of similar origin born near Philadelphia, Penn. The father came to this country when but four years of age, and the mother at a similar age. They spent their lives up to 1830 in Butler County, Ohio, and after that in Preble County, where the mother died in 1875, and the father five years later. Our subject was reared in that county until his majority, and farmed there until October, 1856, when he removed to Lee County, Iowa. Ten years later he came to his present estate, which is a finely improved farm of 320 acres, besides which he owns other lands in Lee County, Iowa. He was married, October 5, 1848, to Eliza A. Denmire, a native of Butler County, and born in 1827. Their children are Laura A., Emily O. and Louisa I. (twins), and Ella N. (deceased). Our subject was a free-soiler previous to the war, and first voted for Van Buren, but since the war has been a radical Republican. His wife and Louisa I. are members of the Baptist Church.

R. W. Smith was born in Lewis County, Mo., July 22, 1836, and is the son of Francis and Elizabeth (Morris) Smith, both natives of Franklin County, Ky. They were married in their native State, remaining there but a short time, when they moved to Northeast Missouri, and settled in Marion County, but later moved to Lewis County before its organization, and set- tled on the property on which Monticello, the county seat of

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Lewis County, now stands. He remained until 1835, and then moved to Clark County, where he ever afterward lived. They reared a family of four children, three of whom are yet living and reside in Northeast Missouri. Later Mr. Smith was a Dem- ocrat in politics, and was judge of his county, and also repre- sented the same in the Legislature. He was a member of the Baptist Church, and was a kind husband and an affectionate father. He died in 1881, twenty years after the death of his wife, who was also a member of the Baptist Church. Our sub- ject is one of those native born Missourians who has seen and experienced the many important changes that have taken place in this great State. He remained with his parents until he was about twenty-nine years of age. During the war he was in the militia, and in 1865 he made a trip to the Rocky Mountains, where he remained four years. He then returned to his old home in Clark County, and married Miss Mary E. Norris, in 1870. She is a daughter of J. M. and L. G. Norris, of this County. After their marriage they settled in Washington Town- ship, where they have ever since resided. Three children were the result of our subject's marriage, viz .: Edgar F., Gertie N., and Robert M. Mrs. Smith's mother, whose maiden name was Jones, makes her home with our subject and wife. Her husband was a prominent Democratic politician of Johnson County, Ind. Our subject is one of the enterprising farmers and stock raisers of Clark County, and owns over 400 acres of valuable land. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Christian Church.

M. C. Smith was born in Monroe County, Mo., in 1854, and is the son of Robert T. Smith, of Bourbon County, Ky., and of Welsh and Scotch descent. Our subject's mother, whose maiden name was Sidener, was a native of Fayette County, Ky., and of German descent. The parents were married in Kentucky, where they resided a few years after marriage, the father engaged in agri- cultural pursuits and stock raising. In 1835 they moved to Monroe County, Mo., and settled eight miles north of the present county seat. Here, in 1879, at the age of sixty-nine, he departed from earth. He was a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Christian Church. His wife was a member of the same church, and died in 1885 at the age of seventy-two. Our subject re- ceived a liberal education in the common schools, and received a more thorough course at Christian University, Canton, Lewis Co., Mo. He taught school for several years, and in 1877 was married to Miss Mollie E. Turner, a citizen of Shelby County, Mo., and a native of Kentucky. In 1878 they moved to Clark County, Wyaconda Township, where he has since resided. He is a prominent citizen, a good neighbor, and an enterprising farm-

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er, owning a fine farm of over 340 acres. He is a Democrat in politics, and he and wife are members of the Christian Church.

J. D. Smulling was born in La Grange, Lewis Co., Mo., May 21, 1841. His father, Curtis Smulling, was a native of Maryland, and of German descent. The mother was a native of Virginia, and of Scotch-Irish descent. The father married his second wife, Eliza Davis, in Knox County, and followed the trade of a car- penter in early life. He was ordained a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, many years before the division of that church. At the time of his second marriage he was a circuit preacher in Lewis County, Mo., before all the Indians had left this State. By his second marriage were born two children, both of whom are living. At the age of sixteen he was disinherited by his father for not withdrawing from the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was cast out upon the world. He then served as apprentice at the carpenter's trade, working at his trade during the day, and studying his Bible at night. He was a Whig in politics, and as a husband and father was kind and affectionate. He died in 1839. Several years after his death his widow married D. Mangle, a farmer in Washington Township. She died in 1884, and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for many years. Our subject and his brother, after the death of their father, came back to Knox County, where they lived, and were reared by an uncle, Samuel J. Davis. At the age of seventeen he began working for himself at the modest sum of $7 per month, and thought he was getting good wages. He married Miss Mahala Hume, a daughter of L. B. Hume, and a sister of the cashier of the Kahoka Bank. By this union five children were born, viz .: Sarah M. and Mary E. (twins, dead), Alice A., Eliza V. and Sarah M. Eliza V. is the wife of B. R. Carman, a farmer in Clark County. The other two are at home. Our subject started life with very little means, and now has a splendid farm of 180 acres, all well improved. He is a Republican in his political views, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church. In 1861 he enlisted in Company I, home guards, under Col. Moore, was in the Athens fight and in many skirmishes.

Zachary T. Snively, druggist, was born in Clark County, August 6, 1852, the son of Henry and Harriet A. (Wayland) Snively, natives of Maryland and Kentucky, respectively. The father was a highly esteemed citizen, and located here over half a century ago. He died in 1857; the mother and two children survive him. The other children were Clark C. and Jeanette H. (deceased wife of the late Harry Roland). Our subject was reared and educated at Wayland, and attended the Louisville Commercial College for two years. He engaged in his present

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business in February, 1884. He has been deservedly successful, and controls a large trade in drugs, toilet articles, paints, oils, stationery and books. Our subject owns his business house, the adjoining store building occupied by Barnard Bros., the barber shop, the Western Hotel building, and one residence property in Wayland; he also owns 100 acres of farming land. February 9, 1887, he married Vietta M. Wilson, of Lee County, Iowa. Our subject is a Democrat, and served as constable for two years. He has been an extensive collector of Indian relics, specimens of ores, etc. He has about 10,000 spear heads and arrow points, gathered near Wayland, besides many other relics of every description. He deserved great credit for so fine a collection in geology and mineralogy, and of fossils. He also has a collection of rare birds stuffed. He is now the postmaster of Wayland.

William S. Sortore was born in the State of New York in 1815, where he resided until 1845, when he moved to Lee County, Iowa, where he followed the blacksmith's trade, and farmed until 1879, when he came to Clark County, Mo., and settled on the farm of eighty acres he is now in possession of, and has since re- sided upon. He is a son of Zebulon and Nancy Sortore. Our subject was married in 1844 to Eliza P. Smith, who died in 1864, leaving no children. In 1873 he married Rebecca Boyer, daughter of Levi and Mary (Harbur). Our subject is a worthy and honor- able citizen of Clark County, and belongs to the Masonic order; his wife is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

William H. Sowers, a successful farmer and stock dealer, of Clark County, Mo., is a native of Pennsylvania, born in the year 1836, and is the son of George and Annie ( Horn) Sowers, of Pennsylvania, where the father died in 1865. The mother then came to Clark County, and lived with our subject until her death, in 1867. In 1859 our subject chose for his life companion Miss Sarah E. Swart, a native of the Keystone State, born in June, 1840, and the daughter of George and Elizabeth Swart. This happy union has resulted in the birth of eight children, two of whom died unnamed. Those living are Harry S., William G., Toronto O. and Emma M. B. In 1864 our subject came to Clark County, and located on his present farm, which contains about 600 acres of good land, well improved, and in a high state of cultivation. He has a fine dwelling, and all things that com- bine to make life enjoyable. He has been a life-long farmer and stock man, and is a very useful and successful citizen. He is a Republican in politics, a member of the A. H. T. A., and he and wife are members of the Methodist Protestant Church.

Jeremiah Spurgeon, a prominent and well-to-do citizen of Clark County, Mo., was born in Morgan County, Ohio, Novem-

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CLARK COUNTY.

ber 13, 1824, and is the son of Jeremiah and Nancy (Walls) Spurgeon, both natives of Pennsylvania. The father moved to St. Louis, Mo., in 1840, two years later moved to Iowa, and died in Louisa County, in the same State. The mother died there also. Of their seven sons and four daughters, the follow- ing are the only ones now living: Lorenzo Dow, Jeremiah, Nel- son and E. Sol. Our subject remained at St. Louis after his father moved away, and followed teaming there a number of years. At that place he also married Miss Lucinda Baily, a native of Knox County, Ind., where, after marriage, they made . their home until they came to Clark County. Mrs. Spurgeon died in November, 1885, leaving six children : John, Thomas J., James, Robert, Edward and Harriet Jane (Mrs. William Grigsby). About 1847 our subject came to Clark County, and has followed farming and stock raising prosperously ever since. He owned at one time 1,000 acres of land, 800 of which are con- sidered among the best in the county. In the spring of 1885 Mr. Spurgeon moved to his present farm of 100 acres, situated about half a mile south of Wayland, and there he has since resided: He was a Democrat before the war, but during that time was a Union man, and is now a Republican; he is a Mason, a member of the Baptist Church, and is one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Clark County.

Martin L. Stafford, M. D., a prominent physician of Luray, is a native of Clark County, Ill., born in 1851. He came with. his parents to Clark County, Mo., in 1857, and received a good literary education at Kirksville, Mo. In 1870 he began reading medicine under Dr. Henry, of Fairmont, Mo., and in 1872 he entered the Keokuk College of Physicians and Surgeons, from which institution he graduated in 1874. He then located in Knox City, Knox Co., Mo., and after practicing here for some months, in the fall of the same year entered the Missouri Medical College at St. Louis, and graduated there in the spring of 1876. He at once located at Luray, and began the practice of his pro- fession, which has been large and remunerative. In 1880 he chose for his life companion, Miss Mamie Ochiltree, of this county, born in 1855, and the daughter of George M. Ochiltree. Dr. Stafford is a member of the I. O. O. F., and the son of Will- iam and Charlotta (Hill) Stafford, natives of North Carolina and Virginia, respectively. The father died in 1887, and the mother is now a resident of this county.

James Starr was born in Berks County, Penn., March 3, 1805, and his father and mother were natives of the same county and State. The father, whose name was also James Starr, was of remote Irish descent. The mother's maiden name was Eleanor

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Davis, and she was of Welsh descent. James Starr, Sr., and wife were married in Berks County, Penn., in the year 1792, he being twenty-three years of age at that time. Previous to his marriage he was apprenticed to the tanner and currier's trade, and followed this the greater part of his life in his native county. He had retired from active employment previous to his death, which occurred at his old home where he had resided for nearly half a century. He was an old line Whig in politics, and in re- ligion was a member of the Society of Friends. He was seventy- four years old at the time of his death. The mother was also a member of the Society of Friends, and was sixty-two years of age at the time of her death. They were married under the marriage rules of Friends. Our subject, James Starr, is the only living child of a family of ten children. He received a limited educa- tion in Berks County, Penn., and followed the trade of his father up to 1855. In the spring of that year, he, with his family, crossed the Alleghany Mountains, and settled in Stark County, Ohio, where he followed farming and dairying. Two years later he moved to Mahoning County, Ohio, and here followed the same pursuits for two years. Many years previous to this (in 1828) he married Miss Phebe Hilles, also a member of the Society of Friends, and by her became the father of eleven children, six of whom are now living, and all of whom live within thirty miles of this place, except one son who lives in Kansas. Two years after his first wife's death Mr. Starr married Miss Lydia Boyle, a native of Philadelphia, Penn., and to them three children were born, two of whom are married, and reside in the village. After living in Ohio for some time our subject moved to Lewis County, Mo., and from 1859 to the spring of 1862 he engaged in various business transactions at Deer Ridge, Mo. The latter year he moved to Fairmont, Mo., where he kept tavern up to the year 1879, when Mrs. Starr was so afflicted with rheumatic trouble, that they retired to private life, only Mr. Starr opened up a small saddlery and harness store with his son. At the end of two years he left his son to run the business alone, while he began to take life easy. He is living in the village of Fairmont, boarding at his hotel. Besides owning this hotel, he also owns a lot and stables in connection with it, also other real estate. While running the hotel he was postmaster, and also justice of the peace. He is a Republican in politics, a member of no church, but is what he justly terms himself, a " Free Thinker." Mr. Starr is an honorable citizen and a social gentleman, and although he is now eighty-two years of age he is a good conversationalist, a close reader, and is vigorous in mind and body. His wife is seventy- five years of age, and also enjoys good health, although afflicted somewhat with rheumatism.

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CLARK COUNTY.

James C. Stauffer, an extensive dealer in grain, also a dealer in general merchandise, making a specialty of hardware and farm- ing implements, is one of the leading merchants of Luray, Mo. In 1877 he opened a family grocery in Luray, and has continued to add to his stock, which is now complete, and contains anything and everything the public demands. He has been engaged in merchandising all his life, having been in the store with his father some years previous to his engaging in business for him- self. Abraham Stauffer, father of our subject, opened a general merchandise store in Luray in 1866, and conducted it successfully until 1872, when he sold out and retired to the farm, where he remained until his death, which occurred in the year 1877. His wife (the mother of our subject), Elizabeth R. (Newmyre) Stauffer, moved back to Luray, a few years after the death of her husband. Both she and her husband were natives of Pennsyl- vania, and came to Clark County about 1844. In this county our subject was born in the year 1853, and in 1877 he mar- ried Miss Annie L. Todd, a native of Iowa, born in the year 1855, and is the daughter of Dr. and Annie C. (Richardson) Todd. By this union our subject became the father of one child, named Claude. Mr. Stauffer is a member of the A. H. T. A., and he and wife are members of the Christian Church. He has a farm of eighty acres of land in a good state of cultivation, well improved, and this he rents out.

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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 95

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