History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 73

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 73

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Williamfernseher

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born in March, 1869; Lula, April, 1871; Susan A., May, 1873; and Richard E., 1875. The second Mrs. Adams was a widow, Mrs. Kate Minner, who was born and died in Liv- ingston county, Kentucky. She bore Mr. Adams one daughter, Sallie. The mother's death occurred when about twenty-eight years of age. The present Mrs. Adams was form- erly Mrs. Elizabeth Saterfield, of Marshall county, Kentucky.

John S. Adams, Joel's father, was born in Bedford county, North Carolina. His death occurred in Springfield, Illinois, in 1862. He had served in the Civil war, a volunteer in the forty-eighth Illinois Infantry. His wife was Sallie Howell, of Virginia, who died in Ken- tucky, in 1861. Mr. Adams is a Democrat. He serves as judge of elections and has per- formed this duty for the last ten or twelve years.

WILLIAM J. CRUTCHER. One of the most intelligent, prosperous and progressive agri- culturists of Stoddard county, W. J. Crutch- er owns and occupies a valuable homestead in the town of Essex, which has been his home for many years, and where he has won a fine reputation as an honest man and a good citi- zen. He was born March 2, 1854, in Stewart county, Tennessee, where both his father, Joseph Crutcher, and his grandfather, Wil- liam Crutcher, had long been engaged in agricultural pursuits.

His father dying in 1867, William J. Crutcher found himself at the head of a fam- ily consisting of his widowed mother, two younger brothers and a younger sister. He remained with his mother until the younger children were grown up, working for wages, receiving six dollars a month in winter and eight dollars a month during the summer seasons, all of which went into the family treasury. In 1872 he removed with the fam- ily to Stoddard county, and for a year was engaged in farming on rented land. At the age of nineteen years Mr. Crutcher married Sarah Vincent, who had one hundred and twenty acres of land, of which twenty-five acres were under cultivation. Seven hun- dred dollars were then due on the land, and Mr. Crutcher set to work most resolutely to pay off the indebtedness, and in the course of five years had the tract all paid for. As his means increased, he invested in additional land, paying three dollars an acre for a part of his present farm, which adjoins the vil- lage of Essex, and which contains about Vol. II-25

seven hundred acres of as choice land as can be found in this section of the county. He has bought other large tracts of land, paying as high as sixty dollars an acre for some of it, and finding the cheapest land the hardest to pay for, although nearly every acre of his total of fifteen hundred acres is now worth fully one hundred dollars an acre. Mr. Crutcher has two hundred and sixty acres in a farm lying near his homestead, and owns two hundred and eighty acres in Arkansas. He has not sold very much land, although some that he paid three dollars and seventy- five cents an acre he sold at five dollars an acre, the land at the present time being val- ued at one hundred dollars an acre.

Mr. Crutcher has carried on general farm- ing with great success, raising grain and stock, having a fine open range for his cat- tle, and has bought and sold stock, finding profit in that branch of agriculture. Some years ago he conceived the idea of creating a canal along the bluff, three miles distant, to keep the water off the flats, and has since continued a hearty supporter, with many others of the draining process, greatly en- hancing the value of his property and add- ing to its productiveness. He has accumu- lated considerable wealth through his own ef- forts, owning store buildings in Essex, and was formerly president of the Bank of Essex, of which he was one of the organizers and owning stock in this institution for several years, but sold his interests some years since. He is a Democrat in politics, but was never an aspirant for official honors. In his farm- ing Mr. Crutcher made a specialty of grow- ing wheat, which he began, in 1879, by sow- ing twenty-five acres, while in 1909 his crop lacked but very little of netting him ten thousand dollars.

Mr. Crutcher has been twice married. His first wife, who lived but eight years after their marriage, bore him two children, name- ly: A child that died in infancy; and Wil- liam, who lived but seventeen years. Mr. Crutcher married for his second wife, Novem- ber 27, 1882, Manda Jane Overbey, who was born in Richland township, Stoddard county, Missouri, a daughter of Harvey Overbey, and his wife, Lydia, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Overbey came to Missouri in 1856, and settled in Stoddard county, where the death of Mr. Overbey occurred when his daughter Manda was but eight years old. Mr. and Mrs. Crutcher are the parents of

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four children, namely: John L., a farmer in Richland township; Jennie, wife of Thomas Taylor; Clarence; and Lee. Mr. and Mrs. Crutcher, in the kindness of their warm hearts, have also raised other children, tak- ing into their hospitable home several or- phans, whom they have tenderly cared for until they were married, when they would in- stall them in a small house on their farm, which they appropriately named the "Or- phans' Home," and see that they were well started in life. Fraternally Mr. Crutcher has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1879, and religiously Mrs. Crutcher is a faithful member of the Baptist church.

R. LEE SMYTH. An able exponent of the progressive spirit and altruistic citizenship which have caused this section to forge so rapidly forward in the last few years is R. Lee Smyth, collector of taxes, residing at Bloom- field, Missouri. He is also interested in the agricultural history of Stoddard county and successfully engages in operations in the great basic industry on his farm six miles southwest of Dexter. Mr. Smyth is well-known as an educator, his earliest sphere of usefulness having been the educational field, and his pedagogical endeavors having included some sixteen terms, all in the county schools.

Mr. Smyth is a native of Tennessee, his birth having occurred in Weakley county, that state, November 6, 1863. His boyhood was spent on a farm in his native state and it was in Tennessee that he received the ednca- tion which he was to put to such good use. He came to Missouri in young manhood to join a brother, James P. Smyth, and a cousin, James W. Walters, who had already become sufficiently attracted by the charms and ad- vantages of Stoddard county to settle there. Both of these gentlemen, like the subject, were school teachers, and Mr. Walters subse- quently became county surveyor of Stoddard county. Missouri has indeed proved a lode- stone for the Smyth family, for two other brothers and a sister followed in course of time, namely: Hugh E. Smyth and Captain Smyth and Musa Smyth, the former, a farmer residing in Dexter, and the two latter now re- siding in Holdenville, Oklahoma. The brother James P., previously mentioned, after teaching for a number of years is now the undertaker of Dexter.

In the roseate days of youth R. Lee Smyth worked on the farm in the summer and taught

school in the winter. His higher education was obtained in the Masonic Institute at Glea- son, Tennessee, and he subsequently matricu- lated in the Sharon Training School at Sharon, Tennessee. He taught his first school in Lancaster district, eight miles southwest of Dexter, and his enlightened educational meth- ods at once were fruitful of the best results and won him the gratified confidence of the community. He continued in this line for a number of years, teaching continuously for sixteen terms in all. In 1906 Mr. Smyth be- came the candidate of the Democratic party for tax collector, his name being placed be- fore the primaries in April, and in the fall of that year he was elected, taking office on March 1, 1907, and of such high character were his services that he was re-elected in 1910, and is now serving his second term. He has ever taken a great interest in party affairs and has ever proved ready and willing to do anything legitimate to assist the cause in which he believes. He is exceptionally well- versed in political conditions and has been delegate from this county to senatorial con- ventions. In addition to his usefulness in other fields he has engaged successfully in agriculture, his farm being situated six miles southwest of Dexter, on Crowley's Ridge, and being of large proportions, consisting of a half section in one tract and of forty acres in another. The half section is a part of his wife's old home.

Mr. Smyth was happily married on the 8th day of May, 1902, his chosen companion being Cora Lee Rose, daughter of Jonathon and Charlotte (James) Rose, the former of North Carolina and the latter of Illinois. The Rose family came to Missouri before the Civil war and located near the northern border of Stod- dard county. In course of time they removed to the vicinity of Idalia and later took pos- session of the above-mentioned farm, six miles southwest of Dexter, where the father en- gaged successfully in his chosen vocation and died in the year 1903, at about the age of sixty-four years. His widow survives and makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. R. Lee Smyth. Cora Lee, wife of the subject, was born east of Bloomfield, near Idalia, and is one of a family of two children. Mr. and Mrs. Smyth have a promising family of six children, as follows: Elvin and Alvin, twins; Grace, Marvin, Raymond and Robert. Mr. and Mrs. Smyth are generons and useful mem- bers of the Bloomfield Christian church, in which the former is an elder. He is a popular

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and prominent fraternity man, being affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Bernie, Missouri, and with the Modern Woodmen of America at Bloomfield.

The parents of R. Lee Smyth were A. D. and Malinda Smyth, the former retired and residing in Stoddard county, and elsewhere with his children. He was a farmer in Ten- nesee, and was a stanch Democrat and veteran of the Confederate army, being wounded at the battle of Shiloh, in which noted battle, Mrs. R. Lee Smyth's father also participated. Mr. R. L. Smyth's mother died in Tennessee, December 31, 1893. She and her husband were members of the Cumberland Presby- terian church.

WILLIAM R. TAYLOR. Honored and es- teemed by all, there is no man in Stoddard county who occupies a more enviable posi- tion in agricultural circles than William R. Taylor, not alone on account of the splendid success he has achieved but also on account of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever followed. His close appli- cation to business and his excellent manage- ment have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which to-day is his. During prac- tically his entire life time thus far he has been a valued resident of Southeastern Mis- souri and at the present time, in 1911, he is the owner of an estate of nearly seven hun- dred acres, to be exact, 6991%, the same be- ing eligibly located two and a half miles dis- tant from Essex, in Stoddard county.

A native of the fine old commonwealth of Tennessee, William R. Taylor was born in Carroll county, that state, the date of his nativity being the 7th of September, 1843. He is a son of Stephen and Delia (Springer) Taylor, the former of whom was a native of either North or South Carolina and the lat- ter of whom claimed Alabama as the place of her birth. Stephen Taylor came to Mis- souri with his family in the latter part of the year 1846, and he settled on a farm two and a half miles southeast of Essex, this es- tate forming the nucleus of William R. Tay- lor's fine farm. He was a pioneer in this section of the state and pre-empted a tract of Government land. Other families were coming to Stoddard county, too, at that time, among them being the Warren family from Illinois. Dan, Matthew and William War- ren, all sons of Levi Warren, likewise pre- empted Government land in Stoddard county, and the children of Dan Warren still reside

here. The Taylor family remained in the neighborhood, where, at the time of the incep- tion of the Civil war, most of the settlers were southern sympathizers. In 1862 Stephen Taylor was captured by the Federals and im- prisoned at Alton, Illinois, where he died a few months later, in October, 1862, at the age of fifty-two years. He was a southern man and during the early days of the war was ardently in sympathy with the secession movement. Mr. Taylor's widow survived him but a few years, her death having occurred in August, 1869. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were active in the development of their home com- munity and were instrumental in the organ- ization of the first Missionary Baptist church some two miles distant from Essex. Mr. Tay- lor was exceedingly fond of out-of-door life and he was noted as a splendid coon hunter. In those early days the country about here was infested with all sorts of large game and the subject of this review tells of having killed bear, deer and elk in this vicinity, and he killed three deer within gunshot of his present home.

William R. Taylor was a child of but three years of age at the time of his parents' re- moval to Stoddard county, where he passed his boyhood and youth amid frontier sur- roundings. His preliminary educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the schools of the locality. Dur- ing the last years of the war he rented his present farm, it having been the old home of Jesse Henson, who with his brother-in-law, John Whitehead, had been the first settlers in this vicinity. Henson eventually moved away from Stoddard county and Whitehead died in 1866. The farm referred to above con- tained one hundred and sixty acres and when he purchased it Mr. Taylor paid for the same a sum of nine hundred dollars, about forty acres of the tract having been opened to cultivation. With the passage of time Mr. Taylor has continued to add to his original estate until he is now the owner of a farm of 699 acres. Most of his land he purchased for the merely nominal price of $2.50 or $3.00 per acre, but about twelve years ago he bought 120 acres for which he paid thirteen hundred dollars. He now has five hundred acres of his land under cultivation and associated with him in the management of the estate are his two sons. He has made corn a leading crop. some seventy-five acres being devoted thereto, the same being under the supervi- sion of tenants, and he is also raising some

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cotton. With ample range he has kept cat- tle and hogs and conducts an extensive and ever increasing business in the raising and shipping of stock. In 1895 he erected the beautiful Taylor residence, which is modern and convenient in every possible connection and where is dispensed the generous hospi- tality for which Southeastern Missouri is so noted.

On the 3d of September, 1871, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Martha Ann Rhodes, who was reared and educated in Stoddard county but who was born in Ten- nessee. This union has been prolific of seven children, five of them living and concerning whom the following brief data are here in- corporated,-Mary is the wife of John Blood- worth and they reside on a portion of Mr. Taylor's farm; Sarah J. married Ryan Langley, who is identified with agricultural pursuits on a farm near Frisco in this county ; William R., Jr., is associated with his father in the latter's farming operations, as is also Thomas A., and Adele is the wife of Otto Miles, a merchant at Essex. The eldest child, John, died at five years and the other in infancy.

In his political convictions Mr. Taylor is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the prin- ciples and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, and while he has never manifested aught of desire for political preferment of any description he has always done everything in his power to advance the best interests of the community in which he makes his home. He has been an enthusias- tie advocate of the good-roads movement and in every possible respect has contributed to progress and improvement. Mr. Taylor's re- ligious faith is in harmony with the teachings of the Baptist church. He is a man of great benevolence, is genial and kindly in his as- sociations and on many occasions has given a helping hand to those less fortunately situ- ated than himself. His exemplary life and fair dealings have won him the confidence .and regard of his fellow men.

MARTIN LARSEN. The Danish type is one which has found many representatives in the New World and has assuredly contributed its quota towards the onward march of progress. Of this nation was the late Martin Larsen, one of Stoddard county's leading agricultur- ists, whose memory is held in reverence in a community to which his influence was of def- inite benefit. It is indeed fitting that a re-

view of his life and achievements should be incorporated in this volume devoted to rep- resentative citizens of Southeastern Mis- souri.

Martin Larsen was born November 24, 1835, in Denmark, and died October 24, 1910, thus being five years beyond the psalm- ist's allotted span of life when summoned to his eternal rest. He came to America be- fore the Civil war, when a young man about twenty-four years of age. While in his native country he had had the advantage of military training and he had also had the advantage of some practical experience in agriculture. Upon landing on American shores he at once turned his face toward Missouri and located in the vicinity of Poplar Bluff, in company with nineteen of his countrymen. He took up a homestead, a part of which is now the site of the present town of Poplar Bluff. At that time it was uncleared land, covered with woods, and at first he could make but a make but a small clearing. In a few months most of the little Danish colony had scattered, some going one place, some another. Mr. Larsen and Elias Heusner were among those who moved away, and they came to Stoddard county, where the subject secured work in a saw mill belonging to the father of Mr. Joe Sykes. He also worked in the logging camps near Bloomfield and in one way and another tried out his fortunes in the new world. For seven years Mr. Larsen worked with Henry Miller as a farmer, and he had a responsible position with that gentleman, being his over- seer. He was thrifty, as well as capable and industrious, and saved his money to such good advantage that at the end of the seven years he found himself in a position to purchase eighty acres of land, and on this tract he lived about the space of two years. About the year 1870 he bought his late home, an eligibly situated farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which was about half improved, paying twelve hundred dollars for the same. Here he farmed in the summer, and in the lull between harvest and seed-time he hauled goods to Cape Girardeau for John Buck, making two trips to that point with mer- chandise each week and being on the road all of the time. This strenuous existence continued for seven years, but he eventually found it necessary to devote his entire atten- tion to his farming, and he found such suc- cess and added to his land so frequently that he at last owned a splendid property con- sisting of 960 acres, this being less than six

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miles southwest of Bloomfield. His chief products were corn, wheat, hogs and cattle. It was his distinction to become the leading farmer in all Stoddard county, his methods being up-to-date and his success in all lines phenomenal. His acres were adorned with a substantial residence, and his barns and out- buildings were excellent.

About the year 1900 Mr. Larsen placed his land in other hands and removed to Bloom- field to enjoy in the leisure of retirement the fruits of his earlier years of industry, and here, happy in the enjoyment of hosts of friends and surrounded by all material com- forts, he lived until his demise. He retained his interests, however, and at one time in- vested extensively in a bank at Dexter, this proving a financial loss. In addition to his principal farm he owned in other localities in Stoddard county seven or eight hundred acres, whose improvement he had brought about, some of this being bottom land. He was not one to be content with "letting well enough alone," as the old adage has it, but was constantly devising some new plan of im- provement. Mr. Larsen was a stanch sup- porter of the policies and principles of the Democratic party, but his interest in politics was nothin more than that of the intelligent voter. His zeal for continual improvement was not limited to his lands, but extended also to his own education, for although he had been well educated in his native lan- guage, he made every effort to perfect him- self in English and did not allow his studies to end with his school days. His religious conviction was that of the Lutheran church, of which he had been a member in Denmark, although he did not affiliate in this country.

Mr. Larsen laid the foundation of an in- dependent household by his marriage at Bloomfield to Louisa Edwards, who was born in Tennessee aud came to Stoddard county as a girl. She was a daughter of a Mr. and Mrs. Edwards once well known in this sec- tion, who died some thirty or more years ago. This faithful and admirable wife was called to her eternal rest January 10, 1892. Mr. Larsen's second wife was Sally Smith, daugh- ter of James M. Clark. She was a native of Kentucky and came to Stoddard county with her first husband, who died some time later. Her father also became a Missouri citizen and lived where Henry Larsen now lives. Mrs. Larsen survives the subject and is a woman held in high regard in the community in which she is best known. The issue of the

subject are as follows: Preston, who resides on a farm near Aid; J. C., who operates a part of the old homestead; Alma S., wife of W. A. Kirby, who also manages a part of the Larsen estate; and W. H.

William Henry Larsen was born on the old homestead in Stoddard county, February 3, 1877. He resided beneath the home roof un- til the age of nineteen, when he was married to Effie Timmons, daughter of Garret Tim- mons, of Kentucky. Mrs. Larsen is a native of Kentucky. Mr. Larsen is one of the suc- cessful agriculturists of the county, and in the management of his affairs has already evinced the sound judgment and executive capacity of his father. In 1906 he bought his present farm, which is a part of the Clark estate above mentioned. He and his brother Preston both received from the parental es- tate a tract of bottom land near Aid, which they have cleared and improved. His farm is located four miles west of Bloomfield, con- sists of 240 acres and is a model of its kind. As a boy his fancy had been taken by the Clark farm and at the settlement of the Clark estate he bought it, thus making his early dreams come true. He raises high bred mules, graded stock and hogs, and also raises a good deal of corn. He takes little interest in politics, except to support to the best of his ability all measures likely to result in benefit to the whole of society. His wife is a member of Lick Creek Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Larsen share their at- tractive and hospitable home with five chil- dren,-Edgar and Edith, twins; Leslie, Lol- lie and Charlie.

JOHN A. MILLER. Colton wrote: "It is not known where he who invented the plow was born, or where he died; yet he has ef- fected more for the happiness of the world than the whole race of heroes and conquerors who have drenched it with tears and saturated it with blood, and whose birth, parentage and education have been handed down to us with a precision exactly proportionate to the mis- chief they have done." Agriculture, indeed, has received the "highest awards" from the world of moralists; and it is a great pity that all mankind are not engaged in it,-at least to some extent. One of Stoddard county's prosperous farmers and good citizens is John A. Miller, a native son of the state.

The Miller family have been identified with this part of Missouri since the beginning of the nineteenth century. The subject's fa-

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ther, Robert Miller, was born at Cape Girar- deau, March 7, 1815. Owing to the fact that there were no schools, he was without educa- tional advantages, but being energetic and ambitious he learned much through his own efforts. In ancestry he was half Irish and half German. His mother was born in North Carolina, October 24, 1818, and was reared in Perry county, and the marriage of the par- ents occurred in the northern part of Stod- dard county, about the year 1837. The young couple located at a point farther south in the county-six miles west of Bloomfield, to be exact. Many Indians were there at that time and conditions were decidedly primitive. Land, however, was very cheap, and the father entered 160 acres at $1.25 an acre. He eventually added a few acres, making his property to consist of two hundred acres. This represented his home throughout the re- mainder of his days. His life, like that of most of the pioneers, was hard and busy, for in addition to the usual tasks of agriculture he had to clear all of his land and construct his own buildings, the first one being made of logs. Finally he began to prosper a lit- tle and then hired hands. His children were as follows: Celia Jane, Thomas Warren, John A. (subject of this biographical record), An- drew Franklin, Amos B. and Maria Jose- phine. The ravages of the Civil war were felt by the little circle. The father was killed March 28, 1862, by a guerilla band, which ar- rested him without cause, took him away and shot him. This was particularly without rea- son as he was neutral in his sympathies, sid- ing with neither section. Previous to this the eldest brother had died, and thus the whole of the farm work fell upon the shoulders of John A. and his brother. Times were hard, indeed, in this section of Missouri in the dreary days following the Civil war, and it was about all they could do to make a liv- ing. In a few years, however, they got ahead sufficiently to improve the farm a little, and on August 7, 1870, Mr. Miller assumed the additional responsibilities of marriage. The worthy mother lived until 1881, and at her death the farm was divided among the chil- dren, and the various portions sold by each, Mr. Miller getting about three hundred dol- lars for his portion.

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History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 73

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