USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 79
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The man who has before him a living example of honesty, integrity, manliness and innate culture is bound to live up to that standard. With such a father Andrew T. Schultze could not be less a man. His birth occurred March 19, 1854, in Franklin county, so that he has lived all his life in south- eastern Missouri. Though the educational facilities in Missouri at that time were not what the father had had in Germany, yet he determined that his son should be edu- cated as well as possible. Young Andrew therefore attended private schools and pub- lic schools at Washington, the high school at Hermann, and later took a commercial course in one of the business colleges of St. Louis. Having a love for nature and na- ture's handiwork, our subject had early de- cided that he would follow in his father's footsteps a little farther, and would adopt farming as his life work, and with the ex- ception of two years passed in Colorado, 1883-84, in the cattle business, Mr. Schultze has carried out his original plans.
As before stated, the attractive farm which was originally the old Bell homestead, three miles east of Washington, is now owned and operated by Andrew T. Schultze, but Mr. Schultze does not confine his interests en- tirely to agricultural pursuits. He is presi- dent of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Com- pany of Franklin county; is a stockholder in the National Cob Pipe Works of Union; and is president of that thriving institution,
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the Franklin County Bank, established in November, 1909, and associated in this busi- ness with F. W. Hawley, as vice-president and C. M. Ellis, as cashier. The bank has a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars, and a large clientele among the farmers ad- jacent to Washington. During the past years Mr. Schultze has served the government as carrier for route No. 1, rural mail service, which he organized.
In politics Mr. Schultze was reared under the banner of the Republican party, but after much reading and study he could not find it consistent with his belief to uphold high tar- iff, so cast his influence and his ballot with the Democratic party, which he still supports. He is genial and affable and enjoys many social hours with his fellow members in the ranks of the Modern Woodmen and the Turnverein. The family are members of the Evangelical church.
Mr. Schultze was married in Franklin county, December 28, 1888, to Miss Alvina Bergner, a daughter of George Bergner, a native of Saxony, a man of much mechanical genius, being by vocation a lock and a gun- smith, and a holder of many patents for in- vention. To Mr. and Mrs. Schultze have been born the following children, Alvina, Nellie H. and Cora V., also Johanna, who died when about ten years of age.
HARRY L. MACHEN. Whether the elements of success in life are innate attributes of the individual or whether they are quick- ened by a process of circumstantial develop- ment, it is impossible clearly to determine. Yet the study of a successful life is none the less profitable by reason of the existence of this uncertainty and in the majority of cases it is found that exceptional ability, amounting to genius, perhaps, was the real secret of the pre-eminence which many en- vied. So it appears to the student of human nature who seeks to trace the history of the rise of Harry L. Machen, a typical Ameri- can of the best class. He is yet a young man but has achieved a success that many an older resident of Cape Girardeau might envy. He is the popular and efficient in- cumbent of the office of cashier of the Sturdi- vant Bank of this city.
A native of Sikeston, Scott county, Mis- souri, Mr. Harry L. Machen was born on the 5th of February, 1880, and he is a scion of a fine old Bluegrass family. His father, Henry
L. Machen, was born in Lyon county, Ken- tucky, in the year 1843. When a lad of eight- een years of age, Harry L. Machen enlisted as a soldier in the Confederate army, becoming a member of a western Kentucky company, in Cobb's Artillery, and serving with all of valor and faithfulness as a soldier for a period of two years. He participated in a number of important engagements marking the progress of the war and was active in the battle of Shiloh, being one of the few survivors of that sanguinary campaign. He was taken prisoner by the Federal army and for a time was held in duress in the Dela- ware prison. After the close of the war he resided in his native state of Kentucky un- til the year 1877, at which time he removed to Missouri, settling in Scott county, where he was one of the largest and most influential farmers of the southeastern section of the state. He was also largely interested in the lumbering business. In 1891 he retired from active participation in business affairs and removed to Dexter, Missouri, where his de- mise occurred on the 1st of July, 1893, at the comparatively early age of fifty years. The paternal grandfather of him to whom this sketch is dedicated was Colonel B. Machen, who served on the staff of General Longstreet in the Confederate army. Col- onel Machen was a prominent resident and a public-spirited citizen of Lyon county, Ken- tucky, and after the war he was honored with election to membership in the United States senate, in which capacity he served with all of honor and distinction. Henry L. Machen married Emma Wyatt, the ceremony having been performed in Lyon county, Ken- tucky, in 1876. To this union were born four children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest. The others are: Mar- garet, who is now Mrs. James G. Reynolds; Edward Kirby Machen, who died November 7, 1902; and Mary Florence, who resides at home with her mother and brother.
After the death of the father, the Machen family removed to Cape Girardeau, where Harry L., who was then a lad of thirteen years of age, completed his rudimentary edu- cational discipline. For a period of three years he was a student in the State Normal School, at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and at the age of eighteen years he entered the Sturdivant Bank, where he has remained to the present time. In 1902 he was made as- sistant cashier of that substantial and highly
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reliable financial institution and on the 1st of March, 1909, he was promoted to the posi- tion of cashier. The Sturdivant Bank is the oldest monetary concern of its kind in south- eastern Missouri, having been established in 1866, by Colonel Robert Sturdivant, one of the early pioneers in this section of the state. The bank has always enjoyed a good business and has successfully passed through three panics. It has a very conservative policy and through shrewd management has won a well merited reputation as one of the finest finan- cial institutions in this part of the country. Prior to Colonel Sturdivant's acquisition of this bank it was a branch of the State Bank of Missouri. Up to 1882 it was a private cor- poration but in that year it was incorporated as a state bank, with a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars. Later the capital was in- creased to fifty thousand dollars and in 1902 to one hundred thousand dollars. The sur- plus and undivided profits amount to forty- five thousand dollars. The stockholders of the Sturdivant Bank are some of the wealth- iest and most reliable citizens of southeastern Missouri and the splendid reputation enjoyed by the bank is largely the outcome of the sterling attributes of the officials and board of directors. Mr. Machen is strictly a self- made man and in addition to the duties de- volving upon him as cashier of the above bank he is a director and one of the large stockholders in the Elks Realty Company. He is also a stockholder in the Cape Girar- deau Park Association, and has a fine farm in New Madrid county.
In a fraternal way Mr. Machen is affil- iated with the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and his relig- ious faith is in harmony with the tenets of the Presbyterian church. In politics he ac- cords an unswerving allegiance to the cause of the Democratic party and while he has never manifested aught of ambition or de- sire for the honors or emoluments of public office of any description he was persuaded at one time to accept the temporary position of city treasurer, after the impeachment of the regular incumbent of that office. He is not married and resides with his mother and sister in their beautiful home at 315 Bell- view street. In all the relations of life Mr. Machen has so conducted himself as to com- mand the unalloyed confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens and at Cape Girardeau he is universally admired and respected for
his straightforward and honorable business career.
HENRY T. WEST, one of Kennett's promi- nent business men, is also identified with the political life of the town. It is not often that there are united in one man the qualities which make a successful farmer, an enter- prising business man and a jurist, but Judge West is the unusnal exception. During the thirty years and more that he has been a resident of Dunklin county, the Democratic party has found in him one of its most stal- wart supporters, and a brief review of his life will serve to recall to the minds of his friends and acquaintances his business and public career of faithfulness, ability and honor.
Henry T. West was born November 30, 1852, in Williamson county, Illinois, where his father was a leading merchant and county official. After attending the public schools of his home locality and obtaining valuable experience as a farmer, on December 15, 1878, the stalwart young man of twenty-six left his native state and came to Missouri, where he likewise devoted himself to agricul- tural pursuits. He located on a farm five miles north of Kennett, but at the time of his coming the land was in its primitive con- dition, covered with a thick growth of tim- ber. During the twelve years following his arrival Mr. West cleared a great portion of the land, brought it under cultivation, built good fences and made many other improve- ments. In 1890 he established a general mer- chandise business at Kennett, under the firm name of West & Bailey. For six years, under able management, the enterprise prospered, but in 1896 the store was destroyed by fire and the partnership was dissolved. In the course of the following years he twice entered into business in Kennett, and in April, 1902, he opened the store which he owns to-day. He carries a complete line of groceries of all kinds, but he aims to carry only one quality, and that the best. Mr. West's third and last venture in the mercantile field has already been of longer duration than either of his previous undertakings, and it has met with success from the very outset.
Mr. West has been married twice; his first wife was Miss Pauline Jane Ralls, to whom he was united on September 26, 1873, just before he had attained his majority. During the seven years of married life which fol-
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lowed three children were born to the couple, and in 1880 Mrs. West died in Dunklin county. The names of the three children are as follows: W. H., the eldest, the present assessor of Dunklin county; Daisy, who died at the age of eighteen; Lul, who did not sur- vive infancy: In 1881 Mr. West celebrated his second marriage, to Miss Rosalie T. Greer, a native of Scott county, Missouri, where she passed her maiden life. Mrs. Rosalie West became the mother of nine children, five of whom died in infancy; one, Rosa, survived until she was fifteen years of age, and the three living children are as follows: Martha M., who was educated in the schools of Ken- nett, and is now a teacher in that place, af- ter having taught two years at Senath, Mis- souri; Grace and Ruth, who are still pupils in the public schools.
Mr. West is affiliated with the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, in which society he is a past noble grand and its present treas- urer. He holds membership with the Chris- tian church of Kennett; for a period of forty years has been connected with the Disciples and during that time he has ever been an active worker for the local church which he attended; indeed, Mr. West is so constituted that he is bound to take an active part in connection with any enterprise in which he believes. This is as true in regard to politics as it is with religious matters. He finds in the Democratic platform the elements of good government, and, such being his views, he has been constant in upholding the Democratic party, which in its turn has shown its ap- preciation of his support and of his abilities and character by bestowing honors on him. It is well to state, however, that none of the offices which he has filled have been sinecures, but on the contrary have required the in- telligent care which they have received at his hands.
In 1902 Mr. West was elected chairman of the board of trustees of Kennett; after serv- ing on the board for the ensuing five years he declined re-election and was released from office the following two years. His services, however, were too valuable for him to be allowed to continue inactive in that regard, and in 1908 he was re-elected to the board of trustees, in which capacity he has served continuously ever since. Many of the im- provements which have appeared in Kennett during the last few years are the direct re- sult of his influence and efforts. For six
years he served as police judge of Kennett, performing the duties pertaining to that of- fice in the most scrupulous manner; but in such a quiet, effective way did he go to work that he was able to accomplish splendid re- sults without making enemies. At the close of his six years' term, he was held in the highest esteem by both Republican and Dem- ocratic parties alike. He served two terms as justice of the peace, the first four years from January, 1897, to January, 1901, and he was again elected in the fall of 1906, serv- ing from January, 1907, to January, 1911. In 1910 Mr. West was the regular Democratic nominee for the office of probate judge, and was elected by a large majority. He took office on the first of January, 1911, since which time his efforts have been directed to- wards the fulfilment of the duties of his office, of the importance of which he has the highest realization.
Judge West does not claim to be anything of a public speaker, as he believes that for him at least actions are more effective than words. He is generally to be found on con- vention committees, where he can be de- pended on to work for the Democratic cause and for the public good in general. Per- haps the reason that Mr. West has been able to win the confidence of the people to so large an extent is because, in his eyes, no duties are trivial. Anything which he under- takes he performs as if that duty were of the utmost importance. A man with such a high sense of responsibility is sure to accomplish great things in the world, as has been the case with Judge West.
HIRAM P. GEASLIN, justice of the peace at Hornersville, is an able citizen of Dunklin county whose career of usefulness is highly appreciated by his fellow citizens. The en- ergy and ambition which accomplish things unaided by outside influences and in spite of difficulties have been his throughout his life, and relying on these qualities he has attained an honored position in his com- munity.
Born on a farm in Lawrence county, Ar- kansas. October 19, 1873, he lost his father when he was two years old, and he lived at home with his mother until he was twenty- two. His mother died in 1899, her last years having been spent near her son and his wife. Up to the time he was seventeen years old he attended the public schools, including two
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years in the Sulphur Rock high school, and then began a career as teacher. Ile taught a summer term and during the winter con- tinued his education, and taught about four months each year for seven years. When he was twenty-two he was elected assessor of his eounty, being in this office four years or two terms. He lived at Lynn while hold- ing this office, which required about three months of each year, and part of the re- maining time he spent in teaching.
On the expiration of his last term as as- sessor he moved to Dunklin county in 1902 and established a mereantile business in Bra- mum. There was one other store in the vil- lage, and he had a good share of the patronage of that community. Mr. Geaslin has been a resident of Hornersville since 1906. Soon afterward he was elected justiee of the peace and has held this office to the present time. In 1910 he was one of the five candidates on the Democratic ticket for nomination to the office of probate judge, and eame in second. He is a potential candidate for 1914. In 1911 he established the only collecting agency in the southern part of Dunklin county. During his official and private busi- ness career he has acquired a practical training in the law, and for several years he has represented that profession in Horners- ville. He is a tactful man of affairs, resource- ful and energetic, and has the confidence of the entire community. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the tribe of Ben Hur.
In 1895, at the age of twenty-two, he mar- ried Miss Joann L. Penn, who died October 13, 1904, leaving three children: Bon, born in 1897; Paul, born in 1899, and Dessie, born in 1903. On March 2, 1905, Mr. Geaslin married Miss Grace A. Rodgers, of Horners- ville, and they have three children: Sanford, born in 1906; Pleas, born in 1908; and Oliver, born in 1910.
ARTHUR V. CASHION. Perry county, Mis- souri, figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of the state, justly claiming a high order of eitizen- ship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive development and marked advancement in the material up- building of this section. The county has been and is signally favored in the class of men who have contributed to its development along commercial and editorial lines and in
the latter connection the subject of this re- view demands recognition as he has been actively engaged in the newspaper business during the greater part of his active career thus far. Ile owns and publishes the Perry County Republican in connection with his cousin Charles E. Cashion and this paper is recognized as one of the most enterprising and progressive publications in southeastern Missouri.
A native of Perryville, Missouri, Arthur V. Cashion was born on the 29th of February, 1868. Ile is a son of Archibald H. Cashion, whose birth occurred on a farm eligibly lo- cated some five miles south of Perryville. The parents of Archibald H. Cashion were William and Sally Cashion, both of whom died when their five boys were very young. These boys grew up on the old homestead farm in Perry county and when the dark cloud of Civil war obscured the national hori- zon all of them enlisted for service, their sympathies being with the North. Archibald II. Cashion was a member of the Fifth Mis- souri Cavalry and he partieipated in a num- ber of important engagements marking the progress of the war. He served under Gen- eral John MeNeal and from the office of cor- poral was later promoted to the rank of lieu- tenant. After the close of the war and when peace had again been established throughout the country he returned to Perry county, where he again devoted his time and energies to farming operations. In the election of 1866 he was elected sheriff and collector of Perry county and after serving in those ca- pacities for a period of four years he returned to his farm where he resided for a number of years. Just prior to the outbreak of the war between the states he had married Miss Margaret Brewer and they set up housekeep- ing on a farm adjoining the old Cashion es- tate. Mr. and Mrs. Archibald H. Cashion became the parents of eight children and the devoted wife and mother was called to eter- nal rest in the year 1906. In 1896 Mr. Cashion was honored by his fellow citizens with election to membership in the state legis- lature, as a representative of Perry county. serving two terms, and while a member of that august body he served on a number of important committees. After his retire- ment from the legislature he was appointed postmaster of Perryville, an office he filled with great eredit to himself for a period of nine years. He is now living retired at
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Perryville and while he has attained to the venerable age of seventy-two years he still retains in much of their pristine vigor the splendid physical and mental qualities of his prime. He is a grand old man and one well worthy of the high degree of popular confidence and esteem accorded him by all with whom he has come in contact.
Arthur V. Cashion is indebted to the pub- lic schools of Perryville for his early educa- tional training and at the age of sixteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the printer's trade, working for a period of three years in the office of the Perry County Sun, under John B. Davis. In 1887 he re- moved to Marquand, in Madison county, Mis- souri, where he clerked in a store for a short period and where he later managed and edited the Marquand Echo. The Echo was a Re- publican paper and Mr. Cashion had charge of it during the Harrison campaign. In 1890 he returned to Perryville where he en- tered the office of the Perry County Repub- lican, which was then owned and conducted by Charles E. Cashion, a cousin of the sub- ject of this review. Later Mr. Cashion bought the plant of the Perry County Re- publican from his cousin and from 1891 un- til 1898 he conducted this paper individually. In 1898 Charles E. Cashion again became in- terested in the publication of the paper and in that year he was admitted to partnership in the conduct of the Perry County Repub- lican.
On the 28th of December, 1889, was re- corded the marriage of Mr. Cashion to Miss Ida Finger, the ceremony having been per- formed at Marquand, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Cashion have three sons, Elbert T., Med- ford and Benson, the two latter of whom remain at home. Elbert is assistant cashier in the Bank of Eudora, Arkansas. The Cashion family are devout and consistent members of the Presbyterian church in their religious faith and they contribute liberally of their time and means to all philanthropical movements projected in the community.
Mr. Cashion is a stanch Republican in his political views and it may be noted here that the Cashion cousins, through the medium of their paper, exerted a very strong influence in the building of the beautiful Perry county . courthouse, which is located at Perryville and which is a great attraction in the way of beautifying the town. For nine years, from 1899 to 1908, Mr. Cashion was a member of
the Perryville school board. In a fraternal way he is a valued and appreciative member of the local lodge of the Modern Brotherhood of America and he is a man whose many ex- cellent attributes make him a valuable ad- junct to the citizenship of Perryville.
BENJAMIN HOODENPYLE MARBURY. It is said that the poet is born, not made, but the successful lawyer has to be both born and made-made by close application, earnest ef- fort, by perseverance and resolute purpose. The abilities with which nature has endowed him must be strengthened and developed by use, and only by merit can the lawyer gain a permanent position. And further than this, it is the tendency of the age to devote one's energies to a special line, continually work- ing upward and concentrating his efforts to- ward accomplishing a desired end,-so in the career of Benjamin H. Marbury, who has risen above the average in his specialty and is one of the most prominent and successful of criminal lawyers. He also represents a number of important corporations and does a general practice.
Benjamin H. Marbury was born in Warren county, Tennessee, October 30, 1865, the same being the district of the nativity of his father, also Benjamin Marbury, whose eyes first opened to the light of day September 20, 1840. The elder gentleman, who was a phy- sician by profession, was also educated for the law. His earlier training was secured in the Cumberland University at Lebanon, Tennes- see, and to obtain his preparation in medicine and surgery he matriculated in the medical college which afterwards became the medical department of Vanderbilt University, being graduated from that institution in 1868, with the degree of M. D. He subsequently became surgeon for the Sewanee Coal Mine of Tracy City, Tennessee, and there remained until 1873, in which year he went to Mississippi county, Missouri, and within its boundaries he practiced medicine until his death, which lamentable event occurred November 20. 1875. He was a communicant of the Methodist Epis- copal church, South, and in politics was a supporter of the men and measures of the Democratic party. He was married in Scott county, Missouri, to Rachel Anne Lusk, daughter of William M. Lusk, a farmer of that locality, and their love story was not without the pleasant element of romance. Benjamin Marbury, the elder, was a Confed- erate soldier under General Braxton Bragg.
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