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 21
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
"Soon after the close of the Civil war Mr. Fielder joined the South Side Mount Pisgah church and for years was the superintendent of the Sunday school. Years ago the pupils of the class he taught presented a beautiful Bible to him, which was at his side on his death bed."
We also quote the following article from the Springfield Daily Leader, under date of December 6, 1914 :
"Benjamin F. Fielder, whose funeral will be held this afternoon at the family home, was a member of the famous Seventy-sixth Regiment, Missouri Militia, which successfully frustrated the attack on Springfield on January 8, 1863, attempted under order of General Marmaduke. The engagement at
II3I
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
the southern and western outskirts of the city was the only active service experienced during the Civil war by Mr. Fielder.
"The decedent's activity in the memorable battle was given last evening by Martin J. Hubble, a Greene county pioneer.
"'I first met Mr. Fielder in the town of Columbia, Tennessee, in the year 1852,' said Mr. Hubble. 'I was clerking in a country store there at the time and Mr. Fielder purchased a razor from me. From that time until the death of Mr. Fielder we were firm friends and he was often a guest at my home after his removal to Missouri. He was in possession of the razor at the time of his death.
" 'My friend came to Springfield in the early fifties. He was induced to come to Greene county by the obvious opportunities for a farmer here. Land was much higher priced in Tennessee than it was in this state. Mr. Fielder was never active in politics, as he was of a retiring disposition. Recognition should be given his moral characteristics. His word was as good as his bond, and he was a devoted prohibitionist; in fact, he was one of the noblest men with whom I have ever been associated.' "
Mr. Fielder, despite the fact that he was nearly ninety years of age at the time of his death, was unusually well preserved. He was able to read without glasses, and until a short time before he died he made daily walks about the city.
JAMES J. GIDEON.
The name of Judge James J. Gideon has been a prominent and honored one in Greene county for many decades and he is still in the front ranks of the local bar. His force and effectiveness are strongly emphasized in his argu- ments to the jury, as he seems not so much to look at them, as to look through them, less for the purpose of seeing how they felt, than to rivet their attention, and, as it were, to grasp their attention by the compass of his own. The calm and masterly manner in which he disposes of the preliminary considerations is the reminder of the experienced general, quietly arranging his forces and preparing to press down with overwhelming force upon a single point. His manner becomes aroused; his action animated. It is first the expression of extensive views and the enunciation of general principles applicable to the case ; then the application of those to particular facts, examining the testimony of each witness, showing its weakness. the suspicions attaching to it and its inconsistency either with itself or with the other parts of the evidence. As a judge he was an active, hard worker. Always careful, painstaking and prompt. he was a valuable member of the court-always sustained himself well on the bench. The decisions made by him were always short. clear and
II32
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
to the point, disposing of cases rapidly and satisfactorily. Possessed and imbued as he is to a large degree with the elementary principles of the law, he was able in his written opinions to make them models of perspicuity and force and plain to the comprehension of all. But while he has distinguished himself as a lawyer, and jurist, he, has a far greater claim to the respect of the people of Springfield and vicinity in his sturdy integrity of character and his life-long course as a friend of justice.
Judge Gideon was born on Ozark Mountain soil, was reared in the latter part of the pioneer period and he springs from a sterling Irish-Scotch ancestry of Colonial American stock. His birth occurred in Taney county, in a section that is now a part of Christian county, Missouri, on December 11, 1846. He is a son of William C. and Malinda (Byrd) Gideon. James Gideon, the great-grandfather of our subject, was the founder of the branch of the family in America. He came from Dublin, Ireland, with his brothers, Reuben and Edward, and bringing his wife, Nancy. His sons were Edward, William, Isham, James and John. They all settled on land in southwestern New York. Edward, brother of James, was killed in battle during the Revolutionary war. All of the family moved to North Carolina about 1781 and settled on the Yadkin river. James Gideon moved to what is now Hawkins county, Ten- nessee, in 1821, where he settled on wild land and there established the family home, cleared and developed a farm. He took with him the apple trees with which to plant his orchard. Several members of the Gideon family went with him besides his own immediate family. He was a substantial farmer and lived to be an aged man, passing the remainder of his days in Tennessee. William Gideon, his son and the grandfather of our subject, was born in the state of New York in 1789, and went with the rest of the family to North Carolina, and there he married Matilda Wood, and to them these children were born : James H., Burton A., William C., Francis M., Woodson T., Green B., John A., Minerva and Elizabeth. Mr. Gideon moved to Tennessee in 1821 and engaged in farming, although he was a hatter by trade. He was a member of the Baptist church and was an elder in the church for forty years. However, in his old age he became a Universalist. In the spring of 1836 he came to Missouri and settled on land north of Ozark, entering two hundred acres of wild land two miles from that town and here began life in true pioneer fashion. He became a successful farmer here and a well-known and highly respected citizen. His death occurred in 1868 at the age of seventy-nine years. His son, William C. Gideon, our subject's father, was born in Hawkins county, Tennessee, on February 15, 1824, and received a limited education in the schools of his day, and was but twelve years old when he came with his, father to Missouri, and was reared among the fron- tiersmen of this state in a rugged and primitive environment. When twenty-
II33
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
one years old he married Malinda Byrd, a daughter of James Byrd and wife, and to this union eight children were born, namely: Thomas J., James J., Francis M., William W., John M., Martin V., George B. and Matilda.
William C. Gideon settled on a farm in what was then Taney county, now Christian county, Missouri, and during his life lived on a number of different farms in this locality. He was a hard worker and managed well, and even prior to the breaking out of the war between the states he owned four hundred and eighty acres of land in Christian county. He cleared up several farms. During the war he was obliged to remove his residence to Greene county, settling four miles south of Springfield on account of the depredations of guerrillas. His sympathies were with the Union, and during the war he served in the Home Guards, three months under Capt. Jesse Gal- loway, and on March 5, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, Missouri State Militia, and was mustered into United States service. He was promoted to sergeant and detailed as recruiting officer at Springfield, Missouri, for Rabbs' Battery, having been transferred to the Eighth Missouri State Militia. While in this service, he was killed by a band of guerrillas, in Christian county, at the home of his father on December 16, 1863, at the early age of thirty-nine years. He had participated in the battle of Ozark and the battle of Springfield when Marmaduke and Shelby made their raid and attempted to capture the town on January 8, 1863. He was also in other engagements and proved to be a brave and gallant soldier. In religion he was a Methodist. He was a man whose judgment was respected by the people and he was influential in his community. He served as justice of the peace four years. In politics he was a Douglas or war Democrat, but after the war began became a Repub- lican. He was a man of quiet and peaceful disposition, was honorable in character, and had the confidence of the community in which he lived.
Judge James J. Gideon grew to manhood on his father's farm in Christian county and there worked hard when a boy. He received his early education in the common schools, and when a boy, being fired with the patriotism of the youth of this country during the Civil war, he ran away from school at the age of sixteen years, and on June 20, 1863, enlisted at Springfield in Battery A, First Arkansas Light Artillery. After serving a short time in this battery he re-enlisted in Company H. Sixteenth United States Cavalry, in which he served twenty months. While in this regiment he was in the fight at Boonville against General Price, at the battle near Jefferson City, at Big Blue, where General Marmaduke was captured, Independence and in the Newtonia fight and many skirmishes, in all of which he deported himself as creditably as did any of the veterans of his regiment. He was promoted to corporal and was honorably discharged on July 1, 1865. During his service he was neither wounded nor imprisoned. At the close of the war he was
II34
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
elected captain of Company E, Ninety-ninth Regiment, Missouri Militia, but saw no active service as such. After his military career he returned home, attended school and farmed. On December 29, 1868, he married Mary S. Ball, a daughter of Captain Jackson and Elizabeth (Keltruer) Ball. To Judge and Mrs. Gideon the following children were born: Percy P., Frederick E., Nora (died when thirteen years old), Kate M., who died on November 20, 1900, and Mary, born on January 1, 1894, died on March 10, 1907.
After his marriage Judge Gideon settled on a farm near Ozark, but agricultural pursuits were not exactly to the tastes of a man of his active mind and laudable ambitions, and he began the study of law during his spare moments, and, making rapid progress, he was admitted to the bar in January, 1872, and immediately began the practice of his profession at Ozark, where he soon had a good practice and where he continued until 1886. During this time he won the confidence of the people of his county and filled the office of public administrator and prosecuting attorney for eight years. He also rep- resented his county in the state Legislature one term and was elected to the state Senate from the Nineteenth Senatorial District in 1884 and served one. term, giving his constituents entire satisfaction in both offices. On July 26, 1886, he removed to Springfield, where he still resides and where he was successful in the practice of his profession from the start and his ability recognized, in 1888, by his election as prosecuting attorney for one term and in the year 1902 by his election as judge of the criminal court. In November, 1900, he was again elected judge of the criminal court for one term, which important office he filled to the satisfaction of the people. It is said that under his administration the business of the criminal court was dispatched expeditiously, as indicated in the beginning of this article, and that wisdom accompanied his judgments, which were tempered with mercy. Judge Gideon is widely known throughout southwestern Missouri as a stanch leader in the Republican party and a successful politician. He has never been defeated before a convention or at the polls for any office for which he has seen fit to run except in the free silver craze of 1896. He is still active in the practice of his profession. Fraternally he belongs to Solomon Lodge of Masons at Springfield and at Ozark held all the offices of Friend Lodge, No. 352. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is an active member of Capt. John Matthews Post, Grand Army of the Republic, Springfield, of which he has been commander, and he was at one time assistant inspector general of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Judge Gideon's life record might well be emulated by the ambitious youth whose fortunes are yet in the making, for our subject is an example of the self-made man who came up from the soil and has battled his way to the front unaided and along honorable lines.
II35
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
GEORGE WESLEY NIEDERHUTH.
The evolutions in the industrial world and the improved modes of manu- facturing things have been marvelous in the past half century, and scarcely an industry exists that has been left untouched by the spirit of reform. The demand of the age is for labor-saving devices, improved appliances, machin- ery, and short cuts generally to desired ends. George Wesley Niederhuth, chief engineer at Drury College and agent for a number of standard makes of motorcycles, is one of Springfield's young men who is giving much thought to these things and has a comprehensive understanding of modern mechanical industries in general.
Mr. Niederhuth was born on August 2, 1889, at Eldora, Iowa. He is. a son of Rev. Otto Niederhuth, who was born in Hanover, Germany, on February 12, 1862, where he spent his boyhood and attended school, emi- grating to America when eighteen years of age, and he became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church, having studied theology at Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in 1884; also studied at the Ger- man college and the Iowa Wesleyan University at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; then, being well equipped for his serious life work, he went to Bismark, North. Dakota, having charge of the Grand Forks Mission, extending sixty miles north and south and one hundred and fifty miles east and west. He drove over this large field with horse and buggy and during winter often with thermometer registering thirty degrees below. Later he filled appointments at Crookston, Minnesota, Eldora, Iowa, also Olderbolt, Colesburg, Burt and Burlington, of that state; Brighton, Illinois ; Hermann, Mt. Vernon and Trux- ton, Missouri, being still the pastor of the German Methodist church at the last named place. He has done an excellent work in all these charges and is a learned and eloquent expounder of Holy Writ. Politically, he is a Republican, and fraternally a member of the Modern Woodmen. His wife was known in her maidenhood as Louisa Launroth, a native of Burlington, Iowa. To them nine children were born, and were named as follows: Luli is the wife of Rev. Herman Langer, a Missouri Methodist minister ; George W., of this sketch; Esther is the wife of Louis Schultz, a farmer of Madi- son, Nebraska; Oscar, deceased; Otto, deceased; Irwin, deceased; Raymond, Earl and Alberta are all three at home with their parents.
George W. Niederhuth received his education in the common schools, then studied two years at Central Wesleyan College at Warrenton, Mis- souri, and after that took the International Correspondence School course. in electrical and mechanical engineering. His first employment was at No- komis, Illinois, as assistant night engineer at the electric power plant there, later being promoted to engineer and then to the position of chief engineer,.
TI36
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
remaining there three years. He then came to Hermann, Missouri, as assist- ant engineer at the Starr Roller Mills, where he remained nearly a year, then went to Warrenton, Missouri, and entered college, working his way through, and also worked at spare times at the city electric plant there. He then came to Springfield, and secured a position as engineer at the Woodruff building in January, 1911, filling this position until December 1Ith follow- ing, then accepted his present position, that of chief engineer at Drury Col- lege. He has given entire satisfaction in all these places, being faithful, trustworthy and having an excellent working knowledge of both electrical and mechanical engineering. He has for some time also been agent for the best makes of motorcycles and does high-class motorcycle repairing at his home at 1090 East Harrison street. He handles motorcycle accessories, such as lamps, tires, horns, etc., and he has built up a good business in this line. He has furnished motorcycles to the special police of this city for some time.
Mr. Niederhuth was married on September 14, 1911, to Ella Boehm, a daughter of John Boehm, a veteran of the Union army, formerly of Her- mann, Missouri, now of Springfield.
To our subject and wife two children have been born, namely: John Wesley and Allyn Edison.
Politically, Mr. Niederhuth is a Republican. Fraternally, he formerly belonged to the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a member of the National Association of Stationary Engineers. He holds membership with the Cumberland Presbyterian church.
HENRY PROSERPI.
It is not strange that the little republic of Switzerland should lose many of its enterprising citizens who come to the United States and establish their homes, for our institutions are similar to their own and they do not have such a hard time adjusting themselves here as do the emigrants from other countries of Europe, born and reared under conditions which are just about the antithesis of our own. The ports of entry of America have ever been freely opened to the Swiss, and having thus extended to them a hearty hand .of welcome, they have been coming to our shores for two centuries or more, and their substantial homes now adorn the towns, hills and plains in every state in the Union. They have been loyal to our institutions and have proven to be splendid citizens in every respect. Thus they have aided us in pushing forward the civilization of the western hemisphere and we have helped them in many ways, giving them every opportunity, which they have not been slow to grasp, being people of thrift, tact and energy.
One of the worthy class mentioned in the preceding paragraph is Henry
1
HENRY PROSERPI.
MRS. HENRY PROSERPI.
II37
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
Proserpi, who is engaged in cement contracting in Springfield, his birth having occurred in Switzerland on October 25, 1855. He is a son of Balyds- our and Christina (White) Proserpi, both these parents being born in Canton Fazeno, Switzerland, and there they grew to maturity, were educated in the common schools and were married and they spent their lives in their native country, the death of the father occurring in 1873, and the mother passed away in 1871. They were the parents of ten children, of whom Henry, of this sketch, was the youngest. Six of these children still survive.
-
Henry Proserpi grew to manhood in Switzerland and there received a public school education, which was somewhat limited, and he may be classed with our self-made men. He emigrated from his native land when he was twenty-five years of age, in 1881, coming to the United States and pene- trating the interior to Springfield, Missouri, arriving here with but seven dollars and fifty cents as his sole capital, and unable to speak a word of English. But he had a trade and plenty of grit and determination, so it was not long until he was on his feet. He began working at the cement and stone business when fourteen years of age, and he has followed the same ever since, mastering the various ins and outs of the same when but a boy. He started on his own account here in 1884 and has become widely known in Greene county in his special line of endeavor. He has done numerous big jobs for the Frisco railroad, and among the notable larger jobs which he has had was the Landers Theater, on which he did all the cement work, and the auditorium at Drury College. He is known to be a man of advanced ideas and does his work promptly, neatly and honestly. He has been very suc- cessful in a financial way.
Mr. Proserpi was married on December 20, 1884, to Belle Hopkins, a daughter of James Hopkins, a farmer of Phelps county, Missouri, and she is one of a family of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. Mrs. Pro- serpi's father was from Tennessee. He died in Phelps county, and the mother was Fanny Morrow and was born in Indiana. She is still living in Phelps county, Missouri.
Seven children, two sons and five daughters, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Proserpi, namely : Rosa Gertrude, born on November 2, 1885, married Clyde Sperry, a real estate and insurance man of Springfield, and they have one child, Harold Eugene Sperry; Daisy Christina, born on November 8, 1887, is at home; Joseph Franklin, born on November 6, 1889, died in in- fancy; Jessie May, born on November 6, 1890, died in infancy; Charles Ernest, born on January 27, 1894 ; Georgia F., born on November 28, 1897. and Mamie A., born on February 21, 1900.
Politically Mr. Proserpi is a Democrat. Fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Woodmen of the World. He and his family attend the Baptist church. Their home is at 2133 Benton avenue.
(72)
II38
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
FRANCIS A. GALLAGHER.
The career of Francis A. Gallagher, superintendent of the Springfield Traction Company, has been a varied one, with success in every line to which he has turned his attention, for at the outset he realized that to achieve anything worth while in this world one must not only have big ideas of a practical and sane nature, but there must also be courage, sound judg- ment, persistency and close adherence to high ideals. He has never waited for some one else to do his planning or to execute his plans, but has been self-reliant and resourceful, and so it is not surprising that he is now filling a very responsible position while yet a young man.
Mr. Gallagher was born February 17, 1875, in Bradford county, Penn- sylvania. He is a son of Francis A. and Winifred (Collom) Gallagher. The father was born at Painesville, Ohio, in 1850, and the mother's birth occurred in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1851. These par- ents grew up in their respective communities and received common school educations, and when young in years the father went to Titusville, Penn- sylvania, where he established his home, and there he engaged in the oil business. He became a prominent man in politics. He was a member of the Catholic church. His death occurred at Titusville, November 17, 1874, when a young man. His widow still survives, and makes her home in Brad- ford, Pennsylvania.
Francis A. Gallagher, only child of his parents, grew to manhood in his native state and there received a common school and college education. When but a boy he began his railroad career by taking a position with the Erie Railroad Company, working at different office positions. He then went to the Standard Oil Company, working at different places in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. In 1896 he went into construction work for the Pierce Construction Company, building street railways, etc. This firm was located at Bradford, Pennsylvania. Later our subject went to Michigan in the same business for the Marquette Railway Company, re- maining there until 1907 when he came to Springfield, Missouri, and took a position as superintendent of the Springfield Traction Company, which he has filled to the present time with his usual eminent satisfaction that has. marked all his work in the past. Since coming here he has rebuilt the sys- tem, relaying every foot of track, constructing new barns, etc., and has. given the people of Springfield a modern and satisfactory street railway. He maintains his offices at 1405 Boonville street. He has always been a close observer and a deep student of his line of work and has therefore kept well abreast of the times in his special field.
Mr. Gallagher was married on June 26, 1901, in Bradford, Pennsyl-
II39
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
vania, to Edna Holmes, a native of that place, where she was reared and educated, including both the public schools and a college course of several years. She is a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Venetti) Holmes, both natives of Pennsylvania, where they grew up, were educated and married ยท and established the family home at Bradford where they are well known and influential. Mr. Holmes was engaged in the oil business for many years there.
To Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher three children have been born, namely: Francis A., Jr., born on May 17, 1902, in Bradford, Pennsylvania ; John H., born on June 10, 191I, and Mary Elizabeth, born on June 28, 1913.
Mr. Gallagher and family are members of the Catholic church. Frater- nally, he belongs to the Knights of Columbus and to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; at the present time he is state trustee of the latter order, and is one of the active and prominent Elks of Missouri. He and his wife have made many friends since locating in Springfield.
GUY H. McGUIRE.
Whenever an attempt is made to write the history of a successful en- terprise or the worthy career of any man, it has been found that ability, backed by energy and push, has been the basis of it all, and this fact can not fail to impress itself upon the writer of history proper, or that branch of history which consists of the biographies of those who have achieved suffi- cient distinction to make the record of their lives of interest to the public. Guy H. McGuire, a well-known North Side groceryman, is one of Spring- field's business men who owes his success in life to his own fighting qualities -the fighting ability that overcomes obstacles.
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.