Past and present of Greene County, Missouri, early and recent history and genealogical records of many of the representative citizens, Volume II, Part 2

Author: Fairbanks, Jonathan, 1828- , ed; Tuck, Clyde Edwin
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, A. W. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1182


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 2


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107


Knowles, M. D., John T. 739


Knox, Alexander


1024


Kohler, Edward F 1557


Kucker, L. S. 1038


LaBounty, Charles F 1918


LaFollette, Ransom S 1763


Lane, John M 1157


Langsford, John 1565


Langston, Jackson P. C.


1218


Lee, Bert S. 1666


Leedy, Joseph W. 766


Leeper, George 1590


Lehr, John Henry 1122


Levy, M.


1685


Lilly, Rev. Father John J 621


Lincoln, Azariah W. 1230


Linney, William Burts


1387


Lloyd, Charles Lee. 1929


Lloyd, Samuel Mack


1422


Love, Robert 1048


Love, D. V. S., Robert B. 1051


Love, Thomas B 784


Love, Col. Thomas


784


Lowe, M. D., H. A 1490


Luper, James E. 1810


MacElveny, Andrew W 1647


McAfee, Judge Charles 922


McCammon, John P 1351


McCarty, Luther Q 1056


McClernon, Hugh


1515


McCluer, James H 755


McCluer, John 756


McCollum, George A 826


Minto, Robert 1775


Mitchell, Harry H 901


Mitchell, Obadiah C 1192


Moomaw, H. M 1152


Moon, James A 1518


Moore, Anderson T 1916


Moore, George W 1105


1926


McKee, Roy 1379


McKerall, William 1000


McLinn, Albert S. 1452


McMaster, Cyrus J. 1426


McMaster, Walter Weir 1396


McMehen, John .


1165


McMehen, William


A


1158


Mc Millan, Otho D 958


McMurtry, James Gilmer 1353


McNabb, John T. 1488


McNeill, E. B.


1289


McQuiston, Brandt 1118


Mack, Clarence S 1087


Mack, Clyde B 1260


Mack, J. W. D. L. F 458


Mack, Rowan E. M. 996


Maddox, Elisha B. 1780


Magill, James G. .1860


Major, Will J. 1014


Malley, John P 1301


Martin, Harry E 1205


Mason, James H. 1717


Mason, John F 1831


Mason, Robert


T


1717


Massey, Frank


R


1914


Massey, Richard 1927


Maxwell, William M 1624


Mellon, Henry G. 919


Mercer, Carver O 1541


Meyer, B. E.


1372


Meyer, John F 1816


Miller, William


S


1797


Mills, Andrew D 1287


Ming, Emmett M. 1068


McConnell, John Aaron 1568


McConnell, Milton C. 1713


McCraw, Gabriel 1735


McCrory, James 1729


McCroskey, Charles W 1904


McCurdy, Thomas 1121


Mccutcheon, L. C. 847


Kissick, Robert F 1029


Kite, Robert B. 1575


Klingensmith, Peter 1862


McIlvin, James S. 1018


McIntire, Cyrus B. 830


McJimsey, Elmer E. E 1345


McKay, Elmer A


BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.


Moore, Robert A. 986


Morckel, Charles W 1921


Morgan, Harry C. 1066


Morice, Leon


1635


Morton, William M.


1549


Moser, John A.


1329


Murry, Harvey


1223


Murray, Thomas 1404


Murphy, William


C.


1480


Murray, William Penn 1080


Murphy, Lawrence J.


744


Murphy, Michael J 1285


Nee, Daniel Martin 1241


Nelson, Marion A. 1183


Newbill, John Glenn 1433


Newton, Edward F


1360


Newton, Job


1786


Nichols, A. D. 763


Nichols, Capt. Danton H. 760


Nichols, George W.


883


Nichols, Matthias H 760


Niederhuth, George W


1135


Noland, George L


1450


O'Bryant, George W


1456


O'Bryant, James H. 973


O'Byrne, James


1178


Olendorf, George F


1270


O'Neal, Andrew J.


1694


O'Neal, George W. 1686


O'Neill, Rev. Father Francis. 622


O'Reilly, Rev. Father J. J


629


Ormsbee, M. D., James


I


725


Orr, W. J.


480


Orr, William J 866


Ott, Theodore 1146


Owen, Charles


J


1605


Owen, John S.


1878


Owen, Joseph L


1592


Owen, Stephen A. D 1596


Owens, Jerry W.


1919


Page, Judge Alfred. 1350


Patterson, M. D., Wm. P 746


Paxson, Ely


1016


Peak, M. D., Oscar I 1062


Pepperdine, George


467


Perkins, Leonard : 858


Perkins, Judge Wm. H 1339


Peterson, Harvey E. 953


Phelps, Hon. John S


1175


Phillips, Lorenzo 1039


Pickering, Charles 1893


Pickering, Clayton R. 1801


.


Pierce, M. D., Charles E.


1693


Pigg, Herbert W


1653


Pike, M. D., Columbus J.


1212


Pipkin, Lewis 1853


Pollack, Calvin 1545


Porter, Henry Webb 1654


Potter, M. D., Ambrose 1474


Potter, James


Elmer


1358


Potter, Nicholas 1479


Potter, W. C. 1368


Potter, W. H. F 878


Powell, William P


1311


Preston, L.


1659


Price, Isaac


1321


Price, Thomas


W


1867


Price, W. C.


444


Proserpi, Henry 1136


Prugger, August F 1507


Pursselley, M. D., Walter


1524


Putman, Mansel


1160


Quinn, John


1600


Quinn, James


1600


Race, Edward F. 1865


Ragsdale, Howard 1012


Ramsey, James A 1608


Ramsey, Robert L


979


Rathbone, B. F 1163


Rathbone, William H. 1468


Rathbun, Col. George S.


889


Rauch, Fred William 1022


Raum, Egmont 1493


Raymond, George E 1880


Redfearn, Jesse O 1851


Rebori, Louis L


1680


Reed, Samuel A.


1398


Reilly, James W 1211


Renshaw, Moses M. 1553


Rhodes, Clarence


1275


Rhodes, C. L 1256


Rhodes, Eugene J 1107


Rhodes, Jr., Eugene J 1263


Rhodes, Ira


1107


Ricketts, Lemuel C.


1002


Risser, Omer E 1190


Ritter, Aaron M. 1864


Ritter, David M


1832


Robberson. M. D., Edwin T.


718


Robberson, Walter B.


713


Roberts, John


1046


BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.


Roberts, Prof. John R 1348


Robertson, Charles 1232


Robinson, David H 832


Robinson, Henry D. 1343


Roper, William Fry


1513


Rosback, John 1772


Rose, John W. 1277


Rose, Reuben R. 1684


Ross, Bennette. J.


804


Ross, David Edward.


Ross, J. B.


926


Ross, LaFayette A.


1248


Ross, M. D., Leonidas C.


1242


Roudebush, Marshall


959


Ruffin, J. B. 1114


Rule, Charles W 1577


Rullkoetter, William


1638


Rupprecht, George C.


1086


Russell, Columbus B.


1678


Ryan, Rev. Father James


625


Salts, Robert A. 1823


Sanders, Emiel 1434


Sanford, William


B


800


Sanford, Wyatt


801


Sartain, James


S


983


Scharff, Max


1180


Schofield, Albert L 1320


Schofield, Thomas


1143


Schreiber, William


H


1910


Scott, Andrew J.


868


Self, William


1773


Shackelford, John H. 1236


Sheedy, Mike


1269


916


Shepard, Edward M


728


Shepard, Harriett E.


732


Sherman, M. D., David U.


1662


Sheridan, Rev. Father J. M 636


Shumaker, George M.


754


Sidman, Wesley


1225


Sidman, Rev. Wm. D


1202


Sisk, John M


1616


Sjoberg, John


1486


Skelley, William W 1312


Small, George W.


1217


Smith, David


1282


Smith, Harrison Milton 1416


Smith, Isaac N 1777


Smith, James E 1084


Smith, James M. 810


Smith, M. D., John R


1280


Smith, Mitchell 1383


Smith, M. D., Onas 1390


Smith, Russell G. 1391


Smith, William F 1306


Smith, M. D., William M.


1234


Smith. William


1673


Snider, Otis Everett. 1438


Southworth, Marvin H 1724


Spandri, John 1072


Spencer, Edward A. 875


Spencer, George W 940


Spencer, James ]


888


Squibb, Elmer D. 1829


Squibb, James Caleb 1581


Stafford, Bertha 1758


Stafford, S. R. 1757


Stahl, Charles H. 1252


Stahl, William F.


1251


Staley, Weldon E. 1543


Stancill, Godfrey C


1266


Starks, Charles L 708


Steinert, John


A


1721


Stemmons, F. B


1173


Stephens, John G.


1742


Stephens, William M


1906


Steury, Rudolph 1615


Stewart, William R 1446


Stone, M. D., Murray C 727


Stoughton, James A


886


Studley, Joseph


1903


Stutzman, Frank P 1272


Tatlow, W. D 472


Tefft, M. D., J. E. 487


Tegarden, Benjamin F


1883


Terry, M. D., Norman F


714


Thompson, Abner D


:1458


Thompson, William


1547


Thurman, George W


1689


Tillman, Joseph A. M 1731


Tillman, Samuel T


1731


Tracy, Isaac


186


Trenary, Alvin B


1279


Trevitt, Claudius


E


1728


Triece, George


1035


Trogdon, John Parker


1504


Trogdon, William C.


1528


Tucker, Edward G.


1822


Turk, Joseph Henry 1030


Turner, Granville W.


1078


Turner, M. D., William L


1657


Underhill, John F 1730


Underwood, Flavius J.


1082


Underwood, John J


1814


Shelton, W. B.


1443


BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.


Van Bibber, Alfred H. 1572


Van Bibber, James D. 1563


Vaughan, Judge James R 449-1413


Vestal, Charles W. 837


Vinton, Madison C ..


1112


Vogel, Rev. Father William 628


Waddell, James S 1637


Waddill, John S 446


WVadlow, Charles E 1466


Wadlow, Elijah G. 775


Wadlow, Elmer G.


774


Wadlow, John W 1454


Walker, James " 1392


Walker, Leonard 1400


Walker, Robt. H. 1754


Wallis, John


1870


Wood, James G. 816


816


Watson, Gilbert :


779


Watson, James 928


Watson, M. D., Lorenzo 813


Watson, William


R


1792


Watts, Henry 1181


Watts, James 812


Watts, James W


820


Wear, A. H 462


Wear, Sam M 1930


Weaver, Samuel 768


Weaver, Maj. Wm. M 768


Westmoreland, H. H. 1264


Whalen, Jr., Richard F 1326


Whaley, William W 1261


White, J. A. 972


Whitlock, Arthur L 1096


Whitlock, Lambert 1097


Whitlock, Thomas J 1096


Whitlock, Williamson P. 861


Wilder, Frederick C. 1025


Wiley, George P. 807


Wilhoit, Sidney Edwin 1268


Wilkerson, M. D., James M.


1462


Williams, Elwood A. 1019


Williams, Frank B. 1200


Williams, John W. 750


Williams, M. D., N. C. 1243


Williamson, John P. 1855


Willier, Thomas E 1913


Wingo, Irvin W. 1155


Winters, George F 1198


Wilson, Alfred H 914


Wolf, David 1750


Wolf, Martin 1750


Wood, Albert 1204


Walsh, James


T


1421


Washburn, Mason C. 1579


Wood, John


Woodson, James A


1126


Woodward, Jacob 1836


Woodward, Ransom B 1835


Woodruff, John T 473


Wooldridge, Edward W 1140


Wright, Foster P. 444


Wright, Marion D. 1603


Wrightsman, Timothy J 1003


Wygal, Frank 1201


Yancy, Charles S. 444


Yeakley, George 1491


Yeakley, John 1483


Yeakley, Thomas 1482


Young, Henry 1794


Young, Walter B 1710


Youngblood, James 747


Youngblood, Theodric B


748


ʻ


>


Jonathan Fairbanks


BIOGRAPHICAL-Continued


JONATHAN FAIRBANKS.


The name of Jonathan Fairbanks recalls the history of the public school system with which he has been identified for forty years and the successful development of which is due largely to his untiring efforts and capable ad- ministration as superintendent. A man of enlightened views, he has been eminently practical while liberal in his consideration of the various proposi- tions which enter into the scheme of modern education. His pupils and those who have been under his general care as head of the schools are filling places of honor and trust in all the walks of life in this community and else- where. Some who have been prepared in these schools for prosecution of their studies in higher institutions of learning in a manner which has re- flected credit upon all concerned while the great majority whose period of tutelage ended with the completion of courses in the common schools have found themselves well equipped on entering the University of Life to con- tinue their progress in a maner which has given an insight into its lessons enabling them to reach attainments in which they are not far behind the graduates of many collèges.


Early in his career, "Professor" Fairbanks, as the head of the schools was called in the old days, made his mark as a disciplinarian. And, yet, he was gentle while firm. He insisted on strict observance of the rules and regulations prescribed for the students but he was so human in his treatment of dereliction that he won the good will as well as the esteem of all. No stickler for the text, he was insistent on a knowledge of the principles of the subject with the result that the pupils of the schools became imbued with the love of knowledge for its own sake rather than with the desire for credits, diplomas and degrees, the value of which is problematical. This disposition has been made manifest also to those who have come in contact with him in his capacity of county superintendent and the various associations of school teachers. Always a student, he will be found today reading scientific works embracing the latest discoveries of the world's specialists on all that relate to the problem of life in its various aspects. This is the habit of a


(61)


962


GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.


life-time and he has always given freely of what he has received from what- ever source. In fact, he has regarded himself more as an instrument for the transmission of knowledge than as the possessor of it. He has been a. fellow student with his pupils and teachers, rather than a preceptor, just as in his discipline he appealed to the self-esteem and ambition of all to keep them from delinquency and attain high standards of deportment.


He is public spirited to a degree and has forgotten more about politics than has ever been learned by some who have attained leadership in differ- ent parties. He is progressive in his views on this subject, but as on all others, he has never permitted himself to become dogmatic in his expressions thereon. He is a modest, kindly man whose open friendship for all he meets has won him favor on every hand. He is a humanitarian, a student, a teacher, all that is implied in the fullest significance of these words.


The boys and girls of other days in Springfield have in the course of their lives and in the pursuit of knowledge met various teachers, professors and eminent specialists but the quiet unpretentious man who directed them early in the paths of learning holds a place in their memory and claims an influence on their careers, greater perhaps than that of any other with whom they have come in contact. The people at large, in view of the visible re- sults, are prone to believe that Jonathan Fairbanks is entitled to a niche in the local hall of fame which shall bear testimony for many years to his efficiency, general worthiness and the great popular esteem in which he is held by all classes of people in the city of Springfield, in Greene county, and wherever he has been known.


The man who has thus endeared himself to the people here, comes of one of the oldest New England families whose members have displayed singular talents and virtues wherever their lots have been cast in the great country to which they have assisted in bringing the blessings of civilization during a period of three hundred years. Hardy pioneers, they have been noted for patriotism, public spirit, devotion to the ideals of the republic and persistent application to tasks through which they sought the attainment of the higher ends of life. A well kept book of their genealogy brings the record of their lives in orderly precision and ample detail down to the present time showing that they have been prominent in each succeeding generation of people who in the proper conduct of business and the manifestation of care for the general welfare have led in the upbuilding of communities and the development of the country in various ways. A majority of them have followed the pursuits of agriculture returning thereto often after adventures in business which have not proven profitable, sustaining reverses with equa- nimity, and bravely beginning the reconstruction of their fortunes after the failures which so often come in the magical changes of American life for


963


GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.


which none are so well prepared as those who are imbued with the spirit of the patriot pioneers which has been the making of the Great Republic.


Their work in this country was begun by an immigrant family the head of which is known in their genealogy as Jonathan Fairebank (Fairbank, Fairbanks), of Dedham, Massachusetts, a town which he helped to establish after coming to Boston from England in 1633. He came from Sowerby in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was born prior to 1600. The family had an interesting history in the old country, mementoes of which are found among the heirlooms of the old Fairbanks home at Dedham, built in 1636, and now preserved as a memorial after having been continuously occupied by the builder and his lineal descendants longer than any other homestead in New England. The first Jonathan Fairbanks passed from the scene of pioneer activities to another life at Dedham in 1668. In the fifth generation another Jonathan Fairbanks was born at Holliston, Massachusetts, March 29, 1755. He was a soldier of the Revolution and died after a long and useful life at Sudbury, Massachusetts, February 28, 1840. One of his sons was Joseph Bradley Varnum Fairbanks, father of our Jonathan, who engaged in wool manufacturing at Andover, Massachusetts, and Fort Edwards, New York. With the assistance of two brothers, he built up an extensive busi- ness but when they were stocked up with a surplus they were bankrupted by a change in the tariff in 1833. Joseph Bradley Varnum Fairbanks mar- ried Miss Margaret Hadden in 1827. She was born in Scotland, February 25, 1803. They had three children, Jonathan, born in Andover, Massa- chusetts, January 7, 1828; James Dexter, born in Monroe, New York, August 19, 1830; Joseph Bradley Varnum, Jr., born in Sudbury, Massachusetts,


August 29, 1833. The head of the family never recovered from the shock of his disastrous failure in business. He died at Monroe, New York, shortly afterward, May 20, 1833. The youngest child followed soon after- ward, October 31, 1833. The mother had taken him to Boston, where she had gone to live, the two elder boys being placed in charge of relatives. The family had thus been reduced from affluence to poverty and broken up in a very short time. The widow made her home in Boston for a number of years and afterward moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, where she died October 19, 1865.


Jonathan Fairbanks was just five years old when with his younger brother, James Dexter, he went to live with James Quinn and his wife, an aunt of the boys. Beginning to learn the hardships of country life at this tender age, he mastered all the details of the work so thoroughly that his relatives parted with him reluctantly when the time came for him to leave the farm at the age of nineteen. He had up to that time received no com- pensation for his labor except his board and clothes and the privileges of the district school, taking advantage of the meager advantages thus afforded for


964


GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.


obtaining an education with such earnestness that there was little left for him to learn there.


Realizing the necessity of seeking a betterment of his condition he struck out for himself with resolution. In starting away he passed through a field in which James Reilly, a nephew of his wife's husband was working. "Where be y' going 'Jonton,'" said the Irish lad. "To look for a job." "But y' have no moneys, here's a 'sovron' for you.'"


The gift was accepted in proper spirit, for the boys were somewhat of comrades. It was the first money Jonathan Fairbanks had ever received and he took it with the intention of returning it, although he had spent all the years of his young life in labor on the farm which Reilly was to inherit. Jonathan went to Boston, where he called on his mother and remained five days, after which he returned to the neighborhood in which he had been raised and went to work on the farm of another relative, Nelson Fairbanks, who paid him wages at the rate of ten dollars per month.


In the meantime James Dexter had left the Quinn farm after remaining there a short time and gone to Concord where he grew up, learning the painter's trade in shops where he was under the tutelage of skilled work- men and became an expert, afterward making his mark in the business. He was wounded while serving a second term as a veteran volunteer in the Civil war and died October 19, 1864. He had married Olive Green, Novem- ber 2, 1855. They had five children. The widow moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, where she died June II, 1886.


Jonathan remained with his cousin, Nelson Fairbanks, a year, working eight months of the time and attending school four months. He had an excellent tutor here, who in addition to assisting Jonathan to rapid advance- ment, induced him to prepare for entrance to the academy at New Ipswich, an institution famous as a training school for teachers and preparing students for college. Hither the two journeyed together the next year, master and pupil, to complete their education in the same excellent school. Jonathan took with him fifty dollars, the savings from his first year of work as a wage earner. He had received eighty dollars for eight months' work and had spenty thirty dollars for clothing, books and other necessities. He was now twenty years of age. He remained at New Ipswich two years, working his way, and at the completion of his course there started out as a teacher. He was successful in his first application for a position. He spared no pains when he entered upon his work at Ashby. He taught night school four nights in the week for the benefit of ambitious students, specializing in arith- metic, penmanship and rhetoricals and preparation for a great exhibition at the end of the year. The people said that they had never had such a school and that the young tutor would never teach such another. They took it for granted that he was working for a reputation, when as a matter of fact his


965


GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.


single purpose had been to do all he could for his pupils. But that first year's work opened the way to great opportunities. The president of the school board at Wilmington, Delaware, had written to his father-in-law at Ashby to send him the name of some young man whom he could recommend, some up-to-date teacher who could come down to Wilmington and "wake 'em up." Jonathan Fairbanks was mentioned in complimentary terms and correspondence led to his employment at Wilmington. He says, speaking of his experience at that place : "I spent four years at Wilmington. It was like a heaven on earth. I was told that if I would get married and settle down in Wilmington the people would build me a house. I formed lifetime friendships there and have corresponded with one of my pupils of those days for sixty years."


But he was persuaded to go west with his old teacher, George G. Parker, and so they went together to Ohio, as they had gone to attend the academy at New Ipswich. Mr. Parker stopped at Dayton but there was no school for his friend to be found at that place. Never dismayed Jonathan Fairbanks continued his quest and began seeking a country school. Finally, after meeting Mr. Parker again at Piqua, he was informed of an opening at St. Mary's and started over in company with Ardivan Rogers. Passing through the Ohio woods, a land of leaf and moonshine, he seemed to come under a mystical influence in which he received an impression of something unusual about to happen. He was in no desperate straits but repeated fail- ures to find employment at this time had been discouraging. He arrived in a canal town, St. Mary's, at 3:00 A. M. There he was informed that they wanted an assistant teacher. Without waiting to sleep after his long ride he called on the members of the board as soon as they were awake, with the result that he was engaged. Rogers was employed as principal and instituted an unusual division of the pupils. The boys of the school who worked on the canal part of the time had the name of being a hard lot. The people said they knew when school was let out, because they could hear for a distance of two miles the noise made by the boys as they came down stairs. One teacher after another had failed to restrain the disorder and it was said that nobody could discipline that school. Now the principal turned over the boys whom he could not handle, the larger ones in a body to his assistant, himself taking charge of the older girls while the smaller boys and girls were left in charge of lady teachers. The first thing Mr. Fair- banks did was to get well acquainted with his boys and explain to them the advantages of having order in the school, showing how it would promote their advancement and the interests of all concerned. The boys fell in with his ideas and he soon had them coming in and going out in orderly fashion with their arms crossed behind them. This kept their hands from meddling with those in front of them. After a couple of days there entered school a


966


GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.


taciturn stubborn boy and there were knowing smiles when the teacher began to question Luther Bradley, who it was soon learned had been the leader in mischief in the school. Luther was cross-eyed and the teacher could not tell where he was looking, at him or the grinning boys. To the questions, have you studied this and have you studied that he answered a reticent "yes, sir" or "no, sir" without any particular respect in voice or manner. He was told to take his place and after a little was dismissed for recess with the rest of the boys. When they came back all entered in order with their arms crossed behind them, all except Luther, who despite instructions, came swinging his arms. The new teacher stepped up to him quickly. The boy was stocky and almost as large as the teacher, but the wiry little man grabbed the delinquent by the coat collar, gave him a jiu jitsu twist and the lad's feet flew out from under him. He went up in the air and bumped his head hard on the floor as he came down. It was a hard jolt but he was not hurt badly, but all the rebellion had been knocked out of him. The punishment was more severe than the teacher had intended. He merely meant to give the boy a good shaking but lost his hold on the coat collar with the result described. After helping Luther to his feet the teacher restored order and everything moved smoothly during the rest of the day.


That evening some one on the street who had heard of the occurrence, asked one of the reputed tough boys how they were getting along with the new teacher. "I dunno, he don't punish, he kills 'em."


Mr. Fairbanks never had to "shake" another boy in that school. But the irrepressible Luther Bradley came in for it just one more time. Passing along in front of the class looking out of the corner of his eye, the teacher saw Luther drop a paper wad into his pocket. Quick as a flash he turned and grabbed Luther and shook him till his teeth chattered and the bones in his body seemed to be unjointed. Never again did Luther trouble the teacher, but on the contrary they became fast friends. At the end of the year, Mr. Fairbanks was offered fifty dollars a month to teach the school in the summer time but he had made an engagement to teach at the Piqua high school, an exclusive private institution. There he had for pupils fifty-seven fine boys and it was a pleasant and profitable year for all concerned. Then he returned to St. Mary's as principal of the schools. He remained there seven years, leaving behind him an enviable reputation when he resigned for the purpose of engaging in another business. He had acquired an interest in a new patent steam engine and was to put it on the market. The time was not propitious however. The Civil war had upset business throughout the country. Mr. Fairbanks then accepted an invitation to return to Piqua, where he remained teaching during the next five years. At the end of that time he received all kinds of offers to continue teaching. Almost any position in the public schools of Ohio was open to him. But he had other ideas.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.