USA > Missouri > Greene County > Past and present of Greene County Missouri, early and recent history and genealogical records of many of the representative citizens, Volume I > Part 86
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Fame may look to the clash of resounding arms for its heroes : history's pages may be filled with a record of the deeds of the so-called great who have deluged the world with blood. destroyed kingdoms, created dynasties and left their names as plague spots upon civilization's escutcheon ; the poet may em- balm in deathless song the short and simple annals of the poor ; but there have been comparatively few to sound the praise of the brave and sturdy pioneer who, among the truly great and noble, is certainly deserving of at least a little space on the category of the immortals. One of the pioneers of Greene county is William H. Kershner, Clay township's venerable citizen, who lo- cated in our midst three-quarters of a century ago, and thus he has lived to see the growth of the county from the beginning, for this has been his place of abode with the exception of a few years in the far West during the days of the rush for the gold beyond the Sierras.
Mr. Kershner was born in Hawkins county, Tennessee, March 12. 1835. He is a son of John H. and Martha (Amis) Kershner. The father was born in the same county and state and was reared on a farm there, married and in 184I removed with his family to Greene county, Missouri, locating on the James river, buying a two hundred acre farm, on which he spent the rest of his life and died there in December. 1856. His wife was also born and reared in Hawkins county, Tennessee. Her death occurred on the home place in Greene county in 1868. She was a member of the Methodist church. The Amis family were very early pioneers of Hawkins county. Tennessee. They were influential in milling and agricultural circles. They never left Tennessee. To these parents ten children were born, namely: Mrs. Eliza- beth Cloud, deceased; Mrs. Frances Muncie. deceased: Mrs. Sarah Bench lives in Greene county : William H., of this sketch; John, who was a soldier
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
in the Civil war, died after the close of the conflict : Mrs. Martha Crane, de- ceased : Mrs. Harriet Wills lives in Greene county; DeWitt C. lives in Mon- tana : Mary, deceased : James, deceased.
William 11. Kershner was five years old when he accompanied his par- ents from Tennessee to Greene county. He worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-one years oldl. and received a common school education. In April, 1856, he started from Springfield across the great western plains to California with an ox team, arriving in the gold fields in September of the same year. He spent five years in the Pacific coast country and was fairly successful. He returned home in 1861, and joined the Federal army, under Capt. John W. Matthews, of Company A. Eighth Missouri Cavalry. His captain was wounded December 1, 1863 and died twelve days later, whereupon our subject was promoted to captain of his company, the duties of which responsible position he very ably and courageously discharged until he was mustered out of the service in August, 1865. He took part in the battles of Wilson's Creek, Prairie Grove, Arkansas : Chalk Bluffs, Arkansas, and a number of smaller engagements, and was with the troops that took the city of Little Rock. He was an excellent officer, according to his soldiers, and never shirked his duty no matter how arduous or dangerous. After the war he returned to the family home in Greene county, and here pur- chased a fine farm of three hundred acres and has since devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits, ranking among the leading farmers of the county.
Mr. Kershner was married in 1867 to Lucy E. Dodson, who was born on the place where our subject is now living, in December, 1858. She was a daughter of George and Eliza ( Samuel) Dodson, both natives of Maury county, Tennessee. They immigrated to Greene county, Missouri in 1840 and owned a farm of one hundred and eighty acres here on which they spent the rest of their lives, both dying some years ago. Mrs. Kershner was reared on the farm here and was educated in the district schools. Her death oc- curred May 23. 1910. She was an excellent woman and had a host of friends. She was a worthy member of the Christian church.
To Mr. and Mrs. Kershner ten children have been born, namely: Mrs. Martha Collison, Mrs. Lonie Masoner, Willie is deceased : Ora Olive lives at home : Mrs. Fannie Inghram, Lennie, deceased ; Mrs. Annie Smith, Jennie is deceased : Fred. at home and Johnnie, the latter deceased.
Politically, Mr. Kershner is a Republican. He is a member of the John Matthews Post. Grand Army of the Republic, at Springfield, which post was named after his captain when he first went into the army. He has had a great deal of adventure and talks interestingly but never boastfully of what he has seen and experienced.
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WILLIAM THOMAS JENNINGS.
Among the men of southwestern Missouri who have appreciated present- day conditions and opportunities is William Thomas Jennings, the present popular and efficient cashier of the Bank of Bois D'Arc. He has profited by his ingenuity and persistency in the business world as a result of the favorable conditions existing in the Ozark region, where he has been contented to spend his life. In his earlier career he was a successful teacher and has also been a public official, but to whatever he has addressed himself he has made a suc- cess, being a man of energy, correct principles and public spirit.
Mr. Jennings was born near Carthage, Jasper county, Missouri, July 17, 1875. He is a son of William and Sarah (Allen) Jennings. The father was born in Lawrence county, this state, was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. He has followed general farming all his life and is still living in Lawrence county on a farm. Politically, he is a Democrat, and he belongs to the Presbyterian church, of which denomination he was an active minister for some twenty-five years.
William T. Jennings, of this sketch, grew to manhood on the home farm and assisted with the general work there during the crop seasons, and during the winter he attended the public schools in his community, later spent two years in the Marionville Collegiate Institute at Marionville, Lawrence county. He began life for himself by teaching school, which he followed six years with success in Lawrence county and one year in Stotts City, Missouri. He served as deputy county clerk of Lawrence county from 1903 to 1907 in a highly acceptable manner, then came to Bois D'Arc. Greene county, as cashier of the Bank of Bois D'Arc, which position he has since filled in a manner that has reflected much credit upon his fidelity, energy and honesty and to the satisfaction of the stockholders and patrons of the bank, and has done much to increase the prestige of this sound and popular institution.
Mr. Jennings was married August 21, 1901, to Hattie F. Wormington, who was born near Pierce City, Missouri, May 21, 1878. She is a daughter of James H. and Gaddy ( Boswell) Wormington, a highly respected family of this section of the state. where Mrs. Jennings grew to womanhood and received her education.
To Mr. and Mrs. Jennings four children were born, namely : Bonnie N., born September 1. 1902: Allena May, born September 21, 1904; Richard W., born October 19, 1907 ; and William K., born April 6, 1914.
Politically, Mr. Jennings is a Republican, and in religious matters he is a member of the Methodist church. Fraternally, he has long been active in the Masonic Order, being a member of the Bois D'Arc Lodge No. 449. An- cient Free and Accepted Masons: Ash Grove, No. -- , Royal Arch Masons; Zabud Council No. 25, Royal and Select Masters. He has filled the chair of
Soo
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semfor warden two years. He is also a member of Lodge No. 452. Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
It is a pleasure to meet a man like Mr. Jennings, who is uniformly courteous and agreeable and whose integrity is unquestioned. He is in every way deserving of the high regard in which he is held by all with whom he has come in contact.
WILLIAM BUCHANAN SANFORD.
One of the most conspicuous figures in the recent history of southwest Missouri is William Buchanan Sanford, too well known to the readers of this historical and biographical compendium to need any formal intro- duction here, a man actively identified with the industrial and business interests of the city of Springfield and vicinity, widely known as one of the leading financiers of this section of the state. Equally noted as a citizen whose useful career has conferred credit upon Greene county and the Ozark region. and whose marked abilities and stirring qualities have won for him much more than local repute, he holds today distinctive precedence as one of the most progressive men that ever inaugurated and carried to successful termination large and important undertakings in this locality. For a period of thirty-five years he has been a conspicuous figure in the banking world, and the position he now occupies, that of president of the great Holland Banking Company, brings him up to the front rank of his compeers in this state. Strong mental powers, invincible courage and a determined purpose that hesitates at no opposition have so entered into his composition as to render him a dominant factor in the business world and a leader of men in important enterprises. He is essentially a man of affairs, of sound judg- ment, keen discernment, rare acumen, far-seeing in what he undertakes, and every enterprise to which he has addressed himself has resulted in liberal financial returns. Mr. Sanford's extensive business interests are but the legitimate fruitage of consecutive effort. directed and controlled by good judgment and correct moral principles. He has forged his way to the front over obstacles that would have discouraged and even thwarted men of less heroic mettle, gradually extending the limits of his mental horizon until he is not only one of our twentieth century captains of industry in the South- west. but also one of the best developed mentally, having always been a close observer and a profound student and kept fully abreast of the times. Taken as a whole, his career presents a series of continued successes rarely equaled in Missouri. In the most liberal acceptation of the term, he is the architect of his own fortunes and eminently worthy of the proud American title of self-made man.
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Mr. Sanford was born at West Point, Bates county, Missouri, December 29, 1858. He is descended from a sterling old Southern family, and is a son of Wyatt and Susan Green (Bigbee) Sanford, and a grandson of John Sanford, a native of Virginia. The father, Wyatt Sanford, was a member of the famous band of "forty-niners," having made the long, perilous over- land trip to the gold fields of California in 1849. After spending several years in the far West he returned East and located in Springfield, Missouri, but subsequently removed to Bates county and engaged in mercantile pur- suits. He was a good business man and possessed the many commendable traits of the sturdy pioneer of his day and generation-courage, industry, hospitality and unswerving honesty. He frequently bought up large num- bers of mules which he drove across the mountains to the New Orleans market, and it was while on one of these trips that his attention was attracted to a fine farm near Searcy, Arkansas, which he later purchased and operated, removing there from Butler, Missouri, during the Civil war, and most of his succeeding years were spent on that place, his death occurring there April 16, 1872. In connection with general agricultural pursuits he also en- gaged successfully in contracting and building, and one of the enduring monuments of his skill as a builder is the old court house at the town of Searcy, which he completed only a short time before his death.
William B. Sanford was but a child when his parents removed with him to Arkansas and there he grew to manhood on the home farm, where he assisted with the work of the same and there began his education in one of the historic old log school houses in White county, later attending the public schools in Searcy. But this limited amount of text-book training has been made up in later life by wide miscellaneous home study and actual contact with the world until today Mr. Sanford is a well informed man on all topics. He was fourteen years of age when his father died, and the responsibilities that then devolved upon him no doubt had much to do in moulding his character for his future career. He was one of eight children, five sons and three daughters, he being the third oldest of the sons. The family remained on the homestead two years after the father's death, then came to Springfield, Missouri, the mother and daughters making the trip by rail, while the sons made the trip by wagon and a four-horse team.
After locating in Springfield, Mrs. Sanford kept her family together by maintaining a boarding house, assisted by her younger son, our subject. the two older boys working with their teams on the street. Young Sanford helped his mother until he secured a position in a law office, his duties being such menial labor as building fires and cleaning up in a general way. It was during this period that he first saw the farm that he now considers one of his most valuable pieces of property, not especially because of its superior
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improvements and productivity to other Greene county farms, but for the pleasure derived from the time he spends there each year. It seems that he and his two brothers made a trip to this farm for the purpose of buying feed for their teams, when farm products were both high and scarce in the city, and the younger boy was so favorably impressed with the general appearance of the place that he never forget it. Finally fortune smiled on his efforts and enabled him to buy the property. He has also added to his possessions the old Sanford homestead in White county, Arkansas, and there he spends many of his vacations away from the exactions of business, deriving a great deal of pleasure amid the scenes of his boyhood.
After leaving the lawyer's office, young Sanford began work as delivery boy for a grocery store, and for four years he put in his spare time selling papers on the streets. He would do anything to earn an honest dollar, some- times driving a cab when work was hard to get, and for years performed odd jobs over the city.
Mr. Sanford began his long career as banker at the very bottom rung of the ladder, and his steady climb to the top, from janitor, messenger boy and general aide to everyone about the institution to his present position of president, was gained solely through merit, honesty, fidelity, trustworthiness and an indefatigable industry. During his spare moments he watched the bookkeeper and, being a close observer by nature, soon was able to keep a set of books. Rapid promotion resulted from his devotion to business and the careful discharge of his duties. In 1888, after a connection with the bank of nine years he became cashier. His promotion did not stop here, for he was soon afterwards a stockholder and a member of the board of officers of the institution, which is now the oldest bank in Greene county, and one of the largest in the Southwest. On October 21, 1911, he purchased the controlling interest in the bank from T. B. Holland, who had assumed the place of his father, Gen. C. B. Holland, who laid the corner-stone for the financial Gibraltar of Springfield in 1875. It is rather a significant fact that up to the fall of 1911 no sale of shares had been made since 1896, when the bank was incorporated. President Sanford, who, in the handling of millions, is giving eminent satisfaction to the stockholders and patrons of the bank, is proving himself a capable, conservative and sagacious financier.
Banking is not the only business in which Mr. Sanford's time is occu- pied. He is financially interested in the Hermann-Sanford Saddlery Com- pany, a widely-known Springfield concern doing an annual business of half a million dollars. He owns numerous valuable pieces of property in Spring- field. and finely improved farms in Missouri and Arkansas. He has mani- fested a great deal of interest in agricultural pursuits ever since he was a boy. and when fortune came to him he purchased good farm lands in various places and has taken particular pride in bringing them up to a high state of
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improvement and cultivation. The interest shown in this line has con- tributed very materially to his fortune, for he has always sold his farms at good profits. His delight in such work and his inherent love of nature was the incentive that caused him to begin planting shade trees in his earlier years. It is doubtful if there is any one living man in Springfield who has- caused as many splendid shade trees to be planted as Mr. Sanford. His. advocacy of "a city beautiful" has had far-reaching effects, and future gen- erations will owe him a debt of gratitude. In recent years he has given a great deal of attention to the development of his fine farm near this city. There he maintains a large herd of registered Holstein cows and has many head of other live stock of superior grades, including several very fine saddle horses. He has done much to encourage a better grade of live stock in this locality.
While laboring for his own advancement, Mr. Sanford has never lost sight of his larger duties to his city and county, and in a public way he has contributed much to the development of each, and to the Ozark country in general. It was largely through his foresight, energy and influence that the Missouri Pacific Railroad was built into Springfield. When it seemed that the company would give up its proposal to extend its lines in this direction, Mr. Sanford made a trip to New York City, with the knowledge of but few of his business associates. He went there solely for the purpose of inducing those who controlled the road to build their lines into Springfield. His tact, diplomacy and enthusiasm won, and upon his return to this city, it was definitely announced that the road would be built into Springfield, and work on the same was begun soon thereafter.
He was one of the founders and builders of the Colonial Hotel, which would be a credit to a city much larger than Springfield. He was also largely interested in the building of the first substantial home of the Young Men's: Christian Association in this city. The movement had started but was: about to be abandoned when it was found that a suitable site would be costly and difficult to secure. Knowing that the proposition would be a good thing for the city, Mr. Sanford became active and with the aid of several other business men, purchased a lot at the southeast corner of Jefferson and St. Louis streets and presented it to the local association.
In the organization of the Greene County Bureau of Agriculture, Mr. Sanford took a leading part. The establishment of the bureau was the result of his devotion to the cause, and it has resulted in incalculable good to the farmers and general public of this locality. In banking circles his ability has been recognized on numerous occasions. He attends each session of the Missouri Bankers' Association, where his influence for modern, safe and sane banking methods is powerful and salutary; and he is a member of
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the committee on agriculture, and he has been largely instrumental in mak- ing the work of this committee potent for the general good.
The domestic life of Mr. Sanford began on Thanksgiving day, 1886, in Springfield, when he was united in marriage with Cora E. Holland, the accomplished and cultured daughter of the late T. B. Holland. Her untimely death, which occurred on May 10, 1901, was sincerely lamented by her wide circle of friends in which she had long been a favorite. She left an only child, Grady Hollund Sanford, who was born November 13, 1891. He has been given excellent educational advantages and is a young man of promise.
Politically Mr. Sanford is a Democrat, and while he is loyal in his support of the party, he has never sought public office, preferring to devote his attention to his large business interests, his attractive and modernly appointed home and to the general good of his city and community. He holds membership in Florence Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and he belongs to the Presbyterian church. He has done much to encourage deserving young men, and many people in Springfield owe to him their start on the road to success, especially in the field of business. His contributions to charity, though not known to any extent, have been large. His benefactions have sprung from a kind heart and an altruistic nature and not to win the admiring plaudits of his fellowmen. His desire to avoid display of any kind has prevented general knowledge of the extent of his work in that particular field. He merits in every way the high esteem in which he is universally held. His high position in the minds and hearts of the people has been won to a considerable degree through his marked ability as a man of industry, his public benefactions, his sympathetic, true and generous friendships and his reputation as a genial, companionable and unassuming gentleman.
BENNETTE J. ROSS.
It is well for us all that Nature tries to conserve her fertile fields. Man has ever been a robber of the soil and at this late day he is beginning to realize that Nature, and her multitudinous servants, cannot forever maintain the pristine fertility of alluvial valley and loamy plain unless the reckless waste of soil riches is checked by scientific rotation of crops or intelligent use of the legumes. A diminishing yield per acre of cereals is Nature's warning to the children of men that they cannot eat their cake and keep it, too. One of the successful farmers of Murray township. Greene county, who has long been fully awake to these conditions and such others as pertain to high-grade twentieth-century husbandry is Bennette J. Ross, a scion of one of the worthy pioneer families of this locality, where he has been content to spend his life of over three score years.
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Mr. Ross was born in Robberson township, Greene county, February 3, 1853. He is a son of David and Louisa ( Robinson) Ross. The birth of David Ross occurred in Kentucky, March 12, 1812, and when a small boy he came with his parents to Boonville, Missouri. He was a son of William and Elizabeth Ross, also natives of Kentucky. William Ross, who was a surveyor, laid off the town of Boonville, Missouri. While living there he became a surveyor for the Mexican government and helped survey the major portion of what is now the state of Texas. Leaving Boonville, Cooper county, he moved with his family to Greene county, and took up a claim from the government in Robberson township, but subsequently moved to Bolivar, Polk county, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits for seven years, then located at Versailles, Morgan county, this state, where he spent the rest of his life, dying when past eighty years of age. His wife died at the home of David Ross when past twenty-eight years of age. David Ross lived in Boon- ville until he was twelve years of age, then came with the family to Greene county and here engaged in farming and married here, later purchasing a farm and building a residence in Robberson township, where he lived the rest of his life, and was one of the prominent men among the early settlers here. He not only managed his farm, but was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and preached at Springfield for years and all over this section of the state, and was a powerful preacher of the old school, remaining in the work over thirty-five years, and his death occurred in 1869 at his home in Robberson township while still in the fulness of his powers, at the age of fifty-seven years. He owned over five hundred acres of excellent land here and carried on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale. His wife, Louisa Robinson, was born in Tennessee about 1815, and her death occurred on the homestead in Greene county at an advanced age. To these parents twelve children were born, namely: Lafayette A., who is farming in Murray township; William Monroe, deceased; Francis Emery, who was for over a quarter of a century one of the leading physicians of Springfield, is de- ceased; Mrs. Elizabeth Jane Whitlock lives in Springfield; Mrs. Mary Louisa Skeen lives in Ash Grove, this. county; David W. lives at Willard, Greene county ; Mrs. Sarah Melissa Watson, who resides at Morrisville, Polk county ; Mrs. Henrietta Josephine Robinson makes her home in Texas; Mrs. Cordelia Robinson lives in Oklahoma ; Bennette Jackson is farming near Willard : Mrs. Laura Emma Appleby lives in Topeka, Kansas ; Leonidas Clark is practicing medicine in Springfield.
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