USA > Missouri > Nodaway County > Past and present of Nodaway County, Missouri Volume II > Part 25
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S. L. Cochran was born in Portage county, Ohio, in 1822, and was the son of Levi M. and Lydia (Cheesman) Cochran. Levi M. Cochran was a pioneer minister of the Methodist church in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Iowa. It is said that while laboring in Pennsylvania he covered a cir- cuit of four hundred miles, requiring six weeks' time to make the round. In 1843 he went to Wisconsin, where he remained until 1856, when he went to Iowa, establishing his home in Allamakee county. He died while on a visit to the scene of his former labors in Wisconsin.
S. L. Cochran was educated in the common schools, which at that early day were somewhat primitive in both methods and equipment. At the age of sixteen years he went to Manitou Island, where he was employed for a while at various occupations, after which he went to Kenosha county. Wisconsin, where he was employed for a while, and where he eventually took up eighty acres of wild land, which he improved. Later he sold that farm and bought a section of land in Allamakee county, Iowa, which he improved and put under cultivation and on which he resided until his removal to Tama county, that state, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land, the town of Dysart now occupying the site of his farm. In 1869 he came to Nodaway county, Missouri, and located on the land now occupied by his son. A. S. Cochran. in Lincoln township. The place comprised one hundred and twenty acres and he created a comfortable home here. living there until his death. which occurred on March 17, 1879. He possessed a rugged make-up, such as peculiarly fitted him for the arduous experiences through which he passed during his active years, and he accomplished much toward the development of the new country to which he came, becoming one of the sterling and highly-esteemed citizens of the county.
On June 8. 1862. Mr. Cochran married Mary Hawthorne, who was a native of Ireland and came to America at the age of six years, with her parents. Her father died during the voyage across the Atlantic and was buried at sea, and the bereaved mother brought her family to Ohio, where they established their home. Her father was a minister of the Covenanter church. To Mr. and Mrs. Cochran were born six children, of which num- ber two, J. W. and A. S., are living.
In politics. S. L. Cochran gave his support to the Republican party, and during the Civil war he was a member of the Union League. Religiously.
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he and his wife are faithful and esteemed members of the Methodist Epis- copal church.
Alfred S. Cochran. son of S. L. and Mary Cochran, was born Novem- ber 8, 1864. He received his preliminary education in the public schools, supplementing this by attendance at College Springs one year. At the age of nineteen years he began teaching school in this state, and later in Kansas, in which work he met with excellent success. He then turned his attention to agriculture, in which he was shrewd enough to see great opportunities for a young man of energy and ambition. At the age of twenty-one years he went to western Nebraska, remaining there three years and then returning to Missouri. Some time later he went to southern Kansas, where he con- tinued his farming operations until 1902, when he came to Missouri and bought the old home place of eighty acres. Here he has made a number of substantial and permanent improvements and has brought the place up to a high standard of excellence. He carries on general farming operations and has met with splendid success, being numbered among the enterprising farm- ers of the township. He is progressive in his ideas and up-to-date in his methods, everything about the place indicating the owner to be a man of good judgment and excellent taste.
In 1904 Mr. Cochran was united in marriage to Mrs. Cloie Graham. and to this union have been born three children, namely: James Walter. Alfred S. and Nellie Ruth.
Politically, Mr. Cochran is a stanch adherent of the Republican party and, though not a seeker after public office for himself, he takes a commend- able interest in local affairs, exerting his influence always for the best interests of the community. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while, with his wife, he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they take an active part. They are members of the best social circles of the community and are highly esteemed by all who know them.
R. LEBONIA.
From far-away sunny Italy, the land of fruits and flowers, the country replete with history of the most interesting import, the land of science and of song, of art, literature-the highest of all the esthetics-comes R. Lebonia, who, while, of course, holding in grateful memory the blue- rimmed peninsula from which he hails, is yet proud of his adopted country and loyal to its institutions, having, since casting his lot in the great Republic
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of the West, become well situated from a material viewpoint and has proven to be one of Nodaway county's best citizens, playing no insignificant part in the affairs of Atchison township, where he is in possession of a nice property.
Mr. Lebonia's birth occurred in Italy in the year 1865, the son of Michael Lebonia and wife, who, with three sons, came to America about 1869, when the subject was a small child. The family landed in New York, but not being able to better their condition materially there, drifted to the West, where there were more opportunities for the willing worker and plenty of cheap land and here they became very comfortably situated.
Mr. Lebonia's educational advantages were limited, but being by nature keen of observation and having had access all his life to good periodicals and books, he has acquired an education, by personal contact with the world and by miscellaneous reading and is today a very well-informed man on current topics and general subjects. Being naturally musically inclined, he learned to play the violin when very young and is quite proficient on that instrument, having delighted hundreds by his playing in various places. He was instructed by a brother who was a contestant at the centennial at Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania.
R. Lebonia devoted his time and attention to music, specializing on the violin for about four years, then he began farming in Andrew county. Missouri ; saving his money, he was in a short time able to begin farming for himself, alternating this with railroad work, finally becoming expense clerk. In 1881 he came to Nodaway county and located in Atchison town- ship and he now owns forty acres of good land there which he operates. He is also the agent for the Mutual Fire Insurance Company and has built up a nice business in this. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, and politically, is a Democrat. He takes a great deal of interest in local affairs and in 1895 was elected township assessor, holding this office for two terms in a very satisfactory manner, and after being out of this office for a time he was re-elected to it in 1907.
Mr. Lebonia was married on July 3. 1897. to Mary E. Gray, of Noda- way county.
G. W. CLARY.
It is generally considered by those in the habit of superficial thinking that the history of so-called great men only is worthy of preservation and that little merit exists among the masses to call forth the praises of the historian or the appreciation of mankind. A greater mistake was never made. No
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man is great in all things and very few are great in many things. Many by a lucky stroke achieve lasting fame, who before that had no reputation be- yond the limits of their neighborhoods. It is not a history of the lucky stroke which benefits humanity most, but the long study and effort which made the lucky stroke possible. It is the preliminary work, the method, that serves as a guide for the success of others. Among those in this county who have achieved success along steady lines of action is the subject of this brief sketch, who has found in the great basic art of agriculture a sphere for the exercise of ability and effort of the highest order.
Mr. Clary was born in the county of Fulton, Illinois, in 1849, and is a son of Henry and Sarah E. (Davis) Clary. These parents were natives of Kentucky, where they were reared, educated and married. About 1847 they moved to Illinois, locating in Fulton county, where the father had ac- quired a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, to which he applied his energies. He was a Democrat and enjoyed the respect of all who knew him. To him and his wife were born eleven children, of which number nine are living.
G. W. Clary was educated in the public schools of his native county and was reared under the parental roof, early gaining an intimate acquaint- ance with the labors of the farm. He applied himself to agricultural efforts on reaching mature years and has remained identified with this industry to the present time. In 1881 Mr. Clary came to Nodaway township. this county, and for a few years was engaged in the operation of rented land. meeting with gratifying success. In 1889 he bought the fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres where he now resides, and which he brought up to a fine state of improvement. He is also in partnership with Mr. Stephen- son, under the firm name of Stephenson & Clary, who own four hundred and eighty acres of splendid farming land, on which they conduct general agri- cultural operations and stock feeding with considerable success. On his home place Mr. Clary has made many excellent improvements, his place being numbered among the best farms of the township.
In 1875 Mr. Clary was united in marriage with Anna Biggs. a native of the state of Ohio, and to them have been born the following children : Guy C., who is cashier of the bank at Clearmont. this county: John H. is a civil engineer and runs an assay office at Wallace, Idaho: Edith is a teacher in the public schools of Clearmont.
Politically, Mr. Clary is a Democrat and he takes an intelligent interest in public affairs, though in no sense a seeker after the honors or emoluments of public office. His fraternal relations are with the time-honored order of
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Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, holding membership with Lodge No. 507, at Clearmont. Mrs. Clary is a member of the Christian church at Clearmont, to which she gives an earnest and generous support. Mr Clary is a man of splendid personal qualities, enjoys a wide acquaintance throughout his part of Nodaway county and is held in high esteem by all who know him.
JAMES F. LANE.
The history of the state of Missouri is not an ancient one. It is the record of the steady growth of a community planted in the wilderness in the last century and reaching its magnitude of today without other aids than those of continued industry. Each county has its share in the story and the record of each goes to make up the history of the commonwealth. After all, the history of a state is but a record of the doings of its people. The story of the plain, common people who constitute the moral bone and sinew of the state should ever attract the attention and prove of interest to all true lovers of their kind. In the life story of the subject of this sketch there are no striking chapters or startling incidents, but it is merely the record of a life true to its highest ideals, and because of which fact it has become a potential element in the life of the community.
James F. Lane is a native son of the state of Missouri. having been born in Putnam county on the 24th of February, 1863. and he is a son of Joseph and Maria (Mattox) Lane, the latter a native of Pennsylvania. The subject's mother had been married prior to her union with Mr. Lane, and by the latter union James F. is the only child. The subject was reared in Nebraska and Kansas, in which states his parents resided at different times. At the age of eighteen years he came to Missouri and became a student in Amity College, at Amity, Iowa, and after the completion of his education he engaged in teaching school, his pedagogical labors being mainly in southern Kansas. He then returned to Nodaway county, Missouri, and in 1884 was united in marriage with Matilda A. Huls, a daughter of Alexander and Eliza J. (Shankland) Huls. This union, which has been a most congenial one, has been blessed in the birth of three children, namely: Ulva E .. Charles D. and Cleo Huls.
Mr. Lane has for a number of years been successfully engaged in the pursuit of agriculture, in which he has been eminently successful, being numbered among the enterprising and progressive farmers of Atchison
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township. His place is well improved in every respect. its general appear- ance indicating the owner to be a man of sound judgment and excellent taste.
Politically, Mr. Lane is a Democrat, and he is a stanch supporter of his party in national elections, though in local elections, where no great issue is involved, he regards the personal fitness of the candidates for office of paramount importance. Though not an office seeker himself, Mr. Lane has efficiently administered several township offices, including those of assessor and member of the school board. Fraternally, he is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. Personally, he is a man of genial disposition and enjoys a large acquaintance throughout the section of the county in which he resides, and by all who know him he is held in the highest regard because of the splendid qualities of his character and the high plane on which his life has been ordered.
EUGENE P. POWELL.
One of the best known stock men in northwestern Missouri and one of the substantial and honored citizens of Nodaway county is Eugene P. Powell, who maintains his residence in Polk township. He was born in Antwerp, Jefferson county, New York, December 31, 1844, and is the son of John and Eveline (Brainard) Powell, both natives of the state of New York, from which they came to Knox county, Illinois, in 1851, locating in Oneida, where they lived the remainder of their lives.
Of a family of eight children, Eugene P. was the seventh in order of birth. He came with his parents to Illinois in 1851 and was reared to man- hood in Knox county and was educated there. In 1868 he came to Nodaway county, Missouri, and opened up section 6, range 36, township 63, Polk town- ship, where he remained for two years, then sold out and opened up a tract of land where he now lives and which has been his place of residence since that time, his place being known as the "Hazelwood Stock Farm," one of the "show places" of the township. It is under a high state of improvement and cultivation and on it stand excellent buildings.
Mr. Powell was married, first, in Aurora, Illinois, in the summer of 1867 to Scylla Courtright ; she was a native of Illinois, of New England par- entage. Two children were born to this union, Clyde L. and Cort ; the last named died at the home of his father when twenty-seven years old. Mr.
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Powell's second marriage was in Maryville, Missouri, in August, 1890, to Mattie Phillips, a native of Nodaway county, and a daughter of David and Sarah ( Bottenfield) Phillips.
Three children, living, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Powell, Robert C., Helen K. and Jean L .; Eugene L. died when about five years of age.
For a period of twenty-five years Mr. Powell, with his brother, Lucian C. Powell, has been actively engaged in shipping livestock and for many years they were probably the largest stock shippers in this section of the state. For the remarkable period of fifty years there has not been a time when he has not had either cattle or hogs in the feed lots on his place. No better judge of all kind of livestock could be found and he has been un- usually successful in handling the same. Lucian C. Powell has been in the Methodist ministry since 1890.
Mr. Powell takes a great deal of interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of his county, and has been more or less active in the affairs of the Republican party for some time.
J. W. COCHRAN.
Clearly defined purpose and consecutive effort in the affairs of life will inevitably result in the attaining of a due measure of success, but in follow- ing out the career of one who has attained success by his own efforts there comes into view the intrinsic individuality which made such accomplish- ment possible, and there is thus granted an objective incentive and inspira- tion, while at the same time there is enkindled a feeling of respect and admir- ation. The qualities which have made Mr. Cochran one of the prominent and successful men of Nodaway county have also brought him the esteem of his fellow-men. for his career has been one of well-directed energy, strong d :. termination and honorable methods.
J. W. Cochran was born in September. 1866. on a farm in Tama county. Iowa, and is a son of S. L. and Mary ( Hawthorne) Cochran. the latter hav- ing been a native of Ireland. The subject's father came in early life to Allamakee county, Iowa, from his native state. New York, subsequently locat- ing in Tama county, that state. His migration from New York state had been by degrees, he having stopped for a time in Michigan and Wisconsin. He had been reared to the life of a farmer and followed that occupation during all his active years. In Tama county, Iowa, he entered one hundred
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and sixty acres of land where now stands the city of Dysart. He made many substantial improvements on this land and operated it for some years. He was the father of six children, three of whom were born after the family came to Missouri. One child died in Iowa and in June, 1869, the parents and two children came to Nodaway county, where the father bought eighty acres of land, on which his son, Alfred S., now lives. Here S. L. Cochran erected several farm buildings of modest size and entered at once upon the improve- ment and cultivation of the farm. He was industrious and successful and he remained on this place until his death, which occurred on March 17, 1879. Prior to his death he had added forty acres to the original farm, the whole comprising a splendid farm, one of the first to be improved in that section of the township.
J. W. Cochran attended the common schools during his youth and sup- plemented this elementary work by three terms in Amity College, at Amity, Iowa. He was reared by his father to the life of a farmer and was shrewd enough to appreciate the large opportunities that lay in this line for the man of push and energy. After his father's death he remained on the paternal estate and, with the assistance of a brother, operated it for about four years. Since that time he has continued to give some attention to the place until 1908. He is now the owner of one hundred and ninety-nine acres of splen- did land in the southern part of Lincoln township, where he follows general farming operations. He has here erected a full set of excellent farm build- ings. comprising a comfortable and attractive residence, commodious barn and other substantial buildings, so that the place is numbered among the best improved farms of the township. The fences are kept in good shape and the splendid orchard is one of the features of the place. Mr. Cochran has acquired his land through several purchases, having first bought eighty acres on February 15, 1893, forty acres where the buildings are located. in 1894. forty acres in 1900 and forty in 1907. the tracts all being in the same half section. Mr. Cochran is progressive in all the word implies, keeping in close touch with the latest and most advanced ideas relating to agriculture, and he is thoroughly practical in his methods, thus keeping everything about the place in the best condition at all times.
On December 7. 1891. Mr. Cochran married Sadie Reid. a native of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and the daughter of James and Sarah Jane (Kent) Reid, the former a native of Killeigh, county Down, Ireland, and the latter of Mercer county, Pennsylvania. James Reid came to America in 1844. landing at Montreal, Canada, subsequently moving to Mercer county, Pennsylvania. Eventually he located in Iowa, and on February 16. 1870, he
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came to Nodaway county, Missouri, where he lived until 1883, being engaged in farming. Prior to his coming to Missouri he had worked at carpentering, which trade he had learned in Belfast, Ireland, having been apprenticed for seven years, from the age of fourteen to twenty-one years. He was twice married, Mrs. Cochran and one other being the issue of the last union. To Mr. and Mrs. Cochran have been born three children, namely: A. Carl. J. Evert and Harry Emory, the last-named being deceased.
A Republican politically. Mr. Cochran has always taken an active interest in local public affairs, though never a seeker after office for himself. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Cochran belonging to the Royal Neighbors of America. auxiliary to the Woodmen. Religiously, the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they give a generous support. In every relation of life in while he has engaged Mr. Cochran has performed his full part and has been a potent influence in advancing the highest and best interests of the community. his support being given to all worthy movements.
AMOS HAYES.
It is natural, and therefore proper, that the descendants of the old settlers, those who first upturned the wild prairie sod and first cleared the land of its primeval woods, and established different institutions for the edification of their children and succeeding generations, should see that the performances of the early years are fittingly recorded and remembered and the good work they began carried forward with unabated energy. It has been said by one of the greatest historians that those who take no interest in deeds of their ancestors are not likely to do anything worthy to be remem- bered by remote descendants.
Among the residents of Nodaway county who fully appreciate what the older generations have done for the present and who is successfully carrying on the work inaugurated by his worthy father is Amos Hayes, who has a good farm in Nodaway township, in which he was born in 1882. He is the son of Thomas L. and Susan E. (Dove) Hayes, the father a native of Illinois and the mother of Iowa. Mr. Hayes went to Iowa when a young man and later came to Nodaway county, Missouri. Susan E. Dove came to Missouri with her parents and located in Nodaway county, in an early day, and here she received her early mental discipline in such schools as the
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times afforded, Mr. Hayes having been educated in a like manner in his native community in the Prairie state. Thomas Hayes devoted his life to farming and owned a good farm in Nodaway township, this county, where he established a very comfortable home.
Amos Hayes was the only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Hayes. He received a very good education in the public schools and when a mere lad labored in the fields with his father and he has devoted his life to farming. In 1906 he bought eighty acres in the southern part of Atchison township. Nodaway county, which he has placed under excellent improve- ments and on which he still resides, being one of the enterprising young farm- ers of his vicinity; however, he farms considerable land besides his own. carrying on general farm operations.
Mr. Hayes married. in 1903. Jessie Eschelman, who died in December, 1907. She was of a good family and was a woman of winning traits of character and had hosts of friends. One child was born to this union, Cecil Ray. Politically, Mr. Hayes is a Republican. His mother is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOHN EDMUND BILBY.
A worthy son of a worthy sire is John E. Bilby, whose name is too well known in Nodaway county and northwestern Missouri to need any formal introduction here or unnecessary comment as to his business ability and in- fluence in industrial circles. Suffice it to say, however, that he is carrying on the various departments of his enterprise with that discretion and energy which are sure to find their natural sequel in definite success, having always been a man who persisted in whatever he undertook when he once determined that he was right, and being fortunately situated in a thriving farming and stock raising locality, it is no wonder that he stands today in the front rank of agriculturists and stock men of the Middle West.
Mr. Bilby was born in McDonough county, Illinois, in 1864, being the oldest son of John S. and Margaret (Applegit) Bilby, whose record appears in full on another page of this work. While he was yet a small boy, in 1875, his parents moved to Nodaway county, Missouri, and he grew to matur- ity on his father's ranch southwest of Quitman. He and his brothers, Russel I. and Nicholas V., were trained from their youth to take their part in the hard work of the ranch, and this early training meant a great deal for
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