History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 77

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 77

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Dr. Davidson married in 1852 Martha Ann Higgins, who lived until 1864, leaving him two young sons,-Alexander W., now a physician of Pine Bluff; and Josephus M., a physician of Polk's Station, Tennessee. In 1867 he married Eliza S. Stuart, who died in 1869, their son, Abraham L., being the only survivor of that union. In 1871 Sarah Epley became his wife, and her death oc- curred in 1878. There were two children of this marriage,-Henry C. and Viola.

Dr. Davidson found pleasure in his fra- ternal relations, which extended to the Ma- sons, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Grand Army of the Republic.

ALEXANDER DAVIDSON, M. D. Holding high position among his professional breth- ren in Butler county is Dr. Alexander Davidson. Acute in his perceptions, widely read in his profession, and skillful in apply- ing his acquirements to practical use, his value as a physician and surgeon is of the highest character. In addition to his pro- fessional ability he is one of the most admir- able of citizens, by no means content with "things as they are," but rver striving for "things as they might be.' This was es- pecially apparent during his service as mayor of the city.

Dr. Davidson is a son of Hugh C. David- son, was born September 26, 1853, and has been in constant practice in Poplar Bluff since July, 1884. He is one of the promi- nent physicians of the state, and is identi- fied with the principal organizations, among them the Missouri State Eclectic Medical Society, of which he was president for one year, and is and for several years has been its treasurer. He is a valued contributor to medical magazines, being a man of original research and ideas, and his articles appear in such well known organs of the profes- sion as the Eclectic Medical Journal of St. Lonis. the American Medical Journal and the Gleaner.

In 1889 the community gave evidence of the confidence and high regard in which it holds the subject by electing him mayor of Poplar Bluff and his regime was of the most progressive and enlightened order. He did a great service to the city by establishing sewerage. Water works had already been secured, but it was Dr. Davidson's honor to bring about the building of the first sewers. Also, the Frisco Railroad had trouble in gaining entry into the city, but through his influence this difficulty was obviated, and the location for a depot secured by his coun- cil. He has also served as county treasurer, his election to said office having occurred in the fall of 1900 and his tenure of office ex- tending to 1905. He has for the past four years served as chairman of the County Central Committee of the Republican party, and has been sent as delegate to the various party conventions. While county treasurer he induced the county court to issue bonds to take up floating indebtedness to the amount of thirty thousand dollars.

For the past three years Dr. Davidson has been affiliated with the time-honored Masonic order. He is a member of the Blue Lodge, chapter and council and is very

Arr. Davidson ML

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active in the two former. He has been for thirty years a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he holds the office of treasurer, and for twenty-four years he has enjoyed fellowship with the Knights of Pythias. He is fond of out-of-door life and finds no small amount of pleasure in his hunting expeditions.

Dr. Davidson laid the foundations of a happy marriage when on the 25th day of October, 1878, he was united with Lizzie C. Atkins. They are the parents of four liv- ing children, as follows: Hattie, wife of E. A. Grant, a timber man of Pennsylvania ; Stella, wife of Perse MeNelley, who is in the employ of the Dalton Adding Machine Company, located in Poplar Bluff, Missouri ; Clara M., wife of Edward MeNelley, fore- man of the, Dalton Adding Machine Com- pany, of Poplar Bluff; and Allie M., a school girl. The subject's admirable wife is active in the affairs of the Baptist church and is also connected with the Pythian Sis- ters.

One of the most honored members of the bar of Butler county was the late Isaac M. Davidson, uncle of Dr. A. W. Davidson, who was one of the most able and widely known of Southeastern Missouri attorneys for a long period of years, included between the time of his admission to the bar in 1867 and his demise in 1895. He also engaged in the real estate business and became one of the heaviest taxpayers in the county. He was a native of Hickman county, Tennessee, his birth having occurred there February 25, 1835. He was a son of David Davidson, a Christian minister. After securing his edu- cation Mr. Davidson engaged in teaching for a time, but, as was the case with the ma- jority of the young men of his day and gen- eration, his career was interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil war. Thoroughly in sympathy with the cause which stood for the preservation of the Union, he enlisted in 1862 and was made first lieutenant of Com- pany D, Thirty-first Missouri Cavalry. Later he became an enrolling officer.

After the termination of the war between the states Mr. Davidson began his preparation for the bar, attacking his Blackstone as he would have done a hostile regiment. In 1867 he was admitted to practice and proved a most able lawyer. In 1872 he was elected county school commissioner and from 1876 to 1880 he held the office of prosecuting at- torney. He was married in 1857 to Lucinda

Ross, a native of Kentucky, who died three years after their union. In 1863 he and Mary I. Barfield were united, but her de- mise occurred in 1868. He is survived by his third wife, whose maiden name was Mary McCullagh, and who was from Arkan- sas. He was a Republican in politics; a consistent member of the Christian church; and a prominent member of the Grand Ar- my of the Republic.

HIRAM B. ALLSTUN. Widely known as a prosperous agriculturist of Essex, H. B. All- stun is numbered among the citizens of good repute and high standing in Stoddard coun- ty, where a large part of his active life has been spent. A native of Kentucky, he was born January 21, 1864, in Hardin county, where he was reared and educated. While yet in his 'teens he began working for wages as a farm laborer, and later rented land for two years.

Having made up his mind to make a com- plete change of residence, Mr. Allstun, in 1886, came to Stoddard county, Missouri, in search of a favorable location. Locating four miles south of Essex, he bought two hun- dred acres of land, paying fifteen hundred dollars for the tract, or $7.50 an acre. Sev- enty acres were under cultivation, and the deal included in addition to the land four head of mules, considerable other stock and fifteen hundred bushels of corn, the land and all amounting to three thousand dollars. Of this sum Mr. Allstun had but one hundred dollars ready to pay, but he borrowed the remainder from a friend in Sikeston, pay- ing him ten per cent interest per annum. He subsequently honght adjoining land, be- coming owner of a full section of the finest soil in Southeastern Missouri, paying from $3.50 to $20.00 an acre for it, at the same time borrowing money at ten per cent inter- est to pay for the land. Mr. Allstun has never sold any land, and has now five hun- dred acres under cultivation, and in the past two years has tiled much of it. his farms being in excellent condition. He has re- cently purchased forty acres of land just south of the village of Essex, paying $110.00 cash per acre, it being the highest price that had then been paid for land in this part of the state. Here he has a fine little home.

Mr. Allstun erected good buildings on his old farm, the improvements all being of an excellent character, and as a farmer has made a specialty of growing corn, wheat,

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hogs and cattle, formerly keeping from one hundred and fifty to two hundred head of cattle, which he generally sold from the range, selling the calves that he raised when a year old. A good white oak grove formerly stood upon his land, but he sold much of it for railroad ties, receiving but little or noth- ing for his labors in cutting the timber. In 1910 Mr. Allstun's tenant hulled 420 bushels of clover seed, a profitable crop. When Mr. Allstun first located near Essex there were very few good buildings, and neither schools or churches in this part of the county. He and his neighbors felt pretty blue at times, and surely thought that each year would be the last in Missouri, but having stuck per- sistently to his work he has made good, ac- cumulating a handsome property.

Mr. Allstun has been three times married. He married first, in Hardin county, Ken- tucky, Mary Baker, who died in early wo- manhood, leaving four children, namely : Belle, wife of John LaRue, of Frisco, Stod- dard county; May, wife of William Harri- son, a farmer in Stoddard county ; Thomas, of Stoddard county; and Virgie, wife of John Lankford, of Essex. He married for his sec- ond wife Maria Baker, a sister of his first wife, and they became the parents of six children, as follows: Pearl, wife of Charles Snyder, of Kennett, Missouri; Cora, wife of Charles Swendle, living near Essex; Lulu, wife of Ed Joseph; Roy, living at home; Earl, a lad of fifteen years, living at home, but becoming a practical farmer, already owning a number of growing calves and pigs ; and Lora. Mr. Allstun married for his third wife Lulu Harbolt, of Stoddard county, Mis- souri.

CHARLES B. CLEMENTS. Among the pub- lic-spirited and progressive men who have been especially active in advancing the ma- terial interests of Dexter, Charles B. Clem- ents now serving as mayor of the city, is wor- thy of honorable mention. Possessing sound judgment and much executive ability, he is ever found among the leaders of any pro- jects calculated to benefit the general pub- lie, and as a dealer in real estate he has been influential in bringing many good settlers into this part of Stoddard county. A native of Illinois, he was born January 18, 1865, in Douglas county, and was educated in the vil- lage schools.

Learning telegraphy, he was for five years an operator for the C. H. & D. Railroad

Company at different offices along their line, and afterwards a resident for twelve years in the west, two years of this time in Seattle, Washington, working in the shipping office of a machinery company. On returning to Illinois he was engaged in mercantile pur- suits at Camargo, Douglas county, for a time, serving also as town clerk while there. Sell- ing out, Mr. Clements was operator for a year and a half on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway, with headquarters at Mt. Auburn. Becoming in the meantime in- terested in real estate in different parts of the country, his attention was drawn to the possibilities to be obtained in the develop- ment of Southeastern Missouri lands, and in 1905 he came to Stoddard county in search of a favorable location, and for six months thereafter was associated with the Dexter Land Company. Embarking then in busi- ness for himself, Mr. Clements has built up a fine trade in real estate, and as an insur- ance agent has been quite successful. He has bought and sold valuable properties, and has developed a valuable farm 11/4 miles south of Dexter, on the bottom lands, devoting it to general farming, including the raising of clover, and in addition raises Poland China hogs. He has made improvements of an ex- cellent character, the large draining ditch being one of the most important. As a real estate man Mr. Clements has co-operated with other wide-awake agents, and through their influence the country roundabout is developing and being built up with wonder- ful rapidity.

Independent in politics, Mr. Clements served for two years in the city council, and in April, 1910, was elected mayor of Dexter for a term of two years. Under his wise administration many concrete walks have been laid and the streets improved, Main street having been gravelled. An effort to inaugurate a system of water works was started, but was defeated at a special elec- tion by fifteen votes cast by the small tax- payers. Mr. Clements secured Dexter as the meeting place of the Southeastern Missouri Commercial Men's Association for May, 1911, a meeting that proved of benefit to the town. The Municipal Electric Light Plant not prov- ing successful, it was sold under his admin- istration, and the city has since received much better service.

Mr. Clements married in 1898, in Douglas county. Illinois, Pearl Cole, and they have three children, namely: Paul, Elizabeth and

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Charles. Fraternally Mr. Clements is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and of the Court of Honor.

THOMAS LYNEARD WHITEHEAD. Among the best known and most highly respected of the citizens of Stoddard county is T. L. White- head, of Bernie, who is successfully engaged in the mercantile business, carrying a general stock, including farming implements, gro- ceries and dry goods. The name of White- head has been associated with the history of this locality for as many as 85 years, for it was early in the nineteenth century that the subject's father, John Whitehead, a native of Tennessee, removed from that state to Mis- souri, he being a young man of about 25 at that time. The journey was made on a gray mare, and the wife, whose maiden name was Polly Henson, was seated behind him. They settled on the hills east of Bloomfield, or what is the present site of Bloomfield, for there was nothing there at that time but an In- dian village. They were there about 3 years, when they removed to what is known as East Swamp, ten miles southeast of Bloomfield. They were only the third family to settle in that section, which was very swampy, the others being the families of George Eskew and D. Lunsford. The land was mostly tim- ber land, little cultivating having been done, and John Whitehead bought his property at the low government prices. He had in all 240 acres and he brought these to a state of good improvement, fearing none of the stren- uous work of the pioneer. He died in 1867, when about 69 years of age. He and his worthy wife and helpmeet were the parents of the following children: William, de- ceased ; Robert, killed in war as a Confed- erate soldier; Katherine, Eveline and Nancy, deceased ; Thomas L .; Samuel, a farmer near Bernie ; and John, deceased.

Mr. Whitehead was born on February 22, 1848, about two miles south of Essex. He had no chance for schooling, for there were no schools in the locality and what he learned he absorbed, as some one has said, "by main force and awkwardness." He lent his shoul- der to the hard work of pioneer farming, and enjoyed the wholesome pleasures of the other young people of the new section. Just as he was growing into young manhood the Civil war became a dread reality and times became harder than ever, and there was con- stant anxiety in the family circle, as one brother was in the Confederate army, and

finally the news came of his death. The father died shortly after the close of the war and Mr. Whitehead assisted his mother in the maintenance of the household until the year 1874. In that year he went west to Texas and remained in that country for three years, farming and engaging in work of various descriptions. He made little head- way there, however, and eventually came back home and for fifteen years farmed on a farm of his own. He received a part of his father's estate and he sold his interest previous to going to the Lone Star state.

About the year 1891 Mr. Whitehead made a radical change, and taking the money he had made in agriculture he established him- self in the mercantile business at Bernie. He was at first alone in his business enterprise, but three years later he took two other gen- tlemen into partnership, forming the firm of W. L. Smith & Company. This is housed in a large and commodious building and is a thoroughly up-to-date business and one in great favor in the county. He also owns an excellent residence, a seven room structure, with pretty surroundings.

In the year 1869 Mr. Whitehead married Martha Galloway, who bore him three chil- dren, two being deceased, and a daughter, Mary, residing in Illinois. The first Mrs. Whitehead died in 1875. In 1879 he mar- ried a second time, Bettie Pierce becoming his wife. She died in 1881, and one child born to them is also deceased. Mr. Whitehead married his present wife in the year 1882. Nancy (Lee) Robinson. She was born in 1861, in Kentucky, and removed to Missouri with her parents. There is no issue to this union. Mr. Whitehead belongs to the General Baptist church and his fraternal affiliation is with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both he and his wife are Rebekahs. He is a stanch Democrat and has held some minor of- fices, always with credit to himself. He has lived in this community all his life and is greatly liked, both as a citizen and business . man.

To return to the father of Mr. Whitehead, that gentleman in the early days would haul his stuff to Cape Girardeau, making about two trips a year to that point. The distance was about sixty miles and the trip took about a week. IIe would return with sugar, molas- ses and coffee. The mother made all the clothes for their menfolks and shoes were made at home. Every thing possible was homemade and even the plows were wooden.

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The log house consisted of two rooms and there were no stoves, but open fireplaces with stick and dirt chimneys.

JOHN F. RICE, of Essex, is one of the many enterprising men extensively engaged in farming in the rich and productive country of Southeastern Missouri, who bring to their calling good business methods and excellent judgment, and whose labors are crowned with success. Born in Douglas county, Illinois, December 27, 1860, he grew to manhood in the prairie state, being trained in his youth- ful days to agricultural pursuits.

On migrating to Missouri, Mr. Rice spent three years in Carroll county, coming from there to Stoddard county in the spring of 1904. He bought 340 acres of land adjoin- ing Essex, a small part of which he has since sold as an addition to Essex, and has now nearly all of his land under a good state of culture, operating his home farm himself, while he has tenants on his other farms. Mr. Rice paid $55.00 an acre for his farm near- est town, and about $50.00 an acre for his other lands. He grows grain, wheat, corn, stock and cotton, the latter yielding excellent returns, amounting to eight dollars or more an acre, sometimes netting even as high as fourteen dollars per acre. He has made im- provements of value on his farms, which have already doubled in value, and which he expects will certainly again double within the next ten years. Mr. Rice has made a specialty of breeding draft horses and rais- ing a good grade of hogs, in both branches of stock-raising being quite successful.

Having realized the benefits to be derived from drainage and tiling while living in Douglas county, Illinois, and on the Missouri river bottoms in Carroll county, Missouri, Mr. Rice has been in favor of drainage for Stoddard county from the first. The country about Essex is of the famous alluvial deposit of land between the Saint Francois and Mis- souri rivers, and since its drainage has been developed into one of the most fruitful re- gions of this section of the United States.

Mr. Rice married, in Carroll county, Mis- souri, Alma Fisher, and into their pleasant household two children have been born, namely: Fra S., on the home farm ; and Roy D., employed as a clerk in a store at Essex. Mrs. Rice is a member of the Methodist church.

ALBERT KIRKMAN. There are so many would be farmers who grumble because they

have no one to help them get ahead, while as a matter of fact there are others who have no one but themselves to depend on and still manage to get ahead. This has been the ex- perience of Albert Kirkman, of Dunklin county, Missouri. He is today a prosperous farmer and he has only his own industry and effort to thank for it. He is greatly respected in the community.

He was born at Chester, Tennessee, on a farm, January 14, 1882. IIis parents were both natives of Tennessee, where they still live, actively engaged in farming.

Albert has very distinct recollections of the farm where he was born and raised, of the school which he attended for four or five months of the year and of the work on the farm which he did the rest of the year. When he was eighteen years old he left his father's farm, came to Dunklin county and worked for an uncle on his farm. Then he rented a farm for a few years, coming to his present location, five miles south of Kennett, in 1905. He has greatly improved the farm since he came here, having practically built the house all over again. He now owns 80 acres on which he grows corn and cotton. During the few years he has been here he has made re- markable progress.

In 1903 Mr. Kirkman married Ella Craig, who was born in Dunklin county, Missouri, September 15, 1885. Two children have been born to the union, Ernest B., born February 22, 1907, and Helen, born July 17, 1908. Mrs. Kirkman's father, Anderson Craig, came to Dunklin county about 1878, settling near what is now known as Grand Prairie, but at that time the land was covered with timber. They endured many hardships, the climate being very hard on them. They suf- fered with malarial fever, having chills and fever, soon after they came to Missouri. Mr. Craig was drawn to serve in the army and after his departure he never returned. His wife has been living with her children for several years, having given up all hopes of seeing her husband again. Both Mr. and Mrs. Craig originally came from Tennessee, where they lived until they came to Missouri.

Mr. Kirkman is a Republican, anxous for the party to come out ahead, but he has never taken any very active part in politics him- self. He is a member of the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows and of the Woodmen of the World fraternal lodges at Kennett. He has found plenty to occupy his time since he came to Kennett. He has been busy improv-

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ing his land and building fences. He has a farm that is thoroughly up-to-date and one that gives him a good living. He is most in- dustrious and has met with success entirely by his own efforts.

WILLIAM J. Hux. Beginning life for him- self with limited means, William J. Hux has steadily pushed his way onward, step by step, through the pathway leading to success, and is now one of the leading general merchants of Essex, and a prominent farmer and stock- man, owning large tracts of land in Stoddard county. Born May 19, 1856, in Halifax, North Carolina, he obtained the rudiments of his education in the rude log schoolhouse of his native district.

On attaining his majority, in 1877, Mr. Hux came to Essex, Missouri, to join his un- cle, the late J. J. Barnes. Mr. Barnes was a man of much talent and culture, and when young taught school in Georgia, South Caro- lina, Tennessee and Missouri. In 1847 he lo- cated in Stoddard county, Missouri, becom- ing a pioneer of Essex, and for awhile taught in this vicinity. He was active in local af- fairs, serving as justice of the peace as long as he would accept the office. Mr. Barnes im- proved a farm south of Essex, and there re- sided until his death, in February, 1889, be- ing then 85 years of age, his birth having oc- curred in North Carolina in 1804.

Willam J. Hux, who had lived with his un- cle two years, began life for himself in Mis- souri on April 28, 1880. He had attended and taught school from 1879 until 1881, at- tending school summer terms and teaching during the winters. In 1882 he began selling dry goods in Essex. In 1884, having seven hundred and eighty-seven dollars to invest, he bought a half acre of land in Essex, and in 1885 purchased the land on which he is now located and on which he erected his present brick, two-story building, which is eighty by fifty feet, and is the first brick structure erected in Essex. Mr. Hux has since bought other land of value, owning land extending along the Iron Mountain Railroad a full mile, one hundred and eighty acres of his landed property being within the corpo- ration. He has also added other features of vast importance, including a cotton gin and a grist mill. He has title to eight hundred acres of land lying within seven miles of Essex, six hundred acres being under culti- vation and operated as farms by tenants. For two years Mr. Hux has operated a saw mill

in connection with general farming, making a specialty in the latter industry of raising grain and feeding cattle. He is a born trader and speculator, being one of the keen- est and most successful business men of Stod- dard county. He gives his constant atten- tion to his mercantile affairs, his annual bus- iness amounting to upwards of one hundred thousand dollars.

Mr. Hux has a pleasant home on one cor- ner of his farm, in the heart of the village, having erected his present fine residence in 1892. He is a Democrat in politics, but has never been as aspirant for public office, al- though he is a fighter in local matters, and ever a stanch supporter of his friends. He has advocated the drainage project where- ever there was no great irregularity in assess- ments if drainage is carried out, but has per- sistently fought what he has considered in- justice in the assessment of benefits and dam- ages. For nine years Mr. Hux was post- master, being appointed by President Harri- son to succeed a Republican, receiving the appointment without solicitation on his part, having the distinction of being the only Dem- ocrat in Southeastern Missouri to be ap- pointed under a Republican administration.

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History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 77

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