USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 82
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When the town of Hayti was organized, in 1897, Mr. Dorris bought property within its limits, and is now the owner of several valu- able lots and houses, having erected five resi- dences which he rents, receiving a good in- come from his rentals. Mr. Dorris has been identified with the Democratic party since at- taining manhood, and as a loyal and public- spirited citizen has never shirked the respon- sibilities of office, having served as alderman of Hayti, while for twelve years he was county judge. Fraternally he is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men.
Mr. Dorris married, in 1878, Dollie Pears- field, who is well versed in the domestic arts, and has proved a wise and faithful helpmeet. Mr. and Mrs. Dorris have no children to grace their pleasant home.
WILLIAM J. GODT has been postmaster of New Haven for so many years that it would seem unnatural for the citizens of that com- munity to receive mail from any other hands than his. That he has done his work in an able and efficient manner is proved by the fact that since 1897, when President Mckinley first appointed him in charge of the post- office of New Haven, he has served in that capacity without a break. He has passed his entire life in Franklin county with the ex- ception of a few brief years, and is a loyal supporter and enthusiastic admirer of South-
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eastern Missouri, her people, her climate and her resources.
William J. Godt was born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, October 21, 1871, a son of Fred- erick and Margaret (Schneider ) Godt, the former a native of Westphalia, Prussia, the latter of Alsace-Lorraine, France. Fred- erick Godt, though a native of Germany, born in 1840, immigrated to the "land of prom- ise" when but nineteen years old. He came in a sailing vessel, the voyage consuming sev- eral weeks en route, but he finally landed at New Orleans in 1859. He had learned the trade of lock and gunsmith in the Father- land, and soon found employment at his trade among the industries of the Crescent city. When the war cloud so long lowering over the states of the Union broke forth in all its fury young Godt of a necessity entered the employ of the Confederate government as a me- chanic. He was not in sympathy with that canse, however, and upon the fall of New Or- leans in April, 1862, he sought and obtained admission in the Federal forces, enlisting in the Thirty-first Regiment, Massachusetts Vol- unteer Infantry, and saw active service dur- ing the remainder of the war. The advent of his parents' arrival in the United States about this time induced Frederick Godt to seek a home in Missouri, where his father and mother had settled. Accordingly he re- visited New Orleans, where he had previously met Miss Margaret Schneider, with whom he had fallen in love, and they were married and immediately proceeded to Franklin county, Missouri, locating at Union. In that place some of his older children were born, and there some of them lie buried. After a few years Mr. Godt removed to New Haven, and there, with the exception of a few years passed at Brookhaven, Mississippi, he lived out his remaining years, engaged in the tin- ning and stove business. As above stated, Mr. Godt married Margaret Schneider, and to this union were born seven children, all of whom are deceased with the exception of Wil- liam J., of this review, and Oscar, a merchant of East St. Louis.
The father of Frederick Godt, and the grandfather of our subject, was named Au- gust, and he was a mechanic of much genius, who located in Washington, Missouri, in 1865, from Germany, and there he passed the re- mainder of his life. Many of the older citi- zens of Washington distinctly remember the revered tradesman, carpenter and builder, who most effectively demonstrated his ability Vol. II-28
with mechanical tools in the building of bak- ers' ovens, or any line requiring extraordi- nary skill. He died in 1893, at a ripe old age, and his wife is also deceased.
William J. Godt, the subject of this brief sketch, grew up about as other boys do in a rural community. He attended the village school, assisting his father in the store after hours, the education obtained there and in the larger school of experience being his entire business asset. When his father died, in 1889, William J. continued the business, though he was still a young lad of but eight- een summers. However, he believed in the old adage, "Nothing ventured nothing gained," and carried on the business promnl- gated by his father in a creditable and suc- cessful manner until 1897, when he assumed the duties of postmaster of New Haven. When the office was made a presidential one he was commissioned by President Roosevelt twice, and is now serving his fourteenth year in that capacity. At one time he sent in his resignation, intending to engage in the bank- ing business, having been chosen cashier of the New Haven Savings Bank, but the de- partment would not consider the resignation, and he finally reaccepted the honor thus "thrust upon him."
"Tis needless to state that Mr. Godt is an active and enthusiastic Republican, as was his father before him. He has served for many years as secretary and treasurer of his county committee, has been a member of the con- gressional committee, and for sixteen years has been on the township committee, and be- fore the advent of the primary elections to decide nominations he frequented state con- ventions as delegate. He is a warm advocate and liberal supporter of the cause of higher education and has been secretary of the board of education for sixteen years. No plans for commercial expansion, civie improvement, or city beautifying are made without the hearty endorsement and immediate support of him whose name forms the caption of this article.
On August 23, 1901, William J. Godt was united in the holy bonds of wedlock with Miss Emily Wellenkamp, whose father is a well-known business man of Washington, Missouri.
JOHN ANDERSON SNIDER. It is to such men as John A. Snider that Stoddard county is indebted for much of its progress in recent years, his influence having been exerted in
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fullest measure to secure all such benefits as are likely to prove of permanent and general nature. For instance he has been one of the leaders in bringing about good drainage and to all public spirited legislation he gives heart and hand. He is a veteran of the Civil war and is well-known everywhere within the pleasant boundaries of the county. His farm is located two miles north of Essex and is a valuable property.
Mr. Snider was born five miles east of the court house. September 25, 1845. . His par- ents were Benjamin and Elizabeth (Wam- mack) Snider, the mother a native of Ten- nessee and the father born here of North Caro- lina parents. The subject's grandparents were John and Elizabeth Snider and they passed to the Great Beyond when Mr. Snider was a lad of but six or seven years. Benja- min Snider was one of the county's leading farmers, his five hundred acre farm being situated upon the bluff, this at the present time being owned by R. L. Snider, a son of J. A. He died when comparatively young, his son, J. A., being only about twelve when deprived of his natural protector. The mother was left with a family of eight chil- dren, Martha, wife of Leonard Larock, liv- ing near the old Snider homestead, being the only other survivor. He was the eldest child and Martha, who was a baby at the time of her father's death, was the youngest. Mr. Snider and his mother, with the greatest dif- ficulty, kept the family together and managed the farm as best they could. The mother, a woman of strong character, survived all her family except the two mentioned and died in 1909, when making her home with Mr. Snider, her years numbering seventy-eight She had been a member of the household for ten years.
John A. Snider, who was the mainstay of the family, remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-seven or twenty- eight years, and saw the rest of the family married before he thought of establishing a household of his own. At the age mentioned he took a wife and bought and sold several places at financial profit, his improvements always bringing a better price. In this way he got a good start and secured a sounder footing in the world. In 1899 he bought bot- tom lands and cleared nearly eighty acres of the tract, making an excellent farm. Four years ago he sold that farm to his son and bought his present farm two miles north of
Essex and one mile south of Idalia. This was first owned by Christopher Bess, who had lived on it for over thirty years. Mr. Bess is still living in this county. Mr. Snider's ef- forts at general development have been pre- viously mentioned and his labors in the line of improved drainage conditions have been happy in their result. It was he who drew up and circulated the petition for a ditch which drained the entire county, and land which, before this was effected, sold at twenty-five and thirty dollars an acre is now worth from fifty to over one hundred dollars an acre. By those who best understand the situation Mr. Snider is looked upon as a pub- lic benefactor, for he accomplished what others had often tried to do and failed.
When the dark cloud of Civil war ob- scured the national horizon the life of the subject was one of the thousands effected by it. He served six months in the Missouri State Guards and then entered the Confed- erate army, in which he served three years. One of the important episodes of his military career was his capture at Bloomfield, while at home, and he was kept six weeks at Cape Girardeau following this and then paroled. He is a loyal Democrat, having given his suf- frage and support to this party since his earliest voting days.
Mr. Snider has been twice married. When about twenty-five years of age he was united in matrimony to Martha Wright, daughter of William and Elizabeth Wright, and they lived happily together for sixteen years before they were separated by the Grim Reaper. Mrs. Snider was the mother of five children, as follows: Robert E., who resides five miles east of Bloomfield ; Myrtle, who re- sides at Idalia; Belle, wife of Dub Ahnan- rode, of Wise county, Texas; Lura, who mar- ried Willard Lisby and died at the age of twenty-four years ; and Elizabeth who died at the age of two years. Eight years after the loss of his first wife Mr. Snider married again, the lady to become the mistress of his household being Mrs. Nancy Ann Harper, nee Roby, a native of South Carolina. The second family consists of four children, namely, James, Ambrose Newton, Pearl (wife of Bob Sanford), and Bearl. Mrs. Snider died in December, 1900, lamented hy a wide circle of friends. Mr. Snider is still actively engaged in his calling and is an intelligent and representative citizen, held in esteem by all who know him.
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AUGUST W. HOFFMANN. In a record of those who have been prominently identified with the development and progress of South- eastern Missouri it is imperative that definite consideration be granted to the subject of this review, for not only is he a prominent representative of the financial interests of this favored section, but he has the distinc- tion of being a native son of this state, with whose fortunes he has been identified during his lifetime, concerned with a number of in- dustrial pursuits and so ordering his life as to gain and retain the confidence and esteem of his fellow men.
August W. Hoffmann was born in Wash- ington, Franklin county, Missouri, December 2. 1864. a son of Robert and Julia (Stumpe) Hoffmann, the latter a sister of Frederick W. Stumpe. The father is the venerable and well-known Judge Robert Hoffmann, who has been a resident of Franklin county since 1853, coming to the United States from Saxony, where he was born in November, 1833. Judge Hoffmann received a good common school education in the institutions in his na- tive country, and when he came to the United State he became a carpenter and contractor, which trade he followed for the first twenty years of his life. One day while working at his trade a scaffold fell on which he was standing, which resulted in the loss of his right leg. Thus incapacitated for a continu- ation of his work he abandoned it for the field of local politics. Being a mar in whom his fellow-citizens had the utmos confidence, in 1876 he was elected county treasurer, which office he filled commendably for four years. He was then chosen county collector and held that office for years, returning to the treas- urer's office. His public service having been of such satisfaction to his constituents he was selected for county judge and was on the ju- diciary bench for four years. These offices were all tendered him on the platform of the Republican party, with whose principles he had always been a staunch supporter.
Judge Hoffmann also served his country in a more self-sacrificing manner. having been a member of the Home Guards during the hostilities of the Civil war. For the past years he has lived in retirement in Washing- ton, beloved by all his old friends and neigh- bors, and respected and honored by the younger generation.
Of the six children born to Judge and Mrs. Hoffman. August W., the immediate subject of this sketch, is the first born. His educa-
tion was obtained in the public schools of Union and in Bunker Hill, Illinois. He was an exceptionally bright lad, and learned much from observation, than which there is no better training. At the time he completed his school course his father was the incum- bent of the treasurer's office, and young Hoff- mann became his father's deputy, at the same time keeping the books of the county. He was deputy collector, also, under his father, thus beginning his public career at the age of seventeen years. So well did he perform his duties, however, that William M. Terry re- tained him as deputy when he assumed the collector's office, and during his four years and the two years of August Goebel, the suc- ceeding collector, he kept the publie accounts there, an exceedingly responsible position for one so young. While still connected with this public office he opened up the first set of books for the Bank of Union, in 1888. con- tinuing to work for this bank when business pressure demanded for the two ensuing years, when he entered the bank permanently. The next year he was chosen cashier, and was hold- ing this responsible position when. December 26, 1897, Collins and Rudolph blew open the safe and carried off all the available cash of the institution, with no clews left for their conviction. Mr. Hoffmann was greatly in- terested in this mystifying robbery and took an active part with the detective force in trying out certain clews, and it was his "pick- up" evidence that resulted in the identifica- tion and arrest of the robbers. One day while walking on a hill overlooking the town he came across a shoe box containing a St. Louis daily paper of about the date on which the crime had been committed. Always quick of discernment, he thought it might be a clew, -that possibly the men wanted had eaten a lunch packed in this box while they were making a preliminary survey of the surround- ings. Upon this theory a search was made for the original owner of the shoe box and it was discovered that a merchant of Pacific had sold shoes packed in that box to the sis- ter of one Bill Rudolph, a man of consid- erable notoriety as a bad character, and he was immediately sought out as one of the per- petrators of the crime. A warrant was se- cured to search the premises of the Rudolph family in Franklin county, and a posse was made up, one of the members of which was detective Shoemaker. Upon arrival at the house Bill and his "pal," Collins, were dis- covered inside, and while resisting the search
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shot Shoemaker and temporarily escaped cap- ture. They were subsequently arrested, however, in Connecticut, whither they had fled, and several thousand dollars of the money stolen was recovered, and the men were placed in the St. Louis jail. From that stronghold, however, Rudolph escaped, be- ing at large for some time, the while Collins was tried for that and other crimes and exe- cuted. Rudolph in the meantime had broken the law again and was finally recognized among the prisoners in the Kansas peniten- tiary. His extradition was hastily effected and his trial and execution closed the inci- dent.
August W. Hoffmann is a man of all- round business ability, and besides his con- nection with the Bank of Union is closely identified with several other enterprises. He has been a director of the National Cob Pipe Works of Union since its organization; is a member of the Helling Manufacturing Com- pany of this place; and is also associated with D. W. Breid in the real estate business, having great faith in the future of his native county. During the excitement incident to the proposal to build a state highway from St. Louis to Kansas, Mr. Hoffmann took an active interest in the location of the road upon the south side of the Missouri river. He used his utmost endeavor for some three months in creating popular sentiment for the passing of this road through certain counties and in making and maturing plans for same, and prepared a strong argument before the lo. cating committee, but he and the other South- eastern Missouri "boosters" lost the decision.
In politics Mr. Hoffman, like his father, is a staunch and loyal supporter of the Republi- can party and its platform, and has done much in a quiet way to mould sentiment in the channels of that "grand old party." His study of economic questions and matters of public polity has been so close, practical and comprehensive that his judgment is relied on in those circles where the material prog- ress of the state is centered, as well as among those who guide the destinies of the common- wealth.
In September, 1889, Mr. Hoffmann led to the altar Miss Emily Baur, a daughter of Antone Baur, an early German settler in Franklin county. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hoffmann have been born five children, as follows : Clara. August, Jr., Marie, Doro- thy and Emily.
Mr. Hoffmann's genial, optimistic disposi-
tion craves pleasant companions, and these he obtains through his membership with the old-time organization, the Knights of Pythias. All of the friends of Mr. Hoffmann will agree that he is one of the best balanced, most even and self-masterful of men, and he has acted his part well in both public and private life.
LEWIS BEFUNDY LEROY, who all his life since leaving school has been identified with the cooperage business, has achieved success by reason of his knowledge of the business in which he is engaged and also because of his own personality. He has religiously avoided mixing in factions; he has lent his ear to no plots ; listened to no scandal; carried no bad news; gloried in no man's downfall; and the result is the man as he is today-the efficient manager of the LeRoy and Danby Cooperage Company, Proctor, Arkansas, but formerly connected with the business life of Caruthers- ville.
The birth of Mr. LeRoy occurred on the 13th of June, 1873, at Brighton, Livingston county, Michigan. He is a son of James Le- Roy and his wife, Ada (Wright) LeRoy, both of whom were natives of the state of New York, where the father was born in the year 1827 and the mother in 1838. Soon after their marriage, in 1852, the young couple mi- grated to Michigan and there remained for the residue of their days. Mr. James Le- Roy was engaged as a sailor, and his demise occurred in December, 1891, at Linwood, Bay county, and he is there buried beside his wife, who had been summoned to her last rest in 1884, in the month of November. Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy had a family of nine children, two of whom died in infancy. The names of the living are: Jerry, residing at Cleveland, Ohio; Mary; Rose; Alta; Lafy, born June 19, 1867, married Fanny Cora, and is now living in Detroit, Michigan; Lewis, whose name initiates this biography ; and Grace.
Lewis B. LeRoy obtained his education in the Linwood public schools, and then com- menced to work in the cooperage business in that town. He later went to Saginaw, where he spent two years; thence to Gaylord; from there to Mancelona, Michigan, for a couple of years; and in the spring of 1896 he went to Gladstone, Michigan, where he likewise re- mained two years. From Gladstone he went to Iron River, and after a year's residence there he went into the state of Ohio, where he worked successively at Coldwater, Ashta-
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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
bula, Wooster, Spencer and then Ashtabula again, all this time for one company. In 1905 he went to Mound City, Illinois, where he remained some three years, and toward the close of December, 1908, he located in Caruthersville, Missouri, where he was the founder of the Caruthersville Cooperage Company. During the first two and a half years of its existence this corporation was a co-partnership concern, Mr. LeRoy's partner having been a Mr. Danby, of Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Mr. LeRoy superintended the erection of its buildings, situated on the river bank, in the northwest part of the town. In recent years these gentlemen started a plant at Proctor, Arkansas, under the name of the LeRoy and Danby Cooperage Company, manufacturers of elm hoops, and of which Lewis B. LeRoy is the manager.
On Christmas eve of 1895, while living in Mancelona, Michigan, Mr. LeRoy was mar- ried to Miss Ida Sherman Dugalls, the adopted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dugalls, of that town. Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy have one daughter, Gladys May.
The major portion of Mr. LeRoy's atten- tion is devoted to his business; he is a Re- publican in politics, but he has never evinced any desire for public office. He holds mem- bership in the Protected Home Circle. Dur- ing the few years of his residence in Caru- thersville he made hosts of friends, who re- spected his character and esteemed his per- sonality.
OLIVER E. HENSLEY, M. D. During a number of years past Dr. Oliver E. Hensley has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Pevely, Missouri, and he is accorded a place among the leading representatives of the profession in Jefferson county. He comes of a family well known and highly regarded hereabout, and he is bound to the section by the strong ties of birth and life-long resi- dence. Dr. Hensley was born October 7, 1874, at Pevely, Missouri. His father, Joel M. Hensley, was born in St. Louis county, April 4, 1832, and there passed the first few years of his life. As a child, in 1839, he re- moved to Sandy Valley, Jefferson county. His father was Fleming Hensley, who located in the early days in St. Louis county, near the present town of King's Highway. In his youth Joel Hensley taught school and then, following strong natural inclinations, he took up his study for the ministry of the Baptist church. He also engaged in agricultural pur-
suits and managed a farm in the county. He passed the busy, strenuous life of the cir- cuit riding minister, and throughout his life conducted services in Jefferson, Franklin and Saint Francois counties. As early as 1853 his name appeared on the records of Sandy Baptist church as an active member, and he was licensed to preach in December, 1867, and ordained in January, 1869. He was an able and earnest man, and his services were marked by the grace and solemnity which it is not within the ability of every minister to bestow. Among his numerous charges were the Baptist churches at Lebanon, Glade Cha- pel, House Springs, Bethlehem, Swasher, Hillsboro, Sulphur Springs, Festus and Sandy. This worthy gentleman was married September 24, 1856, to Miss Alice M. Wil- liams, a member of an old Virginia family, and their offspring were seven in number, five surviving at the present time, namely : Alfred J., Felix A., Dr. Oliver E., Annie, wife of J. H. Brown, and Murilla, wife of F. J. Adams. The Rev. Mr. Hensley was called to his reward while at Pevely, September 17, 1909, but the memory of his pleasant and up- lifting personality and the influence of his good deeds will not soon be lost. He was in harmony with the policies and principles of the Democratic party and was a member of the Masonic lodge. His admirable wife sur- vives, making her home upon the old farm near Sandy.
The early education of Dr. Hensley was se- cured in the public schools at Sandy and he was graduated from its higher department at the age of eighteen years. He attended the Baptist College at Farmington for a short time and then entered the Kirkville Normal School, within whose portals he pursued his studies for one year. His next step was to teach school for two years, the scene of his pedagogical endeavors being at Cedar Hill and a school in the vicinity of Henrietta. At the same time he devoted a share of his energies to the great basic industry and while thus engaged in some fashion found time also to begin his professional studies. He com- pleted his preparation for the practice of medicine . at the Marion Simms College, where he finished in 1903, with the well- earned degree of M. D. After his graduation he came to Pevely and opened an office for general practice, and here he is still located. He is affiliated with those organizations tend- ing to further the unity and progress of the profession, namely: the Jefferson County
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