USA > Missouri > Nodaway County > Past and present of Nodaway County, Missouri Volume II > Part 13
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enjoy the fruitage of their labors. Prominent among the worthy representa- ties of the pioneer element in the county of Nodaway is the well-known gentle- man to a review of whose life the attention of the reader is now directed: For many years William R. Linville has been a forceful factor in the growth and prosperity of the county and he is eminently entitled to representation in a work of this character.
Mr. Linville is a native son of Missouri, having been born near Barnard, Nodaway county, in 1848. He is descended from sterling pioneer ancestry, his paternal grandfather, Thomas Linville, and two brothers, James and Abraham, having come to this state from eastern Tennessee about 1830. It is believed that the family previously lived in North Carolina. They located in Jackson county, this state, Thomas settling on Big Blue river, between Independence and Kansas City. While living there, the latter became captain of the local militia company and while leading his company in battle with the Mormons at Independence, he was shot and killed. The vest which he wore. containing the bullet-hole, is still in the possession of his descendants. In that same battle was Robert Patton, the subject's maternal grandfather, who was also shot, but not permanently disabled. After the death of Thomas Linville, his widow and children moved to Platte county, where they remained until 1841. when they came to Nodaway county. About the same time came James and Abraham Linville and Robert Patton and his family. Mrs. Linville and Robert Patton established their respective homes near what is now the town of Barnard, the locality then being called "The Narrows." One of Mr. Pat- ton's daughters was Martha, who was born about four miles from Knoxville, Tennessee, and who was about four years old when the family came to Jack- son county, Missouri. One of the boys in the Linville family was Aaron and he and Martha were playmates from childhood, their acquaintance ripening into love and terminating in their marriage in 1847, after they had located in Nodaway county. To this union were born six children. namely : William R., the immediate subject of this review; Lucinda Ann, wife of James Marion Bowlin, of Skidmore; Joseph Thomas, residing four miles northeast of Skid- more : Mary Jane, wife of Thomas Slaughter, living three miles northeast of Skidmore : Sarah Elizabeth, wife of Edwin Hornbuckle, living six miles west of Pickering: John Henry, who is engaged in the livery business at Skidmore. Aaron Linville had three half-brothers. William, Thomas and James, and a half-sister. Elizabeth. The latter became the wife of a man named Fox and they reared a large family, all of whom are dead but two. Thomas E. Fox and Mary, who married James Godsey.
About 1850 Aaron Linville moved his family to a farm a short dis-
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tance south of Graham, but seven or eight years later they located near where now stands the little city of Skidmore. In August, 1861, Aaron Linville, in obedience to his honest convictions, enlisted in the cause of the South, joining Captain Lewis Burris' company. They were first sent to southern Missouri, where they took part in the battle of Blue Mills, and were afterwards in the battle of Lexington, this state, where they defeated and captured General Mulligan. The following winter they were in camp at Sarcoxie, Missouri, and while there Mr. Linville was stricken with camp fever and died a few days later. He was a man of powerful physique, weighing over two hundred pounds, and he was a large-hearted man, who had the kindest feelings for everyone, being always ready to do a kind act when opportunity presented. He was one of the first members of the Masonic lodge at Maryville, having previously belonged to the lodge at Graham. He was a member of the Pres- byterian church and stood high in the communities where he had lived. In the spring of 1865, after her husband's death, Mrs. Linville and her children moved to Buchanan county, having lost the home farm in Nodaway county. Three years later they returned to this county and located on the present homestead near Skidmore.
William R. Linville was reared to manhood on the home farm in Nod- away county. He has a clear recollection of the primitive conditions which prevailed here then and his reminiscences are extremely interesting. At the time the family came here there was much wild land still owned by the govern- ment and open for settlement. Neighbors were few and far between, and one could go all the way to Maryville and not pass a house or a fence until almost to the town. There were no bridges and it was frequently necessary to go around the head of a stream. Wild turkeys and deer were numerous and prairie chickens were found in countless numbers. Elk horns were scat- tered over the country and old buffalo wallows were still plainly in evidence. One of the subject's boyhood memories is of the old Erastus Douning grist mill, that stood along Nodaway creek near Skidmore. Mr. Linville frequently took grain there in a sack on horseback and would find there people who had come many miles with wagon loads of grain, for several families, the wagons being drawn over the rude trails by four- and six-ox teams. These customers would be compelled to go into camp at the mill and wait sometimes a week or more for their turn. Mr. Linville received his education in a typical pio- neer log-cabin school house, in which the teaching methods were generally about as primitive as the building and equipment. The subject attended the McDowell school, three and a half miles south of Skidmore. In considering the matter recently, Mr. Linville disclosed the remarkable fact that probably
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eighty per cent. of his schoolmates of fifty years ago were still living and most of them manage to keep in touch with each other. After the death of the father and the loss of the farm, the family were put to sore straits and the older boys were compelled to do a man's part in helping to provide for the younger members of the family circle. However, they did this with a willingness that lightened the mother's load and. despite their adverse condi- tions. the home was a happy one.
About 1869 Mr. Linville bought forty acres of land, at ten dollars an acre, going into debt for half this purchase price. After living on it a year. he traded it for an eighty-acre tract, assuming a ten-per-cent. mortgage. In the spring of 1875 he sold the latter tract and bought eighty acres three miles east and a mile north of Skidmore, where he lived during the following fifteen years, during which time he greatly improved the place, paid off all his indebt- edness and saved some money besides. About 1890 he bought two hundred and forty acres of fine farm land located a mile and a half east of Skidmore, which was his home during the following two years, and at the end of that time he moved to Skidmore, where he has since resided. He and his sons. Aaron and William S., are associated together in business affairs, owning twelve hundred acres of good farming land. conservatively estimated to be worth one hundred dollars an acre. In addition to general farming, they also raise and sell considerable livestock, and in all their enterprises they have met with gratifying success.
In April, 1904, the Bank of Skidmore was organized under the banking laws of the state of Missouri, having a capital stock of ten thousand dollars. In the fall of the same year Mr. Linville and his sons bought stock in the bank and subsequently increased their holdings, so that they now own the controlling interest, the other stockholders being Miss Anna Linville, J. F. Kellogg and G. F. Kellogg. The officers of the bank are as follows : President. William R. Linville ; vice-president, Aaron Linville ; cashier, William S. Lin- ville : assistant cashier, Anna Linville. This bank is one of the solid and in- fluential financial institutions of Nodaway county and commands the un- bounded confidence of the people of the community.
In 1867. when about eighteen years old. Mr. Linville married Sarah Jane Kelley, who was born in Indiana and at the age of two years was brought to Nodaway county by her parents. Peter and Minerva ( Hedgpeth) Kelley. her future home being within a mile of Skidmore and the place being now owned by Mr. Linville. To this union were born four children, of whom two died in infancy, the two survivors being Aaron and William S. Aaron, who lives on a farm one-half mile northeast of Skidmore, married Mary Diss, a native of Nodaway county and a daughter of John Diss, a retired
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farmer now residing at Maryville. They have three children, Charles Everett. Sarah Lucile and Francis Aaron, all at home. William S. Linville, cashier of the Bank of Skidmore, lives in Maryville. He married Celia Rees, the daughter of C. J. Rees, a successful hardware merchant at Burlington Junc- tion, this county, and they have one son, Robert Lawrence. Mrs. Sarah Lin- ville died in the fall of 1881. and in November. 1882. Mr. Linville was united in marriage to Betty Rogers, a daughter of James and Sarah (Denton) Rog- ers. She was born in Carroll county, Missouri, and was living there at the time of her marriage, her parents having come to this state from Tennessee. Mrs. Linville's mother and two brothers and a sister still live in Carroll county. In August. 1884, while on a business trip to Maryville, Mr. Linville was asked if he did not want to take a little girl to raise. The child, a blue-eyed girl of about five years, had been placed by someone with an old man and woman for tem- porary keeping, saying she would be called for in about two weeks. The party to whom the child belonged never returned for her, and as the aged couple with whom she was placed were in very humble circumstances they desired to place her where she could be properly cared for. Mr. Linville's heart warmed to the child and he took her home, where she has since remained, and Anna Linville, as she is known, has received the same care and attention that would be given to an own child. Foster parents and child have always been well satisfied with the arrangement and she is a popular member of the social circles in which she moves. Mrs. Martha Linville, the subject's mother, who makes her home with him, is an active woman, despite her eighty-two years. her hearing being perfect and her sight as good as the average person of fifty years. She is a woman of many excellent qualities and she still holds to the pioneer virtue of caring for the sick and unfortunate, her acts of kindness and mercy being well known throughout the community. She has, through a long life, exercised a beneficent influence on all who have come within the range of her acquaintance and she is honored by all. Six children, twenty- nine grandchildren and forty-five great-grandchildren, eighty descendants in all. acknowledge the splendid influence which has come over their lives through the right precepts she has given them by word and example and her presence is a benediction wherever she is.
William R. Linville is well and favorably known throughout the western part of Nodaway county. Born in a pioneer cabin and reared amid the priva- tions and hardships of pioneer life. he has literally carved out his own fortune. And yet, today he is the same unassuming and unpretentious man he was in his younger days when he was struggling to get a start in life. He enjoys a good reputation for sound business judgment and his advice and counsel are valued by his business associates.
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JOHN GREENWELL HONNOLD.
A biographical history of Nodaway county, Missouri, would be incom- plete were there failure to make specific mention of the gentleman whose name heads this sketch and who has for a number of years been closely identified with the commercial and industrial affairs of this county. Sterling qualities of character, marked business ability and sound judgment were the concomi- tants which contributed to his success and in his death, which occurred at Maryville, in 1894. the entire community suffered a distinct loss. He filled a large place in the hearts of those who knew him and, as a man who "stood four square to every wind which blows," he enjoyed in a large degree the sincere respect of the whole community.
John Greenwell Honnold was born May 29, 1838, near Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, and was a son of James Q. and Lavina ( Reasoner) Honnold. James Q., who was born February 22, 1811. also in Muskingum county, Ohio, was the son of Jacob, who was the son of William, who was the son of Thomas, who was the founder of the Honnold family in America. On attaining mature years, James Q. Honnold became a farmer in Vinton county, Ohio, where he lived during the remainder of his life. His marriage to Lavina Reasoner occurred in Muskingum county, that state, on November 6, 1834.
John G. Honnold remained on the home farm until eighteen years of age. He completed the studies of the common schools and then became a student in the Ohio State University, at Athens, where he graduated in the spring of 1861. At the outbreak of hostilities in the Southland his patriotic impulses were aroused and he enlisted in Company B. Eighteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served throughout the war. He endured much arduous and trying service, having participated in twenty-one battles and skirmishes, besides the many trying marches which characterized the war of the Rebellion. At the battle of Lookout Mountain he was shot through the left knee-cap by a minie ball, which crippled him for life. When wounded he was the first lieutenant and had been commissioned a captain for meritorious conduct in the service. After recovering from his wound. Cap- tain Honnold was put in charge of the commissary department at Lookout Mountain, in which capacity he rendered appreciated service. He was hon- orably discharged from the service in September, 1864. In the spring of 1865 he moved to St. Joseph. Missouri, coming by boat from Cincinnati, Ohio. After remaining a year at St. Joseph, Mr. Honnold went to Savannah, this state, and shortly afterwards located in Grant township, Nodaway county,
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where for a year he operated a saw-mill. Then, the mill having been destroyed by fire, he moved to Bolckow, where during the following three years he was engaged in the lumber business. In 1881 Mr. Honnold came to Maryville and accepted the position of bookkeeper in the First National Bank, where he re- mained until 1885. He then again turned his attention to the lumber business and during the two following years he was engaged in traveling, promoting this line of business. During that period he established lumber yards at vari- ous points in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, and among the plants established by him was the one at Ravenwood. this county, where he resided for five years, or until the time of his death, which occurred in 1894. He was a man of wide experience and versatile ability, had a remarkable capac- ity for looking after details of business affairs and among his business associ- ates and acquaintances he was held in the highest esteem, his business judg- ment being valued highly.
Captain Honnold kept alive his old army associations through his mem- bership in the Grand Army of the Republic, and he was also an appreciative member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, at the time of his death being worshipful master of the Masonic lodge to which he belonged. Politically, he was a stanch adherent of the Republican party, while in his re- ligious views he was a Methodist.
On November 24. 1864, Captain Honnold was united in marriage with Mary Jean McArthur, who was born in Mansfield. Pennsylvania, the daugh- ter of Charles and Mary ( McConnell) McArthur. Charles McArthur was born December 3, 1811, in New York state. the son of Allen D. and Eunice ( Benson ) McArthur. Allen D. McArthur was a farmer by vocation and served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812. He died in early manhood. his widow surviving until 1859. Charles McArthur, who also was a farmer. moved from his native state to Hocking county, Ohio, in 1846, and also owned a farm in Jackson county, that state. In 1865 he came to Barnard. Nodaway county. Missouri, locating on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he operated thereafter until his death, which occurred on Janu- ary 22, 1874. He was a Republican in political belief and a Methodist in religion. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary McConnell, was born February 14, 1820, and died in 1890. To Mr. and Mrs. Honnold were born four children, Mrs. George P. Bellows, of Maryville: Fred C., who was for ten years engaged in the practice of medicine, but is now a coal operator in Chicago; two died in childhood. Earl W. at eight years of age, and Arthur W. at eight years of age.
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HARRY A. WARE.
Among the young farmers of Green township, Nodaway county, who are carrying on their various enterprises with that persistency and able fore- sight that insures ultimate success in farming and all other lines of endeavor, is Harry A. Ware, who was born near Quitman, this township, on June 14, 1873. He is the son of H. H. and Elnor (Branson) Ware, whose life rec- ords appear on another page of this work.
Harry A. Ware enjoyed unusual advantages in education, having passed through the public schools, also the normal schools, both at Stanberry and Chillicothe, Missouri. On December 6, 1897, he married Lettie M. Elarton, daughter of John S. and Addie B. (Wykoff) Elarton. She grew to maturity in Nodaway county, where her parents still reside, having come here from Clarinda, Iowa, settling in Quitman. To Mr. and Mrs. Ware two children have been born, the first dying in infancy; the living one, Hanson Elarton Ware, was born July 4, 1900.
Mr. Ware lived on his father's place three years after his marriage, then built a house on his own farm, adjoining that of his father's. After living in his new home about four years he moved to Quitman, where he was employed in the general merchandise business, building up an excellent trade with the town and surrounding country, but the independent life of the farmer lured him back to the country in 1909, although he continued to reside in Quitman. In the spring of 1910 he sold his farm and bought out the interest of his brothers in the home place and is now farming there and improving that property.
Politically, Mr. Ware is a Democrat, although all the rest of his people are Republicans. He is now serving his second term as township collector and is on his third term as member of the town board of Quitman, and is also a member of the school board of Quitman. In 1909 he was further honored by being elected mayor of Quitman and he is discharging his duties in this important position with faithfulness and in a manner that is re- sulting in the general uplift of the town, of which he is also treasurer. He is a member of the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen, being banker of the last named, and he is prominent in fraternal circles of this part of the state. He and Mrs. Ware are members of the Christian church and Mr. Ware is a deacon in the local congregation. He has long been one of the leading citizens of this place, influential and popular, everybody trusting him explicitly, owing to his integrity, kindness and will- ingness to serve the public, believing, as he does, in the spirit of the Golden Rule.
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FRANK LEROY FLYNT.
Frank LeRoy Flynt, city engineer, of Maryville, was born at Plattsburg, Clinton county, Missouri. September 4. 1885. His parents are Robert B. and Dollie (Flack) Flynt. The father was born in Lexington, Fayette county, Missouri, August 15, 1860, and the mother was born at Camden Point. Platte county, this state, August 14. 1860. Robert B. Flynt has followed the life of an expressman, principally. He lives now in St. Louis, although not permanently located there. He was in the employ of the Pacific Express Company for many years and was also employed by several other leading express companies from time to time.
Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Flynt, one of whom died in infancy : the other is Frank LeRoy of this review. This family is of Scotch-Irish ancestry on the father's side and the mother was of Scotch- Irish and English descent.
Frank L. Flynt was born at Plattsburg, Missouri, as already indicated, and he lived there until 1903. being reared on his grandfather's farm. He received a good common school education and attended high school at Platts- burg. In 1903 he began studying at the Missouri School of Mines at Rolla. from which institution he was graduated in June, 1910, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. His first work after leaving the farm was as rodman with a civil engineering party in railroad work and he has continued this line of work very satisfactorily. In 1910 he came to Nodaway county and was appointed city engineer of Maryville, taking the place of W. M. Irwin, and he is filling the position with credit to himself and eminent satisfaction to all concerned.
Mr. Flynt was married on December 30, 1907. to Elizabeth Via, of Rolla, Missouri, near which place she was born, being the daughter of W. A. and Delia Via, and she received her education in the Rolla schools. One child. Elizabeth, has graced this union, having been born December 6, 1908.
Mr. Flynt belongs to the Masonic fraternity, also the Christian church, and politically, he is a Democrat.
ROBERT G. MEDSKER.
It is always pleasant to contemplate the career of a man who has made a success of life and won the honor and respect of his fellow citizens. Such is the record of the well-known farmer whose name heads this sketch. now residing in Skidmore, than whom a more whole-souled or popular man it
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would be difficult to find within the limits of the community where he has his home.
Robert G. Medsker is a native son of the old Buckeye state, having been born in Highland county, Ohio, on September 29, 1839, and he is the son of Michael M. and Sarah (Graham) Medsker. Sarah Graham was the daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Graham, natives of Ireland and of Scotch-Irish stock, who came to this country in an early day and located in Highland county, Ohio, Mrs. Medsker's birth occurring in that county. Michael M. Medsker was a son of Michael and Sarah Medsker and was born near Hills- boro, Highland county, Ohio, on January 1, 1812, and his death occurred on March 15, 1899, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. He was a devoted Christian for over sixty-five years, his profession being exemplified in his every-day life. He was large hearted and generous and stood always ready to render assistance to the poor and needy.
Robert G. Medsker was reared on the Highland county homestead and secured his elementary education in the public schools, supplementing this by attendance at the Southwest Normal School, at Lebanon, Ohio. During the following seven years he was engaged in teaching school, in which he met with splendid success. He was married in 1864, and on September 29th of the fol- lowing year he and his wife came to Missouri, locating in Holt county, two and a half miles west of where Maitland now stands. Buying a splendid farm of one hundred and sixty acres, he entered at once on its operation and made his home there nearly twenty-five years. Some time after his first purchase he bought more land. In 1891 Mr. Medsker sold his land in Holt county and bought one hundred and eighty-five acres of land two and a half miles west of Skidmore, Nodaway county, where he made his home until February. 1900. Here he followed general farming, raising all the crops common to this section of the country, and also gave attention to the raising of live- stock, in which also he met with gratifying success. In 1900 Mr. Medsker and family left the farm and occupied a comfortable and attractive residence in Skidmore, where they now reside.
In 1864 Mr. Medsker was united in marriage to Lucinda Roberts, who was born and reared near Hillsboro, Highland county, Ohio, the daughter of Ephraim and Elvina (Davis) Roberts. Ephraim was born in Ohio, just across the Ohio river from Wheeling. West Virginia, and was a son of Thomas and Hannah (Burgess) Roberts, the latter being a native of Highland county. Ohio. Thomas Roberts was a native of Wales, coming to America when a mere lad. He learned the trade of a carpenter and during the cholera scourge in Philadelphia he was employed in making coffins. He married Hannah Burgess in Pennsylvania, her parents being of English nativity. Elvina Davis
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was a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Elliott) Davis. Elizabeth Elliott was born and reared in Pike county, Ohio, her mother, whose maiden name was Ackley, having been reared in Kentucky, in which state her father fought several engagements with Indians. The Davis family came to the Blue Grass state from North Carolina.
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