History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 46

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 46

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

952

HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

(noted for their certainty and superiority), carpets, mattings, rugs and draperies of the latest designs and standard quality. Mr. Gil- len is fully conversant with all the details of operating this large establishment, of which he is the sole proprietor.

During Mr. Gillen's residence in Texas (February 12, 1907), he was united in mar- riage to Miss Lucia, daughter of James and Fanny A. (Collins) Trigg, residents of Tex- arkana, where their daughter Lucia was born, August 6, 1876, and where she was mar- ried. Mr. and Mrs. Gillen have no children; both husband and wife are members of the Methodist church, and in a fraternal way Mr. Gillen is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Politically he sympathizes with the Democrats, but he has been too busy about other matters to have found time to dabble in politics. He is a suc- cessful business man and ever anxious for the advancement of the city of which he is an honored resident.

JAMES K. DUNSCOMBE was born in Logan county, Kentucky, May 9, 1859. Ten months after this event the family moved to Dunklin county, Missouri, where the father, Daniel S., lived until his death, October 12, 1876. His parents were Daniel S. and Marie (Johnson) Dunscombe. Daniel S. Dunscombe was born May 3, 1817, in Logan county, Kentucky, and was in fair circumstances financially though he suffered considerable loss from the Civil war, as his sympathies were with the South. The mother was born March 25, 1819, also in Logan county, Kentucky, and died July 23, 1883.

As has been stated in the sketches of other men who came to this county at an early period of its development, educational facil- ities were exceedingly meagre at that time and few of the farmers' sons had much school- ing, but they did get a training which present- day educators declare nothing in our modern life approximate for developing resource and self-reliance. Whether or not this is a cor- rect idea, we must all concede that the men and women of that generation accomplished wonderful things from small beginnings.

James K. Dunscomhe was the youngest of nine children, of whom four grew to ma- turity : Samuel D., mentioned elsewhere in this work: Anna Eliza, born July 25, 1841, and died October 24. 1900. leaving her hus- band, James Shannon; William T., horn September 4, 1846, residing at Campbell,

Missouri, married Susan Liddell, who died, leaving six children, his present wife was Mrs. Lou Rayburn, nee Giles, by whom he has one daughter.

James K. Dunscombe had not much chance to go to school. He worked on his father's farm as was the custom of most of the young men of the time. He was but twenty years old at the time of his father's death and the responsibility of supporting his mother and sister devolved upon him.

At the age of twenty-seven he was married to Miss Jennie D. Johnston of St. Louis. Mrs. Dunscombe was born in Callaway county, Missouri, July 26, 1864, a daughter of Henry P. and Eliza Frances (Shepherd) Johnston, both natives of Culpeper county, Virginia, but both came to Missouri as young people, the Shepherd family having located in Callaway county. Mr. Johnston is a miller and millwright and still follows that busi- ness, making his home with Mr. and Mrs. Dunscombe, being aged now about sixty-nine years. Mrs. Johnston died in the latter part of July, 1882, at the age of forty-seven, the date of her birth being December 30, 1834. Mrs. Dunscombe was the eldest of nine chil- dren, of whom five grew to maturity, viz: Robert, born June 16, 1866, resides at St. Louis, married Belle Somers, and has two children ; Charles Dennis, born May 9, 1871, residing in Oklahoma, married Linnie Baker; George W., born August 26, 1875, married Carrie Kinder, has one daughter and resides at Barton, Arkansas; and Hugh B., born Feb- ruary 16, 1878, residing at Clarkton, mar- ried Vara Skaggs and has three children. Mrs. Dunscombe had lived in Dunklin county for some time before her marriage. The old- est of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Duns- combe, Hester Price Dunscombe, has attended the normal at Cape Girardeau for three years, and is now engaged in teaching at Campbell. The others are Mary A., Valma, Jennie D., Sarah and Kenley Iola, all still at home.

Like most of these whose forebears were sympathizers with the cause of the South, Mr. Dunscombe's political faith is that of the Democratic party. He is an active worker in the Presbyterian church of Clarkton of which he is an elder. In the same town he is affil- iated with the Odd Fellows' lodge and at Campbell he is a member of the F. and A. M.

Mr. Dunscombe's farm is 116 acres in ex- tent, located at the north edge of Clarkton, his residence being within the incorporation. At his father's death he inherited fifty acres

HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

as his share of the estate. Later he bought out the other heirs but did not keep all the land he purchased. When he came to the place in 1881, only a part of it was cleared. The greater part of work as well as the erec- tion of the farm buildings and of the dwelling house sitnated in the midst of a pleasant grove, is the result of Mr. Dunscombe's efforts.

WILLIAM BAYLOR BLEDSOE. Farming, the oldest of the industries, has in recent years presented one of the richest fields of scientific investigation, and one of those pro- gressive Missourians, who has not only lent his assistance to these experimental en- deavors, but who has also profited by them very materially in the cultivation of his own land, bringing his acres to the highest possi- ble point of productiveness, is William Bay- lor Bledsoe, whose farm of two hundred and eighty acres has the distinction of being one of the best in the county. Mr. Bledsoe, who also gives a part of his attention to the duties of deputy tax collector, has for a number of years been identified with the livery and transfer business in Malden, although never at any time severing his identification with the great basic industry.

William Baylor Bledsoe was born in Over- ton county, Tennessee, on July 2, 1869. He is a son of John H. Bledsoe, a prominent citizen of Malden, born in Tennessee in 1845, the son of Baylor Bledsoe, a Virginian. When William B. was a year old, his father went to Texas and for several years was engaged in farming in Johnson county. In 1881 the family came to Malden, Dunklin county, among the pioneers of the place which at that date had but seven or eight hundred inhab- itants. The father in course of time bought a tract of unimproved land two miles from town, and proceeded to clear this, while main- taining the home in Malden. He has been for years one of the prominent men and highly honored, his present residence being at Monticello, Arkansas. The maiden name of his wife was Mary J. Carlock and the chil- dren which have blessed their union are as follows: William Baylor, immediate subject of this record; Mary C., wife of Thomas Crawford, of Carrollton, Illinois; Sallie, wife of M. Z. Anderson, of Malden; Alma, and Laura Bell, who are at home.

The youth of William B. was thus divided between Texas and Missouri and in this state he assisted his father in his agricultural ac- tivities. He secured his education in the

public schools of Malden and at the age of nineteen years tried a new field of endeavor by selling goods for Cox, Bledsoe & Company, a mercantile company with headquarters in Malden. After his marriage in 1891, Mr. Bledsoe engaged in farming for three years, on his property situated two miles southwest of Malden, and to this he has added until it now consists of two hundred and eighty acres. In the fall of 1893 he went back to Malden and engaged in the transfer busi- ness. For eighteen years he conducted a transfer line and then, in 1905, opened a livery barn in connection. The latter he dis- posed of in October, 1910, but is still con- ducting the transfer line. He has continued to farm very successfully throughout all this period. He makes a specialty of corn, cotton and peas.

In his political affiliation, Mr. Bledsoe is a Democrat, having since his earliest voting days given heart and hand to the men and measures of the party. He is a prominent and popular lodge man, holding membership in the Maccabees, the Modern Woodmen, the Lodge of Ben Hur and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

Mr. Bledsoe laid the foundations of a happy marriage when on January 4, 1891, he was united to Mary Pritchett, of Dexter, Mis- souri. She is a daughter of Presley and Christina (Black) Pritchett, and was born July 23, 1874, at Dexter. There are two chil- dren in the Bledsoe household-Iona, born July 28, 1892, now at home; and Carl, born February 16, 1894, now residing with his father.

ELZIE H. MUSGRAVE. A man of excellent tact and good business qualifications, with a keen appreciation of the elements that go to make up a successful career, Elzie H. Mus- grave stands high among the well-known mer- chants of Caruthersville, where he and his partner, Roy E. Mason, have a well stocked gentlemen's furnishing store, carrying a full line of men's and boys' clothing. He was horn, December 18, 1876, in Brownsville, Tennessee, where he was reared and edu- cated. His father, John H. Musgrave, was horn in Tennessee, August 20, 1848, and died in Brownsville, Tennessee, June 17, 1909, while his mother, whose maiden name was Bethia B. Forest, was born March 12, 1857, in Tennessee, and died, June 15, 1906, in Brownsville.

Ambitious and energetic as a youth, Elzie

954

HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

H. Musgrave acquired a practical education while young, and for seven years after enter- ing upon a business career was manager of the clothing department of one of the largest dry goods establishments of his native city. In 1899, looking for a larger field of en- deavor, he came to Pemiscot county, Missouri, and founded the Caruthersville Supply Com- pany, of which he was at the first vice-presi- dent, the remaining officers having been A. P. Scoggin, Whit Campbell, Emmett Slater and Tom Whithurst. At the end of a year Mr. Musgrave was made president of the con- cern, and managed its affairs most ably for six years. In the spring of 1907 he sold out his interest in the firm, and six months later, in September, 1907, formed a partnership with Roy E. Mason and opened his present mercantile honse, putting in a substantial and attractive stock of men's and boys' fur- nishing goods, and has since built up an annual business of thirty-five thousand dol- lars, having a trade that is constantly in- creasing in amount and value. Mr. Mus- grave is also president of the Sanders Realty Company, which was organized, with a cap- ital of ten thousand dollars six years ago, and is in an exceedingly prosperous condi- tion ; and is a stockholder in the People's Bank of Caruthersville.

Mr. Musgrave married, in 1903, Susie Crews, who was born in Franklin county, Missouri, in 1876, and they have two chil- dren, namely : Marion, born January 20, 1906; and Elzie H., Jr., born April 9, 1911. Politically Mr. Musgrave is an earnest sup- porter of the principles of the Democratic party. Fraternally he belongs to Cottonwood Lodge, No. 461, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, of Tennessee; and to St. Louis Consistory, of St. Louis, Missouri. Religiously he is a member and a deacon of the Baptist church, to which Mrs. Musgrave also belongs.

FRANK M. SNIDER, a farmer residing in Campbell, Dunklin county, has made a de- cided success of his life, despite the fact that when he commenced his independent career he had not the mans to procure either techni- cal or college education. Throughout his life he has applied himself to the tasks in hand ; he chose a definite course of action to which he has in the main applied himself; tem- porary hardships offered to him no terrors, as he was ever on the look-out for the oppor-

tunities which he was certain would present themselves, and he stood in readiness to grasp them.

On the 25th day of February, 1848, Frank M. Snider was born in Union county, Illinois, and two years later he was taken by his par- ents to Dunklin county. The family settled seven miles north of Campbell and there they lived busy, uneventful lives, until 1853, when the death of the mother (a native of Ireland) brought sorrow to the household. The father, although a hard-working man all his life, was not at first very successful and could not give his children the educational advantages that he would have liked. About 1860 Father Snider married again and soon after that event he began to make some headway. He remained on the homestead until his demise, which occurred when he was eighty-two years old.

Frank M. Snider was early trained to work and because his help was required at home, and also on account of the fact that the only available educational facilities were the sub- scription schools-for which the money was not forthcoming-he received very little edu- cation. The lad was but thirteen years old when the Civil war broke out-too young to serve in the army-but in the spring of 1865, when he had attained his seventeenth year, he responded to a call from the President and for the ensuing six months he was a mem- ber of the state militia, stationed at Bloom- field. His company disbanded in the fall of 1865, but as they were never mustered out. Mr. Snider does not draw any pension. On leaving the army he returned home and to- gether with his father and brother, raised stock on the farm and succeeded in making money. Fifteen years after his army ex- perience Mr. Snider found himself possessed of forty acres of land, most of which was covered with timber, and valued at fifteen hundred dollars. He moved on to his place, cleared it, raised hogs and bought more land, and at the present time he owns eighty acres, which are known as the home place, all cleared but twenty acres. He has another forty acre tract of land cornering the first place he bought and still another forty acres near by, both cleared. After deeding his children two- hundred acres, he has three farms in all, on two of which he has built houses. In 1907 he moved to the home where he may be found today. It is a ten-room house with a base- ment and a furnace, surrounded by extensive

955

HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

grounds, as he owns four lots adjoining. The home property belongs to his wife and two daughters

On the 2nd day of September, 1880, Mr. Snider was united in marriage to Miss Mary Renick, born near Jonesboro, Craighead county, Arkansas. When she was a child the family moved to Illinois, where the father died and later the mother moved to Dunklin county, locating near Campbell where Mr. and Mrs. Snider were married, and where Mrs. Renick died November 26, 1911, at seventy years. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Snider were: Francis W., Jen- nie M., Delia and Sam and one who died in infancy, all except the first born living at home with their parents. In politics Mr. Snider is a Republican and his allegiance has always been unwaveringly tendered to that party. His interest in educational matters has been deep and lasting, as he has been school director for seventeen years. In his own family, he was willing to make sacrifices that his children might have educational ad- vantages and for two years the family resided at Cape Girardeau so that his children might receive the excellent training afforded by the schools in that city.

F. W. Snider, the eldest of the family of four, was born on his father's farm February 28, 1882, and has lived in this section all of his life. His first educational training was obtained in the country school; then followed a high school course at Dexter and later he was for a period of four years and a half at the State Normal School at Cape Girardeau, from which institution he was graduated in 1905, with the degree of Bachelor of Peda- gogy. He forthwith commenced his work as an educator and in 1906 he taught in the Malden high school. The following year, in the fall of 1907, after this brief teaching ex- perience, he accepted the appointment of superintendent of schools at Campbell, where he has continued to incorporate his lofty ideas in regard to educational matters, into the schools of which he has control.

In the month of June, 1909, Professor Snider was married to Dora Walker, whose birth occurred near Campbell April 5, 1887. Her father, a native of Tennessee, died in 1897, while her mother, born in Missouri, still lives in Campbell. The Professor has a farm near Campbell and three lots in Camp- bell, besides owning stock in the First Na- tional Bank. In politics he has remained true to his father's training and places his

suffrage with the Republicans; his religious sympathies are with the Methodists, and Mrs. Snider is a member of the Methodist church, while his fraternal conection is with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World-all of Campbell. Professor Snider is a young man, naturally looking towards the future in the firm expectation that it has in store for him something greater than he has already obtained, and inasmuch as he has abilities that are above the average, character that is beyond reproach and a personality that draws to him friends, his expectations will doubtless be realized to the fullest extent.

H. E. DOERNER began his career in the commercial world at the age of twelve, when he went to work in a St. Louis store as a cash boy. His father was a traveling salesman who became helpless from paralysis in 1880 and for the next year and a half H. E. Doerner worked as a cash boy and then se- cured a better position as the result of study in a night school. He kept steadily improv- ing his situation until at seventeen he went to work for a hat company at a fair salary and learned that business. Later he traveled for the firm and after five years with them went into a packing house, where he did gen- eral office work.

When only thirteen Mr. Doerner began his study in night school, as his ambition would not permit him to give up his education. He learned bookkeeping in one year of study and secured a position in the Missouri Pacific Railway office, which he kept for three years. All the while he continued to attend night school, this time going to the Benton Law School of St. Louis. He was admitted to the bar in 1904, two years after coming to Pem- iscot county. His admission entitled him to practice in all courts of Missouri. He was the last person in this county to be admitted under the old law.

When Mr. Doerner came to Steele it was in the capacity of bookkeeper for the F. T. Jackson Store Company. The firm became bankrupt a few months after his arrival and for a few months Mr. Doerner conducted a grocery business. About this time he was appointed local agent of the Frisco Railroad. Steele was only a flag station at the time. Mr. Doerner finished his preparation for admis- sion to the bar and attended to the railway work.

At the present time he is the only lawyer

956

HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

in Steele and has a growing practice. He is chairman of the board of trustees of the vil- lage, an office which corresponds to that of mayor of a city. He was six years a justice of peace and this is his fourth term as mayor. In 1908 and 1909 he was attorney for the town of Steele and also for Holland, Mis- souri. He belongs to the Democratic party.

On December 13, 1904, occurred the mar- riage of Miss May Regan and Mr. H. E. Doerner. No children have been born of this union. Mr. Doerner owns forty acres of land in this vicinity, which he has cleared; also a lot on Main street and a residence property of three-quarters of an acre in town.

In the Modern Woodmen's lodge of Steele Mr. Doerner is consul and in the K. O. T. M. of the village he is record-keeper. His mem- bership in the Masonic order is at Cotton- wood Point, where he is a Blue Lodge Mason.

H. C. SCHULT. Active not only in business and social circles, but in public affairs, H. C. Schult has been called to various responsi- ble and honorable positions in city and coun- ty, and in every instance has acquitted him- self with conspicuous energy and ability, his tact, sound judgment and integrity being ap- preciated in Caruthersville, his home city, and in all parts of Pemiscot county. He was born March 19, 1858, in La Crosse, Wis- consin, and was there educated in the pub- lie schools.

His father, John Henry D. Schult, was born in Hamburg, Germany, and as a young man immigrated to the United States, locat- ing at La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he spent his remaining days, dying November 20, 1864, at a comparatively early age. He mar- ried Elise Oentrich, who was born in Berlin, Germany, and died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 3, 1905.

On September 1, 1877, ere attaining his majority, H. C. Schult took up his residence in Gayoso, Pemiscot county, then the county- seat, and assumed charge of one of the lead- ing weekly newspapers of Southeast Mis- souri, "The Statesman," becoming its man- ager and publisher. In the spring of 1878 yellow fever became epidemic in Memphis, Tennessee, and all communication with the outer world through that city being cut off the publication of the Statesman was sus- pended from July, 1878, until the following October. In the meantime Mr. Schult was employed as deputy county circuit clerk. In 1880 he was appointed deputy sheriff and

county collector, and served in that capacity until the fall of 1881, when he received the appointment of deputy county and circuit court clerk. In April, 1883, Mr. Schult was appointed county and circuit court elerk, and in 1884 was elected to the same position to fill out a term expiring in 1886, when he was re-elected to the same office without opposi- tion, and served ably and satisfactorily until 1890.

Locating at Caruthersville, Pemiscot coun- ty, in 1892, Mr. Schult, with others, organ- ized the Pemiscot County Bank, of which he has since been a director, and for five years served as cashier of that institution. In 1893 he was appointed a member of the di- rectorate for the St. Francis Levee District of Missouri and is still holding the office, and since 1898, having been secretary of the board. From 1898 until 1908, ten full years, Mr. Schult was city clerk of Caruthersville, serving as long as he could be persuaded to by his fellow-citizens. In 1898 he was ap- pointed presiding judge of the County Court, and held the office, by election and re-elec- tion, until 1906. In 1893 he was made secre- tary of the Caruthersville Board of Educa- tion, and is now filling the same position. In 1902 Governor Dockery appointed Mr. Schult a member of the Board of Managers of Hospital No. 4, Farmington, Missouri, for a term of three years. At the organization of the board Mr. Schult was elected presi- dent thereof for a term of two years, and was re-elected in 1904. In 1911 Governor Hadley appointed Mr. Schult a member of the Board of Regents of the Missouri State Normal School, Third District, Cape Girar- deau, Missouri, for a term ending January 1, 1915. He is identified with several promi- nent enterprises of the city, being president of the Caruthersville Ice and Light Company, in which he is a stockholder; president of the Pemiscot Abstract and Investment Company ; and secretary and manager of the Silica Real Estate Company.

On June 20, 1882, Mr. Schult was united in marriage with Henrietta Ward, who was born in Caruthersville, Missouri, September 1, 1861, and they are the parents of four children, all of whom are at home, namely : Mayme E., Edna A., Hina C., Jr., and Louis H.

Mr. Schult has been a Mason for many years, belonging to Caruthersville Lodge, No. 461; has taken the thirty-second degree, Scot- tish Rite, also the York Rite, and is a mem-

No.r. Schult

957

HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

ber of Moolah Temple, Mystic Shrine, St. Louis. He is also prominently identified with other fraternal organizations.

W. L. BAKER. Young as he is, there is very little in connection with farm work that Mr. Baker does not know, but he is not one of those unpleasant men who feel sure that they know it all. On the other hand, if any one has anything better to show him he is always glad to look into the matter and to try any- thing that he finds an improvement on the old methods.

He was born in Dunklin county, Missouri, near Caruth, December 5, 1885 .. His father, James M. Baker, was born at the same place in 1849, where he lived all of his life. James M. Baker's father came from Tennessee and his mother came from Illinois, and in 1846 they settled in the southern part of Dunklin county, near Cardwell. In 1876 James M. Baker married Nancy M. Sullinger, born in 1848, in Stoddard county. Her father was a farmer who was born and raised in Cape county, coming in 1865 to Stoddard county. Her mother was born in Illinois and came to Stoddard county, Missouri, when she was twenty years old. Mr. and Mrs. James M. Baker had five children: Morgan, Robert, Mary Elizabeth, William L. and Maude. From the time of his marriage Mr. Baker lived on the place which the son Will now lives on. Originally the land was pretty well covered with timber and James M. cleared it all. He died in 1897, but his widow is living with Will on the farm.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 46

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