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 95
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
Mr. Davis was married in this county, November 23, 1890, to Axie Burford, a daughter of Phillip L. and Martha (Nichols) Burford, both na- tives of Tennessee, where they spent their earlier years, but came to Missouri in pioneer days and settled in Webster county on a farm, and became prom- inent citizens in that section. In 1888 the family located in Springfield, and here made their permanent home, in which the parents spent the rest of their lives, the father dying in January, 1908, and the mother in March, 1904. They were the parents of twelve children, namely: William L., de- ceased ; Jonathan D .: Daniel; F .; Ferdinand L., deceased; Albert N .: Mrs. Elizabeth Callaway: Benjamin T .: Morris B .; Mrs. Lucy Pipkin; Phillip I .;
1814
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
Mrs. Mattie H. Edwards, deceased; and Axie, wife of our subject. Mrs. Davis had the advantage of an excellent education, in the public schools of Marshfield, Morrisville College and Drury College.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis, namely: Robert O. and Alma, twins; they have been given excellent educational advantages ; the son is married, and the daughter is living at home.
Mr. Davis is a member of the Order of Railway Conductors, Knights and Ladies of Security ; his wife and children also belong to the latter order, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South.
JOHN J. UNDERWOOD.
Those who belong to the respectable middle classes of society, being early taught the necessity of relying upon their own exertions, will be more apt to acquire that information and those business habits which alone can fit them for the discharge of life's duties, and indeed it has long been a noticeable fact that our great men in nearly all walks of life in America spring from this class. The subject of this sketch, whose life history we herewith delineate, is a worthy representative of this class, from which the true noblemen of the republic spring; but he has made no effort to be a leader of men, contented to lead an honest, industrious and conservative life, desiring no other title than that of a good citizen.
John J. Underwood, president of the Springfield Stone & Fuel Com- pany, was born near Bolivar, Polk county, Missouri, August 25, 1872. He is a son of Abraham Alexander Underwood and Martha Ellen (Nenninger) Underwood. The father was a native of Pennsylvania, and the mother of Ohio. They grew up, were educated and married in the East, and resided there until 1870, when they removed to Bolivar, Missouri. A. A. Under- wood was one of five children. When the Civil war came on he enlisted for service in the One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, from Bucy- rus county, Ohio, and saw considerable hard service, including the greatest battle of modern times, Gettysburg, and he was also in a number of other important engagements. After a gallant service of two and a half years he was mustered out and honorably discharged. He studied law, and after coming to Bolivar, built up one of the largest practices in southwest Mis- souri and was one of the leaders of the Democratic party in this section of the state and prominent in public affairs. He was a candidate for Congress in 1876. His family consisted of eight children, namely : Mrs. Jennie Far- rer, of Springfield; Gertrude died in infancy ; Mrs. Mary West lives in Ok-
1815
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
lahoma City; Sherwood is deceased; Alex is in South America; John J., of this review; Thomas lives in Springfield; and Charles, deceased.
John J. Underwood was reared in his native community and received his education in the schools of Bolivar; his sisters were graduates of the South- west Baptist College there. Our subject attended school until he was eighteen years of age, then moved to a farm with his parents, near Bolivar, where he worked for a number of years, then went to Oklahoma City, and took up a claim near there, where he remained a year in the city and a year on the claim, then returned to the home farm and lived there until 1907, when he located in Springfield and started in the feed and fuel business on Com- mercial street, and a year later took up the commission business, and later helped organize the Merchants Baking Company, and operated one of the best bakeries, although not so extensive as some, in the state, and was highly complimented by the state inspector, who stated that our subject's bakery was the cleanest and most sanitary on his record or that he had in- spected in his territory. Mr. Underwood made this venture a paying one and operated the bakery until 1911, when he was one of the incorporators of the Springfield Stone & Fuel Company, which was capitalized at ten thousand dollars, and which has been a pronounced success under his able manage- ment, he being president and manager of the same, and he now owns all the stock of the company. The other two incorporators were M. H. South- worth and A. L. Farrer.
Mr. Underwood carries on a general stone contracting business and also deals in cement, stone and fuel, but makes contracting his principal business and handles large jobs, and in recent years he has furnished the materials for a number of the most important new buildings in Springfield, such as the addition to the government building, State Normal School building. all the material for the state home of the Knights of Pythias, such as sand and cement, and he did all the stone work on the State Normal School. also many other of the best modern buildings here. His work has been eminently satisfactory in every respect, and prompt and high-grade work is his aim, as well as scrupulous honesty. He understands thoroughly every phase of his business, which is rapidly growing, and he is one of the best known con- tractors in his line in this section of the state. He also enjoys a large trade in fuel.
Mr. Underwood was married September 9, 1895, to Carrie Farrer, a daughter of Bucher and Elizabeth (Rafferty) Farrer. Her father was a native of Iowa and her mother of Ohio. They located in Dallas county, Missouri, in an early day and lived there until the father's death. His family consisted of three children, namely : A. L., Carrie, who married Mr. Under- wood ; and Charles. Mrs. Underwood grew to womanhood in Dallas county and was educated in the common schools there.
1816
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
Three children have been born to our subject and wife, namely: Edna, Earl and Mary.
Politically Mr. Underwood is a Democrat. He is a member of the Christian church, and fraternally he belongs to the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. His wife belongs to the Mothers' Club of the Boys' School, and she is an active member of Campbell Street Methodist Episcopal church, South.
THE JOHN F. MEYER & SONS MILLING COMPANY.
This corporation, which conducts the largest flour milling business in Springfield, is composed of a father and his four sons. John F. Meyer, the father, and the founder of the business, began making flour in St. Louis in 1864, half a century ago, and continued in that line in that city steadily until 1894, a period of thirty years.
In the last mentioned year Mr. Meyer took into partnership with him- self, his four sons, Ferdinand P., H. J., H. A., and Louis S. Meyer, and established the firm under the name of John F. Meyer & Sons. As soon as this partnership was formed the large three-story brick milling plant, known at the time as the "Queen City Mills," and located on the northwest corner of Booneville street and Phelps avenue, Springfield, was purchased. This corner had been the site of a mill for many years prior to the date of the Meyer purchase. John Schmook, one of the most prominent builders of the early day Springfield during and immediately after the Civil war, had here for years a grist mill, and a planing mill adjoining. That was afterward succeeded by the Queen City Mills, the first of the large flouring plants of the city, and this was the building that in 1849 was purchased by the new milling partnership of John F. Meyer & Sons.
They at once remodelled the whole interior of the building, refitted it with the latest and most effective machinery, and increased its capacity to seven hundred barrels of flour per day. A large elevator was also added at the east of the mill building, and smaller elevators were built at different points in the region, where the soft Missouri wheat for use in the mill was bought direct from the farmers who raised it.
The business grew and prospered, Every sack of Meyer flour that went to a consumer was an advertisement more effective than columns in the papers. The best wheat obtainable, the best machinery with which to reduce it to flour, and the most skillful men in the trade to operate that machinery; these, and strict business management, and and fair treatment, built up, ex- tended, and established the business, and sent its products not only in all
1817
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
directions into neighboring states, but in no small quantities entered the foreign market and established a demand for it beyond the sea.
Meanwhile the partnership had been made into a corporation under the name which still exists of the John F. Meyer & Sons Milling Company. In 1901, after seven successful years at the original Springfield location, the demands of the trade justified large expansion, and a fine site was purchased at the corner of the National Boulevard and Pine street, in the manufactur- ing district in the eastern part of the city. Here a thoroughly modern mill was erected, furnished throughout with the latest machinery, and of a ca- pacity of eight hundred barrels per day of hard wheat flour and four hundred barrels of soft wheat flour. A fine elevator was also added to the equipment of the new mill, the combined capacity of the elevators at the two mills and country stations aggregating five hundred thousand bushels. The smaller elevators for purchasing wheat direct from the growers, are scattered through Greene, Dade, Lawrence and Barry counties.
The business is stocked for one hundred thousand dollars capitaliza- tion, and has a surplus of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The company has some sixty employees, and a weekly pay-roll of a thousand dollars. The two most popular brands of flour turned out by the concern, are the Albatross, "Best on earth" soft wheat flour, and the Meyer's Model, "Always reliable," hard wheat flour. The reputation established by these brands is such that the copyright of the names is no small asset in such a business.
The general offices of the company are in suites 722, 723 and 724 Mer- chants-Laclede Building, St. Louis. The president, John F. Meyer, and the secretary, Ferdinand P. Meyer, have charge of the St. Louis office, while the vice-president, Herman J. Meyer, the treasurer, Henry A. Meyer, and the general manager, Louis S. Meyer, are residents of Springfield and attend to the manufacturing end of the business.
In giving the story of such a successful business enterprise, it should not close without some slight sketch of the men behind the concern, who made the success possible, and we will close this story with a few words of personal history.
John F. Meyer. the head of this company, was born in Westphalia. Germany, on the 16th day of July, 1830. He spent his boyhood upon his father's large farm in Westphalia, and after the good old German fashion, he was given a thorough education. When a young man he learned the milling business, and followed it in Germany until he was thirty years of age. In 1860 he joined that great company of his fellow countrymen, who saw a better outlook for themselves and their children in the great republic of the west than in their native land, and he emigrated to the United States. He located in St. Louis, Missouri. For four years he was in the grocery
1818
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
business, but in 1864, he formed a partnership with J. F. Imbs, under the name of Imbs, Meyer & Company, and entered into the trade which he had learned in Germany, and which he was to follow for life.
He married in St. Louis, in 1862, Miss Katherine Fechtel, who was also a native of Westphalia, Germany. The St. Louis milling business prospered, through the same means that have later made the Springfield concern one of the institutions of the Southwest. As Mr. Meyer's sons grew up they were most of them taught their father's trade of milling, and thus when the proper time came, were prepared to assume the responsibilities of the new company in Springfield. For just half a century John F. Meyer has followed his chosen business of milling. No man is better posted in all the intricacies of the trade; no man is better known as an expert on all questions con- nected with it, and at eighty-four years of age, he is still a clear headed, and most highly respected business man.
Of the four sons who with the father form the company, it need only be said that their twenty years in Springfield have demonstrated their entire ability to meet any competition, and all the demands of trade. Steadily and without any parade or sounding of trumpets, the John F. Meyer & Sons Mill- ing Company has pursued the even tenor of its way. Starting with the highest ideals of furnishing as perfect a product as was humanly possible, they have held strictly to that plan, and the years have proved the correct- ness of the theory by crowning the work with the greatest success.
JAMES WILLIAM CLARK, M. D.
Concentration of purpose and persistently applied energy rarely fail of success in the accomplishment of any task however great, and in tracing the career of Dr. James William Clark, a well known and successful physi- cian of Bois D'Arc, Greene county, it is plainly seen that these things have been among the main secrets of his rise to a position of prominence and respectability. Moreover, he possesses genuine love for his work and re- gards it as a privilege to carry comfort and aid to the sick and suffering.
Dr. Clark is a scion of an old Southern family, and himself was born under Dixie's skies, having first seen the light of day at Bowling Green, Kentucky, March 15, 1874. He is a son of Joseph M. and Harriet H. (Shannon) Clark. The father was born, July 25, 1833, and died March 8, 1909. He was a son of Bowling McKagy Clark, who was born, December 8, 1777. The latter married on June 6, 1831, Jane Hagerman, who was born November 30, 1808, Joseph M. Clark grew to manhood in the old Blue Grass state and received a common school educatiton, and there he
1819
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
followed general farming and stock raising until 1882, when he moved to near Halltown, Lawrence county, Missouri, where he purchased about four hundred acres of land, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits on an extensive scale until his death, making a specialty of handling live stock, and while living there he shipped on the market over five hundred head of cattle and over three thousand hogs. He and Harriet H. Shannon were married, December 4. 1862. She was born, March 30, 1842, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and is a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (King) Shan- non. Samuel Shannon was born in Warren county, Kentucky, August I, 1798, and was killed by falling off a horse in 1882. He followed farming in Warren county, Kentucky, all his active life. He and Elizabeth King were married, February 5, 1822. She was born in Warren county, Ken- tucky, May 21, 1803, and her death occurred in young womanhood, June 2, 1832. Politically, Joseph M. Clark, mentioned above, was a Democrat. Fraternally, he belonged to the Masonic Order, and he was an active worker in the Baptist church, was responsible for the Antioch church, and was a deacon in his congregation for a number of years. His wife, mother of our subject, is still living, making her home in Halltown, Missouri.
Five children were born to Joseph M. Clark and wife, namely: Arthur V. is farming near Perry Springs, Missouri; Miles J. is cashier of a bank at Halltown, Missouri; Readie J. is the wife of C. H. Johnson, and they live near Halltown; Dr. James W. of this review, and Dr. Samuel M., who is a practicing physician at Halltown.
Dr. James W. Clark grew to manhood on his father's farm. He was eight years old when the family left Kentucky and settled in Lawrence county, Missouri. He received his early education in the public schools, and he was graduated from the high school at Halltown in 1892. When but a boy he decided to enter the medical profession, and with this end in view he began reading medicine with Dr. C. A. Wilkerson as preceptor, and also read with Dr. R. W. Paris while at home and during vacations. In 1896 he entered the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he made an excellent record, and from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1899. Soon thereafter he established himself for the practice of his profession at Miller. Lawrence county, where he remained two years. then located in Ash Grove. Greene county, where he remained two years. After practicing in Springfield three and one-half years he came to Bois D'Arc, where he has since remained, and here he has built up a large and satisfactory practice and is one of the busiest of the younger general prac- titioners in the county. He has remained a close student of all that pertains to his science and has met with a high degree of success.
Dr. Clark was married, May 17. 1899, to Pearl M. Misemer, of Perry . Springs, Missouri. She was born, October 1. 1876, and was a daughter of
1820
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
William and Mary E. (Berry) Mesimer, a highly respected family of that locality. Mrs. Clark was killed in Springfield, September 26, 1914, by a runaway team that ran into the automobile driven by our subject.
Politically, Doctor Clark is a Democrat. He is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, South, and fraternally, belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He has made a host of friends since locating at Bois D'Arc and enjoys the confidence and good will of the people throughout this section of the county.
ALBERT MARTIN GLASS.
This gentleman is another of the old soldiers whom it is a delight to honor. They are getting fewer and fewer in number and their steps are not as quick and full of meaning as they were fifty years ago when they were fighting for the supremacy of the Union. But it thrills one to see them in their old uniforms, with their tattered flags flying and their forms bent as they hobble along on their canes at reunions, Memorial Day or the Fourth of July. And how interesting it is to listen to them recount the stirring scenes of that momentous period in our country's history. Mr. Glass, who hails from the old Buckeye state, is now living in retirement on his fine farm near Bois D'Arc, Greene county, having in his early years accumulated a sufficient competence to insure the possession of all the com- forts of life in his old age.
Albert Martin Glass was born near Mapleton, Stark county, Ohio, June 18, 1843. He is a son of John and Sarah (Baker) Glass. John Glass was born in Virginia, October 24, 1815, and was a son of William and Priscilla (Wiley) Glass, both Virginians. William Glass was born, February 2, 1790, and immigrated to Stark county, Ohio, in a very early day and there followed farming, later removing to near White Pigeon, Michigan, where he continued farming until his death, at an advanced age. His wife alsc lived to a ripe age. John Glass spent his life on a farm in Stark county, Ohio, and died there, March 3, 1845. He and Sarah Baker were married on January 2, 1840. She was born in Stark county, Ohio, September 30, 1823, and her death occurred in February, 1901. The death of John Glass occurred March 3, 1845. Politically, he was a Whig, and he belonged to the Presbyterian church, as did his wife.
To John Glass and wife the following children were born: Priscilla; Albert Martin, our subject, and John B., deceased, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.
1821
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
Albert M. Glass grew to manhood on the home farm in Stark county, Ohio, and he received the usual common school education of that period. On August 8, 1862, he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and spent several years in the service in the South. He was taken prisoner in February, 1864, by bushwhackers, near Murfrees- boro, Tennessee. The only great battle he was in was at Stone's River, or Murfreesboro. Mr. Glass was mustered out and honorably discharged, July 6, 1865, at Cleveland, Ohio, thereafter returned to the farm in Stark county, Ohio, and continued general farming there until 1871, when he came to Greene county, Missouri, locating in Center township, purchasing land and he now owns two hundred acres of productive and well located land, which he has brought up to a high state of improvement and cultivation and which ranks among the best and most desirable farms of the county. He has a large pleasant home and a substantial group of convenient outbuild- ings. He still lives on his farm, but merely oversees it in a general way, having lived practically retired from active life during the past twenty years.
Mr. Glass was married, December 13, 1870, to Susan Van Voorhis, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, on November 16, 1844, and there she grew to womanhood and received such educational advantages as those days afforded. Mrs. Glass was a daughter of Peter and Margaret (Sickman) Van Voorhis. The father was born in Duchess county, New York, Febru- ary 8, 1795, and the mother was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Feb- ruary 19, 1805. There they were married, and were the parents of four- teen children, our subject's wife being the eleventh in order of birth.
Three children have been born to Albert M. Glass and wife, namely : James I., who is operating the home farm, was born September 6, 1871, and was married, January 28, 1897, to Olive Tressler, a native of Stark county, Ohio; they have one boy living, Henry E., born July 14, 1898; Dwight P., born April 22, 1901, died September 18, 1903. Earl C., second son of our subject, is practicing dentistry in Independence, Kansas ; he married Edwena Chandler, a native of Illinois, on March 23, 1909; he graduated from the Western Dental College at Kansas City. Iva R., third child of our subject, was born December 20, 1878, and died February II, 1914; she married Marvin J. Ross in November, 1903, and to their union two children were born, Florence and Edna.
Politically, Mr. Glass is a Republican and has been school director for many years. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. During his residence here, of over forty years, he has been known as an excellent citizen in every re- spect.
1822
GREENE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
EDWARD GARNER TUCKER.
There is an inherent something in every successful man that singles him out and sets him apart. He has ideas of his own, and in those ideas he has faith that nothing can shake. He defies precedent, ignores rules and falters not to do what others have failed to do before him. Edward Garner Tucker, president of the Tucker-Ferguson Company, of Springfield, has proven that he is a man of individual ideas and the possessor of those qualities which make for success, such attributes as ginger, candor, honesty of purpose coupled with a naturally optimistic temperament, which has been stimulated by actual observation.
Mr. Tucker is a scion of an old Southern family, and his birth occurred May II, 1872, in Lebanon, Kentucky. He is a son of Creed H. and Row- anne (Riffe) Tucker. The father was born in Virginia, July 13, 1832, and when young in years moved to Kentucky with his parents, where he spent much of his life, successfully engaged in the hotel business until 1869, when, owing to failing health, he retired from active affairs. His death occurred in 1897. Politically, he was a Democrat, and in religious matters a Baptist. He and Rowanne Riffe were married in Lebanon, Kentucky, about 1859. She was born in the Blue Grass state in 1842 and there grew to womanhood, and, like her husband, received her education in the old-time common schools. She is still living, although past her alloted three score and ten years. She makes her home among her children, of whom there are: Mrs. Verne Powell, Boston, Massachusetts; Mrs. Florence Tucker, Doling City; and Mrs. A. H. Gifford.
Edward G. Tucker spent his boyhood in Kentucky and moved with his parents to Sedalia, Missouri, when young. He received a common school education and attended high school at Sedalia, later studied at Garfield Uni- versity, Wichita, Kansas. After leaving school, he worked for the Adams Express Company in Springfield, Missouri, for a period of fourteen years, having come to this city in 1888. He gave the company eminent satisfac- tion in every respect and was regarded as one of their most faithful and efficient employes. He was alert, prompt, reliable and courteous. He went to Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1904, and engaged in coal mining for three years, and his ventures there as an operator were quite successful. In 1907 he re- turned to Springfield and engaged in the warehouse business, enjoying a good patronage for two years, and in 1909 he and C. A. Ferguson incor- porated the company of which he is now president and manager, and which, by his able management and close application, has grown to large propor- tions. They conduct one of the best known and most successful storage and transfer businesses in this part of the state.
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.