USA > Missouri > Pettis County > History of Pettis County, Missouri > Part 66
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While Rush M. Scott has made the tilling of the soil his chief occu- pation, he is a natural mechanical genius, and is able to turn his hand to almost any kind of mechanical work with unusual ability. The machin- ists' trade comes easily and naturally to him. This is also true of the carpenter trade and its various branches. He possesses those mechan- ical talents, which are so rarely found in an individual. The Scott family are well known and highly respected in Pettis County.
Monterville McGruder, deceased, was born September 29, 1846, at Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia. During the early part of the Civil War, when he was sixteen years of age, he enlisted in Company K, Fifth Regiment, Virginia Volunteer Infantry, Confederate Army. He participated in the battles of Winchester, Manassas, Bull Run, Seven Days' Fight of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania and numerous other lesser engagements and skirmishes. He was captured by the Federals at New -. town, Virginia, and conveyed to Camp Chase, Ohio, where he was kept a prisoner of war until the spring of 1865.
After the close of the war, Mr. McGruder settled at Black Lick, Franklin County, Ohio, where he was married with Miss Louisa Shaffar, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Jacob Shaffar. She died in 1874, leaving one child, Addie, who is now Mrs. Stephen Ganes, who, with her husband, resides at Columbus, Ohio. Monterville McGruder's second marriage took place in Ohio in 1875, to Miss Amy Harris, who was born in Hebron, Licking County, Ohio, a daughter of John A. Harris. To this union were born three children, as follow: David, who died in infancy at Austin, Texas; Mark Austin, a sketch of whom will be found in this volume; and Mayme Belle, married A. N. Gilbert, and resides on the old homestead at Hughesville, Missouri. A sketch of A. N. Gilbert also ap- pears in this volume.
In the spring of 1877, Monterville McGruder moved to Austin, Texas, and in November, 1878, he came to Pettis County, Missouri, locating on a farm, two miles north and east of Hughesville. One year later he
MONTERVILLE McGRUDER AND WIFE.
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
moved to Hughesville and engaged in the business of making boots and shoes which had been his trade, learned under his father.
Monterville McGruder died from the effect of a stroke of apoplexy at his home in Hughesville, November 20, 1904. His wife, Amy Harris McGruder, died at her home in Hughesville, November 24, 1911, follow- ing an illness of three years as a result of a stroke of paralysis. Their remains rest side by side in Crown Hill Cemetery, Sedalia, Missouri.
Mark Austin McGruder, attorney, Sedalia, Mo., was born on a farm near Hughesville Pettis County, September 16, 1879. He is a son of Monterville and Amy (Harris) McGruder. A sketch of Monterville McGruder appears in this volume.
Mark A. McGruder received his education in the Hughesville district School ; Westminster College, Fulton, Mo .; Missouri State Military School, Columbia, Mo., and was graduated from the law department of Missouri University with a degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1901. He was admitted to the bar in Sedalia, July 7, 1901, and since that time has been engaged in the practice of his profession.
Mr. McGruder was united in marriage October 9, 1906, with Miss Leonore Cutter, a native of Pettis County. To this union has been born one child, Aurelia Harris McGruder, who is now ten years of age.
Mr. McGruder is a Democrat, and served as city attorney and city counselor of Sedalia, from 1906 to 1907. In 1916, he was elected to the State Senate, serving as chairman of the Committees on New Capital, Constitutional Amendments and Permanent Seat of Government, Wills and Probate Law. He also served as a member of the committees on Judiciary ; Private Corporations; Fire, Tornado and Marine Insurance; Education, Textbooks and Public Schools; University, Normal Schools, Agricultural College and School of Mines; Clerical Force; Criminal Juris- prudence; Insurance and Workman's Compensation; Labor, Commerce, Manufactories and Immigration; Fish and Game; Accounts and Miscel- laneous Laws; and Engrossed Bills. In the Fiftieth General Assembly, he was elected and served the Senate as majority (Democratic) floor leader.
Mr. McGruder and his family are members of the Broadway Pres- byterian Church in Sedalia. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, Granite Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Sedalia, Scottish Rite bodies, St. Joseph, Mo., and the Mystic Shrine, Ararat Temple, Kan- sas City, Mo. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias. For eight years he served as Grand Fore-
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man of the Ancient Order of United Workmen of Missouri. Mr McGruder is the author of McGruder on the Law of Commerce and also of this history of Pettis County, but he is not the writer of this sketch. -M. J. Flannery.
James Crawford, a prominent farmer and stockman of Blackwater township, who for over twenty years has been a successful breeder of Pole Angus cattle. Mr. Crawford was born in Flat Creek township, Pettis County, Missouri, July 6, 1871. He is a son of A. J. and Catherine E. (Turley) Crawford, both natives of Ohio. A. J. Crawford, who was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, in 1823. In early life he learned the potter's trade, and for a number of years followed that line of work in Ohio. He came to Missouri in 1865 and settled in Smithton township, Pettis County, where he was engaged in farming and stock raising for a time, when he removed to Flat Creek township. In 1903 he removed to Dresden, where he died in 1909 . His wife died in 1892, aged sixty-eight years.
James Crawford was the youngest of the family of seven children born to his parents. He received his education in the public schools of Pettis County, and remained on the home farm, and during the latter years of his father's life he operated the farm, which he later bought. In 1917 Mr. Crawford traded for his present place, which consists of 380 acres of well-improved and valuable land.
On November 28, 1894, James Crawford was united in marriage with Miss Lucy E. Painter, a native of Pettis county, Missouri, and a daughter of Nelson Painter, whose wife was a Miss Ewers, both natives of Ohio, and early settlers of Pettis County. To Mr. and Mrs. Crawford have been born the following children: Ralph, Earl, Florence and Edna. all of whom reside at home with their parents.
Mr. Crawford is a mmeber of the Masonic Lodge, at LaMonte, Mis- souri. Politically he is a Republican, and a member of the Methodist Church. He is one of the directors of the Farmers Bank at LaMonte. He is one of the progressive public-spirited and enterprising citizens of Pettis County.
Leslie A. Coats .- The Coats family are entitled to recognition as one of the pioneer families of Missouri. They came here over eighty years ago, and have been identified with the development of this State ever since that time.
Leslie Albert Coats, a prominent farmer and stockman of Black- water township, is a successful breeder of Poland China hogs, and for
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
a number of years has also been extensively engaged in feeding stock for the market. He has a well-improved stock farm of 240 acres, and is recognized as one of the successful farmers of Pettis County. Mr. Coats is a native of this county, having been born in Houstonia township Octo- ber 11, 1875. He is the son of James and Eva Ann (Strole) Coats.
James Coats was born in Kentucky in 1832, and in 1838, when he was six years of age, he was brought to Missouri by his parents, who settled in Houstonia township, Pettis County. In addition to general farm- ing and stock raising, he also bought and sold mules and cattle, and was very successful in his business career. At the time of his death, Sep- tember 7. 1918, he was the owner of 180 acres of land. He took a promi- nent part in the welfare of his township and county, and was an enter- prising citizen. He was a lifelong Democrat, and a member of the Chris- tian Church. Eva Ann (Strole) Coats is a native of Virginia. She came to Pettis County with her parents over fifty years ago, when she was a child. They made the trip from Virginia, partly overland by wagon and partly by steamboat. Mrs. Coats now resides on the home place.
Leslie Albert Coats is one of four children born to his parents, as follow: Sue Bell, who resides with her mother, in Houstonia; James R., who resides on the home place; Leslie Albert, the subject of this sketch, and Albert C., who is now in the United States aviation service in France. He enlisted in December, 1917, and is serving in the capacity of machinist.
Leslie Albert Coats was reared in Pettis County and received his education in the public schools. He began life for himself in 1898, farm- ing land which he rented from his father. In 1906 he bought a farm, three miles southwest of LaMonte. Two years later he sold that place and bought his present farm, which was known as the Joe Berry place. Since buying this place Mr. Coats has made a great many improvements, including a splendid residence.
On December 18, 1901, Mr. Coats was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Maude McGruder, a daughter of Gilespie and Anna (Janney) McGruder, the former a native of Virginia, and the latter of Pettis County. A history of the McGruder family appears elsewhere in this volume. To Mr. and Mrs. Coats has been born the following children: Beatrice, born November, 22, 1902; Leslie G., born November 18, 1913, and died January 18, 1914.
Politically Mr. Coats is a Democrat, and belongs to the Christian Church.
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
Walter Jackson Wheeler, of Blackwater township, has spent over a half century of his life in Pettis County, and during his active career was actively identified with farming and stock raising in Blackwater township. Mr. Wheeler was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, September 16, 1863. He is the son of Jackson and Jane (Triplett) Wheeler, both natives of Virginia. The Wheeler family came to Pettis County and settled in Black- water township, March 10, 1867. Jackson Wheeler was born in Virginia in June, 1826, and died in Pettis County in 1910. He was the son of Charles Wheeler, a native of Ireland, who settled in Virginia at an early day. Jane (Triplett) Wheeler, mother of Walter Jackson Wheeler, was born in Virginia and died in Pettis County in 1902. Jackson and Jane (Triplett) Wheeler were the parents of seven children, four of whom are living.
Walter Jackson Wheeler was united in marriage October 15, 1885, to Miss Ida Lee, a native of Blackwater township, born September 9, 1867. She is the daughter of George William and Elizabeth G. (Bobbitt) Lee, very early settlers of Pettis County. To Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler have been born the following children: Charles J., born August 23, 1886, in Black- water township, and is now assistant manager of the home farm; Albert, born in 1889 and died May 30, 1906; Mary, born March 7, 1891; Lawson G., born August 27, 1895, married Miss Esther Westbrook, of Houstonia, April 20, 1918, and is now serving in the United States army in a battery of field artillery in France; Lula, born July 13, 1898, now a student in the State Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri, and Leona, born November 22, 1910.
Mr. Wheeler is a Democrat. and a member of the Methodist Church. He belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees. He is one of the substantial citizens of Pettis County, and has practically spent his life in this county.
Ernest Winston, a progressive farmer and stockman of Blackwater township, who is the owner of 320 acres of well-improved and productive land, was born in Blackwater township, Pettis County, December 24, 1878. He is a son of William and Maggie E. (Wade) Winston. A sketch of William Winston appears elsewhere in this volume.
Ernest Winston grew to manhood in Blackwater township, and after receiving a good common school education, attended the Central Business College at Sedalia, Missouri. He has made farming his chief occupation, and is recognized as one of Pettis County's most successful farmers and stockmen. His place is well improved with a good residence and other
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farm buildings, in thorough keeping with modern, up-to-date agricultural methods.
Mr. Winston was married October 12, 1902, to Miss Anna E. Choplin, a native of Pettis County, born in Blackwater township in 1883. She is a daughter of William and Eliza (Ramey) Choplin, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Missouri, and early settlers in Pettis County, Missouri. The mother makes her home with her youngest son, James Choplin, in Blackwater township. To Mr. and Mrs. Winston have been born the following children: William D., Ernest W., Walden C., Kenton, Corinne, Sydney C., and Bruce.
Mr. Winston is a Democrat, and Mrs. Winston is a member of the County Line Baptist Church. The Winston family are numbered among Pettis County's best citizens.
Forrest W. Winston, one of the live, progressive farmers and stock- men of Pettis County, is a native son of this county. He was born in Blackwater township May 26, 1881, and is a son of William and Maggie E. (Wade) Winston. William Winston was an early settler of Pettis County, and a sketch of him appears in this volume.
Forrest W. Winston was reared in Blackwater township, and received a good common school education. He began life for himself at the age of twenty-one. He inherited eighty acres of land from his father, upon which he has made extensive improvements. It is one of the fertile and productive farms of Pettis County. Mr. Winston carries on general farm- ing and stock raising, but his special field of endeavor has been dealing in young calves. He engaged in this business when he was twenty-one years of age. His first venture was the purchase of two calves from his father. He buys young calves ranging from the weaning age to yearlings. After getting together a bunch of young calves he markets them. They usually are purchased by some feeder. Mr. Winston has had as many as 150 head of calves on his place in one year, and generally has on hand from twenty-five to forty head. He has built up an extensive business in this particular line of endeavor, and is known over a large scope of country as a dealer in young cattle. His long experience and intimate knowledge of this business, coupled with his integrity and straightforward methods of dealing, have been the essential elements to which his success is attributed.
Mr. Winston was united in marriage September 20, 1904, to Miss Bertha B. Park, a native of Johnson County, Missouri, born December 20,
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
1884. She is a daughter of Dr. Henry and Susan (Swope) Park of Knob Noster, Missouri. Doctor Park is a prominent physician, and he and his wife are. members of pioneer Missouri families. To Mr. and Mrs. Winston have been born two children, Gladys P. and Ruth L.
Mr. Winston is a Democrat, and a member of the Modern Woodmen of American and Royal Neighbors, and he and Mrs. Winston have a wide acquaintance in Pettis and Johnson counties, where they have many friends.
Noah E. DeHaven, now living practically retired in Dresden town- ship, belongs to one of the early pioneer families of Pettis County. He has been a resident of this county since he was three years old and has seen Pettis County pass through all the stages of development from the primitive state to its present place of leadership among the counties of Missouri. Mr. DeHaven is a native of Virginia and was born September 14, 1854. He is a son of Reuben and Margaret (Gill) DeHaven, who were the parents of the following children: Charles W., Hughesville town- ship; Noah H., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Tobitha Drake, of Dres- den township; Mary F., married Robert Wilburn and they reside on the Pacific coast ; George Washington, deceased; Reuben E., lives in LaMonte township; Mrs. Emma Baldwin, lives in Sedalia; Rena, deceased; Els- worth DeHaven, living in LaMonte township, and Maggie, who married George H. Fletcher, of Sedalia.
Reuben DeHaven, the father, and his wife were both natives of Virginia. He was born in 1818 and died in 1878. The family came to Pettis County in 1857, when Noah E. DeHaven was three years of age. This was an early day in the settlement of this section of Missouri. The family lived in a log cabin for a few years and later they hauled lumber from Syracuse, Missouri, with which to build a house. They did their early farming and broke prairie with oxen and, in fact, endured all the hardships and privations of pioneer life.
Noah E. DeHaven received his education in such schools as were available to the early settlers and when a young man bought his first land in Green Ridge township. In 1878, when his father died, he sold his Green Ridge property and bought the interests of the other heirs in his father's estate, which has since been his home. The place is well improved and a valuable farm.
Mr. DeHaven was united in marriage March 28, 1878, with Miss Sarah Jane Comfort, a native of Kentucky, born December 13, 1854. She was
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
a daughter of James Comfort, a native of Kentucky who came to Pettis County about 1869. Mrs. DeHaven died January 27, 1917. She was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a devout Christian woman. To Noah E. DeHaven and Sarah Jane (Comfort) DeHaven were born four children, as follow: James O., a farmer and stockman, Dresden township; Leslie, resides at Larned, Kansas; Ora E., deceased, and Maggie Ann, married Wilson B. Moore.
Mr. DeHaven is one of the highly respected pioneer citizens of Pettis County.
Thompson Brothers .- William Edward and Ambrose J. Thompson, leading farmers and stockmen of Dresden township, have operated in partnership for twenty-five years. They were both born in Moniteau County, Missouri. William Edward was born September 8, 1872, and Ambrose J. was born January 20, 1877. Their parents were John B. and Mary Ellen (Bowman) Thompson, natives of Kentucky. They were the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living. John B. Thompson was born in Kentucky August 1, 1828, and died July 8, 1912, and his wife, Mary Ellen (Bowman) Thompson, was born in Kentucky April 20, 1838. They moved to Springfield, Missouri, in 1898.
William E. and Ambrose J. Thompson were reared on their father's farm and were educated in the public and parochial schools, after which they engaged in the general mercantile business for a number of years and met with success. They first engaged in business in Springfield, Missouri, and from there went to Oklahoma and took a Government claim, and after proving up on that returned to Springfield in 1902. A year later they came to Pettis County and purchased their farm in Dresden township, which they improved and in 1918 sold it and bought their present farm of 330 acres. This place is located in sections 19 and 20 Dresden township, and is known as the old Clinton W. Keller farm. Here they carry on general farming and stock raising and are among the successful men in this line of business in Pettis County.
William E. Thompson served as postmaster at Roseville, Missouri, for a number of years. He is unmarried. He is a Democrat, a member of the Knights of Columbus and belongs to the Catholic Church.
Ambrose J. Thompson was married January 28, 1908, to Miss Ella J. Sullivan, a daughter of Eugene and Anna (Clifford) Sullivan, natives of Ireland. To Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have been born two children, Ella Regina and Mary Lucille.
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
Ambrose J. Thompson supports the policies and principles of the Democratic party. His lodge affiliations are with the Knights of Co- lumbus and he is a member of the Catholic Church.
The Thompson Brothers are public spirited and enterprising and rank among the leading citizens of Pettis County. They have had a broad and varied experience in the business world and are men of in- tegrity and high standing.
George Funk is one of the well known and successful farmers and stockmen of Blackwater township, where he is the owner of a valuable farm of 165 acres of land which is located on section 24. He was born in Hessen, Germany, December 4, 1877, a son of Edward and Elizabeth (Prensel) Funk, both natives of Germany, and for a number of years the father was foreman in a woolen mill at Hessen, where he now re- sides. The mother died in 1918.
George Funk was reared and educated in his native land, and in 1893 came to the United States and settled in Pettis County, Missouri. During the first seven years that he was here he worked as a farm laborer. Later he operated rented land and in 1903 he bought his first farm in Johnson County. After making improvements and living on the place for seven years, he sold it and bought a tract of land in south- ern Arkansas. He sold this in 1911 and returned to Pettis County and bought a farm in Blackwater township. This was his home until 1916, when he sold it and purchased his present place.
Mr. Funk was married March 4, 1900, to Miss Roxie Viola Bobbitt, who was born in Blackwater township. She is a daughter of Jesse W. and Elizabeth (Lantz) Bobbitt, natives of Virginia and early day settlers in Pettis County. To Mr. and Mrs. Funk have been born seven children, as follow: Maud, Elizabeth, Oliver, Eunice and Jessie B. Clarence and Mary Helen died in infancy.
Mr. Funk is a hard working, industrious man and has made good from a small beginning. He is one of the worthy citizens of Pettis County.
John Andrew Henry Whaley, a well known contractor and builder of modern grain elevators and warehouses, is one of the progressive men of Pettis County and a descendant of a pioneer family. Mr. Whaley was born near Bigelow, Holt County, Missouri, June 5, 1864. He is a son of Hiram H. and Elizabeth (Miller) Whaley, who were the parents of five children, as follow: Tina, died in infancy; John A. H., the subject of this sketch; Irene E., married Thomas Gleason, and lives in Nebraska ; Mrs. Mary Curry, deceased, and James W., Maitland, Missouri.
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
Hiram H. Whaley was born in Harrison County, Kentucky, in 1831 and died in 1890. During the epidemic of cholera, when Hiram Whaley was about three years old, his father, two brothers and a sister died of that disease. His mother, a brother and two sisters survived. After the death of his father, Hiram H. was adopted by a family who came to Missouri about 1834 and settled in the eastern part of the State. Hiram H. Whaley remained with his foster parents until he grew to manhood, when he went to Johnson County, Missouri. Here he worked as a farm laborer until he was about twenty-two years of age. During his boyhood days he had been deprived of the advantages of an education and now set out to obtain an education for himself. He attended school in War- rensburg and by self study and hard work soon acquired a very good education and later taught school in Lafayette and Holt Counties. Dur- ing the Civil War he made three trips across the plains as a freighter. On these trips he drove oxen, owing to the scarcity of horses at that time. After the war he engaged in farming and also followed teaching. In 1878 he homesteaded 160 acres of Government land in Smith County, Kansas, and proved up on the claim. In 1881 he returned to Holt County, Missouri, where he died February 11, 1890. Elizabeth (Miller) Whaley was born in Franklin County, Missouri, January 30, 1843, and now resides at Bigelow, Missouri.
John A. H. Whaley was educated in the public schools of Holt County, Missouri, and at the early age of eleven years began working out by the month and was the mainstay of the family until he was twenty-eight years of age. He learned the carpenter trade and also worked at farm- ing. In 1892 he began millwright work in Holt County. In 1896 he went to Morgan County, Missouri, on account of his wife's failing health. However, the change did not prove beneficial to her and two years later they returned to Holt County. In 1897 Mr. Whaley came to Sedalia and since that time has continued his work as a contractor and builder, specializing in building elevators and warehouses over a broad scope of country. He built an elevator at Hughesville, Missouri, and has con- structed elevators in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, the Dakotas, as well as Missouri. The largest contract which he ever undertook was at Lumas, Nebraska, of which he was manager and overseer and completed the work with great credit to himself. It required eight months to com- plete this work. 1
Mr. Whaley was first married April 24, 1892, to Miss Anna Brecken- ridge, a native of Cole Countv. Missouri, and three children were born to
.
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
this union, as follow: Claud, who is serving in the United States Navy, and is now in the trans-Atlantic transport service; Mrs. Maud Campbell, deceased, and Myrtle, who married Alonzo Hawkins and resides in Polk County, Missouri. The mother of these children died in 1904. June 1, 1908, Mr. Whaley was married to Miss Rose H. Dey, a native of Herman, Missouri. She is a daughter of Wendle and Regina Dey, early settlers of Pettis County, Missouri, where the father was engaged in farming and stock raising until the time of his death. The mother now resides with Mr. and Mrs. Whaley. To Mr. and Mrs. Whaley have been born two children : John W. and Thomas H.
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