USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 100
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In 1908, in order to broaden his field of professional labors, Dr. Wilson established his home in the village of Puxico, and here he continued in active general practice until the close of his earnest and worthy life, his ability and high reputation having enabled him to build up in the new location a prac- tice which far exceeded in scope and impor- tance that which he had previously controlled. In the early part of the year 1910 Dr. Wilson went to New York City for the purpose of special post-graduate work along certain lines of surgery, and in his trip to the national metropolis he was accompanied by his family, to whom his devotion was ever of the most ideal order, so that even temporary separa- tion was not to be considered. He completed a post-graduate course in the College of Phy- sicians & Surgeons, which is the medical de- partment of Columbia University, in New York City, but his enthusiasm for study led him too far, with the result that he broke down from the strain entailed. He never recuperated his physical energies and lived only a few months after his return to his native state. The general esteem and affec- tion in which Dr. Wilson was held by the entire community was shown in a most strik- ing manner at the time of his funeral. His
remains were laid to rest in the Union ceme- tery, two miles east of Leora, and more than a thousand persons were present to pay a last tribute of honor. A train of seventy- eight carriages followed to the cemetery and a number from abroad, besides sorrowing friends proceeded on foot. It was one of the largest funerals ever held in Stoddard county, and the entire community manifested a deep sense of personal loss and bereavement when the loved and honored physician passed to the life eternal in the very zenith of his strong and noble manhood.
In physical appearance Dr. Wilson was a perfect type of manhood, and his classical features and fine bearing invariably attracted attention to him when he appeared on the streets of even the largest cities, such as New York and Chicago. No photograph or other depicture could do justice to the splendid ap- pearance of Dr. Wilson, and it is worthy of note in this connection that on one occasion he was in conversation with one of the mem- bers of the faculty of a New York medical college, when the professor said to him: "If I had your commanding presence I would establish myself in practice in Paris, London or some other large city, as your looks would bring you success anywhere you might choose to locate. But Dr. Wilson, with the char- acteristic modesty of a strong and gentle na- ture, had no desire to leave the county in which he had been born and reared, and he often said that he liked the fine old farmers and liked to do them good, besides which he could thus enjoy turnip greens and corn- dodgers, with no wish to "get above his rais- ing." His buoyant, generous and genial na- ture made him ever welcome, and no one could indulge "the blues" when he was about. He was always trying to cheer and aid others, and his optimism never failed. Young and old were attracted to him and for all he had a cheerful greeting on all occasions, so that it can not be a matter of wonderment that he was loved by all classes in his home community, where his name will be venerated as long as there remain those who knew him in life. At the time of his death the following estimate was published in the Puxico Index, and the same is well worthy of perpetuation in this connection: "In the death of this eminent physician the editor of this paper has lost a personal friend, one with whom we spent many hours in pleasant social inter- course. His learning in the speculative sci- ences was very great, and he could discuss
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life in its many and varied phases, always from the optimistic point of view. The laws of mind, soul and being occupied his atten- tion as well as the ills of the body. He car- ried sunshine into the sick-room and brought cheer and hope to the patient."
Dr. Wilson was an active member of American Medical Association and was elected a delegate from Southeastern Missouri to the convention of this organization at Los Angeles, California, in June, 1911, but he did not live to attend. He also held membership in the Missouri State Medical Society and the Southeastern Missouri Medical Society, and he commanded at all times the confidence and high regard of his professional confreres. In a fraternal way he was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Mod- ern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World. He was well versed in the scripture, and one of his greatest pleasures was conversing on biblical subjects. He spent many happy hours thinking and talking of the "Great Beyond."
On the 23d of July, 1896, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Wilson to Miss Mattie Grant, who was at the time only fourteen years of age, but who proved to him a de- voted wife and helpmeet and of whose love and solicitude he ever manifested the deepest appreciation. Significantly was this shown in virtually his last words, when he said to his devoted wife: "Darling, my happy hours are nnnumberable, for they were all happy with you. Let me die in your arms." Mrs. Wilson, who still maintains her home at Puxico, was born at Fulton, Kentucky, No- vember 22, 1881, and is a daughter of James H. and Mary (Stanley) Grant. Her grand- father was a second cousin of General Ulysses S. Grant, whom he resembled closely in ap- pearance, and her father also resembles that revered personage so much that he is always called General by all of his acquaintances. His birth occurred February 22, 1836, at Knoxville, Tennessee. The parents of Mrs. Wilson came to Stoddard county, Missouri, in 1886, and her father established a nursery in Dunklin county, near Malden, although his home was near Puxico, in Stoddard county. The mother died when Mrs. Wilson was but one month old, December 22, 1881. Dr. and Mrs. Wilson became the parents of two chil- dren, both of whom survive the honored fa- ther: Elsie, who was born on the 19th of November, 1897, and Ettie, who was born on the 3d of August, 1899. Mrs. Wilson was Vol. II-34
in close sympathy with her husband in all his activities and her greatest measure of con- solation is gained from the gracious memories and associations of their ideal married life, the bonds of which were severed all too soon. She is a popular factor in the social activities of her home village and has a wide circle of friends who sympathize in her great loss. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
M. T. JAMES. It is singularly fitting that men in the employ of the railroads, which are such promoters of the country's development, should as a class be among the broad-minded and progressive elements of our social fabric. This condition has been frequently com- mented upon, especially in the western por- tion of our country, and in Scott county Mr. M. T. James is one who upholds the reputa- tion of his profession for the qualities that are the foundation of democracy.
Charleston, Missouri, was the birthplace of M. T. James and his life began on June 1, 1877. His parents were H. C. James and Alice Courtway James. His father had in his youth inherited from his mother a large farm near Charleston. He was the sole heir and his guardians sent him to school at Ste. Genevieve. When he attained his majority he sold his farm and went into the saloon business, which he followed until his death, in 1883. He left a daughter, Beulah, besides his wife and M. T. James, the subject of this sketch. Mrs. James later married John Mil- ler, of Gordonville, Missouri. By her second union she had three sons and one daughter. The latter, Margaret by name, is now the wife of a Mr. Boyd of Kansas City, in which city Mrs. Miller makes her home with her sons, Herbert and Otto Miller. Herbert is in the newspaper business and Otto is in the employ of the Western Union. Charles Miller is a musician in Billings, Montana. Mr. James' own sister, Beulah, is Mrs. Kinzley, of Keytesville, Missouri. Mr. Miller died in 1899.
Mr. James received a common-school educa- tion at Allentown, Missouri, and upon com- pletion of that course went to work, first at farming and then at public work for the county and towns. When he was twenty he entered the employ of the Iron Mountain Railroad Company at Jackson, Missouri. In 1899 he left that road and accepted a position in the scale department of the Rock Island Railway at Topeka, Kansas. He remained in
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this branch of the service from January un- til September and then began braking for the same road. He stayed with them in the ca- pacity of brakeman for four years and then spent two years in the same work for the Cot- ton Belt, having his headquarters at Jones- boro, Arkansas. At the end of that time he was promoted to freight conductor. His next position was with the Frisco, after a year as freight conductor on the Cotton Belt. In January, 1906, he came to Chaffee, where he has since been at different times switchman, engine foreman, night and day yardmaster and conductor for the Frisco. He is now gen- eral yardmaster at Chaffee.
The community has signified its apprecia- tion of Mr. James' administrative abilities, as well as of his other good qualities, by electing him mayor of Chaffee. He entered upon this office in April, 1911. In the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen he is a popular and influ- ential member. He has filled all the offices in that organization, including that of president, and is now serving his third year as treas- urer. He is local chairman of the Grievance Committee.
Other lodges in which Mr. James holds membership are the Masons, at Illmo, Mis- souri, and the Ben Hur of Chaffee. In the latter he is master of ceremonies. To his other activities Mr. James adds that of a worker in the Baptist church, of which he and his wife are members. He is president of the B. Y. P. U.
Mrs. James was formerly Miss Katie Sum- merlin, of Cape Girardeau county, and is the daughter of L. J. Summerlin. She was mar- ried to Mr. James November 8, 1900. They have two children, Lucile, born August 26, 1903, and Louis, on December 19, 1905.
RALPH E. BAILEY, the former versatile su- perintendent of the Sikeston schools and an attorney of unusual knowledge of law and jurisprudence, was born in Harrison county, Missouri, July 14, 1878. He grew up on the farm and attended the common schools, but this was only the beginning of his schooling. He graduated from the high school of Burton, Illinois, and later from the normal at Cape Girardeau. Upon completing his course in the State Normal he took a special course in the State University. Mr. Bailey began teach- ing before he finished his training in the schools and colleges. His work in South- eastern Missouri hegan in Stoddard county, where he came to teach in 1897. Cape Gi-
rardeau and Scott counties were also the scenes of his labors in the field of education.
After graduating from the normal in 1901, Mr. Bailey was principal of the Bloomfield, Missouri, high school and later was tendered the superintendency in the same town. From Bloomfield he was called to Sikeston in 1906 to take charge of the schools here. After serv- ing as superintendent for two years he re- turned to Bloomfield to practice law and spent two years there in the legal profession. How- ever, the board and the people of Sikeston pre- vailed upon him to come back to their city and resume the management of the schools, so from 1910 to 1912 Mr. Bailey was city superin- tendent again in Sikeston, but has now gone into the law permanently and is the present city attorney of Sikeston.
Mr. Bailey is married and has three chil- dren, Roger, Honora and Mildred. His wife was formerly Miss Agnes Williams, of Mt. Vernon, Illinois. He and Mrs. Bailey are members of the Christian church.
As a lawyer Mr. Bailey enjoys an enviable reputation for learning, being one of the few lawyers of Scott county who have passed the strict examination required for admittance to the bar of the supreme court. He was admit- ted to that bar in 1907. The Odd Fellows count him among their most honored members, and he is now district deputy grand master, and he is a past noble grand of lodge No. 358 at Sikeston.
W. E. FINNEY. During the past twelve years the business interests of Advance, Stod- dard county, Missouri, have had a potent fac- tor in W. E. Finney, who came here from Chi- cago in 1898. Since that time the town has enjoyed a remarkable growth; the flour mill has been built, the telephones have been in- stalled, and buildings of various kinds have been erected, in all of which work Mr. Finney has had a share. Some personal mention of him is therefore pertinent in this biographical record, devoted as it is to a portrayal of the lives of the leading citizens of Southeastern Missouri.
W. E. Finney was born February 12, 1859, in St. Louis, Missouri, and there passed a por- tion of his boyhood. When in his teens he was sent to a German Moravian school in Pennsyl- vania, and later he took a commercial course in New York City, where he spent one year. He was then about eighteen, and the death of his father made it necessary for him to leave school and take up the responsibilities of life
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in the way of work to help support his mother and younger brother. Soon after this he went to New England, where he became identified with a lumber concern, and where he re- mained ten years, being fairly prosperous during this time. At the end of this period family interests brought him back to St. Louis. The next few years he was connected with a bridge and tunnel company of that city, and from there went to Chicago, where he was pay- master for an electric light company. He spent nine years in Chicago, and in 1898 came from there to Advance, as already mentioned in the beginning of this sketch. Here he as- sociated himself with Schonhoff Brothers, in a hardware business. With others he helped to promote the flour mill of Advance, and was also identified with the organization of the telephone company at this place. The past five years he has been engaged in the real es- tate and insurance business, at present having his office in the Exchange Bank Building. He owns the residence he and his family occupy, and as a real estate man he has been instru- mental in having others build good homes here.
Mr. Finney has been twice married. By his first wife, Eva (Young) Finney, whom he married in Maine, he has one child, Jameson, of Bethel, Maine. On July 3, 1900, he was married at Advance to Miss Josephine Schon- hoff, a sister of Schonhoff Brothers, with whom he was associated in business. The chil- dren of this union are as follows: John Lee, born in 1902; Bessie, in 1903, and William, in 1909.
Politically Mr. Finney is a Democrat. Re- ligiously he is an Episcopalian, while his wife is a Catholic.
JOHN W. MCCOLGAN. One of the new and thriving industries which are contributing so materially to Stoddard county's wealth and prosperity is the stave manufactory of J. W. McColgan, of Dexter, this concern being op- erated at Gray's Ridge, a hamlet set in the midst of a fine farming district. This is, in- deed, the town's only industry and it is of recent establishment. Mr. MeColgan is a ben- efactor to the community, as every industrial captain must needs be, for he gives employ- ment to forty men and affords a market for material. His name is prominently identified with the drainage movement which redeemed so many acres in Stoddard county and he him- self owns twelve hundred acres. He estab- lished a general store at Gray's Ridge in 1901,
and conducted it until two years ago, at the same time operating a spoke mill and engag- ing in other business. He has been particu- larly interested in the development of land and his was the remarkable achievement of clear- ing, ditching and fencing five hundred acres of bottom land. Of the 1,600 acres of which he is the owner over half is under cultivation. He bought out the stave mill in 1909 and he has improved and widened the scope of this industry. This turns out about $125.00 worth of staves per day and from fifteen to forty men are employed and occasionally seventy- five. He is a man of the most comprehensive executive ability and in addition to his other important concerns he has conducted a store at Idalia for a year. He is not in politics, hav- ing no desire for the honors and emoluments of office, but giving to public matters the con- sideration of the intelligent voter.
John W. McColgan was born in Hamilton county, Illinois, on the 1st day of May. 1862. He is a son of John and Mary (Davis) McCol- gan, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Illinois. The young McColgan re- moved to Oklahoma when it was still the In- dian Territory, and there he engaged in the stock business. He then went to Wayne county, Illinois, and established a store, while at the same time farming, and after a time he came on to this state, where good fortunes awaited him. During his residence in Mis- souri he has always made his home in Dexter.
Mr. McColgan is a self-made man and when he came here had very little capital with which to start. He would buy land cheap and await his opportunity to sell at a profit and thus soon came into the possession of ampler means. On the whole he has made most satis- factory progress. Gray's Ridge, the village in which his factory is located. is a station on the Cairo branch of the Iron Mountain Rail- way, ten miles east of Dexter in the famous East Swamp. It has two stores and a stave mill, the latter being its only industry.
Mr. MeColgan was married in White county, Illinois, in the year 1892, to Miss Della Big- gersteff, daughter of Albert Biggersteff, and their marriage has been blessed by the birth of a family of four children, as follows: Reba, Erie, Ruth and Lee. Erie was graduated from the Dexter high school in 1910 and is now a student in the Hardin College of Mex- ico, Missouri. Reba graduated from the high school in 1911, and is now attending the state university at Columbia, Missouri. Mrs. Mc- Colgan is a member of the Methodist church.
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Mr. and Mrs. McColgan stand high in the community, in whose affairs they take a use- ful part.
WINIFRED JOHNSON. One of the most val- ued members of the faculty of the Missouri State Normal School at Cape Girardean, and one of the leaders in the progressive move- ments in the town, is Miss Winifred Johnson. She is the descendant of a long line of an- cestors who distinguished themselves in many fields. Some of them were gfted and capable teachers, and early in her life she determined to fit herself for this honorable profession. She has given many of her years as a teacher to the service of the school in which she is at present teaching, and her fine qualities of mind and heart, as well as the loyal service which she has given to the school, have won for her the admiration and regard of teach- ers, students and townspeople.
Winifred Johnson was born in Monroe county, Ohio, not far from Sistersville, West Virginia. She is the daughter of Enoch Dye Johnson, whose family was founded in the United States by Abraham Johnson. The latter was a native of New Jersey, and was born about 1700, of English ancestry and parentage. It was during the year 1740 that he came to Virginia, where he settled in the Patterson's Creek region. This part of the country was still frontier country, and In- dians were numerous. Abraham Johnson was unafraid, however, and settled on land which he bought of Lord Fairfax, the original deed of which is still in existence. He set to work and improved his land, though he had more than one skirmish with the Indians, and on one occasion would have probably been surprised and massacred had it not been for the warning of a friendly Indian. He built a spacious dwelling house, a fine example of the manor house that was erected with future genera- tions in mind. Men had not yet drifted away from the ideas and traditions of the mother country. Here George Washington was once entertained, and to-day the old house is still inhabited by the descendants of the original builder. He was a well educated man, and was an Episcopalian, being of a strong re- ligious nature and a staunch supporter of the Apostolic faith. He was prominent in the life of that region, as is shown by his position as justice of the peace and as high sheriff of the county, which were of much more importance and honor than they are to-day. His wife,
Rachel Johnson, was born in New Jersey and was also purely English in parentage and ancestry. She was a member of the Episcopal church, and was a woman of great strength of character, and with as strong religious views as her husband. This couple left two sons and one daughter, whose descendents settled in Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Indiana.
The eldest of the sons, William, was born in Virginia in 1762. The homestead came to him by inheritance, and after the death of his father he filled the same place in the life of the section that his father had filled before him. He was an Episcopalian, and filled many positions of responsibility, becoming one of the leading men of the community. He married Catherine Parker, who was born on the 27th of November, 1764. Her ances- tors had come from England in the early days and had settled on the south branch of the Potomac river. They were a family of education and had a wide influence in the life of the community. William and Cather- ine Parker had a family of nine children, of whom seven married and reared large fam- ilies, many of whose descendants are to-day residing in this section.
One of their sons, William Johnson, born in Hampshire county, on the 25th of October, 1789, was one of the early settlers on the Ohio river. He came to the banks of this river in 1812 and here purchased land in what was later organized into the county of Tyler, Vir- ginia. He turned from the creed of his fathers and became a member of the Baptist denomination in 1828. Since there was no church in that part of Tyler county, he built an addition to his house which contained a room large enough for religious services, and it remained a regular preaching station until the time of his death. The Long Reach Bap- tist church was organized in this room and he gave most of the funds for the erection of the meeting house that was later built in the town of Sistersville, distant about seven miles. Ile was probably the most influential layman in the history of the Baptist denomination in northwestern Virginia. He was very promi- nent in the political life of the region, ard held various county and other offices. He was the leader in the development of the coun- try agriculturally. He was the first to plant orchards and to introduce new methods into the farming life of the region. He shipped farm products by flat boat to New Orleans and sent his cattle overland to the markets at Pittsburg and Baltimore. He lived, how-
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ever, to see other transportation made pos- sible. Shortly after coming to the Ohio river, in 1813, he married Elizabeth Taylor, of South Branch Valley. She was born in 1795, on the 25th of January, and was a member of the well known family of the Old Dominion to which President Zachary Taylor belonged. She was a quiet, earnest woman, helpful to all, be they friends or strangers, and her death on the 4th of April, 1828, was a loss to the community. Ou the 18th of November, 1830, Mr. Johnson was re-married, his second wife being Elizabeth Dye, who was born in Monroe county, Ohio, on the 10th of Decem- ber, 1807. She was the grand-daughter of Daniel and Abigail Dye, who were among the first to brave the terrors of the wilderness in what was then the Northwest Territory. They came to Ohio from the region of Manas- sas, Virginia, and had a prominent part in the early life of this section of the frontier. Mrs. Johnson's father and mother were Dan- iel and Teresa Dye, both of Ohio. Elizabeth Dye Johnson was "a wise and careful mother, an earnest religious worker, and a warm friend to all." She died on the 13th of Oc- tober, 1869. Eight children were born to the first wife, and to the second wife eleven chil- dren were born, fourteen of whom married and reared families. The family of William Johnson has numbered altogether about three hundred and forty, of whom more than two-thirds are now living. Many of these, both men and women, have been ac- tive in educational work, and the faculties of Harvard and Columbia Universities, Denison University, the Universities of West Virginia and Georgia, and of the normal schools of four states, number representatives of this family among them.
Enoch Dye Johnson, the son of William and Elizabeth Dye Johnson, was born on the 24th of November, 1832, at Long Reach, Vir- ginia. He was educated at Marietta, Ohio, and has spent the greater part of his life in Monroe county. Ohio, near Sistersville, West Virginia. Here he led the life of a farmer, and was prominent in all the religious, char- itable and educational work of the section, spending much of his time in the service of his fellow citizens. For many years he was clerk of the Long Reach Baptist church at Sis- tersville, West Virginia, and superintendent of its Sunday-school. He is "a man of the highest integrity, well-known and honored throughout all the region where his life has been spent, beloved and trusted by all." He
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