USA > Missouri > Livingston County > Past and present of Livingston County, Missouri : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 4
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
duct. His decisions have always been strictly fair and impartial, based upon the law and the equity of the case, and he is highly regarded as one of the most capable judges that ever presided over the county court. He has won for himself in this capacity favorable criticism for the careful and systematic methods which he has followed and is generally admired for his remarkable powers of concentration and application and his retentive mind, which often stands him in good stead. There seem few men who can more readily discriminate between the essential and non-es- sential than Judge Bonderer and the work he has done in his official capacity redounds greatly to his credit and has been of vast benefit to the locality.
Judge Bonderer was married at Utica, Missouri, April 26, 1892, to Miss Stella McMillen, a daughter of J. W. and Louisa (Ingram) McMillen, the former a prominent real-estate dealer of Kansas City. The McMillen family is of English origin and some of the early members of the Ingram family were old Virginia settlers, several of them taking up arms in the defense of the Con- federacy as officers during the Civil war. A brother of Mrs. Mc- Millen, J. D. Ingram, is treasurer and a director of the Ex-Con- federate Home at Higginsville, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Millen were the parents of four children : Mamie, the wife of J. H. Hollister, a real-estate agent of Kansas City, Missouri; Stella, the wife of our subject ; Jennie, who married J. R. Williams, of Grimes, Oklahoma; and Nellie, a graduate of St. Louis College, residing in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Bonderer are the parents of five sons and two daughters: Mary Estelle, residing at home ; Frank E., who looks largely after the agricultural interests of our subject ; Drury J .; Nellie L .; Lawrence M., Jr. ; and Herbert F., attending school; and Gerald G. The family reside in a handsome and modern residence which was erected by our subject on the home farm.
Judge Bonderer is affiliated with the democratic party, the principles of which find in him a stanch supporter. Outside of the important office of county judge, which he now fills, he has served for a time as member of the township board and also was a school director of his district, indicating his never lagging inter- est in the welfare and progress of this section. His fraternal re- lations are confined to the Knights of Columbus. Judge Bonderer has always led a busy and useful life in which indolence and idle- ness have had no part, and his work as farmer as well as officer
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
of the court has been a serviceable factor in the growth and up- building of this section of the state. He gives to the people all that is best in him and is always ready to discharge every obliga- tion laid upon him.
FRANK B. ELLIOTT.
Among the native sons of Livingston county who have won not- able success in agricultural pursuits is numbered Frank B. Elliott, who owns a neat and well improved farm of one hundred and thirty-five acres on section 8, range 17, Blue Mound township. He was born upon the family homestead, October 21, 1864, and is a son of Wylie and Nancy J. (Brown) Elliott. The father was an early settler in this part of Missouri, having come here from Ohio in 1864 and hav- ing made his home in Livingston county when it was undeveloped and meagerly settled. He gave his attention to general farming for a number of years and is today numbered among the most popular and deservedly successful men in this part of Missouri. He has reached the advanced age of seventy-five and is still active and hearty in spirit and interests. He and his wife reared a family of four children : Anna, who became the wife of Clem Blayney, a farmer in Ohio; Frank B., of this review; Clements, who passed away in 1870 and is buried in the Collar cemetery, near Dawn; and Vinton, who is assist- ing his father. The mother of these children died in 1881, at the age of forty-three, and is buried beside her son in the Collar cemetery. The family is of Scotch-Irish origin, but has been in America for several generations.
Frank B. Elliott acquired his early education in the district schools of Dawn and completed his studies in Avalon College, graduating from the business department at the age of twenty-one. He began his active career by aiding his father in the operation of the home- stead and continued to engage in this line of work until 1889, when he went upon a pleasure trip to the eastern states. Returning in 1890, he began farming for himself on a tract of fifty-five acres which he purchased at this time. This he later increased to one hundred and thirty-five acres, its present dimensions, and thereon made substan- tial improvements, building a comfortable residence, good barns, a silo and outbuildings. In fact he has made this a valuable farm by the care and labor he has bestowed upon it and in addition to general
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
farming he raises high-grade stock, keeping one hundred head of cat- tle, twelve horses and one hundred swine. It is due to his labor and diligence and the assistance of his estimable wife that he is now the owner of an excellent property and accounted one of the substantial farmers of Blue Mound township.
Mr. Elliott was married in Chillicothe, August 7, 1895, to Miss Kitty Dilley, a daughter of R. S. and Elizabeth (Mann) Dilley, the former a well known carpenter and contractor in Sedalia and a for- mer resident of Chillicothe. Mrs. Dilley passed away in 1887 and is buried in Rose Hill cemetery, in Breckenridge. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott have two children : Fern B., a graduate of the Dawn high school; and Wylie H., who is attending school.
Mr. Elliott is a member of the Presbyterian church and an active worker in its ranks, having served as elder for a number of years. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and is active and prominent in the affairs of that organization. He is independent in his political views, supporting men and measures rather than parties and taking an intelligent interest in community affairs. He is well and favorably known throughout the county where he has spent his entire life and where a host of friends are eager to testify to his sterling worth.
WILLIAM J. JONES.
William J. Jones has for thirty-three years been a resident of Liv- ingston county and now lives on section 21, Blue Mound township, where he has a pleasant home in the midst of a well improved farm of two hundred and sixty acres. It's buildings in good repair, its well kept fences, its highly tilled fields and the good stock found in the pastures, all combine to make this one of the most attractive properties of the locality and evidence the spirit of progress and enter- prise which characterize the owner in the management of his business affairs. Mr. Jones is in all essential respects a self-made man and the record of his career furnishes a splendid example of the power of honesty, indomitable energy and determination in the accomplish- ment of success. He was born in Angleshire, Wales, August 15, 1838, a son of Richard and Elizabeth (Davis) Jones, the former a prominent farmer in his native section. Both have passed away and are buried in Llanedon, Angleshire.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
William J. Jones acquired his education in his native country but his advantages along this line were extremely limited. He was obliged on account of the poverty of his parents to begin his active life when he was only ten years of age. He worked at various occupa- tions in Wales, accepting any position which would bring him an income until he was twenty-three years of age, at which time he came to America. He landed in New York and from there pushed on to Illinois, where for some time he worked upon a farm, abandoning this occupation in order to accept a position in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. There he remained for eight years, going at the end of that time to Iowa and engaging in farming in the employ of others. By the exercise of great thrift and intelligent economy in all these years he managed to save two thousand dollars and with this capital came in 1870 to Livingston county and purchased eighty acres in Blue Mound township, to which he added from time to time until he now owns two hundred and sixty acres. Mr. Jones fenced the property and built the comfortable residence in which he lives at the present time. He also erected barns, a silo and granaries and in other ways added to the value and attractive appearance of the place. All of the accessories and conveniences of a model farm are now found upon the property and he annually gathers abundant harvests as a reward for the care and labor he bestows upon the fields. In addition he is extensively interested in stock-raising. His business interests have always been ably managed and have resulted in a gratifying measure of success.
Mr. Jones has been three times married. He wedded first on October 12, 1870, Miss Margaret Williams, who passed away in 1875, leaving a daughter, Elizabeth, who is the wife of Gomer Jones, a prominent farmer in this section. Mr. Jones' second marriage oc- curred on the 3d of July, 1876, when he wedded Mrs. Jane Owens, who died November 25, 1886, and who is buried in the Welsh ceme- tery. She left to mourn her loss a family of three children : John, who is a prominent farmer in this locality; Hannah, the wife of John Price, also well known in agricultural circles of this vicinity; and Jennie, who married Walter Vanstane, a well known farmer in Liv- ingston county. Mr. Jones' third marriage occurred in Dawn, Octo- ber 22, 1891, the lady of his choice being Miss Hannah Davis, a daughter of John H. and Mary (Williams) Davis, both of whom have passed away. The father of Mrs. Jones came from the south of Wales in 1866 and settled in Livingston county, where he followed farming until his death, which occurred on the 19th of January, 1892.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
He had survived his wife since 1887 and was laid to rest by her side in the Welsh burial ground. They had a family of seven children : Sarah, who died in 1902 and is buried in the Welsh cemetery; John, a farmer in Oregon; Robert, a prominent agriculturist of Blue Mound township; Mary, the widow of James Greener, formerly a well known landowner in the same section; Elizabeth, the wife of Llewellen Davis, of Salt Lake City; Hannah, the wife of the subject of this review; and Katherine, who married William Edwards, a prominent farmer of Blue Mound township.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones are members of the Congregational church, of which Mr. Jones has served as trustee for many years. He is pro- gressive in his political views but has given his time to his farming interests in preference to political activities, although he is never neglectful of the duties of citizenship. As the architect of his own fortune he has builded wisely and well, with the result that he stands today among the men who have been factors in the agricultural de- velopment of Livingston county.
G. A. SMITH.
The life of G. A. Smith has been so varied in its activities, so hon- orable in its purposes and so far reaching and beneficial in its effects that it has become an integral part of the educational history of Chilli- cothe and has left its impress also upon the annals of school develop- ment in the state, for he was prominent and well known as an educator for many years, although he has been living retired since August, 1910. He was born in Claiborne county, Tennessee, near Cumberland Gap, December 6, 1849, and is a son of John W. and Lucinda (Ford) Smith, the former for many years a prominent farmer in Tennessee and Missouri. The father served as a member of the Home Guard of Mis- souri during the Civil war and was afterward well known in demo- cratic politics. He resides at present at Nevada, Missouri, and has reached the advanced age of eighty-four. He has survived his wife since 1905, her death having occurred when she was seventy-six years of age. They were the parents of twelve children, two of whom died in infancy. The paternal line is of old English origin and the grand- father of our subject, George Ford, could trace his ancestry back to distinguished members of the English nobility. His wife was of Penn- sylvania Dutch extraction.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
G. A. Smith acquired his early education in the public schools of Kentucky and Missouri and later attended the Cainsville high school and Princeton College. He was graduated from the Kirksville State Normal School in 1879 and in the same year became identified with school affairs as superintendent of the Kirksville public schools and thus began a career in educational work which was destined to bring him prominence and many honors. After serving two years in his first position he went to Trenton as superintendent of the public schools in that city and there spent a similar period of time, after which he came to Humphreys and identified himself with general educational interests. He it was who founded Humphreys College and he re- mained as its president for seven years, during which time he did able and effective administrative work, controlling the destinies of the in- stitution at the most critical period of its existence. He also acted at this time as county school commissioner of Sullivan county. When he resigned his position as president of Humphreys College he was ap- pointed the first teacher of the Chillicothe Normal School and he held that position for ten years, resigning then, and soon afterward becom- ing superintendent of the public schools of the city. After three years he was made vice president of Maupins College in Chillicothe but after one year of able service resigned in order to live retired. Through- out his entire life he has been a student and a thinker and has carried his researches and investigations far into the realms of general knowl- edge, gaining for himself a high place in intellectual circles of Chilli- cothe and a position of prominence among the educators of the state. While he possesses a strong intellectual force which carried him for- ward into important relations with school interests, he has also displayed the qualities of a successful business man and since his retirement has engaged in the cultivation of one hundred and twenty acres of orchard land and in the breeding and raising of high-grade cattle and hogs. He is besides extensively interested in horticulture and is connected with financial interests of the community as a di- rector in the Bank of Chillicothe.
Mr. Smith was married at Trenton, Missouri, November 9, 1882, to Miss Mary E. Norton, a daughter of James B. and Telitha (Davis) Norton, the former a prominent farmer and a minister of the Baptist church, well known in both capacities throughout Mercer and Grundy counties. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of four children : Georgia B., the wife of Frank R. Olsen, a carpenter and contractor in Ferguson, Missouri; Winnifred Olga, a student in the senior class of the Chillicothe high school; and Eunice and Gladys, twins, both
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
members of the junior class in the same institution. Mr. Smith has a beautiful home in which he and his family reside in Chillicothe and in addition erected four other dwellings in the various parts of the state to which his duties called him. He has attained a position of honor in the Masonic order, holding membership in the lodge, chapter, council and commandery. He is district deputy grand master and district deputy lecturer of the twelfth Masonic district and has been five times master of his lodge. He is, besides, principal sojourner of Lone Star Chapter, No. 30, R. A. M., and is prelate of Paschal Com- mandery, No. 32, K. T. He is past worthy patron of Chillicothe Chapter, No. 113, O. E. S. He is well known also in the affairs of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a member of the sub- ordinate lodge and encampment. He is a devout adherent of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. Mr. Smith holds the degrees of Master of Arts, Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Philosophy, these honors indicating something of the degree of his intellectual attain- ment and the extent of his scholarly research. Although he now lives retired, in spirit and interests he is yet in his prime and a force in the educational circles of his city and state.
JOSEPH C. MINTEER.
Joseph C. Minteer, prominently connected with business inter- ests of Chillicothe as partner and president of the hardware firm of Minteer, Williams & Minteer, was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, August 20, 1840. He is a son of William and Sarah (Davis) Minteer, both of whom have passed away, the father dying in 1850 and the mother in 1889. The father was a stanch supporter of the democratic party during all his life and well known in community affairs of Harrison county.
Joseph C. Minteer began his education in the public schools of Kentucky and completed it in those of Chillicothe, laying aside his books at the age of eighteen. He spent three years thereafter in a dry-goods store, his practical training and experience at this time constituting the broad foundation of his present success along mercantile lines. He clerked in another dry-goods estab- lishment in Chillicothe for four months and at the end of that time returned to Kentucky, where he remained until January, 1863. Upon his return here he clerked in the establishment con-
JOSEPH C. MINTEER
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
ducted by Colonel R. F. Dunn, spending thirteen years in this position and resigning in order to open a grocery store of his own. This enterprise he conducted for one year, but at the end of that time entered the employ of a wholesale house in St. Joseph and worked in the interests of that concern for eleven years, establishing in the meantime the business of which he is now president. Mr. Williams, his present partner, worked for Mr. Minteer twenty-five years before he was admitted to member- ship in the firm and on January 12, 1913, Harry Minteer, a nephew of our subject, was also taken into the concern. They conduct one of the most important hardware enterprises in the city and their business is growing along satisfactory lines, its development being due in large measure to Mr. Minteer's persistent and well directed efforts. Mr. Minteer is also prominent in banking circles, for he was one of those who organized the Citizens National Bank twenty-five years ago and still serves as vice president of this strong financial institution.
A democrat in his political views he takes an active and intelli- gent interest in public affairs, although this never takes the form of office seeking. Commendable principles have governed his life and shaped his conduct in his relations with his fellowmen and he is, therefore, widely and favorably known in Livingston county, where he has resided for so many years.
HON. JOHN W. DONOVAN.
Hon. John W. Donovan, who has been a resident of Livingston county for forty-five years, has not only been an interested witness of the changes that have occurred during that time but an active partici- pant in bringing about present prosperous conditions. Not only has he been prominent along agricultural lines but he has represented his district in the state legislature and sat upon the bench as county judge, discharging his public duties in such a manner as to receive the high- est commendation. Mr. Donovan owns a farm of ninety-five acres on section 36, Medicine township, to the cultivation of which he has given many years of his life, and there he still makes his home, al- though the property is managed by his son Ira.
Born in Oneida county, New York, August 8, 1825, John W. Donovan is a son of Michael Donovan, a native of Ireland and a sol-
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
dier of the English army who came to America in 1812. The father was twice married, having eight children by each union. Our subject is the fifth in order of birth of the children born to the first wife of his father. The latter was a man of an exceptional education for his time and a fluent speaker, serving for forty years as a licensed ex- horter in the Methodist Episcopal church. He was dearly attached to the country in which he had found a home. The mother of our subject was of Welsh extraction on her father's side and of German descent through her mother, both of her parents being of Revolution- ary stock, her uncle, Major Wells Graves, having participated with Colonel Ethan Allen in the battle of Ticonderoga. The father passed away in 1874, his wife preceding him in death many years, being laid to rest in 1837.
John W. Donovan received his education in a log schoolhouse typical of the times in Oneida county, New York, beginning to attend school in 1833 and graduating in 1844. After putting aside his text- books he decided upon a trade and learned that of shoemaker, an occupation which he followed for the next seven years. The western country of the United States, holding forth opportunities for more rapid advancement, then became his destination and we next find him in Hillsdale county, Michigan, as the owner of a farm of fifty acres, which he wrested from the wilderness and gradually brought under cultivation, farming thereon for thirteen years. Disposing of this property, he came in 1868 from Michigan to Livingston county and bought the farm on section 36, in Medicine township, which he still owns. When he came in possession of the property it was in an undeveloped state and he had to break the soil acre by acre to pre- pare the land for cultivation. As his means increased he erected upon his property a commodious residence, instituted equipment and made such other improvements as are deemed necessary by the up-to- date farmer. His place is now one of the most valuable in this sec- tion of the county and bespeaks by its appearance the prosperity of the owner. Of late Mr. Donovan leaves most of the operation of the property to his son Ira, enjoying a rest after long years of hard toil and endeavor.
On June 24, 1856, Mr. Donovan married, in Hillsdale county, Michigan, Miss Mary Jane Moreland, a daughter of William and Ollie (Powers) Moreland, both of whom have passed away and are buried in Hillsdale county, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Donovan became the parents of six children: William W., a farmer of Linn county, Missouri; Ella, the wife of Marion Coberly, a farmer of Medicine
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
township; George, who passed away at the age of twenty-two years and is buried at Wallace cemetery; Jabin, a farmer of Medicine town- ship; Albert, who is engaged in business pursuits at Hale, Missouri; and Ira, who operates the home place.
Mr. Donovan has always taken an active interest in politics and has connected himself with a number of the reform movements insti- tuted to purify the government. For two terms he served in the legislature, where he was active on the floor of the house and con- nected with much important constructive legislation. Further honor came to him in his election to the office of county judge, in which position he served for one term, rendering decisions so strictly fair and impartial that his name is placed high on the roll of the men who have held this office. His religious affiliation is with the Meth- odist Episcopal church, South, and fraternally he belongs to the Masonic order, being a member of the blue lodge. Mr. Donovan has been successful in the truest sense of the word, for he has not only achieved success along material lines but has made for himself a name which is honored wherever known. Living on his farm, a hale, active and kindly old man nearing his eighty-eighth birthday, he has the high regard and confidence of all who know him.
J. H. CUSICK.
J. H. Cusick is a leading representative of financial interests of Mooresville, where he is cashier of the Mooresville Savings Bank and is also closely connected with the business development of his com- munity as the proprietor of a large hardware concern. He was born on his father's farm in Madison county, Ohio, February 19, 1868, and is a son of Andrew and Mary (Donohue) Cusick, natives of Ire- land and representatives of old Irish families. The father farmed all during his active life, both in his native land and in America, dying upon his property in Livingston county on June 28, 1903. He had long survived his wife, who passed away in 1872, and both are buried in the Catholic cemetery at Chillicothe, Missouri.
J. H. Cusick was still a lad when he was brought by his parents to Livingston county. He acquired his early education in the dis- trict schools and later attended the Stanberry Normal School, from which he was graduated at the age of twenty years. He spent thir- teen years thereafter engaged in teaching in this section of the state
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
but at the end of that time turned his attention to business pursuits, establishing himself in the hardware business, with which he has been identified since that time. Upon the organization of the Mooresville Savings Bank in 1904 he was made cashier and a member of the board of directors and since that time has by his able work and definite attainments become recognized as one of the authorities on banking and finance in Livingston county. In addition he owns a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Sampsell township and gives careful supervision to its operation.
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