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 59
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J. Murphy and wife ten children were born, namely: William C., of this sketch, and John Patrick, twins; Elizabeth married Albert Welch, a mer- chant, farmer and stockman of De Soto, Missouri, and they have one child, Lynn; James C., who lives in Festus, this state, married a woman from Tennessee and they have three children; Daniel L. is a stenographer and lives at Festus; Nellie died in infancy; Thomas Lee was accidentally killed at the age of seventeen; Francis H. is farming on the old home- stead in Jefferson county; Dennis, born on February 22, 1899, lives at Festus and is by nature an artist of ability; Edgar W. was born in 1905.
William C. Murphy was reared on the home farm and there did his share of the work when of proper age, and in the winter he attended the public schools at Festus, Missouri, and was graduated from the high school there, also was graduated from the high school at Crystal City, this state, after which he entered the State Normal at Kirksville, borrowing money in order to do so, and graduated from that institution in 1905. He sub- sequently entered the law department of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, also took other studies, such as political economy, and was grad- uated from that institution in 1907 with the degree of Doctor of Laws. Returning home he took the state bar examination in 1907, which he suc- cessfully passed. But instead of beginning at once the practice of his pro- fession he taught school two years with success. In 1909 he went to Mal- vern, Arkansas, where he became superintendent of city schools, after which he went to Stuttgart, that state, and taught a year. In 1910 he came to Springfield, Missouri, opened an office in the Woodruff building in part- nership with his twin brother. J. Patrick Murphy, and here they have been engaged in the practice of their profession with ever-increasing success, and are regarded as among our most promising young lawyers.
William C. Murphy was married on May 23. 1908, to Elizabeth Hed- dell, a native of Festus, Missouri, where her family has long been well known and highly respected, and there she grew to womanhood and received a good education. To this union three children have been born, namely: Ruth Elizabeth, born on March 1, 1909: Esther Heddell, born on December 9, 1910, and Major Wilson, born on November 4. 1913. was named after the governor of Missouri and the President of the United States.
Politically Mr. Murphy is an ardent Democrat and is active in political affairs. He was appointed city tax attorney of Springfield in 1912 and he made such a commendable record that he was re-appointed to the same office in 1914, and is now serving his second term in a manner that reflects much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Religiously he is a member of the Presbyterian church.
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Mr. Murphy and his twin brother have been very closely associated with each other all their lives, and doubtless the friendly rivalry that has always existed between them has been in no small manner instrumental in their success. They are deserving of a great deal of credit for what they have made of themselves, possessing the characteristic thrift, wit, keen discernment, broad-mindedness and high sense of honor of the Celtic race, from which they descended.
THOMAS YEAKLEY.
This biographical memoir has to do with a character of unusual force and eminence, for the late Thomas Yeakley, whose life chapter has been closed by the fate that awaits us all, was for a long lapse of years one of the prominent citizens of Greene county, having come to this section in pioneer times, and he assisted in every way possible in bringing about the transformation of the country from the wild condition found by the first settlers to its latter-day progress and improvement. While he carried on a special line of work in such a manner as to gain a handsome compe- tence for himself, ranking for decades among the most extensive and pro- gressive agriculturists and stock men of this section of the state, he also belonged to that class of representative citizens who promote the public welfare while advancing individual success. There were in him sterling traits which commanded uniform confidence and regard, and his memory is today honored by all who knew him and is enshrined in the hearts of his many friends.
Mr. Yeakley was born in Greene county, Tennessee, November 25, 1829. He was a son of John and Matilda (Grills) Yeakley. John Yeakley was also a native of Greene county, Tennessee, his birth occurring there on November 15, 1809. He was a son of Henry Yeakley, of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. The latter married Susanna McNeece, who was a daughter of Isaac McNeece, a native of Scotland, and a weaver by trade. As early as 1804 the Yeakley family located in Greene county, Tennessee, and there to Henry Yeakley and wife the following children were born: Samuel, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was at, the battle of Horse- shoe, fought by Gen. Andrew Jackson; Mary, Henry, Isaiah, Elizabeth, Lydia, Ann, George, John, Joseph, Malachi, Jacob and Betsey, all of whom lived to reach manhood and womanhood. Henry Yeakley, father of the above named children, owned and operated a farm, but he was by trade a gunsmith. He had obtained a practical education in the German language,
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but also spoke intelligent English and was a well-informed man in every respect. He died at an advanced age and was buried in the old Quaker church cemetery in Greene county, Tennessee. His wife was a little girl when the battle of Brandywine was fought, in Revolutionary times, was near the field and saw the battle, about which she frequently related stirring incidents to her children in after years. She was a Quaker, while Mr. Yeakley was a Lutheran, and both were deeply religious.
John Yeakley, father of the subject of this memoir, was reared on the old homestead in Tennessee and when a young man, learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed as his main vocation throughout the subsequent years of his active life. He retained until his death an old anvil which his father took with him from Pennsylvania to Tennessee, now one hundred and ten years ago. John Yeakley was well acquainted with Azariah Doty. who lived to be over one hundred and four years old and who was one of General Marion's men during the war for independence. When twenty years of age Mr. Yeakley married Matilda Grills, in 1829. She, too, was a resident of Greene county, Tennessee. To this union six children were born, namely: Thomas, Henry, Rhoda, Betsey A., Jane and Benjamin, who died when a child. In the fall of 1839 he removed with his family to Missouri and after passing the winter in Polk county, came to Greene county in the spring and settled on eighty acres on which he spent the rest of his life, in west Center township. The journey from Tennessee was made in a small two-horse wagon. The Ozark region was at that time a wild and sparsely settled country, a great portion of which was covered with great forests in which there was an abundance of wild game. Henry Yeakley's farm lay along Big Sac river. This he cleared and improved into a valuable farm, through much industry, and prospered with advancing years, becoming an extensive land owner, and he gave each of his sons a good start in life. His first wife died and he subsequently married Eliza Allen, who also died, and he took for his third wife Margaret L. Cochran. to whom he was married on November 4. 1880.
For many years Mr. Yeakley voted the Whig ticket, having cast his first vote for Andrew Jackson and his last on that ticket for Peter Cooper. In later life he was a Republican. In his religious views he was always a Methodist, and assisted to build the first Methodist church in west Center township, called Yeakley Chapel. and when it burned he gave the land for a new church which he assisted to build and which also took the name of Yeakley Chapel, and he served as steward in this church for a number of years. His last wife also attended this church and was one of the prin- cipal teachers in the Sunday school, although she held membership in the Presbyterian church in Lawrence county. During the Civil war Mr. Yeak-
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ley remained neutral, and, contrary to the usual custom, was left unmolested, having only two stands of bees stolen, one by the Federal and one by the Confederate soldiers. But both armies took heavy toll from his neighbors.
Thomas Yeakley, the immediate subject of this sketch, was ten years of age when he accompanied the family from Tennessee to Missouri, and he grew to manhood in Greene county and here spent the rest of his life. A complete biographical sketch of this unusual man's life would be a his- tory of the development and growth of the county. He often recalled the incidents of the journey across the rough country from his native county to this, the trip requiring several weeks. In the wagon were his father, mother, and brothers, Henry and Benjamin, and sister, Rhoda, besides himself. In the party were Henry, Nathan, Ann and Bettie Paulsell, also Daniel Delaney and family, Jonathan Pickering and family. School opportunities in Greene county three-quarters of a century ago were meager and not much in the way of "book learning" could be had, but while young Yeakley did not learn much from text-books he learned how to work in a pioneer environ- ment, and was naturally intelligent and investigating and he not only pros- pered with advancing years, but became a well-informed man on current topics. On July 17, 1851, he married Elizabeth M. Young, a daughter of George B. and Margaret (Leeper) Young. She was born on August 17,. 1834, in Lafayette county, Missouri, and was brought to Greene county when one year old, the family locating in Republic township, where her father entered land from the government and he and his wife died here. He was a prosperous farmer and when he died owned several hundred acres of Greene county land.
Thomas Yeakley devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and was unusu- ally successful, having been a man of great industry, sound judgment and wise foresight. In 1854 he settled on the land where his widow now resides. The place then consisted of but forty acres on the edge of Grand Prairie, and by industry and thrift he added to it until he became owner of about twelve hundred acres of as fine land as the county affords. Through it runs Pond creek and Big Sac river. It is very productive and has been brought up to a high state of cultivation in improvement, all of which improvements our subject himself made and planned, and which do much credit to his intelligence and progressiveness. He carried on general farm- ing and stock raising on an extensive scale and was a leader in his line- of endeavor.
Politically, Mr. Yeakley was a Democrat, but never sought to become a public man. He was always interested in the cause of education and assisted to build up fully one-half of the first school houses in his district, in fact, no- man ever did more for the locality in which our subject spent the major portion of his long, useful and honored life.
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To Thomas Yeakley and wife six children were born, namely: John, who died in early life; James also died young; George, who is a successful and widely known farmer and stock man of the vicinity of Republic, mar- ried Celestia J. Redfern, and a full sketch of them is to be found on another page of this work; Henry is deceased; Margaret M. (known to her friends as Maggie), was married on March 22, 1887, to Dr. Edwin B. Robinson, of Bois D'Arc, this county, who died several months after their marriage; he was a graduate of the Missouri Medical College of St. Louis, of the class of 1879, and in 1882 was graduated from Bellevue Hospital, New York City, after which he practiced in that institution for three months and then at Bois D'Arc, where he built up a good practice; Mrs. Robinson subse- quently became the wife of W. E. Drum, for many years a successful mer- chant of Bois D'Arc, where he died several years ago and his widow is a resident of Springfield. Rebecca, youngest child of our subject, is deceased.
The mother of these children is a devout member of the Methodist church and is a broad-minded, neighborly and charitably inclined lady who numbers her friends only by the limits of her acquaintance.
During the Civil war Thomas Yeakley had several narrow escapes from death. He did not take active part in the strife, remaining at home as a secret service agent in the employ of the government. He was on sev- eral occasions attacked at night and in one encounter was slightly wounded by a bullet which passed through the house in which he was living. Upon being called to the door one night and. commanded to light a match. Mr. Yeakley responded by firing at his unwelcome visitors. They retreated. bearing away a badly wounded companion, their trail being marked with blood. That he had frustrated an attempt at murder was shown in sub- sequent developments. On the day of the battle of Wilson's Creek, August 10, 1861, he visited the battlefield with some of his neighbors, mixed with the soldiers and saw the dead and wounded the next day.
Mr. Yeakley, who was reputed to be one of southwest Missouri's wealthiest and most influential men and who had lived on the same farm for the unusual period of sixty years, was summoned to his eternal rest on May II, 1914, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. Rev. J. B. Ellis. formerly president of Morrisville College, now living retired at his home in the suburbs of Springfield and for many years a presiding elder in the Methodist Episcopal church. South, in this state, conducted the funeral at Yeakley Chapel, and he had the following to say concerning Mr. Yeakley's religious life and church relations, in part :
"Thomas Yeakley united with the Methodist Episcopal church. South. some years after the Civil War, at a small church a few miles northwest
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of Republic. About 1875 he set about a parcel of ground four miles south of Bois D'Arc for church and cemetery purposes. A substantial building was erected and he became a charter member of this class. He was a liberal supporter of his own church, and likewise of other churches, having assisted in the erection of many churches in Greene and other counties. He was interested in the general welfare and contributed to various enter- prises and benevolences."
JOHN SJOBERG.
Wherever one is located or whatever his circumstances may be, there is almost always some way out of difficulties, some way to rise above untoward circumstances and environment if sufficient thought is given. Many people complain that they cannot find a position suitable for their qualifications ; it is a good rule to do what you find at hand to do and do it well; by and by something better is very likely to present itself; do this also well, and eventually still better things will be offered until one's ambition is better satisfied. John Sjoberg, proprietor of the Central Shoe & Leather Company, of Springfield, is one of our best examples of a successful self-made man, who, by honest, earnest effort, has advanced from a modest beginning through his individual efforts to a position of importance and influence in the industrial circles of Greene county. He believed from the start that the goal of his aims would be reached in due course of time if he made the most of his immediate opportunities and planned wisely for the future. His example might well be emulated by other young foreign-born citizens who come to this country and to whom the outlook at the start is discouraging.
Mr. Sjoberg was born in Sweden, November 22, 1866. He is a rep- resentative of an industrious old Swedish family, his father having devoted his active life to farming. He is one of a family of five children, two of whom are now deceased.
Mr. Sjoberg was left an orphan in early life, his father dying when he was nine years old and his mother passed away when he was twelve years of age. His early education, obtained in the common schools of his native land, was limited, but this lack has been made up in later life by contact with the world and by persistent home reading along general lines, until he is today a well-informed man and an intelligent conversationalist. He remained with his family while learning the trade of shoemaker, for which instruction he paid fifty crowns a year for two years. He applied himself diligently and became an expert. He worked as a journeyman until he was twenty years of age, then served his required time in the Swedish army,
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after which he started a shoe shop of his own. The future of such a busi- ness at that time and in that place did not present a very rosy aspect to him, so, obtaining permission from the government to leave his native land, he set sail for the United States, and located in Springfield, Missouri, in 1888, where he has since resided. He not only had to start life here with- out capital, but was in debt for about half of his fare from the old country. But nothing daunted, he set to work with energy and ambition, soon adjusted himself to new conditions, manners and language and for a year and a half worked for wages in a local shop at his trade, then bought a small shop of his own, having the meanwhile saved his earnings and also paid his living expenses and his debts. He did general repairing for four years in his own shop, then began to branch out into a larger business by carrying in stock a few half-soles and other minor materials in his line, increasing the same as his meager capital permitted. His little shop was only nine by fifteen feet. After five years his business had increased to such an extent that he was obliged to seek larger quarters, in which he spent five years also ; this was on Boonville street, near the Central hotel, and while there he added a considerable stock of leather goods and shoes, his business rapidly increasing and he employed a number of assistants. In 1910 he moved into the retail district and has since occupied commodious quarters at 325-327 East Walnut street, where he maintains an attractive, well-arranged, convenient and well-stocked store and manufacturing plant known as the Central Shoe and Leather Company. He does an extensive wholesale leather and shoe findings business, keeping a capable salesman on the road continuously. Aside from his wholesale department he operates a large retail shoe store and shoe shop, employing a number of experienced assist- ants and he does a large business in all departments. Four men are kept at work in his shop in which modern machinery of all kinds has been installed, and high-grade work is promptly done. He is at this writing making plans to increase his wholesale department, the business of which already extends over a wide territory in the Southwest. He has been very successful in a business way during his career in Springfield of over a quar- ter of a century, and he is owner of a good Greene county farm and a fine home which he built in 1909.
Mr. Sjoberg was married in 1892 to Hulda Ohrn, a native of Sweden, in which country their romance began when young, and after prosperity attended his efforts in the new world he induced her to come here and they were joined for life's serious journey. Their union has been blessed by the birth of three children, namely: Florence is a graduate of the Springfield high school; Arthur will graduate from high school with the class of 19!'. and Dorothy, who is attending ward school.
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Politically Mr. Sjoberg is a Republican. Fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past grand; he also holds membership in the Modern Woodmen of America. Personally he is a sociable, companionable and obliging gentleman, whose word is regarded as good as the bond of most men by those with whom he transacts busi- ness and his personal habits have ever been above criticism.
JOHN T. McNABB.
We are told that civilization follows the flag. Would it not be more appropriate to say that it follows the ax? Civilization never found its headquarters in the woods. The mighty ax must first clear the land and hew out the logs for the pioneer's cabin. Without it our ancestors could not have subdued the wilderness and made smooth the way for American civilization. Therefore the little insignificant ax is civilization's fore- runner. Its ring through the forest is the trumpet call, directing the onward march of the army of progress. The flying chips mark the fotosteps of those who fight in the army's van. Let us then not forget to render due homage to the ax. Among those who blazed the way with this instrument for present-day progress and prosperity is John T. McNabb, a farmer and respected citizen of Republic township, Greene county, who came to the Ozark region when it was still mostly undeveloped, so he did his full share of the work of clearing the wild land and bringing it up to its present state of cultivation.
Mr. McNabb was born in Polk county, Tennessee, September 23, 1859. He is a son of Taylor and Margaret D. (Whaley) McNabb. Grandfather McNabb was a native of Scotland, from which country he emigrated to America before the Revolutionary war and he was a soldier in that war. Taylor McNabb was a native of South Carolina and Margaret D. Whaley was born in Georgia. They spent their early lives in Georgia and Tennessee, received such meager educational advantages as the schools of those early times afforded and were married in Dixie land. Taylor McNabb was twice married, the mother of our subject having been his second wife. He became the father of a large family. Five of his children were born to his first union, namely : Lucretia, deceased; Vovaline, deceased; Ann is the wife of Sam Hocksett and lives in Oklahoma; the fourth child is deceased; Virgil lives in Georgia. The following children were by Taylor McNabb and his sec- ond wife : Mrs. Louisa Nicholson, a widow, lives in Georgia ; L. T., deceased ; Mary, wife of Lon Bates, lives in Tennessee: Bettie, wife of Frank Jack,
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HOME OF JOHN T. MCNABB.
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lives in Tennessee; William T. and a twin brother are both deceased; Rachael, deceased; Victoria, deceased; Clementine, deceased; John T. of this sketch is the youngest.
John T. McNabb received his education in the common. schools. He was fifteen years old when his father died. He remained on the home farm in Tennessee until he was twenty-one years of age, then emigrated to Greene county, Missouri in December, 1881, landing here with but a wite, a horse and eighteen dollars in money. He located in Republic township. He is deserving of a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished. Although starting out in life with nothing he has worked hard and managed well, and today is owner of one of the choice farms of his township. He first rented land here and raised a crop in partnership with Hugh Boyd, then moved on a farm on the James river, near Nelson's mill, but the fol- lowing fall moved across the line into Christian county, remaining there twenty-three years. Having prospered, he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, and twelve years ago he returned to Republic township, buying one hundred and twenty acres more, place now known as the Oak Grove Stock Farm. All of his land is under cultivation but fourteen acres. He also owns sixty acres in Section 29, Republic township, having an aggre- gate of three hundred acres on which he carries on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale. His land is well improved and he has an attractive home and large, convenient outbuildings, and an excellent grade of live stock is always to be seen about his place.
Mr. McNabb was married on October 19, 1879, to Sarah Adaline Land. a daughter of Hester and Lucindy (Baker) Land, natives of Tennessee, where they spent their earlier years, finally emigrating to Greene county, Missouri. Mrs. McNabb was born in 1864 and was one of nine children, namely : Mrs. Ann Couch lives in Republic township; Jane, Maggie, William, Thomas are all deceased ; John lives in Ash Grove; Ellen, deceased ; Yankey is deceased; and Sarah A., wife of our subject, is the youngest. She grew to womanhood on the home farm and received a common school education.
To Mr. and Mrs. McNabb eleven children were born, eight of whom are still living, namely: Margaret is the wife of John Gray, of Stone coun- ty; Taylor lives in Republic engaged in automobile business ; Walter, deceased; Mrs. Delilah Richardson lives in Republic township: Benjamin lives in Christian county ; Dave lives in Oklahoma ; Earthy, wife of E. Clark, lives in Greene county; Bertha, wife of E. M. Mullikin, lives in Springfield; Virgil lives at home; the two youngest children died in infancy, unnamed.
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