USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 42
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His father, Samuel K. Powell, was born in Tennessee, in February, 1828. In 1856 he brought his family to Missouri, and having purchased land in Dunklin county was here engaged in tilling the soil until his death, June 10, 1885. His first wife, whose maiden name was Sally Ann Hopper, was born and reared in Tennessee, and died in Dunklin county, Missouri. Samuel K. Powell married for his second wife Malinda Carthwright, who died some years since leaving five chil- dren, viz: Charles and Thomas, deceased, and Mary Jane (Crawford), of Arkansas; Bettie (Harper) and Robert, of Dunklin county, Missouri.
William H. was one of four brothers of the
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father's first union, the others being John F., of near Campbell; Leonard, died when young; and James A., of Arkansas. Having obtained a good common school education when young, William H. Powell had a prac- tical training in the various branches of agri- culture on the parental homestead, and early chose farming as his occupation. After the death of his father, Mr. Powell bought forty acres of land, and rented another tract of twenty-six acres, starting in life on his own account. Making diligent use of his time and talents, he succeeded well in his undertakings, and as his means increased he invested in other lands, and now has a finely improved farm of one hundred and seventy-three acres, which he devotes to general farming, his principal crops being corn, wheat and hay. Enterprising and energetic, he is continually adding to the value of his property, and year by year increasing his wealth.
Mr. Powell has been twice married. He married first, in 1896, Martha V. Grimes, who bore him children two of whom are living, Cora and Vallie. Mrs. Powell died November 19, 1897, and Mr. Powell married in 1898, Emma B. Faughan, who was born July 9, 1882, and of this union five children have been born, namely : James Elsie, George .C., Agnes, Edith, and Alva. In his political affiliations Mr. Powell is a Democrat, and religiously he is a member of the Baptist church.
LEVI B. PHILLIPS. A prominent and influ- ential farmer of the younger generation in Dunklin county, Missouri, Levi B. Phillips is engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock and mules on a farm of eighty acres located two miles west from Malden.
Levi B. Phillips was born at Beaver Hill, Tennessee, on the 22nd of December, 1878, and he is a son of Charles and Mary (John- son) Phillips, both of whom are now deceased, their deaths having occurred about the year 1897. The father was engaged in farming operations in Tennessee for a number of years but in 1891 he disposed of his plantation in that state and came to Missouri, locating in Bollinger county, where he passed the residue of his life. He and his wife became the parents of ten children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated, -Clarinda came to Missouri in 1893 and she and her husband, whose name is J. C. Vaughn, reside near Monterey, Tennessee ; Jesse came to Missouri in 1890 and farmed near Zalma
from that year until his death, in 1906; Will- iam S. is married and resides in Kentucky ; Josephine resides in Tennessee; Charlie came to Missouri in 1890 and he is now in Arkan- sas ; Tom maintains his home on a farm near Manila, Arkansas; Elvira lives in California ; Joseph and Dora died in early life; and Levi B. is the immediate subject of this review
Mr. Phillips, of this notice, was a child of thirteen years of age at the time of his par- ents' removal from Tennessee to Missouri, and he was reared to maturity on the old home farm in Bollinger county, to whose pub- lie schools he is indebted for his preliminary educational training. In 1897 he left home and began to work out as a farm hand. For a time he resided in Dunklin county, Mis- souri, and thence he went, in 1901, to Mis- sissippi county, Arkansas, where he was en- gaged in farming. On the 9th of December, 1901, he enlisted in the United States army and went to San Francisco, California, where he remained in the government service for a period of three years, at the expiration of which he received his honorable discharge and returned to Missouri. He arrived in Malden on the 12th of December and three days later was married. After that impor- . tant event he purchased his wife's half in- terest in an eighty acre farm and cultivated the same until 1909, when he sold it to Will- iam Brook. He is now engaged in farming his estate of eighty acres, the same being eligibly located two miles west of Malden. He makes a specialty of raising corn, peas and cotton. He has four head of mules, two of which he raised himself, one mare, thirteen hogs and three head of cattle. He is making a splendid success of farming and will some day rank as one of the foremost agriculturists of Dunklin county.
On the 15th of December, 1904, was solem- nized the marriage of Mr. Phillips to Miss Minerva Bell Connel, who was born and reared near Malden and who is a daughter of John and Susan E. Connel, the former of whom died in 1892 and the latter of whom passed to eternal rest in November, 1910. Mrs. Phillips' brother John W. died in in- fancy and her brother Leonard is now re- siding on a farm near Kennett, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have three children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here entered,-Raymond, born December 13, 1905; Argettie, born November 24, 1907; and Howard P., born on the 20th of January, 1909. In their religious adherency Mr. and
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Mrs. Phillips attend and give their support to the General Baptist church at Mount Gilard, of which she is a devont member. They are prominent in connection with the best social activities of their home community and are everywhere accorded the unalloyed confidence and esteem of their fellow citizens, who honor them for their exemplary lives and sterling integrity.
ROBERT FLEMING COPPAGE, junior partner of the firm of Ward & Coppage, is possessed of considerable business perspicnity, which has raised him to the rank of one of the leaders of commerce in this part of the coun- try. The firm, of which he is the efficient manager, is one of the largest in the county of Pemiscot, but extensive as the business has become Mr. Coppage is not content to rest upon his oars, engaged in backward contem- plation, but is looking towards the future as having something greater in store for him than that he has already experienced. He is ambitions, and to such all things are possible when united with that capacity for work which is found in Mr. Coppage, and is bound to compass the desired end.
Robert Fleming Coppage is a native of Tennessee, born at Trenton, that state, No- vember 8, 1874. He is a son of Philip B. Coppage, whose birth occurred November 11. 1837, near Owensboro, Kentucky. He stayed in his native state until the Civil war broke out ; then he enlisted with the Union army, in the Third Kentucky cavalry, under Captain Thomas. After he returned to the life of a civilian he went to Tennessee and there mar- ried Chester Thompson, who was born in that state November 30, 1851. To this union seven children were born, two of whom died in infancy, and the names of those who were reared to maturity are as follows : Sallie, born February 3, 1873, married to H. T. Hunter; Robert, the immediate subject of this biog- raphy ; Carrie, horn Angust 27, 1877, residing at Humboldt, Tennessee, with her mother; John, born June 21, 1882, died in May, 1911, near Caruthersville and is buried at Hum- boldt : Philip, born March 6, 1884, living with his mother. Father Coppage removed from Trenton. Tennessee, to Humboldt, Gib- son county. that state: there he died in No- vember. 1908. and was buried there, while his widow and two of his children still main- tain their residence in IIumboldt.
Robert Coppage received his educational training in the Trenton schools and at the
age of fourteen he left the parental roof, re- moved to Sebree, Webster county, Kentucky, and there entered the drug store of Mr. W. I. Smith, with the intention of learning the business. In 1893, returning to Humboldt, he spent one year traveling for the Hum- boldt nursery; the following year he sold maps for Rand MeNally; and in 1895, when he had just attained his majority, he went to Arkansas and clerked in the general store of J. M. Ward. The following year he came to Caruthersville. still in the employ of Mr. Ward, and before very long he became man- ager of one of the J. M. Ward stores. He proved to be so efficient that in 1901 he was given a share in the business and the firm name was changed to Ward & Coppage. In 1908 the firm was incorporated under the name of Ward-Coppage Mercantile Com- pany; the store, under Mr. Coppage's super- vision, has grown to be one of the most pros- perous concerns in the county. Mr. Ward has never lived in Caruthersville and leaves the management of the store entirely to Mr. Coppage.
In the year 1901 Mr. Coppage married Miss Jessie Huffman, daughter of William H. and Jessie Huffman, natives of Cotton- wood Point, Missouri. Mrs. Robert Coppage was born on St. Valentine's day, 1882, at Caruthersville, where her girlhood days were spent. Mr. and Mrs. Coppage have no chil- dren.
Robert Coppage is a member of the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of the Masonic fraternity order; in Masonry he has taken the thirty-second degree and is also a member of the Shrine. He is greatly in- terested in all matters of public interest, is a Republican and was elected alderman, in which capacity he is now serving.
JOHN WILLIAM STEPHENS. Possessing keen judgment, discrimination and foresight. John William Stephens, of Caruthersville, has been eminently successful in his business career, being one of the largest landholders of Pem- iscot county and an extensive property owner. A son of the late James H. Stephens, he was horn February 2. 1862, in Paris. Henry county. Tennessee, where his earlier years were spent.
James H. Stephens was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits in Tennessee for many years, from there, in 1882, coming with his family to Dunklin county, Missouri, where he engaged in the raising of cotton for a
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time. In 1884, accompanied by his wife and children, he bought land in Mississippi county, Arkansas, near Manila, and was there engaged in tilling the soil until his death, in June, 1903. He married Ditha Stephens, whose death occurred in Mississippi county, Arkansas, in 1885. They reared four chil- dren, as follows: Frank, who married Sarah Burkett, died in 1897; Charles, living in Mis- sissippi county, Arkansas, married Miss Cas- sie Kilmer, and they have two children, Hettie and Burt; Lena, who married Bud Easton, of Greene county, Arkansas, died in 1898, in Kennett, Missouri; and John William.
Continuing a member of the parental household until twenty-three years of age, John William Stephens acquired a practical knowledge of the various branches of agriculture. Going to Mississippi county. Arkansas, with the family in 1887, he in- vested his money in twenty acres of land. and finding the venture profitable from a financial standpoint he bought many other tracts in that vicinity, one containing five hundred acres; another nine hundred and sixty; one of two hundred and forty; one five hundred and six; one two hundred and forty; one ninety-five; his next purchase having two hundred and forty acres; and his next two twenty-five and forty, respectively. Mr. Stephens also bought a farm of two hundred and forty acres in Oklahoma, and since com- ing to Missouri has obtained title to two tracts of land in Pemiscot county, near Caruthersville, one consisting of twenty-five acres and the other of ninety-five acres. He also owns two hundred acres in Dunklin county, near Kennett. and one hundred and sixty-two acres near Hornersville. He still retains four hundred acres of his Arkansas land, and has twenty-five acres near Caruth- ersville.
In Caruthersville Mr. Stephens owns city property of much value, having a lot one hundred feet square, on which he has erected four buildings, while near the railway station he has a lot also containing four buildings, the lot being one hundred and one feet by one hundred and forty feet; on a near-by lot, seventy-five by one hundred and forty feet. he has nine houses ; and in the same locality he has twenty-five acres of land, on which he has recently built four new. modernly-con- structed houses. Mr. Stephens likewise has twenty thousand dollars invested in the saloon business in Caruthersville. For nine years before coming to Caruthersville he lived
at Kennett, coming from there to Caruthers- ville in 1908. He was there successfully em- ployed in farming and stock raising, as he was in Arkansas, and still handles some stock, making a specialty of handling mules, which he raises for the market.
Mr. Stephens married, February 18, 1885, Frances Ashabranner, a daughter of Samuel and Mary Ashabranner, of Mississippi county, Arkansas. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Stephens, two of whom died in Mississippi county, Arkansas, namely : Claude, who died at two years of age, and Harry, who died in infancy. Those living are Maud, who married Henry Theweatt, of Mississippi county, Arkansas, and has two children. Benford and Jack; and Clarence, now eleven years old, is attending school at Caruthersville, being a pupil in the sixth grade. Mrs. Stephens is a most estimable woman, and a valued member of the Meth- odist Church at Kennett.
LUTHER FRANKLIN TATUM. One of the thriving and well-managed concerns which add in material fashion to the general pros- perity and commercial prestige of the city is the Tatum Brothers Store, which has the dis- tinction of being the largest store in Clark- ton. Although the two brothers, Luther Franklin Tatum and Ira Bragg Tatum, who own and conduct the business, are both young in years they have given evidence of great executive ability and in the legitimate chan- nels of trade have won the success which al- ways crowns well-directed labor, sound judg- ment and untiring perseverance, while at the same time concerning themselves with the affairs of the community in an admirably pub- lic-spirited fashion.
The elder brother, Luther Franklin Tatum, whose name stands at the head of this article, was born December 27. 1880, at Kennett, Dunklin county, the son of the late James F. Tatum. The father was born in 1850 in Howard county, Missouri, the son of A. C. Tatum, a native Virginian. When a young man James Tatum located in Dunklin county, whose possibilities were evident to him and entered into business at Malden, from which place he subsequently removed to Kennett, where for years he conducted a large and im- portant mercantile business. In 1907 he re- tired and turned the business over to his sons who removed the stock to Clarkton. His demise, which the community counted a great loss, was upon December 13, 1909. The
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maiden name of the young woman he made his wife was Lillie Bragg, daughter of the late Captain W. G. Bragg. Both the Bragg and the Tatum families are well and favor- ably known in this locality where their inter- ests have been centered for so many years. Mrs. Tatum survives and makes her home at Kennett. Luther Franklin Tatum is one of the following six children, born to the union of his father and mother: John, deceased in youth ; Luther F .; Ira, a record of whose life follows this; Richard, a business man of Ken- nett; Susie, the only daughter, a student in the William Woods College at Fulton; Ber- ney, a student in the Kennett high school. A more complete record of the life of James F. Tatum is given on other pages of this work.
Luther Franklin Tatum was born Decem- ber 27, 1880, at Kennett. In addition to such public school advantages as he enjoyed in his native town, he pursued his studies for a year at Cape Girardeau Normal and subsequently attended school for a year at Quincy, where he took a general business course. Having finished his education he went into the Bank of Kennett, where for two years he acted as bookkeeper. Subsequently he organized the Tatum Brothers Mercantile Company, he and his brother buying out their father's busi- ness, as before mentioned, and removing with it to Clarkton, in October, 1906. Here they built up a splendid patronage, drawn both from Clarkton and the surrounding country. The elder brother is also interested in farm- ing in Dunklin county, having bought a farm southwest of Holcomb. This tract of one hundred and sixty acres, consists of wild land in the new drained district.
Mr. Tatum was married November 25, 1908, at Holcomb, to Miss VanDora Hazel Mc- Comas, daughter of A. W. and Kate C. (Hale) McComas. Mrs. Tatum was born in August, 1889, at Paris, Texas. Mr. Tatum is a stanch Democrat and stands high in Masonry, be- longing to the four branches of the York Rite.
IRA BRAGG TATUM, junior member of the Tatum Brothers Store Company, of Clark- ton, was born June 1, 1883, at Kennett. He secured his educational discipline in the dis- triet schools of Kennett and when approach- ing young manhood. became a clerk in his father's business and under that gentleman's excellent tutelage secured that commercial training which has since stood him in such good stead. At the age of twenty-one years he assumed a more independent footing as a
partner in the Tatum Brothers Mercantile Company. He and his brother bought out the father upon his retirement and brought the concern to Clarkton, of whose opportuni- ties they hoped much and which they have seen realized. Mr. Tatum, like his brother, is a landholder and owns farm lands south of Clarkton which are daily increasing in value under the systematic course of improvement now in progress in this section. He is a Democrat and a Mason.
Mr. Tatum was married July 18, 1906, to Polly Graham, daughter of Charles and Allie (Callicott) Graham. Mrs. Tatum was born near Martin, Tennessee, June 10, 1882. They share their home with two little daughters, Elizabeth F., born May 4, 1907; and Virginia Frances, born March 18, 1910. Mr. Tatum is a Blue Lodge Mason, a member of the lodge at Kennett.
MRS. NANCY CRAIN. Held high in the esteem and affection of the county for her life as a good wife and mother, and as a woman who has always been interested in whatever tended to advance the welfare of the community, is Mrs. Nancy Crain. Her maiden name was Nancy Hawell. Nancy Hawell was born February 5, 1846, in Gibson county, Tennessee. Her father, Abraham Davis Hawell, lived on a farm in that county, and her mother was Luiza (Pope) Hawell. They came to Dunklin county in 1858. Her par- ents' family consisted of two sons and eight daughters. Elizabeth Malinda Hawell came to Dunklin county and here married John Varval. She has been dead several years. Ally V. Hawell was married in Dunklin county, to which she had moved in 1850, to Jasper Dickenson. She died two years ago, but her son, John Dickenson, still lives in the county. Polly M. Hawell became the wife of John Horn, of Dunklin county, and died many years ago. Penniney Hawell became the second wife of John Horn, and her daugh- ter, Henrietta (Horn) Jones, is the wife of a Dunklin county farmer and lives here now. John D. Hawell chose a Dunklin county girl as his bride, Miss Mary Proveus. He died a number of years ago, and his only daughter, now Dora Crowley, survives him and makes her home in the county. Abraham Hawell died in infancy and his brother James B. passed away when a boy of ten years. Martha Hawell, now Mrs. Bob Crafton, has two chil- dren, Nancy Crowley and Miss Alice, residing in Dunklin.
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When Nancy Hawell was only three years old, her parents moved to Dunklin county, Missouri, from Tennessee and bought eighty acres of land near Pee Dee. Her father died forty years ago and her mother two years afterward; Nancy inherited her share of her father's property and has since made her home in this county. In August, 1867, Nancy Hawell was united in marriage to William Henry Baissinger, the son of an eminent land- owner, Jackson Baissinger. After his mar- riage to Nancy Hawell, William Baissinger bought two hundred acres of the home plan- tation, most of which had to be cleared. Mr. and Mrs. Baissinger subsequently became the parents of ten children. Thomas Davis and Louisa were twins, born on the fourth of July, 1868. Both died two months later. James Marion, born January 10, 1872, died when he was two years old. John Henry, born September 12, 1873, died of measles when he was six years old. Robert Jasper, whose birth occurred September 1, 1875, lived until his thirteenth year, when he was struck by lightning. William J., born February 25, 1877, lived only eleven days. Ollie Bell, born September 9, 1879, became the wife of George Holtzhaser and is the mother of five children : Jalmer Ora, born in 1904; V. Dallas, born in 1905; Nancy W., born in January, 1908; John Henry, born in 1909; and Cletus Raymond, born in September, 1911. Martin Luther, born December 11, 1881, died at the age of two, of diphtheria. Ellnora, whose birth occurred in February, 1885, now makes her home with her mother in Dunklin county. She is unmarried. George Weston, born September 18, 1886, lived a little over a month. The father died on Christmas day, 1887.
Fraternally Mr. Baissinger was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was an active member of the Methodist Protestant church at Salem, Missouri.
On January 22, 1889, Nancy Hawell Bais- singer became the wife of William H. Crain, a resident of Illinois. Their one son, Arthur Cledes Crain, born April 11, 1890, now makes his home near his mother, living on the old property. He married Miss Maudie Hauf- stauttler, and is the father of one child, named Ora Lee, born in November, 1910. Mrs. Crain owns one hundred and sixty acres of land and each of her daughters own twenty acres, Ellnora rents her portion to Arthur. Mrs. Crain rents her portion to her son and to Mr. Holtzhauser. Mr. Crain passed away Vol. II-15
in Dunklin county at the age of fifty-seven years, January 7, 1904, and was laid to rest in Mount Gilleon cemetery. He was a mem- ber of that historie order, the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belonged to the General Baptist church, situated at Mount Gilleon.
Mr. Crain had an illustrious record as a de- fender of the Union, having served four years in the Federal army during the Civil war. During one engagement he was injured in the knee and was crippled for the rest of his life.
OSCAR R. COLE. Having directed his ef- forts along well defined lines of endeavor, Oscar R. Cole has obtained an assured posi- tion among the active and prosperous mer- chants of Caruthersville, and as a man of worth and stability is held in high esteem by his associates. A native of Tennessee, he was born in Shelby county, twelve miles east of Memphis, and was reared in that vicinity.
His father, James A. Cole, has accom- plished a satisfactory work as a business man, and, having gained a competency, is now living retired from active pursuits in Mem- phis, Tennessee. He married Patty Rhodes, and to them four children were born, namely : M. W., a merchant in Wilson, Arkansas, is married and has two children; James E., of Memphis, Tennessee, is associated with the National Biscuit Company; Mrs. J. N. Sulli- van, whose husband is a contractor for cabi- net work and store fronts, at Memphis, Ten- nessee ; and Oscar R.
Leaving the parental household in 1889, Oscar R. Cole was for three years in the em- ploy of W. C. Knight, in De Soto county, Mississippi. He was afterwards with his uncle, J. W. Rhodes, a general merchant at Golden Lake, Arkansas, for six years. The ensuing three years Mr. Cole was clerk in a general store at Palestine, Arkansas, and the following two and one-half years was second clerk on the Lee line of steamers running be- tween Cairo, Illinois, and Memphis, Ten- nessee. Locating at Caruthersville, Missouri, in 1898, he bought out B. L. Sherrill, and for several seasons was engaged in the grocery business with L. L. Crocker. Since 1906 Mr. Cole has carried on business alone, and has built up a substantial trade in groceries, his present stock, which is well selected, being valued at four thousand, five hundred dollars. He occupies a good building, which is cen- trally located, and has, in addition to its floor
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space of seventy by fifty feet, excellent store rooms in the basement. He carries a good of staple and fancy groceries, and deals also line of staple and fancy groceries, and deals also in hay and feed.
Mr. Cole married, May 4, 1902, Helen Parks, daughter of J. C. Parks, of Caruthers- ville, and they are the parents of two children, namely : Helen, born March 9, 1904; and Joseph Folk, born January 4, 1907. Fra- ternally Mr. Cole is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America; of the Woodmen of the World; of the Improved Order of Red Men; and of the Knights of Pythias. He has been especially active in both organiza- tions of the Woodmen, having served as clerk of the local camp in each.
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