History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 80

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 80

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While Mr. Langley has never participated actively in local politics in this section he is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Dem- ocratie party in his political affiliations and has ever shown a keen interest in all matters projected for progress and improvement. He has given generously of his aid and influence in support of all measures affecting the gen- eral welfare and as a citizen has ever been decidedly loyal and public spirited. He is connected with a number of fraternal and social organizations of representative char- acter and while he is not formally connected with any religious denomination his ex- emplary life is the best indication of his in- nate kindliness of spirit, which prompts him to extend a helping hand to all less fortu- nately situated in the way of worldly goods than himself. Broad-minded and affable, he is universally honored and esteemed by his fellow men and through industry and well applied effort he has succeeded in carving out a splendid success for himself.

J. R. ROBERTSON. The little town of Aid, Stoddard county, Missouri, has as the pro- prietor of its general store the enterprising citizen whose name introduces this sketch- J. R. Robertson.

Although a native of Georgia, where he was born in Cobb county June 11, 1870, Mr. Robertson has been a resident of Missouri since his boyhood, when he came here with his parents in 1883. An uncle of Mr. Robert- son had previously made settlement in Stod- dard county. Arrived here, the Robertson

family took up their residence about five miles southwest of Bloomfield. Subsequently the father bought a place in this vicinity, on which he lived four years, at the end of that time selling it and buying a farm three-quar- ters of a mile north of his first purchase. Here he lived until his death, in November, 1910. He farmed and also worked at his trade, that of carpenter and builder, and was fairly successful. He was in the Southern army all through the Civil war, as a member of the Eighteenth Georgia Regiment, and at the time of the surrender was in the East. He was in many of the most important bat- tles of the war, and five times was wounded. In his later years these old wounds caused him great suffering. He took an active part in local politics, and, religiously, was identi- fied with the Missionary Baptist church. In his family are a son and two daughters, namely : J. R., Eliza and Sallie. His widow is now living alone on the home place.

In his youthful days Mr. J. R. Robertson had no educational advantages beyond those of the common schools, first in Georgia and later in Missouri, and some of the school houses in which he conned his lessons were built of logs and had puncheon seats. He assisted in the farm work when not attend- ing school, and continued to work for his father until he was twenty-two years old. Then he married, went in debt for forty acres of land, and went to work to pay for his property, which he accomplished in two years' time. Then he sold out and bought another forty-acre tract, which subsequently he also sold. After this he went to work in a general store in Bloomfield, where he re- mained three years and gained a good busi- ness experience. Next we find him in Avert, with a store of his own, a small one, how- ever, but one in which he did a good business. From there he went to Puxico, where with two others he formed a corporation, the Pux- ico Mercantile Company, with which he was connected eighteen months, at the end of which time lie sold out at an advantage. The next eighteen months he was at Asherville, where he opened up a stock of goods valued at three thousand two hundred dollars and carried on a successful business. Since Sep- tember, 1910, he has had a general store at Aid, where he handles a full line of dry goods, groceries, medicines, shoes, etc., and is agent for the International Harvesting Company. His store room here is fifty by

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thirty feet in dimensions, with side room, sixteen by fifty feet, the whole being two stories.

On February 18, 1892, J. R. Robertson and Arila Chasteen, daughter of J. B. Chasteen, were united in marriage, and their home has been blessed in the birth of sons and daugh- ters as follows: Lilly May, Dan B., Jessie R., Lena, Paul and William, all of whom are still at home excepting the eldest daughter.

While he has never been active in politics, Mr. Robertson has affiliated with the Dem- ocratie party ever since he has been a voter. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he is identified, fraternally, with I. O. O. F., the M. W. of A., the Mutual Protective League, and the Royal Neighbors, Mrs. Robertson also being a member of the last named, Royal Neighbors.

J. W. VANGILDER. Practical industry, wisely and vigorously applied, never fails of success; it carries a man onward and up- ward, brings out his individual character and acts as a powerful stimulus on the ef- forts of others. The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means, imply- ing the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance. The every day life with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for acquiring experience of the best kind, and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and self-improve- ment. In the legitimate channels of sim- ple and everyday industry, J. W. VanGil- der has won the success which always crowns well directed labor, and sound judgment and untiring perseverance, and at the same time he has concerned himself with public affairs in a loyal and public-spirited way.

Mr. VanGilder is a native son of Bollin- ger county, where his birth occurred in 1873. He is the son of J. F. and Mary Anne VanGilder, both likewise natives of Missouri. He was reared upon the farm and spent his boyhood and youth engaged in those mani- fold tasks which fall to the lot of the farm- er's son. He remained beneath the parental roof until 1900, when he gained a more in- dependent footing by renting a farm of over one hundred acres and farming this for two years. He was successful in his farming endeavors, but subsequently abandoned farm- ing on a large scale and bought seven acres in the town of Laflin, Missouri. He still

farms in a small way, and is engaged in a trio of other occupations, owning a black- smith shop, farming and running a livery stable, not to mention affording a pleasant hostelry for the guest passing throughi Laflin, the VanGilder hospitality being well-known and his hotel being well conducted.

Mr. VanGilder was married in 1903, Miss Docia Hartle, daughter of Sarah Hartle, na- tives of Missouri, becoming his wife. She died in 1907, much regretted in the com- munity and survived by a little daughter, Pearl, born in 1905. Mr. VanGilder married for his second wife Laura Winters, daugh- ter of Benjamin and Sarah Winters, also of Missouri. Mr. VanGilder is Democratic in polities and stands ever ready to give his support to all measures likely to result in benefit to the community as a whole.

JAMES BOOTH. It is quite fitting that in a work of this nature, devoted to representa- tive and helpful members of society, should be incorporated a review of the life of that gifted lawyer and citizen, James Booth, a prominent member of the bar of Franklin county, who has passed his life in Pacific. In addition to his professional activities he is one of the standard-bearers of the Demo- cratic party and has ever proved willing to do anything fair and legitimate for the good of the cause to which he is so loyal. He re- sides in the county in which his birth oc- curred August 1, 1864, and in which his father, Dr. R. W. Booth, located as a pio- neer many years previous to the Civil war. He is one of the native sons and life-long residents of the section and his loyalty is of the most pronounced and definite type.

Dr. Richard W. Booth, father of the im- mediate subject of this biographical record, was born at Lynchburg, Virginia, and left the old Dominion to come to Missouri in 1844, a score of years prior to the birth of his son. He prepared himself for the practice of medicine at McDowell Medical College in St. Lonis and was identified with the profession according to the Regular school until late in life. He was well-known during his life-time and is now well remem- hered as the kindly friend and doctor of hundreds of families. He was a participant in the military strife between the states at the time of the Civil war, and for a time previous to the termination of hostilities he served as an officer on the staff of General Price. He was a stalwart Democrat in pol-

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ities and served as one of the early tax col- lectors of Franklin county. He died Au- gust 17, 1891, at the age of seventy-two years. Dr. Booth married Lucy Ann Ellott, also the scion of a Virginia family, and her demise occurred nearly twenty years pre- vious to his own, in 1873. The children of their union were: Mary, wife of G. W. Smith, of Akron, Ohio; Annie, who passed away single; Miss Lucy, of Pacific, Missouri ; Richard T., who is land and tax commissioner of the Frisco Railway Company ; Dr. H. A., of Pacific; Susie, who died unmarried; and James, of this sketch.

James Booth passed the roseate days of boyhood and youth in the community of his birth and gained his first draught at the "Pierian spring" in the country schools of the county. Subsequently he matriculated in Central College at Fayette, and attended that institution for two years. At a very early age he became imbued with the ambi- tion to be a lawyer, and at the age of seven- teen years took up the study of law alone, and made no inconsiderable progress in his independent study. Later he became a stu- dent in the law department of the state university of Missouri, at Columbia, and re- ceived his degree in March, 1887. Well equipped for the actual work of his profes- sion both by diligent study and natural abil- ity, he located at Union, Missouri, and after a year removed to Pacific, where his career has been of the most successful character and where he has won personal distinction, while at the same time contributing to the professional prestige of the county. He has demonstrated his prowess in both the crim- inal and civil branches of the law and on the occasion of the trials of the noted criminals, Collins and Rudolph, he was special counsel for the prosecution which secured their con- viction of a capital crime.

As mentioned previously, Mr. Booth is a prominent Democrat and his activities have extended to participation in the important work of his party in county and judicial con- ventions and in state meetings for the pur- pose of naming candidates for office. In 1908 he was the delegate from the Ninth Congressional district of Missouri to the Na- tional Democratic convention at Denver and took part in the nomination of Mr. Bryan for the presidency. He served upon the congressional committee of the Ninth district for some fifteen years and has, therefore, been closely connected with many of the

campaigns of Hon. Champ Clark for Con- gress. He possesses a convincing eloquence and has made political speeches in local cam- paigns for twenty years.

As a business man Mr. Booth has joined some of his townsmen in one of the chief financial concerns of Pacific. He is one of the promoters of the Citizens Bank and is a director and president of this popular and substantial monetary institution. The bank, which is two years old, is capitalized at fif- teen thousand dollars and is meeting the friendly cooperation of a wide circle of the population tributary to Pacific.

Mr. Booth was married in Franklin coun- ty, November 4, 1891, his chosen lady being Helen Smith, daughter of Benjamin Smith, one of the old engineers of the Frisco Rail- road Company and a settler from Connecti- cut. The two young daughters of their charming and hospitable household are Ag- nes and Virginia.

Mr. Booth is a prominent Mason, and is eligible to the white-plumed helmet of the Knight Templar. He has also sat in Grand Lodge of the Blue Lodge. Another pleasant fraternal affiliation is with the Knights of Pythias.

WILLIAM H. CRUTCHFIELD. At this june- ture in a volume devoted to the careers of representative citizens of Southeastern Mis- souri it is a pleasure to insert a brief history of William H. Crutchfield, who has ever been on the alert to forward all measures and en- terprises projected for the good of the gen- eral welfare and who has devoted the greater portion of his time and attention thus far to diversified agriculture and stock-raising. He is the owner of some two hundred acres of finely improved land, eligibly located three miles southwest of Bernie, and he has resided in this section of the state continuously since 1868.

A native of Williamson county, Illinois, William H. Crutchfield was born on the 17th of August, 1864, and he is a son of Joshua A. and Izelia (DeHart) Crutchfield. The father was born in Indiana and the mother was a native of Kentucky, and both of them are now deceased, the former having died in 1879 and the latter in 1883. The Crutch- field family removed from Illinois to Missouri in the year 1868 and after renting a farm for a short time Mr. Joshua A. Crutchfield pur- chased the improvements on a tract of forty acres of land, with a tract of twelve acres im-

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proved. He did not live long enough to achieve a very great success in farming, but passed away in 1879, at the age of sixty-nine years. He was survived by a widow and three children, of whom Nancy is the wife of Lewis Slunkey, of Kennett, Missouri; Wil- liam HI. is the immediate subject of this re- view; and Dona married Amos Ashby but died in early life. The mother, who survived her husband by four years, passed to the life eternal in 1883.

William H. Crutchfield was a child of but four years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Missouri, and when his father died he had just reached his fourteenth year. He cared for the family to the best of his ability until his mother, too, was called away and thereafter he resided in the home of his brother-in-law, Mr. Ashby, for a time. When he had reached his legal majority in 1885, he married and he and his wife began to farm on a rented tract of twelve acres, with a two- year old colt. In 1886 he bought forty acres of land three miles southwest of where Ber- nie is now located, this tract forming the nucleus of his present fine estate. He paid three dollars an acre for this land, and his first payment consisted of twenty dollars. In the next autumn he purchased another tract of forty acres, at the same price, and in 1897 bought twenty acres at twenty dollars an acre. In 1899 he bought an additional twenty acres for $375, making a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, all in one tract. In 1902 Mr. Crutchfield bought eighty acres of land five miles southwest of Bernie, on which he has erected good buildings, making that estate worth sixty dollars per acre. On the home farm he erected a fine house and barn in 1905 and that property is now reck- oned at seventy-five dollars and more per acre. He is a man of practical, industrious habits and has been decidedly successful as a farmer. He raises good graded stock and his fine crops include cotton, wheat, corn, peas, hay, etc.

Mr. Crutchfield has been thrice married, his first union having been to Miss Addie Nations, a native of Missouri and a daughter of George and Callie ( Herron) Nations. This marriage was solemnized in 1885 and Mrs. Crutchfield died on the 11th of May, 1898, at the age of twenty-nine years. This union was prolific of six children, as follows : Carrie May is the wife of Charles Mayes, of Liberty township, Stoddard county; Effie Ionia is the wife of Will Craft and they reside in

the same township; Dollie Belle married Sam McMillan, of the same locality; and Cecil Nations, Ira Cletes and Grace Myrtle, all remain at the paternal home. On the 2nd of July, 1908, Mr. Crutchfield wedded Mrs. Margaret Gann, nee Shoemaker, who was born and reared in Stoddard county. She had one child, of her first marriage, Thomas Bedford Gann.

In politics Mr. Crutchfield maintains an in- dependent attitute and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with the time-honored Masonic order, the Woodmen of the World and the Modern Woodmen of America. IIe is a man of high principle and generous impulses and as a citizen and farmer is accorded the un- alloyed confidence and esteem of his fellow men.

JOHN H. RAULS. The material prosperity which has surrounded Mr. Rauls and family with comforts and all the essential things of the world is the result of his own efforts. When he and his wife were married they be- gan with very small means, and in subse- quent years have relied on their own strength and business management in order to get ahead, and have accomplished a success that is most satisfying to themselves.

John H. Rauls was born in Bollinger coun- ty, August 21, 1873. About the close of the war his parents had moved from Tennessee to that county, and in 1880 settled in Dun- klin county, near Hornersville. This vicin- ity during his boyhood was without rail- roads and the school that he depended on for his education was the old type of subscrip- tion school. He lived at home until he was eighteen, then for two years worked on neighboring farms, and at the age of twenty was married to Miss Mittie Eavason. She was born in Mississippi, in 1874, a daughter of Thomas and Minnie Eavason, and came to Dunklin county with her parents when she was sixteen years old.

After their marriage they rented a farm and began the slow and steady progress to prosperity. Later they bought forty acres across the line in Arkansas, sold this at a profit, and next bought forty acres near Hor- nersville. There they lived four years, and on January 1, 1905, bought their present farm of eighty acres a quarter of a mile north of Hornersville. It was partly im- proved and has twenty acres of timber. In the six years that have passed Mr. Rauls has cleared off and brought the entire farm

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under cultivation, and raises large crops of cotton and other products. He has a com- fortable house, and in place of a barn that was burned he has put up a commodious barn for his stock and crops.

Fraternally Mr. Rauls affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Woodmen of the World at Hornersville and the order of Elks at Paragould. Arkansas. In politics he is a Democrat. Three children have been born to himself and wife, two of them being deceased, and their living daugh- ter, Birdie, was born August 28, 1895.

J. A. BAILEY. A man is judged by his friends and acquaintances by what he has done. In the old country people want to know who and what a man's father was, but in America it is the man himself who has to bring things to pass if he would ever amount to anything in the eyes of others or in his own opinion. He must either make money or fame. J. A. Bailey, now retired and liv- ing in Kennett, has made both. Since he first started out in life he has accomplished a great deal and is now widely known and respected in the county.

J. A. Bailey was born in Dyer county, Tennessee, October 19, 1855, the son of Wil- liam H. Bailey, who was a native of Vir- ginia, having been born near Richmond. He went with his parents to Dyer county, Ten- nessee, where he married Elizabeth Chanler. In 1860 he came to Dunklin county, Mis- souri, and settled near Guin Slough, seven miles and a half north of Kennett. In the summer of 1861 his wife died, she being his second wife. In the early spring of 1865 William H. was killed by the Federal sol- diers, because he was suspected of being a sympathizer with the southern cause, a cop- per head, as they were called who had come from the south to the north. Thirty thou- sand were killed the same day. After his death his family was all broken up. His first wife was Miss Fitz IIugh, and by her he had three children :

Sarah, who married Mr. Dailey and died in Arkansas; Mary, who died young; and Claibourn, who died at the age of eighteen. His second wife had four children : J. A., Elizabeth, who died young, W. H., and Cornelia, who died young. Of these seven children only J. A. and W. H. are living now. They were both born in Dyer county, Tennessee, W. H. being four years younger than his brother.

The first six years of J. A.'s life were

passed in his native state, when he went with his parents to Dunklin county, Missouri, where they moved to a farm near Kennett. When J. A. was only ten years old his father died, thus leaving him without either parent, as his mother has died when he was seven years old. His uncle, Hudson Chanler, took him into his home, where he remained until he was sixteen, during which time he went to school. Ile then started out for himself, hiring out as a farm hand. After four years of this life he started out for himself and later, in company with his brother, W. H., went to live at the old place where his father and his mother had both died. After a while they sold that place and J. A. bought land on what is called the Dairyberry farm, which he owned until 1889. He then bought a farm south of Kennett. During the last twenty-two years he has made many changes, buying and selling, but making good trades on every occasion. His farm which he owns now is three miles southeast of Kennett and consists of 108 acres. He rents this farm. He has been in the grocery business four times during the last twenty-two years, in all having been in the grocery trade twenty years in Kennett. He sold out in 1911.

In 1878, when he was twenty-three years old, J. A. Bailey was married to M. A. Faught, of Dunklin county, daughter of the late William Faught (of this county) and Louise, whose maiden name was Boggess. They have had no children of their own, but they adopted a little girl when she was six years old. Ethel E. Bailey, who has been as dear to them as if she were their own by ties of blood. She is now married to Douglas Blakemore, a grocer in Kennett.

Mr. Bailey is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, where he has always been one of the main stays of the church. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows fraternal order. In politics he is a Democrat and has served for four years as deputy sheriff under Collin Morgan. Mr. Bailey has built one of the most attractive houses in Kennett, situated very close to the center of the square. In looking back over the years which have elapsed since he first started out as a farm hand he may well feel that he has done well. He has always lived a most exemplary life, full of useful- ness to others and full of good and worthy deeds. He is one of Kennett's most respected citizens.

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BENJAMIN J. CLINE, M. D. A public-spir- ited citizen and an able, young physician is Dr. Benjamin J. Cline, who is one of the loyal sons of Stoddard county and whose family has been prominent in this section for many years. He was born at Bloomfield, Stoddard county, February 28, 1878, and is a son of Nelson and Elizabeth (McGee) Cline, both of whom were scions of families having their origin in North Carolina. Nel- son Cline was born in Stoddard county, and his father, Benjamin Cline, owned Cline's Island and gave it his name, although he made his home in the foothills. The island was made into a fertile farm and was one of great proportions, and slaves were brought thither for its cultivation. The last one of these faithful, dusky servitors died at the home of Nelson Cline some fifteen years ago. His name was Robert Bridgman, and he was a well-known figure in the locality.

Nelson Cline, father of the immediate sub- ject of this biographical record, was born in the year 1846 and makes his home at the present time four miles northeast of Bloom- field, on the noted old family homestead. Both of his parents died at a comparatively early age, his father at the time of the Civil war and the mother at a much earlier date. The name of Benjamin Cline has come down to the present generation as that of a great hunter. It is a matter of record that he killed as many as thirty-six bears in one win- ter and it was the custom of this Missouri Nimrod to cure the meat, and so be in a posi- tion to serve this rare delicacy all the year around. He was assisted in his hunting by two immense boar dogs. It is also said of Benjamin that, like a good many other noted hunters and lovers of the open, of whom one Rip Van Winkle is an example, he found all other work decidedly distasteful. He counted his eanine friends among his most prized as- sociates. and when the flint lock of his gun proved stubborn and wouldn't fire, he and the dogs would do the work without its as- sistance, he using his knife. He was indeed a picturesque and interesting figure-the typical pioneer hunter.

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History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 80

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