USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 23
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All the above children were born in St. Louis and all were afforded college educa- tions. Charles W. Schneider, of this notice, was reared in his native city, to the public schools of which place he is indebted for his rudimentary educational training, the same having been later supplemented by a course in St. Benedict's College, at Atchison, Kan- sas, in which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1885. Since leaving college he has been intimately identified with the granite business in con- junction with his father and brothers. He was elected vice-president of the Schneider Granite Company in 1904 and concerning the other officers of that concern, R. P. Schneider is president and M. Blank is secre-
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tary. The company has a capacity for hand- ling from five hundred to one thousand men, a number of their employes being particu- larly skilled workmen. The plant is fully equipped with up-to-date machinery of every description and is managed by the subject of this review, who has proved himself un- usually gifted as a captain of industry. In politics Mr. Schneider accords a stalwart allegiance to the principles and policies pro- mulgated by the Republican party, and while he has never had aught of time or ambition for political preferment of any description he is ever on the alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with all measures and enterprises advanced for the good of the general welfare. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees and with the Yeo- men.
On February 28, 1905, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Schneider to Miss Fannie Bexten, a native of Folk, Missouri, and a daughter of Benjamin Bexten, a prominent farmer in the vicinity of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Schneider have no children.
JAMES JOHN CROKE, county collector of Saint Francois county, enjoys excellent standing as a good citizen and efficient pub- lic official and his name has previously been identified in a favorable manner with rail- road and mining interests. He has belonged to this particular section of the state of Missouri since 1883 and is very loyal to its interests. He is very popular in the lead belt district of Missouri, and being of Irish descent he comes naturally by prepossessing characteristics likely to commend him to his fellow men.
Mr. Croke was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, July 12, 1864. His father, James J. Croke, Sr., was born in Ireland and came to America when a young man, ultimately becoming a government employe in the cus- tom house at New York city. He married Hester Barry, and to this union a family of old fashioned proportions was born, the im- mediate subject being the fifth in order of birth of ten children. The father remained in the employ of the government until his demise in 1891. His widow survives and re- sides in Brooklyn, New York. The elder Mr. Croke, like his son and namesake, gave hand and heart to the cause of. the Repub- lican party. He was a Catholic in religion and possessed a fine education, having been educated for the priesthood.
James John Croke, Jr., received his edu- cation in the public schools of his eastern home and was but fourteen years of age when he left the parental roof. From that time he traveled much and made many changes of residences and finally made an end of his peregrinations by locating in Saint Francois county in 1883. Since that time he has been engaged in mining, being for some time connected with the St. Joseph Lead Company at Bonne Terre and about the year 1899 he also served as locomotive engineer. He was soon recognized as proper material out of which to make the public man and he made two unsuccessful runs for sheriff, but the county was so strongly Democratic that he lost. By no means easily daunted, he made the race a third time and was elected sheriff, an office he held for two terms. Following his service in such capac- ity he became special agent for the Missis- sippi River & Bonne Terre Railroad Com- pany and with this corporation he still re- tains his position, while at the same time performing the duties of county collector. He was elected to this office in 1910.
On the 7th day of October, 1892, Mr. Croke was happily married to Laura Porter, of Bonne Terre, Missouri, daughter of Captain Thomas and Elizabeth (Bowers) Porter. Mr. and Mrs. Croke are the par- ents of seven promising young sons and daughters, whose names are Harry, Hester, Nadine, James, Earl, Elizabeth and Mabel. The entire family are very popular in the community, and enjoy general confidence and regard. Mr. Croke belongs to two lodges,-the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
JAMES L. GOFF. The admirable success which has come to the subject of this sketch is a legitimate reward of well directed effort, for James Lonadus Goff has made his way in the world along those lines which mark him as a self-made man. He has been interested in the store business in the vicinity of Desloge, Missouri, during the greater part of his active career and at the present time is the owner of three stores, one on the property of the Desloge Mining Company, one on the Federal property and one on the St. Joe Lead prop- erties. In addition to his general merchan- dise interests he is president of the Bank of Desloge, one of the most substantial financial institutions in this section of the state, and
Samo & Corolles
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he also conducts a fine fruit farm near Bonne Terre, this county.
A native of Missouri, James Lonadus Goff was born in Jefferson county, on the 28th of November, 1863. He is a son of David D. Goff, who was born in Washington county, Missouri, in the year 1835, and whose death occurred in the year 1888, at the age of fifty-three years. The early life of David D. Goff was passed on his father's farm, in the work and management of which he early ac- quired vigorous mental and physical qualities, and his preliminary educational training was obtained in the neighboring district schools. His mother was called to eternal rest when he was still a mere child and when he had reached his sixteenth year he left home and located at Valley Mines, where he lived with an uncle and where he eventually became superintendent of the Valley Mining Com- pany. At the time of the inception of the Civil war he gave evidence of his intrinsic loyalty and patriotism to the cause of the Union by enlisting as a soldier in the Federal army, his military career extending over a period of ahout a year. After the close of the war he again entered the employ of the Valley Mining Company, remaining with that concern until 1879, when he established his home at DeSoto, where he engaged in the real-estate business and where he became a man in influence in public affairs. He was mayor of DeSoto for four years and during his administration many important improve- ments were introduced, the same adding ma- terially to the welfare of that village. He married Miss Ellen T. Walker, who is a daughter of Rev. William Walker, an old settler in Missouri and a Methodist Episco- pal minister. Mr. and Mrs. Goff became the parents of eight children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth: William G., Frank, John, James L., Robert L., Allie, David P. and George. William G. Goff is engaged in the mercantile business at DeSoto; Frank, John and George are de- ceased ; James L. is the immediate subject of this review : Robert L. is a resident of Shaw- nee, Oklahoma; Allie is the wife of Dr. W. L. Pruett, of St. Louis, Missouri; and David P. 'is manager of the Federal store. In politics the father was a stanch advocate of the prin- ciples and policies promulgated by the Demo- cratie party and in a fraternal way he was affiliated with the time-honored Masonic order and with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. Mrs. Goff is still living, having reached
the age of seventy-five years, and she now maintains her home at DeSoto, where she is deeply admired and beloved by a wide circle of intimate friends.
James L. Goff, the immediate subject of this review, passed his boyhood and youth on the home farm and up to the age of four- teen years he attended the country schools of St. Francois county. Subsequently he passed three years as a student in the high school at DeSoto and while there incidentally learned the machinist's trade. At the age of nineteen years he went into Kansas and thence to Nebraska, later returning to Mis- souri and entering the employ of the Valley Mining Company, as manager of their store and as paymaster of the Company. He con- tinued in the employ of the Valley Mining Company for a period of eight years and in 1892 he came to Desloge, where he entered into a partnership alliance with Oscar S. Florence, a sketch of whose career appears elsewhere in this work. The firm of Goff & Florence continued for a period of ten years, at the expiration of which Mr. Goff disposed of his interest in the "Company" store, as their place of business was called. Mr. Goff now has a string of grocery stores, the main store being located on the property of the Desloge Mining Company, with two branch stores located respectively on the Federal property and on the St. Joe Lead Company properties. Mr. Goff is also heavily interested in the real-estate business, being the owner of several hundred acres of lead land and considerable city realty. He is president of the Bank of Desloge and in addition to his other business interests has a fine farm near Bonne Terre, where he is constructing a large artificial lake, covering ten acres of land, the same being fed by three springs. On this same property are five thousand fruit trees. Mr. Goff is improving this farm with the ulti- mate object of making a fine summer resort and orchard.
On the 22nd of June, 1887, Mr. Goff was united in marriage to Miss Annie Goodin, a daughter of Austin Goodin, a prominent and influential farmer in St. Francois county, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Goff became the parents of four children, of whom but one is living at the present time, namely, Olga V., whose birth occurred on the 11th of April, 1894.
In politics Mr. Goff is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and his religious faith is in harmony with the teachings of the
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Presbyterian church, in the various depart- ments of which he is a zealous and active worker. In fraternal affairs he is a valued and appreciative member of the Masonic order, the Knights of the Tented Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen of America. He has ever manifested a deep and sincere in- terest in educational affairs and has been a member of the board of education for a period of twelve years. It is largely through his influence that Desloge is now putting up a fine thirty-five thousand dollar school build- ing. Mr. Goff is a man of fine executive abil- ity and tremenduous vitality and since his splendid success in life is the direct result of his own well applied endeavors it is the more gratifying to contemplate. He is a man of honor and high principle and is everywhere accorded the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens.
MARION FRANCIS TUCKER. At Hollywood, in Dunklin county, Marion F. Tucker has for many years been accounted one of the most enterprising and successful farmers and busi- ness men, a citizen whose integrity and good judgment are thoroughly esteemed by his neighbors, and a man whose individual suc- cess has meant the welfare of the community. Having spent most of his life in this vicinity, he has been identified with the country through practically all its stages of progress from a wilderness to one of the best agricul- tural regions in Missouri, and he has shared in and helped promote this prosperous con- dition.
He was born in Gibson county, Tennessee, January 23, 1863. In 1869 the family came to the locality where he was reared and where he has spent the rest of his life, his home place being three miles west and one mile north of Hornersville. For several winters he attended school at Coldwater, and all his schooling was obtained in this vicinity. He lived at home, helping his mother and father, up to the time of his marriage and for several years after. He was married on December 24, 1885, to Miss Anna Belle Bailey. They had fifteen years of happy married life, and she passed away in 1901. She was the mother of eight children, and the four still living are : Eva, who married Oscar Vandiver; Loid, born January 31, 1893; Modie, born October 16, 1897; and Carl, born August 15, 1900.
He and his wife continued to live in the old home place for a number of years, his father having built another home for himself. The
father sold Marion and his brother a farm, and when they divided it the old home was on the brother's part. Soon afterward, on his father's death, he moved to the home place and lived with his mother. He had bought his first forty acres on time from his father, and while living there got eighty acres of his present place. He in company with his father, two brothers and a brother-in-law, acquired a mill property on the farm where he lived, and conducted a gin there and then established a saw mill. The interest in this mill he had traded for the eighity acres on which his present residence is located, it be- ing situated one-half mile north and one- quarter of a mile west of Hollywood. The land was cheap when he got it and was cov- ered with timber. While he was helping with the mill and working his home forty he cleared the eighty, and had it nearly all ready for cultivation before he moved on to it.
Another of his enterprises was the first store at what is now the village of Hollywood, but before the railroad reached this point the place was called Klondike. He owned this store in partnership and left most of the management to his partner, Mr. N. B. Stone. This first store was burned down. In 1900 Mr. Tucker built a residence and moved to his present farm. At that time he owned a hundred and twenty acres. He has since traded his original forty for another forty adjoining and has added by three purchases until he now has a splendid farm of two hun- dred acres, all of it the fruit of his own enter- prise. With the exception of a nice grove of five acres that adds to the attractiveness of his home, he has all the acreage under culti- vation. Corn and wheat are his principal crops, and some stock. His farm is worth a hundred dollars an acre, and is improved with a good house and a barn fifty by sixty feet. Since the marriage of his daughter in 1910 he has a housekeeper for his home and other children. His trading point is Senath. In politics he is a Democrat, and he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Card- well.
JOSEPH A. REYBURN is the third to bear that name in Missouri and is of the fourth generation of a family which has assisted by its sterling worth and good citizenship in the growth and advancement of the section in which its interests have been centered. His great-grandfather, Joseph Reyburn, a Scotch- man, was indeed, one of the most noted pio-
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neers of the state. The subject, who was christened in his honor, is county clerk of Iron county and is one of its most capable officials, but preceded his public service by a commercial career. He is at present treas- urer of the County Clerks' Association of the state of Missouri.
Glancing at Mr. Reyburn's forebears, it is noted that his great-grandfather, Joseph Reyburn, was born in Scotland, in the vicinity of Edinburgh, and possessed those qualifica- tions which make her sons "loved at home, revered abroad." He immigrated in early life to America and located in Montgomery county, Virginia. He remained in the Old Dominion for a few years and then went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he made the sec- ond cash purchase of land at the Missouri land office, which was then located at St. Louis. He secured his land in the Belleview Valley, now Iron county, then Washington county, Iron county being made up from divisions cut off from Saint Francois, Wash- ington, Dent, Crawford, Madison and Rey- nolds counties. Having made that important transaction, Mr. Reyburn brought his family on from Virginia and settled upon his new property, which at that time was heavily timbered. It now consists of several fine farms and is extremely valuable. He engaged in many improvements and continued to reside upon his fine estate until his demise. His son, Joseph N. Reyburn, resided on the same property until he too was summoned to the "Undiscovered Country." He was a planter and both he and his father owned slaves which they brought from Virginia.
Samuel A. Reyburn was the son of Joseph N. and the father of him whose name in- augurates this review. He was born in Cale- donia, Washington county, Missouri, and was there reared. He became a man of some public prominence and usefulness and served as sheriff and collector of Washington coun- ty in the early '50s. He was a stanch Dem- ocrat and later, when Iron county was established, he was appointed town commis- sioner of Ironton. During the Civil war he served for a short time as a Confederate sol- dier, and joined Captain White's company, the first ever recruited in Iron county. He died in 1883, aged sixty-one years. He was a member of the Methodist church and of the ancient and august Masonic fraternity. He took as his wife Mary J. Robinson, who was born in Washington county, Missouri, near Caledonia, and was a daughter of Archibald
Robinson, who brought his family from Blacksburg, Montgomery county, Virginia, some eighty-five or ninety years ago. He was a millwright and built one of the first grist mills in Washington county, Missouri, a water mill on Clear Creek, afterwards known as Bryan's mill, and it was patronized by people from a wide scope of territory. The Robinson family located in Washington coun- ty, Missouri, and Archibald served in the Mexican war. Mrs. Reyburn, who was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, survived her husband until 1900, her death occurring at the age of seventy-five years.
The son of such worthy and estimable parents, Joseph A. Reyburn, began life auspiciously. He was one of a family of eight children, equally divided as to sons and daughters, and of the number, besides him- self, only two sisters are living, namely : Mrs. A. B. Mckinney, of Bronaugh, Vernon coun- ty, Missouri; and Mrs. Fannie L. Logan, of Belleview, Missouri. Mr. Reyburn was reared in Iron county and attended the common schools and Westminster College. Upon beginning his career as an active factor in the world of affairs he engaged in the mer- cantile business as a clerk at Ironton and later at Piedmont, Missouri, but subsequently abandoned this to take up the work of a commercial traveler, in which capacity he remained for twenty years. He represented various wholesale shoe houses, such as Claflin Allen, Orr Shoe Company, Peters Shoe Com- pany, and others.
Mr. Reyburn laid the foundations of a happy life companionship when, on the 29th day of November, 1882, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary A. Green, their union being celebrated at Iron Mountain, Saint Francois county. Mrs. Reyburn was born in the vicinity of Nashville, Tennessee, but was reared in Missouri and is a daughter of J. D. and Judith P. (Higgs) Green, the latter a native of Kentucky. J. D. Green was as- sistant superintendent of the Iron Mountain Iron Company for many years and earlier in his career was superintendent of the Bellwood Iron Works, at Bellwood, Tennessee. In the year 1892 he went to the city of St. Louis and engaged in the live stock commission business there for a period of ten years. He died at Ironton some years ago, an honored and influential citizen.
Mr. and Mrs. Reyburn are the parents of two children, both of whom claim Iron Moun-
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tain as their birthplace. Mabelle, the elder daughter, is at home and holds the position of superintendent of music and art in the Bonne Terre school, of Bonne Terre, Mis- souri. She was educated at Hardin College, Mexico, Missouri, and in 1910 and 1911 attended the Northwestern University, at Chicago, where she took post-graduate work. The younger daughter, Ruby, received her higher education at Hardin College and the Cape Girardeau Normal School and at pres- ent holds the office of deputy county clerk of Iron county, Missouri, having first under- taken its duties some two and one-half years ago. The Reyburn family maintain a de- lightful and hospitable home and are promi- nent in the many-sided life of the community. The name is indeed extremely well and favor- ably known in Southeastern Missouri, not alone through the present generation but by those who have gone before. Politically the head of the house is Democratic and in his fraternal relations he is a member of the Masonic lodge and the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. Mrs. Reyburn and her eldest daughter are members of the Metho- dist church, South, and Miss Ruby is a com- municant of the Episcopal church. John V. Logan, first presiding judge of the county court, and John Cole, first sheriff of Iron county, were both third cousins of Joseph A. Reyburn. One brother, Samuel P., was as- sessor for eight or ten years.
T. N. McHANEY. A prominent and influen- tial citizen of Kennett, T. N. McHaney has long been identified with public affairs, and is now rendering excellent service as police judge, and as notary public. The several positions of trust and responsibility to which he has been called have been filled in a man- ner reflecting the highest credit upon him- self, and proving that the confidence so freely given him by the people and the trust reposed in his abilities were not unworthily bestowed. He was born July 11, 1858, in Marion, Illi- nois, and in July, 1879, having attained his majority, came to Missouri.
Locating at Malden, Dunklin county, Mr. McHaney was for a short time there em- ployed as a clerk in the general store of his brother, R. H. McHaney, who was engaged in mercantile pursuits at Malden from 1876 until his death, in December, 1910. He also had a branch store at Hornersville. and of this Mr. MeHaney had charge in 1880 and 1881. R. II. Mellaney was a man of promi-
nence in the community and an active worker in the Republican ranks.
Severing his connection with his brother in 1882, Mr. McHaney came to Kennett in that year, and having opened a store of general merchandise conducted it successfully until 1888. While living in Hornersville, he served as postmaster, and in 1882, during the admin- istration of President Arthur, was made post- master at Kennett, and served through the administration of President Harrison, being succeeded by a Democrat when Cleveland was inaugurated as president. During Presi- dent MeKinley's administration, Mr. Mc- Haney was again appointed postmaster at Kennett, and served for ten consecutive years. From 1897 until 1900 the business of the post office was greatly increased, in the former year .the office being changed from a fourth class office to a presidential office.
A stanch Republican, Mr. McHaney has been a faithful worker in party ranks. For twelve years he was secretary of the Four- teenth Congressional Committee, and has been active in local and state committees. Since leaving the post office Mr. McHaney has operated a farm adjoining Kennett, having two hundred and forty acres under cultiva- tion, corn and cotton being his principal crops. As police judge and notary public he is well known throughout the community, his business necessarily bringing him in con- tact with many people whom he might not otherwise meet.
In February, 1883, Mr. McHaney was united in marriage with Louisa Marsh, who was born in Dunklin county, near Kennett. Her father, John H. Marsh, came from Vir- ginia to Dunklin county prior to the Civil war, and here resided until his death, at the age of sixty-five years. He was quite promi- nent in public affairs, and for many years served as county clerk. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Haney have no children of their own, but they have brought up three orphans from childhood until reaching maturity, rearing and educating them as if they were their own, namely: Robert Morgan, William Ed- mund, and Minnie Holloway, the latter of whom is still a member of the family. Mr. and Mrs. McHaney are members of the Chris- tian church. Mr. McHaney has always been a "joiner," even having joined the Ku Klux. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is quite active, hav- ing served officially in the Grand Lodge.
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MILTON HAWKINS, an old and prominent merchant of Blackwell, St. Francois county, is a native of Washington county, Mis- souri, born on the 2nd of February, 1849. His father, Augustus Hawkins, who was also a native of that part of Southeast Missouri, was engaged continuously in farming until the Iron Mountain Railroad commenced to be pushed through his home territory, when he engaged in contract grading in connection with the enterprise which has done so much for the whole state. He then returned to ag- ricultural pursuits. As a voter Augustus Hawkins was a Democrat but was never an office seeker or a politician in any sense of the word. His marriage to Miss Elizabeth Pin- son resulted in thirteen children, of whom Milton is the eldest survivor of the family; the father died in 1889 and the mother in the preceding year, both being constant attend- ants at the Baptist church and active work- ers in all its movements for the good and ele- vation of the community.
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