USA > Missouri > Livingston County > Past and present of Livingston County, Missouri : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 7
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ELTON L. MARSHALL
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elected on the progressive ticket county prosecuting attorney of Livingston county and has already demonstrated his adminis- trative ability, his legal talent and his fearlessness in the discharge of duty.
Mr. Marshall makes his home in the Henrietta Hotel in Chillicothe and is well known and very popular in social and fraternal circles. He is a member of the blue lodge in Masonry and is connected also with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and he has in addition extensive affiliations with Greek letter societies, belonging to Phi Alpha Delta, Beta Theta Pi and Delta Sigma Rho. He is one of the representative young men of Chillicothe, interested in public affairs and active in promoting public welfare, advancement and progress. As an official, as a lawyer and as a citizen his success and prominence have a common cause in his aggressiveness, his comprehensive knowledge and his breadth of view, qualities which promise well for still greater future attainment.
W. H. VANSTANE.
W. H. Vanstane, honored as a veteran of the Civil war and well known as one of the successful and representative farmers of Blue Mound township, was born in New York city, July 28, 1845, and is a son of Wellington and Frances (Cunningham) Vanstane, the for- mer for many years a professional musician, well known throughout the eastern states. He came to Missouri from Boston and bought one hundred and twenty acres of land near Utica, bringing it from raw prairie land to a high state of cultivation. He became well known and highly esteemed throughout his section of the state and his death, which occurred in 1889, was deeply regretted by his many friends. His wife passed away in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1856 and is buried in the Mount Auburn cemetery.
W. H. Vanstane acquired his education in the public schools of Boston, attending until he was fourteen years of age, at which time he began the study of music. He continued at this until he was eight- een and then enlisted in the United States navy to serve for the remaining years of the Civil war. When hostilities ceased and he had received his honorable discharge he came with his father to Missouri and assisted in the operation of the family homestead for Vol. II-5
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fifteen years thereafter. At the age of thirty-five he began his inde- pendent agricultural career, purchasing a farm of eighty acres two miles south of Utica. This property he improved and developed along progressive lines until 1891, when he sold it and moved to his present farm, which he had purchased a year or two before. He has one hundred and sixty acres, all under cultivation, his fields yielding abundant harvests as a result of the care and labor which he bestows upon them. He has made substantial improvements from time to time and has a comfortable residence, substantial barns and outbuild- ings and all the accessories of a model farm. He engages in mixed farming, keeping twenty-five head of cattle, fifteen horses and fifty swine, his stock-raising interests constituting a valuable source of income.
Mr. Vanstane married, at Tenney's Grove, Ray county, on Octo- ber 18, 1874, Miss Pauline G. Fortune, a daughter of Rev. William- son D. and Mary B. (Long) Fortune, the former for ten years pro- bate judge of Ray county. He also was a veteran of the Civil war, serving through that conflict in the Forty-fourth Missouri Volunteers and obtaining his honorable discharge as captain. He was for some time justice of the peace and a prominent and popular man in the public affairs of his community. He died March 15, 1909, at Ten- ney's Grove, having survived his wife since 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Van- stane became the parents of twelve children: Archibald L., who died ยท at the age of nine years and is buried in Utica cemetery; William A., a farmer in Blue Mound township; Harvey E., who is a bookkeeper in Butte, Montana; Clarence L., who serves as bookkeeper in the internal revenue department in Kansas City; Bernice P., who is en- gaged as a music teacher; Emma, who became the wife of Milton Rice, of Dawn; Walter, who is engaged in farming in Blue Mound township; Ellsworth R., who is a graduate of the Chillicothe Normal School and is now engaged in farming; Horace A., operating a valu- able property in Blue Mound township; Harry A., who is assisting on the home farm; Cecil M., a graduate of the State Normal School of Maryville; and Virgil, a graduate of the Dawn high school.
Mr. Vanstane keeps in touch with his comrades of the Civil war through his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has been active and prominent for many years. He is a republi- can in his political beliefs and has been called upon to serve in various important local offices, including those of township judge and direc- tor of the school board. He is a man who has made good use of his opportunities and has forged his way to the front. He has encount-
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ered obstacles and difficulties, but has overcome these by honorable and determined efforts and is numbered among the substantial and honored citizens of Livingston county.
Since the above article was written, Mr. Vanstane has passed away, his death, which occurred on January 31, 1913, occasioning deep and widespread regret to all those, who through closer contact had learned to esteem him for his many high qualities of heart and mind.
WILEY WALKER.
Wiley Walker is an extensive agriculturist and stock-raiser, living on section 32, Blue Mound township, and by reason of his long resi- dence here, his active and honorable business life and his able ser- vice as a soldier in the Civil war, he is well entitled to representation in this volume. He was born in Platt county, Missouri, near Platt City, May 15, 1845, and is a son of William and Luvica (Early) Walker, the former a pioneer in the agricultural development of that section of Missouri. He passed away in 1863 and was survived by his wife until 1910. Both are buried in the family graveyard near Platt City. The family is of old Scotch-Irish origin and its representatives have been in America for many generations.
Wiley Walker acquired his education in the district schools of Platt county and laid aside his books at the early age of fifteen in order to offer his services to the Federal army at the outbreak of the Civil war. He was sent to the front and took part in many of the most important engagements of that conflict, including the battle of Nashville, and in 1865 received his honorable discharge. Returning from the southern battlefields with a creditable military record, he made his home again in Platt county, where he remained until he went to southern Kansas. After a brief residence in that section, however, he returned to his native county and there farmed for fif- teen years, meeting with a gratifying measure of success. In 1893 he came to Livingston county and purchased the H. Shaefer farm, which he later traded for two hundred acres on section 32, Blue Mound township, whereon he has since made his home. He has brought his fields to a high state of cultivation and has added mod- ern improvements, including barn, silo and sheds for the shelter of his grain and stock. In addition to general farming Mr. Walker is
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extensively interested in stock-raising, keeping fifty head of cattle, ten horses and sixty swine. He has gained his present enviable degree of prosperity by his own efforts and by the exercise of his persever- ance and energy, guided by sound business judgment and practical common sense.
Mr. Walker has been twice married. His first union was with Miss Ellen Kern, who died September 26, 1874, and is buried in the Kern family burial ground, in Platt county. She was the mother of two children: Lizzie, the wife of Walter Johnson; and Susan, who married Wesley Smith. On the 12th of August, 1875, Mr. Walker wedded Miss Nora Croskey, a daughter of Robert and Mary Eliza (Wykoff) Croskey, the former a prominent farmer of Platt county, who passed away in 1873. His wife survived him many years, her death occurring in 1903, and they are buried side by side in the Ginter burial ground, in Platt county. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have become the parents of ten children : Celeste, who married C. Hatfield, a printer ; J. Wiley, who is connected with the operation of the Lewis farm, in Blue Mound township; Ollie, the wife of Oliver Evans, a prominent farmer in the same section; Luvica, who married Arthur Watkins, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Blue Mound township; Sherman, who is also cultivating a farm in this vicinity; Mary, the wife of William Evans, a prominent farmer of Blue Mound town- ship; George and Warner, who are assisting their father; and Annie and Fritz H., who are attending school.
Mr. Walker is well known in Masonic circles and prominent in the affairs of the local chapter. He is a member of the Christian church, and politically gives his allegiance to the republican party, having served as a director of the school board. He is widely known as an enterprising and representative agriculturist of Livingston county and one who has always followed business methods which are above reproach, bringing him a gratifying measure of prosperity.
WILLIAM SCRUBY.
William Scruby, who for the past twenty-five years has been closely and influentially associated with business interests in Chilli- cothe, is a son of William and Elizabeth (Pryor) Scruby, natives of England, the father born in Melbourne, Cambridgeshire, March II, 1827, and the mother on the Isle of Jersey. The father came with
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his parents, William and Hannah (Standford) Scruby, to America in 1841 and located in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin, where he en- gaged in general farming for ten years, being afterward for two years in the general merchandise business. In 1860 he moved to Steele county, Minnesota, and remained there for four years, farm- ing and discharging the duties of county auditor, which office he was appointed to fill during the sickness of the incumbent. He took the first census of the town of Owatonna, Minnesota, and was there made deputy auditor. While serving in that capacity he was elected sheriff and held this office until he turned his attention again to busi- ness pursuits. He built a large warehouse and engaged in selling agricultural implements. He met with a gratifying degree of success and his labors were rewarded by a liberal patronage, but owing to the extremely cold winters in Minnesota he was obliged to move farther south and in the fall of 1867 he located in Springfield, Missouri. In August of the following year he went to Carrollton, Illinois, and after residing there until 1872 moved to Wheeling township, Livings- ton county, where he engaged in farming. In 1874 he began buying grain and selling agricultural implements in connection with the conduct of a lumberyard and both of these enterprises he managed successfully until the spring of 1884. At that time he built the first grain warehouse and elevator in the village of Wheeling and carried also a complete line of corn-shelling machinery. He married in 1849 Miss Elizabeth Pryor, and to their union were born seven children : Emma, Fannie, Frank, Edwin, Alice, William, of this review, and Horace. The father of our subject held a captain's commission in the state militia of Minnesota for a number of years and saw active service during the Indian troubles in that state. He passed away May 26, 1908, having survived his wife since 1888.
William Scruby attended the public schools of Livingston county and when he laid aside his books at the age of nineteen went into business with his father in Wheeling and also managed a lumber- yard for the Hannibal Saw Mill Company at that point. He con- tinued in business in Wheeling for nine years, at the end of which time he and his brother purchased the grain and implement business of Senator W. A. Jacobs in Chillicothe, Missouri, and conducted it successfully for ten years, when the corporation known as the Scruby Brothers Grain & Implement Company was formed, of which he has been manager and president since. He belongs to that class of citi- zens upon which the secure and further progress of the city rests, for he is resourceful, self-confident, progressive and far-sighted and al-
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ways carries forward to successful completion anything which he undertakes.
Mr. Scruby married in 1886 Miss Zua M. Kidder and they became the parents of three children: William K., who is connected with his father's business; and Stanley Reed and Lulu May, both of whom reside at home. Mrs. Scruby is a devout adherent of the Presby- terian church.
Mr. Scruby is a progressive in his political beliefs and in matters of citizenship eminently public-spirited and loyal, although he never seeks public office. He is affiliated with the Masonic order, holding membership in the lodge and chapter, and is well known in the local organization. At an early age he began his independent business career and the prosperity which has come to him is but the just reward of his industry, perseverance and capable management. Success has attended his well directed efforts until he now occupies an enviable place in business circles of Chillicothe.
CHARLES J. LAWSON.
Charles J. Lawson, who for many years has been identified with agricultural interests of Mooresville township as the owner of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 20, is a native son of Livingston county, born upon the farm he now owns December 18, 1860. His parents were Ami and Margaret (Clark) Lawson. The family is of old British origin and the first of the name to come to America settled in Virginia, whence representatives of the line moved to Kentucky and finally to Livingston county. The father of our subject purchased the land which is now the property of his son in pioneer times, buying from a Mr. Hudgins, who had taken it up as a preemption claim. He transformed it from a state of partial cultivation into a well developed and profitable tract, interrupting his farming operations only in order to serve in the Civil war, and resuming them immediately after his discharge. He became well known and widely popular in agricultural and social circles of the community and his death on March 2, 1880, was deeply regretted by his many friends. He had survived his wife since March 29, 1875, and both are buried in the Mooresville cemetery.
Charles J. Lawson acquired his education in the Mooresville public schools and laid aside his books at the early age of twelve in
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order to assume some of the duties connected with the operation of his father's farm. At the age of nineteen the entire responsibility for the management of the home farm and for the welfare of the remaining members of the family was laid upon his shoulders as the eldest son, and the duties devolving upon him in this connection have been ably and honorably discharged. He has since remained upon the homestead, bending his energies to its further improvement and de- velopment and winning as the years have gone by an honored place among progressive and successful agriculturists. To the improve- ments which his father had placed upon the property he has added a modern residence and he never neglects anything which will add to the attractive appearance or the value of the place. He engages in mixed farming, raising fine crops of grain and keeping thirty-two head of pure-bred cattle, eight horses, thirty sheep and fine herds of . swine, his stock-raising interests constituting a valuable addition to his income.
Mr. Lawson is a stanch democrat and active in his support of the principles and policies for which that party stands. He makes his home with his two sisters, Mildred L. and Margaret I., and is very popular and well liked by his friends in this vicinity. The spirit of self-help is dominant in his career, for he has depended entirely upon his own resources and his life of industry and practical labor has brought him rich rewards in material success and in the high con- fidence and esteem of his fellow citizens.
JAMES T. HAYNES.
Among the most valuable farms of Medicine township, Livings- ton county, is a two hundred and eighty acre tract on section 33, belonging to James T. Haynes, who came to this county from Illi- nois in 1894. He was born on September 27, 1853, in Woodford county, Illinois, and is a son of James and Amanda (Hampton) Haynes, both of whom have passed away. He was reared under the parental roof and received his education in the district schools of the neighborhood, discontinuing his lessons at the age of seventeen years. He remained upon his father's farm until twenty years of age, becom- ing acquainted with the details of agriculture and securing such knowledge as has stood him in good stead in his later career. Leav- ing his father's farm he hired out as a farm hand for the following
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two years and during that time by thrift and energy acquired the means to set himself up independently and, coming to Missouri, bought the place which he now owns. Gradually he put his land under cultivation and placed thereon such improvements as he deemed essential to the operation of an up-to-date agricultural enterprise. Following progressive methods his industry and energy have made him one of the substantial men of the locality and his work has not only brought him individual success but has been of constructive value in the development of agricultural methods. He erected a modern ten-room residence on his property equipped with running water, gas and modern plumbing, and there the family make their home. Of the two hundred and eighty acres which he owns one hundred and eighty are under cultivation and devoted to mixed farming. He specializes in stock-raising and has on his property eleven horses, six head of cattle and one hundred and seventy-five hogs, deriving a gratifying income from this branch of his enterprise.
Mr. Haynes was married in Linn county, Missouri, to Miss M. P. Waters, a daughter of Captain R. G. and Margaret (Pruit) Waters, both of whom are deceased, the former having served as captain in the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. Haynes were born three children : James R., Flo S. and Margaret L., all of whom make their home on the farm with their father, the son ably assisting in the operation of the place. Later Mr. Haynes married Mrs. Emma Bullock, a daughter of William R. and Frances A. (Harris) Samp- son, both deceased. Her father was a member of the Home Guards during the time of the Civil war and was very prominent in the local- ity where he made his home. The political affiliations of Mr. Haynes are with the progressive party in the principles of which organization he firmly believes. He has made a creditable record along agricultural lines and has found substantial reward in a most gratifying degree of prosperity.
DAVID ALEXANDER FRENCH.
Among the residents of Chillicothe whose well directed ener- gies and intelligently applied labors in former years now make it possible for them to live in honorable retirement is David Alexander French, who for a long period was closely associated with agricultural interests. He was born in Richland county,
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MR. AND MRS. DAVID A. FRENCH
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Ohio, September 12, 1840, and is a son of Enoch and Elizabeth (Harford) French, natives of Pennsylvania, who in later years moved to Iowa. There the father followed the trade of a wagon maker until his death. The mother has also passed away. To their union were born eleven children: Mary, William, Charles and Anna, all of whom are now deceased; Daniel, whose home is in Kansas; Samuel, a resident of Iowa; David Alexander, of this review; Allena, deceased; Berthena, a twin to Allena and the wife of George W. Putman, of Kansas City, Missouri; Sarah, who has passed away; and John, who makes his home in Iowa.
David Alexander French acquired his education in the Iowa public schools and remained with his parents until he was twenty years of age, at which time he enlisted in the Federal army, joining the Third Iowa Volunteer Cavalry at Farmington. He saw active service through four years and four months of the war and was present at all of the most important engagements, including the battles of Pea Ridge, Vicksburg, Jackson, Fay- etteville, Hartsville, Madison, Big Creek, St. Francis River, La Grange, Chalk Bluff, Helena, Prairie Du Chien, Moscow, Cam- den, Monks Mills, Jenkins Ferry, Granada, and Little Rock. At the battle of Guntown a bullet passed so near his right ear that it knocked him down and left him deaf ever since. Mr. French was also present at the battles of Independence, Ebe- nezer Church, Mapleville Station, Selma and Columbus, Geor- gia. At the close of the war he was mustered out at Atlanta, Georgia, and with a very creditable military record returned to Iowa and engaged in farming. For one year he remained upon his first tract of land but in 1866 came to the vicinity of Chilli- cothe and purchased one hundred acres in Fairview township. This also he sold at the end of a year and purchased two hun- dred and twelve acres in Chillicothe township. For twenty- eight years he remained upon this property, devoting his energies to general farming. He employed up-to-date, business-like meth- ods and in the conduct of this enterprise was energetic, indus- trious and far-sighted and as the years went by his close applica- tion and wise management were factors in the building up of a prosperity which now enables him to live retired from active life. He sold his farm and moved into Chillicothe, where he owns a fine residence at No. 1305 Cooper street.
On December 13, 1866, Mr. French was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Weaver, a daughter of Isaac and Amy (Law)
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Weaver, natives of Ohio. Mrs. French's mother passed away and after her death Mr. Weaver married Miss Nancy Page, by whom he had six children: Emma, who married J. W. Sum- mers, of Keokuk, Iowa; Irene, who has passed away; Elizabeth, the wife of Martin Hanlon, of Farmington, Iowa; Edward L., who resides in Clark county, Missouri; and Susan and Clark, who have passed away. Mr. and Mrs. French became the par- ents of six children : Paul, who is a railroad engineer in Topeka, Kansas; Bertha, who married B. F. Beazell, of Chillicothe; Ethel, deceased, who was the wife of H. L. Gilbert; Elizabeth, the wife of W. R. Rensch, of Chillicothe; David, a traveling sales- man whose home is in Kansas City, Missouri; and Fred, who was killed in a railroad wreck at Dallas, Texas. The family are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. French is well known in the Masonic order and his politi- cal allegiance is given to the progressive party. He never seeks public office but is eminently practical and progressive in all matters of citizenship and served in 1898 as presiding judge of the county court. Since taking up his residence in Chillicothe he has been deeply interested in the public welfare and exerts his influence in every way for the city's development and up- building. He occupies a prominent position in the community, which is due not so much to the success which he has attained along material lines as to his many honorable and upright characteristics.
BENJAMIN F. BROYLES.
High on the list of Chillicothe's progressive and far-sighted busi- ness men appears the name of Benjamin F. Broyles, who is today con- ducting an extensive real-estate enterprise in the city and is otherwise closely connected with general business interests. He was born in Chillicothe on the 2d of September, 1879, a son of Michael and Rachel (Siler) Broyles, natives of eastern Tennessee. The father was born in that section, November 7, 1838, of which the grandfather of the subject of this review, the first Michael Broyles, was an early settler. He married Miss Nancy Perkins and came with her from Virginia to Tennessee, spending the remainder of his life in that state and passing away on November 13, 1848, at the age of forty-seven years.
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To him and his wife eleven children were born, namely: William; Lucinda; Hannah; Aaron; Elizabeth; Samuel; Nancy; Cynthia ; Michael; Mary and Sarah Ann. The last named is still residing in Tennessee, Hannah and Cynthia make their homes in Missouri, while Michael, the father of our subject, resides in Chillicothe. On August 31, 1856, he married Miss Rachel Siler and in the following year they set out together for Missouri, traveling in a prairie schooner drawn by horses. They settled as pioneers in Livingston county and wit- nessed most of the development of this part of the state, for they came here at a period when prairie chickens, wild turkeys and wild geese were abundant and the streams were full of fish. Michael Broyles still has many interesting tales to relate of those early times, when the settlers lived together like one large family, sharing the general joys and sorrows. After the war, however, conditions were entirely changed owing to the great influx of eastern settlers. Mr. Broyles engaged in farming for a number of years, operating a large and well managed agricultural enterprise. He has now lived retired for over twenty years. He made his home in Chula for some time but about five years ago he moved into Chillicothe and has since re- sided with his daughter Cora, now Mrs. Edward Helf. His wife passed away April 28, 1900. To their union were born eleven chil- dren, of whom four died in infancy. The others were as follows : Otis, who was born July 17, 1859, and who is now practicing medicine at Ludlow; Laura May, who was born March 12, 1861, and who married Frank Sparling, her death occurring about 1892; Susan, who was born March 16, 1863, and who married Edward Sparling, of Cloverdale, California; Aaron, who was born November 6, 1865, and who makes his home in Chula; Cora Alice, who is the wife of Edward Helf, of Chillicothe; Mary, who married L. Taylor, of Chula ; and Benjamin F., of this review. The father of these children is a third degree Mason and active in the affairs of the Southern Methodist Episcopal church.
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