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 II > Part 17
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CHARLES J. DRURY.
There is a great deal in being born under a good eye, one that watches and guards off the error and folly that overtake so many young men. The parents that are able to infuse into their children the spirit of the Spartans -the spirit that can meet any fate and make the most of the world-will see their children grow to years of maturity with excellent habits and splen- did principles, and see them become exemplary citizens. Charles J. Drury, former superintendent of the North Side machine shops for the Frisco, and a man who had an envied record in his special line of endeavor, although a young man, was fortunate in having broad-minded, honest and painstaking parents, so that he looked out upon the world from a sane, intelligent and comprehensive viewpoint.
Mr. Drury was born September 17, 1878, at Chicago Junction, Ohio. He is a son of M. J. and Mary (Cook) Drury, the former a native of England and the latter of West Virginia. M. J. Drury was born in May, 1849. He spent his earlier years in his native land and received a good common school education, but was young when he came to the United States. He has spent his life in railroad service. He served his apprenticeship at Parkersburg, West Virginia, in the shops of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. Later he went to Kansas and was general foreman at Parsons in the shops of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company, from 1880 until 1886,
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after which he was gang foreman until 1892 for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company, was general foreman for this road at La Junta, Colorado, until 1895. From that year until 1902 he was general foreman at Arkansas City, Kansas, for the same road, and from 1902 to 1906 he was master mechanic for the same road at Winslow, Arizona. He then was master mechanic for about a year at Raton, New Mexico, for the same road, and from 1907 to 1912 he was mechanical superintendent at La Junta, Colo- rado, and since then has been at his present location, Topeka, Kansas, as su- perintendent of shop. The mother of the subject of this sketch died in Jan- uary, 1907.
Charles J. Drury, who was the only child of M. J. Drury and wife, re- ceived his education in the schools of Kansas City, Missouri; Topeka, Kan- sas, and La Junta, Colorado, attending the high school in the last named place. He entered railway service July 1, 1895, from which time until July I, 1909, he was machinist apprentice for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad, at Atchison, Kansas. After serving his four years there he was, until July 1, 1906, machinist for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad, Southern Pacific Company, Kansas City Southern railway, El Paso & South- western railroad, Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad and other roads. From July 1, 1906, to July 1, 1908, he was roundhouse foreman of the Santa Fe at La Junta, Colorado. From November, 1908, to September, 1910, he was general foreman of the same road at Albuquerque, New Mexico. From September 1, 1910, to April 1, 1911, he was master mechanic on the Oklahoma division of the same road at Arkansas City, Kansas. From April I, 19II, until January, 1913, he was master mechanic of the Plains division of that road at Amarillo, Texas. From January, 1913, until July of the same year he was general foreman for the St. Louis & San Francisco rail- road at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and from that date until July, 1914, he was general foreman in the Springfield shops of this company, and at his death was master mechanic of the machine shops at Sapulpa, of the Oklahoma di- vision. He was a master of his special line of work and made a fine record in the responsible position which he held as he did in all previous positions. His death occurred October 19, 1914, as a result of typhoid fever.
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Mr. Drury was married, in February, 1903, in San Francisco, Califor- nia, to Julia Mckenry, who was born in Wisconsin, in August, 1880. She is a daughter of William and Mary Mckenry, who reside in Wisconsin.
Five children, four of whom are still living, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Drury, namely: Mary, born December 25, 1904, died in January, 1908; Florence, born March II, 1907; Jack, born August 17, 1909; Charles, born March 13, 1910; Frances, born January 12, 1913.
Politically, Mr. Drury was a Republican. He was a member of the Catholic church, and, fraternally, he belonged to the Knights of Columbus.
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ARTHUR LAFAYETTE WHITLOCK.
This is the age of the expert. In every walk of life there is an insistent demand for the man who has made a particular study of one thing, whether it be in science, medicine, architecture, agriculture, horticulture, or, in fact, any other field of human endeavor. In the few short years, however, that the soil expert has been a recognized factor in the success of American agri- culture, he has demonstrated beyond dispute that he is, of all the experts, the most valuable, for, upon him, as upon no one else, depends the success or failure of America's most important citizen, the farmer. There are some who cling to their old-fashioned methods and ideas and refuse to heed the advice of the expert, all to their own detriment. But such progressive farm- ers as Arthur Lafayette Whitlock, of Franklin township, Greene county, avail themselves of the advice of the expert and, in fact, utilize all practical in- formation regarding their vocations and are therefore making a success as general farmers.
Mr. Whitlock was born March 27, 1870, in the above named township and county. He is a son of Lambert L. and Mary J. (Harkness ) Whitlock. The father was born in Tennessee, April 23, 1832. He was a son of Thomas J. and Elizabeth Ann (Montgomery) Whitlock. Thomas J. Whitlock was a native of North Carolina, from which state he emigrated to Tennessee, and finally came on to Greene county, Missouri, in 1832, when Lambert L. was six months old. Thomas J. located on a farm here among the early pioneers and became an influential citizen. He devoted his entire life to general farming and stock raising and, being a man of rare judgment and industry, accumulated much wealth, was one of the largest land owners. in this county. He was the possessor of a number of fine farms at the time of his death. He was associated with C. B. Holland in the horse and mule business in Springfield for some time, and before the Civil war it was his custom to buy up large herds of live stock and drive them to the South where he disposed of them at a good profit. During the gold rush to the California Eldorado, Thomas J. Whitlock joined the throng that crossed the great plains of the west in 1849 and remained on the Pacific coast two years. Upon returning home he sent his sons, Lambert L. and Samuel T. to Cali- fornia with a drove of cattle and they drove them across the plains success- fully. At one time, Thomas J. Whitlock owned sixteen slaves, for whom he refused an offer of sixteen thousand dollars. He was a man of charitable, hospitable and liberal impulses, and was a power for good in his community. Everybody admired him and respected him. His advice was frequently sought on various questions. His death occurred in Greene county at the advanced age of eighty-four years. His wife, who was also a native of Tennessee, died in this county at a ripe old age. During the war of the
THOMAS J. WHITLOCK.
L. L. WHITLOCK.
MARY J. WHITLOCK.
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A. L. WHITLOCK AND FAMILY.
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Rebellion, Thomas J. Whitlock owned and operated a grist mill at Marsh- field, Webster county, also owned and operated a grist mill and a saw-mill in Greene county. He was identified with nearly every enterprise that had for its object the upbuilding and advancement of the county in any way. He was widely known, a good mixer, made and retained friends easily and was loyal in his friendships. He had no superiors and few equals among the pioneers as a business man and public-spirited citizen.
Lambert L. Whitlock grew to manhood on his father's farm, in the development of which he had a hand, making himself useful during the crop seasons, and during the winter attending the township schools ; he was a life- long farmer and stock man, inheriting many of the sterling characteristics of his father. He became owner of one hundred and sixty acres of excellent land and was one of the best general farmers in his township, and with the exception of two years spent in California, he lived his entire life within three miles of the homestead where the family located when he was a child. Politically, he was a Democrat. He belonged to the Cumberland Presby- terian church, in which he was a deacon for many years. His death occurred on the home farm January 4, 1906, at the age of seventy-four years, after a successful and honorable life. During the Civil war he served in the militia. His wife, Mary J. Harkness, born December 23, 1832, in Tennessee, came to Greene county, when twelve years old, where she grew to womanhood and was educated, and here her death occurred August 30, 1890. She too, was a devout member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church at Mt. Comfort.
To Lambert L. Whitlock and wife nine children were born, five of whom died in infancy. Those living are, Anna, who has remained on the home farm; Arthur L. of this review; Finis E. is deceased; Mrs. Ollie Freeman lives in Robberson township. this county.
Arthur L. Whitlock spent his boyhood on the homestead and there assisted with the general work. He obtained his education in the rural schools of his community, and here he has continued to reside, following general farming. In December. 1898, he married Lula Wharton, a daugh- ter of J. William and Louise (Beckner) Wharton, the former a native of Greene county and the latter of Laclede county, Missouri. Mrs. Whitlock was born, August 7, 1866, and was reared and educated in Greene county. To our subject and wife one child has been born, William Arthur Whitlock, born October 7. 1903.
A year after his marriage, Mr. Whitlock purchased the farm on which he now resides, and. during his residence of over fifteen years on this ex- cellent farm, he has brought it up to a high state of cultivation and improve- ment, until today, it ranks with the best in Franklin township. It consists of two hundred and ninety acres of rich land. He harvests a large acreage of grain annually and raises large numbers of Shorthorn cattle, Jerseys and
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other live stock, of which he is a good judge. He has a pleasant home and numerous convenient outbuildings.
Politically, he is a Democrat and while he is interested in local as well as national public affairs, like his honored father before him, he takes no active part and has never held office. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, No. 4975, of Springfield, and of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows of Fair Grove. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist church at Oakland, east of Springfield.
JOHN B. HARRISON.
Scattered here and there among Greene county's population of over seventy thousand people are men and women who claim, with a degree of . pride as well they may, the state of Kentucky as the place of their nativity. There is a certain distinction in being a native of the fine old Blue Grass state, which has furnished many great men to our national life and has for a century been a potent factor in the affairs of the Union. One of those who hail from within her borders is John B. Harrison, foreman for over a quarter of a century of the great Meyer mills of Springfield.
Mr. Harrison was born at Bowling Green, Kentucky, August 2, 1862. He is a son of William H. and Lucinda (Poor) Harrison, the father a native of Virginia and the mother a native of Ireland, she having emigrated from that country when young and met and married the elder Harrison in the East. The father of our subject died when his son, John B., was about twelve years of age, and the latter was small when his mother passed away in Missouri, so he was reared to manhood in the home of his grandfather, Benjamin Harrison, who was one of the early pioneers of southeastern Missouri. There our subject received a common school education and worked on the farm when a boy, until he was about sixteen years of age, then went away with Sells Bros. circus, with which he traveled for two years, during which he gained much valuable knowledge of the world first handed. He then secured employment driving a street car in St. Louis. In 1881 he came to Springfield and here drove one of the first "mule cars" of the local street railway, continuing in this work for about four and one-half years, then began working in the grain milling business for Fox & Rienman at the old Gulf Mill, which stood at the corner of Jefferson and Mill streets. He remained there two years, during which he mastered the various ins and outs of the milling business, then went to work for Clark & Russell, with which company he remained until the panic during President Cleveland's administration, at which time the mill was sold to the Meyer Milling Com-
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pany and Mr. Harrison has been with this concern ever since, his long ser- vice indicating that he has been most faithful and capable in this line of work. For a period of twenty-six years he has been foreman and grain buyer of this well-known mill, and is one of the most widely known mien in his line in the Southwest.
Mr. Harrison was married on October 4, 1884, in Springfield, to May Edmondson, who was born in this city, August 7, 1864. She is a daughter . of R. H. and Martha A. (Mathews) Edmondson, an old family of Spring- field, both parents of our subject's wife having long been deceased. Mr. Edmondson was in the employ of the Frisco railroad for nearly forty years here. Mrs. Harrison grew to womanhood in this city and was educated in the local schools.
Five children have been born to our subject and wife, all living, namely : Eugene C., born November 5, 1885, is connected with Fred Harvey at this place; Beatrice, born on March 8, 1888, married F. J. Green, who is em- ployed here by the Frisco; Nellie Shaw, born on February 14, 1891, mar- ried H. E. Tegarden, a farmer living northwest of the city; John B., Jr., born on November 6, 1894, married Jessie Hartley and he also works for Fred Harvey in this city; Ralph Ashley, born on September 14, 1897, is attending high school at this writing.
Mr. Harrison owns a good home at 971 Robberson avenue. Politi- cally, he is a Republican. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
ANDREW B. KERR.
In going through a large establishment like the new Frisco shops in Springfield one is impressed at the sight of such a large number of beardless youths, and this is true all over the country, whether one visits machine shops, factories, foundries or whatever kind of industrial establishment, be- ing constantly reminded that this is, according to the oft quoted phrase, "the age of young men." It is not the mission of the biographer to here expatiate on reasons or causes or explanations why this has come about, but the fact remains nevertheless that elderly men are much in the minority in such places. Andrew B. Kerr, while yet young in years, is discharging the duties of an important and responsible position, that of instructor of apprentices of the Frisco shops.
Mr. Kerr was born February 27, 1885, in Allegheny county, Pennsyl- vania. He is a son of William J. and Margaret (McCracken) Kerr. They were both born in Pennsylvania, the father in 1861 and the mother in 1863,
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and there they grew to maturity, were educated and married and are still living in Allegheny county, that state, near Pittsburg. After attending a college, which is now the University of Pittsburg, William J. Kerr took up the study of law, but has never followed that profession, devoting his life to railroading. He was a call boy for the Pennsylvania railroad and has since held various positions with this company in the transportation depart- ment, and at this writing holds the responsible post as general yardmaster for that road in Pittsburg. His family consists of ten children, namely : Andrew B., of this sketch, is the eldest; John, Katharine, Herman, Margaret, William, Isabel, Herbert, Merideth and Norman. They are all living at this writing. Politically, the father is a Republican, and, fraternally, is a mem- ber of the Knights of Malta.
Andrew B. Kerr grew to manhood in his native state and there attended the public schools, but quit school when fourteen years of age and began work carrying mail in his locality. He later learned telegraphy in the rail- road office there, and served his time in the Pennsylvania shops at Verona, as machinist, remaining there from May 21, 1901, to January 8, 1906. Not being satisfied with the education he had obtained, he quit the shop in the last mentioned year and entered Purdue University, at Lafayette, Indiana, made a good record and was graduated from that institution June 28, 1910, with the degree of bachelor of science; also received a degree from the me- chanical engineering department. After leaving the university he began working as assistant engineer at the car barns of the Pittsburg Street Rail- way Company at Homewood, Pennsylvania. Later he went to work for the American Steel and Wire Company, in Pennsylvania, as machinist. From there he went to Yoakum, Texas, as a machinist on the San Antonio & Aran- sas Pass Railroad, in 1911, being with this company but a short time when he took up a position as instructor and representative of The International Correspondence Schools, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in Yoakum, and in the spring of 1912 went to Omaha, Nebraska, as instructor and text book writer of the educational bureau of the Harriman lines, and in the spring of 1913 came to Missouri. He came to Springfield, Missouri, July 12, 1913, and secured employment as machinist in the Frisco shops. His ability was soon recognized and he was made instructor of apprentices of the shops of this company in Springfield, which position he is holding to the satisfaction of all concerned, being a young man of advanced ideas, capable, energetic and trustworthy. He has charge of all the apprentices, having under his care one hundred and twenty boys at the present time. He makes use of two class rooms, one at the old plant and another at the new plant. Each boy is required to attend his respective class two hours each week. They are given sufficient instruction to enable them to gain a general idea of all shop
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work. Mr. Kerr is making a great success in this undertaking and has aroused much enthusiasm in the work in his classes.
Mr. Kerr was married July 3, 1911, in Lafayette, Indiana, to Grace Ullman, who is a native of Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and a daughter of Emanuel and Caroline Ullman; the father is deceased, but the mother sur- vives and still makes her home in Tippecanoe county, where Mrs. Kerr grew to womanhood and received good educational advantages.
The union of our subject and wife has been without issue.
Politically, Mr. Kerr is a Republican and a member of the Presbyterian church. He is a young man of fine mind and progressive ideas, and the fu- ture evidently has much of promise for him in his special sphere of endeavor.
ALONZO W. EMERY.
Among the large numbers of conductors of the Frisco system, none is performing his duties more faithfully or satisfactorily than Alonzo W. Emery, who has devoted the principal part of his active career to railroad service, for which he early in life manifested a decided liking, and every one knows that we must like our work if we succeed in it to any appreciable de- gree.
Mr. Emery was born in Brooklyn, New York, November 6, 1864. He is a son of George D. and Maria Thresa (Van Arsdel) Emery. The father was born in New Hampshire and the mother was a native of Summerville, New Jersey, the date of the former's birth being December 4, 1831, while the latter was born in October, 1840. She received a good education. The latter part of her life was spent in Springfield, Missouri, where her death occurred March 21, 1888. George D. Emery's educational advantages were limited. He devoted the principal part of his business career to the furni- ture business, and for years maintained a store on the South Side, Spring- field, to which city he removed with his family in 1870, and on September 7, 1914, died at his residence, having reached the advanced age of nearly eighty-three years. His family consisted of only two children, namely : Alonzo W., of this sketch, and Frank E.
Alonzo W. Emery was six years of age when, in 1870, he removed with his parents from Brooklyn, New York, to Springfield, Missouri, and here he grew to manhood and received his education in the ward and high schools. When a boy he clerked in various stores, and in 1885 went to Colorado and followed ranching two or three years, returning to Springfield in 1888, and began braking on a freight train for the Kansas City, Ft. Scott & Memphis Railroad Company, commonly known as the "Gulf road," which was sold to
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the Frisco system in 1900. After working for that company a year, he re- turned to the West and worked on the Oregon Short Line until 1892, when he came back to Springfield, and went to braking again, which he followed until 1895, when he was promoted to conductor of a freight train. After five years of this work he was promoted, in 1900, to passenger conductor, his run being between Springfield and Memphis, and he still continues on his regular run on this division.
Mr. Emery has been twice married, first, on June 15, 1890, to Marion Cummins, in Huntington, Oregon. She was born in Wisconsin, and her death occurred in Springfield, Missouri, in 1906. To this first union two . children were born, namely: Clifford, born December 16, 1897, and Albert, born April 27, 1899. Mr. Emery's second marriage was consummated on March 4, 1911, his choice of a companion being Wanda Lasley, a widow, who was born in Logan county, Ohio, November 6, 1880, and is a daughter of James L. and Maria (Franks) Mckinnon, both natives of Ohio, and the parents of each came from New York state. Mr. Mckinnon was born in 1846 and his death occurred in Urbana, Ohio, in 1884. Mrs. McKinnon was . born in 1850 and she is still living, making her home in Webster county Mis- souri. Mr. Mckinnon was an architect and builder of superior skill, and won a wide reputation in his line of endeavor in the state of Ohio. His fam- ily consisted of three children, namely: Mrs. Nettie M. Littleton, who re- sides in Springfield, Missouri; Alva, who makes his home in Kansas, and Wanda, who married Mr. Emery of this sketch.
Politically, Mr. Emery is a Democrat. He belongs to Division 321,. Order of Railway Conductors, and is a member of the Masonic order, in- cluding the Knights Templar degree and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Religiously, he belongs to the Presbyterian church. . Mrs. Emery is a member of the Christian church.
JAMES E. DULIN.
It requires men of grit, courage, coolness and decision to make a suc- cessful locomotive engineer. It takes nerve on many occasions to meet the unexpected which the engine driver often encounters-wrecks, washouts, train robbers and various situations where one must think rapidly and do the right thing at the right time. One of these men is James E. Dulin, well known in railroad circles of this locality, one of the oldest engineers on the Frisco running out of Springfield.
Mr. Dulin was born October 26, 1856, at Aledo, Illinois. He is a son . of Edwin R. and Sarah (Artz) Dulin. The father was born April 28, 1825,-
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in Columbus, Franklin county, Ohio, and the mother was born in Wood- stock, Shenandoah county, Virginia, March 13, 1828, and she moved with her parents from the Old Dominion to Delaware county, Ohio, in Septem- ber. 1834, when six years of age, and there she grew to womanhood and married Mr. Dulin. They both received good educations for those times, Mrs. Dulin becoming a fine scholar. From Ohio the parents of our subject moved to Illinois, where they lived on a farm. Leaving that state, they set- tled in Missouri and continued farming for a while, then moved to Kansas City, where Mr. Dulin followed the trade of cooper and carpenter, and there the death of the mother occurred March 22, 1897; the father died Septem- ber 19, 1900. They were the parents of nine children, six of whom are still living, namely: Ernestine; Josephine is deceased; Elwy died February 7, 1915; James, of this sketch; Archie died in infancy; May, Ettie, Lester and Jesse.
When James E. Dulin was ten years of age the family located in Mis- souri, locating in Johnson county, where he grew to manhood and received his education in the common schools. He was of a mechanical turn of mind, and his first work was in a woolen mill, where he spent one summer. He be- gan his railroad career in Urbana, Illinois, in 1873, in the shops there, later began as fireman on the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western railroad; he then went to Kansas City, Missouri, and went to work for the Missouri River, Ft. Scott & Gulf railroad, in March, 1874, as fireman, running be- tween Kansas City and Ft. Scott, Kansas, and while on this run was pro- moted to engineer on March 8, 1880, and transferred to Springfield, Mis- souri, on November 7, 1883, to remain here only thirty days, helping out on the new line: but he remained, and has been running on the Ozark division, between Springfield and Thayer, and is the oldest engineer in point of serv- ice on this division. This road was purchased by the Frisco System in 1900 .. Thirty-one years is an exceptionally long time for a railroader to work for a company on the sanre division, and Mr. Dulin's long retention on this line would indicate that he is efficient, trustworthy and faithful. In all, Mr. Dulin has been with the same company for forty-one years.
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