History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 5

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 5

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Albert Blaine, of Piedmont, was born in Potosi, Washington county, in 1847, on the 21st of October. He grew up in Potosi, at- tending the common schools and later Bryant & Stratton's Business College at St. Louis. He began his business career as a clerk and worked in that capacity for seventeen years. When gold was discovered in the Black Hills, Mr. Blaine went there in quest of the precious metal but did not "make a strike," so returned to Missouri in 1877. At that time Piedmont was building up and so he decided to locate here.

The drug business was that upon which Mr. Blaine decided to enter in Piedmont and in this he went into partnership with Mr. W. P. Toney. The firm of Blaine & Toney had a flourishing trade for six years and then Mr. Blaine bought out his partner's interest and continued in the drug business until 1905. Mr. Blaine learned the drug business from start to finish and is a registered pharma- cist. The venture was a success in every re- spect. In Piedmont real estate Mr. Blaine's holdings are considerable. He owns several business blocks and residence properties and has, besides, a small farm in Wayne county. He is also a stockholder in and the vice- president of the Piedmont Bank.

Mr. Blaine is a Democrat, now as always,

and he has been called upon to fill various offices in the public service. He has served on the school board, has been county judge for two years and city treasurer for fifteen years. In addition to having attained suc- cess in the sphere of commerce, Mr .. Blaine has the still more valuable possession which men covet as a guerdon of this life's toils, the hearty liking and admiration of his fel- low citizens. He holds membership in both the Masonic order and in the Knights of Pythias.

Mr. Blaine has no children of his own. His wife, formerly Mrs. Maria (English) Emonds, widow of Dr. D. D. Emonds, has one daughter, Grace Emonds, who is now the wife of C. T. Mason, of Francis, Oklahoma. Mrs. Blaine was born at Patterson, Missouri, a daughter of Julius English, who was an early resident and a farmer of that section of Wayne county. Both Mr. and Mrs. Blaine are members of the Presbyterian church.

JOHN N. O'CONNOR. Enterprising, ener- getic and a good business manager, John N. O'Connor, of Senath, was formerly for a time well known as proprietor and manager of a finely-kept restaurant, but is at present, in the retail meat business, being thus en- gaged since 1902. He has been busily em- ployed since coming to this part of Dunklin county, in 1898, and by means of industry, thrift and sound judgment has acquired a substantial property. He was born Decem- ber 23, 1871, in Fulton, Kentucky, but as an infant was taken by his parents to Henry county, Tennessee, where he lived until a lad of eight years.

Going from Tennessee to Arkansas, John N. O'Connor lived a brief time in Lonoke, and afterwards resided at Brinkley, Arkan- sas, from 1882 until 1896, during which time he improved every offered opportunity for acquiring an education, at the same period of his career becoming familiar with all the branches of agriculture. Marrying in 1896, Mr. O'Connor came with his bride to Dun- klin county, Missouri, and for a year worked by the month on a farm situated about two miles north of Senath. In April, 1898, he took up his residence in Senath, where he was engaged in draying and logging until 1902. In the spring of that year he purchased a house and lot in Senath, but subsequently sold that property, and bought, on Main street, a lot sixty by a hundred feet. The frame building standing on the lot was after-

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wards burned, and Mr. O'Connor erected the brick building in which are honsed a res- taurant, a meat market and a mercantile es- tablishment. Mr. O'Connor also owns five houses and lots in Senath, two of the houses having been built by him since he bought the lots.

Mr. O'Connor married, in Arkansas, in March, 1896, Mary Dozier, and they have two children, namely: Virgil, born in No- vember, 1897; and Gertrude, born in 1900. An active and highly esteemed member of the Democratic party, Mr. O'Connor has served as a member of the Senath Board of Alder- men for two terms, and for two years was a member of the Senath Board of Educa- tion. Mrs. O'Connor is a member of the Baptist church at Senath.

THOMAS J. DOWNS. A prominent farmer and stockman, residing on his fine estate of one hundred and twenty acres, eligibly lo- cated just north of Fredericktown, Thomas Jefferson Downs is a citizen whose loyalty and public spirit have ever been of the most insistent order. For a period of ten years- from 1878 to 1888-he was the popular and efficient incumbent of the office of county surveyor and from 1896 to 1904 he served most creditably as county assessor. His finely improved estate is known as the Nifong farm.

Mr. Downs was born in North Carolina, the date of his nativity being the 5th of Au- gust, 1846. . He is a son of David and Mary A. (Sherrill) Downs, both of whom were likewise born in North Carolina, where they continued to reside until their respective deaths, in 1857 and 1872. After the death of his first wife David Downs wedded Mary Ann MeLeod, who also died in North Caro- lina. The father was a farmer and cotton planter in his native state and he was a son of Aaron Downs, born in Scotland in 1789, and the original progenitor of the name in America, he having immigrated to this coun- try early in the nineteenth century. Aaron Downs was the owner of a fine plantation in North Carolina, where he also had some forty negroes. Mary A. (Sherrill) Downs was a daughter of David Sherrill, a prominent miller and plantation owner in North Caro- lina during his life time. The North Caro- lina descendants of the Downs family were all devout members of the Baptist church. By his first marriage David Downs was the father of four children, namely,-Aaron V., a banker and business man at Frederick-

town, Missouri; William P., who is deceased; Mrs. Presswell, who is also deceased; and Thomas J., of this notice. The second union was likewise prolific of four children, John M., Robert Lee, Lulu and Louise, the first two of whom are residents of North Carolina and the latter two of whom are deceased.

Thomas J. Downs was reared to adult age in his native state, to the public schools of which place he is indebted for his prelim- inary educational training. During the stren- uous period of the Civil war his sympathies were with the canse of the Confederacy and in 1864, when eighteen years of age, he en- listed as a soldier in Company G, Thirty- second North Carolina Infantry, serving with valorons distinction therein for one year or until the close of the war. He was with Gen- eral Early in the Shenandoah Valley and was struck by a piece of shell in the kneecap at Petersburg. He also participated in the last charge made at Appomattox. In 1870 he re- moved from the east to Missouri, settling first at Iron Mountain. Having very little money but being equipped with a fair educa- tion, he began to teach school in Madison county, continuing to be engaged in that oc- enpation for a period of thirty years, during most of which time he also engaged in farm- ing operations. He has thoroughly familiar- ized himself with the art of surveying and does a great deat of that work in connection with his farming. His farm of one hundred acres is fitted with all the most modern im- provements and is in a state of high culti- vation. In politics he is a stalwart Demo- erat and he has ever figured prominently in local polities. In 1878 he was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the of- fice of county surveyor, serving with all of honor and distinction in that capacity until 1888. In 1896 he was elected county assessor, remaining in tenure of that office until 1904. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in their religious faith he and his wife and daughter are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South.

In North Carolina, in the year 1873, Mr. Downs was . married to Miss Sarah Carlton. who is a daughter of Pickens Carlton, rep- resentative of a sterling old North Carolina family. Mr. and Mrs. Downs are the parents of three children .- John Carlton, who is en- gaged in farming enterprises south of Fred- ericktown, married Miss Lizzie Pinegar and they have three children, Frank, Clara and

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Blanche; William M., engineer in a large salt factory at Wyandotte, Michigan, has trav- eled extensively, having made trips to China, the Philippines and South Africa, and he married Miss Mamie Homer, of Michigan; and Margaret, who was graduated in the state normal school at Cape Girardeau, is a popular and successful teacher in Madison county and remains at the parental home. The Downs family are prominent and popu- lar factors in connection with the best social activities of their home community, their residence being recognized as a center of re- finement and hospitality.

JOHN SHIDLER KOCHTITZKY. An essenti- ally representative and influential citizen of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is John Shidler Kochtitzky, who is here engaged in the dredging business and who is ever on the qui vive to do all in his power to advance the progress and development of this section of the state. Mr. Kochtitzky was born at Paris, Ohio, the date of his nativity being the 24th of March, 1857. He is a son of Oscar von Kochtitzky, a native of Debreczin, Hungary, where he was born on the 13th of March, 1830. The father immigrated to the United States in company with Louis Kossuth, the exiled orator and patriot of Hungary and after becoming a naturalized citizen of America he eliminated the "Von" from his name. His life was one of vicissitudes and stirring adventures. After being educated in the military academy at Buda Pesth, Austria, he, at the age of seventeen years, in 1847, joined the German army and partici- pated in the Schleswig-Holstein war. In that campaign he served as aide-de-camp on the staff of Field Marshal Wrangel, whose brother admiral of that name gave name to Wrangelland. Mr. Kochtitzky next saw active service in the revolutionary struggle against the House of Hapsburg, under Kos- suth and Bene; this move came to naught, however, owing to the treason of Gorgey. The Hungarians being defeated, they sought refuge in Turkey. In the fall of 1849 he enlisted for service in the Turkish navy, spending a year and a half in the Mediterra- nean, and in 1851 he came to America in company with Kossuth, the two of them rapidly mastering the English language. Although a skilled civil engineer by profes- sion. Mr. Kochtitzky located in Ohio, where he turned his attention to agricultural pur- suits and where he also conducted a saw mill.

At the time of the inception of the Civil war he manifested intrinsie loyalty to the cause of his adopted country by enlisting as a soldier in Company I, One Hundred Fif- teenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served with all of honor and distinction under Colonel Lucy. After the close of the war he served as provost marshal of middle Ten- nessee for a time and in 1867 he came to Missouri, settling in Laclede county, which he represented his constituents in. the state legislature in the sessions of 1871 and. 1872, in which he was chairman of the committees on Militia and Immigration. He was a man of influence in public and business affairs and among other things was instrumental in bringing about the union of the Atlantic and Pacific coast survey. In connection with Major George B. Clark he constructed the Little River Valley & Arkansas Railroad, which line was later disposed of to the Texas & St. Louis Railroad Company, the same being now known as the Cotton Belt Line. At the age of fifty-five years he was ap- pointed, at Jefferson City, Missouri, as com- missioner of labor statistics. He married Miss Caroline Shidler, the ceremony having been performed at Paris, Ohio, on the 25th of June, 1854. This union was prolific of eleven children, concerning whom the follow- ing brief data are here recorded,-Otto L. is a resident of Cape Girardeau; John S. is the immediate subject of this review; Mary Kate, the wife of Rev. J. V. Worsham, and died at Fort Valley, Georgia; Josephine is deceased ; Ella Eva is now Mrs. J. A. Hess. of Sikes- ton, Missouri; Alfred died in infancy: Ed- ward Hugh maintains his home at Mount Airy, North Carolina, as does also Caroline O., who is the wife of William Merritt; May died in infancy: Wilbur O. is a resident of Monroe, North Carolina; and Frank died in infancy. The father was summoned to the life eternal at Jefferson City, Missouri, on the 15th of February, 1891.

John S. Kochtitzky, of this notice, received his early educational training in the public schools. At the age of seventeen years he left school and in company with his brother Otto went into southeastern Missouri, where, under the father's instructions, they pre- pared surveys in connection with the build- ing of the Little River Valley & Arkansas railroad. Subsequently Mr. Kochtitzky was interested in steamboating on the old Anchor Line Steamers, his work being of a clerical nature. In the year 1881 he engaged in the

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mercantile business at Malden, Missouri. After abandoning the mercantile business he went to New Madrid and there became in- terested in the marketing of ice. One year later he established his home at Kansas City, Missouri, where he again engaged in mercan- tile enterprises, and from the latter place he removed to Carl Junction, Missouri, where he became interested in lead and zine mining.

In 1903 he went to Joplin, Missouri, where he launched out into the wholesale notion business, his establishment being known under the firm name of the Simeon Notion Company, and where he remained for a period of three years, at the expiration of which, in 1906, he came to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Since the latter year Mr. Koch- titzky and his brother Otto have conducted an extensive and profitable dredging business. They are well known in financial affairs in this city and are exceedingly popular on their sterling worth and impregnable integ- rity.

At Masonville, New York, on the 10th of October, 1883, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Kochtitzky to Miss Jennie B. Smith, who is a daughter of Frederick W. Smith, of Masonville, New York. The paternal grand- father of Mrs. Kochtitzky was Hazor Smith, who was a son of Darius Smith, a scion of one of the oldest colonial families, the original progenitor of the name in America having immigrated hither from England in the year 1634. Various representatives of the Smith family have figured prominently in public and military affairs from the colonial wars down to the present time. Mr. and Mrs. Kochtitzky have four children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here recorded,-Irma Electa, born Feb- ruary 17, 1885; Oscar Frederick, November 8, 1886; Edna Leigh, November 25, 1892; and John Shidler, June 12, 1897. All the children are at home.

In their religious affiliations the Kochtitzky family are consistent members of the Presby- terian church and in a fraternal way Mr. Kochtitzky is connected with the time- honored Masonic order. In polities he is a stanch Democrat. While undoubtedly he has not been without that honorable ambi- tion which is so powerful and useful as an incentive to activity in public affairs, he re- gards the pursuits of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. In community affairs he is active and influential and his support is readily and

generously given to many measures for the general progress and improvement. His life history is certainly worthy of commen- dation and emulation, for along honorable and straightforward lines he has won suc- cess which crowns his efforts and which makes him one of the substantial residents of Cape Girardeau.

GEORGE HENRY OTTO is Washington's phe- nomenally successful merchant and repre- sents one of the early families of Franklin county. Ile was born in the town of Wash- ington, March 1, 1868, whither his father, W. H. Otto, came with his parents as a child. The advent of the family in the United States dates from the time the subject's grand- father, Henry Otto, brought his household out of Prussia, crossed the Atlantic on a sail- ing vessel and established himself on the banks of the Missouri river in Franklin county, which was to be his future home. Here his son, W. H. Otto, grew to manhood, received a limited education and enlisted in the cause of the Union at the time of the Civil war. He carried on a mercantile busi- ness here for many years and passed away in the early years of the present century. He was a Republican of unalterable convic- tion and the part he took in public affairs was only such as every intelligent voter gives. He married Catherine Baumann, who was, like himself, of German origin, and this estimable lady still survives him, making her residence at Washington. Of the issue of their union William H. Otto, of New Haven, is the eldest; and next in order of birth are E. H., of Washington; George H., subject of this record; Mrs. August H. Breckenkamp, Mrs. Addie Menanwerth and Mrs. F. H. Stumpf, all of Washington.

Washington is fortunate in possessing many enterprising citizens who claim the locality as their birthplace and who have paid it the highest compliment within their power by electing to remain permanently within its borders. Such is George H. Otto, who is one of the number Washington is proud to claim as native sons. He received his education in the public and parochial schools and at a very early age began upon a mercantile apprenticeship as an assistant in his father's store. He proved faithful and efficient in small things and was given more and more to do. His tastes as well as his abilities were commercial and he had little difficulty in deciding upon a vocation,

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for he followed in the parental footsteps. His present success has come from the most modest beginnings, for when he engaged in business as the successor of his father in 1893 his capital was only eighty dollars, and his small business occupied a modest store half a block south of that piece of ground upon which his large department store has since appeared, a monument to his executive ability, progressive and modern methods and the satisfaction he has given in his deal- ings with the public. In his business are em- braced the departments of furniture, carpets, draperies and wall decorations, and there is also an undertaking department. His stock is exceedingly large and well chosen and completely fills his three-story building. This, together with his elegant home and other judicious investments, constitute the accumulations of a career of strenuous com- mercial effort of less than twenty years.

Mr. Otto is a man of diverse interests and any enterprise is indeed fortunate which has the benefit of his counsel. He is associated with several institutions of large scope and importance, being president of the Washing- ton Building and Loan Association; presi- dent of the Washington Water and Electric Light Company; a director of the Bank of Washington; and a director of the Commer- cial Club. In the last named organization he is chairman of the advertising committee and was instrumental in bringing about the loca- tion here of the Washington branch of the shoe factory of Roberts, Johnson & Rand. He is interested in bringing to Washington cult- ure and all higher advantages possible and he was one of the founders of that greatly appreciated institution, the Washington Pub- lic Library, of which he serves at the present time as a director. He is, in short, an able exponent of the progressive spirit and strong initiative ability which have caused the place to forge so rapidly forward of late years in every direction and he holds an unassailable position as a remarkably progressive business man and a loyal citizen. He has done much to further the material and civic development and upbuilding of the attractive city in which he resides and in which he has achieved success of distinctive and worthy order.

Mr. Otto was married, November 15, 1893, in Washington, to Miss Pauline Kueckens, a daughter of Burchard Kueckens, of St. Louis. They share their handsome and commodious home with four children, namely: Esther,

aged seventeen; Walter II., aged fifteen; Paulina, aged six; and Henry, aged three. The third child, George H., died at the age of five years. Mr. and Mrs. Otto are affiliated with the Lutheran church.

EDWARD DAVIS MCANALLY. It is a signifi- cant fact that the majority of men who have made successes in the business world and many of the professional men who have come to the front were the sons of farmers. At present our country's best educators are advocating military training for boys as a means of increasing their efficiency. Expe- rience shows that in the past most of the men who have made successes have orig- inated on the farm. They learn many les- sons there that they could not learn any- where else. They learn the habit of early rising ; they are accustomed to simplicity of food and customs; they are given work to do and are made to realize the consequences of neglect, thus early coming to feel respon- sibility. These are a few of the advantages that come to a boy from his early life on a farm. In addition to these, the chances are that he will be possessed of a healthy body, due to his open air life.

Edward Davis McAnally is an instance of the above conclusions. He was born Novem- ber 16, 1884, four miles south of Kennett. His father, J. T. McAnally, was born in Craighead county, Arkansas, in 1859, on the second of May. He was the son of a farmer and was born on a farm. When he was only three years old his parents brought him to Dunklin county so that his earliest recollections cluster around this county, where he attended the little old log subscription school house near Vineit, in the northern part of Grand Prairie. He had an older brother stationed at Bloomfield and ne remembered the northern and the south- ern soldiers and his fears of both. When he was only eight years old his father died, the widow following him in three years. Thus the son was doubly bereaved while most in need of parental care. His older brother, J. D. McAnally, did his very best to take the parents' place, taking his young hrother into his home, where he had his doctor's office. J. T. made his home with his brother for several. years, during which time he studied medicine, but he never practiced, not finding the profession to his liking. J. T. McAnally bought one hundred and sixty acres of land of which eighty

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Edw. D. m" anally.

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acres are in cultivation and which he still operates. Previously he had been engaged in the mercantile business in Vincit for sev- eral years. The company in which he held stock discontinued business and he then devoted his entire attention to farming. Of his farm he cleared some forty acres, prac- tically digging that part. out of the woods and there built a house and farm buildings. He was a member of the Farmers' Union and is widely known, as he is one of the old- est residents of the county. He married while living at Vineit, Donna Hale, a native of Tennessee. Four children were born to this union, Edward, Thomas, Mamie and Mary Belle. In 1896 Mrs. McAnally died, and in 1891 he married again, his wife being Carrie Buckner, of Kennett. His second wife has borne him six children, Ruth, Dee, Trible, Alton, Zada and James. Mr. McAn- ally is a Democrat and intensely interested in politics, but with no desire for political honors for himself; all his energies are ex- pended for others. He is a member of the Christian church at Kennett, where he is a most earnest worker.

Edward D. McAnally has spent practically all of his life on the farm. He received his early education in the rural schools, later attending the Kennett high school and he graduated from the Cape Girardeau normal school in the class of 1909. During the short time that has elapsed ' since his graduation he taught in the rural schools and then was principal of the south ward school in Ken- nett, at the same time being the athletic di- rector in the high school. On April 4, 1911, young as he is, he was elected county super- intendent, assuming the duties of the office on April 10th. The district contains seventy- eight schools and naturally the superintend- ent must be a man of acknowledged executive ability. Such the Democrats were convinced Mr. McAnally is, and during his short term since his election his actions have justified his election, as he has made good to an ex- tent that surprised even his warmest advo- cates. If we were to predict we should say that Mr. McAnally has a great future before him. The profession he has chosen is one that calls forth the highest qualities in a man and is prodnetive of great good. It is in the schools that the future of our nation lies. Dunklin county stands high in the state as a commercial mart : it has professional men of no mean calibre and it has boys and girls in abundance who will be the citizens of the

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History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 5

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