USA > Missouri > Vernon County > History of Vernon County, Missouri : past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county Vol. II > Part 18
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Mr. Clark had been elected an officer in the National Guard soon after leaving college, and when war was declared between the United States and Spain, in 1898, he was commissioned lieuten- ant-colonel of the Sixth Missouri Volunteers, which regiment he organized and commanded. His command was attached to Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's corps, and was stationed at Panama, Fla., Savan- nah, Ga., and went to Cuba as part of the American army of
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occupation. At the close of the Spanish-American war the gov- ernor asked Colonel Clark to re-organize the National Guard, and appointed him brigadier general commanding the same, which position he has since continued to hold. He wrote that part of the Revised Statutes of Missouri relating to the military forces.
The business, social and political relations of Bates and Ver- non counties have always been very close, and General Clark's practice extended over both counties, so that when he was ap- pointed district attorney for the Kansas City Southern Railway Company in 1908, he embraced the opportunity to extend his practice by locating in Nevada, the larger and more promising field. While representing this company in its litigation in the county seats of the western tier of counties, and having as clients also the Lexington branch of the Missouri Pacific and the Mis- souri Pacific Coal companies, he is not precluded from taking cases against other railroad companies, and finds time for the general practice of his profession, in which he is very successful both as a trial lawyer and in the appellate courts. In politics he is a Democrat, and his wide acquaintance, recognized ability and reputation as a public speaker give him a prominence through- out the state achieved by few men of his years. As a lawyer his unswerving integrity and fidelity to the interests of his clients, together with his legal acumen and oratorical ability, have given him front rank in his profession.
General Clark is married, his wife being a daughter of Dr. N. C. Berry, a prominent physician of West Plains. He is a Mason and also belongs to the Odd Fellows, Elks and Woodmen fraternities.
John W. Cleland was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, June 3, 1843. Arthur Cleland, his father, was of Scotch ancestry, but a native of North Ireland, and by occupation an agriculturist .. He emigrated to America when fourteen years of age and after living for some time in Ohio moved to Missouri in 1866, where he subsequently died. His wife's maiden name was Mary Clark, originally from Ohio, and she became the mother of seven chil- dren. John W., the third child in the family, was reared in the state of his birth, and during the war he enlisted in the 111th
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Ohio infantry in 1862, serving with that command until the war was over. Following this he located at Cleveland, O., and took a course of study at the Cleveland Commercial College. January 1, 1866, he moved to Missouri, settled at Warrensburg, Johnson county, clerked for a time, and then farmed and taught school two years, after which he went to Fort Scott, Kan., in the fall of 1868. However, the next year he came to Nevada, and in 1872 embarked in the lumber business on his own account, continuing to be thus occupied until he was succeeded by the Home Lumber Company in 1881. In 1865 he married Miss C. J. Hughes, of Wayne county, Ohio, an estimable lady and one devoted to making home happy.
Eli Cleveland, who has resided in Vernon county, Missouri, since 1885, was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, December 26, 1845, to Marvin and Martha (Noblitt) Cleveland, the former a native of Kentucky, born in 1810, and the latter born in Vir- ginia in 1809. The father died July 26, 1884, and the mother on January 7, 1899.
Our subject acquired a good common school education in his native place and lived at home till he was twenty-three years old. He left his native state at the age of forty in 1885 and moved to Vernon county, Missouri, where he first settled on eighty acres of land, which he bought in section 11, Lake town- ship. Selling this at a later date, he bought the homestead farm of 120 acres in section 16 and there has since made his home, giving his attention to general farming operations.
On March 15, 1868, he was united in marriage with Miss Julia A. Kearby, a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Kearby. of Indiana. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland, of whom one is deceased. The two surviving are Marvin A., born December 23, 1868, and Margaret Ethel, who was born April 19. 1886.
Mr. Cleveland is an enterprising and progressive farmer. care- ful, systematic and practical in his methods, and his farm, which is well improved and equipped, is one of the choicest in his section of Vernon county.
In political opinion and action Mr. Cleveland is independent, but is recognized as a Republican, and he supports for office the
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candidate whom he deems best qualified to fill the place sought, regardless of party affiliations.
In religious faith and fellowship he is a Baptist.
Mrs. Maria Cogswell, daughter of the late George Douglas, was born in the Indian Nation. Her father's birth occurred in New Castle, England, in 1798, and he was brought to the United States with his family, growing to manhood at Alexandria, D. C .. and Wheeling, W. Va. When a lad he was apprenticed to learn the stone mason's trade, and soon left, going to Cincinnati and subsequently to St. Louis, where he entered the employ of the American Fur Company. While in their service he went down the Mississippi river and up the Arkansas to Fort Gibson, where he was occupied for two years outfitting trains for the Rocky Mountains, and later was engaged for some time as a government contractor. In 1834 Mr. Douglas came to Vernon county and settled on a farm; after a residence of twenty years he moved to Bates county in 1854, remaining there until the war broke out, when he moved to Texas, where he died April 14, 1865. In the year 1827 he married Miss Eliza Selden, of Hadlynne, Conn., and of this union four children besides Mrs. Cogswell were born: Ralph, Ellen, George S. and Henry W.
Mrs. Cogswell, after coming to Vernon county, remained here until taken to Wheeling, W. Va., when she was ten years old. Her marriage occurred September 5, 1854, when she became the wife of Henry Clay Cogswell, of Paris, Ky., who was born in 1828, and came with his parents to Jackson county, Missouri, when ten years of age, and removed to Vernon county in 1853. He served during the Civil War as first lieutenant in the Con- federate army. His death occurred November 26, 1872, leaving Mrs. Cogswell and her four children, Sterling B., George B., John B. and Mary.
Samuel S. Cole* is an honored citizen of Drywood township, Vernon County, Missouri. He was born in Cooper County, Mis- souri, March 10, 1841. The father was a native of Albermarle County, Virginia, and came from his native state to Missouri with Daniel Boone and lived in the Fort at Booneville until peace was established with the Indians in the territory. He afterwards set- tled on a farm in Cooper County and lived there till his decease,
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as did also our subject's mother, whose name was Sallie Briscoe Cole.
Samuel S. attended the common schools in his native place, and at the opening of the Civil War, in 1861, entered the Con- federate Army and served four years and three months in the cavalry regiment known as the "Mccullough Regiment," in the brigade commanded by General Parsons. He fought with his regiment in many of the principal engagements of the war, among others Corinth, Iuka, Forrest and Hamburg, Mississippi, and car- ried himself throughout as a brave and fearless soldier, fighting for a cause he believed to be right. After his discharge at Grenada, Mississippi, he returned home and gave his attention to farming in Cooper County. Thence he moved to Bates County in 1870 and lived near the town of Hume till his removal to Ver- non County. Here he bought eighty acres of land in section thirty-five, Drywood township, to which he afterwards added another eighty-acre tract, and there he has continued to make his home to the present time. Mr. Cole has always been known as a man of decided opinions, conscientious in whatever he undertakes, and as ready to fight for what he honestly believes to be just and right. And as a soldier he was loyal to his convictions of what he deemed right, so in his civil life he commands the respect and esteem of all who know him as a loyal, upright citizen. In re- ligious faith he is identified with the Baptist denomination.
On October 22, 1868, Mr. Cole married Miss Mollie C. Williams, and they have three children, whose respective names and dates of birth are: Sallie J., born October 10, 1869; Ida Elizabeth, born August 17, 1874, and Forrest L., born December 13, 1876.
Harry J. Collier was a native of New York, as was also his wife, whose maiden name was Keziah McWhorter. Six children blessed their union, and of these Harry J., the fourth child, was born in Steuben county, New York, March 4, 1847. He was reared in the Empire State until nine years old, going thence to Mercer county, Illinois, where he worked on a farm and in a nursery until the age of fifteen. Subsequently he went to Ohio, where his attention was directed to the carpenter's trade. About this time the war came on, and soon he was a member of the 140th Illinois Infantry, a command with which he participated in numerous engagements until mustered out of service. After
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY
this he resided in Michigan four years, from there coming to Mis- souri and finally locating in this county. In the spring of 1870 he embarked in the nursery business in Moundville township, con- ducting what was known as the Vernon County Nursery. After remaining in this business about eight years he removed into the town of Moundville, where he was engaged in the management of a livery stable for eighteen months; and following this he had charge of Robinson Bros.' lumber yard until October, 1886, when he became connected with the construction department of the St. Louis, Kansas City & Colorado Railroad. In 1885 he secured the right of way for the Nevada and Minden Railway from Little Dry Wood to the south line of Vernon county, taking subscrip- tions along the line sufficient to pay all damages, thus furnishing it to the company free of cost. In 1871 Mr. Collier married Miss Alice Jay, of Mercer county, Illinois. They have two children, May and Harry. He belongs to the A. O. U. W., the G. A. R. and Masonic Fraternity.
Victor Colin. To attempt to write a reliable history of Vernon county and not give prominent mention to the name of Victor Colin would be something altogether impossible, for as almost a native-born citizen of the county and one of its continual residents for a long period, he has very properly come to be regarded as a part of it. A sketch of the life of his father in this connection is rendered necessary. Peter Colin, a native of France, after leav- ing Paris emigrated to the United States and located in St. Louis, where he associated himself with the American Fur Company, under General Ashley. In the society of others a trip was made up the Missouri and Osage rivers to the old trading post of Gireau, where he continued to remain until his death in 1874, at the age of seventy-seven years, one of the oldest settlers in that portion of the country. His wife, Mrs. Mary Colin, survived two years after her husband's death, leaving a family of six children, His birth occurred at the old trading post just referred to. across the Osage in the edge of Bates county, September 21, 1840, and as he grew up he became accustomed to manual labor upon the farm, his education being limited to decidedly inferior schools then in existence. At the age of twenty he enlisted for service in Colonel Hunter's regiment, with which he continued until enlisting in the Confederate army under Colonel McDonald, Company B, 10th
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Missouri Cavalry ; he was actively engaged until the close of the war, taking part in the battles of Carthage, Drywood, Lexington, Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, Lone Jack and numerous irregular skirmishes, narrowly escaping injury several times. Returning home Mr. Colin was married to Miss Nannie Warson, daughter of John Warson, formerly of St. Louis county, Missouri. She died October 28, 1864, leaving one child, William. Mr. Colin's second wife was formerly Miss Rachel Swafford, daughter of Peter Swafford, of Illinois, and she bore him four children: Cora, Frank, Mary and Lizzie.
Charles H. Compton was born in Clark county, Illinois, June 13, 1868, the eighth of a family of nine children born to John V. and Lucy (Stafford) Compton, natives of West Virginia, the former born October 25, 1822, and the latter June 10, 1824. They were both raised on farms and soon after their marriage about 1843 they traveled overland with an ox team to Bates county, Missouri, where he pre-empted several hundred acres of land near the site of the present town of Butler. A little later he opened a hardware store at Butler, which was burned, with other buildings, during the Civil War. After the war Mr. Compton engaged in general merchandising in Clark county, Missouri, a short time, then moved to Greenup, Ill., and farmed till 1876, after which he went to Knob Noster, Johnson county, Missouri, onto a farm and thence a year later moved onto the "Mountjoy Farm," southeast from Nevada, in Vernon county. He was a carpenter and builder and both in Illinois and after returning to Missouri followed his trade, turning the farm work over to his sons and erected many of the large farm houses in the vicinity of Milo and between there and Nevada, as well as some of the substantial residences in that city, the first being that owned by Jack Dolton, which still stands. In 1878 he went to Benton- ville, Ark., and thence in the spring of 1880 moved to Golden City, Mo., whence he came to Vernon county in the fall of 1881 and settled on the Colonel Boughan ranch in Osage township. where he lived till his decease, July 26, 1884. He was a Democrat in politics and about the close of the Civil War served as deputy sheriff under Judge Clem. then sheriff of Bates and Vernon counties. He was a member of the Masonic order. also of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in religious fellowship
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was identified with the Christian church. His widow passed away in 1890. Of their eight children, besides our subject, the seven now living are: Mrs. Mary J. Kidwell, of Boise City, Idaho; John S., of Boise City, Idaho; Oscar D., of Carbon Cen- ter; Mrs. Julia Ford, of Webb City, Mo .; Mrs. Myra Fain, of Bentonville, Ark., and Mrs. Lucy Poulter, of Ava, Douglas county, Missouri.
Charles C. left the district schools at an early age, and when nine years old was put to holding the plow, and at the age of thirteen began to learn the carpenter's trade under his father. He followed his trade until his twenty-third year, then for a year conducted a small grocery store at Schell City, after which he engaged in the same line of trade at Carroll Junction, in Jasper county, about a year. Returning to Carbon Center, he operated a coal mine some three years, then in the spring of 1896 went to Centerton, Ark., where he remained seven years, engaged in general merchandising and also conducting a whole- sale fruit and produce store. Besides his own store, which he built, and which was the first store in the town, he built and sold four other store buildings, and four residences as well as two complete fruit evaporating plants. Besides, Mr. Compton bought and planted with fruit trees four or five farms, improved them with good houses, barns and other buildings and sold them to settlers.
In October, 1903, Mr. Compton, with a half carload of mer- chandise and a half carload of apples, came to Metz and opened a store, where he has since carried on general merchandising, including hardware, harness, farm implements and vehicles. He has erected two store buildings in Metz and bought and remod- eled three dwellings and at one time owned the only brick busi- ness block and now has the handsomest residence in the town. Mr. Compton is a thorough man of affairs. He was a stockholder and for three years a director of the Metz Banking Company. He organized the Metz Lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has passed through all its chairs. He is a Master Mason, belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America; also the American Benevolent Association, and the Modern Brotherhood of America; also the Rebeccas and Independent Order of Owls. He is a Republican and has served as mayor of Metz and since 1897 has been identified with the Christian church.
On February 7, 1889, Mr. Compton was united in marriage
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with Miss Julia A. Lyons, who was born in Champaign county, Illinois, December 25, 1870, to H. Clay and Emily E. (Scott) Lyons, now of Osage township.
Mr. and Mrs. Compton have eight children, viz. : Marvin Lee, born November 6, 1889; Harry Weaver, born August 17, 1892; Eula I., born January 28, 1895; Charles H., born August 17, 1897 ; Glessner, born September 6, 1901; Paul, born July 3, 1903; Ethel, born April 11, 1907, and Elwood E., born December 17, 1909.
P. A. Compton is a thrifty farmer of Washington township, Vernon county, Missouri. A native Missourian, he was born in Miller county, November 13, 1850, and is a son of R. M. and Martha (O'Neal) Compton, natives of Virginia and Tennessee, respectively. The father died in Morgan county, Missouri, in 1902. The mother died June 29, 1911, in Vernon county, Missouri.
Our subject moved onto a farm of 220 acres in Osage town- ship, Vernon county, in 1880, but twenty-four years later sold it and bought 220 acres in Washington township, where he now resides. He is known as one of the substantial men of the community and has devoted himself to his farming operations with satisfactory results. He takes a commendable interest in political affairs and is known as a progressive Democrat. In religious faith he is affiliated with the Christian denomination. Mr. Compton has been twice married. His first wife, Miss Catherine Hoover, whom he married November 12, 1871, died in 1889, leaving six children, viz .: Cora E., born October 4, 1872; J. W., born November 17, 1874; R. M., born April 20, 1877 ; E. L., born February 17, 1880; Lena M., born January 24, 1884, and H. D., born November 23, 1885.
On January 2, 1890, he married Miss Octava Agnes Smith, and they have three children, named respectively, B. W., born November 5, 1892; B. P., born March 30, 1895, and A. S., born December 17, 1902.
Mrs. Compton's parents moved from Kentucky, their native state, to Clark county, Missouri, in the early thirties and were married there. The father studied medicine and practiced his profession there till 1874, when he moved to Vernon county and settled on a farm of 160 acres, where he lived until his decease in 1880. He was a member of the Masonic order, a Democrat in politics and with his wife was affiliated with the Baptist de-
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nomination. His widow survived till 1899. They had a family of twelve children, nine of whom are now living, and Mrs. Comp- ton being the tenth child in order of birth.
Albert Comstock was born in Cedar county, Iowa, October 28, 1847, and is one of a family of ten children born to Isaac A. and Rebecca (Taylor) Comstock, the former born in Sciota county, Ohio, in 1818, and the latter a native of North Carolina. They were married in 1840. Our subject's paternal grandparents, Daniel and Elizabeth (Fox) Comstock, were natives of New York. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. They were married in New York in 1818 and the same year went to Sciota county, Ohio. In 1834 they moved to Indiana and two years later, trav- eling with an ox team, went to Iowa, through an Indian infested country. He was a member of the first county court of Musca- tine county, Iowa. In 1839 he moved to Cedar county, Iowa, and served as one of its first commissioners. He went on horse- back to Dubuque and entered the land for the county seat site and helped to lay out the town of Tipton, where he died .July 19, 1864, his decease being preceded by that of his wife, who passed away April 10, 1858.
Our subject's maternal grandparents, Goodwin and Jane Taylor, were natives of Virginia and North Carolina, respectively. They were married in the last named state and removed thence to Indiana, when the daughter Rebecca was four years old. In 1837 they went to Muscatine county, Iowa, thence to Cedar county and afterwards settled in Kansas. Mr. Taylor died in Nebraska in 1881, his wife having passed away in 1879. Isaac A. Com- stock, our subject's father, was the eldest of a family of four boys and three girls. He was reared on the frontier in Ohio, Indiana and in Iowa and had but meager schooling. At the age of twenty-one he was elected justice of the peace and filled the office many years in Iowa, where, also, he was in the mer- cantile business with his father-in-law. In 1850 he went over- land to California. He served two years as assessor of Cedar county, Iowa, and lived there till 1871, when he moved with his family to Barton county, Missouri, and bought 800 acres of land and established the family home. He was a life-long Democrat and in Barton county served two years as county judge. He passed away June 19, 1889.
BIOGRAPHICAL
Our subject attended the district schools in Cedar county, Iowa, till he attained his majority and lived with his parents, engaged in farming and stock raising till he was twenty-three years old.
On September 14. 1870, he was united in marriage in Green county, Iowa, with Miss Ida Sheldon, a daughter of Dr. Edward H. and Harriet Sheldon, natives of New York. They settled in Jones county, Iowa, with a family of three children in 1859 and lived there till 1868, when they moved to Green county.
To Mr. and Mrs. Comstock have been born six children, of whom four are now living. These are George, born March 23, 1874; Charles, born January 13, 1878; Myrtle, born August 28, 1880, and Maggie, who was born March 7, 1887.
In 1870 Mr. Comstock went to Crawford county, Kansas, and bought a quarter section of land and lived there one year. Then in the fall of 1871 he came to Barton county, Missouri, and in 1898 settled on his present farm of 280 acres in sections 2 and 3, Coal township, Vernon county, where he has devoted himself to general farming operations, with gratifying success, giving particular attention to breeding and raising high grade cattle and horses. He is a Democrat in political opinion and is iden- tified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
I. W. Conkling, who was a prominent citizen and business man of Nevada for twenty-seven years. died at his home on North Cedar street May 6, 1907. Mr. Conkling was born in the state of New York on May 6. 1837. and therefore was seventy years old to the day at the time of his death.
In February, 1878, he was married to Lue Alice Watson, of Greenville, Mich., and in April. 1880. Mr. Conkling came to Nevada and opened a bank.
I. W. Conkling was the soul of honor, generous to a fault; and his kind words and cheerful face was .sadly missed by a host of friends.
He is survived by his wife, two sons. Harry and Will, and one daughter, Mrs. Fred Stanford, of Joplin, all of whom were at his bedside when he passed away.
I. W. Conkling came to Nevada in 1880 and for twenty-seven years was identified with the growth of the city as a citizen and business man. For many years himself and brother. G. F. Conk-
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ling, did a successful banking business on the south side of the square; but for the last several years was engaged in the real estate business.
Deceased was an honorable Christian gentleman, he having been a member of the Christian church for many years. He was a kind-hearted man, a liberal citizen and belonged to the pioneer class of business men of Nevada who are rapidly passing away.
Mr. Conkling was also a faithful member of the I. O. O. F. lodge for many years.
S. G. Couch, who has resided in Vernon county, Missouri, since 1867, is a native of Guilford county, North Carolina, born Sep- tember 28, 1846, to I. and Eliza (Gardner) Couch, both of whom were born in that state, where the father died in 1864. The mother passed away in 1888 in North Carolina. On attaining his majority our subject moved from his native state to Vernon county, Missouri, and worked two years as a farm laborer, and then bought and settled on eighty acres of land in section eleven, Harrison township, where he has since made his home, engaged in general farming with good success.
On April 3, 1876, he was united in marriage with Miss Harriet Kenworthy at Fort Scott, Kansas, whose parents were native of Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Couch have had five children born to their union, three of whom are now (1911) living, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Bertha, born March 6, 1882; Earl, born October 4, 1887, and Helen Lee, who was born October 18, 1893.
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