History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 87

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 87

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William Davis was the second of the six children of Samuel Davis and his wife. The others were Mary, Robert, Jackson, James

and Martha. William L. was born Sep- tember 30, 1834, in Madison county, Ten- nessee. He came to Stoddard county, Mis- souri, in 1851, and hired out on different farms of that section. In 1855 he came to New Madrid county, and this has been his home ever since. Three years after his ar- rival here he was married to Emeline Knox, daughter of Alec and Nancy Thompson Knox. Emeline was born November 16, 1843. Only one of the three sons she bore to William Davis is now living. Samuel, born November 18, 1862, died at the age of seven, and John, two years younger, died when but five years old. James, born De- cember 9, 1869, is living in New Madrid county, on a farm about three miles west of town. He and his wife, Lizzie Jont Davis, have six children: Ruth, Colleen, George, William, Albert and Irene.

Mr. Davis is a Democrat in matters of political policy, but he is not active in polities as his farm, situated some six miles northwest of town, is his chief interest. Mrs. Davis is a member of the Methodist church.

J. O. CHAMBERS, county clerk of Butler county, Missouri, has been a resident of Pop- lar Bluff since 1893, and during the years of his residence here has gained a position of high standing among the business men and leading citizens. A brief review of his life discloses the following facts:

Mr. Chambers is a native of Indiana. He was born in Monroe county, that state, Jan- uary 19. 1874, and there spent the first nine- teen years of his life. Then he came south to Missouri, landing at Poplar Bluff in 1893. He began work here as a farm hand. Afterward he was employed in a factory, and for a number of years he was manager of the Simmons Grocery company, in which he was a stockholder and officer. For four years he filled the office of city assessor and for a like number of years was city treas- urer, this being while he was in the grocery business. In 1910 he was elected, on the Republican ticket, to the office of county clerk. The campaign that year was a warm one and he had a well known and strong man for an opponent, but he won out with a majority of one hundred eighty-two votes, and on January 1, 1911, entered upon the duties of his office.

At Poplar Bluff, in 1895, J. O. Chambers and Mary E. Smith were united in mar-

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riage, and they are now the parents of three children : William E., Vera and Agnes. Mrs. Chambers was born in Moberly, Mis- souri, and is a daughter of T. A. Smith.

Fraternally Mr. Chambers is identified with the K. of P., the B. P. O. E., and the K. O. T. M., in the last named having taken quite an active part, filling nearly all the offices. Religiously he affiliates with the Christian church, in which he has been hon- ored with the office of deacon.

JUDGE ALEXANDER Ross was born at Cath- ness, Scotland, near Skibo Castle, on August 12. 1833. He came to America in the au- tumn of 1847, and on arriving at New York made his way on to Canada, and he spent one year on the farm of his father at Cold Springs, near Coburg, Canada. His next move took him to Hawsville, Kentucky, and from there he went to Madrid Bend. Tennessee, where he attended school under the tuition of old Parson Brown, at the Old Camp Ground. He then moved to Camden, Arkansas, and taught a nine months' school at the Judge Scott school house, near that city, at the close of the school term enter- ing the store of Lee, Morgan & Company, one of the representative establishments of Camden. One year later he was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in Cam- den Lodge, A. F. & A. M. When twenty- two years old he went to Magnolia, Colum- bia county, Arkansas, and there entered the store of Hicks & Wyatt in the capacity of bookkeeper. While thus engaged the young man made good use of every available spare moment and devoted himself assiduously to the study of law, which he had determined upon as a profession. Nights and Sundays he gave himself to the perusal of his books, under the preceptorship of Captain Mc- Cowin, who for three years directed his course of reading and examinations, and to such good purpose did he employ his time that at the end of the three years he was ad- mitted to the bar by Judge Lein B. Green, then circuit judge. Mr. Ross then entered the law office of Colonel Ben Johnson, and he was almost immediately appointed as- sistant state's attorney for Columbia county, and a little later, a vacancy appearing, Governor Conway appointed him justice of the peace for Magnolia.

When the trouble between the north and the south arose, Mr. Ross took a firm stand for the Union, and he with Ed Gantt, Ben

Johnson, Ben Askew, Judge Kelso and others of the same mind endeavored to hold the people loyal to the Union, but a regi- ment of Texas Rangers came and silenced all. Mr. Ross joined the Union army under General Grant in June, 1863, and he was present at the surrender of Vicksburg, Mis- sissippi, July 4, 1863. He was assigned by General Grant for duty in the quartermas- ter's department at Goodrich's Landing, Louisiana, and served until he was incapac- itated for duty by injuries received in serv- ice in 1864. In August, 1865, after he had recovered from his wound, he was ordered to report to Major Thomas F. Parnell, A. Q. M., at Shreveport, Louisiana, and by him was placed in charge of the post quartermas- ter's office as chief clerk, under Captain Skinner, A. A. Q. M. There he collected the captured army property surrendered by General Smith, had it properly scheduled and reported to the quartermaster general at Washington; he then superintended the sale of the captured property, duly reported the same and closed the business March 24, 1866.

On April 6, 1866, Mr. Ross arrived in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and opened a law office in company with Captain Arthur, the firm being known as Ross & Arthur. He was appointed city attorney, and held that office for two years. In 1867 Chief Jus- tice Chase, upon the recommendations of Colonel Thilenous, General Grant and Sen- ator Drake, appointed him Register in Bank- ruptcy for the fourteenth congressional dis- triet of Missouri, composed of twenty-eight counties, and in that important office he re- mained until the law was repealed and the docket closed, covering a period of twelve years. He also served as a director and treasurer of the State Line Railroad and helped to lay the first rail and to drive the first spike of the now vast system that passes through Cape Girardeau. He was elected judge of the Cape Girardeau Court of Com- mon Pleas, and served in that capacity for four years; he was then elected justice of the peace, in which office he served a like period. In 1898 Judge Elmer B. Adams ap- pointed him referee in bankruptcy for the distriet of Cape Girardeau, and he retained that appointment until the Southeastern Division Judicial District of Missouri was established by Congress. He was then ap- pointed referee in hankruptey for that dis- trict, which comprises sixteen counties; thus

Oliver Logan

Mary L Logan.

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

he has served under Judge Treat, as regis- ter in bankruptcy twelve years, and under Judge Adams, Judge Finkelnburg, and Judge Dyer, as referee in bankruptcy of the United States District Court for Southeast Missouri, for fourteen years, making alto- gether twenty-six years; to which should be added four years on the Common Pleas Bench, making thirty years administering the laws, a length of service that is surely eloquent of the conscientious performance of duties during the passing years.

Judge Ross is prominent in Masonic cir- cles, holding membership in St. Mark's lodge, No. 93, of Wilson Royal Arch Chapter, No. 75, of Cape Girardeau, in which he has served as recorder, principal sojourner and high priest of the Chapter. and of Cape Girardeau Commandery, No. 55, Knights Templar, where he has filled the offices of recorder, prelate and eminent commander. He is a member of Justi Post, No. 173, of the Missouri Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has filled the offices of senior vice and adjutant, and for the past eighteen years he has served as post chaplain, an of- fice which he has filled with true piety and reverence, although he is a member of no church.

The years of Judge Ross' association and identification with Cape Girardeau have es- tablished him firmly in the esteem and re- spect of his fellow men, and he has won to himself a reputation and standing in his district that is entirely consistent with his manly and upright character. As an hon- orable, honest reliable business man, a val- uable citizen, a true patriot, an earnest Christian gentleman and a man devoted in every way to home and family, his life in this community has shed its worthy influence over all who came in touch with him.

OLIVER LOGAN. One of the leading agricul- turists of Stoddard county was the late Oli- ver Logan, a native son of the state and one whose life since earliest boyhood had been passed within the pleasant boundaries of the county. His estate of three hundred and twenty acres was valuable and highly im- proved and upon it he engaged successfully in general agriculture and stock raising, his marketing of stock being upon an extensive scale. However, it is as a good citizen and generous and excellent man that his memory will longest endure, keeping green in the hearts of the many who knew and loved him.

Mr. Logan was born in Wayne county, Mis- souri, on November 14, 1849, and died No- vember 14, 1908, his summons to the Great Beyond occurring on his fifty-ninth birthday. He was a son of James and Martha Logan, who removed after marriage to this county, their home being located some five miles east of Puxico. There the mother died and there young Oliver passed his boyhood days, at the age of fifteen years finding the management of the farm upon his shoulders. This came about from the fact that the father was killed while a soldier in the Civil war, at an engage- ment near Piedmont, Wayne county, Mis- souri, and Oliver, being the eldest of four children, bravely assumed the responsibilities. This spirit of unselfishness characterized his whole life and no one more cheerfully sacri- ficed himself to others.

The other members of the family sold out their interest in the parental estate to him and he added to this from time to time until he came to have a property consisting of three hundred and twenty acres, the old farm hav- ing consisted of two hundred and eighty. Much of his property he cleared of timber and in every way labored zealously for its im- provement. He raised stock in large quan- tity and it was noted for its good standard. His excellent methods and splendid manage- ment had their natural outcome in success, and his demise found his affairs in good con- dition. He was a stanch Democrat, having ever given his support to the men and meas- ures of the party, but he was not a politician, the honors and emoluments of office appear- ing very hollow to him. His faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church, to whose support he contributed generously.

Mr. Logan laid the foundations of a happy married life when on March 19, 1891, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary L. Cato, daughter of Richard and Martha (Logan) Cato, she being a cousin of Mr. Logan's mother. The mother died when Mary was a small girl, and she resided with her father until her marriage, at the age of twenty. He died shortly after Mary's marriage. Mrs. Logan, who survives her honored husband, re- moved from the farm soon after his death and for the past three years has resided in Puxico. She still retains ownership of the farm, or at least of two hundred and forty acres of it. The subject is also survived by two daughters, Nellie Mabel and Sylvia Lee, both school girls. Mrs. Logan assists in the maintenance of the Methodist Episcopal

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church, and enjoys high standing in the com- munity.

The other members of the family of Oliver Logan are as follows: Sina, wife of Kit Nor- rid, who resides five miles from Puxico; Nel- lie, wife of W. H. Baker, of Oklahoma; and Jim, also a citizen of Oklahoma. The sub- ject's fraternal relations extended to the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows.

ALFRED W. GREER. Prominent among the leading citizens of Poplar Bluff is A. W. Greer, who as a lumberman and under- taker is carrying on a substantial business, his practical judgment and systematic meth- ods bringing him satisfactory success in his chosen fields of endeavor. A Kentuckian by birth, he was born October 11, 1874, in Graves county, and was reared in Colum- bus, Kentucky, where he obtained a limited common-school education. There as a boy and a youth he worked, receiving from fifty cents to a dollar a day, and of this sum he saved twenty-five cents every week until he had the snug little sum of forty dollars in his pocket, much to the surprise of his father.

Then, at the age of seventeen years, Mr. Greer decided to change his residence to Butler county, Missouri. On reaching Pop- lar Bluff he found himself with but twenty dollars on hand, the other twenty having heen spent in the gambling hall. The loss of his hard-earned dollars proved a good lesson to him, and he forswore both drink- ing and gambling for all time. He secured a position with the Alfrey Heading Com- pany for $1.25 a day, and later entered the employ of the Poplar Bluff Lumber Com- pany, of which H. I. Ruth was superintend- ent, beginning in an humble position, with small wages, but being promoted from time to time until he received $1.50 a day for his labors. He subsequently became general re- pair man, in that capacity working as a ma- chinist, a boiler maker, a blacksmith and a general millwright, his wages being raised to $3.25 a day. Mr. Greer remained with the firm eight years, during which time the superintendent apparently took great inter- est in him and his plans, and when Mr. Greer began work as a contractor and builder gave him the first two large contracts which he undertook. The first one with which he was actively associated Mr. Greer had the nerve to attack before he really

knew very much about carpentering, but as he hired a skilled workman he carried the contract through satisfactorily.

As a contractor Mr. Greer bought build- ing material at wholesale, and patronized a sash and door factory. Perceiving the ad- vantage of having a lumber yard of his own, he formed a partnership with other business men, and purchased the Turner lumber yard. In February, 1905, Mr. Greer bought this property, and two years later he bought out his partners for five thousand dollars, and has since continued the business alone, in the meantime having established himself as an undertaker. In order to properly fit himself as an undertaker he subsequently completed the full course of study at the Saint Louis Embalming College, and suc- cessfully passed the examination at Kansas City, receiving an average of ninety-six per cent on the thousand questions which he was asked regarding embalming and under- taking.

Mr. Greer continued alone until the in- corporation of the A. W. Greer Lumber and Undertaking Company, when he sold nearly half of his stock, the company being capital- ized at fifteen thousand dollars, and carry- ing a stock valued at ten thousand dollars. He is now carrying on an extensive and very satisfactory business, the plant covering a lot seventy-nine by ninety feet, and con- taining two stores and a shed, and another, the lumber yard, located on the Frisco Railroad contains about two hundred and four square feet. He is connected with other enterprises in Poplar Bluff, being a stockholder in the local bank and other busi- ness enterprises. He has also built many houses in this locality, selling them on the installment plan, and has never been forced to close out a single purchaser's mortgage, nor has he ever missed an opportunity to buy good property.

Mr. Greer served one term in the City Council, retiring therefrom in 1905. He pushed public improvements, including the laying of three thousand feet of sewer pipes at his own expense, opening and grading streets, and putting in sidewalks. In 1908 he was elected county public administrator, in that capacity loaning the money over which he has control at eight per cent in- terest, in monthly payments, so that every minor over which he has charge as guardian of an estate receives that interest on his

M. B. Graham

. M a Graham

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IIISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

money, fifteen thousand dollars being thus loaned out by Mr. Greer at the present writing, in 1911.

Mr. Greer married, November 17, 1895, Edna L. Parks, of Poplar Bluff. She passed to the life beyond October 23, 1905. Three children were born of their union, namely : Lyford, who died in infancy; Ivan H., born November 3. 1897; and Vera L., born June 19, 1900. Mr. Greer married for his second wife, May 16, 1906, Elsie M. Ansel, and they are the parents of three children, namely : Revola E., born April 21, 1907; Carlois A., horn November 7, 1908; and Lloyd E., born November 22, 1910. Mr. Greer is a member of the First Baptist church, and is one of its trustees. He is also a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Ma- sons and of the Knights of Pythias.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE GRAHAM is a farmer and stockman in Madison county, Missouri. He maintains his home at Freder- icktown, where he is recognized as one of the leading citizens. For a number of years he was interested in the lumber business with his father, Judge E. L. Graham.

Mr. Graham was born on the 28th of Au- gust, 1857, near Fredericktown. He is the son of Judge E. L. and Mary (Whitener) Graham, the former of whom is now living retired at Fredericktown.

Napoleon B. Graham passed his boyhood and youth on the old homestead, receiving a common-school education. After reach- ing maturity he taught school two years (1878-9). In January, 1881, he became in- terested in the lumber business and in 1883 his father joined him. Later they organized the Fredericktown Lumber Company, which they operated for a period of years. Since disposing of his interests in the lumber busi- ness Mr. Graham, of this notice, has devoted the major portion of his time and attention to farming and stockraising.

Mr. Graham was married in 1879 to Miss Mary A. Creasy, who was born and reared in Wayne county, Missouri. She is the daughter of Rev. Charles W. and Margaret Ann (Wallace) Creasy. After a quarter of a century as a member of the Baptist clergy Rev. Creasy passed away in 1878, at the age of forty-eight years. His wife died in June, 1901, at the age of sixty-five. Rev. Creasy was born in Virginia, but was reared in Macon county, Tennessee, where he and Ann Wallace were married. Soon after their

marriage they moved to Wayne county, Mis- sonri. He has pastoral charges in Wayne and Madison counties, and was pastor at Marquand, Madison county, at the time of his death. His father was Jesse Creasy, an active Methodist, who lived to a very ad- vanced age in Macon county, Tennessee. Ann Wallace was born in Macon county, Tennessee. The Wallace and Welch families, the latter her maternal ancestors, were early ones of Kentucky and Tennessee. Mrs. Graham was the second child of Rev. and Mrs. Creasy, and is the eldest now living of six children. The only brother, William, died in 1903, at the age of thirty-six years, at Fredericktown, Missouri. The other four sisters are as follows: Nora C., wife of J. C. Graham, of Fredericktown, Missouri; Cora, wife of Samuel Maxwell, of Flat River, Missouri; Miss Emma D. Creasy, of Fredericktown, Missouri; and Ella J., wife of J. F. Dudley, of Wapanucka, Oklahoma.

Mr. and Mrs. Graham have four children living. Arthur Lee was educated in Wil- liam Jewell College and the Jem City Busi- ness College, and he is now engaged in farming near Sikestown, Missouri. He mar- ried Ethel Settle, and they have three chil- dren-Ollie, J. L. and N. B. Grover re-

ceived his A. B. degree from William Jewell College, Liberty, Missouri, and his M. A. from Brown University, Providence, R. I. He has also finished his residence work for a Ph. D. at Brown University. At present he is teaching philosophy and political science in Shurtleff College, Alton, Illi- Dois. Earl B. is attending high school. Ruth E. is also a student in the Frederick- town high school. One daughter, Ollie O., was a senior in Hardin College at the time of her death, in 1903, at the age of nineteen.

In politics Mr. Graham is a Democrat and while he has never been ambitious for polit- ical distinction, he is ever on the alert to ad- vance the best interests of his community. In religious matters the Graham family are devout members of the Baptist church at Fredericktown.

JOHN W. JACKSON. Kentucky bears the reputation of having given more gentlemen and governors to the Union than any other state, and it is interesting to note that the parents of John W. Jackson were both of them Kentuckians, natives of the Blue Grass state. Mr. Jackson has the true Kentuckian interest in public affairs, and during his

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long career as an office holder he has ever held the general welfare dearer than per- sonal glory.

Born in New Madrid county, he is the son of John J. and Rachel (Russell) Jack- son, both of whom, as has been already re- corded, were natives of Kentucky, the for- mer dying in New Madrid county in 1863, four years after the demise of the latter. Left an orphan at eight years, Mr. Jackson after obtaining his early education became interested in farming and for eight years was the proprietor of a saloon.

In 1889 Mr. Jackson accepted the Demo- cratie nomination for member of the legis- lature. He was elected and served in the as- sembly, during the thirty-sixth, the thirty- seventh and later the fortieth sessions. In the thirty-sixth session he was a member of the roads and highways committee; of the swamp lands committee in the thirty-seventh, and upon his return to the legislature in 1899 he was made chairman of the commit- tee on accounts. His bill, revising the pre- cedure for the payment of jailers, so that they be paid by the county, which should later be reimbursed by the state, was carried and became a law. In 1895 he served the city as alderman, and in 1903 was elected circuit clerk and recorder, in which capacity he served for three years and two months, being again elected to the office of recorder in 1905, after the double office had been divided by enactment, and he now holds the position of county recorder of deeds.

Besides his active political life Mr. Jack- son has installed an electric plant in the city, putting in the same in 1896, owns a fine one hundred and sixty acre farm, and holds the title to his excellently situated house and lot in New Madrid. The county has much for which to thank Mr. Jackson, for besides his unblemished general record, his progressive enterprise on behalf of the county has brought about the installation of a loose leaf recording system in the county office.

On February 12, 1878. was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Jackson to Miss Mary Daw- son, daughter of Captain G. W. and Laura (La Vallee) Dawson, a charming woman and member of the Catholic church. The chil- dren of this union are as follows: Laura L .: Colwn: Clarence, who died in infancy ; and John W., Jr.

Fraternally Mr. Jackson is a member and actively interested in the Independent Or-

der of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks and he wears the blanket of the Red Men.

CHARLES B. FARIS. Among the honored and representative members of the bench and bar of Southeastern Missouri is Charles B. Faris, of Pemiscot county, judge of the Twenty-eighth circuit, comprising the coun- ties of Pemiscot, Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid and Cape Girardeau. He was born in Mississippi county, October 3, 1864, the son of James White and Willie Ann (Stovall) Faris, both of whom were born in Tennessee. The father came to Missouri at the age of eleven years. His parents were Benjamin S. and Betsy (Crockett) Faris, the latter a cousiu of the celebrated Davy Crockett, pio- neer, hunter and politician. Benjamin, father of Benjamin S., above mentioned, was a native of Ireland. He crossed the At- lantic in his youth and in 1776 came to South Carolina. He was an enthusiast for colonial independence and fought in the Revolutionary war as a soldier of General Marion, carrying a musket throughout the entire conflict. Of his three sons, one went to Kentucky, one to Tennessee and one to Mississippi. Benjamin S., grandfather of the immediate subject, found his way to Mis- souri about the year 1843 and located twelve miles south of Charleston in the Wolf Is- land settlement, which, despite its name, was on the mainland. The boyhood of Charles B. Faris was passed amid the wholesome rural surroundings of his father's farm, his preliminary education being obtained at the country schools. At the age of nineteen years he entered the University of Missouri, where he pursued the regular literary course, graduating with the class of 1889, with the degree of B. L. He also took a course in pedagogics, receiving his bachelor's degree in that department in the year 1890. In the meantime he had arrived at the decision to become a lawyer, and to obtain the necessary training he entered Washington University of St. Louis, as a student in the law depart- ment. While studying law he engaged in teaching school for a few terms. He has been in active practice here since April 1, 1891, and he enjoys the highest standing as a man and a representative of the profession he has adopted. In the fall of 1890 he was elected to the 'state legislature as a represen- tative from his county to the thirty-sixth general assembly. In 1892 he was elected

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History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 87

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