USA > Missouri > Nodaway County > Past and present of Nodaway County, Missouri Volume II > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
Mr. Beam was born at Clarinda, Iowa, in 1878, the son of John and Sarah (Shoemaker) Beam, the father a native of Dauphin county, Pennsyl- vania, and the mother of Greene county, Ohio. Both came west with their parents when young and located in the eastern part of Iowa, where farms were secured by each family. There John Beam and Sarah Shoemaker grew to maturity and received what education they could in the common schools and they were married in Muscatine, Iowa. They sought a newer country where land was cheaper and opportunities greater, and in 1858 they came to Nodaway county, locating on Clear creek, buying a farm of one hun- dred and eighty acres which was successfully worked by them and where they reared their children, four having been born to them, three of whom grew to maturity. They found a somewhat wild and unimproved country and their neighbors were few. John Beam erected a log cabin upon arriving here and this was their domicile for several years. Later, as the farm was developed, a more comfortable home was established.
J. E. Beam was educated in the common schools of Clarinda, Iowa, in which vicinity the family lived for a number of years before coming to Mis- souri. He grew up on the home farm and first began farming near Clarinda on his father's place of two hundred and twenty acres. In 1903 he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty-four acres in Atchison township. Nodaway county, Missouri, where he now lives. This land was partly improved, but
807
NODAWAY COUNTY, MISSOURI.
Mr. Beam had done much to beautify and enhance the value of his place since coming here. He has a good home and carries on general farming and stock raising.
Mr. Beam was married in 1900 to Verna Shum and they are the parents of the following children : Thelma, John (deceased), Raymond, Burl and Burnice.
Politically Mr. Beam is a Democrat. and he belongs to the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
I. S. WALLACE.
The old state of Tennessee has furnished as many if not more settlers to the state of Missouri than any other state ; they began coming here early in the past century and they have done a great work in clearing and developing the land. They are invariably hard workers and, while not as a rule a wealthy class, they become very comfortably situated, building good homes and owning desirable property, especially in the rural districts, and they are among our best citizens, their homes being found all the way from the southern border to the Iowa line.
Of this number. W. S. Wallace. farmer, of near Clearmont, Nodaway county, should be mentioned. His birth occurred in Anderson county, Ten- nessee, in 1855. He is the son of J. B. and Louise (Weaver) Wallace, both born in Tennessee where they were reared and attended the rude schools of the early days, and from which state they came to Nodaway county, Missouri, in 1860 when their son, W. S., was five years old. They located in Atchison township. one mile southwest of Clearmont, buying three hundred acres of George Nash. The elder Wallace was a thrifty farmer, engaging in general farming on a large scale all his mature life. becoming one of the leading agri- culturists of his community. He was a good business man and added to his original purchase until he owned seven hundred acres of valuable land, much of which he improved, and he put up excellent buildings on the same.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Wallace consisted of eight children, six of whom are still living. Mr. Wallace was a well known man in the county, although he took no special interest in public affairs, preferring to de- vote his attention to his large farming interests. He was a Democrat and a member of the Baptist church. He was known as a kind and honest man whom everybody respected.
808
PAST AND PRESENT
W. S. Wallace was educated in the early schools of Atchison township, which he attended during the winter months, working on the home farm dur- ing the crop seasons. Having early in life taken up farming and learning the many phases of the same, he has preferred to follow this vocation ever since and he has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, owning at present a very desirable farm of three hundred and fifty acres, two hun- dred acres of which was formerly owned by his father. It is well improved and has been carefully cultivated, retaining its original fertility. He has a nice home and good outbuildings.
Mr. Wallace has been a breeder of fine Hereford cattle, which always found a ready market, but he sold out his herd in the fall of 1909, now handling general farm stock.
Mr. Wallace was married on January 14, 1877, to Laura Heflin, daugh- ter of E. B. Heflin, a pioneer citizen of Nodaway county, in which Mrs. Wal- lace was reared and educated. The following children have been born to this .union : Nora married a Mr. Shanklin and is living at Anaconda, Montana ; Edna, who married R. E. Green, is living in Palisades, Colorado ; Maggie mar- ried H. E. Dill, of Clearmont : Ollie married D. Kent, of Washington State ; Edith is a student in the Maryville high school; Charles and Blanche are in school at Clearmont.
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace are members of the Baptist church, to which all their children also belong. Mr. Wallace is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of which his father was also a member. Politically he is a Democrat, and for the past twenty years he has been school director continu- ously, taking quite an interest in educational matters of his community.
THOMAS J. WALLACE.
One of the most evident things to the thoughtful farmer is the fact that life at no stage is a bed of roses. There are thorns, and many of them, along the path of farming life, and the lucky ones are they who are pierced by the fewest and avoid the most. One of the tillers of the soil in Atchison town- ship, Nodaway county, who has succeeded in spite of the thorns and obstacles he has encountered all along life's uneven road is Thomas J. Wallace, who was born one mile southwest of Clearmont, in December, 1862. He is the son of J. B. Wallace, mentioned at length in the sketch of W. S. Wallace in this volume. The Wallace family has long been prominent in agricultural and
809
NODAWAY COUNTY, MISSOURI.
stock-raising affairs of Nodaway county and Thomas J. is sustaining the repu- tation of the family.
Mr. Wallace grew to maturity on the home farm where he was put to work in the fields when young in years. He received a good education in the public schools and at William Jewel College at Liberty, Missouri. He turned his attention to farming as a life work and has always lived on the home farm, now residing on the exact place where his father first located. He is the owner of three hundred and sixty acres of excellent land, which is well improved and has been carefully cultivated so that it has its original fertility, and abund- ant crops reward the labor that is now expended upon it from year to year. He has a cozy home in the midst of attractive surroundings and good out- buildings.
While farming has been the chief occupation of Mr. Wallace, he has be- come widely known as a breeder of fine Hereford cattle, for which he finds a very ready market owing to their excellent quality.
Mr. Wallace was married in September, 1887. to Julia M. Cason, of Nod- away county, Missouri, where her people are well established. This union has resulted in the birth of the following children : Neva was educated at the Maryville high school; Mary attended the normal at Maryville: Hazel and Johnnie are attending the home schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace are members of the Baptist church, and fraternally Mr. Wallace is a Mason, belonging to the blue lodge, and was formerly a mem- ber of the chapter and the commandery. He is a Democrat, but he has never aspired to public office, having always given his entire attention to farming. although he never neglects his duty in supporting any measure that will pro- mote the general good of his community.
JEREMIAH C. SMITH.
One of the sterling pioneer citizens of Nodaway county and a man who sought rather than shunned hardships and dangers-fearless alike of both- was Jeremiah C. Smith, who was born in Madison county, Kentucky, in 1814 and who has now joined the "innumerable caravan." He remained in his native community until he was twenty-three years old, then came to Boone county, Missouri, and settled in Nashville where he turned his attention to merchandising, remaining there until 1848 and enjoying a good trade. In
810
PAST AND PRESENT
1849 he took to steamboating on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and in those picturesque days became well known among rivermen. In 1851 he be- gan merchandising in Claysville, Missouri. He came to Nodaway county in 1856 and soon located on a farm in the edge of Clearmont where he farmed until his death, February 15, 1901, having reached the advanced age of eighty-six years. He became well known in this community and was respected and honored by all for his many virtues, being a man whom his neighbors trusted explicitly and delighted to associate with. He was very successful as a farmer and trader, being a good manager and making few mistakes in his business life. He finally became the owner of twelve hundred and seventy acres, on which he carried on general farming and stock raising. When he first came here St. Joseph was the principal trading point and there Mr. Smith frequently drove his stock to market, the trip requiring seven days. It was interesting to hear him relate incidents of the early days here and in Boone county.
In 1841 Mr. Smith bought a slave woman, "Eliza," paying nine hundred dollars for her, in Boone county, Missouri, of a Mr. Duncan, who hailed from the state of Kentucky. She accompanied the Smith family to Atchison town- ship, Nodaway county, in 1855. and the family located just west of where Clearmont now stands, later moving to a place on the south edge of the town. "Eliza," who is the only slave ever in Atchison township, still resides in Clearmont.
Mr. Smith joined the Masonic order at Quitman in 1865; later he trans- ferred his membership to LeMar Station and later was charter member of Lodge No. 507 at Clearmont. He was always interested in church affairs. He owned the farm on which the town is located and he laid out the place. He was liberal to all charitable enterprises, giving freely of his means to all worthy causes. He donated a lot for the school building, and in many ways was helpful to the community in general,-in fact, the most influential man in the vicinity of Clearmont for years. Politically he was a Democrat and never lost an opportunity to further the interests of his party. He was at one time township collector.
Mr. Smith married Nancy F. Jones, of Boone county, Missouri, on Janu- ary 22. 1856, and this union resulted in the birth of three children, Jeremiah M .. born November 21, 1856; William F., born May 22, 1858, and Jerome T., born June 7 1860. A sketch of the latter appears on another page of this work. The mother of these children was called to her rest March 23, 1880. at the age of forty-five years, having been born April 8, 1835.
8II
NODAWAY . COUNTY, MISSOURI.
GEORGE P. CARPENTER.
Among the residents of Atchison township, Nodaway county, of a past generation who built up a highly creditable reputation and distinguished them- selves by right and honorable living and then passed on to their rest was George P. Carpenter. His prominence in the affairs of the community was conceded by all who knew him and his deeds spoke for themselves, he having long been one of the strongest factors in a community where there were many men of sound sense and ripe judgment and left behind him a record of which his descendants might well be proud.
Mr. Carpenter was born in Hendricks county, Indiana, December 14. 1847. the son of George and Nancy (Gwillings) Carpenter, the father born in 1813 in Kentucky and the mother in Indiana. George Carpenter was a large farmer and very extensive land owner. He first came to Missouri in 1856, prospecting for a suitable location, finally entered the land that is still in the possession of the Carpenter family, being owned by Mrs. George P. Carpenter. George Carpenter was prominent in the early history of Nodaway county. He and his wife were the parents of four children, three of whom lived to matur- ity. The father was a Republican and took an active interest in the local affairs of his party. He was a member of the Christian church.
George P. Carpenter came to Missouri with his father and about 1856 located in Atchison township. Nodaway county. George P. was a small boy when the family moved here and he grew to maturity on the farm in this town- ship and attended, for brief periods, such schools as those early days afforded; however, he received a fairly good education. He very early took up farming and made it his life work. He became the owner of five hundred and two acres, on which he carried on general farming and stock raising. Being a very industrious man and a good manager, he accumulated a very satisfactory com- petence and established a very desirable and comfortable home, becoming known throughout the county as one of the leading agriculturists and stock men. His death occurred in 1887. everyone who knew him realizing that the community had lost one of its most valuable citizens.
In 1867 George P. Carpenter married Jennette Ringold, who was born in Scott county, Indiana, in 1843. She is the daughter of George and Eliza- beth (Mccullough ) Ringold, who moved to Clark county, Illinois, about 1853. and from there to Missouri about 1860, locating on the One Hundred and Two river. between Clearmont and Hopkins, in Nodaway county, and there the parents of Mrs. Carpenter developed a good farm, becoming well known and
812
PAST AND PRESENT
highly respected throughout the community, and there they spent their last days, being very comfortably situated.
Mrs. George P. Carpenter, who is living on the old home place, is now advanced in years ; she is admired by a wide circle of friends for her Christian characteristics, and is cheerful in her serene and declining years. She is the mother of the following children: Willard G., a merchant of Clearmont, whose sketch appears on another page of this work. The daughters are Ollie, Alma, Mary, Addie and Vira. The members of this family belong to the Baptist church and are faithful in their attendance and duties in the same.
George P. Carpenter proved his patriotism during the war between the states by enlisting in Company C, Fourth Missouri State Cavalry, in which he served very creditably for a period of twenty-two months. He received an honorable discharge on account of disability. While in the service he con- tracted both measles and smallpox. He will long be remembered in this vicin- ity for his exemplary life and his commendable service to his fellow-men.
JEROME T SMITH.
Strong determination, persistence in the pursuit of an honorable pur- pose, unflagging energy and keen discrimination are the salient features in the career of Jerome T. Smith, just as they were of his honored father. Jeremiah C. Smith, whose life record is given elsewhere in this work ; and his life stands in unmistakable evidence that success is not a matter of genius, as held by some. but is the outcome of earnest and well directed effort.
Mr. Smith was born June 7. 1860, on the parental homestead just south of Clearmont. He was educated in the public schools of Nodaway county and when a boy learned the art of agriculture on the home place. Desiring a higher education, he entered Amity College, where he remained three terms. He started out in life as a merchant, having entered the furniture business in 1881, forming a partnership with a Mr. Scott, the firm name being Scott & Smith. He remained in that for two years and in 1883 branched out as a gen- eral merchant at Clearmont with his brother. W. F. Smith, under the firm name of Smith Brothers. Mr. Smith was very successful as a merchant, but he finally turned his attention to the freer life of the farmer and in 1886 be- gan farming north of Clearmont and remained there until 1903. carrying on general farming on one hundred and sixty acres, and also keeping an excellent grade of stock. In 1903 he came to his father's homestead, though he retained
813
NODAWAY COUNTY, MISSOURI.
his other farm until May, 1907. He resides in the south edge of Clearmont, having an attractive and substantial home and good outbuildings surrounding it. He operates one hundred and forty-three acres in a manner that stamps him as a modern twentieth-century agriculturist of the best type.
Mr. Smith was married on January 27, 1884. to Kitty G. Garrett, daugh- ter of A. R. Garrett, one of the prominent early settlers in this part of Nod- away county. This union has resulted in the birth of the following children : Minnie V. is living at home ; Jennie E. lives at Union Star, Missouri ; Charles J., Harry M., Edward R., all live at home ; Guy and Edgar died in infancy.
Mrs. Smith is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically Mr. Smith is a Democrat, but he has never aspired to public office. On September 6, 1882, he joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being the oldest member of this organization in Clearmont.
WILLARD G. CARPENTER.
In this country of ours it is necessary that some people should follow the occupation of farming, some store-keeping, some milling, some medicine and various things. All are necessary to each other and form parts and parcels of the great body of society. There was a time when each family was almost wholly self-sustaining, when the mother made the garments, and the father produced the food, but this old order of affairs has been done away with by advanced methods more in accord with our progress and institutions. The farmer can not get along without the store-keeper at his nearest trading center, under the new order of things. The store- keeper, likewise, can not get along without the farmer to buy his goods. The dependence is mutual and each is required to fill his position.
The Carpenter family, one of the best known in Atchison township. has long been actively engaged in both farming and merchandising. the immediate subject of this sketch. Willard G. Carpenter, operating a hardware store at Clearmont, in which vicinity he has spent his life, having been born southeast of Clearmont in 1868. He is the son of George P. and Jennette (Ringold) Carpenter, a full sketch of whom is to be found on another page of this work.
Willard G. Carpenter spent his youth on the home farm and was edu- cated in the public schools of Clearmont. He remained on the home farm,
814
PAST AND PRESENT
carrying on general farming until 1904, when he turned his attention from the soil to merchandising, launching out individually in the hardware busi- ness in Clearmont, and for two years very successfully managed his store, building up a good trade with the town and community. In 1906 Mr. Reynolds purchased a half interest and they have since been in partnership, now owning one of the neatest and busiest stores in this locality, where a carefully selected line of general hardware is to be found at all seasons.
Mr. Carpenter married in January, 1903, May Reynolds, who was born, reared and educated in this county, the daughter of Alexander Reynolds and wife. One interesting daughter, answering the good old name, Virginia, has blessed this union.
Politically Mr. Carpenter is a Republican, and he has taken more or less interest in the local affairs of his party for some time. He was appointed postmaster at Clearmont in 1902 and very creditably and acceptably dis- charged the duties of this office until 1908.
JACOB LINEBAUGH.
It will be found, upon examination, that the person who lives the quietest and most uneventful life, one that is free, on the one hand, from too great a degree of toil, and free, on the other, from nervous excitement, such as falls to the lot of the dwellers in the metropolitan centers, will live the longest span on this earth. It seems that all persons are given, at the outset of their lives, only about so much vitality, and if they squander it be- fore they reach maturity, or if they use it up too fast at any stage of their careers, it means a premature death. Like a candle, they burn out too fast and are left nothing but a wick, black and unsightly. But the quiet and steady life is what counts. Such a person has great reserves of vital force which he can call into action at any emergency and is thus enabled to make a better showing in a crisis than the person who is ready to fall to pieces at the least excitement. These reflections are suggested by a study of the career of Jacob Linebaugh, one of the venerable citizens of Atchison township, Nodaway county, who had the wisdom to save his best powers for suitable occasions, being noted for having kept the "even tenor of his way" and lived an exemplary life that would be worthy of imitation by the youth who is ambitious to succeed and to reach a calm and honorable old age.
Mr. Linebaugh was born in Greene county, Tennessee. in January, 1828.
815
NODAWAY COUNTY, MISSOURI.
When a child he emigrated with his father and the balance of the family to Fulton county, Indiana, and there he remained until twenty-one years of age. when he accompanied his father to Page county, Iowa, where the elder Line- baugh spent the remainder of his life.
Jacob Linebaugh received but a meager education in the pioneer schools, and he has made his way from boyhood with but little aid from anyone and the large success that has attended his efforts proves him to be a man of unusual business qualities and sterling characteristics. He entered one hundred and twenty acres of land in Page county, one and a half miles east of Clarinda, Iowa, where he lived several years, improved the place and erected buildings on it. Selling out, he then moved eight miles southeast of Clarinda : he later sold out and bought elsewhere in Page county, benefiting himself by each move and prospering as the years went by, finally becoming the owner of four hun- dred acres of land.
Deciding to come to Nodaway county, Missouri, Mr. Linebaugh traded cattle for land in Atchison township and since coming here he has been very successful and is one of the leading farmers in the county, he and his family now owning eighteen hundred acres of good land. It was about 1872 when he came to Nodaway county and he has lived here continuously ever since, having given his entire attention to farming and stock raising : he has long been known as one of the most extensive stock feeders in the county, and much of his ample competence has been derived from this source. He has kept his land in excellent condition. He has a substantial and imposing home that is an ornament to the community.
Mr. Linebaugh was married in 1853 to Mary Ann Gray, who then lived north of Maryville: she was the daughter of Martin Gray, who was born in North Carolina, from which state he went to Tennessee and there married Nancy Langley. They made their home there for many years and finally. with their five children, moved in an early day to Nodaway county. Missouri. locating eight miles north of Maryville, when the country was wild and neigh- bors were few and far between. There Mr. Gray established his home and became the possessor of a good farm.
To Mr. and Mrs. Martin Gray twelve children were born, five of whom are living at this writing. Four of their sons served in the Union army dur- ing the Civil war, two of them dying while in the service.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Linebaugh : Sarah Jane married Joseph Burch : Francis Marion is deceased : William Jeffer- son is farming in Atchison township, and his sketch appears on another page
816
PAST AND PRESENT
of this work: Julia : Ella is deceased : Etta married J. A. Huls, of Atchison township: Martin Erastus is deceased.
Jacob Linebaugh and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, the father having always been active in the work of the same and a liberal supporter of it. Politically he is a Democrat. He is well known and highly esteemed for his honesty and many worthy traits of character.
WASHINGTON HOSHOR.
The name which heads this sketch needs no introduction to the people of Nodaway county. He was for many years prominently identified with the agricultural interests of the county and always manifested an active inter- est in the public welfare. His life was a most active and useful one in every respect and resulted in the accumulation of an ample competence for his closing years, as well as in much good to his fellow-men and the community at large. where he enjoyed a large acquaintance and many friends.
Washington Hoshor was born on December 22. 1819. in Fairfield county. Ohio, and he was the son of George and Barbara (Mathias) Hoshor. the for- mer a native of Shenandoah county, Virginia, and the latter of Germany. George Hoshor died in 1835, and thereafter Washington remained with his mother until 1859. In his youth he had received a fair education in the com- mon schools of his native county and had vigorously applied his energies as an assistant to his father on the home farm. In 1856, in company with a brother, he had visited Missouri and each had entered fourteen hundred acres of land in Nodaway county, obtaining the land through Mexican land war- rants. In 1859 he went to Andrew county, Missouri, where he remained during the following fifteen years. In 1876 he located on his Nodaway county land, two miles south of Maryville, where. at the time of his death. he still owned a thousand acres. He had chosen a beautiful and sightly lo- cation for a home and of this place he developed one of the finest farms in Nodaway county. His life was a busy one, idleness being absolutely for- eign to his nature, and he was counted among the leading agriculturists of the county up to the time of his death, which occurred on May 14, 1908. He had occupied a large place in the development of the county and in his death the community suffered a distinct and irreparable loss. On July 15, 1866, Washington Hoshor married Annie Lincoln, a daughter of John Lincoln, of
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.