History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 34

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 34

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BENJAMIN ADDISON MCKAY. Among the representative and talented members of the legal profession of Caruthersville, Pemiscot county, Missouri, is Benjamin Addison Mc- Kay, of the firm of Sheppard, Reeves & Mc- Kay, one of the strongest combinations of legal ability within its pleasant boundaries. Mr. McKay is a native son of the county and belongs to a prominent family, and his father, John McKay, and his brothers, Vergil and John J. Mckay, are mentioned on other pages of this work. His birth occurred May 14, 1871, in the northern part of the county and his carly years, up to the age of fourteen, were passed upon his father's farm, his seas- ons of fall and winter being passed in part behind a desk in the district school room. Between the age of fourteen and eighteen he worked as a hired assistant to various farmers, while at the same time continuing very diligently his studies. At the age of eighteen he began teaching in what is known as the Austin schoolhouse, on Horse Island, near Senath. His career as an instructor there was for two terms, and following this he matriculated in the normal school and completed the greater part of the "C" course. He was very successful as an instructor, his ability and personality well fitting him for such work and no doubt a con- stantly advancing career in this field would have been his had he chosen to remain in it. He taught at Cardwell, Dunklin county, for two years and in 1892 came to Pemiscot coun- ty, where for a like period he was engaged as instructor in the school south of Caruthers- ville. By no means of the type which is con- tent to let well enough alone, he again entered the normal school and remained a student there in 1894 and a part of the year 1895. Following this refreshment at the "Pierian spring" he accepted a position in the schools of Hornersville, Dunklin county, retaining the same for three years.

At this juncture Mr. Mckay made a radi-

cal change by beginning the study of law, his studies being directed by C. P. Caldwell. in 1897 he was admitted to the bar at Gayoso, the then county seat of Pemiscot county, his examination being conducted by Senator Oliver, of Cape Girardeau; Robert Rutledge, of New Madrid; Dick Darnell, of Tiptonville, Tennessee ; and J. R. Brewer, of Gayoso, said examination being before Judge Henry C. Riley, of Pemiscot county. Shortly after his admission to the bar Mr. Mckay gave very definite assistance to his brother in his cam- paign of 1898 for county clerk of Dunklin county. In course of time he and his brother formed a law firm under the name of MeKay & McKay, in Kennett. That was in 1898 and the relationship continued until 1903. On the first day of January of the year mentioned Mr. McKay, of this notice, came to Caruthers- ville and practiced here alone until his elec- tion as prosecuting attorney in 1906, but dur- ing his term in that office he admitted to partnership Samuel Corbett, the firm of Mc- Kay & Corbett existing until 1911. In the early part of 1911 a new law firm was formed, composed of Sheppard, Reeves & Mckay, and of this Mr. Mckay is a member at the present time. It has met with fair fortunes and to the high prestige which it enjoys Mr. Mckay has contributed in no small measure.

Mr. Mckay gives hand and heart to the men and measures of the Democratic party and is of no small influence in local politics. He is a public spirited citizen and is found in harmony with all that tends to advance the welfare of the whole of society. Both he and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

He whose name inaugurates this sketch formed a happy life companionship by his marriage on July 28, 1897, to Lillie A. Mizell, daughter of Martin L. and Frances Davis Mizell. Mrs. McKay was born June 28, 1878, near Hornersville, Dunklin county. They share their pleasant home with one son, Byron Addison, born April 13, 1904, in Caruthers- ville.

ARTHUR S. HARRISON, M. D. Devoting his time and energies exclusively to the duties of his profession, Arthur S. Harrison, M. D., of Kennett, has built up an extensive and lu- crative practice, and has won for himself a prominent and honorable name in the medical fraternity of Dunklin county. He was born April 25, 1866, at Clarkton, Missouri, a son of the late Van Houston Harrison, M. D.,

Mr and Mrs. V. B. Horner

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

for many years one of the most successful and popular physicians of Kennett, and a grandson of Dr. Jesse Harrison, who prac- tieed medicine in Tennessee throughout his active career. A more extended parental and ancestral history may be found on another page of this work, in connection with the sketch of Dr. Van H. Harrison.

Brought up in an atmosphere of culture and refinement, Arthur S. Harrison natur- ally chose a professional career, and at the age of seventeen years began the study of medi- cine. Subsequently entering the Missouri Medical College, at Saint Louis, he was there graduated with the class of 1888, having pre- viously had four years of valuable experience as assistant house surgeon at the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Hospital, at Columbus, Texas. Dr. Harrison immediately after receiving his diploma began the practice of his profession at Clarkton, Missouri, and removed to Kennett January 1, 1897, being in partnership with his father as long as the father lived. He is one of the foremost physicians of the city, and in addition to his extensive local practice is surgeon for the Frisco Railway Company in Southeastern Missouri. The Doctor is active and promi- nent in medical associations, belonging to the Southeastern Missouri, the State and the American Medical Associations.

Dr. Harrison married first, at the age of twenty-eight years, Lillian Hay, of Kennett, and to them two children were born, Lucille Harrison and Gilbert. The Doctor married for his second wife Semantha Moore, a daugh- ter of David H. Moore, of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this bio- graphical work, and they have one child, Charles Weldon Harrison.

WILLIAM B. HORNER. If we were to select the one class of men who have helped more than any other to make of Missouri the thriv- ing prosperous state it now is, we should point to the farmer. Where there are so many efficient agricultural men it seems in- vidious to select one as being more effective than another, but everyone must receive his due, and William B. Horner, one of the early farmers in Dunklin county, is deserving of a place in the front rank of agriculturalists.

Mr. Horner was born February 8, 1853, in Dunklin county, within half a mile of the place where he now resides. He never ex- perienced a father's affectionate regard, as that parent died shortly before the little

lad's advent into this world. For the first six years of his life he was tenderly cared for by his mother, at the expiration of which time she too was summoned to the life eternal, leaving the boy an orphan, indeed. He was not, however, without relatives, and Grand- mother Horner took the little boy to her home, entered him in the schools of the neigh- borhood, and kept him with her until he was fourteen years old. At that age his sur- roundings were again changed, as he went to live with an uncle, a farmer near Cotton Plant, who was obliged to work hard himself and expected his nephew to do the same. At the time it seemed as if too much was ex- pected of the young man, but the experiences he gained during the eight years which suc- ceeded his introduction into his uncle's house- hold have been of inestimable benefit to him in his after life. He learned how to do all kinds of farm work,-hauling, driving oxen, etc., and when he was twenty-two years old he left the house which had been in truth a home to him and began to farm on eighty acres of land that had been contracted for by his father, but paid for by the uncle, who acted as guardian, besides another forty acres which had been paid for from reve- nues derived from the rental of the eighty acres-one hundred and twenty acres in all, part of which was covered with timber. Mr. Horner diligently set to work to clear the land and built a house in the open space- among the first houses in Caruth at that time. For five years he lived there, during which time he saw houses put up all around him, and he put his agricultural knowledge to such good account that he greatly im- proved the land and was able to dispose of it at a good price. With the proceeds of the sale he bought a part of the farm which he now owns, moving into an old shanty on the place. He found, however, that the shanty was inadequate for his needs and he built a house on the south end of the farm, which was the residence for ten years, it then being de- stroyed by fire. He then bought another farm, of eighty acres, and removed to the house located on same, residing there about a year, then resided on the Prewitt farm, one mile south of Caruth, until he removed to Kennett, on account of better educational ad- vantages for the children. He resided there one and one half years, and then built the present comfortable home, a nine-roomed house, one of the biggest and most comfortable homes in Caruth. At that time, in 1904. he

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

was the possessor of about one hundred acres of land, but he has since sold eighty acres, but has made other purchases and now owns a tract of two hundred and ten acres in the heart of Caruth, all in a high state of culti- vation .- the barn and everything else about the place being up-to-date.

On December 30, 1875, Mr. Horner mar- ried Miss Mahuldia Prewitt, practically a life-long resident of Caruth, as she has been in this part of the country-a mile and a half from town- since she was ten years old. She was born in Tennessee, coming to Stod- dard county, Missouri, in infancy and four years later the family located in Dunklin county. She was the companion and help- meet of her husband during his years of hard work, and now they have both reached a stage where they can enjoy the fruits of their labors and watch the prosperity of their six children, James W., Will, Henry, Hetty, H. M., and Jane, the three eldest sons are at home, and the other three, two daughters and a son, are married.

Thirty-five years ago Mr. Horner joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, his initiation taking place in May, 1876, at the Caruth lodge, and during all these years he has always been closely identified with the order. He is affiliated with the Caruth lodge of the Woodmen of the World and with the Rebekahs. Mrs. Horner is also a member of the Rebekahs, of the Woodmen Circle and of the Missionary Baptist church. In political preferment Mr. Horner is a Democrat, en- thusiastic for the success of the party.

LEWIS JOSHUA COUCH, the popular postmas- ter of Blackwell, was born at Hillsboro, Mis- souri, August 11, 1874. His father, James H. Couch, was born in Laclede county, Missouri, and spent his life on a farm. He was mar- ried to Mary Rebecca Reynolds, of Jefferson county, who bore him the following children : Theresa G., who became the wife of Edwin Sloan ; Lewis J; Cora A., who became Mrs. Samuel MeMullen ; Mary A., wife of William McMullen ; Amanda, Mrs. Harden Blake; Ira J .; Willis Walter; and John and Jethro, deceased. Both Mr. and Mrs. Couch are liv- ing on their farm in Jefferson county. Mr. Couch is a Democrat and a member of the Baptist church. He was for two terms su- perintendent of the Jefferson county poor farm.

Lewis J. Couch spent his early life on a farm in Jefferson county, receiving his edu-

cation at Dry Creek school. After leaving school he spent four years farming in Jeffer- son county on a rented place and then went into railroad work at DeSoto. In 1905 he came to Blackwell and resumed farming. Four years later he was appointed postmaster and still holds this office, serving his sec- ond term.

In 1896 Mr. Couch was married to Annie Wade of Dry Creek, Jefferson county. She died of tuberculosis, leaving one child, Min- nie. In October, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of L. J. Couch and Ida Pollett of St. Francois county. No children have been born of this union.

Mr. Couch is a member of the church of his parents' faith, the Baptist, but in pol- ities he is a Republican. He is connected in a fraternal way with the Modern Woodmen of America.

HARRY V. PETTY. One of the more active and enterprising of the younger generation of Kennett's merchants, Harry V. Petty, head of the firm of H. V. Petty & Company, has started out in life with brilliant prospects for a prosperous future, his energy, ability and good judgment and tact bidding fair to place him ere long among the prominent busi- ness men of this section of Dunklin county. The eldest child of William G. and Amanda M. (Herrmann) Petty, of whom a brief ac- count may be found elsewhere in this volume, he was born March 3, 1881, at Cotton Plant, Missouri.

After completing his early education, Mr. Petty became familiar with the details of mercantile pursuits while working for his father in the hardware and agricultural im- plement store. In 1911 he started in busi- ness on his own account, in company with Laura M. Petty establishing the firm of H. V. Petty & Company, which has since built up an excellent patronage as an exclusive dealer in boots and shoes, their first year's business being highly satisfactory from a pecuniary point of view. This firm is the only one in Southeastern Missouri to deal in shoes, only, and carries a fine assortment of shoes of all kinds, the stock being valued at six thousand dollars.

Mr. Petty married, July 16, 1903. Laura M. Fletcher, a daughter of Charles Fletcher, of Rutherford, Tennessee, and they are the parents of two bright and interesting chil- dren, namely : Aleene May and Mozelle Vir- ginia.

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

HIRAM J. HOUSTON, one of the prosperous farmers residing near Senath, Dunklin coun- ty, has attained his present position of af- fluence in the community solely through his own efforts. It is a noteworthy fact that that there is no calling in life where the son so often follows in the footsteps of his father as in the case of farming. Mr. Houston started his independent career in his father's footsteps, but the son's strides have been longer and more rapid; he has made tracks of his own, branching out in other directions than those taken by his father. Hiram Hous- ton has not only seized every opportunity of advancement which presented itself to him, but he has gone out of his way to seek op- portunities to better his condition, with the result that he has achieved success.

On the 1st day of December, 1863, Mr. Hiram J. Houston began life on a farm in Decatur county, Tennessee. He is a son of Samuel M. and Mary E. (Jennings) Houston. a Tenessee farmer who never succeeded in making much more than a good living for himself and family, and was unable to assist his sons in their own careers. Hiram J. Houston remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-three years of age, dur- ing which time he learned to do all kinds of farm work, and he also gained his education- al training in the little log school house in his district. His father needed his help dur- ing the summer, so he only attended school during three months of the winter for ten years-thirty months of regular instruction in all, but the young man made the best use of the time and since he got out into the world has learned much from observation and from reading, so that today he is a very well-in- formed man. In the year 1885 he left home with practically no money at all in his pocket, and came to visit his cousin in Missouri, in- tending return to the parental roof in a short time. He came by way of Cairo to Malden with Al Douglas, who was hauling freight. At that time the narrow-gauge railroad was built to Malden (it being broadened to stand- ard gauge in 1886), but did not extend to Kennett, so the young man was obliged to con- tinue his journey on foot, or depend on the good will of such teams as he found going in his direction. When he finally arrived at Senath, where his cousin lived, he found only two houses, so that he has seen the town grow to its present proportions. He stayed with his cousin for a year, worked for him and for other farmers in the neighborhood, and at

the end of the twelve months he found him- self with only thirty-five dollars-the capital with which he began to farm. He rented a place near the site of his present home, and in the year 1893 he bought forty acres of wild woods, cleared enough of the timber to make space for a house, and with his own hands he built the house which he occupies at the present time. He worked early and late to clear the place and bring it under cultivation and now has it all cleared; he has bought an- other forty acre tract, which was in a fair state of cultivation, so that he now farms eighty acres of land, on which he has him- self put all of the improvements, and he does general farming. He was one of the organiz- ers and original stockholders of the Farmers' Union Cotton Gin at Scnath, established in 1906, and has been general manager for the past four seasons. An average of about twenty-five hundred bales per annum are turned out by this plant.

When Mr. Houston had saved enough money to buy his first land, referred to above, he married Miss Lulu Winona Barnes, who was born in Tennessee in 1867. The worthy farmer and his wife now have seven stalwart sons,-Guy R., Ross, Luther, Jennings, Charles, Lester and Hubert-all living at home except the eldest, who is married to Miss Bertha Locke and has his own home in Senath.

Mr. Houston is a member of the Farmers' Union and also is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World, a fraternal order. In politics his sympathies are with the Republican party, but he has always been too busy to find time to dabble in politics. He is, however, inter- ested in the prosperity of the town, which he has seen grow up, and of the county in which he is an honored resident.

FRANK SEYMOUR LUCKEY, a young and rising physician of Festus, is a native of De- Soto, Missouri, where he was born March 21, 1882. He is a son of Frank C. and Mary L. (Jennings) Luckey. The father lived in his native state of New York until he was eleven years of age, when the family migrated to Jerseyville, Illinois, thence moving to a farm near Janesville, Wisconsin, which was the homestead for the succeeding two years. The next change of location was to a farm near DeSoto, Missouri, where Frank C. Luckey reached manhood and married Mary Jennings, of Henrietta, that state, on the 21st of May, 1881. The father of Dr. Luckey moved to

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

Festus with his family twenty-two years ago, but although he has become prominent for his public spirit and active and generous pro- motion of worthy movements, he has never accepted official preferment. During most of his residence at Festus he has been en- gaged in the building and contracting busi- ness. He is a Republican in politics, a Meth- odist in his church connections, and a mem- ber of the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. and Mrs. Luckey have become the parents of six children, and are highly honored as typical home-builders and moral members of the community.

After completing the public-school courses at Festus. Frank S. Luckey moved to DeSoto, graduating from its high school in 1900 and for the two succeeding years being in the em- ploy of the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company. This business experience, however, was but the means toward the end of securing a train- ing in the science and art of medicine. In 1903 he was matriculated in the medical de- partment of Washington University, St. Louis, and after a thorough mastery of the regular course was graduated an M. D. in the class of 1907. Dr. Luckey at once opened an office in Festus, and has enjoyed a good practice from the first. While at the Univer- sity he was an enthusiastic athlete, having been a member of the football team of '03, '04 and '06, and he has good canse to believe that his physical training as a student will come into fine play in the maintenance of the stam- ina required of the successful physician in meeting the wearing and racking ordeals of his profession. The Doctor is a Republican, a Methodist and affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, Red Men and Modern Americans. He is unmarried.

MARTIN S. WARREN. Among the most high- ly respected and widely known of the agricul- tural citizens of Wayne county is Martin S. Warren, who has resided in this locality since the age of thirteen years and of whose many personal merits is indication of the general confidence in which he is held where so well well known. His fine farm consists of two hundred and sixty acres and is situated in Logan township, Rural Route 4, Township 29. This is adorned with an ample, commodi- ons home and is highly improved and culti- vated. Mr. Warren devotes his energies to general farming and the raising of high- grade stock.

The subject of this biographical record was

born in Lee county, Virginia, April 7, 1843, and is the son of Rodney and Elizabeth (Jaynes) Warren, both of whom were natives of the Old Dominion. The father was born in Lee county, January 15, 1803, and was the father of ten children, of whom in addition to the subject three sisters are living: Mrs. Mary Malloy, residing three miles west of Piedmont; Mrs. Elizabeth Taylor, of Green- castle; and Mrs. William H. Daffron, whose sketch appears on other pages of this work; and one brother, Benjamin, who is a citizen of California. Mr. Warren came to Wayne county in 1856, with his parents who had left Virginia to seek new fortunes in Missouri. He came into possession of his present estate in the year 1868 and has added to his prop- erty from time to time. He has been par- ticularly successful in his raising of stock, which is noted in this section for its fine quali- ty. He has made all the splendid improve- ments himself, building his handsome home, substantial outbuildings and fences of the most practical sort.

Mr. Warren laid the foundation of an es- pecially happy marriage by his union on the 17th day of December, 1868, his chosen lady being Miss Mary Susan Black, sister of Mr. John Black, a farmer residing near Patterson, Wayne county. It has been their privilege to enjoy a companionship of nearly forty-five years. Their daughter, Lillian, wife of George W. Hay, resides in Oklahoma, and one child died in infancy. They have also two grandsons, Warren and William, fine little lads, aged six and two respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Warren retain the vigor and enterprise of their earlier years and are held in general confidence and esteem. Politically the sub- ject gives heart and hand to the men and measures of the Democratic party. He is a loyal Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge No. 526 of Piedmont, Missouri, and Mrs. Warren is a member of the Presbyterian church.

JESSE DAVID HUFFMAN. A man of ability and industry, Jesse David Huffman, of Caru- thersville, is well known throughout this sec- tion of Pemiscot county as cashier of the Bank of Caruthersville, an office for which, by reason of his comprehensive knowledge of banking and his systematic business methods, he is amply qualified. A son of the late Jesse Huffman, he was born October 29, 1864, at Cottonwood Point, Missouri, coming from a family of prominence.

Jesse Huffman was born in Virginia in

Jasem Ruined

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

1822, and as a boy lived for a number of years in Tennessee. Early thrown upon his own resources, he came to Missouri, and for a time was employed in cutting wood, which he sold as fuel to the steamboat companies, mak- ing money in the operation. He bought land when it was sold for a song, as it were, and through its rise in value accumulated consid- erable property. Prior to the Civil war he owned a number of slaves, and with their help carried on general farming on a large scale, his home being at Cottonwood Point, where his death occurred in 1890. He was twice married. By his first wife, whose maid- en name was Melissa Branch, he had eight children, as follows: Emily ; Blanche; Susan, who became the wife of Judge Brasher, of whom mention may be found on other pages of this work; James and William, twins; Ella ; Jesse David, the subject of this brief personal record; and Andrew. He married for his second wife Mrs. Amanda Powell, and to them two children were born, namely: Anna and Edwin, the latter now clerk of the Cir- cuit Court. Prominent in the field of poli- ties, Jesse Huffman was at one time judge of the County Court, and in 1873 represented Pemiscot county in the State Legislature. He was an active worker in religious circles, and an influential and active member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Brought up in Cottonwood Point, Jesse D. Huffman obtained his rudimentary education in the public schools, and in 1885 was gradu- ated from Johnson's Commercial College. Returning home, he began farming for him- self on one hundred and sixty acres of land that had been deeded to him by his father, and met with such good success in his agri- cultural labors that he bought more land, and still owns three hundred and fifty acres that are under a fair state of cultivation, and from the rental of which he receives a good income. On giving up farming Mr. Huffman embarked in mercantile pursuits at Cotton- wood Point, from 1892 until 1896 operating a drug store. In 1902, having disposed of his mercantile interests, he was elected coun- ty clerk on the Democratic ticket and held the office a year. From 1904 until 1905 he served as public administrator, and the en- suing three years was cashier of the People's Bank. Resigning that position in 1908, he accepted his present office of cashier of the Bank of Caruthersville, one of the strong financial institutions of Southeastern Mis- souri, which has a capital of fifty thousand

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History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 34

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