USA > Missouri > Pettis County > History of Pettis County, Missouri > Part 70
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Mr. Gehlken has been twice married. His first wife was Lavina Fisher, of Tipton, Missouri. She died in 1899, leaving three children as , follow: Albert R., who is now serving in the United States army; Nora, bookkeeper for the Sedalia Milling Company, Sedalia, Missouri, and Lavina, married Leland Coouce, who conducts a confectionery store on Engineer street, Sedalia, Missouri. Mr. Gehlken was united in marriage in 1911 with Miss Florence Parrott, of Sedalia.
Mr. Gehlken is a Republican, and takes an active interest in local political affairs. He was elected a member of Sedalia City Council in 1913, and has served in that capacity to the present time, and is now serving
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his third term. Mr. Gehlken was one of the organizers of the Union Savings Bank of Sedalia, and has been a member of the board of direc- tors since that institution was organized. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, Woodmen of the World, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is public spirited, progressing and enterprising, and stands ever ready to co-operate with any movement for the betterment or upbuilding of his city, county and State.
George F. Bryan, of the firm of Bryan & Paulus, awning manufac- turers, upholsterers and auto trimmers, is one of the enterprising business men of Sedalia. Mr. Bryan is a native of Illinois. He was born at Mat- toon, January 6, 1876, and is a son of William Wellington and Maggie (Masonhall) Bryan, the former a native of Youngstown, Ohio, and the latter of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The Bryan family came to Sedalia in 1881. The father was a railroad man, and was a train conductor for many years. He was in the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railway Com- pany, and also the Missouri, Kansas & Texas and other roads. He died in St. Louis in 1918, and the mother and his widow survive. They were the parents of four children as follows: Emma, married Allie Hodges, Sedalia ; George F., the subject of this sketch; Alfred, Omaha, Nebraska, and Frank, Sedalia, Missouri.
George F. Bryan was about five years old when his parents came to Sedalia, and he attended the public schools here, and was only eleven years of age when he began the trade of upholstering and awning making. He worked at this trade in Sedalia and Kansas City. When the Spanish- American War broke out he volunteered, and on May 10, 1898, was enrolled as a member of Company I, 2d Missouri Regiment. His regiment was sent to Chickamauga Park, Georgia. After the close of the war the regiment was kept in the service until March 10, 1899, when Mr. Bryan was mustered out of the United States service at Albany, Georgia. He immediately returned to Sedalia and engaged in his present business, and in 1914 he formed a partnership with Mr. Paulus, which has since con- tinued. Their factory is located at 604 South Ohio street, and they carry on an extensive business.
Mr. Bryan was united in marriage October 28, 1903, with Miss Augusta Kahrs, of Sedalia. Mrs. Bryan was born and reared in this city. They have three children: Garnett, George, and Marjorie.
Mr. Bryan is well known as a talented musician, and for twenty-one years has been a member of the Second Regiment Band, and served with
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this organization in the Spanish-American War. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Knights and Ladies of Security, Modern Woodmen of America, the Musicians' Union, and the Spanish-American War Veterans, and, politically, he is a Democrat.
Clyde M. Brown, a well-known and successful cigar manufacturer of Sedalia, is a native of Iowa. He was born in Shenandoah, Page County, Iowa, January 15, 1877, a son of William and Emma (Hutchings) Brown. William Brown was born in Muscatine, Iowa. His parents came from Pennsylvania to Iowa at a very early day. This branch of the Brown ยท family comes from Revolutionary ancestors. William Brown's mother was a direct descendant from Lieutenant Scudder, who was born in 1734, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War under General Washington. William Brown was an attorney, and practiced law in Iowa for many years. Emma (Hutchings) Brown was born in Indiana. To William and Emma (Hutchings) Brown were born two children: Frank E., train dispatcher for the Missouri Pacific Railway at Sedalia, and Clyde M., the subject of this sketch.
Clyde M. Brown was reared in Iowa and educated in the public schools of that State. He was graduated from the Clarinda High School, Clarinda, Iowa. Mr. Brown learned the cigarmakers' trade in early life, and for a number of years worked at various places throughout the country as a journeyman cigarmaker. Sedalia has been his home since 1896. In 1913 Mr. Brown engaged in the manufacture of cigars in this city. His factory is designated, under the law, as factory No. 9, Sixth district, Missouri. He manufactures an excellent line of cigars. His "Integrity" is a widely known and a popular ten-cent brand, and his "La Palo" is an equally popular five and six cent cigar, manufactured in two sizes. Since engaging in the manufacture of cigars Mr. Brown has built up a very satisfactory trade.
Mr. Brown has been active in labor organizations for a long time, and in 1912 became secretary of the Sedalia Federation of Labor, and served in that capacity until 1917. He was also district organizer for the Amer- ican Federation of Labor, a position which he also resigned in 1917, and is now devoting his entire attention to the manufacture of cigars.
On September 17, 1910, Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Miss Alice C. Snell, of Sedalia. Mrs. Brown was born in Sedalia, and is a daugh- ter of Louis Snell, a Pettis County pioneer. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown have been born one child, Kathryne. Mr. Brown is a member of the Knights
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of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically, he is identi- fied with the Republican party.
G. M. Riddle .- For the past twenty-four years G. M. Riddle has been conducting a real estate and loan business at 310 Ohio street, Sedalia, and is one of the best-known men in realty circles in Pettis County and this section of Missouri. For thirty-two years he has followed his profession, and is the western correspondent for the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, representing the loan department of this large concern, whose offices are located at Newark, New Jersey. Mr. Riddle investigates and makes loans for his firm in farm lands in Pettis, Johnson, Saline, Howard, Benton, Morgan, Moniteau and Cooper counties, Missouri. The business handled through his office runs into several millions of dollars.
G. M. Riddle was born in Blair County, Pennsylvania, in 1852, the son of David McClure and Margaret (Smith) Riddle, both of whom were born and reared in Pennsylvania. They located in Ida Grove, Iowa, and both died there, after living long and useful lives. David McClure and Mar- garet Riddle were parents of eight children: Elizabeth, died in infancy ; James S., died at the age of seventy-one years, in Blair County, Pennsyl- vania; William C. is engaged in the real estate and loan business at Tacoma, Washington; G. M., subject of this review; Laura B. Riddle, died at Tacoma, Washington; Joseph C., died in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1916; John G., a prominent stockman and farmer at Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Jesse L., a stockman and large land owner at Waby, South Dakota.
Since attaining the age of sixteen years G. M. Riddle has made his own way in the world, and his first employment was in a general store in Pennsylvania. His next employment was with the Radford Iron Com- pany, as manager of the company store, for four years. For the next three years he was engaged in the wholesale shoe business in Philadel- phia. He became connected with the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Com- pany, as their loan representative, at Ida Grove, and remained in that city for thirteen years, prior to locating in Sedalia.
On September 14, 1878, G. M. Riddle and Ida Belle Humes, of Bloom- ington, Illinois, were united in marriage. Mrs. Ida Riddle is a daughter of John and Mary (Taylor) Humes, both of whom died at St. Louis, where Mr. Humes was engaged in business, the former dying in 1859 and the latter in 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Humes were parents of the following chil- dren: Edward Holloway, a child of the mother's second marriage, lives in St. Louis ; Carl Holloway, is an architect in Indianapolis; Mr. and Mrs.
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G. M. Riddle have one son, George D. Riddle, born in 1882, a graduate of Sedalia High School and Sedalia Business College, now engaged in the automobile business at Brooklyn, New York. The Riddle family residence is located at 906 West Fourth street.
Mr. Riddle is a member of the Presbyterian Church and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Hoffman & Hoffman, composed of Judge Louis Hoffman and Dimmitt Hoffman, his son, hold a high place among the legal firms of Pettis County and western Missouri. The elder Hoffman began the practice of his profession in Gasconade County in 1876, and in 1884 located in Sedalia, where honors have come to him in the course of his many years of prac- tice in this county. On January 1, 1911, Judge Hoffman was joined by his son, Dimmitt Hoffman.
Judge Louis Hoffman was born in Gasconade County, Missouri, in 1852, and is the son of Rev. Andrew Hoffman, who was born in 1814, in Germany, and died June 21, 1902. Rev. Andrew Hoffman left Germany in 1847 on account of dissatisfaction with the restrictions placed upon his personal liberty, and through a desire to worship as he pleased and preach the gospel according to his liking, he came to America. Imme- diately upon his arrival here he took out his naturalization papers and became a citizen of the country in both thought and deed, forever renounc- ing all thoughts or feeling for his native land. He was a well-educated man, and numbered among his friends some of the best scholars of the day, one of whom was Professor Rauschenbusch, a university trained scholar connected with the Theological Seminary at Rochester, New York. Rev. Hoffman preached the gospel in Gasconade County, and also taught school. The church of which he was minister for many years still stands at Pin Oak.
The education of Louis Hoffman was obtained in the common and private schools of Gasconade County, and in 1869 he entered Central Wesleyan College at Warrenton, Missouri. In 1872 he entered the Mis- souri State University, and graduated from the literary and scientific department, receiving his degree July 4, 1876. He also pursued the law course given by the university, and began the practice of law in his native county. In 1878 he was elected prosecuting attorney of his native county, and re-elected to this position in 1880. Desiring a wider field for his activities and growing ability, he came to Sedalia in 1884 and two years
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later, in 1886, he was elected city attorney, being re-elected to this posi- tion in 1888. In 1892 Mr. Hoffman was elected prosecuting attorney of Pettis County, and re-elected in 1894. All of these official positions but paved the way for the conferring of the highest honor within the gift of his fellow-citizens of this district, and prior to his election as circuit judge, in 1904, he was appointed a member of the Board of Regents of Lincoln Institute by Governor Dockery, in 1900. In 1904 he was elected judge of the 13th Judicial District, and served with distinction and ability on the bench until January 1, 1910. Since his retirement from the bench, Judge Hoffman has been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession, his matured judgment and profound knowledge of the law attracting a substantial clientage to his office. He is fortunate in now having for sometime past the energetic and able assistance of his son, Dimmitt Hoffman.
In December, 1917, Judge Hoffman was appointed by Governor Gardner, to a membership on War Draft Board No. 2, for the western district of Missouri, with headquarters at Jefferson City.
Judge Louis Hoffman was married, in 1878, to Miss Ella Dimmitt, a daughter of William T. and Margaret Dimmitt, a prominent family of Boone County, Missouri. Three children have been born to this marriage: Luella, wife of W. H. Goodson, Liberty, Missouri; Dimmitt, a sketch of whom follows: Margaret, at home with her parents.
Judge Hoffman is an active member of the First Baptist Church of Sedalia, and is interested in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association. He is a member of the Board of Regents of the Baptist College for Women, located at Lexington, Missouri.
Dimmitt Hoffman, junior member of the law firm of Hoffman & Hoffman, was born in Sedalia in 1884, and graduated from the Sedalia High School in 1902. From 1902 to 1909 he was a student in the State University at Columbia, and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, completing both the literary and scientific courses. He also graduated from the law department, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Upon his return from the university he became associated with his father in the practice of law, and is following in his father's footsteps. While a student at the university he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi, and the Theta Kappa. Mr. Hoffman was married on September 6, 1916, to Miss Lucille Davis, of Nevada, Missouri, a daughter of Abner Bennett Davis, of Nevada, Missouri, engaged in the real estate and loan business in that
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city. Mr. and Mrs. Dimmitt Hoffman reside at 1000 South Vermont street in this city.
Charles L. Hanley, county collector of Pettis County, was born in the village of Longwood, Missouri, January 28, 1875. He is the son of James W. and Clementine (Beamer) Hanley, the former of whom was a native of Virginia.
James W. Hanley was born in 1838, and served for four years in a Virginia regiment of the Confederate arny, during the Civil War. In 1869 he came to Pettis County, and located at Longwood, where he fol- lowed his trade of blacksmith until his retirement to a home in Sedalia. For the long period of fifty-one years he has plied his trade. Mrs. Hanley died at the age of seventy-seven years. The children of the Hanley family are as follow: Byrdie, wife of C. J. Andrew, died at Portland, Oregon; Ella, died in infancy ; Kaddie, died in infancy; Walter, died at Herndon, Saline County, Missouri; Luna, wife of F. L. Hodges, 815 East Fifth street, Sedalia ; Ada, wife of J. A. Williams, Houstonia, Missouri; Charles I., subject of this sketch; May, died in Portland, Oregon; Minnie, died in Portland, Oregon, when a child; James, died in childhood.
Charles L. Hanley received his education in the Houstonia, Missouri, public schools and the academy at Marshall, Missouri. Since attaining the age of eighteen years he has made his own way, and for fourteen years he conducted a barber shop at Houstonia, the last five years of which he conducted a merchandise store in connection. In 1906 he received the appointment of deputy county collector and, accepting the position, he served for eight years in this capacity, under Collector John L. Sulli- van. He was elected to the office of county colletcor in the fall of 1914, and took up the duties of his responsible position in March, 1915. Mr. Hanley is giving the people of Pettis County an honest and faithful admin- istration, and is popular with the taxpayers of the county.
Mr. Hanley was married on May 17, 1898, to Miss Lenox Berry, a daughter of David and Sarah Elizabeth Berry, of Houstonia, Missouri, the former of whom is deceased and the latter is still living at Houstonia, aged seventy-five years. The Berry family were early pioneers in Pettis County, locating here prior to the Civil War. There were six children in the Berry family, as follow: Mary, wife of H. H. Longan, cashier of the Bank at Houstonia; John, a farmer and stockman, living in Arkansas: Frank, Fort Worth, Texas; Stella, wife of J. C. Longan, a merchant at Houstonia ; Mrs. Lenox Hanley, of this review; Theresa, at home with her
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mother. Mr. and Mrs. Hanley have three children: Josephine Lee, a senior in Sedalia High School; David Byrd and Hannah Elizabeth. The Hanley home is a pleasant one, situated at 1321 West Broadway, Sedalia. Mr. and Mrs. Hanley are members of the First Christian Church of Sedalia, of which Mr. Hanley is a deacon. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and is a Shriner.
Harry Hamden Harnsberger, deputy collector of Pettis County, was born in Windsor, Missouri, August 9, 1887, the son of Hugh B. and Mary E. (Jeffries) Harnsberger. His father, Hugh B. Harnsberger, was born in Dresden township, Pettis County, July 6, 1861, and was the son of Hiram Hamden Harnsberger, one of the early pioneers of Pettis County, who located in Dresden township. For a number of years Hugh B. Harnsberger taught school in Pettis County and later operated a store at Leesville, Missouri. He and Robert Ragan opened a merchandise store at Windsor, and after a period of partnership Mr. Harnsberger purchased Mr. Ragan's interest in the business, continuing the store until his retirement, after more than twenty-five years in the merchandise business. Hugh B. Harnsberger and wife reside at 304 West Sixth street, Sedalia. They are parents of children as follow: Henry Hamden, subject of this sketch; Thomas Jeffries, timekeeper and accountant for the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Company at Sedalia, married Blanche Beatrice McArthur and has one child, Thomas, Jr.
Harry H. Harnsberger was educated in the public schools of Wind- sor and the Sedalia High School. At the age of seventeen years he be- came a traveling salesman for the Hargadine-McKittrick Dry Goods Com- pany, a wholesale concern of St. Louis. At that time he was the youngest dry goods salesman on the road in Missouri and he made good. Later he joined the force of the Moxwell-McClure-Fitts Dry Goods Company of Kansas City, Missouri. For the past eight years Mr. Harnsberger has served as deputy county collector, treasurer, clerk for county of- ficers, acting city clerk and deputy city collector.
Mr. Harnsberger was married April 22, 1916, to Evelyn Valerie Streiff of Clinton, Missouri. Mrs. Evelyn V. Harnsberger was born at Appleton City, Missouri, and is a daughter of Mrs. John A. Gilbreath, of Clinton, Missouri.
It is interesting to note and well worth recording that Hiram Harns- berger, grandfather of the subject of this review, was a Confederate veteran and that Thomas Benton Jeffries, his grandfather on his mother's
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side, was a captain in the Federal Army during the Civil War. Captain Jeffries was twice a presidential elector on the Republican ticket and was prominent in the affairs of his party. He now resides at Hannibal, Missouri, having attained the great age of ninety years, and is still active mentally and physically. Captain Jeffries crossed the great plains in 1849, en route to the gold fields of California, and made a trip around the world.
James A. Capen .- The Capen Electric Company, 105 East Fourth street, was established by James A. Capen in 1905. The concern carries a general line of electrical supplies and does electrical work not only in Sedalia but throughout the surrounding territory, calls frequently coming for Mr. Capen's service from points fifty miles away. Mr. Capen caters to every branch and department of the electrical service and repairs the electrical equipment of automobiles and does a considerable amount of telephone repair work, as well as electrical.
James A. Capen is a native son of Pettis County and was born at Longwood, Pettis County, on March 25, 1882. He is a son of James A. and Sarah C. (Chaney) Capen, the latter of whom died in November, 1917. James A. Capen, Sr., was a native of Maine, and the only child of Albert Capen, who was a plainsman and one of the original "Forty- Niners" who crossed the great plains and made his way to the gold fields of California soon after the news of the gold strike was made known to the world in 1849. James A. Capen, Sr., was personally acquainted with Buffalo Bill and other noted plainsmen of the early days and for two years was a pony express rider on the trail from the Missouri River to Denver. He returned to his home in Maine, after several years' sojourn in the gold country, and again started westward, accompanied by his son, James A. They succeeded in getting as far as Kansas in 1861, and found the whole country ablaze with Civil War. James A. Capen, Sr., promptly enlisted in the 7th Kansas Cavalry and served for four years in the Union Army. After the war he located in Pettis County with his aged father, who had made his way to this county. Albert Capen, the father, served as county assessor during the seventies and later his son, James A., filled the same office for over thirty years. James A. Capen was a teacher in the public schools. He is now staying at the National Soldiers Home in Leavenworth, Kansas. The children of James A., Sr., and Sarah C. Capen are: William Albert, died in November, 1917; Mary, died in infancy; Robert C., a sign writer at Auburn, Indiana ; Clara E.,
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deceased ; James Capen, Jr., subject of this review; F. E. Capen, a sheet metal worker at Quincy, Illinois; Anna, living in Pettis County.
James A. Capen, of this review, graduated from the Sedalia High School in 1899. He then pursued an electrical engineering course and in 1901 began electrical work with the City Water and Light Company. In 1905 he engaged in business for himself and has met with gratifying and substantial success.
Mr. Capen was married in 1903 to Nellie Grace Brown, a daughter of Arthur and Lydia (Rogers) Brown, who reside on a farm near George- town, and a sketch of whom appears in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Capen have two children: James, Jr., and Lois Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Capen reside at 209 West Broadway.
Joseph W. Menefee .- Although comparatively a young man as years indicate a man's age, Joseph W. Menefee has achieved a striking and substantial success in the construction field. His success as a contractor has placed him in the front rank of Pettis County citizens who are do- ing things on a large scale. He succeeded his father in the business and completed the sewage disposal plant undertaken by the city of Sedalia in 1917. At the present writing (1918) he is engaged in resurfacing the rock road between Sedalia and Dresden, a piece of work involving the expenditure of $61,000.
Joseph W. Menefee was born in Denver, Colorado, July 6, 1874, and is a son of George T. and Mary L. Menefee. George T. Menefee was born in Missouri in 1842 and came to Pettis County with his father in 1858, the family settling on a farm near Georgetown. A sister of George T. Menefee, Mrs. Anna Fristoe, resides at the home of Judge John L. McCurdy near Hughesville. George T. Menefee made his home in Sedalia for over forty years and was engaged in the livery business. Later he conducted a feed and coal business and for twenty years he followed contracting and construction work successfully. He did considerable building for the Rock Island and other railroads of this section. Mr. Menefee died in 1915. His widow resides in Sedalia. George T. and Mary L. Menefee were parents of the following children: Effie, wife of Charles Mahin, LaMonte, Missouri; Lizzie, deceased; George, Sedalia, Missouri; Joseph W., of this review; W. J., engaged in the feed business in Sedalia; Mrs. Mildred Yater,; Annie, wife of Ran Grant, Portland, Oregon; L. J. and John Menefee, Sedalia; Louise, wife of Arthur Hol- man, McMinville, Oregon.
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After leaving school in Sedalia, Joseph W. Menefee went to Mobile, Alabama, where he was engaged in the livery business for two years. He then returned to Sedalia and followed the same business in this city until he succeeded his father in general contracting and construction as previously stated. Mr. Menefee undertakes work in all parts of Pettis County and this section of Missouri and operates upon an extensive scale, accepting contracts in Warrensburg, Clinton and Booneville. He was engaged for two years in fulfilling a big paving contract at Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
Mr. Menefee was married in November, 1896, to Jennie Gibbs, of Webb City, Missouri. Mrs. Jennie (Gibbs) Menefee is a daughter of H. D. and Louise Gibbs, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Menefee have two children: Joe Menefee, Jr., married Ruth Claycomb, of Hughes- ville, Missouri, and Henry, at home with his parents. The Menefee home is located at 401 North Prospect street.
Clemens Honkamp .- Since coming to Sedalia, over forty-two years ago, Clemens Honkamp has achieved success, not only along material lines, but has held important office within the gift of the people of Pettis County. Mr. Honkamp first came to Sedalia in 1876, and worked for three years at his trade of cigar maker. In 1879 he opened a cigar fac- tory on his own account on East Main street, at that time the main thoroughfare of the city. He later moved to Ohio street and in 1906 he opened up at his present location at 119 East Third street. Four men are employed in the Honkamp manufactory and the output of the fac- tory has a ready sale, owing to the excellent quality of the Honkamp cigars and the honest methods used in transacting business.
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