USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 94
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103
William C. Bergmann was born at Briins- wick, Germany, on the 16th of February, 1841, and he is a son of Dr. Staats Henry Bergmann, who held distinctive prestige as . a skilled physician and surgeon at Cape Girardeau during the period of his residence in this city. Dr. Bergmann was married to Miss L. C. Lehne in his native land and to
661
HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
them were born five children, three of whom were born in Germany and of whom the sub- ject of this sketch was the second in order of birth. In 1849 the Bergmann family immi- grated to the United States and settlement was made immediately in Cape Girardeau county, Missouri, where for the ensuing few years the father was engaged in agricultural operations. Dr. Bergmann removed to this city in 1851 and here he was engaged in the practice of his profession until the time of his demise, in 1862. The mother was sum- moned to the life eternal at an advanced age.
To the public and private schools of Cape Girardeau William C. Bergmann is indebted for his preliminary educational training. When eighteen years of age he left school and engaged in the portrait business, con- tinning to be identified with that line of en- terprise for a period of three years. At the time of the inception of the Civil war he tendered his services as a soldier in the Home Guards, serving in that capacity for a pe- riod of three months. In 1863 he enlisted in the Eighth Provisional Regiment of the Mis- souri Militia, in which he was first sergeant for six months. As a Union soldier he saw some hard fighting and after the close of the war, when he had received his honorable dis- charge, he returned to Cape Girardeau, where he engaged in the general merchandise business. In this connection he had been ex- ceedingly prosperous and his present large, well-equipped establishment is recognized as one of the finest of its kind in the entire city. A large and representative trade is con- trolled and the business is now largely in the hands of Mr. Bergmann's sons, W. F. and A. W. Bergmann.
In the year 1868 Mr. Bergmann was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. Eggimann, whose birth occurred in this county and who is a daughter of B. Eggimann, and to them have been born nine children.
While not a politician, strictly speaking, Mr. Bergmann gives a stanch allegiance to the principles and policies for which the Re- publican party stands sponsor. He is always ready to do all in his power to advance the best interests of the community in which he resides and while he has never manifested anght of ambition for the honors or cmoln- ments of public office of any description he was honored by his fellowcitizens, in 1900, with election to the office of city treasurer. He was the popular and highly efficient in-
cumbent of that position for a period of nine years and during all that time discharged the duties connected therewith with all of honor and distinction. He is deeply and sin- cerely interested in educational affairs and for eleven years was a member of the board of education. In their religious belief the Bergmanns are devout and valued members of the Lutheran church and they are popular and prominent factors in connection with the best social activities of the community. Thrifty and industrious, Mr. Bergmann is eminently well deserving of the admirable success it has been his to achieve and it is with pleasure that a history of his life and career is here inserted.
DAVID W. BREID is one of the representative attorneys of this part of Missouri and is a member of the Franklin Realty Company of Union. He is a native of the state and was born near Fulton, Callaway county, Febru- ary 1, 1873. Nicholas Breid, his father, was a farmer, and was born in Trier, Prussia, in 1830. Like many another of his countrymen he hearkened to the call of Opportunity from the shores of the New World and arrived in this country shortly before the Civil war. He located in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, and entered the volunteer army of the United States, spending two of the dread years of the great conflict between the states in Sher- man's army, battling with the forces of the Confederacy. Soon after the war he brought his family to Missouri and engaged in farm- ing in the vicinity of Fulton, where he was gathered to his fathers in 1892. He married Susan Cleck, a daughter of David Cleck, of Juniata county, Pennsylvania, and the sur- viving children of their family of twelve are as follows: Isaac R .; Charles; Mary, wife of John R. Level; Dr. Jacob, who is in the government service at Washington, D. C .; William ; David W., immediate subject of this record; Samuel; Martha, now Mrs. Pease : and Helena, wife of Gooch Bartley. All save David W. and Dr. Jacob are residents of Callaway county, Missouri.
Mr. Breid spent nearly the first thirty years of his life upon the farm of his birth. He acquired his education in Avalon College, Trenton, Missouri, after completing the enr- riculum of the country school, and then spent several winters as a teacher in the rural schools near his home. In 1902 he left the farm and took a position with the meat in-
662
HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
spection department of the government at St. Louis, spending six years in the service. While there he prepared himself for the law by night study and school attendance and was admitted to the bar by the supreme court of Missouri in 1907. In 1909 he removed to Union and identified himself with the Frank- lin county bar. He soon afterward entered the real estate business and is associated with Mr. A. W. Hoffman in exploiting the lands of this county. The Franklin Realty Com- pany works in harmony with the migration department of the Rock Island Railway and a thrifty and vigorous new citizenship is being introduced into the county on this account.
In the matter of political conviction Mr. Breid is a Republican and stands high in party councils. He is active in public life and in times past has served as justice of the peace in Union. At the present time he is assistant prosecuting attorney of the county under William L. Cole, and he is police judge of Union and city attorney of St. Clair. He is interested in the success of good govern- ment and aids in the promotion of social and professional harmony by a straightforward course as a citizen.
Mr. Breid laid the foundation of a happy union when on January 4, 1904, he was mar- ried to Miss Maytie Rose Freiberger, daughter of Godfrey Freiberger, their wedding being at Fulton, the bride's home. They have no issue.
In his fraternal association Mr. Breid is past venerable consul of the Modern Wood- men and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
GEORGE BIDEWELL presents that happy combination of farmer and scholar which, though not unusual, is seldom found in the measure that makes a successful teacher out of a fine farmer.
The subject of the present sketch was born May 18, 1885, a son of Henry and Lucrecia Bidewell. As stated elsewhere in this work, Henry Bidewell was a native of England, who came to this county in 1854. Upon the inception of the Civil war, his convictions brought him to the Union army. He joined Company K, Third Missouri Mounted Cavalry, in 1861 and remained in the war until its close, seeing much active service.
George grew up on his father's farm and attended the district school. He still lives on the extensive homestead which his father acquired, having bought out the shares of the
other heirs. Like his brother he follows both general farming and stock raising on the two hundred and forty acre farm.
At the age of nineteen Mr. Bidewell entered Will Mayfield college at Marble Hill. Here he took a year's course and obtained a teach- er's certificate. He has taught for four years and is still engaged in that profession.
In March, 1906, his marriage to Miss Jane Crites was solemnized. Mrs. George Bide- well is the daughter of J. M. and Adeline Crites and the sister of Charles Crites, an- other of the substantial farmers of Bollinger county, whose life is also briefly outlined in this work. Two of the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. George Bidewell are still liv- ing: Cletis, born in 1906, and Ivan, born in 1910. Mr. Bidewell's fraternal affiliations include the Ben Hur lodge and the Modern Woodmen. In politics he is aligned with the Republican party.
DAVID W. OWEN, proprietor of a fine farm and home in Dunklin county, was in debt when he began his career some twenty years ago. Depending on his own industry and good management, he has left his success to the destinies presiding over this great South- east Missouri country, and it has rewarded him with a generous share of its general prosperity and fruitfulness.
He was born in Greene county, Arkansas, October 3, 1869. His parents were farmers, and along with most other residents of that section were poor. School facilities were meager, and he got about three months each year. When he was nineteen, in 1888, he married Miss Mary Rowe in Greene county. His liabilities showed a debt of thirty-six dol- lars, and his resources included nothing mate- rial, only the spiritual qualities of courage and industry possessed by his wife and him- self. After their marriage they moved west to Lawrence county, Arkansas, where he made a crop on poor land, and in 1890 he came to Dunklin county, and for three years share-cropped north of his present place. He then bought a team on credit and began farming on a rented place. For six years he was on fifty-five acres near Hornersville, and during this time managed to get ahead a little. His next move was to the Uncle Nap Wilkins' farm a mile north of his present homestead, and he farmed at first fifty-five acres, then ninety-two acres, and the last year one hundred and fifteen acres. In 1900 he had bought forty acres now comprised in
dr. and Mrs. David . W. Owen
663
HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
his present estate. It was all in the woods when he bought, and while he continued farming as a renter up to 1905 he improved his other place, and when he moved to it in 1905 he was owner of eighty acres, which he at once began to clear up. He built his pres- ent comfortable cottage home of five rooms and also a good barn, sixty by sixty feet, has fenced his fields, and has all his original place in cultivation. In 1910 he purchased eighty acres more, half of which is in cultivation. He leases sixty acres of his place to a ten- ant. Corn is his principal crop, and he is known through the country-side as an indus- trious and prospering farmer and citizen, who has earned all he has. To supplement his income at different periods he has baled hay and hauled logs.
Mr. Owen affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Wood- men of America and the Mutual Protective League of Hornersville. In politics he is a Democrat, and is a member of the Methodist church, South. He and his wife are the parents of the following family: Suda, born December 30, 1890, now the wife of Thomas Hitt; Viola, born in 1891, died at the age of fifteen; Charles, born in 1893; Mary, born in 1897; Mattie, born in 1899; and Thomas, born in 1901.
Mr. Owen's parents were Rev. John Syl- vester and South Carolina Owen, the former a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, during all of his active life. He was born in Tennessee and died at Caruthersville, Missouri, in 1899, aged fifty-five years. He was a Mason and active in lodge affairs. His wife had died at the age of forty-two years, in 1887, in Arkansas. David W. Owen was the second of ten children, of whom six are living : Daniel, of Mississippi county, Arkan- sas ; Lucinda (Lomax), of Dunklin county, Missouri; Willie, also of Dunklin county ; Catherine (Busby), of Noble, Clay conuty, Arkansas; Walter, of Dunklin county, Missouri; and Caretha (Pitts), also of Dunk- lin county, Missouri. Mrs. David W. Owen was born in Greene county, Arkansas, in 1872, a daughter of John and Sarah Rowe, botlı now deceased, but early residents and farm- ers of Greene county, Arkansas.
JOHN T. MCKAY, practicing attorney at Kennett, is a man who has distinguished himself in the field of law, even as his father was noted as an educator. The father's achievements lie all in the past, but to the
son, in addition to the deeds which may al- ready have been accredited to him, belongs the precious present, the time when he can prepare for the future, the time when he can continue to work out that success which does not come unasked, but must be wrought out by ambition, plus preparation and work.
A brief survey of the early history of John T. MeKay and his immediate ancestors will give us a fuller realization of his present status. Forty-two yars ago, January 11, 1869, Jolın T. McKay was ushered into the world, the scene of his arrival being New Madrid county, Missouri. The grandparents of the subject of this sketch, Walter McKay and Mary (Holcomb) Mckay, were natives of Georgia, where they spent the early years of their lives, were educated and married. In 1833, a few years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Mckay left their home and came to Missouri, where they set- tled on a farm in New Madrid county. There they reared their children to ma- turity, educating them in the subscription schools of their vicinity. Mr. McKay gained the confidence of the people in the com- munity, as is evinced by his election to the office of sheriff of the county, a position which he filled in an eminently satisfactory manner.
His son, John McKay, was born in the Georgian home of his parents, but had only hazy recollections of his southern birthplace, as he was only three years old when he came to Missouri with his parents. The early years of his life were spent in New Madrid county, where he attended the subscription schools, being self educated. He virtually spent his life as a teacher, for which he was admirably qualified both by nature and training. John McKay was possessed of the faculty of realizing the difficulties of the student and could explain all his perplexities in the most clear, concise manner. In addi- tion to this, he was a disciplinarian of the highest type, as he was not only able to main- tain order, but at the same time secure the good will and respect of his pupils. For a period of thirty years Mr. McKay taught in New Madrid, Stoddard and Dunklin counties, losing none of his force and interest during those several years of faithful work. He taught up to the age of sixty-seven, only two years before his death, his last professional work being in the preparatory schools of Dunklin county. He died in 1898, ending a life of self-sacrifice, as does every teacher
664
HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
who spends his years in unremitting efforts to develop the capabilities of others, for which abnegation, as a rule, the educator re- ceives none of the credit. John McKay was twice married, his first wife being Miss Mary Adams, like himself a native of Georgia, who had come to Missouri with her parents when she was a young girl. She died in 1865, leav- ing two children to be the companions of their father, Virgil and Fernando. The latter died in 1884 and Virgil is a prominent attorney of Kennett, of whom mention is found elsewhere in this work. His second marriage was to Mary F. Adams, a native of Missouri, who died in 1879, leaving four chil- dren : Annie L., wife of J. H. Ham; John T. ; Benjamin A .; and Ola O., wife of W. J. Allison.
John T. McKay, one of the four children mentioned, spent the first four years of his life in New Madrid county, where he was born, his father then moving to Stoddard county, Missouri. When he was eleven years old his mother died and the same year his father brought his family to Dunklin county. There John T. Mckay attended the public schools and afterward entered the normal school at Cape Girardeau. Without any de- liberate planning on his part, it seemed natural that he should follow in his father's footsteps and enter the educational field, and when he was only eighteen he commenced to teach. Before long, however, he discovered that he had not the inclination to follow teaching, but was possessed of very decided tastes and capabilities in other directions. All his tastes seemed to point towards law as the calling in which he could best find scope for his talents. As he did not possess the funds to take a regular college course, he began to read law during the time he could spare from his teaching, working far on into the night in his eager desire to become pro- ficient. His progress was not as speedy as it would have been if he could have devoted his whole time to study, but after ten years of teaching and of close application to his legal studies he was admitted to the bar be- fore Judge Wear, in September, 1897. The success which was the immediate result of his admission to the bar and the commencement of practice was ample justification of Mr. McKay's choice of a profession.
On April 4, 1910, he formed a partnership with John H. Bradley. Mr. McKay has gained distinctive recognition and high rep- utation by reason of his broad and exact
knowledge of jurisprudence and his ability in applying this information effectively, both as a trial lawyer and as a counselor.
On the 28th day of June, 1894, Mr. Mc- Kay was united in matrimony to Miss Lucy . Laden, the daughter of R. A. Laden, an in- fluential resident of Kennett. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. McKay one child was born, Weltha. Mrs. McKay died January 8, 1901, and on January 28, 1902, Mr. MeKay was married to Miss Ethel McHaney, whose birth had occurred in Tennessee, but her educa- ! tion had been obtained in Kennett, where she lived until she was married and has since continued in the town where she has passed most of the years of her short life.
If we were called upon to decide which profession is the more worthy, that of a lawyer or a teacher, we should be utterly at a loss, but comparisons are unnecessary ; both 3 are noble professions and both call forth the highest quality of ability and endeavor. Mr. Mckay, as an influential lawyer, holds the - power to do an immense amount of good for the state of Missouri, and being a loyal Mis- sourian, he is availing himself of every op- portunity. He is especially devoted to Dunk- lin county, where he has spent practically his entire life and where he has a great fu- ture before him.
CARR HARTSHORN. It is indeed a pleasure to the publishers of this work to offer in its pages an appreciation of the young men of southeastern Missouri, to whom this portion of the state must look for its future prosper- ity and prestige. Among the able young men of Saint Francois county is eminent Carr Hartshorn, cashier of the Bank of Elvins and former postmaster of the place. Mr. Harts- horn is a man of varied abilities and he pre- ceded his present manner of usefulness as a teacher, clerk in a grocery establishment, as- sistant postmaster and then incumbent of the office.
Carr Hartshorn, whose name inaugurates this review, was born August 13, 1877. and is a son of John Hartshorn, who was born in St. Louis county, Missouri, December 20, 1830. The senior Mr. Hartshorn came to Saint Francois county in 1872, a few years previous to the birth of the subject. In March, 1875, he was united in marriage to Snsan Adeline Evans, and to their union were horn three children, namely: Carr, David, of Kansas City, Missouri, and Susie. deceased. The mother was a daughter of David and
665
HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
Catherine Evans, pioneer farmer-folk of Saint Francois county. The father of the subject came to Saint Francois county as a school teacher and afterward engaged in news- paper work, becoming the editor of the Saint Francois County Democrat. John Ilartshorn, although a prominent man, was not an office holder, for he was a Republican in his views, and in his day a Republican had little chance in local politics. He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he and his wife were consistent members of the Presbyterian church. This gentleman died in April, 1895, and his cherished and devoted wife was summoned to the life eternal in August, 1906.
Carr Hartshorn passed his early life in Farmington and after receiving his prelim- inary education in the public schools of that city lie attended a trio of collegiate institu- tions, namely : Elmwood, Carlton and Baptist Colleges, his name being enrolled at these for short terms. His education acquired, he taught school for a couple of years and then accepted a position in a grocery concern at Farmington. His identification with Elvins dates from July, 1899, and in the years in- tervening he has accomplished much. For a time he worked in a local grocery-that of J. C. Westover-and at the same time engaged in the duties of assistant postmaster, to which offiee he was appointed. He was subsequently appointed to a similar position at Desloge, but eventually returned to Elvins and found employment in the Evans & Howell Store Company. After remaining there for a time he was appointed postmaster by President Roosevelt, in the month of January, 1908, and has held that office to the present time. In 1911 he became cashier of the Bank of Elvins, and in addition to the important duties of this post, he also carried on a large fire insurance business. He owns considerable real estate and is helpfully interested in all that pertains to the prosperity of Elvins and Saint Francois county.
On the 7th day of August, 1902. Mr. Harts- horn was happily married to Mary Belle Dunklin, of Flat River. Their union has been blessed by the birth of three children, whose names are Harold. John Carr and Helen.
The family are Calvinistie in their religious conviction and attend the Presbyterian church, to whose good causes they willingly contribute their assistance. The fraternal relations of the subject extend to the Aneient
Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica. In politics he gives warmest allegiance to the Republican party and is a very active member of the county Republican committee, to which he has belonged for fully ten years.
DR. GUSTAV B. SCHULZ, the prominent physician and surgeon of Cape Girardeau, is universally respected. He is considered a most skilled surgeon by the members of the profession, indeed he specializes in that branch. This has not been the result pri- marily of deliberate intent ; he has not sought the specialization, but rather it has been thrust upon him by reason of his marked abil- ities in that line. The man, in the medical profession, who specializes before he has had much experienee in general practice, is apt to make a mistake. It is only after he has es- tablished his general practice that his ability along certain lines is apt to show itself. So it was with Dr. Schulz.
Ile was born in Wittenberg, Perry county, Missouri, September 13, 1870, and was the son of a physician, Dr. F. B. Schulz, who was a native of Germany, where he received his education, both general and medical. Ile came to America when he was a young man and after a short stay in New York, he went to Texas, where he practiced medicine. There he met and married Augusta Zedler, a young German girl who had come to Amer- iea with her parents locating in Texas. There Augusta received her education. In 1876 Mr. and Mrs. Schulz came to Missouri and lo- eated in Cape Girardeau. He soon gained repute as an able physician and he remained at Cape Girardeau in aetive practice until the time of his death in 1908, having survived his wife by ten years.
Gustav came to Cape Girardeau with his parents, his four half brothers and sisters and his six full brothers and sisters when he was six years old. He entered the public schools, then St. Vincent's college and the state normal school. At that time he had no intention of following in the footsteps of his father, but rather had let his choice of a pro- fession wait until circumstances should de- cide. After leaving the state normal sehool he entered a drug store, but it was only a very short time before he decided that he did not care to be a business man, but that on the other hand he felt strong desire to study med-
666
HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
*
icine. He stayed at the store for two years, studying hard all the spare time he could get. He then entered the St. Louis Univer- sity and graduated from its medical depart- ment in 1892. After spending one year in the city hospital he located at Altenburg, Perry county, Missouri, where he remained for ten years and a half, engaged in general practice. In December, 1903, he came to Cape Girardeau, where he has been ever since. Although he is a general practitioner, his abilities in the surgical line have caused him to be considered somewhat of a specialist. He is a member of the Cape Girardeau County Medical Society, of the Missouri State Medical Society and of the American Medical Association. He is a member of the state board of health and of the city board of health. He is a Republican of a very de- cided character. He is greatly interested in all matters pertaining to public welfare and especially in educational ways. He realizes the advantages to be gained from an educa- tion, the culture that it gives, the satisfac- tion that is gained by its possession, apart from the dollars and cents that it helps one to gain. He is president of the board of education, always active in promoting the welfare of both pupil and teacher. He is a man who is only at the beginning of his ca- reer, but he has already made his presence felt in the county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.