USA > Missouri > Ray County > History of Ray county, Mo. > Part 90
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JAMES B. PROCTOR.
In the year 1843, this gentleman was born, in Hendricks county, Indiana. He was educated at the Northwestern Christian University at Indianapolis. When the great civil war commenced, in 1861, Mr. Proc- tor enlisted under the "stars and stripes " to do battle for the Union. He was assigned to duty in Colonel A. D. Streight's regiment, which was engaged at Murfreesboro and Chattanooga, Tennessee, as well as in several other battles. He was finally taken prisoner at Rome, Georgia, by Generals Forrest and Roudy, the 3d of May, 1863. From there he
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was taken to Atlanta, Georgia, thence to Belle Island, and from there to Annapolis, Maryland, where he was exchanged. He then embarked for Baltimore, and from that point he went to Columbus, Ohio, whence he soon returned home to Indiana. From there he was ordered south, first to Nashville, Tennessee, then to New Orleans, and from there to the state of Texas. After the return of his regiment from the south, he was discharged at Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Proctor was married on the 19th of May, 1868, to Miss Jennie Voorhees, a cousin of the distinguished United States Senator Voorhees, of Indiana. Our subject, soon after his marriage, immigrated with his young bride, to Missouri, settling in Ray county, where he has ever since resided. For a number of years he farmed, then entered the drug business, in which he is at present engaged. He is also postmaster at Hardin, the village where he lives. Mr. Proctor is a prominent citizen, ripe in experience and in years, and highly esteemed and honored by all.
WILLIAM J. ROACH.
Is a native of England, having been born in London, in the year 1841. He left home at the early age of nine years, immigrating to the new world, and settling in Canada. Here he lived to his eighteenth year. Then, crossing into the United States, he remained for a time in Michi- gan. Leaving there, he came to Ray county, Missouri, 1870, where he has since made his home. His occupation is that of a shoemaker, and at his present location, Hardin, he finds his trade sufficiently lucrative to support his family in comfortable style. Mr. Roach was educated in the schools of London, England. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, being at present secretary of his lodge. He was married in 1870, to Miss Margaret Wilson. They have four children: Elizabeth A., Margaret M., William C., and James A., all of whom still live. Mr. Roach is a very industrious man, a good citizen, and a credit to the town in which he lives.
JOHN W. HALL,
Is a Virginian. He was born in Rockingham county, October 21, 1832. His education was limited to the advantages to be derived from the common schools of his native state. His father owned an extensive farm in the Blue Ridge mountains, and the son was early. trained to that vocation. Our subject immigrated to Ray county, Missouri, in the year 1857. He was married, in the autumn of 1859, to Miss Mary C. Ware. Their union has resulted in the birth of nine children. In 1879 Mrs. Hall died, leaving this large family to mourn the loss of a kind and loving mother. Mr. Hall has followed his favorite occupation, that of farming,
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ever since he has been in Ray county. He owns a good farm and com- fortable home, about a mile and a half west of the town of Hardin. He is one of the best and most substantial farmers of the county.
B. B. BABCOCK.
An enterprising and progressive man is respected and honored in what- ever sphere or walk of life he may be found. B. B. Babcock was born in Ohio, in March, 1832. Educated at Woodward College, Cincinnati. He was married to Miss Lucetta V. Fillmore, whose father was a cousin of Millard Fillmore, at Cincinnati, in the year 1858. Mrs. Babcock is the mother of six children, only three of whom, Elizabeth J., Mattie F., and Lucetta V., survive to bless the declining years of their parents' lives. Mr. B. immigrated to Illinois in 1859, and followed the trade of a carpen- ter for awhile, and afterward, he was for three years in charge of Reed & Mann's extensive foundry and machine shops, at Cairo, Illinois. From there he went to Decatur, in the same state, where he was engaged for ten years in the Union Iron Works. From 1875 to 1880, he was travel- ing contractor for the last named firm, for mills and elevators, taking ten contracts in Missouri, and three in Illinois, during four months in the fall of 1880. This is a strong evidence of his industry and enterprise. Mr. Babcock came to Ray county, Missouri, in June, 1880, buying the eleva- tor and other property at Hardin, where he is now in business as a grain dealer. He ships on an average ten thousand bushels of wheat per month, and corn and other grains in proportion. Since he has taken charge he has made some very valuable and permanent improvements in the eleva- vator and other property at Hardin. He contemplates making other and extensive improvements at an early day, which, when done, will make him the owner of the model elevator on the Wabash road. Mr. B. favors improvement and progression, and leaves nothing in his power undone in favor of their furtherance. He has done as much, perhaps, as any other man, for the improvement of the locality in which he lives.
THOMAS J. PORTERFIELD.
Has been a life-long farmer. He was born on the Sth day of February, 1844, in Jackson county, Missouri. He was afforded no other advantages for getting an education than those of the district schools in his native county. He was born and reared on a farm, and became, when quite young, so much attached to that kind of life that no other calling has ever had any attractions for him. He removed to Ray county in 1862, and has never changed his home from that time to the present (April, 1881). Loving peace rather than war, he remained quietly on his farm, and took no active part in the civil war. Mr. Porterfield was married, in 1867, to
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Miss Mary E. Johnson, of Lafayette county, Missouri. They became the parents of four children, only two of whom are yet alive: Thomas E. and Arry B. He owns a fine farm, one mile south of Hardin, and is one of the best farmers of Ray county.
HENRY C. BOGGESS.
A native of the state of Kentucky, was born in December, of the year 1835. When he was but three years old his father moved to Ray county, Missouri, and purchased a farm. His grandfather, Bilas Boggess, also purchased a farm of four hundred acres in Ray county, the same year, 1838. A part of this same tract is now owned by the subject of this sketch. Mr. Boggess received the advantages of a common school edu- cation, and followed the vocation of farming. In 1867, he was married to Miss Laurinda Frazier, of Ray county, a daughter of Mr. George Frazier, and a most estimable lady. They have but one child, Virgie, who is yet living. Mr. Boggess has always had his home in Ray county, and been constantly engaged in his favorite occupation of farming. He took no active part in the late civil war. By strict attention to business, proverbial honesty and hospitality, and confirmed habits of industry and economy, he has become justly popular, and has surrounded his home with comforts and conveniences. He is a highly influential and substan- tial citizen in his neighborhood.
WILLIAM B. CREER.
A native of Liverpool, England, was born the 9th day of February, 1836. He received a good education in his native country. He left home for the west, landing at New Orleans, when seventeen years of age. From there he came to St. Louis, Missouri, by boat, and was employed with Messrs. Stone & Boorner, who were at that time engaged in build- ing bridges for various railroads. In this work he continued for three years. He then went for a short time to Lafayette county, thence to Carroll county, and from there came to Ray county, in the spring of 1856, working in these various localities, all the time at his occupation, which is that of carpentering. At the breaking out of the late civil war, he was enrolled in the Missouri state guard for six months, at the expira- tion of which time he enlisted under General Sterling Price, and fought, throughout the war, the battles of the south. In Missouri he was engaged in the battles of Carthage, Wilson's Creek, Dry Wood and Lexington. In 1862, under Van Horn, he fought at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, Bruett, Iuka and Corinth, Mississippi. Again in 1863, on the 7th of March, at Thompson Station, Middle Tennessee. On the 26th of April, he engaged with the Federal gunboats, in command of General Elliott, on the Ten- nessee river. Then with General Johnson, at Jackson, Mississippi. After
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the fall of Vicksburg and the siege of Jackson, fought Sherman from Jackson to Brandon. The next engagement was in the celebrated raid across the state, in the month of August, against General Sherman. He was then sent to Dalton, Georgia. He fought through the campaign in that state, with General Johnson. He was then transferred to the com- mand of General Hood, and did meritorious service and hard fighting at the siege of Atlanta. Was with General Hardee at the battle of Jones- boro, where the army fell back to Lovejoy, and were, in the words of Mr. Creer himself, " knocked about like a ship in a storm." The next and last battle of importance in which Mr. Creer was engaged, was with General Forrest at Egypt Station, on the Ohio & Mobile railroad, in Jan- uary, 1865. After this engagement Mr. C. was given a furlough for ninety days. Before his leave expired, the war had ended, and peace was declared. Mr. Creer was paroled with General Dick Taylor's command, by General Canby, at Jackson, Mississippi. It is worthy of remark that though Mr. Creer was in the war from its very beginning to the last, and was in the thickest of the fight on some of the most closely con- tested and bloody battle fields, he came out of it without a wound. Per- haps his experience in this respect is without a parallel. In the army Mr. Creer held the rank of sergeant. He was married on the 4th of Decem- ber, 1870, to Miss Sarah M. Mallory. The result of this union has been five children, four of whom are living. Their names are as follows: Wal- ter I., Hugh E., Paul C. and Ralph E. Mr. C. has been in Ray county ever since the war, except during the time of a visit to Colorado in 1879. He is the best carpenter in his section of the country, a highly respected gentleman and a good citizen.
JOHN F. BRUMFIELD.
Is a native Missourian, born in Pulaski county, on the 14th day of December, 1854. His parents came to Ray county, when he was but two years old. Mr. Brumfield received a good education in the district schools of his father's neighborhood, and since leaving school has been occupied entirely in milling. He was engaged for four years in the Egypt mills at Norborne, Carroll county, Missouri. Returning to Ray county he formed a partnership with Mr. Moore, and they became the proprie- tors of the Telegraph mills at Hardin, under the firm name of Brumfield & Moore. Mr. Brumfield is universally popular, a very good miller, especially for so young a man, and an excellent citizen.
JOHN J. MOORE.
Is a Virginian, having been born in Washington county, in May, 1834. He was educated in the common schools. By occupation he is a carpen- ter and miller. On leaving Virginia he went, first, to Alabama, in the
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year 1857, and remained four years, engaged in milling. In 1861 he came to Missouri, and settled in Ray county, where he immediately engaged in his customary occupation of milling. His home has been here ever since, though he spent one year subsequently in Kansas City, from which place he returned to Richmond, and was employed by Houston & Cates, owners of the old Davis mill. After the close of this engagement he operated a saw mill for Messrs. Harbison & Moore for two years. After- ward he built a flouring mill at Camden; thence he went to Norborne, Carroll county, and engaged in the Egypt mills at that place. Returning to Ray county, he formed a co-partnership with Mr. Brumfield, and they purchased the property known as the Telegraph mills, and one of the best, if not the very best mills north of the Missouri river. Mr. Moore was married to Miss Alice Harbison, of Ray county. They are the parents of five children: Linea, Laura, Jessie, Bessie, and Sallie. The last two are twins. Mr. Moore is an enterprising and prosperous business man, and a high credit to the county of his adoption.
LEWIS H. NOBLE.
The subject of this sketch was born in Indiana, on the 19th day of September, 1849. His father immigrated to Ray county, Missouri, in 1854. Shortly after his arrival here, the elder Mr. Noble died, and the son was left to the care of his uncle, who trained him to the business of farming. His education was acquired in the common schools of Ray county. At the age of twenty-three years he left his uncle's home, and started out to travel in the west with the hope of improving his health which had begun to fail. He visited Kansas, the Indian Territory, Wyoming and Idaho, spending three years altogether in his wanderings out west. He became possessed of a claim in the state of Kansas, and occupied some time in improving it; later he sold out his property there and returned to Ray county, which he always regarded as his home. He made several successive trips through the territories named above, and thus became familiar with those sections of the great west. On the 26th day of March, 1876, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Campbell, of Ray county. The result of this union was three children, all of whom are still living. Their names are: Annie A., Charles W. and Susan M. The last named two are twins. Mr. Noble has had many and varied experiences during his wild life in the west, which the limits of this work will not admit of mentioning. He is a prominent and very influential citizen of the section in which he lives, being at present, marshal of the town of Hardin. He is highly esteemed by all who know him, for his sterling qualities of heart and head.
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CYRUS W. CLAMPITT.
This gentleman was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, October 24, 1828. His father moved to Indiana when he was very young, and he received his education at Franklin, Johnson county, that state. After leaving school he remained on the farm with his father, who had again removed, going this time to Hamilton county, about fifteen miles north of Indianapolis, for several years. In 1852 he left Indiana to seek a home in Missouri, first stopping in Caldwell county for a short while; thence, he went to Clay county, and engaged in teaching school, about two and a half miles north of Missouri City, where he continued for about two years. From thence he came to Ray county, and has ever since been engaged almost constantly in teaching in the schools of this county. Owing to his holding the office of postmaster, he was exempt from military service dur- ing the late war. In 1856 he was married to Miss Martha F. Gant, of Crab Orchard, Ray county. They have five children, all living, named as follows: William C., Mary W., Victoria R., Cyrus R., and George B. Mr. Clampitt is a good practical teacher, and has, by his efficient labors, greatly benefited the rising generations of this county. He has been principal of the school at Hardin for a number of years, and occupies an enviable position in the esteem and regard of the people of that place.
ELIJAH T. MAPEL.
Elijah T. Mapel is a Kentuckian. He was born in Jefferson county, in that state October 29, 1825. He was educated at Bardstown, Spencer county, in his native state. After leaving school he served an appren- ticeship of seven years under one Wm. Dye, of Jefferson county, Ken- tucky, spending most of the time at Louisville. Here he was married on the 18th day of January, 1851, to Miss Amanda S. Beckley, a native of the city of Louisville. She gave birth to seven children, only three of whom, Elijah T., John W., and Amanda S., are yet living. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Mapel operated a mill at Brandonburg for a time, then he owned, and for two years operated a three-run mill in the city of Lou- isville. Emigrating from Kentucky in 1854, he landed in Lexington, Missouri, whence he came to Ray county, where he has since made his home. When he first came here there were but four runs of mill-burrs in the entire county. Since that time, heralone has put in fourteen runs, more than any other one man in the county. He built and owned the Richmond mills, as well as the Telegraph mills at Hardin, besides sev- eral others in different parts of the county. Mr. Mapel was engaged but three months in the civil war, being exempt at the expiration of that time, on account of his occupation being that of a miller. His wife died on the 6th day of June, 1869. On the 29th day of July, in the year 1874,
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Mr. Mapel was again married, this time to Miss Ellen Lane, his first love, and the " girl he left behind" him when he came from old Kentucky. By a remarkable coincidence they were thrown together after so many years of separation, and by frequent meetings, and fond memories of the olden time, the spark so long dormant was again fanned into a flame, and they became one in name, as in heart. Mr. M. has always followed milling, and is also an adept mill-wright. In either branch of the busi- nest he is the peer of any man in the state, and has, probably, done more in his line, for the advancement of Ray county, than any other man. He is a good and valuable citizen.
MOSES HENDERSON.
This gentleman is a native of Kentucky, having been born in Mason county, that state, in the month of September, 1836. He came to Ray county, Missouri, in the winter of 1847, with his father, who bought a farm of some three hundred acres, about three miles west of Richmond. He was educated in the district schools of Missouri and his native state. He farmed for a number of years in Ray county, and then, in 1865, going to Nebraska, engaged in the business of a cattle trader, in Richardson county, for the space of two years. Mr. Henderson was married in the spring of 1866, to Miss Meriles Frazier, at Lexington, having returned to Missouri for that purpose. They became the parents of two children, Ida and Amy, both still living. After his marriage Mr. Henderson returned at once to Nebraska, where he continued in the cattle trading business for some time. But, at length, he came back to Ray county, Missouri, and bought the farm upon which he has since lived. This farm, com- prising one hundred and sixty acres of most excellent land, is one of the most desirable and most valuable of its size in the county. Mr. Hender- son is a practical, successful farmer, and highly regarded as a neighbor, and a citizen of Crooked River township.
NILES ESREY.
Was born in the year 1835, in Edgar county, Illinois. His father immi- grated to Missouri in 1840, and settled in Ray county, purchasing the farm upon which Mr. Esrey now resides. Here he was educated in the district schools, and grew up, working on the farm, in which vocation he has ever since continued, and is to-day a thrifty farmer, and owns one of the best and most valuable farms in Crooked River township. His mar- riage to Miss Missouri Stratton, of Ray county, took place in the year 1857. She has borne him seven children, who still are living. Their names are as follows: Jesse D., John T., Niles A., Missouri A., Mary, Elizabeth, and Minnie. Mr. Esrey's highly improved and fertile farm, comprising four hundred and seventy acres of land, lies two miles north-
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east of Hardin, on the prairie. Mr. E. is one of the oldest settlers in his section of the country, a good neighbor, and an industrious, progressive man, and a valuable aid to the advancement of the agricultural interests of his county. In November, 1878, Mr. Esrey was elected by the people to the responsible position of judge of the Ray county court. The duties of which office he discharged faithfully, and to the full satisfaction of his constituency.
SEPTER P. ESREY.
Is a native of Illinois and was born in Edgar county, in the year 1838. His father immigrated to Ray county, Missouri, in 1840, and the son, Septer, was educated in the schools of the last named county. He chose and followed the occupation of his father, that of a farmer. His present farm is a portion of the one formerly owned by his father. He was first married in 1863, to Miss Mary Rosell, of Monroe county, Missouri. She became the mother of three children. Two of them, Sarah A. and Jona- than, are yet living. Mrs. Esrey died in 1868, and Mr. Esrey married a second time. The lady becoming his wife this time, was Miss Charlotte A. Jasper. She died in 1878, and subsequently, he again married. The last and present Mrs. Esrey was a widow lady, named Mrs. Mary F. Hill, of Ray county. Mr. Esrey owns a fine fertile farm comprising three hun- dred acres of the best land in Ray county, and has done much for that branch of industry in which he has spent his life.
ABRAHAM GRANDSTAFF.
Abraham Grandstaff is a native Missourian, having been born in Boone county, in the year 1838. There he received a district school education, and lived until 1859, when he removed to Frankstown, Douglass county, Colorado, thirty miles south of Denver, where he was engaged for a number of years in farming. He came back to Missouri in 1864, set- tling in Ray county, and shortly afterward purchased the farm he now owns and lives upon, and which is situated two miles east of Hardin, on the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific railroad. Mr. Grandstaff was married in 1864, to Miss Susan Dehart, a native of Indiana. This union was blessed with three children: Sarah, John, and Samuel, all still living. Mr. G. owns one of the finest farms in Crooked River township, in a fine state of cultivation and highly improved. He is a prominent and highly respected citizen of the section where he lives.
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GEORGE FRAZIER.
Is a Kentuckian. He was born in Anderson county, in the year 1812. He was educated and grew up to manhood in his native state. His father owned a large farm there, and early taught the son practical lessons in farming. In 1829 the family came to Missouri, and entering land a mile and a half east of Richmond, in Ray county, lived there some eight or ten years, when the mother of our subject died. He then removed to Crooked River township, and entered the grocery business, in which trade he continued about three years. He then moved near where he now lives, and again engaged in farming. Mr. Frazier was inarried about the year 1840, to Miss Almira J. Boiles, a native of Kentucky, though at that time living in Ray county, whom Mr. Frazier had known before leaving Kentucky. She became the mother of one son, who in after years, at the time of the civil war, entered the Confederate army, and died of disease in Texas, in the spring of 1864. The first Mrs. Frazier died in 1846, and in the autumn of 1847 Mr. Frazier was married again, his bride this time being Miss Mary E. Utterback, a native of Kentucky, but reared in Indiana, and at the time of her marriage living" in Ray county, Missouri. The result of this union was seven children: Laurinda, Alice, Lenora, Fannie, George A., Laura, and Hershel, åll of whom are now living in Ray county. Mr. Frazier is one of the oldest citizens now living in Crooked River township. He owns a finely improved and valuable farm, some forty acres of which he has cleared out of woodland. His life has been characterized by enterprise and thrift, and he is a highly respected man, and one of Ray's substantial old pioneer citizens.
HADEN S. TRIGG.
The subject of this sketch is a native of Tennessee, having been born fourteen miles north of Murfreesboro, Wilson county, that state, in July, 1813. Here he received his education, and remained until manhood. He afterward spent some time in Jackson and Sumner counties, Tennes- see. He was married in the month of July, 1834, to Miss Elizabeth Wilson, of Gallatin, and in the following autumn removed to Booneville, Mo., at which place he taught school, and kept boarding house, during the suc- ceeding winter. In 1835 he went to Morgan county, Missouri, near the town of Tipton, and engaged in farming and teaching, until November 1840, when he came to Ray county, settling two and a half miles west of Richmond, and continued the business of farming and teaching school. Two years later he moved to Millville, and commenced the business of milling with his farming. Going, in 1844, to Wakanda, in the same county, he settled a new place in the open, and, at that time, sparsely peopled
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prairie. His wife died October the 17th, 1857. She was the mother of nine children: Mary S., Stephen C., Juliet, Daniel W., John W., Geo. W., Haden S., Sallie and Joseph. Of these, only four, Mary S., Stephen C., Juliet and Geo. W. are yet alive. Mr. Trigg was married the second time, in 1858, to Miss Mary S. Campbell. In 1861, at the beginning of the war between the states, he cast his lot with the fortunes of the south, joining Slack's division of the army under General Sterling Price, with whom he engaged in the battles of Carthage, Wilson's Creek and Lexington, after which on account of protracted illness, he was unable to re-enter the army. The second Mrs. Trigg was taken sick, and died during his absence in the war. Leaving his family in Ray county, he went to Boone- ville, Missouri, and from there to Illinois, returning to Hardin, Ray county, in 1869. Here he has ever since remained, occupied in mercantile business. Mr. Trigg is one of the most highly respected and influential men in the county, and one of her most valuable citizens.
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