USA > Missouri > Pettis County > History of Pettis County, Missouri > Part 49
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Fred Fichter was reared and educated in his native land, and, when a young man, assisted in his father's hotel business. In 1872 he came to America, and on October 2 of that year landed in New York City. From there he went to Buffalo, New York, and for a time was employed in a hotel there, and later clerked in a store for a time. In 1873 he came
FRED FICHTER.
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to Missouri, and located at Holden, where he clerked in a store for a few months, when he went to Sedalia. About this time he was joined by his mother, and they purchased the place in Dresden township, where he has since resided. At that time the farm had but little improvements on it, which consisted chiefly of an old house and a shed. Mr. Fichter proceeded to improve the place, until he now has one of the finest farms in this county, He is engaged in general farming and stock raising, and in 1910 began the breeding of Percheron horses, and in his herd of horses he now has two valuable imported Percheron mares.
Mr. Fichter was married May 1, 1878, to Miss Louisa W. Voight, a native of Wisconsin, born April 13, 1859. Her parents, Philip and Mary E. (Klapatch) Voight, were natives of Germany, and early settlers in Pettis County. To Mr. and Mrs. Fichter have been born nine children, as follow: Mary M., resides at home with her parents; Philip William, lives in North Dakota ; Emily, deceased; Fred, resides at home; George, lives in Hughesville township; Bertha, at home; Charles, at home; Lily M., at home, and Edward A., who enlisted in the United States navy during the World War.
Henry C. Brown .- Members of the Brown family, of which Henry C. Brown of Houstonia is a representative, have been prominent in the industrial and civic affairs of Pettis County for over forty years. They came from North Carolina and have been substantial additions to this county in many ways. Mr. Brown was born on April 9, 1854, in Davidson County, North Carolina. He is a son of Haley Brown, who was born in 1805 and died in 1866. His mother was Jane Emily (Spurgeon) Brown, who was born in 1813 and departed this life in 1895. Henry C. Brown was one of nine children born to his parents: John, Joseph A. C., Phebe Jane, William, Dempsey S., David F., Sarah, George.
John Brown, the eldest of the family, died in North Carolina at the age of twenty-two years.
Dr. Joseph A. C. Brown was born in Davidson County, North Caro- line, received a classical education in Trinity, and Emory and Henry col- leges, graduated from the State University in 1858, studied medicine at Jamestown, North Carolina, and graduated from the Jefferson Medical Col- lege, Philadelphia, and went to Texas in 1860. He served in the Confeder- ate Army under Stonewall Jackson, and after the close of the war, in 1865, he located at Dresden, where he practiced medicine until 1877. He then served as county collector of Pettis County until 1881, after
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which he looked after his farming interests in Dresden township until his death, December 7, 1888. Phebe Jane Brown lived and died in North Carolina. William Brown died in Texas, where he made his home, after leaving his native State. Dempsey S. Brown was born in Davidson County, North Carolina, in 1843, and died in Pettis County December 28, 1915. He first came to Pettis County in 1865 and became engaged in farming and stock raising. He was joined by his brother, Henry C. Brown of this review in about 1875, and the brothers were in partnership forty years, during which the best of amity prevailed. They prospered and owned and operated one of the large stock farms of Pettis County until Mr. Brown's death in 1915. Daniel F. Brown was well educated and fitted himself for the practice of medicine. He was born October 27, 1845, and died March 16, 1902. He practiced his profession for many years in Dresden township and was widely and favorably known. Sarak Brown died in North Carolina at the age of twenty-two years. George Brown, next to the youngest son of the family, died in Pettis County at the age of twenty-two years. Four of the sons of this family, Dempsey S., George, Joseph A. C., and David F., came to Pettis County in 1865.
Henry C. Brown came to this county in 1866, but returned to North Carolina in the spring of 1867 and attended school in his native county. The mother came to Pettis County in 1872 and made her home with Dr. David H. Brown in Dresden. In 1874 Henry C. Brown returned to Pettis County and joined his brother Dempsey S. in his farming operations in Blackwater township. Dempsey S. Brown in 1867 had become associated with Dr. L. H. Williams, who owned a large farm in Blackwater township and was practicing medicine in the neighborhood. He and Doctor Wil- liams were partners until the latter's death. Then Dempsey S. and Henry C. Brown formed a partnership. Brown Brothers fed from 100 to 200 head of cattle yearly and operated over 1,000 acres of rich prairie land. They built up a splendid farm and resided on the place until 1903, when Mr. Brown removed to Houstonia. During the past few years he has disposed of a considerable part of his land holdings, because of poor health.
Mr. Brown was married on December 16, 1877, to Mrs. Nannie (Berry) Williams, widow of Dr. L. H. Williams and a daughter of the Rev. Tyree Berry, an early Missouri pioneer. Dr. Williams died February 22, 1875, as a result of injuries received during the cyclone which swept Hous- tonia and this section of Pettis County in February of 1875. The build-
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ing in which the doctor was then located was torn to pieces and the wreckage of the buildings which then formed the business section of the town was strewn far and wide. Sheriff Porter was also killed at this time. Dempsey Brown was in town on that day and he was knocked down and bruised but not seriously injured. Doctor Williams was a native of North Carolina and came to Pettis County in 1847 and located on a farm, three miles west of Houstonia. Two of his brothers crossed the plains to the gold fields of California in 1849. Of the six children born to Dr. L. H. and Nannie Williams, one is living: F. S. Williams, a merchant in the Imperial Valley of California. One child was born to the mar- riage of Henry C. and Nannie Brown, namely: Dempsey, wife of O. C. Horine, living in Houstonia with the subject of this review.
Mr. Brown is a Democrat. He and his family are members of the Baptist Church. He is a modest, unassuming gentleman whose standing in the community of which he has long been a resident is a substantial and highly respected one.
Dr. Thomas Allen Smith .- "He gave his life that others might live" is the inscription which might rightly be placed upon a stone erected in memory of the late Dr. Thomas Allen Smith, of Houstonia, who for many long years practiced his profession in the country adjacent to Houstonia. The life of the average country physician is filled with hardships and is unselfishly devoted to the healing of the sick and ailing. The work done by the country doctor is of a more exacting character than that required of his city prosfessional brother, inasmuch as it requires that he respond to a sick call of an ailing patient miles away. Doctor Smith was a physi- cian of high standing in the community who had a high conception of his calling. During the many years of his practice, no call for the exercise of his skill went unheeded, no matter what the distance, the condition of the weather, or the ability of his patient to pay. His first thought was to alleviate suffering; to use his skill to the utmost, and even in his last days as he lay dying and many were ill in the neighborhood, he did what he could in his weakened condition to advise his old patients and those who were suffering.
Dr. T. A. Smith was born March 13, 1852, and departed this life November 28, 1918. He was born in Harrisburg, Kentucky, and was a son of James D. and Sallie (Allen) Smith. James D. Smith was born at Hannibal, Missouri, and later, after some years residence in Missouri, he located at Harrisburg, Kentucky, and engaged in the real estate busi- ness and farming.
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Thomas Allen Smith was educated in the public schools of Harris- burg, Kentnucky, and graduated from the Louisville, Kentucky, Medical College. After serving for four years as interne in the Louisville Hos- pital, he came to Houstinia in 1883 and began the practice of his pro- fession. For a period of thirty-five years, he practiced in Houstonia and the northern part of Pettis County and was widely and favorably known as an able and learned physician. There is probably not a single family in northern Pettis and southern Saline County which has had sickness at one time or another during past years but Doctor Smith has been called upon to minister to the ailing among them, either as the family physician or as a consultant. Mindful of making provisions for the future, Doctor Smith invested in a tract of 280 acres, just north of Hous- tonia one and a half miles, and this farm is now being cultivated by his son.
On January 15, 1883, Dr. Thomas Allen Smith and Miss Ocie Berry were united in marriage. Four children blessed this marriage: Odie Vard is the wife of Frank Hayman Higgins, living five miles west of Houstonia; Edwin Guthrie, managing the home farm, north of Hous- tonia; Henrietta, and Tom Allen, at home.
Mrs. Ocie (Berry) Smith and her twin sister, Odie, were born on a farm, five and a half miles north of Houstonia, July 27, 1860. She is a daughter of Thomas C. Berry, born in Boone County, Missouri, December 19, 1827. Thomas C. Berry was a son of Rev. Tyree Berry, who was among the earliest of the Missouri pioneers, coming here from Virginia early in the nineteenth century. Thomas C. Berry was an early settler in Pettis county and is now living at Sweet Springs, Missouri. He mar- ried Mary Jane Prigmore, who was born in Missouri and was a daughter of Isaac Prigmore, a pioneer of Pettis County. Both Thomas C. Berry and Isaac Prigmore were "forty-niners" and crossed the plains in a com- pany to the gold fields of California. On the return trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama, Mr. Prigmore was stricken with cholera and while suffering in his mortal illness he promised his daughter, Mary Jane, to Mr. Berry for his wife if he would see to it that he was properly buried in the ground after his death. He died while near the Isthmus and his mortal remains were wrapped in a blanket, carried by four men who dug the grave and laid his body away in an appropriate and Christian man- ner, Mr. Berry taking charge of the burial according to his promise.
Doctor Smith was a member of the Christian Church as are all mem-
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bers of his family. He was a progressive student of the science of medi- cine. He was a member of the County, State and American Medical Asso- ciations and stood high in the ranks of his profession. Doctor Smith practically wore out his physical powers in the exacting work of his pro- fession and responded to every call made upon his skill regardless of con- ditions or physical weariness. His friends were legion, and his death was a distinct and irreparable loss to Pettis County. He will long be remem- bered as a kind, able, conscientious and painstaking physician, who was a skilled healer and adviser. The greatest tribute which could be paid any man of his profession was uttered by one of his many friends on the occasion of his illness and that is "If there ever was a poor man's doctor, he is one."
Richard F. Boehme, proprietor of the Le Grande Garage and dis- tributor for the Maxwell and Marmon automobiles in this section, is one of Sedalia's most enterprising and progressive business men. Mr. Boehme was born in St. Louis, Missouri, July 30, 1878, a son of F. G. Boehme, a contractor and builder of St. Louis, where he was actively en- gaged in contracting and building for many years. He died in 1915, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. His wife bore the maiden name of Goerlick. She preceded her husband in death, having passed away in St. Louis in 1883.
Richard F. Boehme was the eldest of a family of three children, born to his parents. He was reared in the city of St. Louis, and educated in the public schools. In 1896, when he was about eighteen years of age, he began life as a traveling salesman, out of St. Louis. He followed this occupation for two years, during which time he represented a New Eng- land Watch Company, and later the Drummond Tobacco Company. In 1900, he came to Sedalia, which has since been his home.
In 1910, Mr. Boehme engaged in the automobile business and has met with marked success in this field of endeavor. The Le Grande Garage, of which he is proprietor and sole owner, is located at 404-6-8-10 South Osage Street, and is one of the largest and best equipped garages and auto repair shops in the city. His storage and wareroom capacity are commodious and his repair department is equipped with all neces- sary, up-to-date machinery. He has a 150-ton hydraulic tire press, used in connection with solid rubber tires, such as are used on heavy trucks and electric cars. This is the only machine of this kind between Kansas City and St. Louis. Mr. Boehme employs about twenty-five men in his
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garage. His sales department has had an astonishing growth and de- velopment under his capable management, since he entered that field. In 1914, he took the agency for the Maxwell motor car, and the first year he sold fifty-four of these cars. In 1916 he sold sixty-two; in 1917, one hundred and eight; and in 1918 four hundred and twenty-seven. In 1917 he became general distributor for the Maxwell car in ten Missouri counties.
As an automobile salesman and sales manager, Mr. Boehme has proved himself to be a success.
Mr. Boehme was united in marriage June 12, 1901, with Miss Eliza- beth Sailer, a native of Jefferson City, Missouri, and a daughter of Henry Sailer, a prominent Cole County farmer, who now resides in that county. To Mr. and Mrs. Boehme have been born two children, Dorothy and Richard F.
Mr. Boehme is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and in politics he is inclined to be independent.
John C. Cordes, a leading merchant of Sedalia, whose store is located at 120 West Second Street, is a native of Missouri. He was born near Cole Camp, Benton County, April 21, 1869, a son of John C. and Margaret (Kroencke) Cordes. They were the parents of seven children as follows: Mary, married Charles Eckhoff, and resides in Sedalia; Herman H., Meade County, Kansas ; Benjamin, Meade County, Kansas ; Kathrine mar- ried A. Moreau, Denver, Colorado; Anna, married E. L. Kemper, a mer- chant of Sedalia, Missouri; John C., the subject of this sketch; and Jacob who resides in Meade County, Kansas. The parents were both natives of Hanover, Germany. They immigrated to America in 1866 and settled in Benton County, Missouri. Here the father was engaged in farming and stock raising until his death in 1877. After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Cordes married Louis Miller. No children were born to this union. The mother is now deceased.
John C. Cordes was reared on a farm in Benton County, and received his education in the public schools. When nineteen years of age he left the farm and came to Sedalia, where he was employed in the store of the Sedalia Woolen Mills. In 1889 he entered the employ of Kahrs & Bliss, general merchants in Sedalia. He remained with them about two years, when he entered the employ of Guenther Brothers and worked in their dry goods store as clerk for a time. In 1901, Mr. Cordes, in partnership with H. H. Kroencke, purchased the business of Major W. M. Beck and operated this business under the firm name of Kroencke & Cordes until
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1909. Mr. Cordes then purchased his partner's interest and since that time has been the sole owner and proprietor of the store. He carries on a general mercantile business and has a valuable stock of goods. He is one of Sedalia's progressive merchants and has built up a large trade. Mr. Cordes' long and varied experience in the mercantile business and his association with various business concerns in his early career, has given him an opportunity to study the various methods of different suc- cessful merchants from the inside viewpoint. This has been of inestim- able value to him as he is a keen observer and a close student of the fun- damental principles of business success.
Mr. Cordes was united in marriage with Miss Jessie Shelly, daughter of J. M. Shelly, of Pettis County. She departed this life in February, 1891. There were no children born to this union. Mr. Cordes' second wife bore the maiden name of Margurate Card and is a native of Cooper County. She is a daughter of James Card. Mr. and Mrs. Cordes have no children.
Mr. Cordes takes a commendable interest in public affairs. He is a Republican and is now serving his third term as a member of the city council of Sedalia. He is chairman of the committee on police and also the electric light and gas committee. He is one of Sedalia's substantial citizens of real worth to the community.
'C. B. Chryst, one of the leading farmers and stockmen of Prairie
- township, is the owner of one of the fine farms of that section of Pettis County. His place consists of 189 acres, all but thirteen acres of which is located in Prairie township, and the well kept appearance of this place bears evidence of the industry and progressiveness of its owner.
Mr. Chryst is a native son of Pettis County and was born on the farm where he now resides, April 22, 1874. He is a son of Hezekiah and Martha A. (Ewers) Chryst, both natives of Ohio. Hezekiah Chryst was a Union veteran of the Civil War. He was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, in June, 1840, and when the Civil War broke out, he enlisted in Company H, Twentieth Ohio Infantry and served three years and six months. He returned to Ohio at the close of the war and in 1867 came to Missouri, first locating on a farm near Longwood, and two years later settled on the farm in Prairie township where Chancey B. Chryst now resides. He improved this place and was successfully engaged in farm- ing and stock raising here until his death in November, 1896. He was a Republican in politics and an upright and honorable citizen whose in- tegrity was well known to his extensive acquaintance. Martha A.
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(Ewers) Chryst was born in Knox County, Ohio, in 1842, and now resides on the home place with her son.
Hezekiah and Martha (Ewers) Chryst were the parents of the fol- lowing children: Lillie E., married G. W. Steele, and resides in Dresden township; Chauncey B., the subject of this sketch; Milo E., Claremore, Oklahoma; Cora R., married Rev. Edward Turrentine, Salina, Kansas; Stella, married Frederick A. Schaeffer, Columbus, Ohio.
Chauncey B. Chryst was educated in the public schools of Pettis County and took a three years' course in the State Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri. In 1896, he engaged in farming on the home place and subsequently purchased the interests of the other heirs to his father's estate. He has improved the place in many ways until it is one of the best improved farms in Pettis County. He carries on general farming and stock raising and feeds hogs extensively for the market.
Mr. Chryst was married November 24, 1904, to Miss Carrie E. Steele, a native of Pettis County and a daughter of T. V. and Mary Steele, who now reside in Dresden township. To Mr. and Mrs. Chryst have been born one child, Chauncey Byron, Jr., who is now eleven years old.
Mr. Chryst is a Republican and takes an active interest in local affairs.
Charles H. Houchen .- What a man does during his lifetime and what he possesses are usually taken as concrete and indisputable evidence of his worth in the community. If he be a progressive, law-abiding and dependable citizen, who has accumulated a competence which will sup- port him and his family during his declining years, he is considered to have a made a success of his life. Such a man is Charles H. Houchen, of Houstonia township, who even, had he not achieved a success in his sphere of activity as a farmer and stockman, he would be entitled to an honored mention in the history of his home county, because of the fact that he and Mrs. Houchen have reared and educated one of the largest families in Pettis County.
Charles H. Houchen was born February 4, 1856, on a farm just eighteen miles north of his present home, in Saline County. Conse- quently, his whole life has been spent in the neighborhood where he has made a success. He is the son of Fleming and Mary (Bird) Houchen, both of whom were born and reared in Virginia. Fleming Houchen was born in 1800 and died in 1877. His wife, Mary, was born in 1810 and died in 1888.
CHARLES H. HOUCHEN.
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MRS. CHARLES H. HOUCHEN.
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Fleming Houchen migrated from his native State to Missouri in 1837, and farmed on a large scale in Saline County during the remainder of his life. In those early days the rich farm lands of this section of Missouri was so plentiful and cheap that but few of the settlers felt any inclina- tion to purchase land. It was only when incoming settlers began to improve farms more rapidly, and an increase of population made a greater demand for land that Mr. Houchen deemed it necessary to invest in a farm. This he did in his later days, when he bought land in northern Pettis County. The farm which he cultivated in Saline County was a popular place with people, and especially travelers, because of the splen- did spring of flowing water which was situated on the premises. Mr. Houchen, the elder, moved to Pettis County in 1873, and spent his last days in this county. He reared a family of nine children, as follow: Mrs. Elizabeth McGill, lives in Cass County; John, deceased; Mrs. Sarah Mathis, Houstonia; Mary, is deceased; Ellen, lives in Colorado; Charles H., subject of this review; Louis, a farmer in Pettis County; James, a farmer in Canada; Mrs. Zelma Singles, Nevada, Missouri.
But little opportunity was given Charles H. Houchen, in the way of obtaining an education in his youthful days. He never attended school but six months in his life, although he has become a well-informed citizen, who reads the daily newspapers and has acquired a taste for good read- ing. Mr. Houchen is strictly a self-educated citizen, who late in life realized the need of more knowledge, and has applied himself to the task of improving himself educationally. He came to Pettis County in 1877, but did not begin farming on his own account until 1882, because his parents needed his assistance. He first rented a farm in the vicinity of his present home for one year. In 1883 Mr. Houchen bought 120 acres of brush land, at a cost of $24.00 an acre. He paid $1,000.00 down on this purchase and went in debt for the remainder. His first home was built of the wreckage of two log cabins, which he hauled from the river bottoms to his place on the upland. From the lumber of these two cabins he built his home. While Mr. Houchen was given plenty of time in which to pay for his farm, he sold off forty acres in order to clear up his title to the property. In 1887 he bought eighty acres more land, across the roadway. The next purchase was for a quarter section, and he also bought part of his wife's estate. His last investment was for a farm of 120 acres, west of Houstonia, at a cost of $115.00 an acre. This place has since been improved with a good barn and been fixed up in good
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shape, until the value of the land has been increased to $160.00 an acre.
Mr. Houchen owns a total of 600 acres of land, 480 acres of which are included in his home farm. The Houchen place is splendidly improved with a fine, modern home erected in 1909, consisting of ten rooms; large and well-kept barns and farm buildings, and good fencing. For years, Mr. Houchen has been en extensive feeder of livestock, feeding from seventy-five to eighty head of cattle and about 300 hogs for the markets annually. He harvested 120 acres of wheat in 1918, which averaged 22.5 bushels to the acre. For the ensuing season of 1919 he has sown 120 acres to wheat. The land sown to wheat on his other farm, the crop of which was harvested last summer (1918), made the phenomenal yield of thirty-seven bushels to the acre on fifty acres.
Charles H. Houchen was married in 1881 to Miss Louisa Schondel- maier. To this marriage have been born fourteen children: Katie Eliz- , abeth, Jacob Frederick, Clay, Alice Annie, Marion, Samuel Edwin, Charles Ray, Florence, Dewey, Thelma, Mary, Lillian, Josephine, and William H. Taft. Katie Elizabeth is the wife of Henry Nagel, and resides on a farm in Houstonia township. Jacob Frederick is farming in Black- water township. Alice Annie is the wife of Louis Wicker, a farmer in Houstonia township. Marion is cultivating the Houchen farm, adjoining Houstonia. Samuel Edwin is a merchant at Houstonia. Charles Ray was born August 25, 1893, and enlisted in the National Army, October 5, 1917. After being in training at Camp Funston for six weeks, he was sent to Camp Kearney, California, and became a member of Company 75, 160th Regiment, Depot Brigade, and in July, 1918, was sent to France for service in the World War, which resulted in the defeat of Germany.
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