USA > Missouri > Livingston County > Past and present of Livingston County, Missouri : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 27
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Charles E. Bowe attended public school in Texas, but came to this section of Livingston county in 1885. He and his brother, left orphans at an early age, were obliged to earn their own livelihood by herding cattle and consequently their education was but meager. They inherited a farm and operated it together for some time, Mr. Bowe of this review finally selling out his interest and purchasing his present tract. He has made extensive improvements upon the place
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and in addition to general farming engages in cattle raising, in which he has proven very successful.
At Chillicothe, February 25, 1893, Mr. Bowe was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Jacobs, a daughter of Peter and Anna Jacobs, the former a pioneer in Livingston county. He died in 1910, at the age of sixty-four, and is buried in the Rickett cemetery. He was one of the most widely known and popular men in this vicinity and was besides entitled to honor and esteem as a veteran of the Civil war. His wife survives him and resides upon the homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Bowe are the parents of six children: James, who is assisting his father; Lizzie, at home; and Cora, William, Edward and Flora, all of whom are attending school.
Mr. Bowe gives his political allegiance to the republican party, and is affiliated with the Anti-Horse Thief Association. He has won a substantial position among the progressive farmers and stock- raisers of this section and his success is the more creditable because it has come to him by reason of his own energy and efforts, and his honorable methods have won for him also the warm regard of an extensive circle of friends.
J. D. BROOKSHIER.
J. D. Brookshier, a leading representative of financial interests in Chillicothe, has through successive stages of advancement in his busi- ness career worked his way upward to his present responsible position as cashier of the First National Bank. He is a native son of Liv- ingston county, born on his father's farm, May 26, 1861, his parents being Thomas B. and Elizabeth (Brooks) Brookshier. The father was born in Ray county, Missouri, on the 2d of December, 1830, and was a son of Levan Brookshier, who was born in North Carolina and when seven years of age accompanied his parents to Franklin county, Tennessee, where he was reared upon a farm. He became the founder of the family in Missouri, removing to this state in 1829, at which time he settled in Ray county. Later he went to Daviess county, Missouri, and in 1832 became a resident of Liv- ingston county, where he engaged in farming on a tract of land in- cluded within the borders of what is now Jackson township. Upon that place his death occurred in 1864.
J. D. BROOKSHIER
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Thomas B. Brookshier was reared on the old homestead farm and attended the common schools until eighteen years of age, when he made a trip to California in search of gold and engaged in mining there for six years with good success. In 1855 he returned to Mis- souri and, desirous of adding to the education which he had already acquired, he again attended school, devoting his time to study and teaching until the outbreak of the Civil war. Soon afterward he enlisted in the Confederate service as a member of Hughes Regiment of the Fourth Division of the Missouri State Guard, thus serving until his discharge six months later. He participated in the battles of Carthage, Springfield, Dry Wood, Lexington and others. Soon after being mustered out he reenlisted as a member of Company H, Second Missouri Infantry, C. S. A., which regiment afterward be- came the Third Missouri Infantry. With that command Mr. Brook- shier took part in the engagements at Pea Ridge and Iuka, the skirmishes near Corinth and the battles of Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, Champion's Hill, Big Black River and Vicksburg. After the sur- render of Vicksburg he remained on detached duty until the close of the war, returning in June, 1865, to Livingston county. He then followed farming until 1870, after which he divided his attention between agricultural pursuits and teaching until 1882, when he was elected to the office of county clerk. This was not his first public service, however, for he had previously filled the position of county assessor.
Thomas B. Brookshier was married twice. On the 23d of August, 1860, he wedded Miss Elizabeth Brooks, who was born in Washington county, Missouri, in 1838, and died October 24, 1881, leaving six children, Jefferson D., John L., Rachel E., Margaret M., Thomas McFarland and Mary V. On the 5th of October, 1885, Mr. Brookshier was again married, his second union being with Miss Amanda J. Davis, who was a native of Hendricks county, Indiana. He held membership with the Masonic fraternity, having been united with the order in California in 1855. Politically he was a democrat and his religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Meth- odist Episcopal church, South. He died in March, 1889, at the age of fifty-eight years and was laid to rest in the private family burial ground near the old homestead.
J. D. Brookshier acquired his early education in the public schools of Livingston county and later attended the Missouri State Univer- sity. He left the latter institution at the age of twenty-five and spent two years thereafter upon his father's farm before coming to Chilli- Vol. II .- 18.
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cothe and entering upon his banking career. He became identified with the First National Bank as teller and his ambition, his energy and his faithful work soon led to his promotion to the office of cashier, and since that time he has become recognized as one of the authorities of finance in this part of the state. Throughout his entire business career he has been identified with banking, which he has mastered in every department, both in principle and in detail.
On the 25th of March, 1891, Mr. Brookshier married, in Chilli- cothe, Miss Ida M. Woolsey, a daughter of Hiram and Julia (Tom- lin) Woolsey, the former a pioneer farmer in this section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Woolsey have passed away and are buried in the cemetery near Mooresville. Mr. and Mrs. Brookshier became the parents of three children : L. W., who is engaged as a salesman in a clothing store; Orville B., who is a student in the Chillicothe high school; and Mildred, who is attending school. The family are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, South.
Fraternally Mr. Brookshier is affiliated with the Benevolent Pro- tective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias and is a member of the blue lodge in Masonry. He gives his allegiance to the dem- ocratic party, adhering to the progressive wing, and is at the present time doing able and efficient work as treasurer of the board of educa- tion. His interest in public affairs is of a most practical character, manifested by active cooperation in measures calculated to promote the general good, and his forceful character and strong personality make him a leading factor in community life as well as in banking circles.
BAZEL J. MEEK.
Bazel J. Meek, extensively engaged in the real-estate business and farming in Livingston county, his home being in Chillicothe, repre- sents one of the old families of the state. The paternal line is traced back to Jacob Meek, who was a son of Adam Meek and was born in Lincolnshire, England, about 1698. He came to America from England with his elder brother, John Meek, when twenty-one years of age and settled in Virginia, but soon afterward went to North Carolina, where at the age of twenty-two years he married a young lady of Welsh descent. They became the parents of a large family, including Isaac, James, Lewis, Samuel, John, Jeremiah, Nathan, Seth,
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Joseph, Polly, Nancy and Sarah Jane. After the death of his wife Jacob Meek settled in Hagerstown, Maryland, to which place some of his sons had preceded him. A few years later he wedded Nancy DuValle, a French girl, and three sons were born of that marriage: Lewis, Jacob and Bazel. Although Jacob Meek, Sr., followed farm- ing he was also a good tailor, and it was said that he could likewise play the violin very creditably. He died about 1790. It was from this old English stock that the family, of which Bazel J. Meek, of Chillicothe, is a representative, is descended. His paternal grand- father, Jeremiah Meek, was born near Hagerstown, Maryland, and was reared in Kentucky, where he followed farming. He also en- gaged in preaching as a minister of the Methodist church, and fol- lowing his removal northward was the first judge of probate in Wayne county, Indiana, serving in that position for twenty-one years. His political belief was that of the whig party. He served in the Indian wars of an early day and was prominently connected with the pioneer development of the districts in which he lived. He married Catharine Williams, a native of North Carolina. They were parents of John Fielding Meek, who was born in Wayne county, Indiana, October 25, 1824, and was reared in Hancock county, Indiana. In the autumn of 1855 he removed to Missouri, settling at Goshen Prairie, in Mercer county, but in 1858 came to Chillicothe. In 1864 he returned to Mercer county, but in 1866 again came to Chilli- cothe, where he now resides. He was a brick contractor and carried on business in that way for many years. His early political allegiance was given to the whig party, but on its dissolution he joined the ranks of the new republican organization, which he still supports. He is one of the few surviving veterans of the Mexican war, in which he served as a member of Company D, Fourth Indiana Infantry. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church, to which he has al- ways been most loyal. In early manhood he wedded Sarah Ann Hunt, who was born in Hancock county, Indiana, June 13, 1836, and there spent her girlhood days. She was a daughter of Herriman Hezekiah and Priscilla (Willett) Hunt, the former born in Bath county, Kentucky, and the latter in Maysville, Mason county, Ken- tucky. Mr. Hunt made farming his life work, and after spending his boyhood and youth in Bath and Mason counties he removed to Han- cock county, Indiana, where he long remained. He was a whig in his political faith and a Methodist in his religious belief.
It was on the 12th of August, 1852, that John Fielding Meek and Sarah Ann Hunt were married in Hancock county, Indiana.
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They became the parents of nine children, of whom three died in infancy. The others are: Serrethena Lorinda, usually known as Retta, who was born August 10, 1857, and is the wife of Gram Cooper, a contractor of Kansas City, Missouri; Herriman Orlando, who was born in Hancock county, Indiana, February 20, 1854, and is engaged in the real-estate business in Brunswick, Missouri; James E., who was born July 5, 1863, and is a contractor of Chillicothe ; John Fielding, born July 15, 1874; and Alpha May, born March 10, 1877.
The other member of the family is Bazel J. Meek, who was born in Chillicothe, Missouri, November 30, 1868. His education was acquired in the public schools and his youthful days were spent under the parental roof. His parents now reside at No. 123 Locust street and his father has reached the ripe old age of eighty-nine years. Bazel J. Meek is well known in the business circles of Chillicothe because of his extensive operations in real estate and because of his important farming interests. Both are capably, carefully and wisely managed and are proving sources of his success.
In his political views Mr. Meek was formerly a republican and is now identified with the progressive wing of the party. He belongs to both the Masonic and Elks fraternities. In the former he has taken all of the degrees save the thirty-third, being a prominent York and Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. The family is an old and well known one in Livingston county, where they have taken an active part in bringing about the present develop- ment and improvement.
JOSHUA WALKER.
The history of agricultural progress in Livingston county would be incomplete without mention of Joshua Walker, a native son who was born here May 24, 1843, and for seven decades has made his home in this section, where he has attained to a substantial position, own- ing a farm of one hundred and seventy acres on section 27, Sampsell township. He is a son of Amos and Rachel (Murray) Walker, both of whom have passed away, the father dying January 5, 1879, and the mother surviving him until January 29, 1895. Both found their last resting place at Mount Olive cemetery, Sampsell township. The father was one of the first settlers in this district, coming to Livingston county when the Indians still roamed wild and buffalo and bear were
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plentiful. He took an active part in shaping pioneer conditions and gradually became a prominent man in his locality, where he was highly esteemed for his many good qualities of mind and character.
Joshua Walker acquired his education in the public schools, mak- ing himself master of such learning as was obtainable at the time and under the conditions of frontier life. At the age of eighteen he laid aside his text-books, although he had previous to that time assisted his father in the minor duties on the farm in his vacations and at leisure times. After leaving school he continued to assist in the operation of the farm for three years, after that time working out for a similar period as a farm hand. He then heeded Greeley's call to go west and for three years followed various lines of employment before return- ing to Livingston county, where upon his return he engaged inde- pendently in agriculture, acquiring the farm which he now owns and of which sixty-five acres are under high cultivation. He follows gen- eral farming and also gives attention to stock-raising, his progressive methods resulting in substantial success. He has erected upon his farm a handsome residence and such other buildings as he deemed nec- essary to profitable improvement of the property. All such equipment, implements and machinery as are considered indispensable to intensive farming are to be found upon his property and since taking possession he has enhanced the value of his farm manifold.
In Sampsell township, on January 4, 1868, Mr. Walker was mar- ried to Miss Sarah J. Dawkins, a daughter of John and Mary Ann (Simmons) Dawkins, the former of whom passed away May 24, 1871, but the latter is still living and makes her home with her daugh- ter in Chillicothe at the age of eighty-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are the parents of ten children : Paralee, the wife of George D. Wag- ner, of Sampsell township, who is mentioned at greater length in an- other part of this volume; Amos, an agriculturist of Daviess county, Missouri, who has two children, Clyde and Paul, both attending school; Mary F., who married John Wagner, a blacksmith of Monette, Mis- souri ; Charles A., residing at Chillicothe; Rachel, the wife of Walter Minnick, a druggist of Lock Spring, Missouri; Amanda, the wife of Wade Brookshire, of Chillicothe; Jennie, who married Lewis Mast, an agriculturist of Sampsell township; John Andrew, who passed away November 28, 1891 ; and Edward Harvey and Marvin, at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Walker are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and take an active and helpful part in the work of that organization. His political affiliation is with the democratic party, to which for many years he has given his support. A man well informed
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and public-spirited, he takes laudable interest in all matters of public importance and never fails to support any measures intended to bene- fit the locality or its people. While he has attained to individual suc- cess, he has been constructive in the development of this section and it is due to pioneers like Joshua Walker that the prosperous conditions, which the present generation enjoys, prevail.
J. P. McLONEY.
J. P. McLoney, a successful agriculturist of Cream Ridge town- ship, has been cultivating the soil in this section since 1857. His resi- dence here has, therefore, covered an important period in the county's growth and development, with which he has been to a large extent identified, and in the course of years he has become well known by reason of his many sterling traits of character. He was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, October 18, 1829, and is a son of John and Hanna McLoney, the former a prominent farmer in Harrison county. He died in Lexington county, Kentucky, and his wife has also passed away. She died in Chillicothe while on a visit and is buried in the Jones cemetery.
J. P. McLoney attended public school in Kentucky but his advan- tages along this line were very meager. He laid aside his books to follow farming, an occupation with which he has been connected ever since, working some times for himself and some times in the interests of others. He has reached a creditable position in agricultural circles, owning at the present time a fine farm of one hundred and twenty- one acres on sections 14 and 16, Cream Ridge township, the attrac- tive and excellent condition of which gives evidence of the many years of care and labor he has bestowed upon his fields. In addition to general farming Mr. McLoney has made a specialty of tobacco raising, which branch of his work he has made extremely profitable. He also raises live stock.
Mr. McLoney has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Anna Eliza Holden, whom he married in Kentucky and who has passed away. Mr. McLoney's second union occurred on January 27, 1859, when he wedded Miss America Lilly, a daughter of William and Barbara A. (Moor) Lilly, the former a successful trader, who died in Kentucky and is buried in Georgetown. After his death his widow sold her holdings and came to Missouri, settling upon the
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farm where Mr. McLoney resides today. She died in 1892, at the age of seventy-three, and is buried in the May cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. McLoney became the parents of five children : John W., who is assisting with the work of the farm; Mrs. Mary Lee Melton, who died in 1902 and is buried in the Jones cemetery ; Amanda, who passed away in 1904 and who is also buried in the Jones cemetery ; Lilly A., who died at the age of three and is buried in Chillicothe; and one who died in infancy.
Mr. McLoney is a democrat in his political beliefs and religiously is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. The divisions and dissensions which the Civil war caused touched his life very closely, for he and his brother were divided in their allegiance, one supporting the Confederacy and the other the Union. The brother joined the army but Mr. McLoney bought a substitute for he refused to fight against a member of his own family. He was, however, stanch in his support of the cause to which he adhered, plac- ing all of his money at the disposal of the leaders. He is one of the most highly honored and respected citizens of Livingston county, where he has made his home for well over a half century and where his upright and worthy qualities of character have gained him many friends. At the age of eighty-four he is still an active factor in the world's work-a man whose labor through the years has resulted in substantial and well merited success.
JAMES F. BLACK.
James F. Black, a descendant of one of the old pioneer families of Livingston county whose history has been intimately interwoven with that of this region, is a foremost representative of agricultural progress in the section, where he owns a valuable farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Jackson township, located on sections 23 and 14. A native, he was born very near the place on which he now resides, July 17, 1850, and is a son of James A. and Mary A. (Hutchison) Black.
The Black family in America traces its origin back to the land of Erin. It was the paternal great-grandfather of our subject and four of his brothers who at a very early date came to Henderson county, Kentucky, where they made settlement. Some of them offered their services for the sake of liberty in the Revolutionary war and distin- guished themselves for bravery and gallantry. They left Ireland on
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account of the unbearable taxes that were imposed, especially upon those cultivating the soil, to sustain the English kings in their many European wars, and after they paid their taxes, there was left to them seldom enough for sustenance. They owned some property and a small piece of land in Ireland on which they made their living in a hand to mouth way, and when rumors came to them of the opportuni- ties offered in the new world, which were then spreading to all parts of the globe and also infected the little island, they with the rest of the people became imbued with the idea to seek the land which offered them a better living. However, they loved their native island and could not readily make up their minds to leave the land of their fathers. A curious accident, however, which occurred to the great- grandfather, when he broke the beam of his plow, was the cause that brought about the realization of the long discussed project. Instead of having the plow repaired, which was no small matter for a poor man to pay, as money was scarce in those times, he concluded to call upon his brothers and conferred with them upon the question whether they would not all sell out and make the move to the new world. They agreed in the affirmative and, disposing of their property, sailed for the new world. Here they arrived safely and sound with their small savings, and being industrious, thrifty and God-fearing men, they succeeded in a short time to found good homes for themselves. The great-grandmother's name in her maiden- hood was Wilson and she also had brothers who had fought in the Revolutionary war, and it was after one of her brothers, William Wilson, who was killed during an engagement of that sanguine con- flict, that the grandfather of our subject was named. As the years passed the great-grandfather sought the greater opportunities of the west and drifting in that direction with his son, William L. Black, the latter settled on the Missouri river, where he remained for a short time before making removal to Livingston county.
William L. Black, the grandfather, was born October 19, 1796, and his wife, Catherine Hines, on December 28, 1801, and of this union were born: William Wilson Black, March 6, 1826; James A. Black, November 22, 1828; and Pernecia Ann Black, March 9, 1831. The grandfather moved to this county in the spring of 1834 settling in the virgin forest that then covered hill and dale. He selected a piece of ground on the south half of the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 14, township 59, range 25, settling on a small quar- ter of a section, near a little hill, with a branch of the land running on the north and northwest of a distance between fifty and one hun-
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dred yards. He also entered one hundred and sixty acres of the southwest quarter of section 14, township 59, range 25, and forty acres of the southwest of the southeast quarter of section 14; forty acres of the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 22; and forty acres of the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 23, all in township 55, range 25, giving him in all land to the extent of two hundred and eighty acres, half of which was covered by fine timber, the other half being in prairie. One hundred and sixty acres of this land he entered, but the rest he acquired by purchase. He built his first cabin on the above mentioned one hundred and sixty acres within a few feet of where his second more pretentious home was later built. At that time there were not more than a half dozen families located in what is known as the forks of the river or Jack- son and Sampsell townships. A short distance south of where he built was an Indian trail or road which the Indians traveled fre- quently in passing from a village on the east of Grand river to an- other near Utica, but there is no incident recalled that he was ever harassed by the red men. Kindly and generous, and understanding their character, he never meddled in their affairs and was left by them unharmed. A Godly man of strong character, his desires lay more in the line of making a home than to lay up riches, yet by able man- agement and incessant industry he accumulated a gratifying amount of money for his day. Being a kind friend and neighbor, he lent a considerable sum thereof to a man whom he supposed to be friendly and honest. The false friend, however, betrayed his trust and he lost in the transaction the large sum of one thousand dollars, which today would represent a capital that would have to be expressed in much larger figures. Spending most of his life out-of-doors, he was a hale and hearty man, sturdy and strong, and during his whole life paid but one doctor bill, although he lived over eighty years and there was needed no other medical attention for him than that which was given him at the time of his death. Although he belonged to the whig party as long as that organization existed, he later gave his allegiance to the democratic party. He never owned slaves but his sympathies were with the South-a natural outcome of family tradi- tion and also the result of his own cogitations, which decided him in favor of state rights for the separate sovereign states. At the time of the Civil war he lived surrounded by his children, for whom he had made a nice and comfortable home with the exception of one daughter, who had shortly before married. He was a great lover of good horses and always kept three or four on hand, experiencing
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