USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 81
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cants of the Protestant Episcopal church. He is one of the appreciative and valued mem- bers of Cape Girardeau Lodge, No. 639, Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In the year 1864 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Albert to Miss Clara Given Hay- dock, of Livingston county, Kentucky, and she was summoned to eternal rest on the 25th of December, 1900. Of the nine children of this union six are now living, and concerning them the following brief data are given : Hattie is the widow of S. R. Nelson, of Chilli- cothe, Missouri, and she has three children; Leon, Jr., who is engaged in banking at St. Louis, Missouri, married Miss Mary Juden, and they have three children; Alma is the wife of William W. Wood, of Baltimore, Maryland, and they have three children; Harry, who is a resident of St. Louis, Mis- sonri, where he is engaged in the real estate business, married Miss Charlotte Peironnett, and they have two children; Clara is the wife of Henry Coerver, of Olathe, Colorado, and they have one child; and Leland is engaged in commission business at Cape Girardeau. Helen, who is deceased, became the wife of Melbourne Smith, of Farmington, Missouri, and is survived by one child, so that Mr. Al- bert has a total of thirteen grandchildren, in whom he takes the deepest interest, as may well be inferred. On the 4th of April, 1907, Mr. Albert contracted a second marriage, by wedding Miss Lee Cairns, who was born and reared in Missouri and who proves a gracious chatelaine of his beautiful home in Cape Gir- ardeau.
JOSEPH F. CHILTON, the present prosecut- ing attorney of Madison county, Missouri, has gained a position of distinctive priority as one of the representative members of the bar of the state and he served for one term as representative from his district in the Mis- souri state legislature. He has gained success and prestige through his own endeavors and thus the more honor is due him for his ear- nest labors in his exacting profession and for the precedence he has gained in his chosen vocation.
A native of Fredericktown, Missouri, Jo- seph F. Chilton was born on the 8th of Febru- ary, 1872, a son of Septimus W. and Julia (Newberry) Chilton, the former of whom is now living in retirement at Fredericktown and the latter of whom was summoned to the life eternal in 1888. The father was born
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near the Missouri-Arkansas state line and he passed his boyhood and youth in Madison county. Ile was early bereft of his parents, both having died on the same day, when he was a child of but six months of age. Prac- tically rearing himself, his early educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the public schools of Madi- son county. At the age of sixteen years he enlisted as a soldier in the Confederate army, serving with all of honor and distinction in the cause of the South for a period of four years. After the close of the war he returned to Madison county, loeating at Frederick- town, where he engaged in commercial gar- dening. He has always been a stanch Demo- crat in his politieal proclivities and in his re- ligious faith is a devout member of the Methio- dist Episcopal church. In 1867 he married Miss Julia Newberry, and to them were born two children,-George, who remains at home with his father; and Joseph F., whose name forms the caption for this review.
After completing the curriculum of the publie schools at Fredericktown, Joseph F. Chilton was a student in the Missouri State Normal School, for a time, then turning his attention to the study of law. For two years he attended the Chicago College of Law, at Chicago, Illinois, being graduated therein as a member of the class of 1897 and duly re- ceiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was licensed to practice law in Missouri in 1898 and in that year initiated the active work of his profession at Fredericktown where he soon succeeded in building up a large and representative clientage and where he has gained recognition as one of the lead- ing lawyers in Madison county. In 1906 he was honored by his fellow citizens with elec- tion to membership in the lower house of the state legislature, serving in that capacity for one term, during which time he was assigned to a number of important committees. In the fall of 1910 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Madison county and in that con- nection he is giving most creditable serviee. He is a man of unusual ability and splendid equipment along the line of his chosen voca- tion and has already achieved phenomenal success in the legal profession.
In 1900 Mr. Chilton wedded Miss Maude May, who was likewise born and reared at Fredericktown and who is a daughter of Frank and Amanda (Newenm) May. The Newcum family were early pioneers in Madi-
son county. Mr. and Mrs. Chilton have four children, whose names and respective ages, in 1911, are here entered,-Wilma, ten years; May, eight years; Julia, six years; and S. W., three years.
In politics Mr. Chilton is a staneh Demo- crat and in a social way he is affiliated with the Masonic order, being a valued member of the Order of the Eastern Star, and he is also connected with the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. The religious faith of the Chilton family is in harmony with the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose faith they are rearing their children.
CHARLES B. PARSONS. As steadfast as the granite hills of his native state was the ehar- acter of the late Charles Bunyan Parsons, and, measured by its accomplishment, its beneficence, its altruism and its uprightness, his life eounted for good in every relation. Bringing to bear the powers of a strong and versatile personality, his optimism was of the true constructive order and through his well directed endeavors as a member of the world's noble army of productive workers he gained large and worthy suceess. His course was ever guided and governed by the highest principles of integrity and honor and he merited and received the confidenee and esteem of his fellow inen. His splendid abili- ties were prolifie in their influence upon the industrial and eivic development and up- building of Southeastern Missouri, and here the great success which he gained had its basis in his close and influential association with the development of the great mineral re- sources of this section of the state. Ilis early labors in this connection implied self-denial, strong initiative and executive ability admir- ably applied, and a confidence and courage to which no obstacle was held insuperable. But above his great achievements in connection with material things, the great mind and heart of the man made him exemplify the higher ideals of human existence, and he never failed in his stewardship or in his help- ful interest in his fellow men. It can well be realized that such a man merits consideration in a work of the province assigned to the one at hand, and it is gratifying to be able to perpetuate in this volume a record of his life and labors and to offer a tribute to his mem- ory. In the preparation of this memoir re- course is taken largely to a memorial pub- lished, for private circulation, soon after his
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death, and it is not deemed necessary to util- ize formal designation of quotation in draw- ing from such source.
Charles Bunyan Parsons was born at Ben- son, Rutland county, Vermont, on the 26th of February, 1836, and died at his home in Riverside, Jefferson county, Missouri, on the 28th of January, 1910, secure in the lasting esteem of all who knew him. He was a scion of a family, of staunch English origin, that was founded in New England, that cradle of so much of our national history, in the early colonial days, and he came from a long line of educated and talented folk. His grand- father, Reuben Parsons, was a man of fine intellectual attainments and wielded benig- nant influence in the community in which he lived. His maternal grandfather, Judge Chauncey Smith, was a citizen of distinctive prominence and influence in Vermont, where he acquired great wealth, as gauged by the standard of the locality and period. He served in a magisterial or judicial capacity for a number of years and for several years represented his county in the state legislature of Vermont. Concerning him, with inci- dental reference to the grandson, Charles B. Parsons, the following pertinent statement has been made: "He was a large contributor to the needs of all worthy persons and causes, a trait of character strongly developed by his grandson, Charles B. Parsons."
Henry Augustus Parsons, father of him whose name initiates this memoir, was likewise a native of Benson, Vermont, where he was born on the 19th of August, 1790, and where he was reared and educated. He was promi- nent in the social and religious life of the town, and, being a fine musician, was for forty years a member of the local church choir. He was closely identified with the various interests of his home town, and as a member of the state militia he was with the troop that went from Benson to meet General LaFayette, in 1824, on the occasion of the visit of the distinguished nobleman to the land whose gaining of independence he had so signally aided in the war of the Revolu- tion. By vocation Henry A. Parsons was a saddler and harness manufacturer, and he continued to follow this line of enterprise in his native town until impaired health com- pelled him to seek a change of climate. He first removed to Brighton, New York; thence to Rochester, that state, where he remained until 1854, when he removed with his family to Michigan, where he passed the residue of
his life, his death having occurred at Hills- dale, that state, on the 22d of January, 1862. His cherished and devoted wife, whose maid- en name was Elizabeth Smith, was born at Benson, Vermont, on the 12th of April, 1791, and died at the home of her son Charles B., subject of this review, in Bonne Terre, Mis- souri, on the 30th of November, 1884, at the venerable age of ninety-three years. Con- cerning her the following appreciative words have been written: "She was a woman of great force of character and loveliness of dis- position. She came to Bonne Terre, Missouri, after the death of her husband and her de- clining years were spent in the pleasant home of her son. She passed to the life eternal well beloved hy all who had known her." Henry A. and Elizabeth (Smith) Parsons be- came the parents of six sons and five daugh- ters, all of whom are now deceased except the youngest daughter, Emily, who married Gen- eral C. C. Doolittle, brother of Mr. Parsons' wife. Of the eleven children Charles B. was the youngest. Two of the sons, Lafayette and Chauncey, were graduated in the collegiate institution at Castleton, Vermont, and in the medical college at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Both practiced their profession in Michigan, and another brother, Reuben, was just enter- ing upon the practice of the same profession when he sacrificed his life during the great cholera epidemic of 1849. Dr. Lafayette Par- sons served as a member of the Michigan legislature, and late in life he removed to Adair county, Iowa, where he died at the age of eighty-three years.
When it was deemed expedient for the family to remove to Michigan, Henry Par- sons was sent on ahead to begin the work of; clearing the homestead which had been secured in the midst of the forest in St. Joseph county, Michigan. A few weeks later. Charles B. Parsons, who was at the time seventeen years of age, and who had been afforded the advantages of the Rochester schools, set forth for the new home to join his brother Henry and help in the clearing. He started with a team and a load of house- hold goods for this overland trip.
Concerning this memorable journey the fol- lowing description has been given: "With only his dog for company, he made the dreary trip of more than five hundred miles, cross- ing the Niagara river into Canada and re- crossing the boundary into the United States at Detroit. In due time he arrived at the clearing made by his brother. Three weeks
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later his brother Henry was killed by a fall- ing tree, and this proved a tremendous dis- aster to the surviving brother,-a beardless boy, alone in the big woods with only a few neighbors for help. Alone, the boy continued the work, cleared the land and built the home. When everything was ready, with that mi- nute attention to details which was one of his characteristics, he sent for his parents to join him, and with them he remained on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age."
Upon thus attaining to his legal majority Mr. Parsons determined to work his way through college. This ambition he found virtually impossible to realize, and he became a teacher in the public school in the little village of Burr Oak, Michigan. Thereafter he devoted three years to the study of den- tistry and after mastering the same he en- gaged in practice at Hillsdale, Michigan. Soon, however, he subordinated all other in- terests to tender his aid in defense of the Union, whose integrity was menaced by armed rebellion. Upon the first call for volunteers for service in the Civil war Mr. Parsons en- listed in Company E, Fourth Michigan Vol- unteer Infantry, and before the regiment left the state he was made second lieutenant of his company. His command proceeded di- rectly to the city of Washington and partic- ipated in the first battle of Bull Run. Mr. Parsons was promoted first lieutenant on the 1st of September, 1861, and on the 1st of the following July was made captain of his com- pany. In the command of General MeClel- land he took part in all the battles incidental to the campaign of that gallant leader and he distinguished himself by conspicuous and meritorious service until impaired health com- pelled him to retire, on the 27th of March, 1863, in which month he duly received his he ever retained a deep interest in his old honorable discharge. It should be noted that comrades in arms, and that he indicated the same by his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic and the Military Order of The Loyal Legion.
In 1864 Mr. Parsons accepted a position with a mining company at Northampton, Massachusetts, where he retained this in- cumbency for three years, at the expiration of which the mines ceased operation. At Northampton he formed the acquaintance of J. Wyman Jones who, with associates, had recently purchased the LaGrave mines in Missouri, and Mr. Parsons was engaged to visit the mines and make a 'personal investi- Vol. 1-3S
gation of the same, with subsequent report to the owners. Ile accomplished the work as- signed to him and upon his return to the east made his report to the directors of the company. Ile was soon afterward tendered the position of superintendent of these mines. but he considered it inexpedient to accept the place, owing to the remoteness of the mines from advantages of civilization to which his wife and family were accustomed. Concern- ing his final decision and action the follow- ing record has been made and is worthy of perpetuation : "Mrs. Parsons, who was ever her husband's trusted confidante and adviser, displaying that spirit of devotion and self- sacrifice which in all the years of their mar- ried life made her a tower of strength to her husband, urged him to accept the position, declaring, like Ruth of old, 'Whither thou goest I will go,' and the decision was made. Mr. Parsons came west and assumed charge May 1, 1867, leaving his family at DeSoto, then a small town, until June 26th, when he brought them to Bonne Terre and installed them in half of the only frame house in the place. Thus it was that this kind, gentle and capable man came to Bonne Terre and came to be associated with and bound up in the life history of nearly every one of our people." Continuing, this local estimate gives further words of deep appreciation and honor : "Standing at the brow of one of our hills and looking over our beautiful, modern little city of six thousand people; viewing the clouds of smoke rising from the largest lead mine in the world; noting our handsome schools, beautiful churches and peaceful homes nest- ling amid bowers of shade,-is it to be won- dered that the people of this place, through the long months of Mr. Parsons' illness, gave their daily thoughts to the suffering man whose genius had made Bonne Terre a pos- sibility, and is it strange that as life's sands ran low, the desire of Mr. Parsons should be that his remains be laid at rest among those who for nearly forty-five years had been near and dear to him, and that when the final summons came it was felt as a personal loss to everyone in Bonne Terre ?"
It is not within the province of this pub- lication to enter into details concerning the upbuilding of the great industrial enterprises with which Mr. Parsons' name was so long and conspicuously identified. but it should be noted that no other one man has done so much to develop the great lead resources of this section of the state and that his labors were
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of herculean order in this connection. In these early days adverse conditions, circum- stances and influences compassed him in his endeavors, but with characteristic. courage, tenacity of purpose and fertility of expedi- ent he pressed forward along the course he had defined, with the result that the years gave him tribute and splendid reward. He was the dominating power in the upbuilding of one of the greatest industries of the kind in the world, and it is due to him largely that the St. Joseph Lead Company gained precedence as the largest lead-mining con- cern of all in existence. Such accomplish- ment denotes the great executive and con- structive ability of the man and through his labors in this connection he did much for mankind, the while gaining for him- self and family a comfortable fortune of nearly two million dollars,-representing the just reward of long years of earnest and in- defatigable toil and endeavor. Further ref- erence to the mining industry is not de- manded in this connection, as the subject is amply considered in the generic history on other pages. None but a strong man could show such results in the mastering of cir- cumstances, and these results tell their own story. However, there is consistency in mak- ing the following brief extract from the pub- lished memorial to which reference has been made in a preceding paragraph: "To the task of making available the immense lead deposits Mr. Parsons devoted himself and his every energy. The first shaft to the lower deposits was started the latter part of March, 1870, and with the first load of rock hoisted from its underground bed there arose the stupendous problem of crushing, separating and smelting. No blazed trails were there to follow, and in the still watches of the long nights Mr. Parsons wrestled with the prob- lems, sometimes discouraged and disheart- ened but ever persistent and ever exhibiting to the world a smiling face, so that only his loved ones knew of his trials and discour- agements, and no one knew that the helpful, courteous superintendent, who was always ready with a kind word, a helpful suggestion, a hearty handshake, or an order on the store to supply some poor fellow with a pair of shoes, was for months nnable to look into the future for a single day with hope of reward, and was only kept to his hard task, was only enabled to face each new day with confi- dence, by the cheerful counsel and support of that splendidly equipped wife and mother
who had been more than willing to leave home, friends and social enjoyments to come with him into the wilderness of the west. These years, and the many years which fol- lowed them, were years filled with ceaseless vigil, burning life's candle at both ends; al- ways planning, always looking forward, and. withal, always willing to lend a helping hand to the weak or to give from his store to those in need." This indeed represents a tri- umphant life, and all who knew Mr. Parsons not only revere his memory but also realize that none ever was more worthy of success.
The very nature of Mr. Parsons was one of breadth and liberality, and he gave of himself to the furthering of every measure and enterprise tending to advance the mate- rial and social welfare of his home commun- ity, and also the entire district in which his interests centered. Thus he was concerned with railroad development, with the exploita- tion of all public utilities and with the up- building of various industrial and commer- cial enterprises of magnitude and importance He was one of the large stockholders anc active executives not only in the St. Joseph Lead Company but also in the Mississippi River & Bonne Terre Railroad Company, the Doe Run Lead Company, the Bonne Terre Farming & Title Company, and the Farm- ers' & Miners' Trust Company, of Bonne Terre.
In politics Mr. Parsons gave a staunch al- legiance to the Republican party, and he was, zealous in the furtherance of its cause, the while it was a distinct pleasure to him that he lived to see St. Francois county cast & majority of Republican votes. He was & delegate to the national convention that first nominated William McKinley for the presi- dency and was active in the local councils of his party.
In the advancement of educational facil. ities he took an abiding interest and he served for many years as a valued member of the Bonne Terre school board. He never. sought political preferment and it was largely a matter of extraneous expediency. that caused him to hold the office of postmas ter of Bonne Terre from April, 1876, to Oc- tober, 1885. He had deep reverence for the spiritual verities and was instant and liberal in the support of all religious activities in which, though himself a member of the Con- gregational church, he recognized neither' sect nor creed, as he realized the value of the work of all ' denominations. The pres-
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ent fine edifice of the Congregational church in Bonne Terre is his gift to the people of his home city. From the previously men- tioned memorial are taken the following ap- preciative words: "Perhaps the character- istics which endeared him so generally to the people of this community were his never-fail- ing courtesy and that kind consideration which never varied, whether the occasion was a presidential reception or that of helping some poor foreigner from the gutter, or com- pelling some poor workman to accept a loan which his keen perception told him was needed."
The death of Mr. Parsons caused an en- tire community to mourn, and all classes and conditions of men and women in Bonne Terre showed their deep sense of personal loss and bereavement. They mourned not the success- ful man, not the man of wealth and influ- ence, but felt that they were bereft of a true friend, the man of deep human sympathy and tolerance, the man whose was the faith that makes faithful in all things. His fu- neral was conducted by Rt. Rev. Daniel Tut- tle, the venerable bishop of the Missouri dio- cese of the Protestant Episcopal church, and this honored prelate was assisted by the pas- tor of the Congregational church in Bonne Terre, Rev. H. L. Hartwell. Interment was made with Masonic honors, as Mr. Parsons was long identified with this time-honored fraternity.
It may be noted that the sons of Mr. Par- sons have succeeded to and assumed active supervision of his varied industrial and other capitalistic interests, in the control of which they are showing themselves worthy of the honored name which they bear. They are also men of sterling character and high civic ideals.
There can be no wish to lift the gracious veil that gave seclusion to a home whose every relation was ideal, but it is consistent to enter a brief record concerning the domestic relations of Mr. Parsons,-relations that were marked by the greatest of solicitude and beauty. While serving as a soldier in the Civil war Mr. Parsons was granted a fur- lough, and within this period, on the 5th of February, 1862, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Jane E. Doolittle, the accomplished daughter of M. J. and Elizabeth (Camp) Doolittle, and a sister of General Charles C. Doolittle, who gained distinction in the Civil war, in which he entered service as a member of the same company as did the sub-
ject of this memoir. Mrs. Parsons survives her honored husband and still resides in the beautiful home at Riverside, near Bonne Terre. She was reared and educated in New York city and Brooklyn and brought into the wilds of Missouri, when she came here with her husband, the fine elements of cul- ture that had been gained in her associations in the east. For three years previous to her marriage Mrs. Parsons was the leading so- prano in the choir of Rev. Theodore L. Cuy- ler's church at Brooklyn. Mr. and Mrs. Par- sons became the parents of eight children, of whom five are living: Roscoe R. S. and Gerard S., who have succeeded their father in the various positions of the latter's large interests: Jessie H., who is the wife of Ben Blewett, superintendent of the public schools of St. Louis, Missouri ; Mabel T., who is the wife of Dr. George Knapp, of Vin- cennes, Indiana ; and Miss Bertha S., who re- mains with her widowed mother. Roscoe R. S. Parsons is now general manager of the St. Joseph Lead Company; vice-president of the Doe Run Lead Company; vice-president of the Mississippi River & Bonne Terre Rail- road Company; and president of the Farm- ers' & Miners' Trust Company of Bonne Terre. Gerard S. Parsons is assistant gen- eral manager of the St. Joseph Lead Com- pany and treasurer of the railroad company above mentioned.
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