USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 10
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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
With his four brothers, John B. Cashion grew to maturity and at the time of the inception of the Civil war all five boys enlisted as sol- diers in the Union army. Although a mere boy during the war period Mr. Cashion saw a great deal of hard service and after the close of that sanguinary conflict he returned to Perry county, locating at Perryville, where he engaged in the sewing-machine business, to which line of enterprise he has continued to devote more or less attention during the long intervening years to the present time. He has taken a prominent and public-spirited part in local politics and has served with efficiency as deputy sheriff, as township con- stable and as justice of the peace. In 1866 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Emma Block, who was reared and educated at Perry- ville and who is a daughter of Hyman Block. This union has been prolific of four children whose names are here entered in respective order of birth,-Jessie, who is the wife of T. W. Tackenberg; Charles E., who is the im- mediate subject of this review ; Corrine, who is now Mrs. Henry Carruthers; and Linn, who is engaged in the drug business at Ches- ter, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Cashion are both living at a ripe old age and they command the unalloyed confidence and esteem of their many friends and acquaintances by reason of their sterling integrity and genial kindliness.
Charles E. Cashion, of this notice, was edu- cated in the public schools of Perryville and at the age of fifteen years he left school and learned the printing business. His first em- ployment was with the Perry County Sun and in the year 1889 he launched into the newspaper business on his own responsibility by establishing the Perry County Republi- can. After running this paper for two years he disposed of it to his cousin, Arthur V. Cashion, and went to St. Louis, where he worked at the printer's trade for a time. In 1898, however, he returned to Perryville, where he again became interested in the Perry County Republican, being associated in the editing and publishing of that paper with his cousin .. In 1910 he made the race for and was elected to the office of county clerk of Perry county. His political proclivities are in accordance with the principles of the Re- publican party and he is an active factor in the local councils of that organization. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Mod- ern Woodmen of America, the Modern Broth- erhood of America, the Knights of Pythias,
the Sons of Veterans, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. His religious faith is in harmony with the tenets of the Presbyterian church.
On the 30th of December, 1901, Mr. Cash- ion was united in marriage to Miss Dora Garth, of Perryville. To this union have been born two children,-Cosy Mildred, whose natal day is the 12th of October, 1902; and Beatrice, born on the 23d of June, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Cashion are decidedly promi- nent and popular in connection with the best social activities of Perryville and their at- tractive home is widely renowned for its re- finement and generous hospitality.
L. L. BRIDGES. There is no man in Scopus, Bollinger county, Missouri, who is better known than L. L. Bridges, whose family has for years been connected with the agricul- tural prosperity of the county. Mr. Bridges, however, has not been content to rest upon the reputation of his family, but is busily en- gaged in making a name for himself, and as teacher, farmer, merchant and postmaster he has been eminently successful. Possibly the man who decides on a certain business or in- dustry when he first starts out in life and devotes himself to that, and that alone, may make more money than the one who has turned his attention to different lines, but the former misses much valuable experience en- joyed by the man who has tried and made a success of several branches of work.
Mr. Bridges began life on the farm one mile east of Scopus where his parents, F. T. and Marzella Bridges, still reside. The father and mother are both natives of Bollinger county, were there educated and married, and there they raised their family of six children. L. L. Bridges made his first ap- pearance into the world on the 31st day of August, 1887. As soon as he was old enough he was sent to the district school, where he received his early educational training. On completing the curriculum prescribed by those schools, he attended the Will Mayfield College at Marble Hill, and on terminating his college course, in 1907, he began to teach school. The ensuing three years were divided between teaching and working on the farm- the winters being devoted to his pedagogical efforts and the summers to the agricultural pursuits. On the 6th day of March, 1910, he purchased a half interest in the mercantile store at Scopus, Mr. Bollinger owning the other half. The firm was known as the Bol-
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linger and Bridges Mercantile Company until June 30, 1911, at which time Mr. Bollinger sold his interest in the store and Mr. Bridges formed a partnership alliance with Lee Yount. The new firm, conducted under the name of L. L. Bridges and Company, is doing an extensive business and carries a fine stock of goods, at this time exceeding three thou- sand dollars in value.
On Washington's birthday, 1911, Mr. Bridges was united in marriage to Miss Lun- da Yount, daughter of William B. Yount, of Marble Hill. In addition to conducting the store, Mr. Bridges is the postmaster of Sco- pus. He is ambitious and is looking towards the future as having something greater for him than that he has already realized, and it is safe to predict that with his youth, his enthusiasm, his abilities and his industry, he will not be disappointed.
LEE TURLEY, M. D., who is engaged in the successful practice of his profession in the thriving little city of Bonne Terre, St. Francois county, is not only one of the repre- sentative physicians and surgeons of the county but is also a member of one of its old and honored families, the prestige of whose name he has admirably upheld. The Doctor was born on the old homestead farm, about six miles northwest of Bonne Terre, and the date of his nativity was December 6, 1862. He was the third in order of birth in a family of nine children, and of the other children two sons and three daughters are living. The parents were William W. and Mary Em- maline (Shelley) Turley, the former born in this state and the latter in Tennessee. William Wesley Turley was born near Hazel Run, St. Francois county, in 1833, and was the only son of the first marriage of his father, Aaron Turley, who was one of the early settlers of the county and who here continued to reside until his death. William W. Turley devoted his entire active life to the great basic industry of agriculture, in connection with which, through well directed efforts, he gained inde- pendence and definite prosperity, the while he so ordered his life in all its relations as to merit and retain the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fellow men. He was a loyal soldier of the Union in the Civil war and gave effective service as a member of a Mis- souri regiment, with which he participated in a number of engagements. In later years he perpetuated the more gracious memories of this service through his affiliation with the
Grand Army of the Republic, and his politi- cal allegiance was given to the Democratic party, though he never sought or desired pub- lie office. He was a member of the time- honored Masonic fraternity and was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, as is also his wife, who is now venerable in years and who resides at Melzo, Jefferson county, this state. Their marriage was solemnized when he was twenty years of age and Mrs. Turley's father, William Shelley, was at the time one of the representative farmers in the vicinity of Hazel Run, St. Francois county. William W. Turley was summoned to the life eternal in 1881, secure in the high regard of all who knew him.
Dr. Lee Turley gained his early training under the sturdy discipline of the old home- stead farm on which he was born, and his pre- liminary educational advantages were those afforded in the public schools, including the graded school in the village of Primrose. Later he continued his studies for four years in the academic department of the University of Missouri, at Columbia, and in preparation for his chosen profession he then entered the Missouri Medical College, at Columbia, Mis- souri, in which he completed, with character- istic ambition and close application, the pre- scribed course, with the result that he was graduated and received his well earned de- gree of Doctor of Medicine in 1890. Shortly afterward he began his professional novitiate by opening an office in Bonne Terre, and the best evidence of his technical ability, earnest devotion to his work and sterling personal characteristics is that afforded in the gratify- ing success which he has achieved and the un- equivocal popularity he has gained in the community. He has built up a large and representative practice, has continued a close and appreciative student of his profession, and has thus availed himself of the most approved remedial agents and advanced methods in both branches of his profession.
Though his ambitions have been solely along the line of his profession Dr. Turley has not been neglectful of civic duties but has ever been ready to lend his co-operation in the furtherance of measures and undertak- ings projected for the general good of the community, the while he has been found aligned as a stalwart supporter and advocate of the cause of the Democratic party. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Order
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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
of American Yeomen. Mrs. Turley is a mem- ber of the Catholic church.
On the 25th of November, 1893, Dr. Turley was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Lee Bisch, who was born and reared in St. Fran- cois county and who is a daughter of Theo- dore and Mary (Storaine) Bisch, both now deceased. The attractive home of Dr. and Mrs. Turley extends its hospitality to old and young, and that the young folk of the com- munity enjoy its privileges is assured by the fact that within its confines brightness and merriment is given by the fine family circle of four sons and four daughters, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth : Storaine Joseph, Hubert Lee, Julia Eileen, John Courtland, Hamilton Shelley, Mary Crystal, Lois Delphine and Ruby Vincent.
THOMAS B. KINSOLVING. As a type of the successful business man, showing what energy and enterprise will accomplish in a new coun- try, Thomas B. Kinsolving, of Hornersville, is one of the most representative citizens of Southeast Missouri, and his career has a gen- eral interest as a feature of this history.
Born on a farm in Kentucky, April 26, 1862, and educated in the common schools, he moved from there to Howell county, Mis- souri, spent some time in West Plains and Malden, and in 1893 arrived in Hornersville. He had a five-dollar bill and his clothes, that constituted his working capital when he be- gan his career here eighteen years ago. The railroad had not yet brought Hornersville into communication with the outside world, and he made his entry into town on a stage. A few stores then marked the business cen- ter, but the day of progress and prosperity had not begun for the town, and when it did begin he was on the crest of the wave. For a time he bought and sold game and fish, and helped his brother during the first summer. In the fall he was appointed postmaster of the village, an office which he filled to the satisfaction of the patrons for eight years.
In three years, by hard work and economy, he had saved two hundred dollars. He then decided to learn the drug business. His good friend, Dr. Mathews, agreed to help him in this enterprise, and it was this kindly aid, offered at a time when he most needed it, that proved the starting point of his success. He bought a stock of goods for four hundred dollars, paying half in cash, and in sixty days was able to pay the rest and thus established his credit on a firm basis. He was the first
druggist in town, and kept the postoffice in the same building. During the early years of his postmastership he had handled the mail in a grocery store. When the railroad was built he put up a store nearer the river, where he remained two years, and then bought his present lot and moved his build- ing to it. This frame building was burned in June, 1910, and he has since replaced it with a substantial one-story brick, twenty- five by eighty feet. He owns the adjoining building on a similar ground space. He now carries the largest drug stock in town, valued at four thousand dollars, ten times the worth of the stock with which he began business. He has prospered in every way. For a time he was engaged in lending money at low rate of interest to the farmers of this vicinity, and had out about forty-five hundred dollars the third year. He began buying stock in the Bank of Hornersville, and later formed a stock company of which he is vice president, this company engaging in loans and investment business, and for a time competed with the local bank. He has dealt considerably in lands. He now owns near town a farm of one hundred and four acres, some of the best land in the county, improved with good buildings, and is cultivated on the shares by a tenant. He has two other tracts, one of thirty and the other of fifty-five acres. In town he owns ten acres in addition to the fine four-acre plot on which his residence is located. Mr. Kinsolving lived in a very small house during his first years in Hornersville, but he now has a home that cost six thousand dollars and is the best residence in town.
Mr. Kinsolving is one of the leading Ma- sons of this vicinity, being affiliated with the lodge at Hornersville, the chapter at Ken- nett and the council at Campbell, and has taken all the York Rite work except the Knight Templar. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
He was married at Hornersville, July 11, 1898, to Miss Ella Black. They have two children : Elzora, born in 1900; and Almer, born in 1905. The family are members of the Methodist church.
J. HENRY STEVENSON. Of that publie spir- ited and generally creditable type of citizen- ship upon which the strength of Madison county is so securely founded is J. Henry Stevenson, a farmer and stockman, whose splendid farm of more than two hundred acres is located some three miles northeast of Fredericktown. He has devoted a great deal
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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
of intelligent effort to the breeding of fine stock, and it is to such as he that the high reputation enjoyed by the county in this line is due, some of the finest breeds being repre- sented upon his farm. In addition to his other distinctions he is a veteran of the Civil war, in which he was mustered out as second lieutenant of Company A, Burbridge's regi- ment.
Mr. Stevenson enjoys the somewhat un- usual experience of living at the present time upon the very farm upon which his birth oc- curred on November 17, 1841. He is the son of Hugh B. and Melissa (Kelly) Stevenson, of Scotch and Irish descent, respectively. The former was born in Lincoln county, North Carolina, as was his wife, and came to Missouri, locating on the farm now owned hy his son in Madison county. That was in 1826 and they brought with them their eldest child, then an infant. The land was then all in timber, and this plucky pioneer grubbed a place for his log-house, which is still standing. Hugh B. Stevenson died at this place about the year 1880, being then about seventy-five years of age. He was a Democrat and a good citizen. His wife preceded him to the Great Beyond by a number of years, dying at the Madison county home in 1867. when between sixty and sixty-five years of age. She was a member of the Christian church and a daughter of Enoch Kelly. The family of which she was a member was a large one, and one of her brothers, John Kelly, came to Missouri, but died in the early days. The Kelly family was one of the oldest in North Carolina. He whose name inaugurates this re- view was one of a family of ten children. eight of whom were reared to maturity, as follows: Robert, a farmer, died in Califor- nia: Benjamin, also a farmer, passed away at his home in the Golden state; Mrs. Mar- garet Gill died in Missouri some years ago; Mrs. Olivia Counts is deceased; Mrs. Joseph Anthony is a widow residing in Frederick- town; Mrs. Louisa MeKinsey is a widow 're- siding in St. Louis; Joseph died at Charles- ton. Missouri.
.J. Henry Stevenson has spent his entire life amid his present surroundings. He was educated in the common schools and since ar- riving at years of usefulness and discretion has followed farming and stock-raising. He makes a specialty of the finer breeds, such as Aberdeen and Angus cattle and Poland China hogs.
Mr. Stevenson was married here to Frances
Noell, who was born in Madison county, in 1848, the daughter of Edward Noell, de- ceased. Her mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Parkin. One brother, Charles, re- sides in Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson have an interesting family of seven children, all born at this home and all living. Alice is the wife of George Elder, a barber, residing at Fredericktown, and has one son, Ralph. Robert, of Perry county, is a farmer and school teacher; he married Rosy Shields and has one daughter, Mary. Harry is a carpen- ter, making his home in St. Louis; Laurence is at home; George, of Nevada, is a black- smith by occupation; Miss Dove is at home ; and Frederick resides in St. Louis, his occu- pation being that of a mail clerk between St. Louis and Kansas City, on the Missouri Pa- cific Railway.
The beautiful and commodious Stevenson home has been but recently completed, and the carpentry work was all done by members of the family, the son Harry taking a lead- ing part in the same. The subject is in har- mony with the policies and principles advo- cated by the Democratic party and is help- fully interested in all public issues which af- feet the welfare of the community. He takes great pleasure in his lodge relations, having belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since young manhood and being a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, both in Fredericktown. He and his wife are both members of the Christian church. As before mentioned, Mr. Stevenson is a veteran of the war between the states, having been a member of General Sterling Price's command. He spent three years in the service, eighteen months of which were passed as a prisoner of war. He was captured near Doniphan, Missouri, and was incarcer- ated at various places,-at Ironton, Camp Chase, St. Louis and Delaware. He enlisted when not yet twenty years of age and was never seriously injured on the field. As a member of the Confederate Veterans' Asso- ciation of Fredericktown, he finds many an opportunity to review the stirring events of fifty years ago.
JOHN AMERICUS KNOWLES. One of the rep- resentative young citizens of Madison county is John Americus Knowles, postmaster at Flat River and everywhere regarded as one of the ablest and most faithful of the servants of Uncle Sam. He has held this office since 1905, and in the six years since that date has
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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
afforded satisfaction of the highest character to the community. He was born in Madison county, Missouri, January 30, 1879, and is the scion of a Southern family, his father, Benjamin Clardy Knowles, being a native of the state of Tennessee. The elder gentleman was reared on a farm in Tennessee, and later in life removed to Illinois, where after a pe- riod in which he engaged in agricuture he went on to Missouri. This was shortly pre- vious to the birth of his son, John A., the identification of the family with the state be- ing now of about thirty-five years' duration. In Madison county Benjamin Clardy Knowles bought a tract of land and entered upon its improvement and cultivation, meeting with prosperity and becoming well known and highly respected in the section. In Madison county he married Miss Catherine Tinnin. of Bollinger county, who died when twenty-nine years of age, and to their union a family of six children was born, as follows: William Anson ; Emma, now Mrs. R. Moyers; Dora, wife of George W. Smith; John Americus, immediate subject of this review; Claude Lester; and Charles H. Mr. Knowles, Sr., married Mrs. Helen Moyers for his second wife, and they are now residing in Freder- iektown, Madison county, and are practically retired, enjoying in leisure the fruits of their former industry and thrift and having time for the cultivation of the finer things of life. The father is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the policies and principles of what its ad- mirers are pleased to call the "Grand Old Party," and he and his admirable wife are zealous and consistent members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. He has fraternal af- filiations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
The early life of John Americus Knowles was spent upon his father's farm and he had the opportunity of the usual country boy of becoming thoroughly familiar with agricul- ture in its many departments. He received his early education in the country schools of his district and also attended the graded schools of Fredericktown. Not feeling in- clined to adopt farming, as his own occupa- tion, he came to town and for one year held a clerkship in a store. He abandoned that and secured a position in the smelting and re- fining department of the Central Lead Com- pany and subsequently became a stationary engineer for the Central Lead Company, re- taining this positon for no less than five years.
At the end of that time he was appointed postmaster of Flat River, and as mentioned In a preceding paragraph, he still retains the same. He is one of the prominent men of the locality and stands high in the regard of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Knowles married, on the 29th day of April, 1900, Birdie L. Mitchell, of Flat River, daughter of William H. Mitchell, a carpenter and joiner. Three children have been born into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Knowles, namely : Harley L., Claude L. and Papinta. The head of the house is an enthusiastic ad- herent of the Republican party, doing all in his power to advance its interests, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Mr. Knowles enjoys fraternal relations with no less than six lodges, namely, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Eagles, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Knights of the Maccabees, and in all these circles he is pop- ular and prominent.
CHARLEY PINCKNEY WILKSON, circuit clerk of Saint Francois county, Missouri, is an efficient public official and is exceedingly popular in the community by reason of an engaging personality and great loyality to his friends and the community in which his interests are centered. Mr. Wilkson was born near Bonne Terre, October 3, 1872. He is the son of John Wilkson, who was born in Jefferson county in the year 1847. The early life of the elder gentleman was spent on the farm and he received his education in the country schools. At the age of seventeen years he went to work in Valley Mines and he was long identified with this field of in- dustry. He married Mary C. Haverstick, a native of Jefferson county, Missouri, and to their union were born four sons, as follows: William, deceased; Charles P., the imme- diate subject of this review; Lewis, de- ceased; and John, who resides near Farm- ington, Missouri. The subject's mother went on to the "Undiscovered Country" when he was a boy, and the father contracted a second marriage, Ellen Stringer, of Jef- ferson county, becoming his wife. To this union three children were born, the two elder, James Albert and Hattie M., being de- ceased; and Emma M. being the wife of Henry Owens. The senior Mr. Wilkson is still living at Bonne Terre, where he is en- gaged in the liquor business. He is Demo-
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cratic in politics and is affiliated fraternally this city the first time in 1890. It requires with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias.
The early life of Charles Pinckney Wilk- son was passed in Bonne Terre and in the public schools of that place he received his preliminary education. He subsequently at- tended the Baptist College and Judge R. S. Thurman's Select School for Boys, at Farm- ington, and in the meantime came to the conclusion to adopt the legal profession as his own. To secure the necessary training he entered the State University at Columbia, Missouri, and was graduated from the law department of that institution in 1898, re- ceiving the degree of LL. B. After his grad- uation Mr. Wilkson hung out his shingle at Farmington and in a very short time his fine native and acquired abilities received such recognition that his professional reputation soon spread throughout the county. After practicing a short time he received the ap- pointment of deputy clerk of the Circuit Court and proved his usefulness in this pub- lic capacity. It proved the highway to the major office and in 1906 he himself was elected circuit clerk, and in 1910, received the re-election. He is of the type of citizen- ship upon which Saint Francois county bases its pride and doubtless no small amount of public usefulness awaits him.
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