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 40
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Henry Pond was educated in the public schools at Old Metz, and from early boyhood worked in his father's shop. When fourteen years old he began working as a journeyman car- penter, and two years later began doing contract work on his own account and so continued till 1900 when he bought out his father's business. In order to be thoroughly equipped, Mr. Pond, in the spring of 1901, took up a course of study in the Philadelphia School of Embalming under Prof. Johnson Dodge, at St. Louis, and later attended the Eckles School of Embalming in that city, graduating from both, and received a state license to practice embalming. Mr. Pond manufactures, among other varieties of burial caskets, black walnut coffins, for which there
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is a considerable demand, and his establishment is thoroughly equipped with modern appliances and facilities to meet all demands. His funeral car, of modern type, is one of the few of its kind in this part of the state. Besides his undertaking business, he carries on extensive building operations, having facilities for executing building contracts, covering every branch of the work from putting in the foundations to finishing com- plete, of any class of material. Mr. Pond also holds letters patent for a water filter, for which there is a great demand. He is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, and also is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in 1899 was ordained a deacon of the Baptist Church at Metz.
In February, 1890, Mr. Pond was united in marriage with Miss Minnie H. Smith, a native of Logan county, Kentucky, and a daughter of M. W. and Hortense Smith, who settled in Ver- non county in 1889.
Mr. and Mrs. Pond have three children, viz .: Mollie Eliza- beth, who was born in 1892, and has the distinction of being the first child born in Metz; Opal Irene, born in 1904, and Henry Eugene, born in 1906.
William H. Popplewell, a native Missourian, was born in Montevello township, Vernon county, July 19, 1874, the eldest of three children born to Sovereign G. and Rebecca (Avery) Popplewell, the former born in Miller county, Missouri, October 26, 1847, and the latter in Illinois, August 6, 1854. They were married in Vernon county in 1873. Their other two children are, Mrs. R. G. Callahan, of San Antonio, Texas, and Mrs. L. E. Knowlton, of Grand Junction, Colo.
The Popplewell family is of French origin, representatives of the family going to England and thence to this country, settling in the early days in Virginia, whence Simeon Popple- well, the great-grandfather of our subject, moved to Kentucky. His son, Sovereign Popplewell, grandfather of William H., moved from Kentucky, his native state, to Missouri, in 1837. The Avery family came from New York and settled in Illinois.
Sovereign G. Popplewell, on coming to Vernon county, bought 320 acres of land in Montevello township. He after- wards bought other lands, and owned at one time 720 acres, and now owns four hundred acres. He was graduated from the
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Keokuk Medical College, Keokuk, Iowa, in 1876, and practiced his profession at Montevallo thirty-eight years, making his home in the village. He now-1911-lives at Eldorado Springs.
William H., after leaving the common schools, attended Kem- per School, at Booneville, Mo., then studied medicine at the Barnes Medical College of St. Louis, where he was graduated with the class of 1898. He practiced his profession at Montevallo four years, and in 1903 moved to Sheldon, where he has since made his home, engaged in his practice.
Dr. Popplewell, on June 22, 1904, was united in marriage with Miss Laura Mccutcheon, who was born in Cooper county, Missouri, December 12, 1879, to F. G. and Mamie (Tucker) Mccutcheon. Dr. and Mrs. Popplewell have two children, named, respectively, Frank S., who was born May 7, 1905, and Vir- ginia L., who was born January 20, 1909. Dr. Popplewell is active in fraternal orders, being a member and past master of Sheldon Lodge, No. 371, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, a member of Sheldon Lodge, of Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
In politics he adheres to the principles of the Democratic party.
Edric L. Pottorf, junior member of the firm of Williams & Pottorf, was born in Nebraska September 4, 1867, and is a son of George W. and Susan E. (Hinch) Pottorf, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Kentucky. They settled in Missouri in 1857. The mother died when Edric was six months old and the father died when he was six years of age. He is the youngest of a family of four children, of whom Sarah Elizabeth, the eldest, was married to Capt. W. H. Taylor, of Nevada, and is now deceased; Alice K. is married to Mr. I. F. S. Nelson, of Nevada, and John A. lives at Prosperity, Mo.
Edric acquired his education in the public schools and when nine years old entered the office of the "Vernon County Re- publican"-now "The Herald"-to learn the printers" trade. He first engaged in business for himself with Messrs. J. H. Donley and N. H. Grady, abstractors, under the firm name of Donley, Grady & Pottorf. After a few years he sold his interest in the firm and engaged in business on his own account, placing insurance, negotiating loans, etc. A little later he accepted an
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appointment as deputy circuit clerk under Mr. Henry C. Brady and filled that position eight years, and then, in December, 1902, purchased his interest in the present firm of Williams & Pottorf. He is a reliable and thorough business man and both by native ability and his years of careful training is well qualified to succeed in whatever he undertakes. He belongs to the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and is also identified with the Modern Woodmen of America.
On March 28, 1887, Mr. Pottorf married Miss Linnie A., daughter of Mr. Moses Welch, of Nevada, and they have two children, viz., Dr. R. W. Pottorf, of Nevada, Mo., and Joe L., who lives at home.
Charles H. Prewitt,* widely known as a prominent, influential and progressive citizen of Nevada, Mo., was born in Lafayette county, October 8, 1853, and is the second child of a family of five children born to Judge William W. and Mary J. (Sample) Prewitt. Our subject's father, whose biography appears else- where in this work, was for many years prominent in the busi- ness circles of Vernon county at Nevada. The family settled at Nevada in 1858, when our subject was five years of age, and he grew up there, acquiring his education in the public schools. After the opening of the Civil War he entered the service and accompanied his father through that struggle, and afterwards went to Texas, traveling some sixteen hundred miles freighting, and having many interesting and thrilling experiences of rough, frontier life.
In 1876 he joined his father in the abstract business at Nevada, which was carried on under the firm name of W. W. Prewitt & Son until he was elected to the office of Treasurer of Vernon county, in which office he served two terms. During that time the business was carried on by the father in his own name until his decease October 8, 1910. As successor to his father, our subject then resumed his former line of work and since that time has continuously devoted himself to its manage- ment and development, building up an extensive business as an abstractor, buying, selling and exchanging real estate, negotiat- ing loans, placing insurance, etc., and attaining to a leading place among the largest operators in those lines in the country.
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Mr. Prewitt is decidedly a man of affairs and is in hearty sympathy with all progressive movements looking to the develop- ment and betterment of his city and community. and by his uniformly courteous demeanor and upright, manly course in all his varied relations, enjoys the fullest confidence and esteem of all who know him. He stands high in Masonic circles and is an active and influential member of the Knights of Pythias.
On December 4, 1879, Mr. Prewitt married Miss Willie Blan- ton, a native of Texas, and there have been born to them three children, named respectively, Harry C., Howard E., and Pauline.
Samuel T. Prewitt, who has lived in Vernon county since he was eight years old, was born near Waverly, Lafayette county, Missouri, May 3, 1870, to William H. and Barbara J. (Bush) Prewitt. After leaving the common schools he completed a course of study in the Lexington Business College, Lexington, Ky., and lived in his father's home till he married. On January 2, 1898, he was united in marriage with Miss Bettie Ewing Edwards, who was born at Walker, Vernon county, November 14, 1876, the daughter of Absolom W. and Willie A. (Renick) Edwards, the former born in Virginia, March 1, 1834, and the latter in Jack- son county, Missouri, March 11, 1846. The father was the seventh child of a family of eleven children born to Isaac and Polly S. (Beamer) Edwards, who were natives of Virginia, the former born December 7, 1799, and the latter May 11, 1804. They were married March 7, 1822, and passed their lives in their native state. Absolom W. left home when a lad and went to Lafayette county, Missouri, whence he moved to Vernon county in 1867. Willie A., Mrs. Prewitt's mother, was a daughter of Rob- ert and Missouri (Lanham) Renick, the former born in Kentucky, March 17, 1798, and the latter in St. Louis, November 20. 1816. Robert H. served as chaplain of Colonel Gordon's regiment, Shelby's brigade, in the Confederate army, during the Civil War, and died May 20, 1875. His wife, Missouri, passed away July 15, 1850. Absolom W. and Willie A. were married in Vernon county, Missouri, November 22, 1871, and had six chil- dren, those besides Mrs. Prewitt being Mrs. R. H. Renick, born June 9, 1878; Miss Cora McFarland Edwards, born November 30, 1881 ; Mrs. George C. Bowman, who was born October 1, 1884, and two who died in infancy.
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Absolom W. Edwards was a stock dealer at Walker, in Ver- non county, and served as the first president of the Farmers' Bank of Walker, till his resignation about a year prior to his decease, on October 9, 1906. His wife died August 21, 1897.
Samuel T. Prewitt has been a farmer and stock raiser ever since he began life on his own account, and is a prominent man of affairs in his community and at present a member of the township board of Walker township. He is an active member of Walker Camp, No. 3164, Modern Woodmen of America, and both he and his wife are worthy members of the Christian Church at Walker. In politics he is a Democrat.
Mr. and Mrs. Prewitt have had three children, viz., William Edwards Prewitt, born December 23, 1898; Helen Marie, who was born September 20, 1900, and died May 30, 1907, and Har- riet Barbara, who was born July 21, 1903.
William H. Prewitt was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, June 2, 1840, the eldest of three children born to James M. and Mattie (Bedford) Prewitt, both natives of Kentucky. Their other children were John Allen Prewitt, of La Fayette county, Mis- souri, who died July 6, 1911, and Martha Elizabeth, now de- ceased.
The Prewitt family is descended from French Huguenots, who in the early days settled in South Carolina, whence representa- tives went to Kentucky, where William Chandler Prewitt, our subject's grandfather was born. James M. removed with his family to Saline county, Missouri, in 1852. The next year he started for California, but turned back on account of illness, and settled in Lafayette county, where he died in 1858. His widow survived till January, 1905, and passed away at the home of our subject in Vernon county at the age of eighty-three years.
William H. lived on the home place till after the opening of the Civil War, but in 1862 enlisted in Company C of Colonel Gordon's regiment, Shelby's brigade, and served through the war. At the battle of Springfield in 1863 he was wounded in both legs, and left there a prisoner, but rejoined his regiment on July 3, 1863, having been exchanged in April, 1863. After the war was over Mr. Prewitt returned home and lived in Lafayette county till his removal to Vernon county in 1878. He leased the eighty acres, where he has since made his home, buying it in
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1883 and since then adding to it until he now owns a splendid farm of 200 acres in Walker township. He has been a farmer and stock raiser all his life and has achieved gratifying success in his operations. Mr. Prewitt is a Democrat and has served two terms as associate justice of the county court, and was a member of the forty-second and forty-third general assemblies of the state. He is a member of Osage Lodge, No. 303, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Nevada, and with his family is affiliated with the Christian Church.
On May 9, 1866, Mr. Prewitt was united in marriage with Miss Barbara J. Bush, a native of Clark county, Kentucky, born December 3, 1847, to Phillip W. and Mary J. (Monroe) Bush, natives of Kentucky. The father, born in 1812, was a son of Robert and Barbara (Winn) Bush, and the mother, born in 1822, was a daughter of George and Maria (Grimes) Monroe. Mrs. Prewitt's parents moved to Marion county, Missouri, in 1850, and a year later went to Bates county, but during the Civil War returned to Lafayette county, where the father died. The mother passed away in Henry county. Mrs. Prewitt is the third child of a family of six children born to them, viz., Owen M. Bush, of Clinton, Henry county, Missouri ; Mrs. John A. Prewitt, of Vernon county ; Mary, now deceased; Robert P. Bush, who lives in Lafayette county, and Phillip W. Bush, of Henry county.
Mr. and Mrs. Prewitt have had ten children, of whom nine are now living, viz., Samuel T., who was born May 3, 1870, having had three children ; George E., born December 22, 1871, a minister of the Christian Church at Shawnee, Okla., has one child living, Nylen J. Prewitt; Mrs. W. H. Ewing, who was born February 26, 1874, has two children, Margaret, born September 25, 1896, and William Prewitt Ewing, born in 1906; William T. Prewitt, born July 4, 1876; Mrs. J. P. Davis, born August 14, 1878, has five children, two sons and three daughters, named Cowan, Edith, Alice, Willis and Ray ; Evelyn, born August 13, 1880; Thomas H., born April 22, 1884, and Charles M., who was born June 15, 1887. James, born July 3, 1868, died in infancy. Maggie Gordon Prewitt, born April 24, 1882, married Hubert Coons and lives in Nevada, Mo.
William W. Prewitt. To fail to include within the biograph- ical department of the present volume a sketch of the life of this
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representative citizen of Nevada would be to omit a history of one of the most worthy men who ever made his home within the limits of Vernon county-a man whose every effort has been of material benefit to the county, and whose energies have been directed towards her improvement and development from the time of his settlement in the community. William W. Prewitt was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, May 16, 1822. His father was Joel Prewitt, a Kentuckian by birth, who in 1823 located in Howard county, Missouri, where he carried on farm- ing, stock dealing and merchandising. He was among the first to champion the doctrine of that religious body since recognized as the Christian denomination, and subsequently became a min- ister of that faith, his appointments extending over a wide terri- tory adjacent to Howard county. In that early day he was well known, and on account of his identification with the affairs of central Missouri was of recognized prominence and true, sub- stantial worth. His wife, formerly Miss Mary Trimble, of Ken- tucky, died in St. Louis shortly after the war. Fourteen children comprised their family, and of these William W. was the seventh child and fourth son. But a child when brought to Howard county, Missouri, he was reared there, enjoying both a farm and mercantile experience, and continued to make it his home until 1844, when he moved to Lafayette county and improved a tract of land. In 1854 he went to Moniteau county and super- intended a lead mine for three years, coming thence in 1857 to Vernon 'county, where he entered land. The following year he brought his family, and from that time up to 1868 was actively engaged in farming, but in the year mentioned he located per- manently in Nevada and embarked in the real estate business. His transactions in this line were in excess of those of any other person in the county, the immense land sales which he executed reaching an astonishing figure. His long residence here and the established reputation of his dealings with all with whom he had to do contrived to secure for Mr. Prewitt the confidence and unbounded esteem of a wide circle of acquaintances; while his public spirit and warm interest manifested in the welfare of the county gained for him many friends. His set of abstracts were complete in every detail and thoroughly reliable, and besides the branches of business already referred to he did ·considerable in the way of loaning money.' He was twice married, first,
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June 3, 1845, to Miss Mary J. Sample, a native of Steubenville, Ohio, though reared in Indiana. She died in 1879, leaving five children: Smiley S., Charles H., Ella, wife of Walter C. Gal- braith, William W. and Anna Lee. Mr. Prewitt in 1880 was married to Miss Hattie Torrey, a native of Boston, Mass., a most estimable lady, and of such attractive graces of mind and heart as endeared her to all. Mr. Prewitt was a member of the Ma- sonic order. Personally he was held in high esteem, and though quiet and unostentatious in demeanor, his kind and obliging man- ner proved a fruitful source of the popularity which he enjoyed. He died October 8, 1910.
William D. Profitt, a son of an old and honored resident of Vernon county, was born November 28, 1852. His father, David S. Profitt, was born in Tennessee in 1824, and when eleven years of age was taken by his parents, William and Sarah Profitt, to Johnson county, Missouri. He was reared a farmer and his early life was spent on a farm. When young he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and was licensed to preach. In 1852 he went across the plains to California ; he had previously married Miss Sarah Garrison, a native of Kentucky. Three chil- dren were born to them, Sarah, who married Dr. Perrine, and William. In 1854 Mr. Profitt was again married, this time to Miss Lettie Godfrey; she was born in Kentucky. Mr. Profitt was an earnest, faithful, consistent, and successful preacher, and it is doubtful if any standard bearer of the cross ever commanded or merited more respect than Rev. David S. Profitt. He died April 11, 1859, leaving, besides his widow, two children by this marriage, Robert J., a medical practitioner, of Kansas City, and Ellen D. The latter died in 1863. Win. D. Profitt, after the death of his father, went to Cass county, and remained some years with an aunt. In 1868 he returned to Vernon county. He has been successful in farming and has made it his chosen occu- pation. He was married in 1875 to Miss Letitia Logan, daughter of James and Mary Logan, early settlers of this county.
William T. Rakestraw is a native of the Buckeye state, and was born in Licking county, September 1, 1842, and is one of seven surviving children born to John and Freelove (Taylor) Rakestraw, both natives of Ohio, the former born in 1818 and the
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latter in 1820. They moved to Harrison county, Missouri, in 1859, and passed the remainder of their lives there, the father dying in 1890 and the mother in 1870. Their other surviving children are: Mrs. Sarah Wiley, who lives in Iowa; Isaac, who lives in Washington; Mrs. Eliza Hendren; John W. and Hamil- ton, all of whom reside in Colorado, and Mrs. Etta Hendren, who lives in Oklahoma.
William T. lived at home till he was twenty years old, and in March, 1862, enlisted in Company G, Sixth regiment, Missouri volunteer cavalry, and entered the Union army. At the expira- tion of his term of service he mustered out, but in May, 1864, re-enlisted in Company C, Thirteenth regiment, Missouri volun- teer cavalry, and served till May, 1866. Mr. Rakestraw was twice taken prisoner, first at Neosho and again at Glasgow, Mo., but was exchanged each time without being imprisoned. After his final discharge he returned home and on October 14, 1869, was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Hefner, a native of Vir- ginia, born October 19, 1850, to Henry and Margaret (Kinkead) Hefner. Mr. and Mrs. Rakestraw had five children, viz., Henry J., born August 21, 1871; Margaret J., born December 31, 1872; Perry E., born May 30, 1875; Arthur A., born May 14, 1877, and who died June 19, 1898, and Ellis O., who was born September 10, 1879.
Mrs. Rakestrow passed away July 3, 1880, and on November 1, 1881, Mr. Rakestraw married Louisa J. Williams, who was born in West Virginia, March 12, 1853, the daughter of Elias and Ellen (Corley) Coffman.
With the exception of a few years spent in mercantile business in his early manhood, Mr. Rakestraw has always given his chief attention to farming, and is known as a thoroughly practical, systematic and up-to-date farmer. In 1903 he moved from Har- rison county, Missouri, to Vernon county, and purchased a home in Walker, comprising block 15 and one-half of block 16. His present farm consists of eighty acres in section 1 and sixty-five acres in section 11, Walker township, and forty acres in section 36, Blue Mound township.
Mr. Rakestraw is a man of high character and is esteemed for his genuine worth. He is identified with Osage Lodge, No. 303, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Nevada, and is a past master of his lodge in Harrison county. In politics he is a
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staunch Republican, and he belongs to Gen. Joe Bailey Post, No. 26, Grand Army of the Republic. Both he and Mrs. Rakestraw are worthy members of the Christian Church of Walker.
Eligah W. Ransdell was born in Clark county, Kentucky, March 6, 1829, one of a family of nine children born to John and Mary (Tandy) Ransdell. His great-grandfather, Horton Rans- dell, and his grandfather, John Ransdell, were both natives of Petersburg, Va. The grandfather, John, married a Miss Moore, and moved to Kentucky in 1786, when our subject's father, who was born at Petersburg, Va., February 10, 1782, was four years old. Mary Tandy, our subject's mother, was a daughter of Kilos Tandy, who raised a company of soldiers in Kentucky and served as their captain during the Revolutionary War. He was born in Ireland. When the war was over and the government was not able to pay the soldiers promptly, he had put on record a statement to the effect that all money due him for his services should be donated to the government, and if the government saw fit to give him anything more by way of bounty, land grant or pension, "that also is hereby donated to my country."
Our subject's mother died in November, 1830, and his father afterwards married and had five children by his second marriage.
Eligah W. Ransdell, on November 6, 1851, was united in mar- riage with Miss Sarah J. Vanarsdall, who was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, May 19, 1834, to James and Elizabeth (Evans) Vanarsdall, who were of German and Irish descent, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Ransdell had only one child, Aline E., born Novem- ber 9, 1853, and now the wife of Mr. John C. Newland, whose sketch is published herein. On March 7, 1880, Mrs. Ransdell passed away, and on January 30, 1883, Mr. Ransdell married Sarah W. Fletcher, a native of Georgia. He has been a resident of Vernon county, Missouri, since June, 1874, when he bought and settled on eighty acres of land in section 17, Clear Creek township. He lived there some nine years, and in 1883 moved to his present home in section 19. In early life Mr. Ransdell was a Whig and cast his first presidential ballot for Gen. Winfield Scott. When the Republican party was formed in 1856 he cast his lot with that body, and twice helped to elect Abraham Lincoln to the presidency and still loyally supports that party.
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY
Hon. James H. Requa. To put a stop to all persecutions on account of religious belief, Henry the Fourth, king of France, issued, in 1598, the famous "Edict of Nantes," decreeing that Protestants should enjoy the same rights and privileges in all respects as Catholics. But Louis XIV revoked that edict in 1685 and a severe persecution of Protestants, or Hugenots, as they were called, was at once set on foot. To escape this many. fled to other countries, some coming to America, and among these was James Requa, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who settled at New Rochelle, N. Y. He was a man of family. Among his grandchildren was one Elijah, born in West- chester county, of the Empire state. The latter, after attaining to manhood, married Miss Eustatia Combs, a lady of Scotch ancestry, and she afterwards became the mother of James H. Requa, whose name appears above. Young James' birth occurred in the same county as that of his father, though in the year 1808. He grew up in his native state, learning from time to time the duties of farm life, an occupation which he subsequently closely followed in connection with teaching for many years. About 1837 he moved to Fort Wayne, Ind., living there until 1840, when he chose a settlement in the then sparsely inhabited terri- tory embraced in the present county of Bates in this state. While located there he taught the first school started in the vicinity of his home. Soon after becoming a resident of the county he was elected county judge, and in 1846 represented the people in the state legislature, at which time he voted for the joint resolution to organize the territories west of the Missouri river, which were then unorganized. The first steps in congress looking to this result were also taken about this period. Mr. Requa also held the position of school commissioner of Bates county (which then included Vernon), and at one time knew and had been at the home of every householder living in the two counties. In 1856 he came to Vernon county, selecting and improving a valuable farm, which he since sold. His home- stead is in section 3 of this (Deerfield) township. Judge Requa's residence in this county was marked by a number of calls to official positions of trust and honor. Besides holding the office of county judge, he was elected to the state legislature in 1866, and in 1868 was re-elected. It requires no empty words of com-
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