History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 31

Author: Douglass, Robert Sidney. 4n
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 802

USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 31

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Mr. Wilkes' birth occurred August 17, 1885, at Caruthersville, Missouri. He is a son of George L. Wilkes, who was born in Henderson county, Kentucky, on the 23rd day of October, 1856. His education was ob- tained in the public schools of Pemiscot county, Missouri, and later he engaged in the occupation of farming. In the year 1879 he married Miss Margaret Burris, who came from Washington, Indiana, where her par- ents, Mr. and Mrs. John Burris, resided. To this union of Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes ten chil- dren were born, and of this number William C. is the fourth in order of birth.

William C. Wilkes has spent practically his entire life in Caruthersville. He went through its grammar school, then entered the high school, from which he was graduated in the class of 1904, then matriculated in the University of Missouri and in 1907 was a graduate from the law department of that in- stitution. He returned to Caruthersville and

practiced alone for one year. In 1909 he entered into partnership with Judge Gossom, the prosecuting attorney of Pemiscot county, while Mr. Wilkes is the assistant prosecuting attorney. The union of these two men is a very strong one, as each is able to bring into the firm different necessary elements of suc- cess. The learned Judge can furnish the experience, while Mr. Wilkes has the en- thusiasm and optimism of youth.

Mr. Wilkes is a member of the National Guards of Missouri; he enlisted in 1903, while in his junior year in high school, in Company I of the Sixth Batallion, and dur- ing his university course he was in the col- lege military department. He is now ad- vanced to the rank of captain and adjutant of the Sixth Regiment, is on the staff under Colonel Oliver, and is greatly interested in military doings. It is natural that Mr. Wilkes should have a large circle of ac- quaintances in Caruthersville, and the fact that he stands high in their estimation is ample proof of his sterling worth, since they have every reason to appraise him at his true value.

WILLIAM BERNARD FLEEGE, druggist of Desloge and closely identified with the busi- ness interests of the town, was born in Me- nominee, Illinois, July 6, 1881. His father, Herman Fleege, was also a native of Illinois. Early in his career he migrated to Iowa with a mule team, but later returned to Illinois and began a successful career as farmer. He now owns one of the largest stock farms in Illinois. He married, in June, 1875, Miss Margaret Hargraphen, daughter of Bernard Hargraphen, a farmer of Illinois. There were eight children by this marriage. Wil- liam B. being the third. The parents were members of the Catholic church.

William B. Fleege received his early edu- cation in the public schools of Menominee. Later he entered the school of pharmacy at Des Moines, Iowa, and was graduated in 1906, equipped for the business of life. At Dubuque and St. Louis he was employed as registered pharmacist for several years, and in July, 1910, came to Desloge and bought an interest in the drug business which has since been successfully conducted by him. Among his business experiences he was one year a dining car conductor on the Wabash rail- road. He is a member of the Catholic church.

In October, 1907. Mr. Fleege married Miss

I. V. Slinkand

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Dora Kellner. They have two children, Urban and Donald.

J. V. SLINKARD, living a retired life at Marble Hill, can sit back comfortably in his chair and contemplate the changes that have taken place in his career since he first launched out for himself, a lad of fifteen. The men of his acquaintance are so accustomed to thinking of him as being away up at the top that they almost forget he was not born that way, but as a matter of fact he made a very modest beginning. It is one of the laws of nature that we fall into or climb up to close-fitting positions in the activities of life, according to our varying sizes and values, and thus it has been in the case of Mr. Slink- ard, born to lead and therefore unable to be kept in the ranks.

J. V. Slinkard is a native of Missouri, born March 21, 1839, in Cape Girardeau county. He is the son of Daniel and Eva (Helder- man) Slinkard, the father a native of North Carolina. Daniel Slinkard, when a young man, moved to Cape Girardeau county, Mis- souri, there married, buried his wife, mar- ried again and became the father of eight children. He died in 1838, shortly before his youngest child was born. Mrs. Daniel Slinkard was a widow before she married the father of the subject of this biography; her first husband was James Morrison, by whom she became the mother of several children. By her three marriages she was the mother of fourteen children. After the death of her second husband, Daniel Slinkard, she was married a third time, to Mr. Miles Doyle.

J. V. Slinkard was the little babe who had not yet arrived in the world when his father died, so that he never knew the affectionate care which a father delights to bestow on his children; he had, however, a step-father who assisted the mother to rear her family and in whose home the lad resided until he was fifteen years old. At that age, having al- ready learned how to do all kinds of farm work, he left school and started to make his own way in the world by hauling gravel for the Jackson turnpike. This work was fol- lowed by day labor in a brick yard, and after a short time the youth, unused to the steady manual labor which was required of him, was taken sick and forced to return home. The experience taught him that he would do well to fit himself for some other kind of work, and he went back to school while living in the house of his half-brother,

T. J. O. Morrison. He made such good use of his opportunities that at the age of eigh- teen he was adjudged competent to become a teacher, was appointed to a school, in which he taught for five terms, and then remained three terms in another district. While he was thus engaged in his work as an educator the war cloud, which had long been casting threatening shadows over the land, burst and discharged its contents. The young teacher, full of enthusiasm for the cause which he considered just, and with the desire for ad- venture so characteristic of youth, enlisted in the Missouri State Guards, under Colonel Jeff. Thompson. His company, however, was not destined to see very many months of fighting; sickness broke out in the ranks and the members of the company who had marched forth with such brave hearts in the month of September were brought back in Decem- ber, sick and discouraged. In addition to the fever which had stricken down Mr. Slinkard, in common with his companions at arms, he was wounded in the jaw and other parts of the face during the battle of Fredericktown, and to this day the marks appear as a wit- ness of his heroism during those terrible months of suffering. His health, never very robust, did not return to him, as he had hoped, and he went to a mountain resort in the eastern part of Tennessee, where he re- mained for several years. It was not until the month of February, 1869, eight years after he left the army, that he was fully re- covered from the hardships of his military experiences, but no sooner did he feel himself a well man again that he continued his long- interrupted career, but with changed course. He now went into the general merchandise business at Zalma (then Bollinger's Mill), in partnership with Daniel Bollinger. By the month of December, 1870, he had satisfied himself that if he would continue to keep the health which had been recovered with such difficulty he must live an outdoor life, whereupon he disposed of his interest in the store, bought a farm within ten miles of Zalma, and there he farmed until 1884. At that time the mercantile life again offered attractions to him; he went back to his old store in Zalma, in partnership with W. A. McMinn, and since the retirement of that gentleman in the year 1889, Mr. Slinkard has been the sole proprietor of the business.

It must not be thought that Mr. Slinkard devotes all of his time to his store; on the other hand, he has no active connection with

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

it, although he retains his interest in the business. He has become very well known in and around Zalma, and to know him is to appreciate his sterling qualities. As a mark of this appreciation which his fellow citizens feel, they elected him to the office of county treasurer on the Democratic ticket, and he served in this capacity from the fall of 1902 until 1904. When the Bank of Zalma was established, in 1905, Mr. Slinkard was its first cashier and served three and one half years, and, although now retired from that office, he still owns stock in the bank. He owns the property on which his store stands and has a half interest in the hardware store in Zalma. Although not connected with ac- tive farming operations, Mr. Slinkard is, as a matter of fact, the owner of two farms,-a forty acre tract of land near Zalma, and all cleared, east of the town and a half inter- est in a large two hundred and forty acre farm near Sturdivant, one hundred and twenty acres of which are cleared. Prom- inent as Mr. Slinkard is in Zalma, he is no less well and favorably known in Marble Hill, where he owns five blocks of land and one lot, on which is built his beautiful resi- dence. He owns stock in the Advance Tele- phone Company of Marble Hill and in the Public Life Insurance Company at Kansas City, Missouri, and also has stock in the Bank of Marble Hill.

Mr. Slinkard has been thrice married. In 1870, just at the time when he commenced his mercantile operations, he married Miss Sarah J. Hopkins, of Wayne county. She died in 1877, having borne him four children, two of whom are living now: Leota, born in 1870, is Mrs. Charles King and resides at Zalma, Missouri; Leo, born in 1873, lives at Zalma, where he has the active management of his father's store. In 1887 Mr. Slinkard mar- ried Miss Lizzie Shetley, of Madison county, Missouri, and became the father of two chil- dren, one of whom, Hiram, born in April, 1890, is now living. In 1890 the second Mrs. Slinkard died and two years later the twice- bereaved man was united to Miss Anna Hen- ley, who became the mother of Clarence, born in the fall of the year 1892.

It would be difficult to find a man with more wide-spread interests than Mr. Slinkard. In addition to those already mentioned he is affiliated with the Masonic order, his direct membership being with the Blue Lodge, No. 140, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Marble Hill. He joined first in 1881, at

Greenville, Missouri. For years he has been one of the pillars of the Baptist church at Zalma, his interest still keen, but perhaps the enterprise towards which he is most closely drawn is the Will Mayfield College at Mar- ble Hill, of which institution he has been the treasurer for several terms, and he has been a stanch supporter of the college for a much longer period. Alert to aid in any movement which has for its end the better- ment of the community, educational efforts seem to him of all others the most deserving of his aid.

WILLIAM M. MATKIN, ex-county judge and assessor of Madison county, Missouri, is one of the well-known and representative farmers in the county, where he has resided for more than forty years. Since he first engaged in agricultural pursuits the status of the farmer has undergone a radical change. A farm and a mortgage used at one time to be synonymous terms, and a man burdened with debt is not apt to be beautiful either in looks or disposition. Now all of this has been changed and "back to the farm" means a re- turn to efficiency, health and life; we reach the farm by going forward, not by going back- ward. The business of the farmer who pro- duces food must be regarded as a fine art. Much of this changed condition has come about within the recollection of Judge Mat- kin, and it is due to the work and example of such as he that ideas on this subject have so completely changed.

Beginning life December 19, 1844, Judge Matkin made his first appearance into the world on a farm in Madison county. He is a son of LeRoy and Rebecca (Polk) Matkin. The father was born in St. Francois county, Missouri, where he spent his boyhood and early manhood, and he then moved to Mad- ison county, there married, and there and in Iron county his twelve children were born, eight sons and four daughters, of which number six remain: C. A., a resident of Iron county; J. LeRoy, maintaining his home in Madison county ; William M., the subject of this sketch ; Ben F., who lives in Iron county ; Ira, residing at Montgomery, Louisiana; and Mary A., widow of Randall Dunn, of Grandin, Missouri. The other brothers and sisters all died young. LeRoy Matkin, father of this family, was a man of intellect, being a prominent educator of his day; he taught in subscription schools. He was deeply in- terested in all matters of public concern and

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in recognition of his great abilities and ster- ling qualities of character he was elected by his fellow citizens to the office of judge of Iron county and he was also deputy assessor of the county. He was for years a member of the United Baptist church, in which he was an active worker. His demise occurred in his sixty-first year, in 1882, in Iron county, Missouri, and his wife was summoned to her last rest in the year 1897. She was a sister of Captain Charles K. Polk, whose his- tory appears on other pages of this book.

Grandfather Matkin came to Missouri early in the nineteenth century and located on Indian Creek, St. Francois county, near Bis- marek. His death was caused by a tree fall- ing on him, which crushed him. He had three sons .- LeRoy, above mentioned; Wil- liam D., who resided on the old homestead until his death; and Ben, who also resided in St. Francois county and died some years ago.

When William M. Matkin was a mere lad he accompanied his parents to Iron county, and received his educational training in the common schools of the district. At the in- ception of the Civil war he enlisted in the company of his unele, Captain C. K. Polk, and served with him throughout the war, until the young man was taken prisoner at Fort Scott and was incarcerated at Fort Alton. Illinois, until the elose of the war, when he was paroled. Although engaged in the thick of the conflict in many closely-con- tested battles, he

was never seriously wounded. On leaving the army he resided in the home of his uncle, who had been pro- moted to the rank of major, as a result of his bravery and heroism. William Matkin engaged in farming and still owns the two hundred and eighteen acre farm which has been his home for over forty years. He is the second owner from the government, and during the years which have elapsed since his purchase of the place he has greatly im- proved it.

In 1870 Mr. Matkin married Miss Julia F. Kaufmann, whose birth occurred in St. Louis on the 12th day of January, 1849. She was a daughter of F. G. Kaufmann. of German birth, who located in St. Louis, Missouri, there married a German lady and remained in that city for a few years. He then went to Belleville. Illinois, and later came to Tron county, Missouri. He was a gunsmith and an expert general mechanic, with an inventive turn of mind. He worked in wood and iron

and patented the heading machine for com- bined header and thresher for wheat, oats, etc. His shop was located some fourteen miles southeast of Ironton, and there he suc- ceeded in making a good living, so that he was able to give his children the advantages of a liberal education. His daughter Julia was well educated in both English and German. She lived in happy companionship with her husband for a period of forty-one years, and on September 18, 1910, she was summoned to her last rest, at the age of sixty- one. Of the eight children who were born to this worthy couple, five are living,-Rev. W. L. H., a minister in the General Baptist church, now residing with his father and operating the farm, where also his wife (Miss Emeline Arnett before her marriage), and four children make their home; Bertha, wife of Charles H. Griffin, residing near the old homestead in Madison county; Cora M., who is married to Mr. Elwood Tual, a merchant at Arcadia, in the firm of Tual Brothers, and who has three children; Mrs. Thomas D. Jones, a sketch of whose husband appears on other pages of this history; and Pearl, a tal- ented young lady who lives with her father. Miss Pearl is a teacher and is especially gifted in drawing and painting.

In the year 1876 W. M. Matkin was first elected on the Democratic ticket to the high office of county judge and in 1882 he became the county assessor. In 1890 was again elected county judge, serving another two- year term. His terms of service were char- acterized by the same uprightness which have marked his acts in every relation of life. In a religious way the Judge and his wife were for years members of the United Baptist church, and Judge Matkin still retains his active membership. His fraternal affiliation is with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows at Irontou. The Judge can sit back in his chair in pleasing contemplation of the re- sults of his years of successful efforts for his family and for his fellow citizens, and he may feel that he has earned the approbation and regard which is accorded him.

DREW VARDELL. In all respects a worthy representative of the industrious. capable and intelligent citizenship of Dunklin county, Drew Vardell, of Kennett, is render- ing most acceptable service as recorder of deeds, and takes pleasure in doing what he can to advance the interests of town and county. A son of B. N. Vardell, he was born

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April 18, 1883, in Dunklin county, Missouri, near Ilornersville, where he was reared and educated.

Born in Tennessee, near Nashville, B. N. Vardell became thoroughly acquainted with the various branches of agriculture when young, and chose for his life work the inde- pendent occupation of a farmer. Coming to Dunklin county, Missouri, in 1874, he bought a tract of wild land near Hornersville, and on the farm which he redeemed from its prime- val condition has since carried on mixed husbandry with exceptionally good results. He married Elmira Horner, a daughter of Elijah Horner, who was one of the founders of Hornersville and for many years one of the leading men of this part of the state.

Drew Vardell attended the district schools when young, there acquiring ample education to fit him for a good position in the ranks of the world's workers. He continued to reside beneath the parental roof-tree until after his election, in the fall of 1910, as recorder of deeds, being the regular Democratic nominee for the office. Taking his office on January 1, 1911, Mr. Vardell has performed the duties devolving upon him in the capacity with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the people concerned.

Mr. Vardell married, May 9, 1905, Nora Williams, who was born near Hornersville, Dunklin county, a daughter of the late "Uncle" Dan Williams, and their pleasant home has been made more bright by the birth of one child, a daughter named Lile Estella. Mrs. Vardell is a most estimable woman, and a faithful member of the Methodist Episco- pal church. Fraternally Mr. Vardell belongs to Carnation Court, No. 7, Tribe of Ben Hur.

SIMON GIRTY NIPPER. One of Washington county's foremost young attorneys is Simon Girty Nipper. He possesses excellent profes- sional attainments and has already "given a taste of his qaulity" in public office, having for several years been prosecuting attorney, an office he resigned to accept the appoint- ment by President Taft as census supervisor of the Eleventh Missonri district. He is one of the most loyal and enthusiastic of Repub- licans, being ever ready to do anything, to go anywhere in support of the cause. He is a splendid campaigner and is widely noted for his eloquence, which readily brings con- viction to his anditors.

Simon Girty Nipper was born March 1, 1882. in Washington county, as was also his

father, James A. Nipper, whose birthdate was April 11, 1856. The elder gentleman worked around the sawmills and upon farms in his youth and received his education in the country schools, supplementing this with much reading, of which he was very fond. He was married, March 31, 1880, to Amanda Martin, of Washington county, and their union was blessed by the birth of six children, namely : Emily, deceased ; Simon G .; Fronia, now Mrs. W. T. Dougherty ; Oma, now Mrs. W. C. Huitt; Grace, deceased; and James William. After his marriage Mr. Nipper, the father, took up farming and he also was well known as a Baptist preacher. He is now engaged in preaching in various country churches of that denomination in Washing- ton and Crawford counties. Mrs. Nipper died January 17, 1911, much lamented by those to whom she was nearest and dearest. She was a stanch Baptist, a good mother and loving wife. The father is a Republican in politics.

Simon G. Nipper was the son of humble parents and passed his boyhood twenty-five miles from a railroad. He attended the coun- try schools four months out of each year and the rest of the time helped on a farm. At the age of eighteen years he secured a position as janitor at the Chillicothe Normal School and while thus engaged also attended school. It was not until then that he saw his first rail- road train. Subsequently he worked in the mines in Saint Francois connty as an under- ground laborer. With the savings from this hard work he was enabled to attend the Steelville Normal School, his father having removed to Crawford county. Following this he taught school for four years and dur- ing the entire period laid siege to his Black- stone to such good purpose that February 25, 1905, he was admitted to the bar at Steel- ville, Missouri. He came to Potosi in the same year and at once entered upon the prac- tice of the law, in which he soon gave evi- dence of signal ability. In 1906 he became a candidate for prosecuting attorney and in the race defeated W. A. Cooper. At the ensuing election he succeeded himself, Charles H. Richeson being his unsuccessful opponent. He is extremely active in political matters and is a standard bearer of the party in Washington county. He enjoys an excellent practice and at the same time is very faith- ful to his official duties. The eleventh district of Missouri, to which the president appointed him census supervisor, includes the counties

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of St. Louis, Jefferson, Washington, Iron, Reynolds, Carter, Wayne, Bollinger, Madi- son, Saint Francois, Perry and Sainte Gene- vieve. He had the distinction of being the youngest supervisor in all the state of Mis- souri. While the census was being taken he had little time for other matters, but resumed his practice with its conclusion.

Mr. Nipper has the very unusual record of having been a delegate from Crawford county to the state convention at the early age of twenty years. He has served as chair- man of the Republican County Committee of Washington county and as chairman of the Republican Congressional Committee of the Thirteenth district.

On January 25, 1903, Miss Fannie Huitt, of Crawford county, became the bride of Mr. Nipper, and their happy marriage has been blessed by the birth of two sons, Wendell Ward and Elmer Huitt. Mrs. Nipper is a daughter of W. H. and Amanda Huitt, and she and her husband maintain a delightful and hospitable home.

VAN HOUSTON HARRISON, M.D. For many years one of the leading physicians and sur- geons of Dunklin county, the late Van Hous- ton Harrison, M. D., of Kennett, not only gained marked prestige in his profession but was known far and wide as a progressive and public-spirited citizen, and as a man whose life was ever ordered on the highest princi- ples of honor and integrity. He was born July 11, 1834, in Sumner county, Tennessee, where his father, Dr. Jesse Harrison, a prominent physician, located on going to Tennessee from Virginia, his native state.

Inheriting a taste for the study of medicine from his father, Van Houston Harrison took a course of study in the Memphis Medical College, and was subsequently graduated from the Missouri Medical College, at Saint Louis, with the degree of M. D. Dr. Har- rison began the practice of his profession at Williamsville, New Madrid county, Missouri, from there moving in 1861 to Clarkton, Dun- klin county, which was then the best town south of Cape Girardeau. Very soon after- ward he enlisted in the Jackson Militia, and served for a time as surgeon in the Confeder- ate army. He continued in active practice at Clarkton until 1893, when he settled at Ken- nett, where he continued his professional labors until his death, November 24, 1896, having a large and Incrative patronage. The Doctor devoted his time and his energies to

his profession, and was an influential mem- ber of the various town, county and state medical associations, being considered an au- thority on the various diseases to which the human flesh is heir.

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History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 31

Author: Douglass, Robert Sidney. 4n Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 802

Author: Douglass, Robert Sidney. 4n
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 802