USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 83
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and the Missouri State Medical Associations, of the former of which he is secretary.
Dr. Hensley was married January 16, 1907, the young woman to become his wife being Lillian M. Bloecher, of St. Louis, Mis- souri. They have no children. Their home is a hospitable abode and they are identified with the best activities of the community.
In addition to the excellent practice of Dr. Hensley he also holds the office of county cor- oner, to which he was elected in 1906. He gives sympathy and support to the men and measures of the Democratic party ; is a con- sistent member of the Baptist church; and enjoys affiliation with a quartet of lodges- the Masonic, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Wood- men of the World.
JOHN W. HARBIN. It has been the pleasant experience of John W. Harbin to witness the splendid progress and development of Stod- dard county in the past thirty-five years, and it is to the citizens of his energetic, enterpris- ing, altruistic type that this same prosperity is due. He has been an active factor in the agricultural history of the section since 1873, when he came here and took up land, his es- tate being now one of the highly cultivated and improved places, bearing little resem- blance to the uncleared wilderness which he encountered when he first came.
Mr. Harbin is a son of James Harbin, who was born in 1818, in North Carolina and who, like his son, the subject, was a farmer by oc- cupation. His family was of Scotch origin and the parents of Frances Martin, whom he married at about the age of twenty-one years, were English by birth. Miss Martin was also born in North Carolina. After their union the young couple continued to reside in North Carolina for about two years and then decided to move westward and seek their fortunes in the new state of Indiana, of whose advantages they had heard good report. They had one child at that time-a son, Jesse. They made the journey in the primitive man- ner of the day, by ox team, and finally lo- cated in Greene county, southern Indiana, about the year 1841. The father secured about eighty acres of land, which he pro- ceeded to clear and cultivate, receiving with the passage of the years the assistance of his sons. He prospered and there passed the re- mainder of a happy and well ordered life, being summoned to the eternal life in 1891. His devoted wife survived him for a number
of years-until 1902, and with the exception of a short time spent in Indiana immedi- ately after his death she made her home with her sons until her own death. The surviv- ing children of this worthy couple are as fol- lows: George, residing in Stoddard county ; J. A., residing in Stoddard county ; Charles, a citizen of Dunklin county, Missouri; Sadie, who makes her home in the Hoosier state, at Pleasantville; the subject of this biograph- ical review; and David, who makes his home in Louisville, Kentucky. The father was a good and public-spirited citizen, and was an enthusiastic worker for the cause of the Meth- odist Episcopal church and the promulgation of all principles likely to improve the stand- ing of society in general.
Mr. Harbin, the immediate subject of this review, was born in Greene county, Indiana, in 1847 (November 6), on his father's farm. His educational experiences were those of the usual "Hoosier Schoolboy" of his day and generation, and its period was about three months out of each year for about seven win- ters. Before he had finished the district school course the Civil war plunged the coun- try into desolation and the school became a thing of the past. Three older brothers of the subject enlisted in the Northern army and, although they all served nearly through- out the period of the great conflict, none was killed and there was a happy reunion after Appomattox. The greater part of the labor of cultivating the farm fell upon the shoul- ders of young John W., the younger brothers being too small to be of much assistance. He continued upon the paternal homestead until the age of twenty-six years, then taking the step which made him a citizen of Stoddard county.
The estate upon which Mr. Harbin now re- sides was all heavy timber when he took up his residence upon it in 1873. He had but forty acres at first and for this he paid the modest sum of five dollars an acre. Upon it was one tiny cabin in which he kept bachelor hall for two months and then went back to Sullivan county, Indiana, to "get himself a wife." The name of this young woman was Lina Enochs, and the date of their union was February 15, 1874. Mrs. Harbin's parents were James and Margaret (Hinkle) Enochs, pioneer residents of Indiana, and their daugh- ter was born in 1850, in Sullivan county. The newly married couple settled on their little Missouri farm and straightway engaged in the many labors necessary to its improve-
W Harbin
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ment, and their thrift and good management met with prosperity. Unfortuntely the ad- mirable wife and helpmeet was not permitted long to enjoy the easier days, for she died in 1885. Their living children are as follows : Albert, general manager of a mercantile house in Arizona; Hally, residing at Acorn Ridge, Stoddard county; and Lina, who makes her home with her brother Albert, at Wenslo, Arizona. The subject was a second time married, on November 15, 1889, Miss Dona Steward becoming his wife. Mrs. Har- bin was reared in Stoddard county, and her parents came from Tennessee among the early settlers. She was born March 30, 1869. Mr. and Mrs. Harbin share their pleasant home with the following children: Sherman, who married Miss Ada Wilkinson, and lives on their farm near Acorn Ridge, formerly the William Wilkinson farm; Mabel, Willie, Marie, Theodore, Almer and Merl, all of whom are at home.
The Harbin homestead has a comfortable and commodious eight-room house, and the modern barn is fifty-six by sixty feet in di- mensions. The subject is an extensive land- holder, the main estate consisting of two hun- dred acres. Of this all but fifteen acres are under cultivation and the one-time farm which had to be reclaimed from the woods is a highly improved estate, fine fences being one of its advantages.
Mr. Harbin has the distinction of having been the only man in Asherville in 1874 who voted the Republican ticket, but times have changed since then. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Puxico and one of its officers. His fraternal affilations are with the Woodmen of the World, Beech Camp, No. 300, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Puxico Lodge, No. 625, of Puxico.
THOMAS C. ALLEN, M. D. For the past decade Dr. Thomas C. Allen has been en- gaged in the practice of medicine at Bernie, in Stoddard county, Missouri, and the years have told the story of a successful career due to the possession of innate talent and ac- quired ability along the line of one of the most important professions to which man may devote his energies,-the alleviation of pain and suffering and the restoration of health, which is man's most cherished and priceless possession. This is an age of prog- ress in all lines of achievement and Dr. Allen has kept abreast of the advancement that
has revolutionized methods of medical and surgical practice, rendering the efforts of physicians of much more avail in warding off the inroads of disease than they were even at the time when he entered upon his profes- sional career.
A native of this state, Dr. Thomas C. Allen was born in Cape Girardeau county, Mis- souri, the date of his birth being the 1st of March, 1872, and he is a son of Jacob M. and Elizabeth (Linek) Allen, the latter of whom was summoned to the life eternal in the year 1892 and the former of whom is now living, at an advanced age, at Advance, Missouri. The father was born at Okawville, Illinois, from whence he accompanied his parents on their removal to Cape Girardeau county, Mis- souri, in the year 1845. He became a rail- road engineer after attaining to his le- gal majority and for a number of years was engaged in that line of work. The maternal great-grandfather of Dr. Allen was a member of a Holland settle- ment in North Carolina, where the Linck family was founded in the early colonial days. In that state John Linek, grandfather of the Doctor, was born, the date of his na- tivity having been 1795. As a young man he was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Keepers, and in 1830 they set out on the long and arduous overland trip to Missouri, lo- cating in Cape Girardeau county, where he became the owner of an estate of fourteen hundred acres. Members of the Linek family have achieved prominence in Missouri, the noted architect of that name in St. Louis and Mr. Linck, president of the Kirksville, Mis- souri, Bank, being descendants of the old North Carolina family. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob M. Allen became the parents of four chil- dren, of whom the Doctor was the last in or- der of birth and of whom three are living, in 1911.
Dr. Thomas C. Allen was reared to ma- turity in Cape Girardeau county and his pre- liminary educational training consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the pub- lic schools of the village of Cape Girardeau and Millerville. He also attended the State Normal school at Cape Girardeau for two years, graduating in the elementary course in 1891. At the age of fourteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship at the prin- ter's trade. He set type at a number of Southeastern Missouri points and during the years 1893-94 he was owner of the Marble Hill, Missouri, Press, and in 1895 and 1896
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was the owner of the Van Buren Current Lo- cal, in connection with the publication of which paper he took a prominent part in the Bryan campaign of '96. Eventually becom- ing interested in the medical profession, he was matriculated as a student in Barnes Uni- versity, at St. Louis, in 1897, and in 1901 he was graduated in that excellent institution with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, with highest honors in his class. Immediately after graduation he initiated the active practice of his profession at Bernie, where he has suc- ceeded in building up a large and representa- tive patronage and where he is recognized as one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Stoddard county. Dr. Allen is deeply in- terested in the educational department of his profession and in that connection has con- tributed a number of important papers to the State and County Medical Societies. At the present time, in 1911, he is a member of the medical faculty of Barnes University. For two days each month he goes to St. Louis, where he lectures on hygiene and sanitary sci- ence. Dr. Allen is a valued and appreciative member of the Stoddard County Medical So- ciety, the Missouri State Medical Society, the Southeastern Missouri Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is ex-president of the Stoddard Medical So- ciety, is a member of the judicial council of the Missouri State Medical Association and is president of the Southeastern Missouri Medical Society. The last-mentioned organi- zation was established in 1877 and is an in- dependent association which meets twice a year.
In his political proclivities Dr. Allen is a Democrat with Prohibition tendencies. In 1909 he was elected mayor of Bernie and since 1907 has been president of the local board of education. In a fraternal way he is a representative of the Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Mis- souri. He and his wife are connected with the Daughters of Rebekah and in their re- ligious faith are consistent members of the Church of the Disciples at Bernie. They are liberal contributors to all charitable and benevolent work in their home community and are exceedingly popular in all classes of society.
Dr. Allen married in August, 1892, Miss Mary L. Matthews, of Marquand, Missouri, who died in December of the same year. Her father was William Mathews, a merchant of
Marquand, and her mother was the daughter of Josiah M. Anthony, a pioneer of Madison county.
At Marble Hill, in the year 1893, was sol- emnized the marriage of Dr. Allen to Miss Florence Frymire, who was reared and edu- cated at Marble Hill, in Bollinger county, Missouri, and who is a daughter of Jasper Frymire, a native of the state of Indiana. Jasper Frymire traces his ancestry back to sterling German stock and he came to Marble Hill, Missouri, in the year 1868. There he has served as sheriff and as probate judge, and in all matters of public import has mani- fested a deep and sincere interest. Dr. and Mrs. Allen are the parents of one son, Claude Harold, whose natal day was the 3rd of No- vember, 1897, and who is now attending school at Bernie.
JACOB J. FRANK. A conspicuous and in- fluential figure in the commercial circle of Poplar Bluff is J. J. Frank, president, treas- urer and general manager of the Frank Livery and Undertaking Company, incor- porated at $15,000. This is the largest in- stitution of the kind in Southeastern Mis- souri and has been established chiefly by the able president of the business.
Mr. Frank was born in Macoupin county, Illinois, in 1858. He grew up on a farm and attended the high school until he was twenty- one years of age, after which he spent twen- ty-five years in the livery business. This has practically been the work at which Mr. Frank has spent his life thus far, as there have been but three years since he began it in 1885, that he has not been engaged in it.
Before coming to Poplar Bluff Mr. Frank had spent one year in California, and after he had been there some time he came to Poplar Bluff, Missouri, where he farmed as well as conducted his livery. The largest undertaking establishment in town was formerly that of Mr. George Bagley. This Mr. Frank bought in 1910, on July 1, and the following year rebought the livery, so he is now the proprietor of an establishment more extensive than can be found outside of the large cities. The State Bank of Poplar Bluff numbers Mr. Frank among its directors, and his realty holdings include a store building in the business section.
Mr. Frank's family consists of his wife, Kathrina M. Turner Frank, and two sons, Walter L., who is studying medicine at the
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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
University of St. Louis, and J. Vernon, now at home. Walter is secretary of the company of which his father is president.
Politically Mr. Frank is a Republican, but he has never been in the least attracted to public life and has always refused to con- sider holding any office. He is none the less one deeply interested in the civic questions of the time and eager to promote the ad- vancement of the community in all possible ways.
In the fraternal orders Mr. Frank holds membership in the Elks and in the Moose lodges, besides being a Mason and member of the Chapter. He is highly regarded in these organizations and has been tendered various offices in them, but has declined to accept.
JOSEPH TUTTEL, engaged in agricultural and stock-raising enterprises in Stoddard county, Missouri, is one of the most energetic, enterprising and successful business men of this section of the state. He has been iden- tified with the great land and farming in- terests of Missouri since early manhood and it seems that he has always possessed an "open sesame" to unlock the doors of success in the various enterprises in which he has been involved. He is recognized as one of the great land barons of Southeastern Mis- souri, where he is the owner of some fourteen hundred acres of fine land, a great deal of which is under cultivation. Diligent in bus- iness affairs, Mr. Tuttel has carved out a fine success for himself, and in public life he has ever manifested a deep and sincere interest in all matters affecting the general welfare.
A native of Jackson county, Illinois, Joseph Tuttel was born on the 31st of Angust, 1861, and he is a son of Alanson and Susie (Worthing) Tuttel, the former a native of Illinois and the latter a native of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Alanson Tuttel were married in Illinois and in 1872 they immigrated, with their children, to Missouri, locating first in Dunklin county, not far from the present home of their son of this review. Titles to land in Dunklin county being doubtful, Alanson Tuttel decided not to improve a farm only to lose it and so removed to Stod- dard county, where he began to cultivate a farm in the vicinity of Bernie. This place proved too wet for successful cultivation and so he gave it up and rented for a number of years. He died in the latter '80s. aged eighty-seven years, in the home of his son
Joseph, his cherished and devoted wife hav- ing passed away in 1876.
The second in order of birth in a family of ten children, Joseph Tuttel was reared to the age of ten years in Illinois and after his parents' removal to Missouri he availed himself of the advantages afforded in the public schools of Dunklin and Stoddard counties. He remained at home with his father, helping him in the work and manage- ment of his farms, until he had reached the age of twenty-four years, at which time he was married. After that event he pur- chased a tract of one hundred and twenty acres of land in Stoddard county, near Ber- nie, paying for the same nine dollars per acre. This land was practically unimproved, but about one-half cleared, and the buildings and fence on the place were in very poor con- dition. He paid two hundred and fifty dol- lars down and began farming operations with a couple of mules and a few cattle. With the passage of time he paid off his in- debtedness and he now has his entire tract in a high state of cultivation. Subsequently he added one hundred and sixty acres to the original tract and he now has a farm of six hundred and eighty acres, for which he has paid from three dollars and a half to twenty- five dollars per acre. Most of his land is on high ground and it averages a value of sixty- five to seventy-five dollars per acre. He has erected fine, modern buildings on this estate and devotes his attention principally to diversified agriculture, making a great suc- cess of cotton. At different times he has raised considerable numbers of cattle and hogs and has been successful. He is also developing swamp lands, of which he owns some six hundred acres, besides a couple of smaller farms in Dunklin county, for which he paid about eight dollars per acre. Of this tract four hundred and thirty acres are under cultivation. He has been a great advocate of the drainage canal and he gives his support to all measures and enterprises tending to advance progress and improve- ment in this section of the state.
Near Alton, Missouri, in the year 1885, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Tuttel to Miss Emma Edmonds, whose birth oc- eurred in Henry county, Tennessee, January 29, 1868, but who was reared and educated in Southeastern Missouri. To this union have been born the following children,- Martha, the wife of Reuben Poplin, a farmer ; Clarence married Ethel Fenwick and re-
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mains on the home farm, and they have two children, Viola and Leota; May is the wife of Ray Blade, who is farming on a part of Mr. Tuttel's extensive estate, and they have one son, Lester; Edna is the wife of Cleve Crews, who is likewise engaged in farming on Mr. Tuttel's estate, and they have one child, Lloyd; and Earl, Lola, Lester, Reba and Ruby, all remain at the parental home. In their religious adherency the Tuttel fam- ily are devout members of the Christian church, in whose faith they are rearing their children.
While never an active participant in local politics, Mr. Tuttel gives an uncompromising allegiance to the principles and policies pro- mulgated by the Republican party. He is deeply and sincerely interested in community affairs but devotes most of his attention to his multifarious business interests, which have assumed such gigantic proportions.
WILLIAM A. SPENCE. Few citizens of this county can lay claim to such a record of public service as can William A. Spence. His work in office has always been character- ized by conscientious and intelligent effort to serve the best interests of the community and his fellow townsmen have shown their appre- ciation of his unusual qualities by repeatedly choosing him to fill posts of responsibility. This is a time which demands much of the men, from the least to the greatest, who carry on the business of the Government. And there is nothing so much needed now as incorruptible public servants. We are ac- customed to thinking of the city as the stronghold of politics, but the real strength of our country is still in the rural popula- tion and in the towns of the agricultural regions. If the youth of our land are ac- customed to integrity in the work of those under whom they have grown up they will not easily fall a prey to the spirit of graft even when they are subjected to temptations. The admirable public records of Missouri's many statesmen who were bred on the farm and in the small towns are witnesses of the influence of such environment. In Mr. Spence, Butler county has a holder of public office whose life contributes to the honor of the general body of public servants.
Mercer county. Illinois, was Mr. Spence's birthplace. When he was four years old his family moved to a farm in Butler county. His father, James M. Spence, was a native of Illinois, a farmer and dealer in real estate.
Martha J. Turner Spence, his wife, was a Kentuckian. Both of them are buried in this county. William Spence received his education in the county schools and in the Poplar Bluff seminary, besides attending the Catholic schools in Cape Girardeau for two years.
The public career of Mr. Spence began in 1870, when he was elected county clerk. He spent four years in this office and was then chosen postmaster, holding that office from 1875 to 1882. For the next eight years he was in the real estate and abstract business, which he left in 1890 to serve again as post- master. While Mr. Spence was in charge of the office the business increased three hun- dred percent. His official tenure continued four years and two months. From 1894 until 1898 he filled the position of county clerk and in 1899 was elected city clerk, an office which he has held continuously since then except for one year.
Two daughters Emma and Mary Spence and Mrs. Mattie Steele are still in their parents' home, while one other, Susie M., has gone to a household of her own. She is Mrs. Clifford Douthit, of Texas. Mrs. Mattie Steele is the widow of L. S. Steele. The only son is an electrician and is unmarried. Mrs. Spence, the mother of this family, was be- fore her marriage, in 1884, Miss Emma Wil- liamson. She was an earnest worker in the Baptist church where she was numbered among the interested members. Her death occurred November 5, 1908. Mr. Spence is a member and treasurer of the church and a liberal supporter of all its activities. He is also deeply interested in educational mat- ters and has been school director for nine years. He is connected with the lodges of the Royal Arcanum and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
SAMUEL T. THOMPSON. Born in Ruther- ford county, Tennessee, in 1840, Samuel Thompson grew up on his father's farm and attended the subscription schools of the county until the outbreak of the Civil war. He was one of those whose convictions are strong enough to prompt them to risk life to defend their ideals, and so he enlisted, first in Douglass' Battalion under Captain Bark- ley and then with Jack Lytle, serving three years in the ranks. After the war, Mr. Thompson resumed the occupation of farm- ing, first in Tennessee and in 1881 in Butler county, Missouri. He continued to follow
Mary & Reed
Simpleed
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the pursuit to which he was born until 1885. At that date Mr. Thompson entered the em- ploy of the Williams Cooperage Company and remained with them for seven years. He gave up this work temporarily to serve as city collector in 1892, filling this post until 1895. From that date nntil 1903 he did teaming in Poplar Bluff and also worked for the Williams Cooperage Company again. In 1903 Mr. Thompson was again chosen city collector, and is still holding that office.
Mary Pate was the first wife of Samuel Thompson and the mother of his six children, Alta, John, Jo, Nannie (deceased), Sam and Andy. Her death occurred in 1882. Some time later Mr. Thompson was united in wed- lock to Mrs. Rachael Wilson, but this union was quickly dissolved by the untimely death of the wife, who lived only eighteen days after the ceremony. He was married the third time, to Mrs. Dickey, of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are honored communi- cants of the Christian church. He was formerly affiliated with the Knights of Honor. In politics he gives his support to the policies of the Democratic party, of which he is a loyal member. He has completed his three score and ten years with the courage of a sol- dier and the industry of a civilian and has the warm regard of the community and their hope that if by reason of strength his years be four-score and ten, their strength may not be labor and sorrow, as the psalmist spoke, but filled with the renewed vigor of those who live with all their might to the last of this earthly life.
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